Note from forevermagik13: Hi everyone! So this chapter started off as one of the first few chapters of my sequel... and then I decided that it'd be more interesting if the star shard took my charries to rar's universe. So I asked rar and she said yes... so... yeah... hence why this is getting posted here. If you want the longer explanation, I'll totally go into detail on my blog. But you've gotta tell me you want it, because it's long and confusing lol. Other than that... enjoy!

Xion pulled at the bottoms of the shorts that Kairi had lent her.

"I should have just insisted on the pants," she muttered.

"It's too hot for pants," Kairi replied, not even turning around.

The three girls were walking around the market in Destiny Islands, in search of a wardrobe for both Namine and Xion.

"Yeah, but that's only if we stay here," Xion argued. "Didn't you say something about having to go to Twilight Town?"

"That's only if I can't find the pants I want here," Kairi said.

"You're looking for pants!"

"For the purpose of fighting!"

"I'm buying pants and I'm wearing them," Xion muttered.

"Look, I'm sorry that the shorts ended up being shorter than I had originally thought they were. Turns out it had been a longer time since I last wore them that I had thought."

Xion tugged at the bottoms of the shorts again. She looked over at Namine.

"Do you want to back me up?" she asked.

"Um… no, not really," Namine said.

"You're no help."

"Sorry. I'm finding your arguing oddly amusing."

"Aw, gee, thanks!" Xion said sarcastically.

"Here we go," Kairi said, ushering them to a store.

"Are we looking for anything in particular?" Xion asked.

"Clothes that you'd want to wear, that fit you," Kairi said. "And it'd probably be beneficial if they were clothes you could randomly fight Heartless in."

"Life was easier in Organization cloaks," Xion muttered, grabbing a pair of pants.

Namine laughed to herself quietly and picked out a couple of skirts, and a cardigan that she liked.

"Ha! They do have the pants I want!" Kairi exclaimed. "The best part about them is the pockets. I could fit so much stuff into them."

"Do they come in black?" Xion asked.

Kairi tossed her a pair.

"Khaki, please," Namine said, holding out her hand.

Kairi laughed and handed her a pair.

xx

Fifteen minutes later, each girl had several new outfits.

"I don't even think we'll need to go anywhere else," Kairi said as they left the market. "That was very productive."

"Kairi, your pocket is lighting up," Namine said.

"I have a star shard," Kairi said. "Is it going off?"

"Only one way to find out," Xion said, grabbing one of Kairi's arms. Namine hastily grabbed the other.

The three girls soon found themselves bouncing through the stars. They landed in Hollow Bastion, all of their ears ringing.

Kairi shook her head to clear it. "I brought it with me just in case we wanted to go somewhere else, I never would have thought it would just randomly go off."

"I remember King Mickey saying something about them taking you where you need to be taken sometimes," Namine said, looking about. "We appear to be in Hollow Bastion."

"Maybe Cid needs our help," Kairi said, trying to get her bearings in order to head to the Restoration Committee Headquarters. "Guys, is it just me, or does it feel different here?"

"Now that you mention it," Namine said, frowning. "It does."

Xion just shrugged. "I've never been here before."

"Hello, there," came a familiar voice.

"Aerith!" Kairi said.

Aerith looked as if she had just been grocery shopping. She had several baskets in her hands, but didn't appear to be needing (or wanting) help. She cocked her head to one side at Kairi's greeting.

"Do I know you?"

Kairi blanched. "Um…"

"Namine?" Aerith said.

"Yes?" Namine asked.

"Weren't you just here? Where's Riku?"

"Erm, no, I wasn't… Riku's back on Destiny Islands…"

Aerith frowned. "Something fishy is going on here. You three should come with me."

"How does she suddenly not know who we are?" Xion whispered.

"She knows who I am, but I don't think she knows the me that you guys know."

"Do you want to explain that for the rest of us?" Xion asked.

xx

Aerith led them into her house, which wasn't the Restoration Committee Headquarters that Kairi and Namine had seen before.

"Leon, can you help me with these?" she said.

"Oh, we would have…" Kairi began.

"Who are these people?" Cid asked, coming over. "Namine?"

"Yes, but I'm not the Namine you think I am," Namine said.

"What are you getting at?" Kairi asked.

"Joseph," Namine responded.

"Who?" Xion asked.

"Remember, the boy from a parallel universe?" Namine said.

"Oh!" Kairi said.

"You girls smell like a parallel…" Cid began.

"Parallel universes have a smell?" Yuffie asked, interrupting him.

"Well, sure they do," Cid said.

"I think you're lying!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Yeh don' even know what yer talkin' about!"

"I do so!"

Leon, who had finished taking the baskets to the kitchen where Aerith was currently putting away groceries, came back out to the front room.

"Ignore them," he said, covering his face with a hand. "I'm Leon."

He offered out his hand for the girls to shake.

"Parallel universe, huh?" he asked.

"I suppose so," Kairi said.

"I would say yes," Namine said. "Considering we know who you all are, and you all appear to know who I am, but we're not the we we think we know."

"Ouch!" Yuffie groaned. "Way to make my head hurt."

Leon snorted. "Well, that's Yuffie and Cid, and Aerith. And you're Namine…"

"I'm Kairi," Kairi said.

"Xion."

"Pleased to meet you!" Aerith called from the kitchen.

"The real question is," Cid said. "Is why they're here."

"The star shard I had in my pocket just activated," Kairi said. "We haven't quite figured out why; much less why we're in a different universe."

"They missed the giant Heartless battle," Yuffie muttered.

"Could travelling across universes mess with that?" Aerith asked, coming out into the room with the rest of them.

"Nah," Cid said. "Star shards are more accurate than tha'."

"Which means that they're here for something else," Leon said.

"Not more Heartless!" Yuffie groaned.

"It may not necessarily be bad," Leon said.

"Stuff like this usually is," Yuffie mumbled.

"So, you're Kairi, right?" Aerith said, cutting Yuffie off before she could go any further.

Kairi nodded.

"Sora mentioned you," she said. "Well, the Sora from our universe did."

"Knowing Sora, I'm not surprised," Kairi said, laughing.

"Some things don't change across universes," Namine muttered, smiling.

"Whoa!" Xion exclaimed, stepping away from the table that she had been leaning against. "What the…?"

A Shadow Heartless slowly made its way out from under the table. She summoned her Keyblade.

"Oh, don't kill it," Aerith said. "Let me go get a broom. There's always one that manages to get in…"

"Aerith likes teh jus' shoo the small ones ou'side," Cid said as Aerith went into the kitchen to retrieve the broom.

"Your Keyblade's all shiny," Yuffie said, looking at Xion's Keyblade.

"Uh, sure, I guess," Xion said, shrugging. Her Keyblade looked like it always looked.

"Well, Riku's blade was all crooked and mean-looking, and Sora's blade looked like it was in a constant state of repair," Yuffie said.

"Oh, Riku's probably got Soul Eater then," Namine said. "He just hasn't gotten his Keyblade yet."

"Hey may not get it," Leon said. "He's a replica."

He didn't say this in a condescending manner, he only stated it as fact. However, the implications were clear: Riku was programmed to have Soul Eater and that was about it.

Namine frowned. I wonder who he's a replica of…

That was an obvious question.

The more appropriate question is… which Riku is this Riku a replica of?