A/N: Longest chapter yet!

So I know, when we all played through Monstro, we clearly saw Sora's side and how Riku was in the wrong. What I'm trying to do here is show it from Riku's and Aurora's side, and show how these two can feel they're in the right for what they're doing, especially with how Sora… did a lot of scolding towards them and Pinocchio. I hope I got that across well!

…

Chapter Six – To Have a Heart

When the teens reached the deck, it was a flurry of activity. The pirates were running back and forth, some manning cannons, some holding harpoons. Hook stood at the helm, steering the ship around various debris that littered the Ocean Inbetween, while Smee uselessly got under the crew's feet.

"What's going on?" Riku asked as they reached the Captain.

"Monstro is!" Hook snapped, pointing to something off the Starboard bow. "That blasted beast is chasing us down, trying to eat me ship!"

Aurora looked in the direction the pirate had pointed, and gasped.

"It really is a whale! And it's larger than us!" she said.

"Whoa. Biggest whale I've ever seen," Riku muttered, watching the large, blue beast swim after them, anger seeming to drive it. Aurora frowned, watching it for a few minutes. She could sense the whale's heart, large, and balanced between hot and cold – Light and Dark? – But there was… more. Two warmer hearts. The one felt…

"Riku!" Aurora gasped, climbing over the railing and up the rigging slightly to get a better look at the whale.

"Careful, Aurora, it's getting closer!" Riku said, reaching up after the girl.

"I think there's something in there that can help Kairi!"

"In there~ in the whale!?" Riku demanded, before the ship lurched again as Monstro slammed into it. Aurora gasped, her feet slipping from the rigging so that she was just dangling from the ropes by her hands.

"Aurora! Hang on!" Riku yelled, reaching for her.

"Great Scott, what do you brats think you're doing!? Get away from there!" Hook yelled, noticing them by the railing for the first time. Just then, the whale slammed into the ship again, and Aurora lost her grip, dropping from the ship with a scream. Monstro doubled back and caught her in his mouth.

"Aurora!" Riku yelled, jumping over the railing after her.

…

Aurora and Edym ran as fast as they could through the streets, chased by a hoard of Heartless.

"What did I tell you about going out!" Edym panted, dragging his little sister around a corner by her wrist, glancing back. Aurora didn't answer, unable to talk through the tears of fear and gasps of exertion. Edym looked forward and skidded to a stop, his cyan eyes widening.

"Oh no…"

In front of them rose a brick wall – a dead end. He quickly spun around to face the Heartless, making sure Aurora was behind him.

"Get back!"

The Heartless didn't listen. They continued coming closer. Edym held his arm out in front of Aurora, backing them both up until Aurora was pressed against the brick wall, Edym just a step in front of her.

One of the Heartless lunged forward. Light flashed, and that Heartless was suddenly turned to dust. In front of them stood a man, holding a Keyblade and dressed in a black cloak. He turned his head slightly to look at the two kids, before becoming a whirlwind, taking out the rest of the Heartless.

"You kids okay?" the man asked, walking over to them, his Keyblade disappearing in a flash of light.

"Yeah. Thanks," Edym said, still standing protectively in front of Aurora. The man looked between the two of them and laughed, making a calming gesture with his hands.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you, or her. What's your names?"

"I'm Aurora," Aurora piped up, rubbing her sleeve against her eyes, wiping away tears. Edym made an exasperated noise at his sister's response, and she stomped her foot. "What? He feels nice! Not like those Heartless!"

"I feel nice, huh?" the man said, putting a hand to his chin with a chuckle, before looking at the boy. "And you?"

"Edym," Edym grumbled, having learned to trust his sister's instincts by now. The man nodded, before crouching to their eye level, summoning a Keyblade again. This one was different from the last one. It was [static].

"Here. You should use this to protect your sister. The Heartless attack her because she's special. She can sense the balance of Light and Darkness in a heart, and they fear that. If you use this, you should be able to protect her," the man said. Edym's eyes widened, but he didn't take it right away.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, me? I'm [static]"

…

I walked slowly through town, looking up at the slowly darkening sky.

"Ah. Here you are, [static]." I turned to see an older man walking over to me. I smiled warmly.

"Ra," I said, bowing my head. "How are you?"

"Alright, though not all is well. I need you to go check on [static] at [static static]. I sense something foul in the air."

"Of course." I turned and raced towards my goal, when Shadow's suddenly crossed my path. I lifted my hand, casting Sparkga. Rainbow lights surrounded me, before flashing forward, striking the Shadows. As I fought, I heard footsteps pound the ground behind me. I turned.

"[Static]!" I gasped in surprise, spotting the young man I was supposed to check on as he turned the corner. His eyes were wild as he looked between first the Shadows, then me. It was then that I sensed something was wrong. He dove at me. I rolled backwards, casting another Spark spell to ward off the Shadows, as the young man tackled me, his right hand coated in darkness. Coldness washed over me, and I kicked him off.

"What are you doing? You are a [static]!"

The young man didn't say anything, but he tackled me again. I caught his wrists as he reached for my chest, realization stealing over me as I spotted his yellow glowing eyes.

"It was you. You were the one who attacked [static]…"

"Yes… I did… [static static] needs… more… hearts…"

"WHAT!?"

…

"…Rora! Aurora, wake up!"

Aurora's eyes open, and she shot up, panting. Riku quickly sat back to avoid smacking heads with the panicked girl, his own eyes wide with surprise. Aurora looked around, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Are you okay?" Riku finally asked. Aurora looked up at Riku, blinking a few times, before taking a deep breath.

"Yeah. Just some… dreams." She looked around again, slower this time, taking in the humid, moist surroundings and the fact that everything was red and squishy. She also realized Monstro's heart was… closer. "Are we… were we swallowed by the whale?"

"Yeah. You fell off the ship, so I followed you," Riku said, standing and offering his hand to the girl. Aurora smiled slightly at that, taking his hand and letting him help her up. The two looked around more, taking in the debris and the ship that seemed to be docked in the whale's mouth. "So, uh, you said that there's something here that could help Kairi?" Riku asked. Aurora nodded.

"Yeah. Let's look around," she said."

…

The two eventually found the other two hearts Aurora had sensed, for now, after the first half of her dream, she was sure they were hearts. The first was an older man, and the second was inside…

"A puppet?" Riku muttered, watching the little boy as he climbed the various debris, searching through different boxes.

"Looks that way. I doubt his heart formed on it's own," Aurora said. Riku glanced at her curiously.

"You keep saying that. 'Their hearts'. Did you remember something?" he asked. Aurora smiled sheepishly at him and nodded.

"Yeah… in my dream. It was a memory, really. Edym and I were running away from Heartless, and someone saved us. He explained the Heartless were chasing me because I could sense the Balance of Light and Darkness in hearts. And I remember now, I sense it like temperatures. Light as hot, dark as cold," I explained, before looking back at the puppet. "But his heart is… strange. It's equal amounts light and dark, but it feels… slightly detached from his body? Not like yours, or mine. Or the old man's," I explained. Riku nodded in thought.

"That might be why Maleficent is so interested in you," he muttered, before studying the puppet as well. "But, who knows, maybe he can help Kairi after all…"

Just then, Monstro lurched again, tossing the two teens towards the back of the mouth, closer to the throat. The large mouth opened, revealing the Ocean Inbetween, and a red, orange, and yellow ship for just a moment.

Then, Monstro slammed his mouth shut, trapping the ship and its occupants inside as well!

Heat seared over Aurora's skin, quickly accompanied by coolness. She narrowed her eyes, now recognizing the Hearts that were in the ship, though the one felt… different.

"It's Sora and his new friends," she said. Riku made a face, taking Aurora's hand and pulling her up to stand.

"Come on," he said, leading Aurora deeper into the whale.

Before they got too much deeper, a dark portal opened behind them, a chill racing down Aurora's back.

"Here you two are. When Hook told me you fell overboard and were swallowed by a whale, I almost didn't believe him," Maleficent said, stepping out of the portal. Riku quickly turned to face the Dark Fairy.

"We're fine. And we think we've found something here that can help Kairi," he said. Maleficent quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"There's a puppet here, who developed a heart. If we can find out how, we can help Kairi regain her heart," Aurora explained. Maleficent stayed quiet for a moment, looking between the two teens, before shaking her head.

"I see your hearts' are set on this. Very well. Once you are finished your task here, return to Hook's ship to continue on your way," she said. Riku nodded, and Maleficent vanished.

Just then, the puppet ran into the Chamber they were in. Aurora's eyes widened at their good luck, and she smiled at Riku, kneeling down to his eye level, just as he stopped in front of them.

"Hi! I'm Pinocchio! What's your name?" he said brightly.

"I'm Aurora, and this is my friend, Riku," she said. Riku came over, bending to one knee to be eye level with the puppet as well.

"Hey, Pinocchio. Wanna play a game with us?" he asked. The puppet grinned at that.

"Yeah! What's the game?"

"It's called 'Keep Away,' okay? And the three of us have to keep away from Sora and his friends," Riku explained.

"Oh! It's kind of like tag!" Pinocchio said.

"Right!" Aurora smiled, standing up. "Come on, let's go find a good place to hide!"

Riku stood up as well, and the two teens started to lead the puppet to the next Chamber. Just as they passed through the entrance into the next one, Aurora sensed Sora and the other's hearts, and grabbed Riku's arm.

"What are you doing? Come on, let's go back," Sora said, sounding mildly annoyed.

"You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you," the dog, Goofy, said.

"Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for game!" Sora added. Aurora frowned at that, and Riku shook his head, turning around and re-entering the first Chamber. Aurora stepped out with him in time to see the other trio with their backs turned, walking away.

"But, Sora, I thought you liked games," Riku called out to the retreating boy, causing him to whip around. "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

"Riku? Aurora? Wh-what are you doing here?" Sora asked, shocked.

"Just playing with Pinocchio," Aurora said, keeping her voice as light as Riku's was.

"You know what I mean! What about Kairi? Did you two find her?" Sora demanded.

"Maybe. Catch us and maybe we'll tell you what we know," Riku said.

"Come on!" Sora snapped. Riku nodded to Aurora, who took Pinocchio's hand, and the three of them took off, deeper into the whale.

"Wait!" Sora called after them, but Aurora shook her head, following after Riku. They weaved through the various Chambers, avoiding Heartless here and there, until suddenly, they were surrounded.

"Uh-oh," Aurora muttered, letting go of Pinocchio and activating Guardian Heart, just as Riku summoned Soul Eater. "Run, Pinocchio!" she called. The puppet nodded and took off, just as the Heartless attacked.

Riku darted around the battle field, keeping one eye on Aurora as he slashed quickly, taking the Heartless down. Meanwhile, Aurora jumped back, away from the reach of the Heartless, as the energy of her shield burned a reddish-orange.

"Fire!" she yelled, sending a path of flames at the Heartless as they attacked, reducing them to ash and floating hearts. More Heartless took their place, these taking the forms of floating ghosts with spotlights for eyes. Riku dove at one, attacking relentlessly, while Aurora held up her hand, and idea forming in her head, based off of her earlier dream. The energy of the shield turned into a shimmer of rainbow colors.

"Spark!" she yelled. Rainbow colored crystals appeared around her, spinning quickly, just as the ghost Heartless dove at her. The crystals collided with the ghost, taking it out.

"Whoa," Riku muttered, walking over. "I don't think Ursula taught you that."

"No. I… had another dream. About that 'other me'. She used that spell, and, well, I thought maybe I could use it, too," Aurora explained. Riku nodded, looking around.

"Looks like the Heartless are gone for now. Where's Pinocchio?"

"He ran ahead. Come on." Aurora took the lead, but before they made it more than a few steps, Aurora felt another chill.

"Why do you still care about that boy?" The two turned to face Maleficent. "He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all."

"I don't care about him. I was just messing with him a little," Riku snapped, turning to face her.

But we do still care, Aurora thought, staying quiet. If we didn't, we wouldn't still be angry. And hurt.

"Oh really? Of course you were." Maleficent saw right through them. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it," she said as she portaled away.

"Mind your own business!" Riku yelled after her, before looking away. Aurora put a hand on Riku's shoulder in a calming gesture, and he looked at her, and sighed.

"I'm okay. I'll be careful," he assured her.

"I didn't say anything," Aurora teased, smiling.

"Tch. You didn't have to. You're too easy to read," he teased back.

"Hey!" she laughed, before shaking her head. I won't let him fall to the darkness, she promised herself as they entered the next Chamber, only to see Pinocchio run in through a different door, and out another one.

Sora was only a few steps behind him, but stopped when seeing Riku and Aurora.

"Riku! Aurora! What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?" Sora yelled, like he was scolding them. Aurora gritted her teeth at that.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora!" Aurora snapped back at him. Riku placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.

"You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days." At Riku's words, the Keyblade jumped to Sora's hand, proving his point.

Aurora shook her head at that. "Do you even want to save Kairi?"

"I do," Sora said, looking down. To Aurora and Riku, he didn't sound sure at all.

Icy coldness suddenly stole over Aurora, and she gasped, whipping around to face the direction Pinocchio came from.

"No!" she whispered, just as Pinocchio's scream echoed from the next Chamber. Without waiting for the others, she darted in, skidding to a stop when seeing a large, parasite like Heartless…

…with Pinocchio trapped inside its stomach.

"Don't worry, Pinocchio! We'll get you out of there!" she called, eactivating her shield again, just as she sensed Riku, Sora, and the others approaching as well.

"You up for this?" Riku asked, looking over at Sora.

"No problem! Let's do this!"

And suddenly, all of the bad blood between them was gone. Sora, Riku, and Aurora fought together against the large Heartless like they'd been a team this whole time. Sora attacked high, jumping to dodge the swinging arms, while Riku stayed low, rolling away from its attacks. Aurora stayed out of the Heartless's range, Guardian Heart spinning on her wrist and flashing between colors from the frequency of her spells, casting Water and Lightning spells at the beast.

After some time, the Heartless finally stopped attacking. It attached itself to the ceiling and spat Pinocchio out, who dropped through a hole in the floor. Riku and Aurora quickly jumped after the puppet, not seeing what became of the large Heartless.

The hole led directly back to the Mouth, and Pinocchio, Aurora, and Riku landed on a platform on one of the debris piles.

Pinocchio was unconscious.

"Oh no, oh no," Aurora muttered, kneeling next to him, putting a hand on his chest. "Pinocchio?" she whispered, trying to sense his Heart.

It was gone.

"Aurora?" Riku asked.

"It's gone. He's lost his Heart," she whispered, carefully picking the puppet up, cradling him, guilting gnawing away at her.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!"

The two teens looked over to see the old man, Geppetto, watching them, calling for his son. Sora and the others stood right behind him.

"Please! give me back my son!"

Another pang of guilt shot through Aurora, and she looked down at the puppet in her arms.

"Sorry, old man! We have some unfinished business with this puppet," Riku called back. Aurora's breath caught in her chest, and she looked up at him in disbelief.

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio is my little boy!" Geppetto argued.

"He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts. I'm not sure, but maybe he can help someone who's lost their's," Riku said.

"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?" Sora asked.

"What do you care about her?" Riku snapped at Sora.

Kairi wouldn't want us to save her by hurting someone else, though! Aurora thought, looking down at Pinocchio. He looked like he was just sleeping in her arms.

"Riku," Aurora started softly, looking up at Riku, who had turned to walk away. He turned to look at her, and his eyes softened.

"We'll find a way to restore his heart, too," he said, soft enough for only Aurora to hear. Aurora hesitated, looking back at Geppetto.

"I'm sorry," she said, before following after Riku.

The two of them quickly made their way into the stomach of the whale, and Aurora gently placed Pinocchio on the ground, fixing his hat.

"Aurora?" Riku said.

"Your cruelty to the old man was unnecessary," she said, not looking up. "It's bad enough we got Pinocchio's heart stolen. But to take your anger out on his father? That was going too far."

Riku didn't answer. Aurora glanced back at him, spotting real remorse on his face as he looked down.

"You're right. I'm sorry," he said softly. Aurora shook her head.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. I get your angry at Sora for abandoning us and Kairi. I am too. And I want to help Kairi. But…"

"We need to be careful. I understand," Riku sighed at that, looking at Pinocchio again, his eyes growing sad. "I never meant for him to loose his heart. I just… wanted to talk to him, find out how he get his heart to begin with."

"But we let ourselves get distracted by our emotions when Sora confronted us," Aurora sighed.

"Yeah."

"Hey, let Pinocchio go, you two!"

Aurora and Riku turned as Sora's voice rang out through the Whale's stomach. Aurora took a deep breath, looking down at Pinocchio.

"He's lost his heart to the Heartless, Sora," she said.

"Maybe he holds the key to helping Kairi," Riku added, not bothering to tell Sora their idea of helping to restore Pinocchio's heart, as well. At least, not yet…

"How about it, Sora? Let's join forces to save her. The three of us can do it, together," Riku said, walking towards the boy. Aurora watched from where she stayed kneeling next to Pinocchio, hopeful.

Then Sora summoned his Keyblade, dropping into his fighting stance, and Aurora's hope shattered. He really has turned his back on us…

"What? You'd rather fight me?" Riku asked, incredulous.

"Pinocchio might not have a heart, but at least he still has a conscience," Sora said.

"Conscience?" Riku repeated.

"You might not hear it, but right now it's loud and clear." As Sora spoke, Aurora sensed something moving quickly from him, over to where she sat with Pinocchio. She glanced down and saw a cricket in a waist coat and top hat, running over. A small gasp escaped her.

The cricket had his own heart, but glowing within that… was Pinocchio's heart.

"It's telling me you two are on the wrong side!" Sora yelled.

"Then you leave us no choice," Riku snarled.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" The cricket reached the puppet, and Aurora backed up a little, sensing as Pinocchio's heart left the cricket, and reentered him. Pinocchio opened his eyes tiredly.

"Jiminy… I'm not gonna make it," he murmured. Suddenly, there was a glow of light from his face, and his nose grew. The puppet perked up, looking at it excitedly. "Oh! I guess I'm okay!"

Aurora stood and walked over to where Riku stood, nodding to him. He looked over at Pinocchio and let out a small sigh.

"A different way," he said softly.

"Right," Aurora said.

A chill suddenly shot down her spin, and she quickly looked up in time to see the same Heartless as before dropping towards them. Riku quickly grabbed her, pulling her out of the way to make sure it didn't land on her, and the two vanished through a dark portal.

…

Much later, after resting a bit, Aurora and Riku got word that Kairi had been recovered, and was in the Captain's Quarters. They rushed there to find her laying back on the bench, seemingly asleep. Aurora sat next to her on the bench, holding her hand, while Riku watched over her with sad eyes.

"So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" Riku asked, his voice trembling.

"Precisely," the fourth occupant of the room, Maleficent, said. Aurora shook her head, not wanting to believe it, but sensing the proof for herself.

Kairi's heart was gone.

"Her heart…" Aurora started, her own voice shaking.

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt," Maleficent said. Aurora thought back to that night on the Islands, when she lost Kairi in the storm, and the Shadows had attacked.

It could have happened then…

She gave Kairi's hand a squeeze. I'm so sorry! she thought, tears filling her eyes.

"Tell me! What can I do?" Riku demanded, whirling to face the Dark Fairy, desperation filling his voice.

"There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the Princess of Heart. Gather them together, and a door will appear to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There, you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart," Maleficent explained.

Aurora looked up at that. The 'heart of all worlds'? Wait! Is that~ Pain shot through her head as she reached for the memory, floating just below the surface. And suddenly, the memory and pain were gone. Aurora rubbed her eyes with her free hand, not once letting go of Kairi's hand.

Riku turned to look at Aurora. "This is it. Our other way," he said. Aurora looked up, and sighed.

"Yeah. I don't think we have a choice," she said. Riku nodded.

"Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift," Maleficent said, regaining the teens' attention. "The power to control the Heartless." Riku began to glow green as the power washed over him, and he closed his eyes. Green light began to glow over Aurora as well, but a bright flash of gold at her chest washed it away, blocking it. Aurora shivered at the warmth and cold that washed over her body, as well as Maleficent's scowl in her direction. Riku, however, didn't seem to notice anything wrong at all as he turned to look at the red head.

"Soon, Kairi. Soon."