"Did Sora really have to go through all of this when he was searching for me and Riku?" Kairi sighed. "Because now I'm really sorry for calling him a lazy bum. Swinging this Keyblade around is exhausting!"

"Hey, just be glad you were "Most Athletic Student of the Year" at the academy," Naminé said. "I don't think most people would be up for all of this."

"Most people aren't princesses from another world getting married to a Keyblade master." Kairi shook her arms out, hoping the circulation would ease the soreness. "Guess the good side to all of this is that it'll get my body ready for summer."

In her mind's eye, she could see Naminé crossing her arms in disbelief. "Kairi, you already have a great-looking body."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

"Roxas told me that's what Sora thinks."

Kairi giggled despite herself. "Really?"

"Now he's just waiting for the day when he can see you in a bikini."

Kairi rolled her eyes and sighed. "Aren't we all?" She stood up and brushed herself off. "Well, who's next? Are we still going right-to-left or do we just keep alternating?"

"Let's just keep alternating," Naminé said. "It makes things more organized that way."

"Work our way up, huh?" Kairi combed her brilliant red hair back. "Okay, that would take us to the left side, right?"

"Right," Naminé replied.

"It was the right side?" Kairi asked.

"No, you were right, it was left."

"So it was left."

"Right," Naminé repeated.

"The right?"

"No, left is right," Naminé said, frustration leaking into her voice.

"What?" Kairi asked in a confused tone. "So, it's the left side?"

"Right!"

Kairi nodded. "So, it's the right side."

"No!" Naminé screamed. "Left is right, right is wrong!"

Kairi grinned. "I'm just kidding you, Naminé. I'm not an airhead, you know."

Now it was Naminé's turn to sigh. "Sometimes you act more like my twin sister than my other half, Kairi."

"We're both feeling tense right now and the moment presented itself. So sue me." To the immediate right of Larxene's kunai was the shadow of what looked like playing cards. Kairi studied it for a moment.

"Cards?" Then she remembered. "Oh yeah. It was that one guy that fought Sora that one time." She shook her head. "I can't remember the fine details, though. Most of it's a complete blank.

"At least we go in with some knowledge, right?" Naminé said half-cheerfully. Kairi reached out at the symbol, cuing the bright light to envelop them once again. When the light faded, they found themselves standing at Havoc's Divide.

"Question: do you think we should name this Keyblade?" Kairi asked as she took a few practice swings.

"Nah. We'd be just as bad as the guys if we did that," Naminé replied in a conversational tone. "Best to just wait for the official name to come out." Data streams began to appear out of nowhere, twisting its shape until...

Kairi pointed her Keyblade at the new enemy. "You! You're that...pirate guy!" she shouted.

Luxord gave her a crafty grin. "I'd rather we just skip the formalities." He snapped his fingers, summoning a transparent screen that hung in the air. After a few seconds, the display lit up showing two bars: Kairi's and Luxord's.

"Let's play a game, shall we?" He pointed toward the rapidly decreasing bars. "Those bars represent our time limits. The first to run out of time is the loser."

Kairi kept her stare locked on Luxord. "What're the stakes?"

Luxord shook his head. "What else?" Then in a puff of smoke, Kairi felt her entire body freeze up. "Existence!"

Next thing Kairi knew, she was trapped in the form of a die. As she struggled to make her body move, Luxord chuckled in a sadistic manner. "If you think I'm going to fold," he taunted, "then you're not playing with a full deck!" Two human-sized playing cards appeared from his hands which started to circle around him like a propeller.

If Kairi could, she would've rolled her eyes. "Geez, is this guy from the "Royal Flush Gang" or something?" she thought as Luxord leaped at her, the cards whirling around him like a sawblade.

Sora and Riku were making their way through countless Heartless and Nobodies. Running directly behind them were Hayner, Pence and Olette. Leon and Selphie were at the very back covering the group from behind.

"So, what's the plan?" Sora asked as he glided slightly above the group.

"The Heartless and Nobodies seem to be concentrating their forces near that mining shaft preventing anyone to enter," Riku said. "It's as if they're guarding something."

"The mining shaft?" It took a few seconds for Sora to figure out what Riku was talking about. "But that's where Organization XIII's hidden data's located!"

"And that's where we'll find Kairi. But," Riku gave Sora a knowing look, "even you and I can't just barge in there without some force of our own. Which is exactly why we need to find the others."

Sora was about to argue, but then something in the distance caught his eye. He squinted, trying to make out what he was seeing. As they got closer, Sora realized that it was a group of Dusks and Neoshadows attacking two bystanders. One was a girl with long, flowing red hair. She was being guarded by a young, well-kept man wearing a familiar-looking blue coat and wielding a dueling sword.

"Riku!" Sora shouted as he landed smoothly from his glide. "They look like they need our help!"

Riku nodded. "Right! Sora, Selphie! Take care of the Heartless!" he ordered. "Leon, you're with me on the Nobodies!"

Sora started forward, but Selphie yelled, "Sora! Wait!"

He looked at her as if she was crazy. "But what about...?" Sora's voice trailed off as she closed her eyes.

Selphie stood silent for a moment, holding her nunchucks together in front of her. Then without warning, she made ritualistic movements as if she were a baton cheerleader. White angelic wings materialized behind the Heartless lifting them upward and out of sight.

Sora looked at her in shock. "What was and how did you do that?"

Selphie smiled. "It's something that I've been practicing while you and Riku were away."

Meanwhile, Riku and Leon jumped into the center of the crowd of Dusks with their blades drawn.

"Think you can handle this many?" Leon asked.

Riku snorted. "Please. I'm just worried if you can keep up, old man."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "I've forgotten who I'm dealing with." Together, Leon and Riku charged up their energy and obliterated the opposition with a combination of their Firagas.

After the smoke cleared, Sora held out a helping hand to the red-headed girl. "Are you all right, miss?" Then he did a double-take. "Wait, Ariel?! Is that you?"

"Sora!" Ariel hugged him enthusiastically. "It's great to see you again!"

Sora's face was a picture of shock. "I thought you couldn't walk any more ever since..." He shrugged. "Well, you know."

"Oh, this?" She lifted up the hem of her dress to reveal her human legs. "Daddy used his trident to let me live on the land with Eric!" Her smile dropped slightly. "Of course, now I can't really fight with them. I never realized how hard it was for humans to defend themselves without fins."

Sora grinned. "Don't worry. You get used to it." Then he noticed the other kids were staring at her. "Ariel used to be a mermaid," he explained. Olette and Selphie's expressions changed to pure delight.

"Wow! A real mermaid?!" they squealed excitedly. Ariel giggled. While they started bombarding her with questions about the aquatic life, Sora turned to Ariel's companion.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked, helping up the stranger.

"Yes. Thank you, Sora."

Sora looked at the man, confused. "I'm sorry, but..."

The stranger laughed. "Yes, of course. You probably don't recognize me in this form. You knew me once," The man deepened his voice and snarled, "as THE BEAST!"

Sora jumped back in surprise. "Whoa! I guess you and Belle finally broke the spell, huh?"

"Yes. And I'm truly grateful to her and to you for helping me through my troubled time." The Prince looks at the sword he was holding. "I guess I'm not fully used to being human again. I forgot I can't charge in blindly anymore."

"What exactly are you two doing all the way out here?" Riku asked.

Ariel's face started to match her hair color. "Actually, it was my idea. I wanted to help out, but I forgot that I no longer had my fins."

"And I followed Ariel because I thought she wouldn't be able to fight by herself," the Prince added. He hung his head in disappointment. "Turns out that I wasn't exactly any help either."

"No worries," Sora replied gently. "At least you're both okay now."

The Prince looked worried. "Belle, is she okay?" he asked.

Riku shook his head. "Don't worry about her. Belle and the other Princesses of Heart are in the safe room."

"What exactly is going on?" Ariel asked. In response, Riku motioned for the others to follow him.

"Come on. We'll explain on the way." And with that, the group broke into a run.

"Seems like yesterday that we were fighting against each other back in the castle," the Prince said to Riku.

"Hey, I was under the influence of darkness," Riku replied. "Sorry about that by the way."

"How do humans run on these weak-looking things anyway?" Ariel asked as she struggled to keep up.

"It takes practice," Olette said. "Learn how to float before learning how to swim."

"If you think that's bad," the Prince chimed in, "you should try running with paws. It makes gripping things a real pain."