The motorized skiff swayed and bobbed as it cut through the water at breakneck speeds, and Kairi held on for dear life. The waters were calm, the sky clear, yet her hair whipped wildly about and the roar of the engine filled her head. Together with Selphie, Tidus and Wakka—and a bare chested, fierce looking man that turned out to be Tidus' father—they made for the destination of Golden Grove, the name given to the island that grew a large share of the crops and produce that supplied the rest of the island chain.

"Land ho!" called Tidus' father with a booming voice.

"We know, dad," Tidus called back, sparing his father an annoyed glance. "You don't have to say it every time."

The man, Jecht, grinned widely. His long hair, held in place by a red sweatband, flowed with the salty breeze. "And every time you say that, boy. Let your old man enjoy himself."

Fierce is right, Kairi thought. Jecht had the air of a man who knew how to handle himself. With his windblown hair, formidable physique, his devil-may-care attitude and aversion to wearing shirts, he'd made an impression on the younger children of the island, especially so when they saw him casually carrying about the result of his latest catch.

Most fishermen caught fish. Jecht caught sea monsters. Tales of him and his exploits made the rounds in the schoolyards. Some said he battled the monsters of the deep, collecting their bones or fangs as trophies. A peerless navigator of the seas and with a near supernatural talent to sense the shifting moods of the waters, some said he was not conceived through natural birth, but had instead walked ashore fully grown, clad in nothing but the armored carapace of felled crustaceans whose unnatural size would shatter lesser minds. He certainly had the scars to show it.

Tidus had put such tales to rest long ago, at least in their little circle. The fiercer monsters in the outlying islands would need to be culled on occasion when their numbers grew—a collective effort taken by able bodied volunteers, with Jecht at the front of the line, with nothing but his wits, sheer force of will and his obscenely massive sword at his side. The fact he often led the charge drunk, the stink of alcohol on his breath, might account for his fearsome battle scars.

One hand still on the handle of the working motor, Jecht reached into his pocket and produced a hip flask, taking a large swig.

Kairi turned to Tidus. "Is he drinking?" she whispered.

Tidus gave her an apologetic look. "He's got a high tolerance. We'll be fine," he whispered back.

Selphie leaned in. "Relax. He does that every time he takes us somewhere. We'll be okay. Probably."

"Proba..."

"Oi, girlie!"

At least he's not slurring, Kairi thought as she turned to look at him.

"Don't think I've seen you join my son's group before."

"It's my first time," she called back.

Jecht nodded. "You'll wanna watch yourself. There ain't many big and scary critters in the grove, but they'll bang you up all the same if you get too cocky. Ask my son, he knows what I'm talking about."

"Thank you, dad!" Tidus yelled, his face reddening.

"You're known to get carried away, boy," Jecht shrugged and took another swig. Unease must have shown in Kairi's face, for he then said, "I kid, I kid. The boy's been whacking varmints since he could first hold a practice sword. Just follow his lead and you'll be fine."

"It's not that bad, ya?" Wakka said, joining in. "We've had the odd scrape or beatin' before, but the beasties what live in the grove ain't much to a good team."

Kairi knew that much, at least in practice. The populated islands had been largely pacified long ago and the dangerous wildlife in them driven out where they now eked out a living in remote outlets. The smaller, craftier, more quarrelsome critters, on the other hand, could squirrel themselves out of sight and could often swim or fly between the islands, making a nuisance of themselves and requiring groups like the one Kairi was now part of to drive them off human territory.

They reached the island soon after and Jecht moored the skiff to one of many wooden piers.

"Does everyone have their gear?" Jecht said to the group, who responded in unison.

Selphie held up her whip, Wakka his blitzball and Tidus a practice sword. Unlike the one that he often used to spar with Riku and Wakka on the island, this one was metal, but the edge was dull. Lastly, Kairi held up a pair of nunchakus, courtesy of Selphie.

"Now girlie," Jecht said to Kairi, his tanned, weather-beaten face the most serious she'd seen yet. "This bein' your first time and all, you want to keep a few things in mind." He held up a finger. "Stay together. Golden Grove's a big place. You get yourself lost and we'll have to call in a search party for ya and make an inconvenience all around. Nobody wants that." He held up another finger. "Listen to Tidus. He's been doing this the longest and knows the island better than you all." A third finger. "Watch yourself. These critters ain't much to look at, not like the beasts beyond the Sea of Storms, but they'll give you a thrashin' if you get careless. Don't get careless. I'll be back to pick you up by dawn. If you're not here by the time I arrive, I'm rounding up a search party. See to it that doesn't happen."

He turned to Tidus. "Right, I'll leave this lot in your hands. Make me proud, kid." He ruffled Tidus' hair, but the youth knocked his hand away with an annoyed grunt. Jecht grinned, hopped onto his skiff, and away he went.

Kairi turned to Selphie, grabbing her by the arm. "What just happened?"

"Eh?"

"Don't 'eh' me. You never said anything about spending the night in this... this... place."

"Oh... didn't I?" Selphie said, grinning sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

"Selphie!"

"Don't sweat it, mun," Wakka said. "We've done this loads of times before, ya?"

"He's right, Dad was just messing with you," said Tidus.

"So there's no danger involved?"

"Well... I wouldn't exactly say that..."

"Relax, Kairi. You're in good hands. Like Wakka said, we've done this thing before, so, ah... could you let go of my arm? It's getting rather tight."

Kairi did so, but the reproachful frown did not leave her face. Still, it could have been worse. The group made their way inland. Kairi stayed a bit back, watching the other three. They certainly seemed at ease, joking and shooting the breeze.

It wasn't long before they saw the fields, stretching as far as the eye could see. Beans, cabbages, lettuce, all kinds of root vegetables and many more flourished in the fertile soil; dozens, if not hundreds of neat square rows connected by dirt paths. A structure sat in the middle of the field—a cottage that had long been repurposed as a storage shed of sorts, with every tool needed to harvest and collect the produce.

"On the bright side, at least you'll have a roof over your head," said Selphie. "There's a few cots inside where we can rest for the night."

It suited Kairi just fine. Less chance of a creepy crawly going somewhere it shouldn't.

Tidus raised his hand and everyone fell silent. He pointed somewhere in the distance. Wakka and Selphie followed his line of sight and nodded.

"What is it?" Kairi whispered once they resumed their walk.

"Found some critters," Selphie whispered back.

Kairi squinted at the spot. "I don't see them." Dusk would soon come, but the sun still gave enough light to see.

"They're there," she said. "Takes some practice. You gotta know what to look for. I'll tell you about it later."

Kairi nodded and fell in line. The nunchakus felt strange in her hand. Made of polished mahogany and studded with metal fittings, they were surprisingly light. Selphie warned her about being careless with them, as a stray hit could really hurt, or so she said.

They circled around a section of tomato plants, their stalks growing tall as they wrapped around latticed stands. Kairi smelled the creatures long before seeing them—a stench like fetid swamp water, rotting fish and animal musk. Following her friends' example, she lowered her body and crept forward.

Selphie turned to her, whip in hand. "Leave this one to us," she whispered. "Watch and see for now." Kairi nodded.

They got close to the point Kairi could hear them well enough—grunts and snorts and lots of noisy chewing, and at Tidus' signal, the three mobilized. Wakka burst forth with a whooping yell and hurled his blitzball. A meaty smack and a squeal of pain followed. Selphie drew her arm back and lashed with the whip, which cracked through the air and found its mark, followed by another yelp. Kairi saw three black-furred bodies scampering toward the trees in the distance.

One of the creatures stood its ground. It faced Tidus and bared its yellow, flat square teeth, letting out a hiss. Kairi found it repulsively ugly. It was stocky with a simian build. Coarse black fur covered most of it save its feet and face, and the fur on its back was tinted by a sickly greenish film. Its head was nearly half as big as its body with a thick protruding snout, riddled with warts and boils. A common jungle troll.

The creature stomped the ground with its knotted hands and feet before lunging at Tidus, who didn't bother dodging. He deflected the troll with a swing of his sword. It hissed. Before it could attack again, Selphie cracked the whip, catching it in the back. The troll squealed and turned to face her, but Tidus was already on top of it, catching it with a wide swing of his sword. It skidded back a few feet, looking much less certain of itself. A blitzball to the face, courtesy of Wakka, broke its resolve and it too turned tail, yowling to the heavens as it scurried for the safety of the trees in a graceless four-legged gait.

"Done and done," Wakka said to Kairi, flashing a thumbs up and a white-toothed smile.

"Was that it?" she said. "It didn't seem so bad."

"See? What did I tell ya?" Selphie said brightly.

"Them troll fellas are the pests you'll most see in the grove," Wakka said. "They're not too bright or strong, and most run at the first sign of trouble."

Tidus nodded. "But they live in large groups and I bet you those four are looking to link up with the others."

"And it's our job to give 'em the boot," Selphie said.

Kairi cast a worried glance at the distant trees. "Guys? Uh... not to be a wet blanket or anything, but... is that a good idea? Won't they outnumber us?"

"Of course they'll outnumber us," said Tidus. "But they're cowards, remember? Mostly. They like to scream and jump and hoot and make a holler. Some will throw stuff. All you gotta do is keep your wits about you. Show no fear. Once they see we won't break, that's when they'll start sweating."

"Eh? Do trolls sweat, man?"

"What am I, a troll biologist? It's a figure of speech."

"The point being, we'll be fine," Selphie said. "You're in good hands, Kai. Just follow our lead, don't sweat it, and you'll be right as rain. I promise."

She couldn't bring herself to raise any more objections after that. When had she become such a worrywart?

"Okay," Kairi said and resolved to at least give this whole expedition a chance.

Now the four of them made for the trees, but as Kairi followed in their wake, she was overcome by a peculiar feeling. The hairs in the back of her neck stood and a light shiver wormed its way up her spine. It went as quickly as it came, yet almost instinctively, she whipped around, her eyes searching. The wind blew and the crops swayed with it. Nothing to see.

"Just my imagination," she mumbled to herself and cast one last glance to the fields before rejoining the group. She could have sworn she heard some rustling somewhere behind.