The ship creaked as it swayed back and forth, and the sounds of waves crashing against it were loud in Sora's ears. A lantern rocked above them, the light low and dim.

"I'm startin' to think something's really wrong with Riku…" Sora muttered, trying to peek out into the hallway.

"Oh, now you are? After he locks us up in some storage room?" Donald said, tapping his foot in annoyance.

"Y'know, I was kind of hoping he was just messing around, Donald!" Sora replied, looking over his shoulder, "You can't blame me for trying to look on the bright side."

"Uh, fellas? We've got company." Goofy's tone was cautious, and he pointed towards the far wall.

There was a chuckle at that, and a boy with short red hair wearing all green floated out from behind a stack of crates. "Wow, I'm surprised it took you guys that long to notice!"

"Who're you?" Sora asked, tilting his head.

"The name's Peter, Peter Pan!" He replied,making a big show of giving a bow.

"I'm Sora, and this is Donald and Goofy! Did you, uh, get caught, too?"

"No way! That old codfish Hook could never catch me, not in a million years!" Peter scoffed at that, as if the thought was ridiculous. "I'm just waiting on a friend to get back."

Then, as if on cue, a small golden light flew through the opening in the door, going straight towards Peter.

"There you are, Tinkerbell! What took you so long?" Peter said, hands resting on his hips.

The light dwindled a bit, until a small girl, whose blonde hair was pulled into a bun and wearing a short green dress, hovered in the air. Her wings seemed to shine in the dim lighting. There was a few angry sounding bell noises, and Peter shook his head.

"Hook's new crew slowed you down, huh? Nevermind that, Tink. Did you find Wendy?" Peter asked, a hopeful look on his face.

There was more angry bell sounds as Tinkerbell replied.

"There was another girl there, too? And a boy locked up by himself?"

Sora glanced at Donald and Goofy, whispering excitedly, "That has to be Kairi and Kurow!"

"Well, what're we waitin' for? We need to rescue Wendy before Hook hurts her!" Peter stated, floating a little higher.

"One problem," Donald piped up, "The door's still locked and we're still stuck here."

"Donald?" Goofy began, "Sora already unlocked it, remember?

"What? When?"

"You and Goofy were talking, I think. Hey, Peter," Sora turned to the redhead, who had an eyebrow raised, "How about we work together - until we find the people we're looking for?"

Peter turned to Tinkerbell, "What do you think, Tink? Should we trust these guys?"

In response, Tinkerbell, flew around Sora a bit, before stopping in front if him and nodding firmly.

"Alright then, but only until we find Wendy."

"That's fine by us!"

Kurow cautiously opened the cabin door, looking down both ends of the hallway before stepping out.

"I might not be able to lock keyholes… but I can still unlock stuff, I guess." he muttered, starting down the hall. There wasn't any noise Kurow could make out, other than the creaking of the ship.

"Where is everybody…?"

The crew of the ship had separated them, that he knew, but why was Kurow of all people left alone? And that didn't explain the startling lack of anything alive in the halls. He slowly made his way throughout the ship, only coming across a few pirate-like Heartless.

The silence was unnerving. The floorboards creaked underneath him as he walked and a lantern hanging from the wall swayed slightly as the ship rocked.

Soon, Kurow came to the end of the hall, stopping when he heard a voice yell loudly, "What?!"

"What do you mean 'Wendy isn't one of the chosen ones'?" Kurow couldn't recognize the voice that spoke, so he assumed it to be the captain of the ship.

"Exactly that." Kurow felt a pang in his chest hearing Riku's voice. "There are seven, and, according to Maleficent, Wendy's not one of them." Riku's tone was annoyed, as if they had gone over the fact a dozen times.

"Do you know how much trouble we went through to catch her, boy?"

"No, and frankly, I don't care," there was a pause, "We're hoisting anchor soon. We leave the girl behind."

Thank god they're both loud. Kurow began to withdraw from the wall, freezing when Riku continued -

"Tell the Heartless to bring Kairi up. I'm taking her with me."

"Where…?" Kurow flinched, hearing the captain's voice.

"That brat… Thinking he can order me around on me own ship!... What is it, Smee?" There was a dull rumbling, and the captain's voice grew angered. "What?! How did they escape, Smee? Blast it all - bring the hostages to me cabin. Both of the lasses."

He heard footsteps nearing the door, and Kurow quickly looked around. He darted towards the nearest door, slamming it shut behind him.

"Wendy! Are you alright?" Peter floated up to the grate, eyebrows creasing together.

"Yes, I'm fine, Peter," Wendy replied, curls falling loosely as she leaned down, "Peter, you must hurry, please, I think those pirates are coming back!"

Taking a wary step forward, Sora called up, "Um, Wendy? Is there someone else up there with you?"

"...Sora?" There was a rustle of movement and Kairi dropped down beside Wendy. "Oh, thank goodness! What happened with you guys?"

"We got locked in a storage room! When Riku was done talking, he had the Heartless take us down there." Sora replied, relief washing over him. "What about you, Kairi?"

There was a brief pause before Kairi replied, "Riku… he said something about needing us for some reason. Something about opening a door…"

"A door? You mean, like what Maleficent said?"

"I think so." Kairi breathed a tense sigh, shaking her head, "Sora… I'm… I'm really scared. That - It didn't even sound like Riku anymore…"

"Kairi…"

There was a loud noise from above, like something hitting the wall, and Kairi stood, looking furious. "What do you want?" Sora saw a brief glimpse of the Heartless from earlier surrounding Kairi and Wendy, pushing them away from the grate. Kairi gave a small smile, as if to say 'Don't worry', and they were gone.

"We've gotta get up there!" Peter said heatedly, looking around the room. He flew over to the wall, inspecting the crates stacked against it. "It looks like there's a hole being blocked over here. Help me push these, will ya?" He directed the last part towards Sora, and the brunet nodded, making his way over.

"Just like Kairi said… I can't believe Riku's actually working with someone like Maleficent…" Kurow shook his head. "No, he has to have reason. Maleficent must be tricking him somehow…"

Kurow leaned back against to door closing his eyes tightly. He took a deep breath, staring up at the ceiling. "Sitting here won't help me any. I need to find the others."

Standing up, Kurow pushed the door open, the captain having passed by long ago. He looked around for anyone and went over to the door he had heard Riku's conversation from.

The cabin was very open, at least compared to the rest of the ship, with very few items strewn about. Kurow made his way over to the desk in the center of the room. There were papers scattered about on the table, some with barely any contents. Kurow dismissed it, seeing nothing of interest.

Kurow jumped, hearing a banging noise from a door on the opposite side of the room. Despite every instinct telling him not to, Kurow dispelled his keyblade. Slowly, he walked over and opened the door.

The room was nearly as empty as the captain's cabin, crates and fish nets piled on the wall. A lantern burned dimly on one of the crates, likely left by a member of the crew. Kurow blinked, eyes having to adjust to the dimmer lighting, looking around when they finally did. His gaze fell on a girl, laying flat on her back, looking as if she was asleep. Kurow knelt down beside her, checking for any injuries.

"She must be the other girl the captain mentioned…"

"Exactly, Kurow." There was a loud slam as the door Kurow had come through was shut. Riku leaned against the wall, an unnervingly calm look on his on his face and his bat-wing keyblade in hand.

"The girl's light is strong, that's for sure," Riku said, blue eyes fixed on Kurow, "But, like another, not quite what we need."

"...And who exactly is 'we', Riku?" Kurow began, determined to keep his voice steady, "What are you hoping to accomplish, working with Maleficent?"

"I'm just paying her back, Kurow. Thanks to her, I saw our friends true colors."

"Riku… what are you talking about?"

Riku gave a look, as if to say 'Really?' and sighed, shaking his head. "You just wouldn't understand, Kurow. After all, you've been going around with them." Riku took a step forward, narrowing his eyes. "Going around to all those worlds… All the while leaving your brother behind."

Kurow blinked, taken aback. "Leaving you - Riku we've been looking all over for you! Ever since you disappeared back in Traverse Town -"

"Maybe you were, but those two couldn't care less," Riku interrupted, "They just found some new friends to hang out with."

"Riku, you can't be serious! Sora and Kairi have been worried as hell over you!" Kurow's voice steadily became more frustrated, baffled at what he was hearing.

"Really?" Riku's tone was exasperated, and he shook his head. "Because it looked like to me they're more concerned with each other."

Riku waved his hand dismissively. "Listen, Kurow, I'm not here to talk about them."

"Then what are you here for?"

"I'm here to offer you a choice. I don't want to fight my brother. And if they've left me behind, it won't be long before they do the same to you. Let's show them, Kurow. Together, we can show them what we can do!"

Kurow was silent for a moment. Every part of him knew what would happen if he accepted Riku's offer. He knew what would happen if he refused it as well. Kurow swallowed the lump in his throat and held himself steady.

"...'What we can do'? What does that entail, huh? Hurting innocent people? Kidnapping kids?" Kurow could feel his shoulders begin to shake and his heartbeat pick up as he continued, "Using the things that destroyed our fucking home?!" Kurow shouted the last part, meeting Riku's cold gaze evenly.

"...The moment you slip up, even just a second, the Heartless will turn on you. You'll lose your heart, just like that."

Riku scoffed, shooting Kurow a hardened look. "You're just like him. Clinging to the light like it'll do anything for you..." Riku walked away a few steps, shaking his head, "I'll take it that's a 'no' then?"

"I'm sorry, Riku. But they're my friends too." Kurow took a step forward, "Riku, whatever Maleficent's told you -"

"Save it." He turned his head, the glimmer in his eyes sending a chill down Kurow's spine. "It's clear where your priorities are…"

In front of Riku, a dark portal appeared, shadows swirling around. He turned to leave, pausing for a moment."If you care that much about those two, come to Hollow Bastion. We'll settle things there."

And with that, Riku disappeared into the darkness.

Kurow remained still for a moment, evening out his breathing. He stared at the doorway, realization settling in.

"Why is this happening…?"

The question hung in the air and Kurow shook his head. "Hollow Bastion… Riku's taken Kairi there… but where is it? Maybe Donald or Goofy know -" Kurow stopped, hearing sounds on the other side of the door. After a moment, the noises faded. The handle wiggled as whoever was on the other side attempted to open the door.

Is it jammed on their side? Kurow walked over, opening it, and sending Sora tumbling into him.

Sora shook himself, brightening as he realized who he had crashed into. "Kurow! You alright?"

Kurow blinked. "Y-yeah. D-don't worry, I'm fine."

You see? Just like I said.

"Shut up." Riku growled. The cold air of the Bastion was a familiarity at that point, but it did nothing for the burning knot in his stomach. He didn't stop walking as he said, "So you were right. So what? I wanted to at least give it a shot - he's my family."

Family that has abandoned you all the same. Too afraid of the darkness to take a chance.

But not you. You readily accepted the darkness, embraced it -

"I said, shut up!" Riku shouted, turning on his heel, the empty stone corridor greeting him.

Running a hand through his hair, Riku could feel beads of sweat. He glanced around, "Stupid fucking - You aren't even here, are you…?"

"And who are you talking to, boy?" Maleficent's voice called.

Riku turned, seeing the witch make her way down the stone archway. She tilted her head as she glowered at him. "Well?"

"No one," Riku said quickly, "Just - Just talking to myself."

"Hmph. Have you retrieved the seventh princess?"

"Of course I have," Riku replied defensively, "She was still out of it, so I left her in the library."

"Retrieve her, then," Maleficent said coldly, "We must have them all together, lest the door remain closed.

Riku nodded, turning to leave. His footsteps echoed throughout the otherwise silent hallway.

"I can show them…" Riku muttered to himself, "I can show them by myself… without your help…"

Kurow closed his eyes, breathing in the cool night air. The wind ruffled his hair, the breeze helping to clear his head. Kurow opened his eyes, staring at the seashell charm in his hand.

'For good luck!' she had said.

Kurow smiled to himself, "We'll need all the luck we can get, huh?" he muttered, thumbing over one of the shells. He returned the charm to it's spot around his neck, and made his way to the other side of the clock tower, where the others were waiting. Kurow could see Sora talking vehemently about something.

"-We don't have any idea where Riku and Kairi are, though…" Sora said dejectedly.

"Actually," Kurow piped up, "Riku said he took her to a place called Hollow Bastion."

"What?!" Donald warbled, looking taken aback.

"You know it?" Kurow inquired.

Donald hesitated before replying, "King Mickey mentioned it before. We thought it was lost to the Heartless years ago."

"Could you show us where it is?" Sora asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"Maybe. The problem is, we'd have to have a better navigation system…"

"Why don't we head back to Traverse Town and go see Cid?" Goofy suggested, "It would give us a chance to restock too!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Sora said excitedly. Donald and Goofy started to walk away, and Sora started to follow them, stopping when he noticed Kurow looking over the city. "Kurow? Everything alright?"

Kurow jumped, shaking his head slightly before replying, "Yeah, fine. I was just thinking." The older boy started to walk away, and Sora was right beside him.

"Are you still worried about Riku?"

"...Mm."

"D'you wanna talk about it?"

Kurow shook his head before giving the brunet a small smile. "It's fine, okay? I can work this out on my own."

Sora opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and looked away. "Alright."

"...Thanks, Sora. And don't worry," Kurow added, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find Kairi, safe and sound. Promise."

That seemed to perk Sora backup, evidenced by the grin he flashed Kurow. "Yeah! She's counting on her friends to be there for her and we will!"

"And we will," Kurow agreed.

aaah, god have I been waiting for this one. I ended up rewriting that Riku/Kurow scene like 6 times before I had something I was happy with and liked. This chapter was probably my favorite to write, if only for getting to write angry Kurow lol.

Also! You guys should definitely check out the blog I made for the au! It has everything related to it in one place, and pretty soon there'll be a lot of me rambling about the story as we get closer to CoM: puppets-no-more . tumblr . com

As always if you have questions, feel free to hmu here or on the blog with 'em! And I hope you guys all have happy holidays 3

Next chapter, we head to Hollow Bastion!