Mike AZ 2 here, the next chapter is up and running. As a reminder: thoughts are ', spoken dialogue is ", and _ indicates change of scene or point of view.

Just so that you know, there are spoilers for the final chapters of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. While there are some elements from that game, it's not directly related to my Final Fantasy IV: The After Years novelization, which is on my profile.

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Dissidia: Final Fantasy and Dissidia Duodecim are the products of Squaresoft.

Chapter IV: An Unexpected Journey-Part 2

An hour later, Serenia, Tyler, Aqua and Ven met up in the kitchen. Aqua addressed the two teens"So what did you have in mind when you came to Ven's and my room?"

Tyler flushed, he knew he could not lie to his parents. Serenia interjected"I want to do my part in whatever my father left to do. Besides, I kind of want to see other worlds."

"I can't blame you, but I think you should've waited a few more hours, you weren't supposed to be up that late" said Ven.

Aqua addressed Serenia"It will be far too dangerous, you two are only apprentices. If you go, you should take someone with you to make sure you're safe."

Serenia sighed, then reluctantly said"Okay, so who's coming?"

Ven interjected"Roxas and Xion could keep you company. I'll likely come along to help with your training and keep an eye on you."

Aqua sighed"But Ven, I almost lost you once."

"I'll be okay, Aqua, you have to watch over this world, right?" grinned Ventus.

The blue haired Keyblade Master nodded"Well, we had best wait until sunrise. It's just about dawn now, so we'll have an early breakfast at seven thirty. For now Serenia, you and Tyler will do a bit of jogging, Ven will supervise you. A little exercise is good for you after all."

"Yes, Master Aqua" said Serenia.

As the two kids went outside with Ventus, Lea addressed Aqua"So what's the plan?"

Aqua replied"Lea, you and Isa can help me, right? We may be short-handed, but we could still help defend the worlds from the unknown forces encroaching on the world order."

Lea shrugged"Can't say I understand everything myself. Isa and I will do our best, you can guarantee it."

Aqua smiled"I know I can count on my friends, let's get everyone else here together and discuss further action. I will write Sora a letter and have Ven deliver it if possible, once Serenia is done with her jogging."

"Oh right, what was that about?" said Lea.

The blue haired Keyblade Master replied"Serenia and Tyler broke a rule, getting up in the wee hours of the morning. That was a small penelty I gave those two, but it's also an exercise they needed to do to wake up more."

"You're really subtle, aren't you?" said the spikey red head.

At Disney Castle, Sora and his group were getting situated on current events and what course of action to take. Sora addressed Riku"So how's Namine doing?"

"She's okay" replied Riku.

"Sora told me you were competing to become the next mayor of our home, Riku, how did it go?" said Kairi.

Riku shrugged"I was able to secure the job and help around the islands. But then I got a letter from Mickey requesting help with some unknown, but hostile, forces, so I left things in Namine's hands. She insisted on being my secretary, so we could be close to each other. Tidus and Yuna are also taking care of things."

Sora smiled"We're all okay so far, so now what?"

"Sora, Riku, there is even more trouble" said a voice as Cosmos appeared.

"What's the trouble?" piped Vaan.

The Deity of Harmony replied"I asked the Warrior of Light to find Cecil, Kain and Lightning to help us against the new threat. But unfortunately, he went missing, I suspect that a strange force invading Cecil, Golbez and Kain's homeworld is responsible for it."

"Missing? How can that be?" piped Kairi.

"Ah, let's not sweat the small stuff. All we gotta do is find him and help assemble the other warriors" smiled the dark haired man, Laguna.

Cosmos nodded"I am glad I can count on you all, but there is more I must say. I felt Cecil's spirit wane for a moment before another, stronger force invaded his consciousness, some alien force has grabbed hold of him and, I fear the worst, Quinn."

Sora sighed"So we have to go to Baron and save then."

"Sora, I am grateful for your aid" said Cosmos.

As the Deity of Harmony left, Sora sighed"I guess It's up to me. Riku, take Kairi back to Radiant Garden and Tell Leon and the others about the mysterious man, Sanhille."

"Will do, just don't get killed" said Riku.

Kairi interjected"But Sora, I want to come with you."

"I want you to be safe for Serenia's sake if something happens to me" said Sora.

His wife sighed"Okay, but be careful." The two of them shared a long kiss, before Sora addressed King Mickey and the others.

Mickey was surprised"We sure have a lot of friends to help."

Sora nodded, then turned to Noel and his group"Are you up for this?"

"You don't have to ask" replied Vaan.

Laguna smirked"Let's mosey onward."

Serah addressed Sora"I may not have as much experiance as you and Noel, but I can be of help."

"What about your sister? Shouldn't you help her?" said Sora.

Noel interjected"Serah's sister is fine if this 'Terra' is helping in whatever they could be doing. I will help you deal with Caius while we're at it if we run into him."

Sora smiled"All right, let's head on out."

"Sora, good luck" said Goofy.

As Sora and Riku's groups left the room, Minnie addressed Mickey"So what next?"

King Mickey replied"I'll go join Riku eventually, he'll need help when he's done with his business at Radiant Garden. Minnie, I know it's a lot to ask, but I have to go soon."

"I understand, just be careful" said Minnie.

A few hours passed at Radiant Garden as Aqua wrote Sora another letter and gave it to Ventus"I realize that we don't know which world Sora is visiting right now, but can I count on you?"

"No problem, Aqua" said Ven.

Serenia was about to protest"But Master Ventus, you said you'd come with us!"

Ven put a hand on her shoulder"I know, but I will catch up on my Glider after I give Sora the letter Aqua wrote him."

Roxas addressed the small red head"Xion and I have a Gummi Ship set up and ready for this world. Serenia, what we're doing will be dangerous, so let Xion and I deal with any monsters that show up okay?"

"But I inherited one of my father's Keyblades, can't I help?" said Serenia.

Aqua interjected"This isn't something a thirteen year old should be doing, try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

"We will, mom" piped Tyler.

Ventus beifly hugged Tyler, then summoned his armor and glider before leaving the Land of Departure with a small envolope in his pocket.

Serenia, Tyler, Roxas and Xion went to the mountain south of the castle, where a medium sized light blue and white Gummi Shp was waiting for them. Serenia was astonished"It's beautiful."

Xion smiled"You think so? Cid built it, and Sora had the ship sent here to make travel between worlds easy. This model is called the Radiant Light."

The four entered the Seraph of Light, which consisted of a main hall with the cockpit in the front, and three to four small rooms. Tyler was amazed to see the vessel's interior, which was painted a simple gray and black tint"Look at that, Serenia."

"Black isn't my favorite color, but the design is still neat" remarked the teenage red head.

"Let's go to the bridge, the sooner we get moving the better" said Roxas.

Roxas and his group entered the bridge, where there were several seats. Serenia piped up"Can I drive, Uncle Roxas?"

"You're a little young for that, and aren't I more of a brother then an uncle to you?" said the older man, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry Roxas" giggled Serenia, sheepishly.

Roxas noded"Let's fasten our seatbelts and get ready for takeoff. I will set the ship's auto pilot so that I can help with Tyler's and your training, Serenia."

The four sat in their chosen seats, Roxas took the controls as he input some coordinates into the ship's computer systems. Xion addressed the male Nobody"Roxas, do you have a particuler destination in mind?"

Roxas shrugged"We'll hit Cecil's homeworld if possible, it should be safe enough outside Radiant Garden. I just hope Sora wouldn't mind us taking the two kids along so they can get in some training."

Xion put a hand on her boyfriend's for a second"There shouldn't be too much trouble, just think of this as our latest mission, okay?"

When Roxas put in the coordinates and started up the ship, they took off. Serenia sighed"Is this your first time outside The Land of Departure, Tyler?"

"Yeah, the stars are pretty" replied the blue haired Apprentice.

While Riku took Kairi on Vaan's ship back to Radiant Garden, Sora's group boarded the Ragnarok II. Cid addressed the brunette Keyblade Master"That was quite a shocker, huh? That light storm packed some punch, wherever it came from."

Noel interjected"We don't have much time for introductions. We must leave soon and find our allies."

"Ah, don't you get all worked up. Sora, we're taking off now, right?"

Sora replied"We're heading for Baron."

Cid nodded, then activated the Ragnarok II"All right, let's head on out."

The heroes on the Ragnarok II left the docking bay of Disney Castle and took off. Penelo addressed the male Sky Pirate"Sure you're okay with Riku borrowing our ship?"

"It's fine, Penelo. We just have to concentrate on finding Kain and the others, right?" grinned Vaan.

The ship flew not more then a mile or two before Cid spotted an armored figure leaving the Land of Departure from the window of the bridge"Hey, is that one of our allies?"

Sora checked"Yes, and I think he just saw our ship. Cid, could you open the docking bay doors for us?"

"No problem, I'll have to shut it almost as soon as he's in though. Wouldn't want us to become space dust or anything" remarked the blond pilot.

Outside, the armored figure, the armored figure saw the docking bay door of the Ragnarok II open and flew in. Sora rushed to the room to meet the figure"What's up? How did you find us?"

The armored figure took off his helmet"Hey, Sora, there is something you need to know. I just left when I saw your ship almost fly by."

"What is it?" inquired Sora, seeing Ventus's expression.

The blond Keybearer fully removed his armor, took out a letter from his pocket and gave it to his friend"Aqua wanted me to give you this, it's about Serenia."

Sora opened the envolope, took the letter and read it's contents. When he was finished, the brunette sighed"If it was anyone else but you and Aqua, I'd be even more worried then I am now about sending Serenia off on an adventure without my permission. did she say where Roxas and Xion are going with Serenia and Tyler?"

"Nope, but I just saw them head in the direction you're facing. I think Cecil's homeworld is that way, along with the other worlds of the Final Fantasy universe" said Ven.

Sora held out his fist"It's no problem if we're headed the same way, I'll just have to help protect the two apprentices. Ven, how 'bout a lift?"

Ventus gently bumped Sora's hand"Deal, now let's get moving and be on our way."

Sora and Ven went to the cockpit where Noel greeted them"How did it go?"

"Turns out Roxas is headed the direction we are, let's meet him at Baron and find Quinn" grinned Sora.

"All right, I'm gonna set the ship to full speed" said Cid.

The Radiant Light sped on at full speed until it came to a blue tinted planet with an unexpected sight. A large brown mass was slowing advancing towards it, Roxas groaned"Trouble already, that moon dosen't look like it's in it's right orbit. It's going to collide into that world."

Serenia paled"So now what?"

Xion sighed"The Radiant Light's weapon systems are not on par with the Ragnarok II's. We wouldn't be able to stop it."

"Oh no, we're being pulled towards the moon!" cried Tyler.

Roxas turned the ship's autopilot off and sharply turned the steering controls to the right, but the moon's gravitational pull was too powerful to escape. The male Nobody sighed"We're gonna have to abandon the Radiant Light, Sora will have to rescue us. Serenia, Tyler, Xion, hold my hand!"

The four joined hands as the Radiant Light started to fall towards the moon and vanished into a dark corridor. When they emerged, they found themselves south of a town with a castle north of it, the sky above was an unnatural yellowish color. Monsters with small swords appeared and attacked.

"Thunder!" Xion blasted three goblins back while Roxas took down two more. Serenia brandished the Oathkeeper and cut through the rest.

Roxas glanced at the nearby castle, which beifly glowed before returning to normal. Xion sighed"Something is wrong in that castle, let's check it out."

"Take us with you" interjected Tyler.

Roxas shrugged"We don't have much choice, just stay close."

The four charged into the castle. They went straight, ignoring side passages until they came to the throne room. Roxas and his group was surprised to come across a strange scene: A familiar Paladin and a blond Dragoon were inside, but they weren't alone. They were accompanied by a blond woman in white, a blue haired teen with a red and white scarf and dark blue clothes, an older man with a white beard, and another blond.

"Ah, looks like we have more guests" said the Paladin. Roxas could tell the paladin was Cecil, but something was wrong. On one side of him was a light blue haired woman, and on the other was a familiar warrior with dark armor, a horned helm and a yellow cape.

The mystery woman made no comment, Roxas could sense that she was about as human as as a Organization XIII Nobody.

Cecil spoke"Quinn? Oh, that dosen't matter. Welcome, Roxas, Xion."

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the Paladin"Tell me what's going on."

Cecil sighed"This is unexpected."

The mystery woman addressed the Dragoon"We had a deal, hand over the crystals."

To Xion's astonishment, the mystery woman stole some crystals from the Dragoon. The Paladin spoke in such a way that Roxas realized that he was in some kind of trance. The Dragoon lunged at the Paladin, only to be knocked backwards by the warrior with the horned helm. The older blue haired teen pulled out his sword and pointed it at Cecil, much to the Paladin's 'chargrin'.

In the few seconds that followed, the Paladin and the man with the horned helmet brandished their own blades. The group, except Serenia and Tyler, charged at the two swordsmen. Roxas and Xion engaged the Warrior with the helmet, but he was equal to them as they fought.

As the older blue haired teen clashed with Cecil, the Dragoon and the blond woman backed him up with jump attacks and white magic respectively. Serenia was shocked'How can this be?'

While Roxas crossed blades with the warrior, Xion realized that the blue haired mystery woman was not doing anything. The female Nobody sened a flow of magic energy from her"Roxas, if we kill the monster that's controlling Cecil and the Warrior of Light, they should snap out of it."

Roxas sighed as he barely dodged an incoming Shield of Light technique"Got it, be careful Xion."

Before the Nobody could get far, she found herself paralyzed by dark magic coming from the blue haired mystery woman. Nearby, Cecil was driven back to his throne, the Paladin spoke"I can see you're serious." With that, the Paladin channeled magic energy from his body and summoned an Eidolon warrior on a horse.

"What the heck?" said Roxas, kicking the Warrior of Light backward before charging at Cecil. The Paladin saw him coming and slashed horizontally at the male Nobody. Roxas barely deflected the sword with his keyblade before countering with a fire spell.

Nearby, the rest of the group clashed with the Eidolon. Serenia summoned the Oathbtraker keyblade and charged into the fray, only to be knocked backwards. The older blue haired teen healed the young red head"You okay?"

"Yes, thank you" said Serenia.

As the fight dragged on, a voice echoed through the Eidolon before it seemed to turn on Cecil and the Warrior of Light. A yellow flash briefly emmited in the room before the Eidolon vanished. Cecil collapsed unconcious, while the Warrior of Light staggered backwards. Roxas was astonoished"What was that about?"

"Cecil!" cried a voice as several more people entered the throne room. Among them was a light brown haired man in black.

"Rydia" smiled the blond woman.

Rydia smiled"Nice to see you, Rosa."

Serenia addressed the older blue haired teen"Oh, my name is Serenia."

"My name is Ceodore, I'm part Lunarian" replied the teen.

"What's a Lunarian?" wondered Tyler.

The man in black confronted the light blue haired woman, who addressed him"You're alive."

The Warrior of Light blinked a few times before he spoke"Roxas, Xion, thank you. You have my apologies, I was spaced out."

"Nice to see you back to normal, Quinn" smiled Xion.

Nearby, the mystery woman glowed with potent magic energy, attacking the man in black.

Some of the group tended to Cecil while Ceodore, Serenia, Rosa, Rydia, the man in black and a blue clad ninja challenged the Mysterious Woman. The mysterious being zapped the group with thunder spells, meteor and, oddly enough, Eidolons. Rosa kept her allies on her toes while the others fought back.

The Warrior of Light intervened with a Shield of Light to the Mysterious woman, who retaliated with Firaga. Rydia attacked their adversary with a Thunder Eidolon. Ceodore focused his energy before charging at the Mysterious woman, ending with a vertical slash before being countered by Flare. Serenia attempted an attack, but missed.

As the teenage red head was knocked back, two more people entered the room: Ventus and Sora. Serenia gasped when she saw the brunette Keyblade Master"Father?"

"We'll talk later" said Sora, healing Serenia while Ventus unleashed a combo on the mysterious woman. Rosa and Rydia channeled magic energy and unleashed it on the monster. The resulting explosion was so great, that the heroes' mystery adversary collapsed.

The ninja breathed"We did it."

"Not quite" said the man in black.

Several more beings that looked like their fallen opponent appeared. The mysterious girls took the crystals and vanished, along with their dead comrade.

Serenia faced her father"I can explain, I wanted to help."

Sora sighed"This battle could've killed you, I don't know what I'd do if you had..."

"I know" said Serenia.

The man in black knelt down at Cecil's unconcious form"Cecil..."

"That man is...!" gasped the Dragoon.

"Golbez!" breathed Rydia.

As the group introduced themselves to one another, Xion addressed Sora"How'd you get here? A strange moon has pulled our Gummi Ship onto it's surface."

Sora replied"The same thing happened to the Ragnarok II, I barely managed to get out of there on a smaller gummi ship, Ventus came with me."

A woman in red and pink clothes addressed the blue clad man with the white beard"So now what? We can still get the crystals back, right?"

"We don't have the technology, Luca" replied the man.

Golbez interjected"There's a way, I came here on the Lunar Whale."

Serenia beamed"So we can retrieve the captured ships."

Sora responded"Yeah, but we have to save this world first. Oh, and Serenia, why did you come here?"

"I just wanted to help, so Roxas, Xion, Tyler and I came here" said the small red head, guiltily.

Sora put a hand on her shoulder"I thought this might happen, you really take after me. Just don't rush headlong into situations you're not ready for, all right?"

Golbez spoke"Not to interrupt, but we should be on the move, that moon is going to crush this world soon. We must retrieve the crystals and find a way to alter it's course."

The Warrior of Light nodded"Indeed."

"How do we even get to the moon?" inquired Luca.

Golbez replied"There's a way, the Lunar Whale is landed not far from Baron."

"But what about Cecil?" said Xion.

"We'll take him with us" replied the Dragoon.

"Kain, Quinn, have you seen Terra and Lightning?" inquired Sora.

Kain shook his head"They disappeared shortly before I met Ceodore, but I am sure they're alive."

"I see" sighed the brunette.

Roxas turned to leave"So what are we waiting for? The moon has to be stopped."

Sora addressed Serenia"You can come with us if you want, but I think you should focus more on training. I don't know everything that happened at the Land of Departure and at Baron, but I want you to be more careful."

"I'll try" said Serenia.

The heroes left the throne room, taking Cecil's body with them.

Okay, I have the next chapter up and running, the action is beginning to pick up. Anyway, most of the characters here will have a minor role, but Cecil and Kain will make appearences in future chapters from this point. I know I didn't use Terra or Lightning much, but they will appear at some point. Also, I think I made Noel a bit OOC.

Sorry if I'm being wishy-washy again, but I thought maybe a poll like the ones I deleted were not such a good idea.

Please feel free to review.