Hello! Heeere's Lilith! And I am BACK!

I am so sorry for not updating for so goddamn long. A lot of stuff has been going on: holidays, bad weather, etc. But I have finally brought forth another chapter!

As you can tell, I'm inching closer to Hollow Bastion (dear God, that freaking world in the first game). Now, I'm sure those of you who've played the Kingdom Hearts games know that after this is Chain of Memories.

With CoM being only a matter of time, I would like to ask you guys for some help: Can someone among my reviewers (or a newcomer who just discovered my work recently, doesn't matter to me) provide me a timeline for Chain of Memories? I am aware that Sora and Riku move through Castle Oblivion at different paces, and I am aware that what goes on with them is different. However, I would like some advice or suggestions as to how to tackle that part of the story. Do you guys want to split the story into two separate fics, or do you want me to combine them and pinpoint where and in what chapters to flip-flop between them? Any ideas you have would be very appreciated. :)

By the way, guess what new guest party members are coming for the ride? ;)

Without further ado, enjoy!

I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts except my OCs.

Read, leave me a review, but no flames.

Chapter 15: Return and Recuperation

With Neverland's troubles resolved and a clue as to where Riku and Maleficent had gone off to, the only thing that had to be done was return to Traverse Town and to inform their friends on the location of the witch's hiding place. After all, they did mention that they had a home world to call their own, so wouldn't it make sense to let them know what they'd just learned after journeying throughout the worlds?

Thankfully, with the Heartless no longer harassing or endangering Traverse Town, it was possible to land back in that world without having to keep their guard up constantly (which would've made any other person a paranoid wreck). It was noticeable that there were more people bravely stepping outside of their safe zones with the knowledge that they won't be attacked anymore, and that more shops and businesses were starting to open up more to the general public. Truth be told, it was actually quite refreshing after all the hellish ordeals they've gone through thus far.

"I'm not gonna lie, it's actually refreshing that we don't need to worry about those buggers after locking up this world's keyhole," Medea confessed.

"Yeah, I guess so," Sora agreed.

"I wonder what everyone would think if we told them what we learned," Luna wondered.

"But how are we gonna get to Hollow Bastion?" Donald couldn't help questioning. "We don't have the necessary gummi blocks to make a journey there, much less a long one."

That was actually a very good question, which certainly needs a good answer. But on the bright side, someone had an obvious answer for them.

"And you claim to be adventurers, you silly misfits? Do you not have any common sense, or at least little bits? Why, you had that mechanic Cid modify your craft to take you to every new location, so clearly one more would look like a pleasant vacation."

The first to welcome the party back, so to speak, was none other than Shantotto.

"Oh, Professor, is everything alright with Leon and the others?" Sora asked.

"Oh, don't play coy. I'm certain that something happened while you were out and about, my boy," Shantotto answered as though she suspected something's up. "One way or another, one of us will know the truth behind that self-established puzzle. Besides, you can't keep all of your pain leashed under your little muzzle." She paused. "But I suppose interrogation will have to wait another day. Now, then, come along with me to see Cid so we can uncover what you've found to continue paving the way."

As Shantotto lead them to Cid's shop, this gave Sora a bit of time to think over everything that had happened ever since arriving in Traverse Town with Luna.

Despite not understanding the other refugees as much as Luna did in the past – whatever it might have been, but she has yet to regain her still missing memories – at least Sora came to accept that they, too, want to help weaken the invasion of the Heartless. He only wished he had more opportunities to know more about them, maybe learn what they've been involved with.

However, he was still bothered by what happened back in Neverland, particularly the negative change with Riku. What he wanted to know was what he was thinking, siding with the witch to save their friend. For that matter, why did he try to take Luna from him, when he made a promise to support her until they found both of their friends? He had seen his friend try to convince her to join him in his twisted endeavors, even so much as attempting to kidnap her when she's at her most vulnerable moments. That just felt wrong on so many accounts, since he knows that Luna would never want to cooperate with the wrong crowd under any circumstances, much less get roped in against her will.

Worse still, he knows that they haven't even found the king that Donald and Goofy know of so well; even Luna had some knowledge as to who this monarch is, to some extent. Honestly, he would like to know what reason their king went missing (besides a mention that he had no knowledge of Luna's whereabouts), and whether or not his new friends really wanted to help him and his recovered friend find what they were looking for as well…

"Hey, you're back, huh? Anything new I need to know?" Cid's boisterous voice startled him back to reality.

Unbeknownst to them, Cid had changed his location and established his own shop in town, specifically to work with gummi blocks and their ship as one of the top engineers. Actually, Sora knew about that since he was with Donald and Goofy the last time they were in Traverse Town (and that was when they were preparing to leave), but apparently Luna and Medea were not aware of it since they were looking around the area with perplexed looks on their faces.

"When did you move?" Luna asked.

Cid looked at her, dumbfounded. "Whaa? Don't tell me your buddies didn't keep ya in the loop about my business!"

"Oops," Goofy admitted, knowing what he meant.

"Uh…yeah, about that…Cid set up his own shop and helped us make repairs on the gummi ship before we left for the next world," Sora explained sheepishly.

Shantotto gave a very irritated glare. "Men these days…they just don't keep their brains out of the grinder. Wouldn't you have the common courtesy to give the ladies at least one little reminder?"

"Oh, maybe because they were too focused on saving the world they can't stop to give an update on even the most trivial of things," Medea said sardonically.

"We're planning to go to Hollow Bastion," Donald interrupted them.

That was when both Cid and Shantotto suddenly displayed shocked faces; with the latter, this was not something that happened too often.

"Wait, what? You saying you're going there?" Cid interrogated in disbelief. "Who told you about it?"

"A certain pirate captain mentioned it at the last world we were in," Sora replied. "I'm sure that…I mean, Luna and I are sure that Riku is there. We have to find him if we are to find Kairi. For all we know, the king might be there, too."

"Young man, you have completely lost your marbles," the professor objected harshly, "Come now, tell me that all you are speaking is nothing but garbles. Heartless reside there in countless numerations, and there is no negotiating with the accursed sorceress who will never follow along with any possible alterations. To go to Hollow Bastion so hastily would be naught but a fool's death wish, which will ultimately make you a better delicacy for the Heartless than a freshly cooked fish."

"She does have a point there. If we go now, we'll be in trouble," Luna agreed, regardless of her disappointment.

Sora didn't want to openly admit it, but Luna had a very good point; if they left for Hollow Bastion immediately, they would not only be unprepared for the Heartless lurking there, but they would be also be at a disadvantage without acquiring the necessary knowledge about the place beforehand. Thinking back on it, some of their friends in Traverse Town had mentioned about Hollow Bastion when they brought up Maleficent, and a few of Luna's prior acquaintances gave off the impression that they know the place more than the rest of them. Maybe they've seen the destructive nature of the Heartless firsthand.

It certainly begs the question as to what the witch is truly capable of. He's only seen her once back in Agrabah, and it was only a very brief moment, but something about her felt rather intimidating that first time. Though, he remembered that anytime she is mentioned, it stirred up a lot of anger out of Luna and Medea. Perhaps they knew her some years ago? That means Luna would've been a child way back when if that was the case.

"Say, do we have enough gummi blocks to make that trip?" Goofy asked, "Or at the very least, a particular gummi block that could help us ride there?"

"I've got something," Donald announced, shuffling through his pockets to pull a couple gummi blocks of peculiar configurations.

Cid took the gummi blocks Donald had on him and examined them like rocks to a scientist, most likely trying to figure out what these blocks are meant to be used for.

"Where'd you get those?" Sora asked.

"They were dropped while we were fighting the Heartless on the pirate ship," the duck answered, "I've never seen those kinds of blocks."

Cid suddenly looked at them confounded. "What? You pilot a ship of your own, and you haven't taken the time to learn about how to use gummi blocks right?"

Shantotto let out a haughty laugh at that. "Apparently, that little squawking bird's bite doesn't completely match his bark. Given what you just said, I'm sure that such hard questions are going to leave quite a mark."

"But you can help us apply them to the ship, can you?" Sora asked, interrupting before Donald could make a rant at the magician.

"Yeah, I'm sure I can apply these blocks to your ship. Besides, it might need some repairs in the meantime," Cid replied, "Why don't you guys stay a while and get yourselves resupplied, trained and better prepared for your trip? I'd say you guys earned it after all the trouble you're going through."

It was hard to argue against him right there. It would be a good idea to get some rest and be prepared for their next travel, just to make certain that they'll be ready for more challenging battles to come. They know who their enemy is, and they have to keep their strengths up when they do confront her in the near future. But…the only thing bugging Sora was a rather difficult question: will he and Luna have to fight against Riku as well?

While Cid began to work on modifications for the gummi ship, the gang opted to stay at the inn for a while and rest up for the night before starting their training in the morning. After all they've gone through, Luna was undoubtedly very tired after everything that she experienced on their journey, so she went ahead and chose to just sleep it off while Medea kept watch over her. She settled down in one room while Sora took another room with Donald and Goofy.

But in contrast to the girls (who most likely suspected what's to come), Sora was rather restless about the next travel, worrying about what they might have to expect and what will happen if they don't succeed in pulling through Hollow Bastion. In all honesty, just the idea of having to face Riku and Maleficent in itself is enough to unnerve him to the point of making him feel a heavy gloom of dread hovering over his head as he feared what his friend would feel if she had to fight someone she was close to all those years ago on the islands. If Luna failed to convince Riku to stop his wrongful actions, then would his attempts to reason with him be no different than hers? If only he had a way to open his best friend's eyes…

"Sora!" Donald snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Now, just remember what Donald said to ya: no frowning, no sad faces," Goofy added.

Sora shook his head sadly. "How can you be so cheerful? There's still no sign of your king. Aren't you worried?"

"Aw, phooey," the duck brushed it off like he wasn't worried.

"The king told us to go out and find the key bearer and the Shadow Mage, and we found both of you," Goofy replied. "So, as long as we stick together, it'll all work out okay. Ya just gotta believe in yourself, that's all."

That got Sora pondering for a bit. "Just believe…"

Hearing those words actually gave him a little bit of hope that he and Luna will succeed in finding their friends. The anxiety is still there, but at the very least he has enough confidence that he will keep pressing on until he's found what he wanted most.

If Sora was feeling dread when he wasn't around Luna, Medea was actually feeling a lot of pent-up tension waiting to explode at any inopportune moment. After all that has happened thus far, she had no doubt that things are going to get more difficult from here on out. But that wasn't what bothered her entirely: as helpful as Donald and Goofy have been through their journey up to now, she hasn't been able to completely trust them with helping them. She didn't want to admit to Luna directly because she didn't want to hurt her feelings.

Now, granted, she was just fine with Goofy; at least he was very friendly with Luna and stood in like a dorky big brother for her. Heck, she actually tolerated his comical demeanor a lot of the time since his optimism seemed bottomless. However, it's Donald that she is having problems with from the very start: when they first met, she noticed him whispering something to Goofy that her master and Sora didn't catch early on, and it made her very suspicious. Not to mention, there were moments were Donald was unnecessarily stubborn and rather demanding to keep pressing on to find their king. If anything, she had reason to believe that he's so focused on finding his leader that he is losing sight of the problems of those who need help most, and that has been grinding her gears a lot.

When she heard the door opening, she turned to find that Goofy just came in, possibly to check up on Luna before hitting the hay himself on Sora's behalf.

"Oh, hi, Medea! Is Luna asleep right now?" Goofy said cheerfully.

"Yeah, she is. She must be exhausted after what happened in Neverland," Medea replied as she turned to watch Luna. But then, a niggling thought wormed into her head. "Hey, Goofy, did you and Donald really mean to help us find their island buddies?"

He turned to her, puzzled at her question. "Well, yeah, we did. After all, we've become good friends, haven't we?"

The guardian shifted her head to Goofy with a hard glare. "You may be saying that, and I'm not questioning your honesty about it. But I have my doubts that Donald would say the same thing if I asked him the same question. Ever since we travelled to different worlds, I've been noticing that Donald seems to be only focused on finding King Mickey over trying to help Sora and Luna get back together with their friends. Remember what happened when Sora tried to invite Riku to tag along? You remember what Donald did that hurt my master's feelings? The damn duck didn't even give a good explanation as to why he made such an impulsive refusal!"

The knight could certainly understand where the Shadow Guardian was coming from; she only wanted what's best for Luna, and for quite a while she found it hard to trust them completely. It is a sure sign that her temper is starting to boil over and she could snap at any time.

That was when Goofy had a little thought cross his mind…something that he didn't get the chance to tell someone about ever since they first crossed paths.

"Say, Medea, y'know how we spoke of the king being worried about Luna when she disappeared?" Goofy inquired. Medea raised her brow, indicating she's interested in hearing what he had to say. "Ya see, before the king vanished, he told us that after something tragic happened that affected Luna's well-being, she might be all alone and probably frightened at the idea of being left that way. I dunno what happened to cause that, but I think the king might know the real cause behind her pain. And after seeing Sora do everything he can to support her during her rough times, it kinda made me want to help, too. Maybe Donald just needs more time to get used to having new friends, or maybe more time to accept that Sora and Luna are more than just the aid we need to find our king."

The guardian was legitimately surprised to hear this coming from the silliest creature she's ever encountered. Was he actually more aware of the situation than she initially thought?

"Wow…I'm actually impressed," Medea admitted, failing to keep her shock from showing. "I never thought I'd hear that from you." She paused to take in his words. "I guess I can only hope you're right. However, if Donald does one more selfish thing for his own stupid reasons, I can't promise that I'll have anything nice to say about it."

When morning arrived in Traverse Town (if you can call it that, given the atmosphere of the world for refugees), it was about time to start preparing for their travels so that all of them will be ready for the harder battles to come. Luckily for them, they had very good teachers they can turn to so they would know what to expect from the Heartless and Maleficent.

Under Merlin and Shantotto's tutelage, Sora and Luna had an opportunity to sharpen their skills and their magic arsenal so that they can change their tactics should the need arise. On Merlin's watch, they learned how to attack their enemies from different ranges as well as knowing how to sabotage the more mobile types; Shantotto, on the other hand, made sure that their magic is up to snuff so that each of them can hold a candle to anything else that applies the same strategies as they would in some scenarios. However, while the former behaved more like the bumbling but well-meaning teacher, the latter drilled them more like a military general in a boot camp on a summer afternoon (and when it came to Donald and Goofy, the same methods applied to them as well, so nobody was entirely safe). Despite this, Sora felt like he was getting better at using the keyblade while Luna gained better knowledge on how to change tactics with her Shadow Hands in every situation.

After at least a couple of days of exercising their combat skills and training for the battles to come, Cid announced to them that the modifications on the gummi ship are almost complete, so if anybody wanted to do some last-minute restocking on supplies and additional repairs, now was as good a time as ever to do so before going anywhere – but not without warning them again that Hollow Bastion will be perilous on way or another. Donald and Goofy decided to tend to the ship and arrange any repairs needed to their top engineers on board the craft, while Luna took Medea and Sora out with her to help with buying extra groceries for the kitchen so they can have food during their travels.

Once everything is in order, it was now time to leave Traverse Town for Hollow Bastion; the moment of truth has arrived, and they're getting closer to the confrontation against the Heartless that originated from that very world the witch uses as her base of operations – there's no going back now.

"Well, are we ready to go?" Donald asked.

"I'd say so. The ship looks fully functional, our food supply is a lot better than last time," Sora checked off everything they've done, "I'd say that we're good to go."

"You're off to Hollow Bastion?"

Everyone turned around to find Larsa arrived to see them off, but this time he was not alone: he brought along two peculiar individuals with him, which sparked a little familiarity on Luna's account. She knew she saw the two before…

"I don't mean to interrupt your departure, but I have two sentient dolls who want to accompany you," Larsa explained to them as the dolls nodded in unanimous agreement. "They apparently are looking for two people important to them, particularly their rightful owners."

"Two dolls?" Goofy repeated, "I've never seen them before."

"We have, and I'm gonna say that it was a creepy sight," Medea commented.

That got Sora curious. "Really? We're heading someplace very dangerous. I'm not sure it's a good idea to take them with us."

"Who are their owners, Larsa?" Luna asked out of curiosity. "Did they tell you what they look like?"

The female doll twirled beautifully and gave a curtsey while the male doll made an attempt to act scary despite still looking childish.

"As far as I could understand from them, their owners are opposites of one another," Larsa answered, "One is a young woman, very beautiful and intelligent. They call her their princess, if you would. The other…well, they were rather vague regarding the description. The most I got was that their other owner was…animalistic in character."

Sora and Luna looked at each other in confusion when they heard what Larsa described. What manner of owners would be so different, and yet still share the same precious...sentient dolls able to act of their volition? And for that matter, could their owners be the reason they wanted to come along for the ride at their own request?

However, it was the imploring glimmers in the dolls' otherwise soulless, glassy eyes that showed the two are very desperate to come along with them.

"Well, if we're gonna decide what to do with them; can we get their names first?" Goofy requested.

"Of course. The boy version is called Calca, and the girl is called Brina," Larsa introduced them.

"If they're that anxious to come along, I only hope they can defend themselves against the Heartless," Sora admitted.

"Hold on! We can't just take them!" Donald interrupted in protest.

Medea angrily glared at the duck. "This again?! You recall what happened the last time you rejected a guest?"

"No! It's too dangerous! They can't come with us," Donald insisted.

But Sora was having none of that. "You heard what Medea said. The last time you made a harsh rejection, Medea tried to kill you! C'mon, if those two, erm, people need our help finding their owners, the least we could do is try and assist them in their search."

Goofy's contemplating 'Hmm…' interrupted them as they wondered what was on his mind in the midst of the petty argument.

"Y'know, we've been making a lot more of the decisions around here for a while," Goofy suddenly spoke up, "Although we shared ideas on how to deal with problems, we should work on taking turns making choices about petty matters."

"What are you thinking?" Sora asked.

"I'm thinking we should let Luna decide on whether the dolls come along," he replied.

While Donald showed a flabbergasted look on his face, Sora and Medea were actually quite eager at the new change of authority this time around. Luna, on the other hand, didn't know what to make of it at first since she didn't quite understand why Goofy made that suggestion in the first place. But then the pleading gestures on Calca and Brina convinced to think on their position in Larsa's proposition, which actually took her a little longer than normally since she was not used to making the judgment calls on certain matters. After a few minutes, though, she made her verdict.

"We'll take them with us," Luna decreed.

Donald sighed in dismay as Sora gave a silent cheer of victory, whereas Medea simply gave a triumphant smirk at her master's choice. The dolls, on the other hand, started dancing with joy now that they got their way.

"If you want, Donald, they can stay in my room," Luna offered as compensation. "I promise they won't cause any trouble."

"…Fine. You win," Donald reluctantly complied.

"Excellent. Then I pray that you find what you're looking for," Larsa said, doing his best to keep a positive look on. "Just promise us that you'll all return safely, if you please."

"Don't worry about it. We'll be back soon enough, you'll see," Sora reassured him with a grin he put on to stay strong. "Once we beat Maleficent, we'll have Riku and Kairi with us again before you know it."

Despite saying this so openly, Sora knew that it will not be a cakewalk to get their friends back, not after seeing what happened to Kairi and witnessing how cruel and twisted Riku became under Maleficent's influence. Still, he also knew that he had to do his best to be strong for Luna's sake. She'll need all the help she can get once they reach Hollow Bastion. So, should either of them to persuade Riku to see reason, then he will have no choice but to force his old friend to realize the error of his ways.