Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Just the plot and OCs.

Chapter II

The three friends stood outside the school, bags on their shoulders, their swords were sheathed and hung from their hips. Nicolette sighed and looked at her two friends. They looked back. Skyler gave an encouraging smile and Kaylee gulped. All three were a little scared, but equally excited. Kaylee also seemed anxious to get it over with.

Nicolette turned away, now looking at the three Gummi ships in front of them. She couldn't believe she wouldn't actually see Skyler and Kaylee for the next two months. She'd hear from them, sure, but it wouldn't be the same. The girls turned at the sound of footsteps behind them. It was Adán. He smiled as he came to stop behind them. All three turned to face him.

"Are you ready?" Adán asked kindly. The friends nodded nervously. "Then what are you waiting for?"

The girls adjusted their bags on their shoulders and headed for their ships. They looked to each other before boarding.

"See you soon," Skyler said.

"Yeah, see you," said Nicolette.

"Hopefully," said Kaylee. With that, they entered the ships and closed the doors. A minute or two later, all three Gummi ships were in the air and headed in different directions.

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Nicolette knew her flight would be short. She didn't have too far to go. As she piloted her Gummi ship, she couldn't help but wonder what these people would be like. She didn't even know if they actually wanted her there. She just knew that they would welcome her into their home for this mission and probably this mission only.

She glanced down, watching some buildings wiz by. Hollow Bastion was still slightly in ruins, but some places seemed just fine. She rubbed the pommel of her sword, feeling the cool, teal gem under her fingers. She set the Gummi ship on autopilot and fumbled in her bag until she found a map Adán had given her. She scanned it, seeing the building where she was supposed to go marked with a red 'x'. She then looked down, seeing the same building down below. Wow, that really was short.

Nicolette took control of the ship again, and gently lowered it to the ground. She stuffed the map back in her bag, and jumped out. She glanced up at the building before continuing forward. Once she got to the door, she knocked, then stepped back, switching her bag to the opposite shoulder, and waited. Moments later, a girl about her age appeared in the doorway. Her short, black hair framed her face, a black headband barely noticeable under her bangs. She had on a completely black outfit, as well. Shorts and a tank top to be precise. She eyed Nicolette, then a huge grin came to her face.

"You must be the person from that training school!" she exclaimed. Nicolette nodded, and held out her hand, which the girl shook.

"I'm Nicolette," Nicolette introduced herself, once her hand was released. The girl remained grinning. "And you are?"

"Oh, sorry! My name's Yuffie!" she said.

"Nice to meet you, Yuffie," said Nicolette with a smile. There was a moment of silence before Yuffie cleared her throat and said,

"Why don't you come in?"

Nicolette smiled again and nodded. Yuffie grabbed her by the wrist and practically dragged her inside, letting the door slam behind them. Once inside, Yuffie turned to Nicolette and said,

"Let me introduce to everyone. Well, once I find them,"

"Sounds good," replied Nicolette.

"Okay, wait here!" said Yuffie. And with that, she darted off. Nicolette could tell that Yuffie was very hyper and energetic. She imagined she'd be somewhat like Kaylee. Hmm, this was going to be interesting.

A few minutes later, Yuffie ran back to Nicolette, dragging behind her a very confused, and slightly annoyed, boy. He looked to be in his early twenties, maybe a bit younger. Some of his long brown hair fell in face. He wore black jeans. A few belts hung loosely around his hips, hitting his legs as Yuffie dragged him. He also wore a small, fur-collared leather jacket over a plain white T-shirt.

"Yuffie, what do you want?" he questioned as she finally let go of him. He rubbed his wrist with a gloved hand and glared at Yuffie.

"Just hold on," she said, darting away without another word. The boy looked over at Nicolette. She gave him a small smile, which he returned quickly, before staring at the floor. Nicolette shrugged and waited, debating with herself on who was more energetic: Yuffie or Kaylee.

"Back!" the two heard Yuffie call. Nicolette looked over to see her dragging two more people. A girl with long hair wrapped in a braid that rested against her back, and a man, who looked very irritated. Yuffie let go of the two and let them stand next to the first boy. They all glanced at each other, and then to Yuffie, who was currently pulling Nicolette closer to the group.

"Nicolette, this is Leon,"-the first boy-"Aerith,"-the girl-"and Cid."-the now less-irritated man-"Guys, this is Nicolette. She's the one from that training school... thing,"

"Hi," Nicolette said with a small smile.

"Hello," the group said in unison. Yuffie cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, that was weird," she commented.

"Whatever," said Cid. Aerith nodded and Leon just shrugged. Yuffie then grabbed Nicolette's wrist again.

"I'll show you your room," she said. Nicolette nodded. She allowed herself to be forced upstairs by Yuffie, leaving the small group behind. Yuffie led Nicolette to the last room on the right. "There you go!" she said.

"Thanks," replied Nicolette. She walked inside, gave another 'thank you' to Yuffie, then closed the door. The room was slightly small, but it would work. Nicolette slumped on the bed, glad she could finally put her bag down. She also removed her sword and set it down beside her. She wondered how her friends were getting along.

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Kaylee landed her Gummi ship with a slight thud outside Castle That Never Was. She shuddered as she got out and looked at the massive castle. She took slow, steady steps to the door. She nervously raised her hand and knocked twice. She then waited for a few seconds, before turning away.

"Oh well. No one's home," she said, a bit of relief in her voice. She started walking back to her ship when she heard someone's voice behind her.

"Where are you going?"

Kaylee turned to see a fairly tall man, probably in his twenties, looking at her from the wide doorway. He had fiery red, spiked hair that fell just past his shoulders. His eyes were a bright emerald green. Underneath his eyes were two triangular, almost teardrop-shaped markings. He wore a long black cloak. In his gloved hands he held two chakrams. Kaylee swallowed hard.

"I was, um, just going to the, uh, castle," she stated nervously. The man cocked an eyebrow and turned to face the castle, then turned back to Kaylee, allowing his chakrams to disappear.

"The castle's that way," he said, pointing over his shoulder.

"Oh, of course it is. So I'll just go that way," said Kaylee, walking back toward the huge building. The man stepped aside, letting her in, then followed her, closing the door noiselessly.

"So, you must be the new member," he said. Kaylee cocked her head.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You're here to take Roxas's place," he stated. Kaylee suddenly remembered why she was there.

"Oh right. Yep, that's me," she said.

"What's your name?" asked the man, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Uh…Kay-I mean, Kexlae," Kaylee quickly lied. She felt her face getting hotter as a bead of sweat formed on her forehead. The man cocked his eyebrow once more.

"Okay then, Kexlae," he said. After this, he made his voice sound more confident as he straightened up, pulling back his shoulders and lifting his head a bit more. He pointed at himself and said,

"I'm Axel. Number eight of Organization XIII, The Flurry of Dancing Flames,"

He then leaned closer towards Kaylee, who was fighting back laughter as she heard his title, still keeping his proud stance, and added,

"Got it memorized?"

Kaylee pulled back as Axel straightened back up. She slowly nodded.

"Good then. Come on, I'll introduce to the rest of the Organization," Axel said casually, walking past Kaylee. She nodded again and followed him, struggling to keep up with his long strides. He soon stopped in front of a large oak door. Kaylee quickly stopped, trying to avoid knocking into him. He already looked a bit frightening to her. She didn't want to see him angry.

Axel opened the door to reveal the meeting room. The entire Organization was there. All eyes turned to Axel as he strutted into the room. They then turned to Kaylee as she followed nervously behind him.

"Kexlae, let me introduce you to The Superior, Xemnas, number one in the Organization,"

Kaylee looked at the man Axel pointed to. Xemnas nodded, obviously pleased with his introduction. He then crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept his gaze on Kaylee.

"Number two, Xigbar, The Freeshooter,"

The man called Xigbar nodded, keeping his un-patched eye on Kaylee as he fingered a gun arrow in his lap.

"Number three, Xaldin, The Whirlwind Lancer,"

Xaldin leisurely switched a long, blue lance from one hand to the other and back, watching Axel's introductions. Kaylee looked up at him and then back at the floor, afraid of how skilled he probably was with the lance.

"Number four, Vexen, The Chilly Academic,"

Kaylee couldn't help but stare at this one. His dirty blonde hair was just about as long as hers. He glared back at her, and she gave a squeak of fear that Axel pretended not to notice.

"Number five, Lexaeus, The Silent Hero,"

As Kaylee looked at Lexaeus, she couldn't help but wonder why they called him hero.

"Number six, Zexion, The Cloaked Schemer,"

Kaylee felt one of the Cloaked Schemer's eyes watching her. She was pretty sure the other was doing the same, but she couldn't tell since his hair covered most of his face.

"Number seven, Saïx, The Lunar Diviner,"

Saïx grunted as he held a firm grip on his claymore.

"You know me already," said Axel, arrogance in his voice as he continued on. "Number nine, Demyx, The Melodious Nocturne,"

Demyx was busy tuning his sitar, so he looked up with surprise when Axel said his name. He slowly lowered the sitar to his lap as he shot a welcoming smile to Kaylee. She squeaked with joy when she realized that one of these guys might actually be nice to her. Axel ignored the squeak and continued on.

"Number ten, Luxord, The Gambler of Fate,"

Kaylee switched her gaze from Demyx to Luxord, who seemed to be rolling dice in hands during the introductions.

"Number eleven, Marluxia, The Graceful Assassin,"

Kaylee held back laughter once she saw Marluxia. His hair. It was pink!

"Number twelve, Larxene, The Savage Nymph,"

Larxene shot a glare at Kaylee which forced her to take interest in the floor. A hint of sadness could be heard Axel's still-arrogant voice when he introduced Kaylee to the group.

"Everyone, this is Kexlae, our new number thirteen,"

Axel sighed as Kaylee wondered why he would be sad while introducing her. Did he not like her? Did he not want her here?

"Thank you, Axel," said Xemnas dryly. Axel nodded and proceeded to his seat. Kaylee watched as he left, wondering what she was supposed to do. Her question was soon answered.

"Kexlae!" Xemnas boomed. Kaylee jumped and looked up to face him, surprised at how loud he could make his voice. He toned it down with his next sentence. "You can take Roxas's seat,"

Kaylee looked at him, confused. Xemnas sighed, and sat back, clearly annoyed. Kaylee shrunk back, hoping she didn't anger him. She looked at the members of the Organization. She stopped when she saw Axel pointing to the empty chair at the end of the line. She gave a weak smile to thank him, then scurried to her seat. She hoped her friends were doing better than she was.

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Skyler circled Destiny Islands in her Gummi ship, enjoying the view. She finally landed, and swung her bag over her shoulder. She stepped out of the ship and onto the warm, soft sand, her sword bumping her side as she walked. She stepped around the ship to find two boys wrestling in the sand. One had spiky brown hair and seemed a bit shorter compared to the second. Skyler could see that the brown-haired boy had bright blue eyes, which he closed every now and then as his competitor nearly shoved him into the ground.

The other boy had silvery hair that fell past his shoulders, some of it hanging in his face. His eyes, Skyler could see, were also blue. But his were brighter then the other boy's and they had a slight green tint to them. Both boys looked to be about Skyler's age.

After getting the brunette to the ground, the silver-haired boy looked up.

"Sora, we have company," he said, allowing his friend to get up. Said brunette looked over to see Skyler while brushing sand off his clothes.

"Looks like we do," he said, leading his companion to her. "Hi, I'm Sora,"

"Skyler," she replied, shaking Sora's hand. Sora's friend walked up to them, looking Skyler over.

"You're from the training academy, aren't you?" he asked.

"Sure am!" said Skyler proudly.

"Nice to meet you," the boy replied, holding out his hand. Skyler shook it as he introduced himself properly. "I'm Riku,"

"Nice to meet you too, Riku," said Skyler. Riku nodded.

"Kairi's around here somewhere," said Sora, glancing around.

"You'll know her when you see her," said Riku. "We'd better get cleaned up," he added, indicating his and Sora's clothing, which were now covered in dust and sand.

"Yeah, good idea," Sora replied, rubbing a bit of dirt that stained his shirt. "See you around, Skyler!"

"See ya," said Skyler. Riku smiled before Sora began to drag him away. Riku quickly released himself and began talking with Sora on their way back.

Skyler stood there, smiling as she watched Riku walk off.

"I can do this," she stated to herself.

A/N

Okay, so this is where I'm leaving off. The stuff in the next chapter could probably fit into this easily, but I wanted to get this chapter up since my friends (Author 1 and Sarah the Slayer) really wanted to read it. The next chapter's gonna be really fun to write! Hehe! Kaylee's gonna have to fight an Organization member as somewhat of a test. Yay! Bye for now!

-Wolf