Disclaimer: Me no own KH. Yup.

Just a small clarification; Dayna is Riku's age. If you want an outfit description, PM me.

Chapter 2:

The sand crunched beneath her feet as she sprinted to the shore, but it was too late. Kairi had left the island, and the wind was too loud to yell at her to come back. No other boats were in sight, meaning that her sister's other two idiot friends had left for the play island as well.

"Imbeciles." Dayna hissed, running a hand through her damp bangs. Her heart pounded in her chest as she paced back and forth, trying to find a way to get over to the play island. She could swim, but (she winced as lightning struck the ocean again) that was obviously not an option unless she wanted to get electrocuted.

"That's it; there's no way." She threw her hands up despairingly. Almost as if to contradict her words, Dreams Equinox appeared in her hand. She stared at it, puzzled, but with hope trickling into her being. "Mai, is this a sign?"

Her only response was a sharp stinging sensation in her leg, and she whirled around to face the thing that had injured her. Dayna's mouth dropped open: it was the creature from her dream, and a swarm of them was heading her way. With no other choice, she readied herself to fight.

And fight she did. Dayna blindly swung her weapon out around her, feeling a small burst of satisfaction every time she managed to hit one of the things. Despite the fact that she didn't condone violence, those shadows were asking for it, and it didn't seem as if they were human, or humane, in any way.

Unlike in her dream, it took more than one blow to make them disappear. Instead, it took more like five, and she found her muscles burning after a couple minutes of battle. God, I suck.

Finally, she defeated all of the creatures around her, only to see more of them scuttling over to her house. That could only mean one thing.

"Dad!" Dayna dashed back towards her home, adrenaline making her feet move faster than usual. Who knew what those things would do?

She knocked away a couple of shadows that were in the doorway and hurried down the hallway to her father's bedroom. Slamming the door open, Dayna scanned the room for her dad's rather chunky figure, but saw nothing but crumpled sheets and an open window. Panic swallowed her, but she forced herself to calm down.

"He's probably just checking on the other citizens." She told herself, not believing her words for a minute. However, she didn't have much time to reflect on it as her house let out a huge shudder. Dayna grabbed the edge of her father's dresser to steady herself, instantly drawing it back when she felt a warm liquid beneath her hand. To her relief, it was only a cup of tea that had spilled over.

Another shudder rocked the house, followed by a dreadful crackling sound, and right before her eyes, the house began to break in two. There was no way out, and Dayna helplessly held on to the dresser as her section of the house got pulled into the maelstrom.

"What kind of a storm is this?" She screeched, risking a look back down at the ground and then instantly wishing she hadn't. The house was suspended in the air, almost as if it were in the eye of the storm.

For a second, all was eerily silent, and then the house shattered and Dayna found herself hurtling down towards a piece of land that was a few feet below where she had been. Luckily, the soft sand cushioned her impact, but unluckily, the gigantic monster from her dream was back and leering at her almost gleefully. It moved a hand slowly towards her, but drew it back when a key hit its wrist.

"Sora? What are you doing here?" Dayna shouted, feeling abnormally confident in her words. Any other time, it would have been a feat if she managed to say anything cohesive. She gave herself a mental pat on the back, before realizing that she was an idiot for thinking of something so trivial at the time. Focus, Dayna.

"Just hold tight! I'll protect you!" Sora shot back, dodging a black and purple orb that had been aimed at him. Dayna, despite feeling touched at his actions, also felt a strong surge of indignation. Dreams Equinox materialized in her hand and she lunged forward to bat away an orb that Sora hadn't seen coming.

"I've got your back." The girl nodded in his direction, and Sora stared incredulously at the weapon in her hand.

"I thought I was the only one." The spiky haired boy slammed his Kingdom Key down on the shadow's head energetically.

Obviously not. Dayna thought snarkily, not confident enough to say it out loud. As it turned out, there wouldn't have been much time left to say anything else, anyways. A particularly strong gust of wind knocked Dayna off her feet and into the sky. Sora managed to grab onto a piece of driftwood sticking out of the sand and desperately reached out for her hand. Time seemed to slow down for a second as their fingers touched, but Dayna's hand was still slippery from the damned tea spillage on the dresser, and she lost her grip.

A sob wrenched through her throat as the tiny speck of color from the sandbar grew further and further away. The wind around her began to swirl around more and more as her panic escalated, and Dayna found it increasingly harder to breathe. She couldn't tell if it was just her, but it seemed as if the edges of her vision were darkening, and black spots appeared randomly around her sight. Squinting, the girl tried to distinguish the shape of one of the black spots, only to widen her eyes as she realized that one of the objects closest to her was a large piece of asphalt. With no time to dodge it, Dayna was struck in the head and was instantly knocked out.

At the loss of her consciousness, Dreams Equinox emitted a glow that grew until it surrounded Dayna completely. It would ensure that she landed safely in the world for those who had lost their homes, just like she had done.

Next stop, Traverse Town.

The feeling of cold water pounding down on Dayna's head brought her spluttering back into awareness. She confusedly splashed her hands around her as she realized that she was, in fact, in a fountain.

"What?" The girl reached out for the ledge in front of her, pushing herself up to her feet. Hurriedly, she got out of the pool of water, wringing out her wet side-ponytail. She shivered, teeth chattering, as she tried to get a hold on her location. It appeared that she was in a courtyard of some sort. Behind her was a white mansion and above her were several businesses; a gizmo shop, several fashion boutiques, and a hotel. The sky was dark and sprinkled with a few stars, but there was no moon.

"Eerie…" Dayna muttered, squeezing water out from her scarf as well. The rest of her clothes would just have to air dry. "Wonder where I am…"

It wasn't Destiny Islands; that was for sure: her home didn't have any courtyards built in this style, nor did it have any clothed animals that walked around on two legs. She watched suspiciously as a duck and a dog noticed her, taking note of the fact of how they were jabbing in her direction with their hands excitedly. For all she knew, those two could be allies with those other creatures that had invaded her island.

As they started padding over to Dayna, she panicked mindlessly and scrambled away down a nearby corridor. A series of obnoxious squawks to, "Wait!" and to "Halt!" followed her hasty escape. At the sound of the desperate quality in their tones, Dayna hesitated, and that was enough to allow them to catch up with her. She shot a glance behind her, realizing that it wouldn't have done much good if she had continued to run away anyways; the corridor ended with a locked door.

"Stop!" The duck quacked, not noticing that she had, in fact, stopped moving. The dog, on the other hand, let a goofy smile spread across his countenance and slowed down his pace.

"A-hyuck! I think she's stopped runnin', Donald."

Donald spluttered back to the dog. "I-I knew that, you big palooka!"

"Well, uh, okay."

"Hmph."

Evidently, the duck was rather bossy, and Dayna shifted her feet as she waited for him to remember the reason why he had pursued her down the alley in the first place. She didn't have to wait long.

"So, what's your name?" Donald softened his features slightly as he noticed her rather bedraggled appearance; she looked like she had just gone through hell and back.

"Dayna." The brunette mumbled shyly, not used to talking with strangers. She had known most of the people back on Destiny Islands; perks of being the Mayor's daughter, she supposed.

"Well, I'm Goofy." The dog stuck a hand at her cheerily. "Nice to meetcha."

Dayna reached her hand out and shook his gloved appendage lightly. A smile spread across her face at the delighted expression that Goofy sported as their hands made contact.

"And I'm Donald Duck!" The other companion announced, grabbing the girl's hand and shaking it up and down vigorously. She smiled awkwardly before withdrawing her hand from his iron grip.

"Are you guys from around here?" Dayna asked tentatively. "Wherever here is, I mean."

"No, a-hyuck! We're from Dis –"

Donald clapped a hand over Goofy's mouth. "Uh, what he meant to say is that we aren't, er –"

"From this world?" Dayna offered, her fingers playing with the crystal heart charm that hung around her neck. "Neither am I."

"Yeah!" The duck exclaimed, punching the air excitedly. He visibly deflated seconds later as he realized that he had given away the secret he had been trying to hide. "Aw, phooey."

"What world are you from, Day-a-nah?" Goofy inquired, his mouth struggling with the new name.

"Destiny Islands…" She replied. Part of her felt relieved that she wasn't the only stranger who was lost in this new realm, but the other part felt an increased sensation of hopelessness. How many other people had lost their homes to those monsters?

Almost as if she had summoned them by thought, a shadow clad in armor appeared behind Donald. Her eyes widened, and before she knew it, she was batting the enemy away with Dreams Equinox. It crashed into the wall and rapidly disappeared with the force of the blow. Huh, I guess I've gotten a bit stronger.

"A key!" The two animals chorused in amazement with a blushing Dayna hastily banishing her weapon.

"Yeah, it came to me yesterday."

"One down, one to go!" Donald exclaimed. "I wonder where the other one could be…"

Goofy tapped the duck's shoulder. "Uh, Donald? Don't you think we should ask Day-a-nah if she wants to come with us first?"

"Come with you where?" She peeped up, tilting her head. "Back home?"

"To see the worlds and to fight the Heartless!" Goofy proclaimed. "Along with the other keybearer. We've got to protect the world border!"

"Order." Donald corrected with a huff. Neither of the two had the heart to tell Dayna that her world had been destroyed by the darkness. "Do you wanna come with us?"

The girl bit her lip. If she went with, then maybe she could find Kairi and her father. If she stayed, well, then there wouldn't be much benefit to that. "I guess I might as well."

A beam lit up Goofy's face and he picked up the girl in a hug. "Yahoo!"

Dayna awkwardly patted his back before resigning herself to his embrace. Eventually, he set her back down, and she gave out a mumbled sound of gratitude.

"Did you say other keybearer?" Dayna asked suddenly, remembering how Sora had also had one of the special weapons. "I think I know your guy."

Donald and Goofy exchanged an interested glance, and then the duck spoke up. "He must have landed here, then. We'll have to keep an eye out for him and Leon."

"Leon?"

"He's an expert on the worlds. The king told us to find him in his letter, a-hyuck." Goofy nodded as if to affirm his own statement. "We've searched the First District, and we were just lookin' through the Second when we found you in that there fountain."

The brunette girl blushed red, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath: she tended to do that a lot. "I suppose we should keep exploring, then."

"Right." Donald gestured behind him at the courtyard. "Be careful; there are a lot of Heartless here. Stay on your guard." He turned to walk away, but Dayna was intrigued by something he had said.

"Sorry, but what are the Heartless?" A thought hit her. "Are they those dark things?"

"Yup!" Goofy waved a hand at her to continue moving out of the alley. "When a person gives into the darkness in their heart, they become a Heartless. They're always trying to take other people's hearts."

Scurrying up between the two boys, Dayna let out a soft, "Oh," at the new information. "And what does it mean when a lot of them come into your world?"

Goofy gulped, wishing that he didn't have to tell the innocent girl about her worlds destruction. "It means that your worlds keyhole has been found. If the Heartless take over the keyhole, then the world is lost."

"Forever?" Dayna stopped walking, causing the other two to halt as well. "But what about all the people? What happens to them?"

"We don't know." Donald's voice quivered and he stared at the ground, not wanting to see their new friend's face crumble. "The ones with strong hearts are brought to Traverse Town." The insinuated meaning behind his words was left unsaid, but Dayna understood it to mean that those with weaker hearts gave in to the darkness. But what determines the strength of a heart? A pang of concern hit her. Did Dad have a strong heart? Or Kairi?

"Heartless incoming!" Goofy brought his shield up to defend Dayna, who had been lost in thought. She blinked in surprise, feeling a strong surge of gratitude at his protection.

"Thanks, Goofy."

The dog winked cheerily at her in return. "Let's get movin', a-hyuck!"

"Yeah."

The three bashed through the enemies with Dayna appreciating how much easier it was to fight in a group as opposed to fighting on her lonesome. Nevertheless, either way her muscles were still aching from being used.

A flash of orange light to her left caused her jaw to drop in wonder. Had Donald just made fire come out of his staff? "Wow." A pang of awe hit her; maybe he could teach her some magic too. Despite the situation, she found herself getting excited at the prospect. It had been her childhood dream to be a sorcerer, after all.

"Head towards the hotel!" Donald shouted, swinging his staff out at a Soldier Heartless. Dayna nodded, hightailing it out of there with Goofy on her heels.

They slammed the double doors open and quickly tumbled inside. With a squawk, Donald pushed the doors closed just as a Heartless stuck its head through the crack. Dayna winced as its neck got severed and as it faded into a dark mist. That's gotta hurt.

Almost in unison, the three companions let out a sigh of relief. "There hadn't been that many Heartless in the First District." Donald admitted, sagging against the wall. "I think we're safe now."

Nevertheless, the universe loved to prove him wrong. A pretty girl, who had walked out of a nearby room at the sound of the commotion, tapped him on the shoulder, and he jumped almost a foot in the air. Goofy snickered, while Dayna looked away shyly at a painting on the wall.

"Excuse me. Did the king send you?"

Donald and Goofy exchanged glances and nodded. The new girl smiled in return. "Please, follow me, then."

She walked a little further down the hallway until she reached a bright red door, at which point the four entered. The girl sat down daintily on the single bed in the room, and Dayna sat down cautiously beside her. Screw awkwardness; her legs were on fire.

"My name is Aerith." She said softly. "And what are yours?"

"I'm Donald, this is Goofy, and this is Dayna." The duck jabbed a finger at each of them as he said their names. "What did you need to tell us, Aerith?"

Aerith's hands moved to lie on her thighs. "Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there besides your castle and this town, right?"

Goofy nodded, shooting a fleeting look at Dayna, while Donald gave an affirmation out loud.

"But they're supposed to be a secret." Goofy covered his mouth almost instantly, as if ashamed of his words.

"They've been secret because they've never been connected… Until now."

At this, Dayna dared to speak up. "Why now?"

Aerith twisted to face the girl next to her. "When the Heartless came, everything changed. You know what the Heartless are, correct?"

Once again, all three companions nodded.

"No one really knows why or how they came to be, but there is a man named Ansem who wrote up his findings about them in detailed reports." Aerith leaned forward curiously. "Have you heard of him?"

"Ansem?" Goofy rubbed his chin. "Gawrsh, nope. Can we see the reports?"

She shook her head sadly. "Its pages are scattered everywhere. Too many worlds."

"Oh, then maybe the king went to find 'em." The dog offered.

"Yes, those were my thoughts exactly."

Goofy's eyes widened comically. "We've gotta find him, quick!"

Dayna opened her mouth to intervene, but Donald beat her to it. "Wait! First we've got to find the other key!"

"The Heartless have a great fear of the keyblade." Aerith commented. "They'll keep coming after it and its wielder, no matter what."

Well, crap. "Do you know why I have the keyblade?" Dayna asked quietly, summoning Dreams Equinox to her hand. Despite the fact that she had formulated an idea as to how she had gotten it, she still wanted a certain answer. The other girl's expression clouded over as she inspected the swirled design.

"I don't know…"

The keyblade wielder resisted the urge to slump. "Is there a way that it can be passed down from someone? Like an inheritance?"

"There are legends." Aerith said thoughtfully, tearing her gaze away from Dreams Equinox. "And maybe that's how El got hers. She never had one before…" Her voice drifted off, but no one seemed to notice.

"Who's El?" Donald squawked. "Is she another keyblade wielder? Why didn't the king tell us about her?"

Dayna banished her keyblade. "Maybe it's because he didn't know of her."

Donald quickly turned a glare in her direction. "The king knows of everything that happens in the worlds! There's no doubt about it!"

Dayna quivered under his harsh eyes and looked down at her feet. Aerith, sensing the tension, hastily changed the subject.

"How about I go introduce you to Leon and Yuffie?"

The two Disney residents perked up and followed Aerith over to the door. The other girl cautiously followed, still feeling sensitive from Donald's rebuke. He soon got his karma, however, as the door slammed open and squished him into the wall.

"Ooh, ouch." Dayna giggled under her breath despite herself. However, the sight that followed made the laughter catch in her throat.

The Heartless had found their hideout.

It was time to leave, pronto.

I love cliffhangers. Of course, you all know what happens next, but still. Noelle makes her first actual appearance next chapter, so you have that to look forward to :D Yay.

Thoughts? I'm still getting used to writing Dayna's character. It's difficult switching from sassy Mai to shy Dayna, but I'm working on it.

Hope you all enjoyed, and Merry Christmas!

- SoraMaiDay