The landing at the castle wasn't exactly a pleasant one. The Celcius was an enormous ship compared to the gummi-ships that the dock was built for, so the airship had to be maneuvered near-perfectly into place so the group could get off. Sora was just off and stretching his legs a bit when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Sora!" He turned, grinning. Goofy was running clumsily towards him. Donald came racing out of the gates leading into the castle a moment later.

"Goofy! Donald!" Sora called back, waving. Kairi was getting off the ship, but tripped when Sora yelled and stumbled into him, sending both sprawling across the ground. Goofy skidded to a stop, tripped over Sora's arm and landed on top of both him and Kairi. Donald slammed into the pile of them, sending Goofy flying and Sora and Kairi rolling in a tangled knot. Rikku nearly tripped over them getting off the ship, only regaining her balance when she grabbed Gippal and pulled herself to him. Yuna grinned, climbing off and crouching next to the knot of arms and legs.

"You okay guys?" She asked, trying not to laugh. Kairi blew Sora's hair out of her face and sighed.

"Owww." She said, struggling to push Sora off her. Grinning, Sora grabbed her wrists and pinned her. She half scowled, half grinned. Sora touched his nose to hers.

"And just where do you think you're going?" He asked smugly. Kairi stared back at him defiantly.

"Well, I was going to stand up…" She began. Grin widening, he interrupted her.

"And why should I let you do that?" He asked. Kairi shrugged.

"'Cause you're nice?" She asked hopefully. Sora laughed.

"You wish." He replied. Kairi shrugged again.

"Okay then." She said simply. In one sudden, swift move, she freed her hands and rolled herself and Sora over so she was on top of him. Now, he was the one helplessly pinned. She smiled triumphantly. Sora tried to roll back over again, but she was prepared for it and only pinned him back down again. He pouted. She smiled sweetly.

"Nice try." She whispered, kissing him gently. Sora froze, his limbs turning to jelly. She stood up smugly and walked over to where Yuna and Rikku were standing, hardly containing their laughter, without a glance back. Baralai offered Sora a hand up. Gippal helped him up as well, shaking his head.

"She got you. You got your ass kicked by a girl." He said, almost with pity. Sora rolled his eyes, grinning.

"Nah." He answered simply, concocting a way to get her back. Donald was eyeing Sora suspiciously after that 'show' and Goofy was still re-orienting himself after having gone flying through the air. Giving his head a final shake, the knight-dog walked over to Sora.

"Heya Sora! The King wants to see you right away. Told us to take you to him immediately." He said. Sora nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for?" He asked, motioning for everyone to follow as he headed after Donald and Goofy.

"Wait!" Leblanc called. The rest turned to face her. "Noojie's not doing so well." She said sadly. This was true. He was limping heavily. Donald looked at Goofy.

"Take them to the library." He ordered. Goofy nodded. Donald walked over to Leblanc and Nooj, and led them off in another direction. Deciding not to worry about it, Goofy motioned for everyone to follow.

"Let's go everybody!"

The castle library was huge, nearly rivaling the size of the library at Hollow Bastion. Sora remembered it with a shiver. Kairi, who'd been walking close beside him, slipped her hand in his and shot him a curious, if not worried, glance. He didn't say anything. The King was sitting at a large desk. The moment she saw him, Kairi knew he was greatly stressed and something was weighing heavily on him. She also knew not to say anything if he didn't mention it. She knew from experience not to force people to talk about things that they weren't ready to talk about. He looked almost aged. Don't feel badly. She thought, a thought intended for the King. Oddly enough, as the thought floating through her mind, his mood seemed to lift a little. She knew it was absurd, but still couldn't help but wonder if her thoughts had anything to do with it. Her silent ponderings were interrupted when Sora's voice broke the silence. He spoke quietly, but in the heavy silence of the library, it seemed loud.

"You wanted to see us?" He looked almost worried for the King, though he tried to hide it. Mickey looked up and nodded.

"There's something you need to do. A job, as it were." He began. Kairi could hear Riku's voice echoing through her head. You'll have a job to do. This was it.

"What kind of job?" She asked, slowly and almost meekly. She had the strangest feeling that this was going to be the last thing she did. She shook it off, mentally dismissing the feeling as nonsense, but deep down, it still remained. The King nodded.

"The last stronghold of darkness in this Universe is becoming too powerful. On a planet called Fa'Diel, there is a goddess. Or was, I should say. She's been asleep for millions of years, taking the form of a tree. However, some darkness found its way to the tree and began to eat away at it. As a result, the planet literally broke apart, each piece taking the form of a charm, called an Artifact. You need to rebuild the planet and be rid of this last of the darkness." The King spoke almost prophetically. Everyone knew that this would entail great dangers. After all, it seemed that they would be taking on a goddess. Rikku, looking shocked and a little afraid, broke the stretching silence.

"Why us?" She squeaked. Paine nodded in agreement.

"Right, why does it need to be us? We've all done our part. We're all heroes in our own right. Why should we risk our lives again to save a planet we've never even heard of?" She asked. The King shrugged helplessly.

"It's destiny. We can't change that." He replied.

"How do you know?" Paine challenged again. "How do you know it's our destiny and not the destiny of someone else?" She asked.

"Because you fit the prophesy. And she has the key." He said, looking at Kairi. Her eyes went wide.

"Me? But, I'm not a key bearer…" She said slowly, surprised. Mickey smiled.

"Not a key like that. In fact, you have two." He said. Kairi's eyes went even wider. The King continued. "The first is that charm." Kairi reached slowly up, touching the charm around her neck. Gently, took it off her neck and held it in the palm of her hand, staring. There was a long silence. "That is the first Artifact." Mickey said. Kairi looked up, ignoring the fact that everyone else was staring at her.

"And the other key?" She asked quietly. The King smiled again.

"Your voice."

………

A bit on the short side again, but I know I haven't updated for two weeks so I had to post for you guys! Read and Review! Hooray for reaching 30 chappies!