Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything. Just Bella.

The three women were making a quick dash for the First District where they would be able to find safety in the accessory shop. Bella, however, couldn't get her mind off Sora and Leon. She didn't want to run away from this. She had no clue how Sora would be able to handle a serious situation. Sure, Leon was with him, but they were probably going to need all the help they could get.

"Yuffie!" she shouted. She wrenched her wrist free with a sharp twist and let go of Aerith at the same time. "Just take Aerith. I'm going back to help."

"Don't die out there, ok?" Yuffie warned her without breaking a stride. She shouted the rest back to Bella as they ran in separate directions. "Cid's taken a bit of a liking to you, you know."

Bella grinned and dashed madly after Leon and Sora toward the Third District. If she hurried, maybe she could catch up to them in time! She came upon the doors quickly and barreled her way through them, her heart pounding at the sound of metallic clashes. The fight had already begun.

Several large pillars that had definitely not been there before blocked Bella's view, separating her from Sora. She saw Leon a bit further away and jogged up to him. His face was stone-like, his expression unreadable as he listened intently to the unseen ongoing battle.

"What the hell did I just miss?" Bella demanded. She waved her hand gesturing toward the ugly columns that blocked off most of the district. "How hired the architect with bad taste?"

"Sora's in there with the other newcomers," Leon said quietly. "They were searching for the key too, and now we will see what happens."

"Sora and two people we don't really know are fighting a bunch of Heartless in there right now?" Bella sighed. "Oh that's just brilliant. We don't know how they fight. We're probably all going to die. Wonderful."

"I think the King sent those two," Leon told her. "And they aren't 'people' per say. One is a duck and one is a dog."

"Even better," Bella said sourly. "Animal cruelty. We've just pitted poor defenseless animals against the big bad. We're going to hell."

"Those aren't just Heartless in there either," Leon informed Bella, ignoring her dramatics for the time being. Bella gave him a confused look before it dawned on her and a look of horror masked her face.

"You mean to say the Guard is in there with them?" she whispered.

Leon didn't say anything, but he nodded gravely, still studying the pillars. There were no openings and the walls were way too high to leap over. They were just going to have to wait to see if Sora and the others were strong enough to face the terrors on the other side, and then if they were strong enough to survive it.

Quite suddenly, a loud noise, like the shattering of glass reverberated off the pillars. Bella's heart stopped and she gasped. Leon flinched forward, reaching for his gunblade. Whatever that sound was, it didn't sound very good at all. Too bad there was still no way to figure out what was happening on the other side. Bella and Leon were still blind.

"Sora?" Bella shouted over the walls when all remained silent. "Sora, it's Bella. Are you alright over there? What's going on?"

With a great rumble, the pillars shook violently and sank slowly into the ground. Bella jumped back in surprise. This town was so damn weird. Leon stepped forward, leaping over the much shorter barrier and disappeared from sight. Once the dust settled, Bella saw that Sora was just fine, a bit breathless and bruised, but at least he was still alive.

She couldn't take her eyes off the other two though. When Leon said a duck and a dog, she hadn't known what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this. The dog was so much taller than anyone else Bella had ever met and the duck was certainly louder. This was simply unbelievable.

"Bella!" Sora shouted out. He waved enthusiastically, wincing slightly. "I did it!"

"And you got a toy," Bella commented, nodding her head toward the small object in Sora's hand.

"It's called a Brave Warrior," claimed some unseen voice. Bella looked around and noticed a small jumping thing on the ground. It held a book and was waving it around, pointing to a page. Bella knelt down and the thing jumped over, revealing itself to be a cricket. "It's an accessory meant to increase the user's strength and stamina, according to my research."

"A talking cricket," Bella whispered. "Amazing. Then again I have met Pongo and Perdy. Same case really."

"Jiminy Cricket, at your service," said the little cricket, introducing himself.

"I'm Bella," Bella returned, reaching out with her pinky to "shake hands" with the smaller individual. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"And I'm Goofy," mentioned the dog, excited about introduction time. He grabbed the much shorter duck around the shoulders, throwing the poor creature off balance a bit. "And this here is Donald."

"Leon," replied the man without as much enthusiasm.

"Sora," supplied the younger boy.

"Introductions over," Leon said, cutting to the chase. He looked toward Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy for answers. "What are you doing here?"

"We were looking for the "key" for the King," Goofy replied.

"So," Sora reasoned out, "you were looking for me?"

Donald and Goofy nodded simultaneously. "Uh-huh."

"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade," Leon mused, half speaking to Bella, half to himself.

"Looks like Sora is on the most wanted list or something," Bella joked. "Hey, Mr. Popularity, what do you think of that?"

Before Sora could say anything, Goofy jumped quickly.

"Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel," he explained. Bella's ears perked and she looked up at the statement. A way to travel? A way to get out of this tiny town and see something new? She was so in.

"I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi," Sora wondered aloud, looking downcast. Bella placed a reassuring and on his shoulder.

"Of course," Donald interjected quickly. Bella saw him cross his feathers--fingers--whatever, behind his back sneakily and narrowed her eyes. Oh yeah, this was totally believable.

"Are you sure?" Goofy whispered to him. Confusion clouded his eyes and he looked from Sora to Donald again, not noticing Bella's incredulous stare.

"Who knows?" Donald whispered back. "But we need him to come with us to help us find the king."

Leon nodded once; he had heard the hushed conversation as well, whereas Sora was still lost in his own thoughts about finding his friends. Leon caught Bella's eye and signaled that it was ok. Even though Sora was going to be taken away under the impression that Riku and Kairi would quickly be found, he would be safe with these two goofs.

"Sora," Leon voiced authoritatively. "Go with them, especially if you want to find your friends."

"Yeah," Bella agreed. "You'll never know unless you go out there and search for yourself. I wish I had the same opportunity as you to find everything I lost, but I'm not the Keyblade master."

"Yeah, I guess," Sora murmured, realizing that Bella wasn't coming with him. The thought saddened him, as she was his first friend here and did her best to help him out. Now, she would have to stay behind.

"But you can't come along looking like that," Donald scolded, ignoring the look of longing on Bella's face. "Understand? No frowning. No sad face, okay?"

"Yeah," Goofy encouraged enthusiastically. He crouched down to get his face on Donald's level and grabbed the duck's shoulders to give a god natured shake. "Ya gotta look funny, like us!"

"This boat runs on happy faces," Donald said, pushing Goofy away from him. That dog knew nothing about personal bubbles and staying out of them!

"Only if Bella can come too!" Sora said, stating his demand with a stern look. "I want to find Riku and Kairi, but she's lost something too. I won't leave without my friend!"

"What?" Donald asked, surprise written on his features. "You want to take someone else with us?"

"That's right," Sora confirmed. He walked over to Bella and placed a hand on her shoulder. "She comes with us or I don't go with you. Your choice."

"Oh, Donald," Goofy said amiably. "It's only one more person, and we need Sora if we want to find the kind."

"Fine," Donald agreed with an exasperated sigh. "But she's the only one. We can't fit more people on the ship."

Bella didn't hear the conversation. She was still in shock. Had Sora really just vouched for her like that? She was going to be able to go with them and search for her own world and friends? It seemed too good to be true…she must have imagined it.

"That's one funny face!" Goofy declared suddenly, pointing at Bella. She realized how stupid she looked with her jaw dropped, and possibly some drool, and quickly rearranged her features into something resembling normalcy once more. She shot a glare at Sora, who was also cracking up with laughter and whacked his shoulder with great force…Stupid Sora.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, the Disney Villains were convening and plotting the demise of all…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That little squirt took down that Heartless!" exclaimed a figure with literally flaming blue hair. His teeth were sharpened to razor points and his eyes burned with hatred. "Who'd have thought it?"

"Such is the power of the Keyblade," informed a tall, thin man. He held a long staff in the shape of a golden cobra, which hinted at darker magic than we have seen thus far. He stroked his curled goatee thoughtfully before speaking again. "The child's strength is not his own."

"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless?" demanded an octopod with purple skin and black tentacles. She tapped a few of those tentacles together menacingly. "That'll settle things quickly enough."

"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys," shouted out a typically clothed pirate, possible a captain. The long plume in his hat swayed gently even though he shook his head vigorously. "Swoggle me eyes, they're bilge rats by the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself," laughed what looked like a large potato sack filed to the brim with creepy-crawlies. The pirate just growled at the sack, shooting him a filthy look. "Shut up!"

"Enough," commanded a woman who had thus far been silent. She stood from her seat with authority, calling the meeting to order before things got out of control as usual. "The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him?"

The group was silent as they thought about her words. What would come of this? Would this young "warrior" amount to dirt, or would he prove to be their downfall?

"Either way," she spoke again, commanding their attention once more, "he could be quite useful…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back in Traverse Town, our new group is preparing to depart from this world and move on to the next…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you," Leon instructed. "We don't know how far the Heartless have spread."

"Check out the shops here," Yuffie suggested helpfully. "They've got some pretty neat stuff, and everyone is always selling back, so you can find something really cool that you can't find anywhere else."

"This is from all of us," Aerith offered, holding out a money pouch to Bella. "It's 100 munny. That currency is good anywhere you go, so make good use of it!"

"Thanks," Bella said, stashing it in small sac she hung over her shoulder. "I'm sure this will really come in handy."

"Spend it as you see fit," she told them all. "And this is from Leon."

She handed Sora a small bottle that glowed with a green energy. An elixir. That could be useful in battle when it seems like they are too tired to go on.

"Good luck!" Yuffie said, taking Bella into a quick hug and slapping Sora on the shoulder. Aerith smiled her encouragement and Leon remained as expressionless as always.

"Look out for each other," Leon warned them. "Keep our heads about you all the time and keep your spirits up. Remember you can always come back here if you need us."

"Cid wishes you luck too," Aerith supplied, noticing Bella looking toward the shop with a bit of sadness. Her friend had not come to see them off. She noticed a flash near the window and she smiled. He had looked out at them, saying his own silent good bye.

She faced Donald and Goofy again. "Where is this ship of yours?"

"The gummi ship is outside that gate," Donald said.

"Wait 'til you see it!" Goofy said excitedly. He started off towards the doors but was immediately pulled back by Donald once more. He stumbled backwards and landed directly on his rump with a dull thud. "Ouch."

"Hold on," Donald ordered. "Sora and Bella, this is for you."

He handed each of them a small red stone. Sora stared at his with total confusion and Bella looked up at Donald.

"Thanks," she said uncertainly. She twisted it this way and that, trying to figure out the meaning behind it. "I've always wanted a little red pebble. I can throw it at people, right?"

"No," Donald said, shaking his head with his hand over his eyes. "Just say 'fire' and you will learn the spell."

"Fire?" Bella repeated, totally lost now. A spark flew up from the rock and wrapped around her arm in a flurry of dancing flames (AN: I couldn't resist!) and completely covered her sword and gun as well. Bella had frozen on the spot and Sora gave a shout as her body was engulfed in flames. As quickly as it started, however, it was over. The rock turned gray and cold and Bella dropped it on the ground.

"What the hell?" she demanded angrily. "Were you trying to kill me?"

"No," Donald replied. "I gave you the magic of Fire, and now you can use it whenever you need to."

"Oh," Bella said, calming a bit. Cool, the duck taught her how to burn things. This could get interesting. She pointed at his tail and muttered "fire", sending smoke curling up from the white feathers.

Donald clapped his hands over his tail and shouted while Bella laughed.

"Oh yeah," she said through tears of laughter. "I could so get used to this!"

Laughing, Sora said the short incantation and held still while the same flames took over his body. His rock also went dark as the magic left it and entered his body instead.

After recovering from the initial shock of his tail being set aflame, Donald looked to Goofy and said, "Teach them that other thing too."

"Oh yeah," Goofy said. He jumped to the side, tucking his body and rolling before springing up to his feet again. That's called the dodge roll. It sure does come in handy when someone tried to attack and you can't block it."

"Good idea," Sora commented, trying it out for himself. The kid was a fast learner. He looked to Bella to see if she would attempt it too, but she shook her head.

"There is no way you're gonna see me rolling around in the dirt," she said smoothly.

"Okay," Sora said with a shrug. "Is that it? Let's get going!"

"Not 'til we're ready!" Donald ordered, pushing Sora toward the Accessory Shop while Bella stayed at the gates with Goofy and Jiminy.

"Well," Jiminy said, talking to no one in particular. "I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!"