A/N: I'm SO sorry for the long wait! It shouldn't happen again for a while...

Disclaimer: What if I told you that I didn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, OR Square Enix? Well, it's true.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

There was only one place for Lea to have darted off to: the apartment.

Myde flew as fast as his wings could carry him, narrowly dodging several trees and prickly rose bushes along the way. A few angry fey and humans cursed the rocker faery for nearly slamming into them, but Myde did not allow that to slow him down. He needed to find Lea now; nothing was going to stop him.

SLAM.

Myde had been so preoccupied by his thoughts of "OHMYGOSHLEAOHMYGOSHYOU DUMMYMYJOBOHMYGOSH" that he hadn't even noticed the familiar brick apartment until he had knocked himself into the door – literally. He tumbled to the ground, where he lay for a few stunned seconds. During this time, the door slowly creaked open to reveal the fiery spirit that Myde had been looking for. At the sight of the disoriented faery on the ground, Lea winced dramatically.

"Ouch, you okay?" he asked Myde. The faery groaned something unintelligible before bursting into human size and attempting to stand up.

Note the key word: attempting.

In the end, Myde stumbled into the wall beside Lea, who was struggling to contain his laughter.

"It hurts to see you suffer, bruh,"the redhead commented, an ill-concealed grin on his face as he watched his struggling friend.

"Heey!" Myde said accusingly, rubbing a large gash on his forehead. "It's your fault this happened!"

At this statement, Lea's amused expression faded. The fire spirit shifted uncomfortably as his ember green eyes studied the stairwell behind him.

"Yeah, uh, about that," he said nervously. "I –"

Before the redhead could finish his sentence, Myde interrupted him. "I said that I kinda smuggled them out and that we had to hide them from Mister Ansem!" he cried. "You got them a job at his favorite ice cream place. Now what am I gonna do?"

Lea scratched his head thoughtfully. Since he couldn't come up with any solutions, he merely responded, "You could put a bandage on your head; you're getting blood all over the hallway."

Both of them looked at the floor under Myde's feet. Sure enough, a lovely puddle of golden blood had accumulated that Myde hadn't even noticed. Boy, the landlord wasn't going to be too happy. He would probably make them pay for cleaning it up, which would require a job to get the money. Of course this would happen to Myde.

"Well, I think that I could pay for the cleanup!" Lea said halfheartedly to the faery.

"Yeah," Myde replied miserably. "Excuse me while I take a nap; maybe this is all just a dream! Yep, it's just a dream, hehe." On that note, he fainted. Lea stared at the unconscious faery for a moment, slightly shocked by what had just occurred.

"Wow, the wall got 'em good," he finally commented to himself.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

Meanwhile at the ice cream booth, two sets of confused trios were left in the dust by their (relatively) adult guides. The three young ones behind the ice cream stand – Naminé, Xion, and Repliku – were aware that they were standing before their originals, whose blood ran through their veins and memories through their minds (excluding Xion). The other trio was oblivious, of course. All they knew at that moment was that Myde had flipped out at the sight of three ice cream booth workers who looked suspiciously like themselves.

It was an awkward situation, to say the least; even Scrooge McDuck didn't know what to say to break the ice.

Finally Sora decided to crush the awkward silence. "Well, there goes our sea-salt ice cream," he grumbled. Turning to the other trio, he grinned and extended his hand to them. "Anyway, I'm Sora Dia Oerba."

"I know," Naminé nearly said. "I know you, I know Kairi, I know Riku." It was right on the tip of her tongue, but for some reason it felt wrong to say. She merely stared at the brunet – the only faery around there, finally, that was her height – and racked through her memories to think of something to say.

"Hello there! I'm Sora."

"'Sup? I'm Hayner; what's your name?"

"My name is –"

"Naminé."

Before she knew it, the blonde found herself saying her own name. Repliku raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing.

"Well, nice to meet you, Naminé!" Sora said with a genuine smile. "Who're your friends?"

Naminé looked back to Xion and Repliku. The silverette stared down into the ice cream bin that he was mindlessly unpacking in an attempt to avoid Riku's questioning gaze, while Xion snagged one of the delicious frozen treats and began to eat it. It was quite obvious that they weren't going to respond, especially due to Repliku's question-arousing name.

"They're, uh, my siblings; they can't talk," she explained hurriedly.

"Oh no!" Kairi gasped, speaking for the first time. "What happened?"

Naminé frowned. How could someone not talk? Now was the time to look through her memories for an answer.

"Riku?"

A silent pause.

"Hey, why you not talkin' today, man? A cat got your tongue?"

"A, um, cat took their tongues," Naminé said awkwardly. Riku raised an eyebrow at this statement, skepticism written all over his face. He, however, was the only one who didn't buy it; his trusting and gullible friends beside him, Sora and Kairi, bought it hook and sink. The mermaid's hands went straight over her mouth as she inhaled sharply, while Sora's eyes grew wider than an owl's.

"That's horrible!" Kairi cried. "I never knew land animals could be so vicious!"

"I didn't know that was even possible; I thought it was just an expression!" Sora added seriously.

Off to the side, Scrooge McDuck chuckled to himself. These kids were amusing to watch, even though it was obvious that something strange was going on. Just then, the duck noticed a line forming behind the guests who had been left at his booth.

"Well, I'm sorry to break up the meeting, but I'm afraid we have to get started on selling this ice cream!" he said kindly to Sora, Riku, and Kairi. "So, unless you intend on buying something, I'm going to have to ask you to be on your way."

"I'm sorry, sir," Riku said apologetically. "We'll be going now." With that, he gestured for Sora and Kairi to follow him.

"Bye!" Sora called, waving to the other trio. "Hopefully we'll see you soon!" Naminé waved politely in response, although she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest now that they were leaving. Beside her, Repliku let out a loud exhale.

"That was close," he muttered to Naminé. "I had no idea what I was going to say to Riku if he started asking questions."

"Tell me about it," Naminé replied, wiping imaginary sweat from her brow.

Scrooge McDuck, oblivious of their conversation, watched the three teens leave with an amused expression. "It's funny; they resemble you three a lot," he commented. "I bet you'd be good friends."

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

"They seemed really nice," Sora commented as they walked down the road. "Maybe staying here for a couple days won't be too bad at all if we can meet some new people."

Kairi nodded. "At first, I was kind of freaked out by how much they looked like us," she admitted. "But that tongue thing – ugh, it's horrible to even think about!"

"Tell me about it!" Sora said seriously. Riku rolled his eyes at their conversation. Did they still honestly believe that poor excuse? Perhaps now would be the time to burst their bubble.

Turning to face his friends, he said, "That was obviously a lie. The girl with the indigo hair was licking one of those frozen desserts, remember?"

Sora stared at Riku in disbelief. "You're such a skeptic, Riku!" he told his friend. "Besides, why would I pay attention to how someone was eating their ice cream?"

"Just because it's an unlikely story doesn't make it a lie," Kairi pointed out.

The elf mentally face-palmed himself. That approach obviously didn't go anywhere. He sighed, trying to think of another way to go about explaining the fishiness of the situation. Finally, he thought of something.

"Well, if something isn't up, then why did that silver-haired one look suspiciously like a younger version of myself?" he challenged. "The same goes for the other two: the blue-haired girl resembled Kairi, while the faery appeared to be you and Kairi's love child."

Despite the awkward comparison at the end, Kairi had to admit that Riku's argument had some truth to it. "I wondered about that myself," Kairi admitted reluctantly.

"If they are hiding something about that, I'm sure it's nothing that big," Sora said casually. "Besides, they were probably only hiding something because they had to."

"I wasn't accusing them of having ill-intentions," Riku explained. "I was just—"

"Hey, guys?" Kairi said suddenly, looking around at their surroundings. "Where exactly are we going?"

She was right: they had been wandering around aimlessly since they left the ice cream stand. Now they were in the middle of a cobblestone path surrounded by the same flowers that lined every street. The only buildings were unfamiliar colonial-style houses and a small gazebo not too far to the right.

They were hopelessly lost in a place that seemed just like every other street in town.

"Well, this doesn't look too good for us," Riku commented. The other two could only nod in response.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

A hooded Yen Sid stood beside a pile of sandy-colored rubble. It was hard to believe that this pile used to be his century-old home that presided over a little kingdom that he ran. He chuckled darkly at the irony of the situation: the very citizens that came to his town seeking peace had left it in chaos and shambles.

"It's all due to those silly little brats," a little voice said spitefully. Yen Sid looked down to the crystal ball in his hands, its clear form filled with a murky fog.

"Is it really their fault?" Yen Sid said uncertainly. "Perhaps it is my own fault; I could have interpreted the prophecy wrong, I could have gone about the process the wrong way, I –"

The crystal ball hissed at him. "What happened to you, warlock?" it asked incredulously. "You used to be confident in your abilities and a cunning man. Now, all you seem to do is mope and question your capabilities. You'll never be able to gain what you wish with such low self-esteem."

His crystal ball had a point. "I suppose you're correct," he said to it, "although I haven't the faintest notion on what to do about it."

"That is why I brought you here, my Master," it assured Yen Sid. "You can easily regain confidence by rising to the top once more. To do that, you just need some…servants." The crystal ball uttered the last word slowly, as if it had been deciding whether that was the most fitting word or not.

This statement peaked Yen Sid's curiosity. How on earth could he do that by returning to his decimated kingdom? The only thing that came to his mind were his brooms, but they couldn't do much other than menial tasks. Plus, it would take more effort than it was worth to revive them all. He could animate the forest, but that would be both illogical and impractical.

His musings were answered by his crystal ball, of course. "Have no worries, Master," the crystal ball assured Yen Sid. "I have the minions; all you need to do is accept them."

"But why did we have to come here for me to accept them?" the old warlock pointed out.

"In time, Master. Let's take this one step at a time." With that, the substance inside the crystal changed from a murky color to a more ominous violet. Somewhere inside Yen Sid's long-forgotten conscience, the old warlock felt a hint of anxiety. Since when had he last felt that? His crystal ball was right; he was getting soft for some unknown reason. Perhaps it was because his ego had been knocked down several notches after being the supreme magical being for centuries, but that thought didn't actually occur to him. Either way, he wasn't sure if he should accept this 'gift.'

"I'm not so sure about this," Yen Sid finally said. "Perhaps I should work on building myself back up to my power on my own."

A flash of red appeared in the crystal ball, but quickly disappeared. "Fine then, have it your way. I'll sit back and watch you struggle for another few centuries to get back Star Seeker."

The old warlock froze at the sound of his former Keyblade's name. Painful memories that he'd stifled had arisen back into his brain: Star Seeker's beautiful golden stars that danced around the blade, its crescent moon with a star resting inside along with its lovely wing-like appendages around the hilt. Most of all, however, he missed the warm pulsations it emitted while resting in his hands. He and the blade had been one long ago, and now it was gone. All Yen Sid had left was emptiness in his heart and the memories in his mind.

Oh, how he desperately wanted to have Star Seeker again!

"Fine," Yen Sid said through clenched teeth. "I accept your gift."

The clouds inside the crystal ball seemed to form a smile. "I knew you'd come around eventually." With that said, the purple substance returned within the orb and began slowly leaking out.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

"Well, we're…hopelessly lost," Riku stated, panting heavily while leaning against a lamppost. Sora jogged up to him and leaned over his knees, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. Behind him was Kairi, who doubled over and fell to her knees. They had been running around Radiant Garden for the last hour in an attempt to find familiar landmarks, and using her legs was not exactly her strong point yet. If that wasn't enough, all of that running, jumping and looking around had been completely fruitless. They had even broken down and asked for directions back to Ansem's lab, but no one had been helpful at all – one person even told them that they should "leave Doctor Ansem alone" and "fly off to their faery hollows or whatever."

"How are we…supposed to…get back?" Sora gasped as he plopped down on the cobble street. These roads were really starting to annoy him; if they weren't so identical, they might have some clue of where they were right now.

"Beats…me," Kairi said between breaths. She was now lying flat on her back, staring at the sky. "Its late afternoon now…maybe he'll…send someone to find us…"

Riku followed suit of his other friends and slunk to the ground. "One can…only hope," he muttered. Together they sat on the ground and stared at the sky. It was cloudy for the most part, although the sun peaked out from a puffy white cloud in the West. Kairi was right; it had to be at least three o'clock by then. Had it really been only a couple hours since they had awoken there?

"Well, it looks like you didn't get your birthday ice cream," Sora said teasingly to Riku after a few minutes of silence.

The elf shrugged in response. "It was just ice cream. Besides, you didn't get any either."

"It's not my birthday for another couple of days," Sora said. "I still have a chance at getting some ice cream then."

"But when would I get ice cream?" Kairi said worriedly (although a smile on her face told them that she was joking).

"Don't worry your pretty little head off yet, girlie."

The three teens' heads shot up at the sound of a man's voice and began looking around. Down the street they saw a vaguely familiar figure with fiery-red hair, ember-green eyes, and skin with light rippling across the surface like a flame. In his hand was a cup with three sticks of cool-blue ice cream inside, still in their plastic wrappers.

"You're the one who dropped off the other three fey at the ice cream booth," Riku said observantly. "Not to mention the one that Myde ran off after."

The redhead rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, he kinda had an accident chasing me that left him pretty bad off," he explained. "When he woke up, he realized that you guys were probably lost. He asked me"—he gestured to himself for emphasis—"to find 'dja and get you back to the lab. He even gave me some munny to get'cha guys these ice creams."

"We're saved!" Sora cried happily, somehow finding the energy to leap with joy. He skipped over to the fire spirit and pulled the ice creams out of the cup, tossing one to Riku and Kairi respectively.

"Ooh!" Kairi squealed happily. "Thank you, Mister…"

"Lea," the man finished for her. "Got it memorized?"

"Okay, Mister Lea. Thank you!" she said delightedly. Both She and Sora opened their ice cream and took a bite of the frozen treat. As soon as they tasted it, their eyes widened with surprise.

"Woah!" Sora exclaimed. "This is awesome! Riku, you have to try it!" The silver-haired elf stared at the ice cream for a moment, and then to his friends. Finally, he pulled the wrapper open and tasted the substance.

Salty.

The unexpected salty flavor hit Riku like a brick, startling all six of his senses. His eyes flew wide open, his skin prickled with goose bumps, his taste buds went numb.

Sweet.

Next came the sweetness. It felt more like a warm blanket, comforting his startled senses. Every part of him relaxed as the delightful sweetness of the creamy substance ran down his throat.

It was perhaps the best thing he had ever tried.

Lea, noticing the trio's surprise at the flavor, chuckled at their reactions. "It looks like you guys have never had sea-salt ice cream before either," he said in an amused tone.

"Either?" Riku asked, licking his sea-salt ice cream. "Who else hasn't tried it before?"

Lea's green eyes immediately darted from side to side. "It's a long story," he said hurriedly. "Now, why don't we take you back to Ansem's?"

No one pressed him on the topic further. Instead, the three teens happily agreed to follow Lea, ice cream in hand.

Besides, Riku already had an idea on who Lea had been talking about.

-MISFITS-MISFITS-MISFITS-

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