Silver Linings

Chapter 20: "This World Is Kinda Different..."

A/N: Blank-page anxiety is my arch-nemesis. On the other hand, this is the 20th chapter milestone!

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Port Royal: Harbor...

Riku pulled the rest of his newly-expanded party out of the Dark Corridor by their linked hands, working against some resistance as the Darkness tried to separate the group. "It looks like I wasn't just being paranoid about getting separated. Now, where are we...?" They all looked around and took in this new world.

The Darkness had responded to Riku's desire to remain unseen by depositing him and his friends on the roof of a stone building. The familiar scent of a harbor hit Riku's nose for the first time in far too long, but this place was certainly no Destiny Islands. The overpowering odor of fish covered an undercurrent of trash and gunpowder, smells which Riku associated with Captain Hook and his pirate crew.

Lambda looked around, trying to place what made this world feel so different from the others she had seen. "This world feels darker than the rest..."

"Beast's Castle was very dark," Namine pointed out.

Riku added, "That was a gloomy sort of darkness. This place feels gritty and edgy, like trouble is just waiting to happen. I wonder if this world has any pirates like Captain Hook and his crew."

A rough guffaw carried upward to the world-travelers, cutting the conversation short. A quick peek over the edge told them that the laugh came from Pete! "Aztec treasure, eh? Sounds impressive!"

Captain Hook would probably wet his polka-dotted underwear if he had to fight the group of ne'er-do-well sailors currently gathered beneath the roof. They were smelly, scarred, tanned, mean, and armed to the teeth. On top of that, they had a menacing aura around them that Riku could tell was magical in nature. Pete was standing beside and talking to the most imposing pirate of them all, a tall man in a wide-brimmed hat and (slightly) more complete attire than the others. The lesser pirates stood around restlessly, presumably waiting for orders.

The pirate captain replied, "Aye, and thanks to the curse put on it, we are neither among the living nor the dead."

Pete didn't seem convinced, but he didn't fully dismiss the claims of a curse. "Reeeally...? 'Cause ya look like regular pirates to me!"

"Ah, but in the moonlight..." Right on cue, the full moon broke through a bank of dreary clouds overhead, illuminating the area with moonlight bright enough to cast shadows.

"Whoa! Now I see what you were sayin'!" Riku was just as impressed as Pete by the extent of the curse.

As soon as the moonlight fell on them, the pirates seemed to waver for an instant. The army of seafaring men was replaced by an army of skeletons; some of them had bits of decayed flesh still clinging to their bones. However, this shift didn't change the way they moved or the captain's voice. "Y'see, the moonlight reveals us for what we really are. I thank ye for the aid of the Heartless, Pete, but I don't think we've much to fear here."

"Sure, you can handle the people on this world, but if you see two doofuses who look kinda like me and a brat holdin' a Keyblade, steer clear! They got a kind of magic that don't belong in this world, see? And nobody knows what it'll do to ya, 'specially when the moon's showin' what you really are. Be careful, y'hear? I'm almost positive they'll be here soon; no matter what world I visit, I can hardly even start schemin' before they show up to shut me down! And no matter what I try, they always seem to end up sending me packin'! Make sure they don't do likewise to you!" Another cloud covered the moon, restoring the pirates' illusion of humanity.

"A match for Barbossa, ye say?" Far from being intimidated by Pete's claims, the pirate Captain Barbossa seemed to relish the possible challenge.

So of course, Sora, Donald, and Goofy charged down the ramparts of the town wall at that very moment, barging into the clearing with Pete and the cursed pirates. Pete threw his hands up in exasperation. "I knew it! See, those are the punks I was tellin' ya about!"

Sora corrected,"We're not punks! It's Sora, Donald, and Goofy to you! And don't you forget it!" He readied his Keyblade.

Barbossa grinned savagely. "That we won't. And we'll engrave it on yer tombstone, to be sure."

"Whoa! I like your style!" Pete could learn a thing or two about villainy from this guy.

Barbossa raised his voice, shouting orders to his crew. "Men! Half of you stay here and indulge these cullies! The rest - bring me that medallion!"

"Aye!" The pirates separated into two groups as ordered. Out of six pirates, three ran toward the town, which was already gripped by mayhem and fire due to some of Barbossa's other pirates. The remaining three axe-wielding pirates charged at Sora. Barbossa returned to the ship with a smug swagger to his step, clearly expecting that this would be the last he'd hear of Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Pete, however, remained behind on the dock and set up a Dark Barrier, to safely see for himself whether Barbossa's pirates were as tough as the undead captain claimed.

Sora put up a good showing, but it seemed like it wouldn't be enough. His swordsmanship was far superior to all of the pirates, but whenever his Keyblade struck their bronzed skin, it passed straight through them like a mirage. The pirate's axes were painfully real, however. "What gives? We can't beat them!"

One of the pirates taunted, "Aye, what did ye expect?" He swung his two axes consecutively in a three-hit combo. Sora flowed around the hits and struck back during the same opening the pirate always revealed, but the clean hit did no damage. Sora backed away from the pirates to try and figure out the trick to this battle. The pirates had to have a weakness, right?

Luckily, the cloud covering the moon finally moved on. The moonlight revealed the pirates' undead nature, momentarily shocking Sora and his friends. The aggressive pirate who taunted earlier tried to use the moment of surprise to attack Sora, and almost managed to land a hit. "You'd best be sayin' yer prayers!"

Riku was watching the tense battle, and was about to jump in (though he didn't have a real plan), but before he could, Pete called out to the pirates, "Watch out! They can see ya! Stay away from their magic!"

"What for?" The pirates were used to being threatened; nothing in the world had been able to kill them, and plenty of things had tried.

"Weren't ya listening to me before?!"

Sora called out, "Hey, Pete, thanks for the tip!" He had just revealed the pirate's weakness!

"D'oh!" Pete fled toward Barbossa's intimidating pirate ship before he could inadvertently ruin anything else.

Sora knocked the aggressive pirate away, relieved and satisfied that his attacks could actually connect while the pirates' true appearances were visible. Sora had another trick he wanted to try, though. "Hey, Donald, want to give that new Wisdom Form a shot?"

"Do I?" Donald rhetorically replied.

Goofy clarified, "He does."

"Great! Let's go, Donald!" Sora released the power of his Drive ability and linked to Donald, activating Wisdom Form. After the flash of light faded (leaving the pirates to pick themselves up off the dirt), Sora's outfit had a blue color scheme. He didn't have a second Keyblade in this form, but he could feel his expanded mana swirling around him, practically lifting him off the ground. It took a second for everyone watching to realize that Sora was actually floating just an inch or so in the air, but he quickly got the hang of moving by riding the mana currents. It looked and felt like riding a skateboard...but cooler!

Sora closed the distance with the pirate who had attacked him the most often. The other two skeletons had been idle until now; at first it was laziness and contempt for their apparently-weak foe that held them back, but now the pirates were also wary of the danger.

When Sora swung his Keyblade at the enthusiastic-but-stupid one, it was hard to tell whether the Keyblade wielder or his foe was more surprised at the small, blue bullet of magic that fired from the weapon's tip. Sora's surprise turned to satisfaction in short order, as he made a quick dash over the ground to gain some distance (making sure to remember that instinctively-used maneuver for later) and began using the Keyblade as a projectile weapon. A storm of blue bullets battered the pirate, who found that his axes could not block them.

However, even a full volley of more than twenty Wisdom Shots didn't do significant damage, so Sora switched to casting Blizzara. This form brought out Donald's power, and the duck's greatest talent had always been in spellcasting over weapon-based combat. A chunk of ice launched from the Keyblade and struck the already-staggered pirate, ripping his bones apart. Was he dead?

The Blizzara spell (Sora had grown strong enough during this journey to use the second-tier spells) cut right through the defeated pirate and struck one of his partners, who was frozen solid. From a safe distance, Goofy noted, "Huh, that spell doesn't usually freeze people. Sora, try some other spells! The pirates are weaker to magic than any Heartless we've seen!"

Sora grinned and closed in on the frozen pirate with another Quick Run, then cast Fira at the immobilized henchman. The ice coating the pirate instantly burst into steam, but the skeleton's humiliation was far from over - now his ragged pants were on fire! The pirate ran around wildly, ignoring everything around him as he tried to flee from his own butt.

Sora almost pitied him. Almost. He shot another Blizzara spell that put the pirate grunt out of his misery.

The last surviving pirate was mentally torn between dying in a fight with a seemingly puny kid, or fleeing to be subjected to the eternal scorn of Captain Barbossa. He didn't have long to debate with himself before a Thundara spell dropped on his head, subjecting him to a sustained electric current that numbed his body and brain. He was left vulnerable to another three Blizzard spells, the last of which fired five chunks of ice rather than one! Only the first two blasts were actually necessary; the last shot was a test.

After that barrage of spells, Sora finally ran out of mana, and ran out of Drive power at about the same time. Sora's clothes returned to normal, his huge shoes settled back on the ground, and Donald reappeared by his side in a brief flash of light. After he and Donald caught their breath, he cheered "We beat 'em! That was awesome!" Donald and Sora exchanged a high-five.

Goofy cut in, "But what about those other guys? We should probably see if the townspeople need help."

"Oh, shoot, you're right! C'mon, guys!" With barely a pause to see that Donald and Goofy were indeed following him, Sora went looking for trouble in the town of Port Royal.

Riku watched him go, still impressed by Sora's transformation and the abilities it offered him. "Lambda, what do you make of that 'Wisdom Form' thing he did?"

"Analyzing... unknown power-boosting mode is similar in concept to a Drive ability. A Drive is a powerful ability that people can sometimes manifest if they're exposed to too much seithr. The nature of a person's Drive is usually based on their personality, and its power is dependent on the strength of their soul's connection to the Azure. I guess it would make sense that Sora's Drive lets him draw strength from his friends, but I don't think he needed to breathe in seithr to be able to do that. Now I'm curious..."

Namine spoke up, momentarily surprising Riku. He was still used to Lambda being the only one to talk to during their travels. "Let's follow him. If you want, I can try to find out how he got that power by looking through his memories, but either way, we shouldn't lose sight of him."

Lambda looked at Namine quizzically. "Are you sure you should be casually rooting through Sora's memories?"

Namine hesitated, clutching her sketchbook tightly to her chest, but kept a firm expression when she faced Lambda to reply. "No, I'm not sure of that at all, but I have to try and do something with my power over memories. I'm not a monster - or so you keep telling me - but if I can't find a benign use for this power, I'll never be able to think of myself as anything but a danger to the worlds. I don't have to change anything if I just take a look, and he didn't notice the effects back in Castle Oblivion, even when I was actually rearranging his memories. All that would happen is we might learn a few things."

Riku's jaw dropped. "Sora couldn't feel it when his heart was being rearranged? That's...actually really scary."

Namine laughed, but there was more pain than mirth to the sound. "That's nothing compared to what happened to the Riku Replica... There has to be a way to use my power without misusing it, but reading memories is the safest thing I've tried up until now."

That was when Lambda remembered what they came here to do. "Tracking current targets... Distance to targets is 50 meters and increasing. We should probably finish this conversation while we're on the move."

Riku nodded and led the way deeper into the town.

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Port Royal: Town...

Namine tried her best to keep up with the others, but it was clear that she simply couldn't move that fast, especially when Riku jumped from one roof to the next. Lambda made the same jump as easily as walking, but Namine was left awkwardly standing alone. "Riku? Lambda...?" She wanted to call out and get their attention, but they were trying to be stealthy, right?

This place was dangerous, though. All Namine had for protection was her sketchbook. Luckily, she hadn't been entirely idle while setting up her Colored Rooms. She had returned to Castle Oblivion to pick up something Marluxia had left behind, and that something was hidden as a bookmark in her sketchbook.

A group of Heartless appeared to attack the lone, apparently defenseless Nobody. Five Shadows and three Air Pirates... Namine quickly worked out the angles of attack needed to wipe them all out before she might run out of moves. As the Shadows moved in to pounce, she opened her sketchbook and pulled out a flat, black object, like an oversized version of the cards from Castle Oblivion.

"Thundara!" Namine cast one of her stored Spell Panels and jumped away from the place the Shadows would land. She stumbled as she touched down, but the Shadows were caught in a localized lightning storm that ripped them apart. Two of the Air Pirates continued to circle their prey, but the third one moved in for an uppercut.

"Firaga!" Namine lobbed a fireball that arced upward to meet the diving Heartless. The Firaga spell exploded on impact, destroying its target.

The other two Heartless fled, not wanting to fight such an unexpectedly dangerous opponent, especially when they could not smell a heart to steal within her.

Namine was left alone on the rooftop once more. Her battle hadn't attracted much attention, actually, given the ongoing raid by the undead pirates and the other packs of Heartless hunting in the streets below. "That was close..." The memory witch checked her Panels, determining that she had two more casts of Thundara, no more Firagas, two Blizzagas, and six Cures left for today. She couldn't handle another group of Heartless with just that meager number of attacks. What should she do if Riku and Lambda didn't come back for her?

Namine needn't have worried; her allies leapt back to her moments after she finished taking that self-inventory. As she approached, Lambda cried out, "Namine, are you okay?"

"Sorry about leaving you behind," Riku added sheepishly. "I should have thought of that."

Namine smiled gratefully. "No, thank you for coming back. Don't worry about me. I'm not completely helpless. See this?" She held up the black card. "This is a Panel Grid. The Organization uses them to store individual uses of spells. Nobodies can't use the World's raw mana, so Vexen created the Panel system as a limited replacement to boost the power of each Organization member. By installing the right Panels, I can increase my magical resistances and cast a few spells outside my base element, which is especially important for me, since my base element isn't a natural fit for combat."

Lambda inspected the Panel Grid. "Wow, neat! I guess there are rules to where you can place Panels, though?"

Namine nodded. "Yes. Some Panels take up multiple slots and only accept certain other Panels into the extra spaces, but those compatible Panels are more powerful when linked to the main one. It's a matter of making the best use of the available space, which is why new members of the Organization have most of the slots on their Panel Grid locked when they first join. It gives them an incentive to do well at their missions, and also keeps them too weak to be a real threat until the Organization can be relatively sure of their loyalty."

Lambda noticed an inconsistency in that explanation. "But they never trusted you, right? Why are all of your slots unlocked?"

Namine almost smirked, which looked out of place on her face. "This is actually Marluxia's old Panel Grid. It was left behind when Sora eliminated him, and I thought it would be ironically appropriate to defend myself with the power of my old captor. I guess Marluxia spent a lot of time making sure the Organization would trust him before trying to betray them. I don't why he betrayed them in the first place, though..."

Riku cut in. "There's no point thinking about it now. Anyway, can you two finish geeking out over that system later? Sora's about to leave port."

Lambda did a double-take. "He's following the pirates by ship? How will we follow him out at sea? ...I resent your implication that geeks aren't as important as other people, by the way. If it wasn't for Vexen's geekiness, Namine would have been dead before we noticed she was missing."

Riku grinned. "Sorry, couldn't resist. It's been so long since the days when I could have fun teasing Sora on the Islands."

Namine asked, "How are we going to keep up with Sora? I can't even keep up with you, so even if you can fly after that ship, I'd be stuck."

"I can carry you, Namine," Lambda replied. "Summoning Lux Sanctus. IDEA Engine linked. Murakumo, activate!" Lambda's armor formed, and she positioned her Petal blades right next to each other, floating horizontally behind her back. They formed a platform large enough for Namine to sit on. "You can sit here. Just be sure to keep your legs away from the bladed side of the platform."

"Nice thinking, Lambda! Now let's go; we have a boat to catch." Riku took off, motioning for Lambda to follow. Namine climbed onto the makeshift platform, which adjusted its formation to be more comfortable than just flat metal.

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Port Royal: High Seas...

Riku's group flew low over the water to avoid being detected, just in case. It wouldn't do to for a group of flying teenagers to be spotted by Sora's new pirate allies. The captain mostly kept his eyes on a compass, but the other man occasionally searched the surrounding waters with a spyglass, on the lookout for pirates or Heartless.

The boat itself had the name Interceptor on the hull, and moved quickly for a sailboat. It was hard for Riku to tell, but it seemed like Donald was using his magic to perform various tasks on the ship, compensating for the Interceptor's severe lack of crew members. Five people would be hard-pressed to run such a vessel at any reasonable speed, and only the two natives of this world had any sailing experience.

"Being the only one who can run the ship must be good for Donald's self-esteem," Namine thought aloud. "He's gotten Sora's party in a lot of trouble on their journeys."

"Let me guess - he wanted to change the past during whatever mess happened at Disney Castle?" Riku had a rather low opinion of Donald ever since he refused to let Riku join Sora's previous journey for seemingly no reason. Sure, there were too few seats on the Gummi Ship, but he could have at least said so.

Donald Duck was defined by poor communication skills, a bad temper, and a prominent greedy streak. However, Riku had to admit Donald was an invaluable ally at times like this, and he would pull through for his friends when it counted. Usually. He'd also found dozens of hidden treasures lying around in the various worlds Sora had visited, ensuring the party never ran out of healing items.

"Where are they headed?" Lambda wondered. "My long-range scans don't show any islands in that direction."

Riku sniffed the air. "I can smell a powerful magic field out there. That's probably why the captain spends more time looking at his compass than the water; it's a magic item. It must be leading them to some hidden island cloaked by the spell."

"Riku, you can identify a magic item by it's scent?!" Lambda was already impressed by Riku's ability to smell Darkness, but he kept getting better!

Riku smirked confidently. "Yep, I figured it out while Sora was fighting the pirates, which positively reek of magic. I'm actually glad they stink so much, because they won't get past me if... They're attacking the ship!" He pointed out three cursed pirates as they appeared in puffs of smoke, clinging to the hull of the Interceptor. The smoke was similar to Pete's teleportation. The pirates clambered onto the deck and attacked, but Sora and his friends handily defeated the intruders.

Lambda reported, "Pete teleported them in; he must be helping Barbossa shake off Sora's pursuit. How did Barbossa know he was being followed?"

Riku shrugged. "I don't know what they said. Maybe I should work on supernatural hearing next."

Namine hummed under her breath for a second, then spoke up. "It's not Sora he's worried about; it's Sora's new friend, Jack Sparrow. Jack used to be the captain of those pirates, but Barbossa led a mutiny and stole Jack's ship, the Black Pearl, which we're chasing now."

"How did you know that?" Lambda asked.

"I read Sora's memories from the last twenty minutes. See? It's a perfectly safe use of my power. Besides, I already know all his dirty secrets from the mess at Castle Oblivion, and none of them would make good blackmail material. The worst crime he ever committed was forgetting to do his laundry."

Lambda pointed out, "Who said anything about blackmail?"

Namine replied, "Marluxia did. He and Larxene came up with a lot of ways my power could be used for evil. It's good to know what to avoid, but..."

Riku interrupted her. "Hey, there's an island up ahead!"

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Isle de Muerta: Rock Face...

The island in question was a lump of cold, gray stone that jutted out of a persistent mist hanging over the water. The curvature of the island made an effective natural harbor, but the Black Pearl was already docked there, so the Interceptor docked at a cliff on the other side of the island to avoid detection. Jack and Will (Sora's other new friend) left the ship to sneak into the island's network of caves after convincing Sora to stay behind. Riku was not impressed; he muttered under his breath, "Sora, how did you fall for that trick...?"

After about twenty minutes, Sora and Co. got bored. They left the ship to explore the island on their own, still unaware of Riku's group hiding in the Interceptor's rigging.

"I think they'll run into some trouble in those caves," Lambda guessed.

"Only one way to find out!" Riku led the way toward the cave, but Lambda stopped him.

"Shouldn't we follow them a little less directly? There are lots of holes in the walls all the way through that cave, which let in moonlight and would be great places to spy from."

"Good idea, Lambda. Let's get some height." The party rose higher into the air and passed over the island from above.

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Isle de Muerta: Mesa...

Riku swooped over the top of the island, which resembled a spooky, stone sponge due to all the holes in the top and sides. A commotion could be heard rising up from the largest natural skylight right in the center of the island.

Barbossa's voice boomed louder than all the rest... "After them! The maid is worthless now, but I need that medallion!"

Namine guessed, "It sounds like Will and Jack succeeded. They didn't need Sora for this part."

Lambda scanned the lifeforms being chased back through the caves, but noticed something off. "Twelve targets detected. Ten targets identified as cursed pirates. But that means only two people escaped. And if one of them is the lady Will wanted to save, then either Will or Jack was left behind."

On a hunch, Riku asked, "Who's still in the center room?"

Lambda shook her head. "Sorry, I can't really identify them directly from here, but there are two people inside. One is probably Barbossa. We might be able to save Sora's other friend while Barbossa is distracted."

"Good idea!" Riku swooped over the skylight and looked down, seeing Barbossa glaring in agitation at the entrance the pirates left through.

"Careful not to cast a shadow down there," Namine whispered. "The pirates are bound to be hyper-aware of the shadows to avoid moonlight."

Too late; Riku's shadow already passed over Barbossa, restoring his illusion of humanity for a split second. The pirate was instantly alerted to the presence of a large object in the sky. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"

Riku groaned. "Well, shoot. Now what? We don't have any Keyblades, so we can't beat him directly."

"Maybe my magic would work?" Namine suggested. She was suddenly forced to grip the blunt side of Lambda's platform tightly - the Prime Field Device swerved around a bullet from Barbossa's pistol. Luckily, Barbossa heavily telegraphed his intentions before shooting.

Lambda tried to give Namine a better view. "It's worth a try! Can you hit him from here?"

In response, Namine cast, "Thundara! One of those has to hit." Sure enough, three of the lightning bolts landed squarely on Barbossa's head. He was more resilient than his lackeys by leaps and bounds, but he was affected uniquely by magic. The electric energy set him vibrating straight up into the air, where he was held suspended in midair for a few seconds - long enough for Riku and Co. to retreat.

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Port Royal: High Seas...

Riku sighed heavily as the group sped back toward the Interceptor. "Well, that was a disaster. We couldn't save the other guy, Barbossa knows we're here, and Namine is probably low on spells now."

"I have one Thundara, two Blizzagas, and six Cures left," Namine reported.

"Hey, the ship's leaving!" Lambda pointed ahead of them. The Interceptor was on the move, with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Will, and Elizabeth aboard. "I guess the one they lost was Jack."

"Barbossa's crew won't let Will get away with his gold, either; at least we'll get to see some interesting naval combat?" Namine was grasping at straws.

"Maybe if we watch from really high up. If they get boarded, we can't risk casting a shadow on the deck and messing up Sora's battle." Riku moved upward until the two ships now engaged in a high-seas chase looked like toy models. For about five minutes, sparks from clashing weapons and flashes of cannon fire burst over the Interceptor, but it seemed that against all odds, Sora was winning his fight.

"Lambda, do you have some way to hear what's going on down there?" Namine wondered.

"Huh? Oh, right. You can't hear that far away. I'll send it to my internal speaker..."

The speaker in Lambda's neck crackled to life, then emitted Barbossa's voice. "Go on, boy, shoot! We can't die!"

Will's voice responded, "You can't...but I can! My name is William Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner! His blood runs in my veins!"

"Aye?!" Barbossa yelped.

"On my word, do as I say! Or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' locker!"

Namine whispered, "Oh! If they can't get Will's blood, the curse will never be broken."

Barbossa sounded defeated. "Name you terms...Mr. Turner."

"Release Elizabeth! And Sora, Donald, and Goofy, too!"

"Anything else?"

Some muffled grunting seemed to suggest Barbossa had another captive whom Will hadn't named, but Will's final demand was, "Leave...now!"

Riku's group could hear the smirk in Barbossa's voice. "Agreed. Leave we shall...but the Heartless stay!"

A wooden thunk came through the speakers, followed by a familiar guffaw.

"Thank ye for the aid, Pete. Men! Set up powder kegs and bring Mr. Turner to our brig! Tie up the rest of Will's pallies...and Jack. Have them sink with the ship!"

"Heartless squad! Yer in charge of blowin' up the barrels!" Pete's voice hollered. Some nasty laughter was heard, and then Lambda cut off the audio feed.

"That is NOT good. We don't have time to stay incognito!" Riku dove down to the deck, aiming for an Air Pirate that was fiddling with a red barrel, but he suddenly reversed course and shot skyward again, dragging Lambda with him - Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack were already charging out of the Interceptor's cabin, unharmed and definitely not tied up. Sora's party made short work of the Heartless and tossed the burning barrels overboard, resolving their immediate crisis in less than a minute.

Lambda watched the spectacle with bemusement. "I guess we should have a bit more faith in Sora's friends..."

Riku sighed. "We really can't help anything here. Show of hands: who wants to grab a bite to eat in Twilight Town?" Nobody raised their hand, not even Riku himself.

"I think we should find Mickey," Namine suggested.

Instead of voting, Lambda reported, "Time Break detected. Location...blocked by interference. It must be back on that island."

"Okay, new plan. Let's go back there to tell Mickey about it." Riku led the flight back to Isle de Muerta.

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Isle de Muerta: Rock Face...

It only took a minute to reach the island again, even though the Interceptor had almost reached Port Royal before the Black Pearl caught up. Lambda commented on this as the group swooped in for a landing. "Even though it's an open ocean, the travel distance to get here is really short. I guess this world is still as small as the others."

The group had made it back before the Interceptor, which gave them a few minutes to deal with the Time Break before Sora showed up. It would have been relatively straightforward if someone hadn't already crossed the rift.

"Tao's all confused, meow. Where did all the buildings go? There's all this water and...ooh, ooh! Tao smells fish!" The girl speaking in the third person had her face obscured by a hooded, tan coat with stylized cat ears and a hole for a thin cat tail to emerge, but her coat didn't reach the ground like the Black Coats Riku knew...and Tao didn't seem to be wearing any pants with it. Her coat reached just far enough to obscure the important parts, and she didn't seem to care beyond that.

Her face was shrouded in black, but some features could be seen. Whether through magic or really strange anatomy, the person under the hood resembled a cartoon smiley face with really sharp teeth. She wasn't intimidating in the slightest, however. She was about to stumble into the ocean with a puddle of drool falling from her lip, but jumped back with incredible reflexes when Riku's group landed in front of her.

Tao put on her most obvious suspicious expression. "Hey, who are you people, showing up out of meowhere? Wait a minute... Flappy-flap, is that you? Tao thought you died! Is Tail Lady going to say hi to Tao, too? Tail Lady never gave me that endless bowl of rice she promised, meow!"

"Lambda, do you know this girl?" Riku asked.

"Not a clue. I'm just as lost as you are, dear."

The cat-girl, who was probably named Tao, leaned in way too close for comfort and sniffed at Lambda. To top it off, she actually said, "Sniff, sniff!"

Tao suddenly jumped back with a guilty smile. "Oops! Sorry about the mix-up, meow! Tao thought you were someone Tao met in Kanya...spooky...the place above Kaka Village, meow! But you don't smell like Flappy-flap, so you must not be her. You're her hissing image, though! Pretty spooky, meow!"

Lambda retreated into facts to try and find her footing in this conversation. "Cross-referencing... Do you mean Kagutsuchi? Since you know the name of the Kaka Village better than Kagutsuchi, you must be a member of the Kaka Clan...meaning your full name is Taokaka."

"Wow, that's absolutely right, Other Flappy! Super vigilante Taokaka at your service, meow! You're really super-smart!" Tao suddenly lunged straight at Lambda, landing her closed-off, paw-themed sleeves right on Lambda's chest. "Mew-hoo-hoo, and super-chesty, too! Tao forgot to check Flappy-flap last time, and boy was Tao missing out!"

Lambda was stunned into inaction by Taokaka's...forwardness. Riku had no such problem, however...after he got over the split second in which he'd seen Tao's red panties under her coat during the glomp. "Hey, get your hands off my girlfriend! ...Paws, whatever." He flash-stepped forward and yanked Tao away from Lambda as fast as possible, ending the groping session.

Tao whined, "Why'd you do that, coat-wearing person? You ruined Tao's fun, meow! Tao's gonna call you Not-Fun Guy! Hiss!"

"Wait, you seriously don't see anything wrong with your behavior just now?" Namine asked.

"Oh, Tao didn't see you there! Sniff...you smell like crayons, meow! Tao will call you Art Girl!"

Namine retreated from the conversation, mumbling, "It could be worse, I suppose...I could have been branded 'White Girl.'"

Tao actually heard her, but seemed confused. "Tao doesn't have any brandy, meow. The chieftain always says Tao shouldn't drink brandy or other meow-coholic bevera-hiss until Tao gets older."

Namine decided to drop the subject in favor of business. "Never mind. Anyway, you have to go back through the Time Break behind you right now, before something bad happens."

"What bad thing could happen, mew?" Tao turned around to look where Namine pointed, and her tail stood straight out in surprise. "Hiss! It got bigger all of a sudden! That's no good! And Tao bets that Good Guy got himself hurt again while Tao was lost! Tao's gotta go find Good Guy! Have a nice night, Other Flappy, Not-Fun Guy, Art Girl! Bye neow!" And without any further explanation, Tao bounded back through the Time Break on all fours.

Riku stared at the rift, still wondering what the heck just happened. "Well...that was..."

"A pointless disaster, that's what that was. We've got to get going; the Interceptor is almost here! Sora can handle the Time Break." Lambda spoke more impatiently than usual, which confused Riku for a moment until he remembered Tao's last...interaction with his girlfriend. It occurred to him that he'd only ever shared quick kisses with his girlfriend. Maybe he shouldn't be that forward, but...

Riku cut that line of thought off like a Zantetsuken - they were in the wrong time, the wrong place, and the wrong mood. He didn't trust himself to say anything, so he just prepared to open a Dark Corridor, looking to the girls for a destination.

As they joined hands for the trip, Namine noted, "It's not often that anyone would end up trying two plans because the first plan was better...but let's grab a bite to eat in Twilight Town." Everyone agreed; Riku formed the portal.

"Not Sea-Salt Ice Cream this time, please?" Lambda requested. "Brain freeze is the last thing I need today." Riku managed to keep the chuckles down as he led the group through the Dark Corridor.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

A/N: So...slow...! I'm sorry!