Here you go, this is the next chapter.

Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply. The Kingdom Hearts series and the Dissidia: Final Fantasy games were created by Squaresoft. Same goes for their respective characters, locations, etc.

Chapter XVIII: The Forsaken Abyss

Accompanied by Cecil, Ceodore and Kain, the group entered the portal which led to the Sanctuary of Harmony. Serenia and Tyler looked around the Goddess of Harmony's domain in wonder.

"What a amazing place" breathed the red-haired teen.

The Warrior of Light inclined his head"Indeed. I've been to this sacred place many times."

The group headed for Cosmos's throne. The Deity of Harmony herself sat on her throne as her warriors approached. The Warrior of Light addressed her as they approached"Cosmos, we've returned. But unfortunately, the Chaos warriors have the majority of the shards. Caius and the rest of Sanhille's group have almost won."

"I sensed this, Quinn. Caius is a formidable foe, he will not be easily defeated. Goddess Eltro's Chaos Heart grants him much of his power. And with your ships stranded at the Blue Planet, you must now rely on the ability to teleport between worlds" said Cosmos, grimly.

"What must we now do?" asked the Warrior of Light.

Cosmos replied"There may be a power that can dispel the twilight eclipse, even without the Twilight Crystal. Five sacred artifacts lay hidden where most would never suspect of looking. You must now explore a new oceanic world, a flat land fueled by Alchemy, GCS, a secret hotel where many non-humans seek refuge and peace, and even parallel realms within a world."

"Hm. Sounds pretty vague to me" remarked Tidus.

Sora was puzzled"There are several ocean worlds, where would we go?"

"The one I speak of in particular is divided into sectors, one such sector is called by the natives of the world the Grand Line. A group of brave adventurers, similar, yet different from yourselves sail on their ship in search of hidden treasure and in the pursuit of dreams" said Cosmos.

Sora squared his shoulders"Well, I'm all for seeing those new worlds."

"What's GCS?" asked Serenia.

"It is a special world, beyond that, I'm afraid I cannot say. Those worlds in particular were even more isolated than those you may have been to. Gummi Ships cannot reach them, but with teleportation magic, you can access these worlds" replied Cosmos.

"Teleportation?" asked Tyler, hesitant.

"It is a special power Cosmos can bestow upon her warriors, Chaos's warriors can do the same with their god's power. We didn't have it on hand in the twelfth or thirteenth cycles, Cosmos's power maintains the balance in this dimension" spoke the Warrior of Light.

Sora squared his shoulders"We can handle anything, so where should we go first?"

"That's up to you, but you must first enter the Forsaken Abyss. It is a forgotten expanse of the Lanes Between, Gummi Ships cannot pass through its walls, yet it is where the worlds I speak of are" said Cosmos.

"Forsaken Abyss... That sounds interesting, I suppose" shrugged Lightning.

"We can't take everyone, we should decide who will embark. A maximum of eight should be fine. We have enough people to find the artifacts and guard the Sanctuary of Harmony" spoke Quinn.

"I'll go, and I'll take Tidus and Yuna" said Sora.

"Father, may Tyler and I come?" asked Serenia.

Sora thought for a moment"Okay, just stay close."

Kain walked over"Cecil and I will accompany you for whenever Holy power is required."

"You just read my mind, Kain" smiled the Paladin.

Ceodore addressed the other seven active group members"I'd like to come along."

Cecil nodded"Then welcome aboard. Just be careful and do what we ask if needed."

Cosmos spoke"You've chosen your group? Then I shall bestow upon you the ability to traverse the Forsaken Abyss."

Sora and his teammates waited as Cosmos closed her eyes and began channeling her magic power. A yellowish glow surrounded the eight for a moment. As it dissipated, Serenia glanced at herself"I don't feel any different."

"I merely channeled this power to you. This power may cause some strain when you use it, but fear not. It will always be usable if you only use the power once every few minutes. Simply project an image into your mind of your destination" spoke Cosmos.

"So what artifacts are we searching for?" asked Sora.

Cosmos replied, calmly"The Shards of the Dawn Crystal, which can counter that of the Twilight Crystal, are what you must seek."

Sora smiled"No problem. You guys ready?"

"Whenever you are" replied Cecil.

Lightning addressed Cosmos"I cannot just remain here, I must do my part as well."

"Why not join Hope's group at the Land of Departure? They are studying, there with a group from the Akademy" piped Sora.

"I see. I suppose I should reinforce whatever defenses may be left and join him. Terra, I must ask if you'll come" acknowledged the pink-haired warrior.

Terra nodded"It is not problem. Aqua's still there, too. I should check on her."

Cosmos, who'd been listening, spoke"All three groups are decided, then? I wish those of you embarking on your missions luck."

"And if Lightning and I see Caius, we'll slam him down" grinned Terra.

Noel addressed Lightning"Caius was my mentor. I should come along as well, assuming he'll bother to show at the Land of Departure."

"Me too" said Serah.

"All right, let's go. Sora, best of luck" said Lightning.

Sora nodded, then he and his group tapped into the power Cosmos gave them. A glowing light surrounded them and they warped away. The light took Sora's group all the way to a purplish, black dimension with what looked like several large orbs appeared. The closest one showed a vast ocean and blue sky with a small ship, the flag of which had a skull and crossbones with a straw hat painted on it. The ground beneath their feet was a bluish white.

Cecil glanced at it"That must be the ocean world."

Serenia glanced at the rest of the surroundings"This is an eerie space."

"Tell me about it" remarked Tidus.

Tyler studied the closest orb"Looks like we can expect to run into pirates, here."

Rarely having any good experiences with pirates, Sora shrugged"I don't know whether the pirates we meet will be more like Jack Sparrow or Captain Hook, but it is worth checking this new world."

Serenia smiled"Really?"

"Of course. If we run into really nasty pirates, just leave them to me" grinned Sora.

The group trudged across a bluish white pathway leading towards the world. As they got closer, they could see a portal materializing in front of them. Ceodore was taken aback by the sight"Okay, where does this lead?"

"Into this world, I imagine. Let's go" Kain took the lead.

The rest of the group followed, the light from the portal engulfing them. As they walked a short distance, the light slowly faded, and the group found themselves on the deck of a sailing ship. Serenia glanced upward to see the same flag on the central pillar.

"We'd better have our weapons ready, if Firion's experience with the pirate from his world is any indication, we can't be sure if the people on this ship are to be trusted" said Cecil.

A tangerine suddenly splattered onto the back of Tidus's shirt. The blond blitzer turned"Hey, who threw that?"

"How in the **** did you guys get onboard our ship? You'd better not be with the Navy or the Baroque Works Gang!" A young woman with reddish orange hair and a blue outfit stood with a bow staff at the ready.

"Nami Swan, is something wrong?" a blond man in a black tux and a blue shirt with matching black pants addressed the orange-haired girl.

"Hey, what's the commotion over here?" said a green-haired swordsman.

A black-haired young man with a red vest, blue shorts, straw hat and sandals gaped at them. The orange-haired woman addressed the ravan-haired young man"So what now, captain?"

A lavender-haired woman approached next"Are you guys with Baroque works? Hold on, there are children in your party... Even Baroque Works isn't so cowardly to use kids against their wills."

Sora reframed from summoning his keyblade, instead saying"Wait, I'm Sora. This is King Cecil and Prince Ceodore of Baron, Serenia is my daughter and Tyler is the son of Ventus. Kain, here is one of Baron's former Dragoons."

"I'm Yuna, and this is Tidus. We didn't mean to invade your ship" piped the Summoner.

"King? Prince?" Nami gasped at Cecil and Ceodore's titles"I wouldn't be so idiotic as to throw around those titles lightly if I were you."

"I'd have half a mind to dump you all on the nearest island if I were captain, but since I'm not..." trailed the green-haired swordsman.

Cecil stood forward"Hold it, we're only to find a mysterious artifact. As the king of Baron, may I ask we use your ship to travel this ocean world until we find it? I don't expect you to believe me, and I'd be glad to offer compensation if needed. Who's the captain?"

"Me. I am" said the black-haired youth with a grin, as though he hadn't a care in the world.

"Where the H*** is Baron? Never heard of that, I don't even think it exists in the Grand Line, the entire ocean and its islands are governed by the World Government" exclaimed the orange-haired woman.

Sora wasn't sure if they were in trouble now, or if they could manage to talk the wacky-looking pirate group into helping them. The raven-haired man with the straw hat looked clueless, while the green-haired man had a hand on one of his three swords.

The lavender-haired girl spoke"We mean you no real harm, Sora. I am Princess Vivi of Alabasta. The Straw-Hat pirates are really a nice group, but even pirates cannot be too careful."

'Nice? Don't make me laugh' thought the orange-haired woman, though there was some truth in it.

Yoran watched through the projection crystal in his lair, he knew that Sora survived his encounter with Caius. Arlene and Lumaria lurked near the door in Yoran's chamber and vantage point.

"Sora's really persistent, isn't he?" said Arlene.

"Indeed, yet I cannot seem to track his whereabouts in this crystal, no matter" said Yoran, walking away from it.

"Your orders?" asked Lumaria.

Yoran grimaced"Go ahead and attack Radiant Garden, bring the princess of heart to me. Only she and her child can wield the power in the pendant that Droul stole. I will personally be monitoring Sora's group while they're in this region of the lanes between, as the forsaken abyss is closest to my self-imposed exile. Never mind how I know about Sora's kid."

"Very well" grinned Lumaria.

Caius stood in the corner, conversing with Kuja"You know what to do about the contradictions in the Land of Departure and the Sanctuary of Harmony?"

Kuja nodded"Why, yes. I could put on a show, anytime for those fools."

"Don't underestimate them" warned Caius.

"I wouldn't dream of it" grinned the Chaos Warrior.

Okay, sorry it took this long for the next chapter. I only hope I didn't make the Straw Hat pirates OOC. Oh, and One Piece was Oda's work. Besides the next five chapters featuring a world not canonically in the Kingdom Hearts universe as far as I am aware, there will be one taking place in Radiant Garden and one in Twilight Town.

As for the worlds Cosmos hinted at in this chapter, you may guess if you'd like. But they'll eventually be revealed. As for Ceodore, I didn't have a way he could help Sora from his home world besides what I had him do last chapter.

Please feel free to review.