Author's Note: Alright, here we are with another snippet. This actually ties in with the ending chapters. It gets extremely important down the line.

Sora, Donald and Goofy were eating their customized ice cream bowls as they followed Fait and her kids to their home in the village section of Philharmonie Ville. The trio watched as Soldier Heartless ran up to the blonde teen and played with the kids. It still amazed them that Fait had the kind of patience, tolerance, and power over these creatures to tame them into becoming humans again. For Sora, it was beginning to make less and less sense. He was sent here by Master Yen Sid to follow his new enemy, Vulture, and to stop him from destroying another world, but instead he met the sweetest person who rivaled even Aerith as a nurturing motherly figure. Without knowing where the citizens of Disney Castle came from, Fait willingly opened her arms to them and welcomed them to her world. She even showed Sora and company around through Downtown and Midcity. There was still more to the world than she allowed them to meddle in! The youngest son, Aiden, mentioned there being a keyhole, too, but Fait was adamant about not letting anyone near it for any reason. It could have had something to do with the Heartless living in her world. She did say that it was hard to teach them a peaceful way of living, and there was no telling what would happen if they suddenly reverted back to their violent nature if the peace of her world was disturbed.

Hearing Fait's daughter, Lilliana, call her and pull her hand to chase a mischievous Soldier made Sora look at Fait again. She had a charming, beautiful smile. Despite her lazy, skateboarder appearance, Sora could see someone who loved her family and her home more than anything else. A girl like that - a strong keeper of light like that - had no place in the darkness. Maleficent had to be using her power for something or manipulating the poor girl into doing the witch's bidding. He was sure of it. Through his admiring, soft smile, Sora was genuinely worried for Fait and started to slow down his walk just to observe the girl interacting with the kids. They were happy together. As the family of four caught up to the Heartless, Sora watched Fait give one of them a kiss on its forehead and laughed when the other Heartless carried the body away to some distant place. The kids ran to a porch and took their shoes off to place them on a mat.

"You, kids, get ready for dinner," Fait said, disrupting Sora's thoughts and Donald and Goofy's conversation. "I'll be right back."

Cain sucked on the last bit of his strawberry ice cream before saying, "Can we have cheeseburgers? The loaded ones?"

Fait hummed in thought and then said, "If that's what your brother and sister want..."

Lilliana cheered, hugging her Cactuar doll, "Yeah! With extra fries!"

Fait giggled at her kids as they nodded in unison and then nodded herself to confirm the order. She said, "Alright."

Aiden lifted a fist happily and said to Sora and company, "Bye guys! Come back to visit us."

Donald nodded with a wide smile and said, "We'll come back real soon."

"I'll be taking you to your Gummi ship," Fait replied as the kids ran inside of the house with sticky hands from the ice cream. Fait sighed at the mess she potentially had to clean for the billionth time this year, shook her head, and then looked at the trio still working on their ice cream. She put a hand on her hip, redefining the curves she possessed by doing so, and said, "You have a job to do and I have to make sure my house isn't completely destroyed by the time I get back."

"Destroyed?" Sora questioned, tilting his head to the side. If the Heartless here were peaceful, what could possibly destroy the house?

"Yup," Fait answered with a flat look, digging in her ear.

Abruptly, a massive explosion blew the backdoor off its hinges and the glass of several windows on the right side of the house. Smoke came billowing out of the open exits and a yelp sounded near the front door. The house itself seemed to move to its side like it was shocked an implosion started out of nowhere. The fire alarms sounded, alerting the trio's attention to the sound of firetrucks approaching from the distance. Suddenly, Cain, Fait's eldest son, came running out of the house with fire on his clothes along with Aiden.

Aiden shouted while trying to pat down the fire on his pants, "Ah! My butt's on fire!"

Lilliana chased after the boys with a hand up trying to stop them. She said cutely, "Sorry, Aiden! You're supposed to stop, drop and roll!"

Fait took a very long, deep, thoughtful breath before exhaling in frustration and whispering to herself as she walked away calmly, "Maybe three weeks was too long a wait. Follow me please."

Sora did a double take on Fait as she was getting farther away from the house as though this was a normal occurrence. He looked to Donald and Goofy, who were equally flabbergasted at the events that took place within a few seconds of saying goodbye to the kids, and the three looked at each other not knowing what to do. All they saw now was Lilliana using a rug to douse the flames on Aiden's butt and Cain trying to roll in a puddle of water. The anthropomorphic fireman consisting of an octopus, Dalmatian, ostrich, and an elephant were riding down the street in their cartoonish firetruck. The sight of it all eventually chased them away when the octopus shooed them off. Quickly, the trio caught up to Fait as she led them to the very end of their world where an airship and Gummi ship dock would be.

As the trio walked through the world with the blonde teen mom, they took note to the large palace and kingdom to their right. Fait didn't take them there since they were restricted to exploring only Downtown and Midcity, but it definitely made them curious. What was in the castle? Was Fait a soldier in a king's army? Maybe she was a queen's bodyguard? Or the caretaker of a princess? Or the protector of a prince? She could have been anything really. As they kept looking at it, they noticed that the palace was surrounded by areas with the four seasons.

Finally, Goofy asked, "Hey, Vult - oh, I mean, Fait. What's that castle over there?"

Fait stopped for a moment to hum in question and then turned to them to see what they were seeing. When she looked at the castle, she said, "Ah, that is the place you're not allowed to go near."

"Why not?" Sora whined, pouting a bit.

"Because that would be meddling," Fait said, waving a hand. "You already did that by coming here and learning about my real identity. The only reason why I let you so much as travel into town is because the people from Disney Town were there. That's as far as I'll let you go."

"That's no way to welcome a guest!" Donald complained with a frown.

Fait narrowed her eyes and growled, "Would you prefer I treat you like a trespasser?"

Sora was just about to jump into a defensive stance when he realized that Fait was right. Technically, they followed her to her world to fight her, and she wasn't even destroying anything. She was just coming home to her family. He sighed in defeat a little before placing a hand on Donald's shoulder and shaking his head to get him to calm down. Donald was surprised by this and relaxed a bit to look into Sora's eyes. The boy was conflicted.

"Fait's right, Donald," Sora whispered. "She hasn't done anything wrong. She was nice to us."

"Sora," Donald responded, looking at teen and then to his feet. "Fine. We won't meddle."

"Good," Fait said with a bright and happy smile that rivaled her earlier predatory frown. "We're almost at the ship docks where your other friends are. This way, please."

Sora wanted to say more, but his words were lost to the winds coming from the wintry left front of the castle. Even though it was cold and snowy, there was a light warmth and ethereal glow to the leaves blowing in the breeze. The small flakes traveling in the meadows made a sound like chimes being tapped the drops coming from melting icicles. Even the surroundings made music here, no matter what part of the world you were in. Yet, that small breeze that blew across his skin felt like it would cut his skin and blister what was left of him. It was like the wind felt what Fait felt, a distinct anger that threatened to kill. As bipolar as the girl seemed, she ultimately didn't want anyone disrupting the peace of her world. For someone so evil and mean like Vulture to be so sweet and concerned like Fait was troubling. As the trio continued following Fait, they couldn't help but look at the castle even from a growing distance. A castle surrounded by the seasons instead of countless royal guards was strange, but it didn't look abandoned or unprotected. It looked mysterious, romantic, and enchanting like there was something truly special there. Since Donald and Goofy were protectors of Disney Castle themselves, it made Sora question why Fait wouldn't let them near it. He was a keyblade master. He could protect it. Not paying attention, Sora walked straight into Fait who had stopped walking and turned around to look at the trio still eyeing the castle.

Sora snapped his head around when he felt Fait's collarbones on his lips and backed away quickly to blush at the contact. Fait paid little attention to the exchange and merely said, "Have a safe trip on your next journey, hm?"

Sora lightly smiled at Fait's pleasant demeanor. She waved her goodbye at them and waited for them to board their Gummi ship. Before Donald and Goofy walked away to the ship, Sora said, "And you stay out of trouble. Your husband, too!"

Fait stopped smiling then to raise an eyebrow and questioned, "Husband? I don't have a husband."

Sora hummed in question and then said with a little confusion in his voice, "Sure you do. It's Shinnosuke, right?"

Fait had a look of pure disgust on her face before she exclaimed, "No! He's my brother not my husband!"

Sora shouted more than questioned, "Huh? But Cain called him dad."

Fait then said, "Yeah, there is such a thing as a father figure."

"Oh," Sora mumbled, chuckling lightly at his mistake and scratching his cheek with a single finger. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," Fait replied, giggling. "I'll tell Slim to make sure you eat dinner first before getting ice cream if you visit while I'm gone. Having a brain freeze clearly isn't good for you."

Sora pouted at that and said, "Hey!" Feeling a little better about his relationship with Fait now that he sees she's still a good person, he smirks mischievously before challenging, "Since I'm a keyblade master, I guess I can go easy on you from now on for Aiden's sake. Wouldn't want you going home crying or hurt while your house is on fire?"

Fait tilted her head back, a sign saying that she accepted the challenge, and remarked, "It's on fire no matter what condition I'm in."

"Oh, so a tough girl like you cries herself home?" Sora asked, leaning forward to offer a teasing grin.

Sora turned to Donald with a wink to get him to tease Fait a bit, and the duck said to the girl, "Maybe you should try moving to a place surrounded by ice or rain. As the king's magician, I can help with that. I'll throw in a Cure bonus to heal your boo-boo."

"Oh, so you'll heal me when you feel like it, which'll be never," Fait said, pointing to Donald and making him feel offended. She then pointed to Sora and said, "And you'll beat up a girl just to feel like the man you're not. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Wha - ? No!" Sora argued, pouting.

Fait dug in her ear with a single finger and then gave them a flat look before saying, "For the record, I did try to move near the Winter's Hymn. It just made the fires worse. Dry wood and all."

Goofy responded, covering his mouth, "Oh..."

Sora tried to say something else to the girl but sighed in acceptance and just rested his head in the nest of his hands. He then said, "Well, we'll visit to keep your house in order then. After all, we're friends now."

Fait was silenced by the wielder's words and no longer held any emotion in her face. This reaction interested Donald and Goofy, but Sora didn't take any notice to it until he realized that everyone had gotten eerily quiet. He then looked behind him to see Donald and Goofy looking back at him with a hint of concern in their eyes and then to Fait. She was frozen but not out of fear or shock or appreciation. It was more like she was thinking about something - something that didn't have a good or bad outcome. When she finally came up with a result to whatever experiment that just transpired in her head, she held a mothering tone in her eyes and voice and spoke gently for him to hear it and to never forget.

"Sora, I can't be your friend," Fait said, making him gasp and place his hands down. She then placed a hand on her chest and continued, "You know I work with Maleficent. You've seen the trails of destruction I have and can leave behind. So long as you bear the keyblade, you are forever Maleficent's enemy and my enemy."

Donald was infuriated with Fait's words. He growled menacingly and then shouted, "I knew you couldn't be trusted!"

But Sora, on the other hand, didn't want to agree with Donald this time. Yes, Sora knew Fait shouldn't have been trusted ever since they met as enemies in Agrabah, but the person he got to know in Philharmonie Ville wasn't the same villain at all. She cared about her people and wanted them to live a life without fear of the darkness. At this point, he was getting frustrated because he didn't understand her or her motives at all. She knows Maleficent is evil and she knows she's destroying other peoples' livelihood, but why do all of that and still have kindness and gentleness and love in her heart?

Sora made his keyblade appear then and got into a battle stance. Like Donald, he was infuriated that he let himself trust this girl. He then demanded, "If we're enemies then why were you so nice before?"

Fait held up her hand calmly and shook her head. She was refusing to fight. When Sora wouldn't budge in suspicion and anger, Fait put her hand down and continued in that soft, still voice, "Just because we're enemies doesn't mean I don't have sympathy. My arms are always open to those seeking refuge, even an acquaintance of a refugee is welcome as long as he doesn't disturb the peace here. Here and here only, we are not enemies."

Sora growled, trembled in frustration, and finally dropped his weapon and defenses to respond, "I don't get you at all! If you have sympathy, why are you destroying other worlds? What purpose is there to do something evil if you still have some kindness in you to help people?"

Silence filled the air at first until a wintry wind blew again and Fait looked at Sora with a sad but understanding look. She turned to look at the castle for a brief moment and then back to the blue-eyed wielder. Sora could feel it then: a fluttering wind that felt comforting. The gaze that was in Fait's violet-purple eyes also held a sense of wanting to embrace him and comfort him. Fait sighed and then spoke in a much gentler tone than ever before.

"Look around you," Fait instructed the trio, eyeing different places near the ship dock like the meadows and the trees and path and the castle. She then took Sora's hand and pulled him down to pick up a rock covered in dirt and place it in his hand. The look that Sora saw in Fait's eyes showed many emotions and he watched her lips form the next words. "When I was lost in darkness, this world was nothing but a hunk of rock in a stale and endless void. There wasn't a single star in the sky nor a blade of grass on the earth. I couldn't even feel the wind on my skin. There was no light here. There was no life here. No sense of time, no sense of direction. No nothing."

Fait then stood to bring Donald close to her and pulled him down to place his hand above the rock. She called out to the magician's powers and made a Blizzard spell appear. She then called upon her power and made a Fire spell mix with Blizzard to form water. Together, Sora and Donald watched as rain trickled down on the rock. Fait then got up again to bring Goofy to the group. She took Goofy's hand, made him press down on the rock in Sora's hand, and took Donald's hand to put in on Goofy's hand. She called out to Donald's powers again and made him cast Cure. Silently, she pulled away Donald's hand and then Goofy's hand to cast Aero on the rock in Sora's hand, and through her small process grew a tiny light blue flower that was almost ready to bloom.

"One day, I woke up to find a single flower beginning to bloom. I worried that with no sun or water the flower would die, so I searched through the void for anything that would keep it alive. When I found nothing, I returned to that flower and it wasn't until the flower had bloomed," Fait said, casting Holy on the small flower to make it bloom with power and a vibrant, pale purple color, "that I realized something. Light, life, direction and time had been born from nothing. That same nothing I wandered through, that same nothing I searched through, that same nothing I was engulfed in gave birth to a bloom."

Sora made his keyblade disappear then and held the flower in both hands. When he looked up at Fait, she placed a hand on her heart and continued some more, "In me, something even more important had bloomed: hope. Hope that the flower would live, hope that something would keep it alive, hope that this world would give life to more. It did. Over the years, I watched this world just like that single flower bloom."

Fait then stood up and watched as the trio stood up slowly with her. She looked at Sora this time with a seriousness in her eyes but with the same gentle voice as before. She then said, "I have my own reasons for siding with the darkness, but even then I fight long and hard to keep this place as you see it. If I am engulfed by darkness just as I had been before I came to this world, at the very least this world is now some place where those who have lost their world can turn to. What I do may be evil but it is a necessary evil. Disobeying Maleficent's orders or siding with the keepers of light or even being your friend is not something I can afford to do. Not at the risk of having this world lost. Not at the risk of losing my kids or my home whether it's burnt to a crisp or not."

Sora was hurt at this. Friendship with another person had never resulted in the risk of destruction of their world before. He couldn't be Maleficent's friend. That was out of the question since she was the mistress of all evil, and Pete was just bizarre so no. Plus, Pete wasn't particularly close to King Mickey, Donald, or Goofy. Fait was different, though. She wasn't truly evil. She had kids, a home, a brother, and a friend. She had a home filled with light and that light tamed darkness. Her world was balanced. She was happy in Philharmonie Ville. She watched this world grow to what it was today. Cain described it perfectly. It was a happy place. Sluggin' Slim and his Scatz Crew were happy playing music at the Leaky Bottle Hall in Downtown, and Sugar Cane Greyster was happy making ice cream and candy at his factory in Midcity. Fait had so much to protect on her own. That's what really hurt Sora. Despite seeing the good in Fait, they were enemies as long as she was with Pete and Maleficent and therefore he couldn't truly help her without putting everything she knew in danger of Maleficent's wrath. He could never call her a friend, even though he really wanted to. In truth, he liked Fait and she was a good mother.

Sora wanted to say something to convince Fait otherwise about being friends, but Fait stopped him by saying, "If my world suffers or is tainted by some overwhelming darkness because of something you did..." Fait took a single hand and clutched Sora's face in a vice grip before forcing him to look into her yellow eyes filled with an intense and burning rage. She then growled in a possessed tone, "I will destroy your world with my own hands and watch you suffer before I take you down with it."

"Sora!" Goofy called, seeing darkness form around Fait and feeling the wintry winds blow a fierce and cold breeze strong enough for the flakes to become blades and cut through their clothes and skin. He took out his shield and warned, "Now, you let Sora go! And I mean now!"

Fait did as told, suppressing her darkness to where her eyes returned to their natural and bejeweled quality, and walked away without another word. Sora, who was frozen from the rage emanating from Fait, just watched her walk home. A Shadow Heartless with a teddy bear in its arm and several bracelets on its wrists ran up to Fait and yelped at her in greeting. Fait called the creature's name and smiled brightly before giggling as it jumped into her arms. It was like she had never even met them or knew they existed.