And here's another chapter, starting on Destiny Islands. I'm sure you know that it's part of the calm before the storm.

Now, to help all of you understand the current situation, Luna - our protagonist - has successfully recovered from her mentally broken conditions, but has become a more soft-spoken and introverted individual who could easily slide into a meltdown if someone's not careful. Still, she will maintain her friendly and gentle nature she had back when she was a child.

In other words, she's changed, but not into anything cynical or pessimistic or absolutely negative (just to reassure any readers worried about Luna's new conditions).

That being said, enjoy!

I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts except my OCs.

Read, review, but no flames.

Chapter 1: Destiny Islands

The moment she opened her eyes, Luna jolted forward from shock to find herself in her normal comfort zone: her bedroom. She slowly looked around to take in the room to put herself at ease.

Granted, her bedroom wasn't anything too special compared to Kairi's, but it fit her preferences quite well.

It was a small room with the bare essentials, such as a simple dresser next to the bed for easy access when she needs it and a mirror hanging above it, a rack where she holds her veiled hats for her head, and a small bookshelf on the wall with a decent collection of literature she was introduced to over the years; the wall was colored a night-sky blue with a lunar motif in various places, and she even has a moon-shaped lantern on top of her dresser.

Sighing deeply in relief that she was okay, Luna slowly got out of bed and walked over to look at the girl staring back at her behind the glass.

Now at the age of fourteen, Luna's light-blonde, doll-curled hair has become longer and reached nearly completely down to her back and her green eyes show small gleams of light in them; though she did grow over the years, her growth stopped at 4 feet and eight inches, but she develop pre-womanly features (albeit with a small chest size) that kept her from being mistaken for a child.

"I wonder what that dream was about…" Luna said quietly, "Was it a warning of danger? If so, what kind of danger…?"

Then, she heard the sound of something tapping against her bedroom window, making her shift her attention away from the mirror to see what was up. But then her curiosity changed to surprise when she saw who was there trying to get her attention: it was one of her friends, Riku. After nine years, his silver hair reached nearly to his shoulders, and his body has developed into a more masculine physique (considering how he became more athletic than everyone else); he was wearing a yellow-and-black sleeveless shirt with black straps across the front, and dark blue pants with baggy pant legs held by straps at his waist and around his legs with blue-and-white sneakers.

She couldn't help but feel a warm smile come over her as she walked over to the window to see him. She unlocked the window and opened them so she could talk to him directly without her voice being muffled.

"So, the sleeping beauty has woken up?" Riku asked jokingly. "Kairi was wondering if you were ever going to wake up, since it's late in the morning."

"I'm sorry, Riku. I was having quite a strange dream," Luna apologized, "I don't know how to describe it, really…Oh, is Kairi already at the play island with Sora?"

"Yeah, they've already gone there. I figured that someone has to get your attention, so I volunteered to come get you," Riku replied.

"Oh. Well, just give me a few minutes, please. I'll meet you at the dock," Luna said.

"I'll see you there," was the last thing she heard him say as he walked off.

Once his back was turned, Luna couldn't help but let out a light giggle as she closed the window to get ready for the day. For today, she dressed in a no-sleeve, frilled shirt and a short double-flounced skirt, both held together by a leather buckled corset; on her head she put on a blue mini hat with a net veil over her eyes, black gloves, and she put on long black boots that went slightly past her knees. To top it off, she also took the pouch off the rack and secured it around her waist (she still had it on when she was very young, and has never parted with it ever since because it was of personal importance to her), and her moonstone brooch was fastened to her shirt.

She made ready to take her leave and catch up with her friends when she crossed paths with her adoptive mother, Yoko, at the kitchen.

When Yoko turned to see her, she gave a warm smile to her. "Good morning, Luna. Are you heading out to meet your friends and sister?"

"I am. How did you know I would?" Luna asked as she summoned a small Shadow Hand to take two biscuits from the table.

"I heard you speaking with Riku a few minutes ago, and heard that window tapping coming from your room," her adoptive mother replied. When Luna gave her a surprised look, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, I am not lying. And I'm sure you already know that Kairi went ahead of you to the island. Will you be sure to be back with her in time for dinner?"

"Don't worry, Yoko. We'll be back for dinner," Luna reassured her.

Not wanting to keep everyone waiting for too long, she went out the door and hurried through town to the dock where she found Riku waving to her from the boat. Not wasting the chance, she climbed into the boat with him and they set off to the island they would play at whenever they could. Naturally, since Luna wasn't physically the strongest of the quartet, Riku had to row the boat.

"What do you suppose Sora and Kairi are doing?" Luna asked after a moment of silence.

"If I know Sora – which I do – he's probably taking a nap somewhere by the beach, and not working on the raft," Riku replied with a chuckle, "As for Kairi, she's most likely goofing off somewhere."

"I should've guessed…" Luna said with a sigh.

"C'mon, Luna, you've lived with her as a sister for years," Riku pointed out, "You should've noticed how much of an influence Sora was on her."

"I know…but I didn't mind her being with Sora," Luna replied as she starting nibbling on her biscuit.

Riku shook his head at her, knowing that she was hardly a complainer. "Why did I have the feeling you were going to say that? You're getting softer on us."

After that small conversation, they reverted back to awkward silence as they reached the little dock by the island and disembarked just in time to meet up with Kairi, who was running over to meet up with the two. That was when Luna suddenly felt her adoptive sister pounce on her and hug her tightly like she was missing her presence greatly.

"Luna, you slept in again. What's up with that?" Kairi questioned her in a scolding manner.

Luna blushed in embarrassment. "I don't know how to explain that…"

"Oh, well, I guess I can overlook that since Riku was nice enough to pick you up," her adoptive sister said as she shrugged her shoulders. "Anyway, we'd better go look for Sora and get his lazy bum up so we can get to that raft we've been working on. C'mon, Luna, let's get going."

Luna was about to ask what she meant when Kairi suddenly started pulling her along across the pier towards the shore.

Over the course of nine years, Kairi became a more outgoing and perky girl despite her unfortunate lack of memories of her past. Today, she was wearing a black sleeveless top with a white top over it with a purple bracelet on one arm and two bracelets on her other arm, a black choker and white necklace around her neck, and shorts under a purple skirt held by a blue belt and white-and-purple slip-on shoes.

Once they were further along on the island, she watched as Kairi turned to her with a bit of excitement on her face.

"So, Luna, what held you up?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Well…It might sound strange, but…I had the strangest dream. I don't know how to explain where I was, but at one point, I met the people I used to know," Luna replied as she tried to explain her vision, "They asked me questions…and then I fought an enormous black monster. After that…I could've sworn that I saw my big brother, and then Riku…and someone else. After that, I just woke up." She paused a moment. "I wish I knew what it was supposed to tell me."

"Well, so long as it wasn't a nightmare, that's good enough, right?" Kairi said optimistically, "I remember how you would frequently have nightmares for at least two years."

Luna felt her cheeks turn red from embarrassment. "Kairi…can we not discuss about it, please? I was very fragile back then."

Her adoptive sister gave her a cheerful smile and hugged her for a moment, letting her know that she knows what she meant.

"I know, Luna. And we're all glad that you're a lot better than years before," Kairi agreed, "And it's great that you agreed to come along on this crazy plan to venture past the island with us. I'm sure that it will be something quite different for us."

Beneath the veil, Luna couldn't help but think back on her years on the islands with her new family and her friends. After she and Kairi were legally adopted together, she initially was very dependent on others to be able to do things; not to mention, she had quite a hurdle getting a start on recovering from her mental illness. She would often suffer from nightmares at night, and during the day, she had a lot of trouble socializing due to her lack of speech and her painfully shy demeanor; on the physical side of the spectrum, she often needed someone to guide her along so that she could redevelop her mobility. But as she spent more time around her friends and her sister, she slowly began to regain her speech skills and her mobility, and she was able to enjoy the new things that could be offered to her.

But one day, Riku proposed the idea of leaving the islands to see other worlds. Why he thought a raft would be a good plan was utterly beyond her, but when that idea came up, Sora was excited at the thought of adventure outside the world they knew. On Kairi's part, there was the hope of finding out where she came from while they have yet to determine a reason for Luna.

"Hey, Luna, I think I found Sora!" Kairi's voice cut through, making Luna look up. "Let's go and give him a wake-up call."

Before Luna could make any protest, she felt herself being pulled along towards the sleeping Sora, who was completely ignorant of the fact that two good pals are sneaking up on him. Sure, he did jolt a bit from waking up, but he was about to go back to his nap when both Luna and Kairi hovered him, making him jolt in surprise yet again and sit up to face them.

At fourteen, Sora's chocolate brown hair became spikier than years before, but now he wore a red puffy jumpsuit with a black hoodie, a silver crown pendant, a loose blue belt, and a crown chain on one side of his waist; on his hands he wore white gloves with blue, black and yellow straps, and on his feet were goofy yellow-and-black shoes with straps holding them closed.

"Give me a break, Kairi!" Sora complained.

Kairi couldn't help letting out a playful giggle at him, while Luna just shook her head.

"Sora, you lazy bum," Kairi said, "We knew we'd find you snoozing out here."

"Sorry about that, Sora. She wanted to surprise you. I was just along for the ride," Luna apologized, "Were you really napping when you supposed to be helping?"

"No…! This huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe. I couldn't…" Sora struggled to explain, only to get a little bonk to the head.

"Are you still dreaming?" Kairi said in disbelief.

"It wasn't a dream! Or was it a dream…?" Sora tried to protest, but faltered with confusion. "What was that place? So bizarre…"

"Well, you're not the only one who had a strange dream. I had one, too, but I don't know how to describe it to you," Luna said, trying to reassure that she was in the same boat.

Kairi rolled her eyes playfully as she walked toward the edge of the shore. "There you go again, Luna. What is it with you two and having dreams?"

Not understanding what she was talking about, Luna looked over to Sora with a face that asked 'do you suppose she never thinks about dreams?' which Sora shrugged his shoulders with a 'how should I know?' look on his face.

But then Sora changed the subject when he asked, "Hey, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up."

Her answer was the obvious. "I told you before, I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing."

Then, Sora turned over to Luna. "What about you, Luna? What was your home like, where you lived?"

Luna's head tilted downward as her face shifted to a sad frown. "I'd rather not talk about it…"

"Okay…never mind, Luna…" Sora knew that he shouldn't have asked her that question since it was a very sensitive subject that she didn't want to delve into. So he turned back to Kairi instead, eager to know more. "You ever want to go back, Kairi?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Well, I'm happy here. But you know, I wouldn't mind seeing it."

Luna changed her mood to a more positive one and nodded in agreement. "It would be good for you if you could see where you once lived."

"Yeah! And any other worlds out there," Sora agreed excitedly, "I wanna see 'em all!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kairi asked.

"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?"

Everyone turned around to see Riku come on over with a log held under his arm. That was when Luna remembered how she was dragged along by Kairi to find Sora and forgot about helping with the raft as she should be.

Riku shook his head in disappointment. "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft."

"Sorry, Riku…" Luna said as she blushed shamefully.

As he was approaching the group, Riku casually tossed the log he was carrying over to Sora (who was unable to react correctly when it was thrown his way); then he looked over towards both girls as they realized that they had been caught red-handed.

"And you're just as lazy as he is, Kairi. Luna, you're not exactly helping either," Riku pointed out.

"So you noticed?" Kairi asked mischievously. "Okay, then. I'll race ya."

Both boys looked at her like she was crazy, while Luna simply tilted her head in confusion.

"What, are you kidding?"

But the moment she said "Ready? Go!" the boys immediately started running ahead to see who would win, while Kairi followed right behind them and Luna hurried to keep up with everyone else.

Ultimately, after playing around and competing, there was still work to be done with the raft (particularly with the supplies). Sora was asked to get the materials that were still needed – two logs, a cloth, and rope – since Riku pretty much did most of the work whereas they were slacking, much to the disappointment of the poor boy that was told to do so. Though, after a little while, Luna thought that she should see if she could help him out, if only a little bit.

"Kairi, is it okay if I try and help Sora out? It's possible he might forget something in his search," Luna suggested.

"I think 'distracted' is the best way to describe it," Kairi corrected. "Are you sure you want to help, Luna? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'm sure. There's no harm if I do something a little helpful," Luna replied. Then, she looked up toward the islet. "Maybe I could get that log up there. I know how I can do that."

"What do you mean by…?" Kairi was about to question until she remembered what her sister meant, "Oh, yeah, those shadowy hands you can conjure. I forgot about that." She sighed lightly. "Alright, Luna, if you want to help, you can do that. Just don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it, alright?"

"Don't worry, Kairi. I'll be okay," Luna reassured her.

With that, Luna left her foster sister and went off towards the islet through the shack, and just as she has thought, she saw the log they needed a good distance from her current position.

Of course, she also saw Riku seated over at the paopu fruit tree, looking out across the sea (presumably ignorant that someone's on the bridge to the islet). Thinking that this would be a good opportunity to take the log without being noticed, Luna carefully conjured two shadowy hands from beneath the log's shadow and slowly dragged it into the murky puddle-like portal until her target reappeared close to her. When she got what she wanted, she thought that she had the chance to walk away without being spotted… until she felt a surprise hug from behind, which made her jolt in surprise and lose focus on her conjurations.

"I knew that was you, Luna."

Luna's cheeks turned a bright pink when she registered it was Riku. "How did you know that was me taking the log? I thought you were preoccupied…"

Riku chuckled as he lightly kissed her cheek. "I saw those black hands taking the log from the corner of my eye. That's why I knew you were the one doing it. Besides, I thought Sora was supposed to be grabbing the rest of the materials."

"I just wanted to help, that's all," Luna replied, fidgeting her fingers shyly.

"I see. In that case…"

Luna watched as Riku went over and picked up the log that she was carrying earlier.

"Why don't we bring it over to Kairi, and we'll figure out what to do from there," Riku suggested.

Luna blushed at this. "I don't have a problem with that."

As the two of them walked across the bridge away from the islet, Luna couldn't help looking around the island that they've played on since they were children. It was hard for her to believe that they were going to be attempting to leave the place in search of another world beyond their own; she didn't have the foggiest idea how long they'll be gone, or if they will ever be able to get anywhere with a raft (though, once she did question how a raft would help considering how choppy the ocean can get under extreme weather). She knew that Riku had always wanted to see a world unlike his own, and really, she did want to support him on that. She knew that Sora would want to explore anything at the slightest opportunity. As for Kairi…well…sad to say, only Luna came to understand better that she lost her memories of her past – especially her memories of meeting Luna before, as far as she knew – and she was sure that her dear sister and friend would like to know where she once lived.

So where did that leave her, though? On one hand, Luna wanted to go with them in the hope that she could repair the gaps in her memories which she suffered from for years. On the other hand, she wasn't sure if she wanted to, considering how her adopted parents were very wonderful as her family; not to mention there were certain pieces of her memories that she tried to keep from resurfacing.

"What's the matter, Luna?"

Quickly, she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard him speaking to her out of concern.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I was distracted…and worried, I guess," Luna replied. "I mean, I know seeing other worlds mean something to you, but...I don't know…it just also makes me feel rather…umm…"

"You're worried about leaving this place, aren't you? I know," Riku answered her as though he knew what was on her mind, "Once you get attached to someone, you have trouble thinking about leaving them."

"That's true…" Luna agreed quietly.

When they found Kairi where she always was, it was noticed that she was rather surprised to see Riku carrying the log instead of Luna.

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me, Riku, or are you really pitching in when you said you weren't going to?" Kairi asked in shock.

"No. Riku caught me trying to take the log," Luna replied, "I told him I wanted to help, so I guess he wanted to help me instead." She looked around for a moment. "That's odd. Wasn't Sora supposed to be here with the other items?"

Kairi let out a deep sigh. "Knowing him, he's either distracted by our other friends or he's snoozing in another place. I'd better go look for him."

Of course, it proved to be much easier than they thought when they found Sora sparring with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie further down the shore. However, it seemed like things were getting pretty hectic because the three youngsters were, in a manner of speaking, ganging up on him; so, to ease everything up, they had to step in and convince the younger ones to cool down and leave Sora alone for a while. Fortunately, they agreed to do so without complaining, and even offered to give their shot with either Riku or Luna. However, both of them declined since Riku would probably beat them and Luna was never a fan of using swords (even if they were toys).

Hours went by, and when it was sunset, the four friends gathered at the paopu fruit tree to watch the day become night. Sora and Kairi were seated on the tree, while Riku simply stood by the trunk looking cool and Luna seated herself next to him.

"So, Kairi and Luna's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked.

"Could be. We'll never know by staying here," Riku replied.

"But how far can a raft take us?"

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else," Riku answered, waving it off.

"Maybe, assuming that something happens to the raft," Luna added in concern.

"So, suppose you do get to another world," Kairi questioned, "What would you do there?"

"Well…I haven't really thought about it. It's just…" Riku thought about it a moment. "I've always wondered why we're on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds…then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could've easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

"I don't know," Sora said as he shifted his seating position.

"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing," Riku pointed out, "We just do the same stuff. We should go."

"You've been doing a lot of thinking, haven't you?" Kairi asked with a giggle.

"Thanks to you and Luna," Riku answered, "If you both hadn't come here, then I would've never thought of this. Kairi, Luna, thanks"

"You're welcome," Kairi replied.

"I don't understand how we helped, but…you're welcome," Luna agreed.

When it was about time to leave for home, the four headed back to the dock and returned to the mainland. After that, Luna returned home with Kairi and had their time with their adoptive parents; then it was getting late, so everyone had to head for bed. As she was getting herself settled in, though, Luna was greeted by Yoko and her husband, Hiroshi, who seemed to have something on their minds (but she couldn't tell what it was exactly).

"Hello there, Luna. Did you have fun with Kairi?" Hiroshi asked sweetly.

"I did, Hiroshi. We were very busy all day," Luna replied.

Hiroshi shook his head as he chuckled. "Even after nine years of living with us, you still call us Hiroshi and Yoko. I guess after all this, I'm getting used to this."

"Honey, she knows that she was adopted along with Kairi," Yoko reminded her husband, "That's why she keeps referring to us by our names than what we wanted her to call us."

But when Luna saw their faces change from light-hearted to serious, she wondered if there was something going on.

"…What's the matter? Is there something wrong?" Luna asked in concern.

She watched as Hiroshi shifted his attention towards the rack where her pouch was being held, and sighed deeply as he turned back to her.

"Luna, do you remember when you were in the hospital?" Hiroshi asked her, "When you were being treated for what the doctor understood to be a mental illness? Well, there was something we were informed about when we were discussing your adoption, but we didn't want to bring it up until you had recovered from your instability." He paused for a moment. "The doctor informed us that you mentioned once having a family and friends, but you refused to speak about anything else. What for, I haven't the faintest idea. We were hoping that maybe you could help us learn about your origins."

At first, Luna was unsure how to respond to what she was told. But when she knew that they only wanted to help her, she knew that she had to say something.

"I…I don't know where I was actually born. I know I have a mother, but…I don't know where she is," Luna replied sadly, "I had a brother…and a grandpa…and friends. But they're all gone."

Yoko sat next to Luna and hugged her gently. "Oh, my poor girl, we're so sorry to hear about that. It's no wonder you were so lonely since you came to the islands. But at least you're not alone now. You have loving parents, a sister who cares about you, and good friends who would do anything to help you. We may not know what you went through, but you have a better life now, and that's all that matters."

Though it was a comfort to hear such reassurance coming from her adoptive parents, Luna couldn't shake off her thoughts on that dream she had; the way it warned her that danger was coming, and that it would affect her life like it did before. It made her dread the idea of losing more people she loved.

It left her one question she couldn't answer all night: who will be able to help her when the danger does come?