We are back now with the next chapter! Back right to where we left off! (I have no idea what to say anymore in authors notes lol)

Ch.21

The two strangers stared up at Sora, looking right at the keyblade he held in his hands. "The key!" both of them shouted in union.

Sora stared back at them with wide eyes. He took a step back as he tried to processed what had just happen. "Is everyone just looking for the keyblade or something?"

'Perhaps… these two seem kinda familiar though.'

"Huh? What do you mean?"

'I'm not sure… they just seem familiar.'

Before Sora could ask another question, the ground shook beneath him. The other two stood up and they started to look around the area. Small Heartless popped up all around them. Most of them the newer type with the armor, but there was still a few shadowy ones. Sora focused his attention to the Heartless and began to take them out. As he did he noticed that the other two were also fighting the Heartless, though the taller one fought with a shield and the other had a wand.

The small horde of Heartless was soon defeated now that there was two others to help Sora. But just as Sora thought it was over the ground shook again. He looked up to see a large piece of metal armor emerge from the darkness. Several more pieces followed and it formed into a large armored creature that had a heart shaped symbol on it.

"That's another Heartless?!" Sora asked as he looked up at the thing. "It looks just as huge as that one that was on the island."

'This one is stronger, be careful.'

Sora hummed thoughtfully as he started by jumping out of the way of the metal first that came down near him. Seeing the arm he charged at it hitting it with the Keyblade, the Heartless though didn't seem to take much damage. Sora eyed the Heartless, looking for any point of weakness and he saw that the two strange people attacking the Heartless as well. Though it seemed that nothing they did really seemed to affect it.

The Heartless began spinning its arms around its body wildly and one of the strange people, the duck looking one, became caught in the twister and was flung into a wall. The duck slid down and sat on the ground as he swayed side to side.

An arm came into range again and Sora started to strike at it again. This time the Heartless seemed to notice as it started stomping the ground, like a child throwing a tantrum. The Heartless then jumped into the air for the moment, while the strange dog person went over to the duck person and healed the duck.

Sora continued to attack the Heartless's arm while the now awake duck and the dog went and tag teamed the Heartless's legs.

After a few minutes the appendages are destroyed and the torso fell to the ground seemingly defenseless. The three approach warily, and just as they were starting to get close it starts to spin rapidly, knocking the three of them back.

Sora managed to flip himself in the air and land correctly back on the ground. He then charged at the armour and with a hard swing of the keyblade the Heartless starts to explode from the inside, shaking the entire area. The Heartless's head began to wobble and it fell down to the ground causing a loud ringing sound.

He watched as a large glowing heart floated out of the torso and into the air. Seconds later the remaining bits of the body vanished. Silence filled the district as Sora looked around. There didn't seem to be any other Heartless left… it was only him and the two strangers.

Sora looked at them and narrowed his eyes a bit. He remembered what the two had said when they had first saw him. "So, you two were looking for me?"

"Yep!" The dog stranger answered.

Footsteps were then heard coming from behind. Sora turned around to see Leon and Yuffie walking their way. Leon was the one that spoke first. "They too have been seeking the wielder of the keyblade."

"They have?" Sora asked, feeling actually a small bit curious.

Yuffie nodded. "Yup."

"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our ship," the dog asked cheerfully.

'We don't even know who these two strangers are.'

'But they seem to be willing to take us to other worlds, which is useful. Plus… they still are familiar to me.'

Sora listened to both Ventus and Vanitas, but it didn't help him feel any better on the situation. "I'm not sure…" Though as Sora thought about it, a new thought came to mind. "If I came along though… maybe I could find Riku or Kairi. Maybe they are really somewhere else."

"Of course," the duck answered.

Sora raised an eyebrow in surprise. He still was not too trusting of these two, so he thought it would best to ask Ventus and Vanitas. "Should I really… go with them? Would I really be able to find Riku and Kairi?"

'We still have to tell you what we suspect happened to Kairi, but I think that going with these two would definitely improve our chances of finding Riku.'

'Just be cautious of these two, but right now they seem like our best bet.'

Sora was about to ask them what they had meant about Kairi, but before he could he heard Leon speak up from behind. He turned around to face the man as he spoke.

"Sora go with them," he said with a sincere tone. "Especially if you want to find your friends."

Sora looked back and forth between Leon and the two who had asked him to join them. He still didn't know what to do. He wanted to find his friends, but he still hadn't really made new friends in a long while. The last three were Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie and despite hanging around with them and play fighting, he still was not as close with them as he was with Riku and Kairi.

"I mean… I guess…" Sora said as he let out a small sigh.

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand?" the duck asked. "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?"

The dog laughed. "Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!"

The duck pushed the dog out of the way. "This boat runs on happy faces."

'They're kidding us right?'

'Sounds like a bit of fun! C'mon Sora do a silly face!'

Sora pursed his lips slightly, trying to contain the small snicker he had from hearing his brother's reactions. Though he regained himself in the next moment. He thought about trying to make a silly face, but he had never really done something like that. Not in front of a bunch of people he didn't know. But he figured that he had to at least try.

Sora closed his eyes before smiling as large as he could. He grinned and looked directly at the two in front of him. He stared right at them as they stared back. No one said anything for a few second until the two burst out laughing.

The dog pointed at Sora while still laughing. "That's one funny face!"

Sora scooted back slightly as he tensed up. "I… It's not that funny," he muttered quietly under his breath.

'It was completely ridiculous.'

'Vani! It was a perfect silly face Sora, you made the others laugh, that was the point of it.'

'Hmpf, it was still stupid.'

'That helmet you wear is stupid.' Ventus retorted childishly.

'Your hair is stupid.'

The two continued to bicker, causing Sora to laugh a bit more. He started to feel a bit better about things because of them. Now that he was feeling a bit better he finally looked back at the two to give them a answer.

"All right. I'll go with you guys," he replied simply.

"Donald Duck," the duck said as he held out his hand.

"Name's Goofy," the other added as he too put his hand forward, over Donald's hand.

Sora stared cautiously eyed them as he thought about what he should do. He slowly reached his hand forward slightly, though he was still hesitant. He still wasn't to keen about Donald and Goofy, but they were his chance to look for Riku and Kairi. He knew Vanitas wasn't too happy about the situation, but Ventus trusted these two.

Sora placed his hand on top of Goofy's. "I'm Sora."

"All for one, one for all," Goofy chimed in happily.

'More like everyone for themselves.'

'Hush you.' Ven said scoldingly.

'I'm just saying that if they find another keyblade wielder, what's to say they won't leave Sora for this other wielder, until we know them then we should be careful of them.'

'But do we know if there are others out there? I feel… like there should be… but I can't quite remember off hand,' Ventus replied.

'I have a feeling that there will be more. Which is why I don't trust these two.'

'You never trust anyone.'

'I trust you and the mini-me don't I? And I suppose the princess and the brat are okay.'

That shut Ventus up, as he didn't expect a… sort of kind response from Vanitas. He knew by now that Vanitas would sometimes say something kind, but it still felt strange to hear it. Sora on the other hand laughed in his thoughts as he and everyone else started to walk back to the First District.

"So guys, what was it you wanted to tell me about Kairi?" Sora decided to ask.

'We should tell you when you are alone, it might take a bit to explain it.'

"Why's that?"

'Because of what we suspect has happened, and you might react outwardly…'

Sora nearly stopped walking, only to end up stumbling forward slightly. "Is it… is it something bad?"

'Not necessarily. If what we suspect is true than we know where Kairi is, it would just be getting her back that would be the tricky bit.' Ventus answered hesitantly. 'Please, wait till we are alone to ask more.'

"Okay, if you say so," Sora replied with a sigh. He knew that Ventus and Vanitas would tell him what they knew, so he knew he would have to wait. He just hoped it wouldn't be too long… whatever it was.

Another chapter done and done. Will Sora ever find out about Kairi? How will he react to going out to other worlds? So many questions, and eventually the answers will come. See you guys next time!