"Why'd you make us come here?"
"'Cause the Organization's here. I heard that Xigbar guy say something about a dragon while we were in Betwixt and Between," Riku explained, sitting on a huge boulder in the Land of Dragons.
"But… Treasure Planet…" Saiyoku said hesitantly; she regretted leaving them behind.
"Relax. I'm sure they're fine. Besides, it's just one little world—"
"It's not just one little world! There are people still living there, living their lives without even knowing that their world is in danger! What is wrong with you? Are you so eager to see your best friend that you would put others' lives in danger!? What happened to regretting destroying all those worlds when you gave into the Darkness? If you don't do anything now then you're just helping the Darkness destr—"
"Shut up! I don't need you chastising me for an opinion! If you want to help them then be my guest! They don't mean anything to us!"
"Riku, quit acting like you're five! They may not mean much to us, but they mean everything to the people in that world! Now if you have a reason for being here, then get off your lazy butt and get a move on!"
Riku glared at her and disappeared through a Dark Portal while Saiyoku climbed the rest of the mountain to the Village Ruins. She rummaged through the burnt wood and relics of the people's life, but there was nothing there that could be of use to her or Riku. A sudden thud in the snow caught her attention; she stood stock still, hoping and praying it wasn't Sora.
"I wonder how everybody's doin'?"
No, no, no, no! You've got to be kidding me! They caught me off guard too…
"Look!"
Saiyoku turned around thinking, Please don't be pointing at me, please don't be pointing at me… Ack! She took off when she saw that Donald was pointing at her, and she had Sora's full attention.
"Wait!" He called after her, but Saiyoku kept running up the mountain.
I don't think so! Riku, where'd you go? Is there any point to us coming here? She ran up the steep snowy trail to the Ridge, where she tripped and fell over some fireworks.
"Why the heck do they have these here!?" She yelled, getting to her feet, "And where the heck is Riku!?" She looked around; she didn't see anyone, so she clambered up the even steeper slope to the Summit just as Sora and his friends reached the Ridge.
"Riku! I know you're up here! I'm leaving! You can deal with him yourself!"
Riku turned around in surprise, "He found you already? Some help you are!"
"Shut up! You deal with him! He caught me off guard and you didn't tell me what to do, so I'm going somewhere else where he can't see me. He'll be utterly confused if he sees you and me here at the same time. Goodbye!" She vanished, planning to go through Betwixt and Between as a shortcut.
"Dang it, Saiyoku! Ugh!" Riku immediately silenced himself and disappeared with her, but she pushed him back into play, "Oh, no you don't. You're not getting off the hook that easily!"
"Wha—Saiyoku! Don't—!"
"Get out there!" She pushed him through another portal and closed it, using the in between world to go to the Imperial Square.
--
"Saiyoku, you know what? You're really getting on my nerves today…"
"Yeah? And you're not getting on mine? By the way, did you get a chance to talk to the Emperor?"
"Yes…"
Saiyoku was dragging Riku into the Dark Portal. She was determined to get him to go back to Treasure Planet. After all, it was their responsibility to put the world back in order.
"What'd you tell him?"
"That Sora, Donald, and Goofy had arrived and that they would take care of the dragon Heartless that the Organization created."
"You think we should go back?" She asked, putting her hands behind her head casually. Riku shrugged, "No, why? And what's with all the questions?"
"Well… we told them we'd help, that's the first reason, and then there's the fact that… well, that Scroop guy. Did you notice? He's a Heartless, and you and I both know that under the circumstances, that world can't handle Heartless on their own, or Nobodies; we told them we'd get rid of them, so we can't just bail now, and besides, what else are we supposed to do? Sora doesn't exactly have all the time in the world, nor do we, and right now, Sora's wasting time going back to all the worlds; we are supposed to be helping him, so if we take care of the Heartless and the Nobodies in this world, then Sora doesn't have to waste time here or at any of the three other worlds he has yet to discover." Saiyoku pressed him to make the decision quickly, after all, who knew what was happening in the world. What was Silver and Scroop up to? What had happened to the Captain, Jim, and Dr. Dilbert?
"I say we don't go back."
"You're as stubborn as always. Look, if we take care of it, then Sora will never have to come here, and then he'll never find out about you and me being here. See? It all works out."
"…"
"Oh, c'mon you idiot…" She opened a portal and pulled him through, now in the hold of the ship again. The dim pipe-filled room was new to them. It must have been past the main hold.
"Be on your guard." She told him, and he sighed, "Like you needed to tell me that…"
"Well I'm sorry." she muttered, annoyed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the long misty hallway, aware of all that was around them. It was hard to see though, and the shadows played tricks on their eyes: every which way there would be someone standing there, but it would always turn out to be some piping or a stack of items that they didn't recognize.
"Man, I hate it down here."
"What are we supposed to be doing down here in the first place?" He asked, rolling his eyes. Saiyoku, not listening, shushed him and hid the both of them behind some crates. A few pirates passed by, not realizing that the two intruders were right behind them; on the other hand…
"Whew, thank goodness I heard that…" Saiyoku muttered.
"Yeah, we would've been seen."
"Yessss… you two would have been caught… how dreadful…" A harsh voice said behind them, and Saiyoku was grabbed from behind, flung around and thrown against the crates.
"Saiyoku!" Riku glanced behind him, but turned his attention to their enemy before he could see if she got up or not, "Dang it you filthy—!"
"Shut up!" Scroop grabbed Riku's front and pushed him against the crates like Saiyoku. He lowered his claw to Riku's neck and threatened to slit his throat when a huge beam of light hit him in the chest, sending him flying.
"Heh, looks like I was right. You HAVE become a Heartless. The Darkness got to your heart, and now you can't stand the Light. No wonder it affected you so easily, my feeble little light that I sent at you…" Saiyoku said, Keyblade in hand and a smirk on her face, but despite all that, she looked worn down for some weird reason.
Riku drew his Keyblade as well and stood by her side, taking his stance while teasing her, "Someone looks out of shape. What, a few bumps and you're already tired?"
"Shut up. My heart is as Dark as yours is. I'd like to see you try and summon a Light from your heart that strong."
"You've got a point there."
"You two had better shut up, or your lives will be on the line." The arachni-crustacean hissed, drawing his sword. They took him from both sides: Saiyoku came from behind, but Scroop raised his sword and blocked it, counterattacking with a downward slash blow that slashed through a pipe. Though it seemed fortunate, Saiyoku dodged his blow, only to be showered in the chest, neck, and arms with hot steam.
"Agh!" She screamed, backing away. "Saiyoku!" Riku yelled, getting one of Scroop's legs. He fell over, grabbing hold of one of the pipes to catch himself, but the steam that spewed from it hit him in the face. Scroop screamed in agony, while Saiyoku regained herself, chopping off another leg.
"Dang you little brat!" He screamed at her, taking the pipe and getting ready to swing it at her face, but Riku slammed his Keyblade down on his enemy's shoulder. Scroop scurried to his feet and scrambled out of the hold, up onto the deck. No one was aboard except him and those two pirates, who were no where to be seen.
"Are you alright?" Riku asked, standing by her side while she tore off her destroyed Organization cloak, "Yeah. Just hope and pray that Sora doesn't come while we're busy…"
"Your arms are covered in burns…"
"I know, I know, but at least it's not as bad as his face. Now, c'mon, we have to go after him," she said, her hand clenching her Keyblade tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Riku nodded and they followed Scroop up onto the deck. He was climbing the main mast, but he was busy fighting someone else: Jim Hawkins.
"How'd he get here?" Riku asked, but Saiyoku just shrugged and grinned, "Well, it saves us the trouble of getting rid of him…"
"True."
--
"So, uh, Jim. Where exactly are we going?" Saiyoku asked, folding her arms behind her head while Jim steered the boat, Riku looking bored as usual while he sat next to a very annoying robot.
"Treasure Planet. The Captain and Dr. Dilbert are there in hiding from the rest of the pirates… Oh, by the way, where did you guys go?"
"We had to take care of a few things. Anyway, who's that?" She explained, but pointed to the robot next to Riku.
"That's Ben. I found him on the planet. He's letting us stay at his place. We'll get there soon. There's a shortcut."
"I see… So what's going on?"
"The Captain's been injured and the Doctor is taking care of her. The pirates are watching us and this ship is actually one we stole from them. The entire planet is basically made up of machines and we haven't located the treasure yet. What happened to your black coat that you always wore?"
"It got destroyed by that guy Scroop." She shrugged while Riku just rolled his eyes; it didn't go unnoticed.
"Ri—Ansem, don't give me that look. He was just asking."
"…" Riku looked away as if he didn't care, but that only made Saiyoku smile more.
"We're here. Now, be quiet. That includes you too, Ben." Jim muttered at the robot, who had been carrying on his own conversation by himself in an attempt to talk to Riku.
"Yes sir!"
"Shh! For crying out loud!" Jim whispered as he landed the boat. He docked it and climbed down, his companions following him into the metal underground tunnels of the planet. They went through different passageways until they finally found their way back up into Ben's place. Jim immediately went to the shadows of the room, "Doc! Doc, wake up! I got the map."
A metal hand reached out and grabbed the little golden ball that Jim was holding as Saiyoku and Riku ducked out of sight with the robot.
"Fine work, Jimbo. Fine work, indeed." A cyborg showed himself from the shadows, clearly the leader of the pirates. Growling and jeering from the pirates surrounding the room could suddenly be heard along with the muffled voices of the Doc and the Captain. They were bound and gagged in the hands of the enemies and more of the pirates were closing in around Jim. Others grabbed Saiyoku and Riku before they had the chance to duck down into the 'back door' as Ben called it while one other grabbed Ben, "What's this sorry stack of metal? And look who else decided to show up? The two little bilge rats from before."
"Not the face!" Ben yelled, but the pirates had them.
"Saiyoku… Why must you insist on coming to this world when every time we come back here, we end up getting captured by pirates!?" Riku hissed at her, but she had nothing more to say, so she just gave an apologetic smile and shrugged.