Hola people. Here is arguably my favorite chapter to write. (: Thanks to Ravlia, Naivette, ElitePeach64, and Crescentrax for the reviews last time; glad to see you're all into the story! And if you're into the story and haven't been reviewing, please do. It's super encouraging, and trust me, it takes less time for you to review than for me to write a chapter. :P

Chapter Fourteen: Chance Encounters

I dragged my feet as I slowly walked across the sand of Destiny Islands, my gaze down on the ground as the sound of soft ocean waves surrounded me. I was baffled. I didn't want to be in Destiny Islands right now. But at the same time, I didn't want to be in the Realm Between. My—Isabella was right. I didn't have the guts to kill her despite all that she did to me. Was I that spineless? She deserved to die after everything she did to me! I reflected back to what happened less than an hour ago, the memories fresh and raw.

"You will pay for all you've done," I assured Isabella, practically growling at her. I meant what I said, despite how she kept on insisting I was all talk. She would suffer for all that she did, and I would be the one to make that happen. It was my responsibility to inflict justice.

"Then make me pay, daughter. Kill me here and now."

But I couldn't do it. Even upon hearing the witch call me her child, I couldn't kill her. I glared at her from my spot and pointed my sword at her while forgetting about the other item in my hand by my side. The star shard started to glow, but I wasn't aware of it until it got extremely bright. Quickly, I glanced down at it and felt my eyes widen when I realized what was happening.

It was going to take me away from this place.

And that was exactly what it did. Without my permission, the Star Shard whisked me out of the Realm Between and back into the Realm of Light. It didn't take me back to where I came from though. Rather, it took me to one of the places where I least wanted to end up: Destiny Islands.

"Why won't you take me where I want to go, stupid thing?" I mumbled to the charm, looking down at it in my hand. I didn't want to be here, because here, I could run into Sora or Kairi! And if either of them saw me, they'd be sure to let Riku know that I stopped by. I was afraid that one of them would have noticed my arrival though; looking in the sky, I could still see a trail of clouds of where the Star Shard brought me down in a sporadic, crooked path. At least it brought me down on the play island where nobody normally was; I had that going on my favor. If I could just figure out how this thing worked, then I could leave before anyone found me.

Or maybe I needed to figure out where I even wanted to go. I didn't want to face Isabella after everything, nor did I want to return to Cadia just yet. I just wanted to be with my dad, wherever he was.

"…Steph?"

Drat, I thought, instantly recognizing the voice that came from behind me. If there was any time that I wished I was invisible, it was now. But at least it wasn't Riku; that would have been terrible. Hiding my anxiety, I turned around and saw the person who called my name. "Um, hey, Sora," I said, lifting my free hand and twirling the hair that was dangling over my shoulder in nervousness. He looked baffled to see me, which was either good or bad. It was good because that meant Riku hadn't stopped by and told him I ran away.

"What're you doing here?" he asked. "How did you even get here?"

"The truth?" I said hesitantly.

He gave me a look. "Of course."

"I don't even know," I confessed, deciding to be blunt. Sora didn't betray me in the past, so I hoped that he wouldn't betray me now once he knew the truth. "I…this charm, just takes me wherever it wants and whenever it wants."

Sora stepped closer to me as I lifted up the Star Shard in my hand. I didn't even know what it was called, and I certainly didn't know how it worked. "Hm," he hummed. "It looks like the same material as a gummi ship. Where'd you find it?"

"Oh, um, I Just…stumbled upon it," I lied. How could I tell him that I stole it from King Mickey? He would definitely be against me if he found out about that. Clearly he wasn't buying my lie, though.

"Okay…" Sora said hesitantly, lifting his face to mine. "So, where's Riku?"

"Um…I…I don't know," I confessed with a sigh. "I sort of, I mean, I…" I looked away from Sora, unable to lie while looking into Sora's bright blue orbs. I was such a terrible liar in the first place, and I couldn't lie to Sora when he didn't deserve it. He always treated me well, so he deserved the truth from me. "Sora," I started after a moment, lifting my gaze to the Keyblade wielder. "If I tell you the full truth, will you keep it between us?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess…?" Sora said, obviously confused.

I had to trust him. Please don't make me regret this, Sora. "I just recently discovered that I'm cursed, so I went to Isabella to try and break the curse. She told me that my father is alive," I started. "All my life, I thought he was gone. But as soon as I started searching for him, I discovered that Sorceress Isabella messed with my head. And as soon as I found my dad, Riku said that my dad reeked of Darkness. Ever since then, he and my mom haven't let me near him! And my dad keeps disappearing and reappearing only when I'm alone, so I sneaked out of Cadia to search for him. But not before confronting Isabella.

"I lied to King Mickey and got him to leave the castle so that I could search his office for a way to get to the Realm Between. And while I was looking, I stumbled upon whatever this thing is-" I motioned to the Star Shard "—and that took me to the Realm Between. I wasn't there for long before the thing magically brought me here."

Sora was quiet. That wasn't a good sign, since from what I saw of him, he was almost always talking. "Wow," he finally said. "Do you realize how bad this is? Not only will you be in trouble with the King for tricking him, but you're so lucky Isabella didn't kill you or anything! Now Riku probably will for making him worry so much…"

"Isabella couldn't kill me there, though; she doesn't have any powers," I stated.

"True, but she could have attacked in some other way. Tricked you with illusions and then sneak up on you and strangle you…"

"I…hadn't thought of that," I confessed weakly, shaking my head. I should have been more on guard against a physical attack; I had been focused purely on her attacking words when I was there. Big mistake on my part.

"So, let me get this straight," Sora said. He took a few steps forward and turned towards the ocean, the waves lapping by his feet as he pondered everything that I said. "You're basically on the run from Riku while you try to track down your dad. But you went to see Isabella before searching for him, even when he's your biggest priority. …Why?"

I nodded as I elaborated. "I… wanted to make her pay. She took away the memories of my father and manipulated me my whole life. It was too much for me to let her get away with, so I thought I'd go make her pay for it all. But…I couldn't follow through. I was too cowardly."

"Or you were too smart."

I lifted my gaze from the ground and looked up at Sora in confusion. "What?"

"Killing her wouldn't have done any good," Sora stated without looking over. "Yeah, it'll help you take out your anger, but then what? You still need her to help break the curse on you, right?"'

"I guess," I said as I shook my head. "She told me to ask my dad about it, and that she had no part in the curse."

"And you believe her?"

"I don't know what to believe. Obviously Riku believes her, though, especially since he found out my dad is covered in Darkness. Or so he says."

Sora hummed quietly, shaking his head. "You really don't trust Riku right now, do you?" he asked quietly.

"No, no I don't," I confessed in the same volume. "He's been treating me like a prisoner since this all started. I thought we talked it out, but it's actually gotten worse since that day. He may be convinced that my dad is evil, and Gregory too, but I'm sure they're not. I know my dad, period. And Gregory…he's proven himself since that day he betrayed Olaf. He's been nothing but good ever since then."

"Maybe, but Steph…" Sora said, turning around to face me. "If Riku has a hunch about somebody, he's normally right. I'm not saying that his prejudices aren't clouding his judgment in some ways, but…Don't just dismiss him, okay? Even if you don't believe him, keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Protect yourself."

You're taking his side, aren't you? I thought to myself. Instead of saying it aloud, I nodded. "I will. But…I still have to avoid Riku for a little while. As soon as I find my dad, I'm going to convince him to set the record straight with everything. Then I'll set things right with Riku and my mom."

"That's a lot easier said than done. Riku's probably on your trail as we speak. How long have you been gone?"

"Um…About fifteen hours, I think?" My estimate made Sora give me a strange look.

"And he hasn't found you yet? Geez…"

"I sort of…led him astray," I said as I remembered my cohort. "Riku thinks that Gregory is with me, so he's probably following Gregory's stronger smell. He's running around from world to world just to keep Riku off my trail for a little while."

Sora was silent yet again. It made me uneasy. "Wow. That's genius," he finally said. "…But still, Riku will catch up to Gregory eventually. Then he'll go after you."

"I know. That's why I need to figure out how to get to Twilight Town and find my dad."

"I'd lend you a gummi ship, but I need to keep one here in case of emergencies," Sora said as he grimaced. "Sorry."

"Oh no, it's fine," I assured him. "Honestly, I'm just glad you're not going to tattle on me to Riku."

Sora sent me a crooked smile, one that always brightened my day whenever I saw him in the past. "Think of me as a neutral party," he said with a smile. "I don't know enough to know what's right and what's wrong, so I shouldn't interfere on either side."

"Hmph," I hummed, a smirk appearing on my face. "That's pretty wise. And to think Riku always told me you were somewhat of an airhead…"

The brunet's eyes widened as his smile vanished. Despite the circumstances that brought me here, a small smile remained on my lips as he seemed to ponder over something. "Maybe I could take your side after all, just to get back at Riku for that remark," Sora stated with a cheeky grin. I started laughing even if he was just joking about joining my side, and as I did, realized just how long I went without laughing. Laughing and smiling were big parts of who I was; it was a shame I lost hold of them for so long. And maybe they would stay out of my reach for a while longer after this, but still, just this one lighter moment made things seem so much better than they were.

"I can't really gripe on him though," Sora said after a minute, his smile fading to a softer one. "I'm sort of forever indebted to him. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive."

Again, I hummed softly. "You two really are best friends, huh?"

"Nah," he said. His remark surprised me until he continued. "He's my brother."

A small smile found its way onto my lips as I gazed at Sora. "Right," I responded quietly. Of course.

Suddenly I thought I heard a noise behind me, just a faint one, like feet shuffling through the sand. "Sora? Who are you talking to?" a female voice asked. I turned around and looked over my shoulder, seeing a familiar redhead walk around the corner and into my view. As soon as her bright blue eyes landed on me, Kairi smiled widely. "Steph? I can't believe it's you!" She walked forward and hugged me before I could even say hello, the greeting warm. "How're you doing?"

"I'm alright," I said with a weak smile, embracing her back for a moment before she backed off. Her happiness remained on her expression as she was, thankfully, unable to sense how badly I didn't want to be in Destiny Islands.

"What're doing here?" Kairi asked with the same smile. "Sora, why didn't you tell me Steph was here?" she inquired as she looked to her boyfriend.

"Sorry," he said, running a hand over the back of his head in sheepishness. "I just discovered it myself."

Kairi hummed as she accepted the answer. "So, what's up?" she asked me. "Is Riku here too?"

"Er, no," I stumbled, glancing away and twirling my hair again in nervousness. "I came alone."

"You know how to fly a gummi ship?" she asked, growing more confused instead of excited to see me. She was starting to think through things logically, which wasn't good for me. I didn't need another person knowing my secrets.

"No, I, uh…"

"She got here borrowing something from King Mickey," Sora filled in for my sake. He briefly shared eye-contact with me before he looked back to his girlfriend. "But she's confused about how to work it, so she randomly showed up here."

Kairi's eyebrows furrowed in curiosity and concern. "Really? Hm…" She glanced down at the item in my hand. "Is that it?"

"Yeah," I confirmed with a nod, holding out the star shard for her to see. She didn't simply gaze at it with her eyes, though; her hand reached out and she held it, pulling it closer to her.

"I've seen this before," Kairi stated.

Sora was just as surprised as I was. "Wait, you know what this thing is?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, it's called a 'star-shard'. King Mickey used to use one to get from world to world when he was under Master Yen Sid's guidance."

"So you know how to use it?" I asked in awe. If she knew what this was, then maybe she could help me out! But when she shook her head, I felt my hopes diminish once again. "Right," I said with a soft sigh, glancing towards the ground. So what was I supposed to do now, just twiddle my thumbs and wait for the star shard to whisk me away again? I had to get to Twilight Town! I got lucky with the first time, but I didn't believe that I'd have that luck again. If anything, I would have more bad luck.

As if on cue, my bad luck flared up again. A bright light shone out of the top of my eye and I gasped, lifting my head to see what the source was. In Kairi's hand, the shard glowed brightly. "W-wait!"

But then the star shard whisked her away and she was gone. I didn't even get to see her startled expression before she disappeared in the light and the zigzag path appeared in the sky to show which direction she was going. She somehow got the shard to work! And she wasn't the one who needed to get whisked away. If anything, things were even worse now.

"We need to go after her," Sora said with wide eyes. "I think she may have headed towards Twilight Town. We can take the Gummi ship and get there soon after her."

I grunted and nodded in agreement, looking over at him to see his concerned expression. But he didn't return my gaze for long. He turned and started jogging in the direction of the ship, waving for me to follow. "C'mon!"

*…*…*…*…*

Riku

They're not doing a very good job of losing me, Riku thought to himself, hiding in the shadows of Radiant Garden. It took him about six hours of flying around to catch up to them since they were randomly jumping from world to world, but Gregory's scent was so repulsive that he was easy to follow. Now, he finally was on the same world as him and Steph. He was bitter and tired and worried, which didn't help him feel happy. Instead, he was just cranky. He was ready to kill Gregory for helping Steph with this idiotic plan, but first he needed to catch the two of them. From his spot in the Bailey, he could smell Gregory coming his way. And if he was coming this way, so was Steph.

As soon as those two made themselves apparent to him, he'd make his presence known.

However, as usual, things didn't go as planned. For walking down the path by himself was Gregory. He was walking at a casual pace, as if he were taking a stroll. But where was Steph? She's probably nearby. The two of them wouldn't separate.

"If you two are trying to hide from me, you're doing a bad job of it," Riku said lowly as Gregory passed by him. The older man stopped walking a few steps away, turning calmly to look at the source. Riku stepped out of the shadows and looked at Gregory with piercing aqua eyes. "I can smell you worlds away, Gregory."

"I'm aware," he said without flinching. His apathy made Riku curl a hand into a fist.

"Where's Steph?"

"Nowhere near this world, I'm sure."

"Gregory," Riku growled as he took a small step forward. "I'm not here to play games."

Gregory couldn't help but chuckle once, a small smile on his lips. "Well, you just got played anyway."

"What?"

"Stephanie isn't with me. She never has been."

"Liar!" the teen cried. When his temper got the best of him, he summoned his Keyblade and pointed it directly at Gregory's throat. Even if there was still three feet between the tip and Gregory, the threat was clear.

"I'm not lying," he said without flinching. "Stephanie knew that you would try to follow me because I'm easier for you to track, so she had me running around from world to world to keep you busy while she did what she had to do."

That's genius. Did she seriously…?

"You underestimated her, Riku," Gregory said with a slightly smug smile.

"Shut up," he responded lowly. He lowered his blade and glanced over at the side, eyebrows furrowed over his aqua eyes. "I thought this was a spur of the moment thing; I didn't realize she had so much time to plain this…" He paused briefly before he looked back to the man he hated, getting back to the matter. "So, where is she if she isn't with you? Twilight Town?"

Gregory was silent, so Riku lifted his blade and pointed it at his neck again. I'm serious; tell me where she is. "If you value your life, you'll tell me what you know. I don't mind getting rid of you here and now. In fact, I'd rather kill you than leave you alive."

"And I do so value my life," Gregory said with a small sigh. "Stephanie didn't even tell ME where she was going or what she was doing. She did make it sound like she wasn't just searching for Terry, though."

Riku tensed. You know that much? Steph…Why do you trust him? he mentally groaned, shaking his head as he got back to the matter. "There's something else you're not telling me," he stated confidently. Gregory's look of guilt only confirmed that was the truth.

"She and I are going to meet in Twilight Town tomorrow at noon to discuss our progress with our little 'escape plan' and see if it needs adjustments. She assumed I would be better at leading you astray than I was."

"Well then, it's time for a change of plans," Riku said with a slight, bitter smile. "You two are meeting in Twilight Town today."

"That plan won't work," the older man said as he gazed into Riku's eyes without fear. "She'll know something is wrong."

"You'll have to convince her otherwise," Riku said coolly. "Come on, let's move."

In order to let Gregory obey his command, Riku lowered his blade and took a small step away, motioning for him to walk on ahead of him. Naturally they would take Riku's gummi ship; he was going to remain in control of this situation. He knew that whenever he saw Steph, first he'd give her a dirty look for running off without him and purposely deceiving him. But then he'd wrap her in his arms and beg for her forgiveness. He was wrong to treat her like a prisoner. He was just so worried about her. He believed that if she was by his side, he could protect her from everything. But he was wrong. He was helpless with protecting her from emotional pain. All that he could do was support her through it.

But instead of doing that, he pushed her away. He was so wrong in his methods because this was the first time that he was ever so close to somebody. Sure, he was close to Sora and Kairi, but this was completely different. He believed that he may have loved her.

A bright light shone ten feet in front of him and Gregory, making the teen grunt in surprise and lift a hand to shield his eyes. What was this? He had never seen anything like it before…

When the light diminished, he heard a gasp that was too high-pitched to be Gregory. He quickly lowered his arm and squinted at the person, though his eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Kairi?"

The redhead looked at Riku with wide eyes from her spot, though she took a few steps forward to get closer to him. "Riku?" she stuttered, glancing around the Bailey and seeing that she arrived in Radiant Garden. She seemed surprised at that, and Riku was about to discover why.

"What're you doing here? HOW did you get here?"

"I…I didn't mean to come here," Kairi said as she stopped a few feet away. She glanced down at the item in her hand, an item that Riku didn't recognize. "The star shard brought me here without my permission."

"Star shard?" Riku repeated in confusion. What was that?

"It warps whoever's holding it somewhere, somehow. I just don't know how to control it. And Steph didn't seem to either-"

"Steph?" Riku interrupted, eyes widening in size. "What does Steph have to do with this?"

Kairi gave him a confused look. "She was just on the Islands, talking to Sora. She had the star shard in her grasp and I took it for just a second, but then it warped me here."

"So she's probably still on the Islands?" he asked urgently.

"How should I know?"

"No," Riku said to himself as he kept thinking. That wouldn't make sense. If she was with Sora, then Sora was probably chasing after Kairi right now. And judging by the alignment of the worlds, he would either search this world for Kairi or Twilight Town. Or he'd drop Steph off at Twilight Town then search for Kairi… "We need to go to Twilight Town," he suddenly said.

"What? Why?" Kairi asked.

"That's where Sora and Steph are going to be," Riku said lowly. "I can feel it."