Legacy: Well from the looks of the review section, it seems like you guys really enjoyed the last chapter and Wolfie and I are glad to see that! I'm glad we were able to deliver a chapter full of excitement and new questions for you to ponder about. From the looks of it, we weren't able to answer any of them, so I'd like to apologize for that, but they will get answered eventually. That's just another reason to keep reading. Am I right?

Wolfie: I'd say so! And, of course, there's still so much more to see! Also, hi, we're back early this time! Thanks to ShadowWolf223 (Thanks for the review! And the chains were all Legacy, they enjoy flashy action scenes. As they told me, they're the action and I'm the heart (literally, all the sappy scenes are typically my handiwork)), Time-Space lord Eon (Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy this one too!) and Antex-The Legendary Zoroark (Thank you again, as always, hope this one meets your expectations too!) for reviewing, all 9 followers, 8 favorites and 994 readers! Not much else to say here...just enjoy, hopefully this chapter leads you to smiling and crying both!

Chapter 10: Those That Are Lost

Location: The Ocean Between

Gia's hand went straight for her chest as she clutched the pendant hidden behind her shirt. "Ngh! L-Lia…" It was difficult for her to breathe, like the air in her lungs was pulled directly out. Her chest felt tight and her head pounded with an intense migraine. Silver tresses flowed back and forth as Gia's head wobbled dizzily.

"Gia!" Sari said. "What's wrong?"

"I...I...Ngh!" Gia curled over in her seat, trembling as her body tried to fight off the intense despair that burned through her.

Jack called to Riku, "Master, Gia's not looking so well!"

Riku turned to her with a studious look on his face. He seemed to have an idea about what was happening and so did Rickson, who watched Gia with mild concern. The teenage boy stood from his seat and put a hand on Sari's shoulder. He then looked back to his master and asked, "This is like with Lia, right?"

Riku nodded. "Mm."

"What are you two talking about?" Sari asked, turning back to them. Her eyes widened when she felt Gia take hold of her wrist.

"D-darkness..." That was all Gia could choke out through the pain.

Rickson explained, "Something similar happens to Lia whenever Gia experiences a Light Flare, as Lea refers to it."

"A what?"

"Sari, do you know why we keep the twins separate from one another?"

"Well...I know it has something to do with their uncontrollable powers of light and darkness."

"Is that what that was back on the island?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Riku confirmed. "Which means Lia must be experiencing something similar...a Dark Flare."

"Lia's...in trouble…" Gia's eyelids shut around her blue eyes, as she fell forward into Sari's arms.

"G-Gia!"

Rickson gave Sari's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "She'll be fine. Lia recovers from these dizzy spells after a short nap. But, if this happened to Gia…"

Riku nodded. "Yeah. Things just keep getting worse. First you three are ambushed, then Sora goes missing, the twins are having their Flares, and the Land of Departure was attacked. Aqua must have filled Ventus in so he and the others on Radiant Garden can keep an eye out, but I'll call him just to be safe."

"And then what?" Rickson asked. "Master, who do we help?"

Riku closed his eyes and took a sharp breath. "We go with Lia."

"G-go...with…"

Sari looked down to find Gia standing up from her seat, pushing herself up by using the redhead as support.

"Gia! You need to rest!"

Gia ignored Sari's advice and held her hand out in front of her. She could barely see through one squinted eye with blurry vision that would come and go as she focused on her own fingers. "Open...please open…"

"What is she-?"

Sari was cut off by her master, "A dark corridor. Gia, you don't have your cloak for that."

"I don't...care. I need to...Lia…" She couldn't even finish the thought before she blacked out.

Location: Radiant Garden - Ansem's Castle

"So you think this underground fighting ring is connected to the materia being smuggled around?" Ventus asked as he and Mahir met with Ansem and his apprentices. Naminé sat in during the meeting as well, projecting images of the fighting circuit through a tablet.

"That is correct." Ienzo nodded. "We received reports on materia shortage from the Moogles several weeks ago."

"And around that time frame is when the underground ring started up." Even added, looking over the notes in his hands as he spoke. "Dilan, Aeleus and Isa have been performing reconnaissance as soon as we connected the two events."

"Right, and you think working your way up in the ranks will allow us to make contact with the boss?" Ventus clarified.

"But haven't you guys been doing this for a while now? I mean, didn't Master Riku and Lia say Aeleus was the champion of the ring?" Mahir asked, leaning forward with a furrowed brow. Ventus felt the slightest bit of pride at seeing how serious his apprentice was taking the situation.

"That's true." Aeleus grunted, looking displeased. "But…"

Suddenly, Ventus felt the tiniest prick in his mind, in a place where only two people resided: his Chirithy and his…

Without even noticing it, Ventus stopped listening, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, and he focused solely on that. Fear rose up within him, causing a lump to form in his throat, preventing him from speaking. Everything sounded so far away, as he focused on that tiny prick.

Is she...are they…

He couldn't finish the thought. He could feel a clammy sweat forming on his palms, the urge to bounce his right leg igniting and he wanted to play with his wristband, something to keep himself busy from this fear.

He was distantly aware of Mahir calling out to him, sounding increasingly frantic, but he couldn't respond. The lump in his throat prevented all manner of speech, as if the idea of her vanishing from his mind, from his very life, was enough to convince his body that speaking was unnecessary. What was the point, if she were not here?

But as his fear reached a crescendo, the prick flared within his mind, no longer scared, but warm and reassuring. They were okay.

Chirithy was okay…

She was okay…

"Ventus, are you with us?"

Blinking, Ventus looked up, only to see Isa gripping his shoulders gently, the former Luna Diviner leaning close enough that the rest of the room was hidden from sight by his face and hair. In a way, Isa was providing the blonde Master with privacy and he appreciated it.

Slowly, Ventus opened his mouth and finally managed to speak.

"Yes."

"Thank Kingdom Hearts!" Mahir gasped in relief, before the sound of his hands slapping over his mouth rang out. Obviously, Isa had asked for them all to be silent while he brought Ventus out of his thoughts, but the young apprentice couldn't help himself. Ventus almost smiled at that. Almost. It still felt difficult, at the moment.

"Good, now answer me if you can." Isa whispered, his voice soft. "What happened was you feeling a loved one in danger, yes?"

"Yes." Ventus confirmed, unable to help the shiver that raked up his spine. Just the thought of losing both of them…

"And they are alright, to the point you can focus on us again?" Isa questioned.

"Yes."

"That's good. That means whoever you are worried for, they are safe now. You can trust in that."

"Yeah...yeah, I know." Ventus nodded. And he knew she was safe, they had given her every precaution possible and a good team to back her up. She was safe...he had to remember that, if he was going to get anywhere with this mission and back to the Land of Departure to check on her. With a deep breath, Ventus sat up and met the group before him's eyes as Isa backed away, allowing him to see them once more. "I'm sorry for the interruption."

"Don't think anything of it, my boy." Ansem shook his head. "Occasionally, everyone has a moment such as this. Even Isa. It's how he knew to calm you."

Naminé chimed in, "That's how we know Xion's always okay. Isn't that right, Ienzo?"

Ienzo's face burned brightly as he cleared his throat, earning laughter from his peers and mentors.

Ansem redirected the group's attention back to the matter at hand by asking Ventus, "Are you sure you are well enough to continue, young Ventus?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Ventus nodded. Now, at least. He mentally added. There was no need to worry his apprentice even more than he already was. Clearing his throat, he turned back to the room at large. "Now, I'm sorry, could you explain how you plan to make contact with the boss of the ring again?"

Location: The Etherium - RLS Legacy - Captain's Quarters

"According to the map, it won't be long until we reach Treasure Planet," Captain Amelia said as she eyed the golden sphere in her gloved hand with focus and intent. Her eyes rose past the round surface to the four that stood across from her: Lia, Ryo, Tifa, and Delbert.

The green haired woman nodded silently with a stoic face. She'd yet to show even the slightest hint of emotion since Marta...was left behind. It was a mystery if Lia was even paying attention.

"When we do, what will the three of you do?"

Ryo and Tifa turned to Lia for her response, but it never came.

"Ms. Geraldine?"

Lia blinked, her pupils adjusting to focus on the feline captain. "Yes, Captain?"

Instead of repeating the question, Captain Amelia looked to the others and asked, "Could you all excuse us? I must have a word with Ms. Geraldine."

With polite nods, the others vacated the office, leaving only the captain of the RLS Legacy and the captain of the materia mission.

"What would you like to discuss, Captain?"

The woman said nothing as she stood up and walked around her desk. She placed a hand on either of Lia's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I share in your loss, Ms. Geraldine. Your teacher...he told me you were in charge of your group, so I know the feeling of failure. You feel like you failed Ms. Lesia."

Lia's jaw clenched, her hand went to hold the opposite elbow, and her gaze fell. She couldn't look at Captain Amelia. "Not just her. I failed Mr. Arrow too. The both of them were such good-"

"Yes...they were. But both understood the dangers of this voyage and accepted them. Your people, I knew of your existence long before Mr. Hinode set foot on my ship - Key-wielding warriors who roam the expansive universe and fight the evil in it. There are many stories of your kind...stories I would hear as a youngling. So when I was given the opportunity to work alongside you, the little kitten in me could not say no. If I had, maybe Ms. Lesia would not have met such a grim fate. For that, I offer my most sincere apologies."

Lia was left wide-eyed as Captain Amelia bowed her head solemnly. The green-haired woman gulped and shook her head. "It's not your fault. I know that we can die at any point. I didn't realize that when I accepted this mission. I do now. We have to...we have to keep moving forward."

Captain Amelia nodded. "Right you are. For Mr. Arrow and Ms. Lesia."

Location: The Etherium - RLS Legacy - Main Deck

As they exited the Captain's Quarters, Tifa let out a sigh that drew Ryo's attention to her.

"M-Ms. Tifa…? Are you okay?" He hesitantly voiced. Tifa smiled at him slightly in response.

"I'm okay, I'm just worried about Lia." She explained, her expression turning mournful. "I can't imagine just how heavily this is weighing on her…"

"Y-yeah...Ms. Marta was an experienced Keyblade wielder. I can't believe s-she'd…" Ryo trailed off, unable to say it.

"That she'd fall asleep in the middle of using her glider right as the supernova became a black hole?" Tifa finished his sentence with the same sad smile. "Me either, Ryo."

"W-we should've done more to save her! There m-must've been something we could've done!" Ryo burst out suddenly, his eyes filling with tears as he clenched his fists. When he closed his eyes, he could still see Marta falling helplessly into the black hole. If only he knew how to use a glider, he could've caught her! Or if he had known even a low tier Magnet spell, perhaps he could've pulled her back to the Legacy with it! Or-!

"There's no point in considering the what-ifs, Ryo." Tifa cut off his spiraling thoughts with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You had a job to do, to keep everyone here safe by helping with the sails, you couldn't leave to help Marta."

"But-!"

"No buts." Tifa shook her head, laying a finger against Ryo's lips. "Marta wouldn't want you to feel like this, would she?"

"No…" Ryo shook his head dejectedly as Tifa removed her finger. "She'd...she'd tell me to keep fighting with a b-big grin on her face...then she'd fall asleep a-and use me as a pillow. But she wouldn't want me to give up…"

"That's right, and that's what we'll do." Tifa smiled proudly. "But, more than that, what you have to do is never forget Marta and don't let anyone else who knew her forget either. As long as all of you remember her, she's never truly gone. Do you understand?"

"I...I think so." Ryo nodded, thoughts of Marta and his mother racing through his mind. "As long as we never forget...they'll always be alive...and live through us."

"Exactly." Tifa nodded. Ryo smiled, but before he could say anything, he suddenly felt a hand clasp around his arm and pull!

"We gotta go!" Jim hissed as he pulled Ryo and Dr. Doppler back to the Captain's Quarters, Tifa running after them.

"Wh-Jim!? What's going on?!" Ryo cried, startled as he found himself thrown into Captain Amelia's office, staring up at the captain and Lia, feeling confusion set in as they too turned to the group that charged in surprise. It was the entirety of the crew, including Mr. Silver, that approached them with swords and blasters raised. The door shut behind them and both Lia and Captain Amelia gave them questionable looks.

"What's the meaning of this?" the captain demanded.

Jim shouted, "Silver! He's a pirate! They're all pirates!"

Lia froze as Salazar's words replayed in her head. He was right. Fortunately, it seemed that Jim, Delbert, and Amelia were not part of it.

The captain opened a cabinet and grabbed a blaster from inside. "Pirates on my ship? I'll see they all hang! Doctor, are you familiar with these?" She tossed it over to the dogman, who held it uncomfortably.

"Oh, I've seen...uh...well I've read...uh-" A plasma bolt fired off from Delbert's blaster, destroying the globe to Captain Amelia's right. "Uh...no. No, no I'm not."

The captain rolled her eyes and looked at the others. "And the rest of you?"

Lia and Ryo both flashed their Keyblades into their hands and Tifa raised her fists. Captain Amelia nodded, understanding that they would be fine without blasters. She then turned to Jim and tossed the map to him. "Mr. Hawkins, defend this with your life." As the golden sphere left her clawed fingers, Morph caught it with his mouth.

"Morph!" Jim and Ryo screamed as the former wrestled with the little blob for the map.

"Give me that!" Jim said, pulling the device away from Morph.

Sounds of electric beams superheating the lock buzzed from the other side of the door, calling all of their attention to the entrance.

Lia turned to Jim and said, "You need to get that out of here. Get to the longboat and go. We'll hold them off." Lia held her Keyblade up, but her grip was shaky.

Captain Amelia noticed the instability in Lia's heart and gently pushed the young woman's hand down. Lia turned to look up at her with confused eyes. The captain shook her head as she said, "A good leader knows when to live to see another day. Don't be a martyr."

Lia wanted to stay and fight. There was fear in her heart, fear of losing another ally, but there was something else there as well. An itching feeling that told her to rebel. Her face hardened as she backed away from the captain and shook her head. "No. I'm going to-"

A quick chop to the back of the neck delivered by Tifa knocked Lia out cold. The dark-haired woman took hold of the Keyblade wielder and lifted her with ease. "I'm sorry Lia, but we don't have time for this." She looked up to Captain Amelia and asked, "How do we get down to the hangar?"

Captain Amelia aimed her rifle downward and blasted a hole in the floor.

"I guess that's one way," Tifa said with a shrug as Jim and Delbert hopped down. The rest followed suit before Silver obliterated the door with his arm cannon. They could all hear the commotion coming from above, indicating that he and the other pirates would be close behind.

The space bandits were so close behind that they caught up to Ryo and the others by the time they entered the hangar. Captain Amelia was quick to shut the door and melt the handle to keep them busy. "To the longboats quickly!"

Everyone piled into one of the boats while Captain Amelia opened the door below them. She then sprinted to catch up with the others and sailed through the air with an agile leap. With everyone inside, they just needed the door to open fully to make their escape. Morph had other plans, however. The little blob saw the map in Jim's back pocket and swiped it away.

"Morph?! No!" The boy tried to grab him but missed so he jumped onto the walkway.

That's when the door was lasered open and some of the pirates burst into the hangar. Bolts of hot plasma flew back and forth between Captain Amelia and the pirates. She yelled at them, "Chew on this you puss-filled boils!"

Ryo deflected a few of the stray bolts with his Keyblade, but could do nothing to retaliate. Delbert stood up and took aim before covering his eyes and pulling the trigger. A bolt struck a metal mechanism, causing it to crash down and destroy the platform that the pirates stood on, sending them down into Treasure Planet's atmosphere.

Everyone looked at him with surprise and Captain Amelia even asked, "Did you actually aim for that?"

Delbert looked down at his own weapon with a similar look on his face as he replied, "You know, I actually did?!" He was unaware of the next wave of blasts coming his way so Captain Amelia was quick to push him down and cover him while Silver pulled the lever to shut the door.

"Aw, blast it!" The captain cursed. "Doctor, when I say now, shoot the forward cable. I'll take this one."

"Morph! Here! Morph!" Jim was still chasing the pink blob around.

When Silver realized that Morph had the map, he tried to call his pet back to him. Jim did the same, causing Morph to look back and forth between the two. Silver was his owner and rescued him when he had no one else, but over the past few weeks, he'd had more fun with Jim than ever before, getting incredibly close to the boy. It was impossible to pick between the two, so he hid into a ring of rope. Morph did not understand the gravity of the situation, thinking it only to be a game.

Silver stumbled down to his hands and knees, having taken a previous injury from Jim earlier. As he crawled across the catwalk, Jim rushed forward and plucked the map from the rope before bolting back to the longboat. Silver lifted his gun straight at Jim and locked onto him with his cybernetic eye, but could not bring himself to make the shot. As Jim fell into the longboat, Captain Amelia and Delbert cut the cables that held the longboat up. It hit against the closing door, but managed to slip through so they could escape. Jim's landing was not as smooth as he would have liked it, leaving him to hang over the edge of the boat, but Ryo pulled him back in and Captain Amelia sailed the vessel forward. They were free! They just needed to get out of sight in the treeline, but that would prove to be difficult as one of the pirates took aim at the longboat with the Legacy's cannon. The large ball of fiery plasma flew directly at them, striking the sail and Captain Amelia's right arm. She clutched the injury and lurched forward with a painful moan.

As the solar sail burned to ash, the longboat began to plummet down uncontrollably. Captain Amelia tried to ignore the pain to steer them to safety, but the bottom of the boat hit a treetop and then several branches after that until it finally struck the ground and flipped over with everyone in it. Tifa held Lia tightly to herself throughout it all while the others did their best to hang on. When the boat finally stopped moving, Jim and Ryo were able to lift it up to find that everyone seemed to have made it out of that wreck alive and mostly uninjured.

Delbert stood up and said, "Oh my goodness. That was more fun than I ever want to have again."

Captain Amelia chuckled as she pushed herself up onto her feet. "That's not one of my gossamer landings." Suddenly a sharp pain poked at her side, causing her to collapse to her knees.

"Captain!" Delbert said as he went to her side. He and Ryo helped her back up, but she waved them away.

"Oh, don't fuss. Slight bruising, that's all. A cup of tea and I'll be right as rain." She pushed a loose strand of hair back in its place and said, "Mr. Hawkins, the map if you please."

Jim reached into his pocket and revealed the gold ball that would lead them to Treasure Planet...or rather, something that looked like it. The map rose out of Jim's hand and broke apart before rearranging itself to reveal that it was a particular shape-shifting blob, one who found this little practical joke hilarious.

Jim yelled, "Morph?! Morph! Where's the map?!"

Morph quickly transformed himself into the map and the ring of rope from earlier, demonstrating that it was inside the ring.

"Are you serious?! It's back on the ship?!"

Morph flew around playfully, oblivious to the sound of a second longboat descending nearby. The others all took notice and it was Captain Amelia who told Jim to "stifle that blob." The boy quickly grabbed hold of Morph as they all watched the longboat sail past them through the treeline.

Captain Amelia assessed the situation while using the longboat as cover. "We need a more defensible position. Mr. Hawkins, scout ahead." She handed him her pistol and then looked at Ryo. "Mr. Grace, could you go with him?" The black-haired boy nodded and walked away with Jim and Morph while Delbert asked to take a look at her wound. Tifa watched after the boys, praying that they would be alright. She knew she needed to stay behind to watch over the others in case Silver's pirates attacked.

Location: Midnight City - Dark City

Not long had passed since Kairi and Xion had split off from Roxas and Eric. The two walked through the puddled streets of the Dark City, slicing away at any Neo Shadows that they came across. Being Keyblade wielders, the darkness was especially drawn to them, but for some reason, they had not encountered the Heartless they were looking for.

"So we're looking for a Possessor Heartless, right?" Kairi asked.

"We could be, but Eric said that it could be any number of Heartless. Still, keep on the lookout for any statues or idols that a Possessor could take control of."

Kairi nodded and remained silent afterward, following Xion's lead with Keyblade in hand.

Xion reached the end of a block and pressed her back against the wall of the building. Kairi followed suit and waited for her friend to provide a signal. The redhead waited in silence and stillness, which made her heart pound in her chest and her legs stiffen with nerves. Xion peered around the corner, checking for any abnormally strong Heartless in the vicinity. What she found was a group of Neo Shadows surrounding a pair of Dusk Nobodies who seemed to be doing their best to keep the Heartless at bay. This would not last much longer so Xion motioned to Kairi to follow her and the two charged around the corner to aid the Nobodies.

Kairi was the first to take action by hurling her Keyblade with an aura of light flaring around it. As Destiny's Embrace sawed through a Neo Shadow, Kairi warped into the dispersing shroud of darkness that was once a Heartless and caught her weapon. She then spun around to discourage any of the other Neo Shadows from lunging at her. Xion added another layer of defense by raising her Keyblade into the air to cast Holy around Kairi. However at that moment, Oathkeeper disappeared from her hand, leaving Xion wide-eyed.

She muttered to herself, "Not now!"

Despite being robbed of her Keyblade by her partner, Xion channeled her light magic through her finger tips and delivered a slightly weaker version of her spell than what she intended to use. Several thin lasers of light crashed down around the redhead, ripping off the arm of an unfortunate Heartless who was too close to Kairi to get away. The monster wailed in pain, but one of the Dusks showed no remorse towards it as the silver creature punctured its chest with a swift kick. The Neo Shadow faded away, but did not release a Heart.

Xion knew that Roxas had encountered the Heartless they were looking for, but she needed to finish off the remaining Heartless here before rendezvousing with her partner. She summoned Oathkeeper back into her hand and charged forward as Kairi retreated, effectively switching places. While leaping backward, Kairi covered Xion as she unleashed a flurry of slashes by casting a Holy spell of her own, but infused it with fiery magic, in the form of Flower Shoot. The sphere of golden light flew into one of the Neo Shadows, forcing its body to be consumed by brilliant golden flames. From that point, Kairi, Xion, and the two Dusks were able to eliminate the remaining Heartless.

Afterward, the Nobodies showed no semblance of consciousness or personality and simply walked away from the pair of women.

Kairi chuckled to herself, earning a puzzled look from Xion. "What's wrong?"

The Princess of Heart shook her head and said, "It's nothing. It's just that before coming here, I would've cut down a Nobody just as I would a Heartless. I never realized how docile they could be."

Xion nodded. "The only reason they were so aggressive before was because Xemnas and the other members of Organization XIII were manipulating them. At their core, Nobodies are just looking for a reason to exist and Xemnas gave that to them. If left alone and given the chance to live, they'll eventually regain their hearts and find purpose. Heartless, on the other hand, don't have a reason to exist. The longer they exist, the more strife they inflict on others. That's why I don't hesitate to strike them down."

For a moment, Kairi could see a small smirk form on Xion's face. Could she be deriving joy from this? Kairi hesitantly asked, "X-Xion...we're only doing this until Lauriam and Elrena's people can take control of the situation here themselves, right? We still have no idea where Sora is…"

"Yeah! Of course!"

Xion pulled her Gummi Phone out of her pocket to find a message from Roxas and read it aloud. "Midnight Blue Nightclub."

"A nightclub?"

"I think I know where it is. Come on, we need to hurry!"

"Right!"

Xion did away with her Keyblade in case Roxas needed to use it and began running toward the area of the city that the men went in.

Location: Midnight City - Dark City

Since the encounter with the two Dusks and the small mob of Neo Shadows, Kairi and Xion cut through wave after wave of Heartless, which were growing progressively stronger. In addition to Neo Shadows, the twin Keyblade wielders encountered Darkball, Earthcore, and Invisible Heartless. While making their way through the dark city, Kairi and Xion could feel the ground shaking.

"They must be having some battle," Xion pointed out.

"Yeah, it seems like it's a strong Heartless. I hope we can make it there before one of them gets hurt." The women rounded a corner only to find that they had reached a dead end. Kairi let out a groan. "Why does this city have to be so complicated?"

"I won't disagree with you there," Xion said. "As many times as I've been here, I still don't know the whole layout. Even so…"

"Hmm?" Kairi looked over at her friend with a look of curiosity as to what the raven-haired woman was thinking.

"Something's not right. I just...I just can't place my finger on it." The ground shook once again pulling their attention back to the matter at hand. Xion pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and said, "Come on, we've got to keep moving."

"Right!"

The girls continued running through the streets until they went around a corner and found themselves facing a deadend. Xion shook her head and said, "No, that can't be right. That building wasn't there before." She turned around to make sure they were on the right street, which they were. "How did-?"

Xion walked forward, too preoccupied by her own confusion to notice that the ground had started rumbling again. When she and Kairi turned around, they found that the building across the street began moving toward them, but it was not just any building. The facade had been warped to resemble some sort of chained monster. A pair of yellow eyes peered through two of the windows and several of the windows below had been rearranged to resemble a mouth.

Xion shouted, "Don't let it close us off!"

She and Kairi darted towards the gaps between the incoming monster building and the other stationary buildings to avoid being boxed in. The Heartless had other plans in mind, however, as several rusted chains jutted out from its marred facade and sailed across the air aiming for the women. Kairi flung her Keyblade to a safe space and teleported to it, effectively evading all of the chains. Xion, however, had to jump and sidestep to keep herself from being impaled by the massive arrowheads on the end of each chain. She summoned Two Become One to signal the encounter to Roxas and then quickly dismissed her partner's weapon.

Despite missing the Keyblade wielders, the Heartless simply used its chains as harpoons to move itself faster. Kairi readied to toss Destiny's Embrace and warp out of the box, but when she turned to check on Xion, she found that the black-haired woman was nowhere near the exit. Instead of saving herself, Kairi changed directions and ran toward the monster building. She jumped up and made contact with the outer wall as she began scaling up the side of the building. More chains shot out and curled back towards her, piercing through the facade every time they missed. Kairi moved from side-to-side to avoid the chains, and even leapt to the other buildings once the Heartless had completely boxed them in. Xion followed her example and began running up the brick exterior.

The Heartless took notice and continued its assault on the Keyblade wielders, hurling the bricks from the building facades at them. The women blocked against the bricks and dodged the chains, knowing that the stronger attacks would completely knock them off. They ran as fast as they could while their four walls grew smaller and smaller.

As Kairi and Xion neared the exit above them, the Heartless possessed Xion's building and began to shake the entire structure, forcing the brickwork to crumble. Xion lost her footing and slipped off the surface.

"No!"

The Heartless wailed with menacing laughter, which alerted Kairi. The redhead acted quickly, springing off of the wall and tossing her Keyblade toward her friend. "Xion!"

The raven-haired woman caught Destiny's Embrace and Kairi appeared next to her in freefall immediately after. Kairi grabbed hold of Xion wrist and with all her might, she threw Xion toward the nearest wall with her Keyblade following right behind. As the flower-themed weapon neared the building, Kairi touched down against it and continued her incline alongside Xion.

The Heartless attempted the same trick that surprised Xion but the women learned quickly how to work around it by making use of Kairi's warping ability and soon, they reached the top, landing directly on one of the buildings. Xion was the first to touch down with Kairi close behind. Destiny's Embrace came whirling up before Kairi did.

"Xion! To the center!" Xion did as Kairi said and lobbed Destiny's Embrace up into the collection of buildings.

Kairi warped to her weapon, completely untethered to the ground as she floated above all the nearby buildings. The round moon behind her created a perfect ring around her silhouette as multiple spheres of golden light appeared behind her. Kairi took hold of Destiny's Embrace with both hands as gravity began to pull her down. She spun gracefully while her volley of Holy spheres rained down with her. She guided them away from her, bombarding the sides of the buildings with her fiery golden projectiles.

From Xion's point of view, the alleyway was lit like a brilliant star as multiple explosions popped inside of it. She could do nothing but smile in amazement at the power of a Princess of Heart. She was about to make her way down to join Kairi when she noticed the redhead scaling the building up again. As Kairi reached the ledge, she jumped up and over it, landing beside Xion.

"Very impressive," Xion complimented. "Have you ever considered doing some bounty hunter work?"

Kairi rested her hands on her knees while trying to catch her breath. She tilted her head up to look at Xion with an unamused look on her face.

Xion raised her hands defensively, but maintained a sly smirk. "Hey, just saying." She walked over to the edge of the building and said, "I wonder what kind of Heartless it was." She could not see anything in the pitch darkness in the alley. "Regardless, we should try to regroup with Roxas and Eric before we go down there to check to see if it's still alive somewhere down there."

Kairi stood up straight and said, "I'm okay, Xion. I promise. Let's just search the area ourselves."

"Kairi, we should wait for the others. You're out of breath and even I'm starting to get tired. We'll be stronger together."

With a frustrated sigh, Kairi said, "Xion, I just want to get this mission over and done with. Are we going or not?"

Xion's brow furrowed with concern. She approached her friend with a gentle hand on her shoulder and asked, "Kairi, what's wrong?"

Kairi let out another sigh and said, "Nothing. I just want to finish this mission."

"Why are you in such a hurry? We'll be able to go back to the castle and rest up once we do a quick sweep of the area with Roxas and Eric."

"That's the point! We're just going back to the castle afterward. Sora is out there and we don't know where and you don't even care!"

That offended Xion. "Look, I do care about him, but Lauriam and Elrena...they need us now."

"So does Sora." Kairi was very matter-of-fact. It made Xion back away.

"I know we agreed to help you look for him, but we can't just abandon everyone here." Xion stated, a frown growing on her face.

Kairi was growing more anxious. "I...I know, Xion, it's just...the longer we take, the farther away he gets and-"

"Kairi, we don't even know if he's on the move."

That's when Kairi turned away with a growl, practically ready to rip her hair out as she shouted, "We don't know anything!" She looked into Xion's eyes and gripped her heart. " I don't know anything, Xion. I don't know where he is, or if he's okay. Or if he's…"

"Dead?" Xion's voice cut Kairi off instantly, the cold of it sending chills down Kairi's spine. Xion was looking down at her hands, which were clenched into fists at her sides. "You're right. We don't know if he's dead. But everyone here is still alive. They need us, they need our help, and you want to...to abandon them to the Heartless just so...just so you can find your boyfriend?"

"Xion! I-" Kairi started to say.

"Everyone here is important too! They're our friends too!" Xion growled, pushing herself forward and glaring down at Kairi, her eyes like fire. "Just because we agreed to help you find Sora doesn't mean that we turn away everyone else! We have an obligation to help everyone here too!"

"I understand, Xion, but the purpose of this mission was to find Sora!" Kairi argued, stepping closer to Xion, refusing to be looked down on. "And he's not just my boyfriend, he's your friend too!"

"But that doesn't mean we abandon where we're needed! Or have you forgotten the entire point of our job as Guardians of Light? We're supposed to keep the balance!" Xion pointed out. "Or have you and Sora forgotten that, off playing house as if the past decade never happened?"

"Now that's not fair and you know it! We had to leave, after-" Kairi cut herself off with a growl, glaring at Xion.

"Kairi, for all we know, Sora could be in the Final World and there's no way for us to find him! We need to focus on the present and keep doing our jobs! We're not children anymore, for God's sake!" Xion snarled, throwing her hands in the air.

Kairi could only stare at the raven haired bounty hunter, wide eyed and hurt. She just...she really…

Wiping away the tears that slipped down her cheeks, Kairi glared at Xion and snarled, "If it weren't for Sora, you would never have existed in the first place."

Without a glance back, the redheaded princess leapt off the roof disappearing over the edge and leaving Xion standing there all alone.

Xion thought Sora was in the Final World? Fine. Then Kairi would just go there herself and find him. She'd bring him back, bring him home and they could forget all of this ever happened. The worlds would be fine, their friends would be fine, they would be fine, everything would be just fine!

But deep down, a small part of Kairi knew what she was thinking was simply wishful thinking brought on by denial. Even still, she refused to give it up. She would live in denial until every last speck of it was crushed.

That was the only way she knew she could get through this now.

Location: The Lunar Whale

She stared out at the stars flying past the window, her fingers playing with the folds of her sash tied around her waist.

"Your life force is practically trembling, you know. I felt it halfway across the ship." A voice interrupted her thoughts, causing her to jerk away from the window with wide eyes.

"I-I'm sorry!" She stuttered as her eyes landed on Anahita, her curly, light blonde hair with dark red highlights standing out in the sheer amount of white surrounding the two of them. "It must hurt so much, I-I'll stop!"

"Hey, it's no big deal. I'm getting used to it. Besides, it's easier just around your jittery life force than all the worry over Cecil's." Anahita shrugged, her expression blithe, as if making light of the situation.

But she couldn't make light of it, looking down in almost guilt as she remembered watching everyone worrying over Cecil, as Takara examined his life force grimly and they boarded The Lunar Whale shortly after. Rosa hadn't left Cecil's side since and Ursula had to tear their son, Ceodore, away so he could focus on what was coming next.

Their fight on the moon for the Crystals, and for their world itself.

"Oh…" She trailed off, looking away.

"Hey, what's wrong? You're not usually so down." Anahita commented, leaning against the window to examine her with scrutinizing light gold eyes. Sometimes she hated those eyes. They always saw so much more than she wanted them to. "Come on, talk to me."

"It's just…"

"You're avoiding your parents, even more so than everyone else." Anahita bluntly stated, her expression no longer gentle, causing the red painted scars on her tanned cheeks to stand out ferociously. She flinched violently, unable to protest.

She wasn't wrong, after all.

"It's just...I...I'm not useful at all." She answered, feeling her fists clench tightly at her sides. She hated showing weakness, but...this was Anahita, who understood more than others what it was like to grow up in the shadow of a stronger parent. "I...I was with Mom this whole time and I wasn't able to do much of anything! And I wouldn't have been able to help Dad either! And now…! Now we're going to the moon and everyone, even Ceodore, is so much stronger than me and I'll hold everyone back! What if…! What if I'm the reason my parents die? What if they don't make it back and it's my fault?!"

"Hey! Hey! Stop that!" Anahita cried, wrapping her arms around her. She...she was crying...when did she start crying…? "I don't know where the Crystals you got this idea from, but you couldn't be more wrong. You're a huge help, no matter what you think. And besides, you're nine and fighting in a battle equal to what our parents fought in before we were born! Do you know how amazing that is? I couldn't have done it, I could barely play an effective Lullaby and you held your own against Eidolons. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. Besides, my father already told me that for a parent, having their child nearby to protect them is an even stronger reason to continue fighting. To not give up. So keep your chin up, yeah?"

"Y-yeah...you're right." She nodded, pulling away and looking up at Anahita with determined eyes. "I'm going to help Cecil and stop whatever it was that took Mom's Eidolons and let Dad out of the castle, cause the Seneschal's gonna kill us all when we get back thanks to this!"

"That's the spirit!" Anahita grinned before she winced, her hand reaching up to touch her forehead gently. "Ugh...looks like Porom and Leonora are coming."

And sure enough, the two white mages rounded the corner of the hallway the two of them were talking in.

"Ah, there you are." Leonora smiled gently as she approached them, waving through her oversized sleeves as she did so.

"We're approaching the moon surface, so Golbez asked us to find everyone to meet on deck." Porom explained, coming over to take her hand in one hand and Anahita's in the other, even though Anahita was fourteen and just as capable as fifteen and sixteen year old Ceodore and Ursula. "Are you two ready?"

"I think I'll manage." Anahita smiled weakly, her eyes going to her curiously.

"Li?" Leonora turned to her, concern in her eyes.

"Of course I'm ready! Let's go kick some butt!" She grinned brightly, determined to not let them worry about her. As long as she could fight, she would, so those stronger than her wouldn't give up and could keep fighting until they had saved the day and returned back home.

All of them.

Location: Treasure Planet - Forest

Ryo had expected a lot of things when he learned they were heading somewhere called 'Treasure Planet'. He had been expecting danger, Heartless, and definitely some treasure.

But a forest of all things? Probably not that much.

As he and Jim marched through the forest, with Morph flying around happily beside them, Ryo decided that he liked the warmer temperatures of the Islands more than this. Even the temperate Land of Departure was better than the humidity that was causing his shirt to stick to his skin and make his armor difficult to move in.

He could almost hear Marta teasing him, telling him he needed to work on his temperature adjustment before she fell asleep all over again. He missed her smile…

No, stop it. You have a mission. Focus on that. Mourn later.

With that thought firmly in mind, Ryo squared his shoulders and continued walking.

Until he heard a rustling in the leaves around them. Quickly, Jim shushed both Morph and Ryo as he looked around, taking out his laser gun in preparation. Instantly, Ryo felt his hackles raise and he brought his hand up in preparation to summon his Keyblade, should it be necessary. After all, he and Jim may be close in age, but it had been obvious that Ryo had much more battle experience than his fellow cabin boy did, if not by much. If it came down to it, Ryo would defend Jim with everything he had.

Suddenly, however, Jim and another voice screamed as the boy fell away from the bush he had been investigating, only to reveal a robot on top of him,

"Jim!" Ryo shouted, running forward and summoning Starlight to hit the robot, to get it away, when-

"Oh, this is fantastic! A carbon-based life form come to rescue me at last!" The robot cried joyfully as Jim pushed himself back up to his feet, looking more annoyed than harmed, thankfully. "I just want to hug you and squeeze you and hold you close to me!" As the robot spoke, he (its voice sounded male, at least) did exactly as he said, hugging, squeezing and holding onto Jim.

Even as Jim tried to push the robot off, he jumped back onto him. The scene was so ridiculous, Ryo couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. Jim glared at him, though Ryo was pretty sure he caught a glimpse of relief in those eyes when their eyes met.

In any case, this had probably gone on long enough. Banishing Starlight, Ryo stepped forward.

"Come on, let's g-get off." Ryo said, grabbing the robot and pulling him away from Jim.

"Seriously, would you just let go of me?" Jim huffed, exasperated.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry!" The robot apologized as he let go of Jim...only to wrap one around each boy's shoulders, pulling them close. "It's just, I've been marooned for so long. I mean, solitude's fine, don't get me wrong. But for heaven's sake, after a hundred years…" Suddenly, the robot's eyes were wide and his voice became a shriek. "You go a little nuts!"

The robot chuckled as he looked from Jim to Ryo, only to see both giving him looks that clearly said 'let go.'

"I'm sorry. Am I…I am, uh…my name is, uh…" The robot struggled to remember his name.

From his place on Jim's shoulder, Morph transformed into the robot and opened his head to reveal a cuckoo bird that went off. Ryo shook his head in amusement at the sight as Jim patted Morph's head, causing him to shift back.

"B.E.N!" The robot suddenly cried. "Of course, I'm B.E.N! Bioelectric Navigator." As he spoke, B.E.N tapped his chest only for it to open and he had to close it. "Oops. And you are?"

"Jim, that's Ryo." Jim answered as he tried to bend over to pick up the laser gun he must've dropped when B.E.N jumped out.

"Oh, what a pleasure to meet you, Jimmy!" B.E.N grinned as he shook Jim's reached out hand. "You as well, Ry!"

"Uh, y-you too, B.E.N" Ryo tried to smile, feeling strange. He knew of Tron, of course, but... B.E.N was an entirely different kind of animal, er, robot.

"It's Jim." Jim corrected as he bent down again and grabbed the gun only for B.E.N to lean on his back, forcing him to push the robot off as he stood up. "Look, we're kinda in a hurry, okay?"

"We should probably get moving." Ryo said. "We need to find a place to hide before those pirates find us."

"Oh, pirates! Don't get me started on pirates!" B.E.N began to rant as Jim motioned they keep moving. Ryo nodded in agreement. "I don't like them! I remember Captain Flint. This guy had such a temper-"

At those words, Jim froze and walked back to the robot.

"Wait, wait, wait. You knew Captain Flint?" The boy asked.

"I think he suffered from mood swings, personally." B.E.N said as he sat down on a rock and leaned back, as if to relax.

The posture was a familiar one, one Ryo felt as if he had seen a hundred times already, despite having only come to the Land of Departure a short time ago.

It was a posture Marta often took when she wasn't required for training, but she didn't feel like leaving yet. So instead, she'd find some place to sit and she'd sit in the same exact way, simply watching, occasionally falling asleep…

"You can do it, Ryo! Just bend your knees a little more!"

"Maia, don't tease hi-aah, aaaaaahhhhhhhh..."

"M-Ms. Marta!"

"Hmmm~? Don't you...worry 'bout...me…"

"Hey, what's with the long face, hmmm? I've done this a hundred times before, I'll be just fine!"

"Ryo~! Aren't you excited? It's your first official mission!"

"Haa...haa...aaah! Mahir! Don't pull my hair!"

"Here, do it like this, Ryo!"

"Come on, spar with me! I can't sleep now!"

Ryo felt his eyes burn with tears, a lump forming in his throat unbidden. Suddenly, he desperately wished Marta was at his side, teasing words or a yawn on her lips. She'd know how to do this so much better than Ryo did...she should be here, not him.

No! He couldn't think like that!

He could practically see Marta's spirit bending over at her waist to glare at him, her lips pouting and ruining the fearsome image she otherwise would've made.

"Don't blame yourself, Ryo. You still have a job, so let's finish it, yeah? We can do this together, I just know it!"

Yeah...we could, but can I? Ryo thought to himself. I...already failed you. I don't want to fail Ms. Lia or the others either…

"Thinking like that is the first step to failing, so shush! Come on, it's not over until it's over! Keep fighting!"

I'll try...I-I have to try...for Ms. Marta…

"That's the spirit!"

Ryo wanted to cry.

"Ryo?"

Jim's voice cut through the fog.

"Come on, we're gonna hide out at B.E.N's. We gotta let the captain, Delbert and the others know so we can move the captain and Lia there." The boy explained.

"Right, right." Ryo nodded, resting a hand on his neck to stretch it before he sighed. "Let's go."

With those words, they made their way further into the forest towards B.E.N's house, intent on finding safety for their friends.

Wolfie: And there we go, moving right along! For the record, Lia and Ryo's reactions to Marta's death are based on real grief that I have both experienced and seen in real life. It's a huge, complicated feeling and takes a long time to process, thus their reactions in this chapter. Also, fans of the old DD should recognize the last scene: it was in the original's final chapter before this story came to be! All I did was clean it up slightly, take Marta out and there we have it! Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! We'll be back by the end of November to hopefully finish up a lot of plotlines, cause the end is in sight, folks. Goal is now to finish this fic by Christmas, let's see if we can do it! Leave a review to let us know what you thought! May your heart be your guiding key!