Sora could safely say that he visited many interesting worlds and across different parts of the universe, but he had never been to a world where he could feel a strong sense of peace, harmony, and whimsical music playing from the winds in the grass or the ducktail weeds clacking against each other in the ponds littered about. It seemed like even the smallest of flowers had a song to sing. Magic was all around him on this world, but he wasn't quite convinced that it was just magic in the air. There was something so much more real and encompassing about this new world. It felt like the world was breathing a sigh of relief and a song of happiness was playfully dancing in his ears. Through his observations of the world, Sora spotted the one enemy he hoped wouldn't be there to terrorize it, Vulture the apprentice of Maleficent.

Vulture was not an easy opponent by any means. He was different. He could destroy an entire world with no remorse or even a hint of emotion. Vulture, he dare say, was scarier in a way that got under Sora's skin. This new opponent made Sora feel the need to be more serious in handling him than any other enemy including Xehanort. As Vulture walked down a beaten path dressed in his full combat regalia, Sora tapped Donald's and Goofy's shoulder to gain their attention. He nodded for them to follow him and quickened his step to keep up with the taller man. Vulture seemed to know where he was going on this world. He started picking flowers along the way and loosening his utility belt on his waist. He even hummed in tune with the song of the world. Vulture had been to this world before without a doubt. Suddenly, Vulture stopped walking altogether and silenced himself.

Sora and Vulture caught sight of a small boy practicing his sword strikes a couple more times before the playful wind danced along their skin and mussed the boy's nearly platinum blonde hair. He was terribly young. He couldn't have been older than eight, and he was dressed casually in a sleeveless athletic tee and puffy pants. His shoes were off his feet and tossed to the side. He was concentrated on the motion of his body, making sure to make each swing of the sword a fluid cadence to the next swing. The boy laughed a little when he was complete with his practice and sheathed his play sword onto a hook in the back of his tee. He climbed onto a smooth boulder to look out at something and took a deep, calming breath. Sora and his gang could feel the wind change but to a more mischievous gust here and there. Vulture crept his way up to the boy with certain precise movements that struck fear into Sora's soul. His blue eyes widened with anticipation and his keyblade appeared immediately in response.

"Hey, that Vulture guy is gonna hurt the kid!" Sora shouted in a panicked whisper.

Donald growled and hissed, "Let's jump him."

Vulture got close enough to reach the boy and did something no one expected, frighten the child with tickles and a sharp scream. The little one screamed at the top of his lungs and fell off the boulder in a tuft of grass. His heart was beating rapidly until he saw Vulture sit on the boulder and put a hand on his hip. When the boy looked up to see the mischievous stranger's smirking face and raised brow, he instantly recognized the familiar figure and gasped excitedly. This action stopped Sora and made him stand still for a moment. Vulture smiled, took off his hood, and undid his hair to reveal long dirty blonde locks. When he was complete, he smiled gently and opened his arms to offer a warming embrace.

"Mummy!" the boy said, jumping into Vulture's arms.

Sora, Donald and Goofy shouted, "What?!"

Donald then questioned, "Vulture is a girl?!"

Goofy noticed Vulture about to turn towards them and snatched Sora and Donald away to the forest they were just travelling through to hide behind some of the large trees. He shushed his friends and whispered with a smile, "She's not just any girl, Donald. She's a mother."

"A mother?" Sora said slowly, watching Vulture give her son a warm hug and kiss to his forehead.

"Cain!" Vulture called with a sweet, feminine voice, releasing her son from her embrace. "Where're your brother and sisters?"

Cain took a minute to think about the locations of his siblings and hummed with some thought. He closed his eyes and answered, "I think Ollie's still sleeping in the castle, but Lilli's by the fairy garden practicing her magic and I think Aiden was climbing those snowy trees again."

Vulture tilted her head to the side and sat akimbo in front of the boy to ask, "And what were you doing here by your lonesome, mister?"

Cain chuckled and held up his toy sword to reply, "Practicing with my sword so I can be strong like daddy. Where is dad?"

Vulture watched Cain look behind her in search of his father. She smiled gently and placed an arm on her knee to respond, "Shinnosuke will be back soon to see the new baby. Don't worry. Since Lilli is by the fairies, I'll go there first after I change clothes. I found a few things the fairies might like while I was gone."

Cain gasped with excitement and hopped around in response, "Really? What'd you find? A new treasure?"

Vulture hummed, reached into her utility pouch to retrieve a piece of jewelry, and showed it to her son. She then said, "Something like that. This is what I found in another world."

"What is it?" Cain asked, getting closer to the shiny item.

"I think this used to be a crown," Vulture said, lowering the item so Cain could see it and pointing to certain areas of the item like the stemming, welds or jewels. She then replied, "See these little gems? If you look closely, you'll see little veins in the middle and murky edges on the outside. This particular gem has a crystal structure with about five or more sides in each part where the vein forms. That means they were made from rare stones found near massive amounts of heat on an earthen surface. Wanna see what happens when I use magic?"

"Are you gonna use fire?" Cain asked, eager to see his mother use his favorite magical element.

Vulture nodded and said, "Watch."

She stood from the boulder and walked a few steps away to make sure it was a safe distance from Cain. Sora dismissed his keyblade to simply watch Vulture demonstrate something to her son and became curious himself of the item she found. He heard her say something about it being a crown and it apparently responds to magic. He just wasn't sure how. Neither did the son. Cain's violet eyes were beaming brightly when he watched his mother take a certain stance to use her magic. Vulture took a steady breath to calm herself, tapped into a small source of magic, and levitated the broken crown item in her left hand to cast a low-level fire spell from her right hand. Abruptly, the low-level Fire magic blasted a Firaga beam that practically singed the grass and flowers before her. Sora gasped in surprise at this demonstration and was glad Vulture didn't aim at them. Donald and Goofy were also impressed and continued to listen to the conversation between mother and son.

"This fragment has a very strong reaction to magic," Vulture said to her son, who ran to her side, and looked at the item again when she placed it in his hands. He marveled at the craftmanship of the item and caressed it lightly. She then continued, "It's possible that the fairies can use this piece to enhance their magic but it's hard to say for sure without talkin' to 'em."

Cain nodded with delight and returned the item to Vulture's utility pocket. He then said, "Okay, let's go see 'em! I'll protect you from all the evil magic, mummy. Don't be scared."

Vulture pouted and asked cutely, "But what if bugs come crawling on my shoes? They're not magic!"

Cain lifted up his fist and replied, "Any bug that looks weird gets smooshed. I promise."

"Alright, my little guardian," Vulture said with a chuckle. "You can protect me on the way home."

With that, Cain hopped around on his foot and took out his sword to playfully defend his mother. Together, the two walked towards a sort of countryside village with houses sprinkled here and there. Sora, Donald and Goofy waited until Vulture and Cain were out of eyesight to come out of the forest and walk forward. The group began to worry. Vulture being a mother put things in a different perspective. They couldn't treat Vulture as Xehanort or Maleficent. She was different. Sora hummed a bit before taking out his Gummiphone to call King Mickey.

He paused, looked to Donald and Goofy, and then asked for reassurance, "Do you think we should call the king? We have to think of something else to stop Vulture. I don't want to take her away from her family."

"But Sora..." Donald said remorsefully with a pout. "Vulture is the bad guy no matter how sorry you feel for her family."

"There has to be a way we can convince her to change," Goofy suggested with a pout as well. "Wouldn't her son be enough?"

Sora looked down at the phone, nodded to himself, and called King Mickey. He waited for what felt like five minutes before Riku picked up the line. Without letting his friend speak, he said, "Riku, we have a problem."

"It must be bad if you don't say hello first," Riku responded, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's wrong? Did you find Vulture?"

"Yeah..." Sora said with a pout. "We can't fight Vulture the same way anymore. We have to try to convince him to change sides. He has a son."

Riku went quiet from shock and let King Mickey take the phone before he could disagree. The king said, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we saw them playing together. Not a hint of darkness came from Vulture when the kid was around," Sora replied. "There's something Maleficent's not telling us about her new apprentice. She has to be using him for something else - something bigger that would threaten the kid."

"I wouldn't doubt that," King Mickey said, humming with thought. "The best thing you can do for now is follow Vulture, Sora. Make sure that he truly wouldn't fight if his son is nearby. Where are you?"

Sora looked around and responded, "I don't know the name of this world yet, but it's really peaceful. Feels more like our islands but there's a song coming from the world itself. You can almost hear it."

"Actually, Sora," Goofy said, cupping a hand to his ear. "You can hear it. Some of it sounds like the music from our world, too. It's coming from over there."

"Goofy, wait!" Donald called, watching Goofy run to the sound of the music.

Goofy finally stopped running toward the music and slid to a halt when he spotted Vulture again. Sora and Donald were panting behind him, trying to talk but no words able to be formed. It wasn't until they heard the sounds of wooden swords clashing and the sound of bells playfully ringing that the trio looked up and saw Vulture as a normal person for the first time. She had a bigger family size than they thought. There were two boys practicing sword swings, and a little girl happily chasing fairies in a game of tag. Vulture was kneeling in front of something that was keeping her busy for a moment. Sora was practically frozen when the three children turned to look at him and shied away. The little girl in a pink and green dress called out to the blonde woman busying herself before Sora's breath was taken away.

"Mum..." the little girl called, running to the woman's arms.

Vulture turned around to see who was behind her and recognized the intruders instantly. Though she maintained some level of caution towards them, she remained at ease and considered the keyblade wielder and his friends as simply visitors and not enemies. This aura made Vulture appear different in every way to Sora and company. Sora blushed slightly at the sight of the woman before him. She was a good-looking girl in every sense of the word. Her hair was clean and curled at the ends, her lips were a matte burgundy color, and her eyes were almost like jewels. If he had met this mesmerizing girl beforehand, he would have never guessed she was such a frightening opponent. Sora could see the eye color and hair color passed down to Cain but his features were a little different. His eyes were darker than Vulture's and his hair was brighter than hers. No one else had Vulture's freckled cheeks among the children. The other boy and girl had dark features but they looked more like Vulture. The boy had floppier hair but dressed like Vulture and had a fighting stance like she did. The girl had purple ringletts in her hair but was more lady-like the way Vulture was now as the woman.

"Oh?" Vulture responded to the children surrounding her. She puckered her lips and then chuckled a little before saying, "Looks like we have more arrivals."

"Are they evil?" the boy with dark, floppy hair asked.

"We'll get him!" the boy now known as Cain declared, changing into a fighting stance.

Vulture rose to a stand and walked to Sora and the others with her hands on her hips. She lectured to the boys, "Oh no, you two. The last time you tried to take care of our new guests you almost gave one of the women a heart attack. Now, put those swords away."

The boys lowered their weapons and grumbled, "Yes, mummy."

Vulture turned her attention to Sora and company and smiled politely at them before saying, "Sorry about that. We received some other newcomers here not long ago. Judging by your clothes, I take it you're acquainted with them. Are you from Disney Town?"

Goofy walked up to Vulture first and replied, "Actually, yeah. That's exactly where we're from, ma'am. Our world was in deep trouble and the townsfolk had to leave to a safe place. D'ye mean everyone came here?"

Vulture hummed in response as though she were choosing her words carefully and gave a more serious expression to give her answer. She said calmly with a sigh, "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. Most people who lose their worlds go to Traverse Town. Very rarely will I invite them to my world. I couldn't even begin to explain why they came here."

"Because it's a happy place, mummy!" the floppy-haired boy responded, laughing brightly.

Vulture chuckled and mussed the boy's hair up. She then challenged, "How do you know Traverse Town isn't a happy place, my Aiden?"

Cain shrugged and replied, "It doesn't sound happy to me. Traverse Town. Sounds like a place where an old man who got rained on by the weight of life would live. Summary: not a happy place."

Vulture laughed aloud at this and waved a hand at her son to say, "That's... a little on the dark side but okay."

"And it doesn't have any sun for flowers to grow there," the little girl said. "Where will the fairies live without flowers?"

Vulture was about to say something but stopped herself. The girl had a point. Vulture had travelled to Traverse Town before and not once had she seen the sun rise or set there. It was the one world she recalled not having days but strictly nights. When she came to that realization and how fairies needed the sun to thrive, she replied, "Oh. That's a good point, Lil. I didn't even think about that."

Sora then stepped in to defend Traverse Town. It was only fair. That's where his journey as a keyblade wielder started. He said, "Well, I've been to Traverse Town before when I lost my world. That's how I met Donald and Goofy. It isn't all that bad."

The boy now known as Aiden walked in front of his mother and asked, "What's it like living there?"

Goofy thought for a moment, scratched his head, and then answered, "Well, uh, we never actually lived there. We were searching for our friends because the worlds were in danger and we got lost. Once we found each other, Traverse Town became a safe place to regroup and restock on the things we needed."

Cain scoffed, folded his arms, and responded, "Told ya it wasn't a happy place."

Vulture waved a hand at Cain dismissively and snapped, "You hush."

Cain unfolded his arms at his mother's actions and questioned, "What? What'd I say?"

Vulture turned to Cain and leaned her upper body towards him to lecture him, "Since we have to apologize for trying to attack our new guests, let's take them to see the Disney Town folk. 'Sides, I have the biggest craving for ice cream."

Aiden, Donald and Cain inhaled eagerly and asked, "Can we have some, too?"

"Donald!" Sora yelped in surprise at his normally cautious ally. Nothing's ever stopped Donald from being suspicious of others to this degree before, especially not a food offering, but maybe that's the kind of power Vulture had as simply a villager.

Vulture hummed with thought as she looked from Cain to Aiden to Donald. She tapped a finger on her chin, chuckling when Lilli did the same actions as she did. Vulture then said, "Let's see. Have you three been doing your chores at the house while I was gone?"

Lilli nodded her head while holding her Cactuar plush close to her chest. She smiled and said, "I put away the toys and my clothes before bed."

Aiden nodded before stopping. It was as though he had forgotten something important, and, when he remembered, he swiftly covered his ears and screamed at himself. This startled Donald, who was to his left, and Aiden shouted, "Aw man! I forgot to sweep the floor."

Cain also gasped dramatically and turned blue when he realized, "I didn't wipe the kitchen table!"

Vulture put her hands on her hips, walked up to the boys, and knelt down with a serious glint in her eyes. Her gentle smile from earlier turned to a displeased smirk as her arms rested on her bent knees. She then growled, "You've got twenty minutes to do your chores or no ice cream for either of you. Now beat it."

With that, the boys flinched and raced each other to the house. Vulture watched them run until they made it within a few feet of the front door. Lilli just giggled at her brothers and waited for her mother to speak to her as she often does. Vulture turned her attention to Lilli and asked gently, "Would you mind waiting for your brothers, Lilli?"

Lilli shook her head and said, "I don't mind, mummy."

Goofy cooed at the little girl and was almost instantly charmed by her. She was really sweet, and she seemed to love plush animals. Goofy then thought of trying to remember to find her some more plushies. Donald's uncle, Scrooge, might have a toy shop investment in the works. He may love the hospitality industry, but he knows where to put his dollars and he has a soft spot for children. Goofy then complimented, "You've got a good, little girl there. You should give her sprinkles for her ice cream cone."

Lilli shyly gasped and cheerfully said, "I love sprinkles!"

Goofy gasped himself at the new tidbit of information and said, "Really? Me too! Do you like gummy bears?"

Lilli nodded at Goofy and cuddled into Vulture's leg to say, "Mummy takes us to the candy factory in MidCity so we can make our own. Can we show them the factory, mummy?"

Vulture hummed in thought again and rose to a stand to say, "Why not? It should be fun for them. Plus, they need to check on their townspeople to see if they're okay anyway. It's only fair."

Lilli nodded and said, "Okydoky! I'll go check on the boys. Be right back!"

Vulture nodded and giggled at her daughter. While she was responsible, she was also very good with magic and also quite curious of the world. Someday, Lilli would probably be a traveler and a talented black mage. Cain would probably be a guardian or protector, and Aiden would probably be a beacon of hope steering the two. Now, her other daughter was still a mystery being that she was the youngest of the four siblings, but in time she would know. Seeing Lilli getting closer to the family home, Vulture turned her attention to Sora, Donald and Goofy.

She then said to them, "I'll take you Downtown to Leaky Bottle Hall. You'll find most of your townsfolk there. Come on."

Goofy cheerfully said, "Right behind ya, Vultu - ! Oh! I mean, ma'am."

Unfortunately, the charade had to end and Sora uncharacteristically took it upon himself to break up the kind acting and be serious. He then said in an almost saddened tone, "Look, Vulture, we already know who you really are. We followed you here because we thought you were gonna do something to this world like you did the others, but... we didn't think you were a mother. We didn't even know you were a girl."

Goofy chimed in and asked, "Earlier, you said you weren't sure why our people came here. Did you really mean that?"

Vulture stopped smiling, seeing that the trio were being serious, and proceeded to answer with caution. She nodded quietly and said with an unusual calmness in her tone, "Yes. While I am capable of leveling cities, bear in my mind that not every Heartless invasion has been my doing. Normally, I offer survivors of a Heartless invasion (or even Heartless who are beginning to restore their own hearts like the ones living here) a choice. I can either take them to Traverse Town or allow them refuge here. Even then, I don't just offer those options to anyone. It's only in rare cases. While this isn't the first time someone from another world has been found here, this is the first time a mass group of people just showed up out of nowhere. I had nothing to do with whatever happened in your world, and I'm still not sure why or how your people found mine. However, I did offer them a place to stay until their world was safe again and, as long as you're careful, you are also welcome here. I don't bring business to the dinner table, so I won't fight you."

Donald said with his suspicions raised, "I don't know..."

Vulture then took that moment to smirk and fold her arms playfully to say, "How do you expect me to get you ice cream if you can't trust me on my own turf?"

Donald squawked in surprise and asked with excitement evident in his voice, "You're still getting us ice cream? What's the catch?"

Vulture laughed at this and said with genuine kindness, "No catch at all. Think of it as a welcome gift."

Goofy giggled at this newfound friendship that suddenly developed. He was actually happy that Vulture was choosing peace this time and without anyone's influence. This friendly woman was surprisingly the opposite of who they've been encountering the entire time. That brought a curious thought to his mind. Goofy scratched his head for a second before asking Vulture, "So, uh... I'm a little lost on something. Do Heartless live here with you, too?"

"Yup," Vulture said with a nod. She turned around and pointed to a cliff overlooking some other part of the world. She then continued, "They live in the canyon there. Many of them are in the process of fully restoring their hearts, but there's something slowing them down. I haven't figured out the cause of it yet. In the meantime, I give them a set time to rest so I can restore their balance of light and darkness. They interact with people just like you would and learn how to be human again one step at a time."

Shocked at this tidbit of information, Sora then said, "I've never heard of a place where Heartless live with other people before."

Vulture returned her attention to the trio and rested her hand on her hip to reply, "Believe me, it wasn't easy. The hard part is making sure they don't revert back to their violent nature. Otherwise, they're as sweet as can be. And - " Abruptly, a soldier Heartless snuck up on her to attack, but Fait caught it by its leg and locked her arms around it in a playful, vice grip. This startled the trio immensely until Vulture lifted its helmet and kissed it. When the soldier stopped wiggling in her hold and melted from the kiss, she just laughed and cuddled it before placing the Heartless down and watching him wobble away to other soldier Heartless. The small group then waved at Fait and ran away to play in the fields elsewhere. Vulture then continued to say, "some of them like kisses."

"Whoa!" Sora shouted. "How'd you know they were behind you?"

"It's a game we play," Vulture simply answered.

"Hey, uh, Vulture," Sora started, gaining the girl's attention. "Since you don't seem like a bad person, mind telling us your name? Your real name?"

"My name?" Vulture asked, seeking clarification. When the trio nodded and she traded glances with each one, she seemed to think about it. Maleficent wouldn't be pleased with knowing she allied herself with the keyblade wielder and his friends, but, by them compromising her identity and location, she was almost at a standstill. However, them knowing her name wasn't harmful to anyone or anything. If necessary, killing them wouldn't affect her or change Maleficent's ultimate goal. After running through different scenarios in her mind, Vulture finally came to a conclusion and simply said, "I suppose you can call me Fait."

Sora hummed and smiled before he said, "Fait. So what's this hall you were talking about? Is it like a mayor's office?"

Fait raised an eyebrow and gave a toothy grin before saying, "I'll let you find out and be surprised. Any time you're ready, slow pokes."