Kingdom Hearts Dual Keys

by lyokoMARVELanime

Spin-off/Sequel to Keyblades of Future Past. The legend you know returns, but this time it's not just Sora, Donald, and Goofy racing to save the worlds, but this time, they'll be working alongside the newest Keyblade Master and Sora's new teacher: Ventus. Experience the first KH adventure you know with a new twist as the forces of darkness face two keys in the battle for the worlds

12. Whale of a Tale

AN: Hey how's it going everybody, and who's ready to dive into another chapter of Dual Keys?

[audience applause]

Riku: Shouldn't you be saying things like "dive in" when we get to the Atlantica chapter(s)?

AN: Hey, this one mostly takes place inside a giant whale, and whales are usually underwater. It counts here. Besides, what else do you want me to say? Some little spin on the song "No Strings On Me"? Like Ultron didn't already make a mess of that classic.

Ultron: I heard that! [gets blasted out of the room by a large cannon that popped out of the floor]

AN: And do you really care? Anyways, let's answer a review or two while we're here. First, I'd like to make a general response, and ask why did so many of you automatically assume that Tidus is with Maleficent just because he was missing from Traverse Town? I mean, come on. There are other worlds out there that he could've ended up on, and besides that I'm fairly sure that I gave a hint on where, or at least who Tidus would end up with in the last chapter's author's note.

Sora: You didn't. You just said that there would be two more Final Fantasy characters appearing later on including Sephiroth.

AN: Oh...well, never mind then. Anyways, don't panic, Tidus is still going to be one of the good guys when we see him again, and he won't be with Maleficent. Doesn't mean he won't be doing something really important when we see him again, though.

Next up to my buddy "Monkey D. Conan", appreciate the praise and understanding for the last chapter's length, and yeah, you were right. There was nowhere else that I could have split that piece of the adventure last chapter. Normally, I would answer all of your questions, but unfortunately, most of them would require giving away spoilers, and we all know how I am about spoilers.

Roxas: Come on. You could at least tell them a little something, like how after they get to Hollow Bastion and meet Riku that first time, Ven basically...

AN: DAH! SPOILER! [hits controls]

Roxas: Aw nuts. [gets whapped in the head by a large hammer that makes him fall flat on his back after uttering gibberish]

AN: Anyways, I will say this: Ven will not be leaving Sora behind because of anything like that, so you don't need to worry about that. As has often been pointed out in the past, Ventus and Sora are a lot alike. Oh, and the whole suggestion on the armor, I've actually already had a little thought on that, and while it's not like your idea, it will, hopefully, still be just as important. And it will have some similarities to the Jedi Order in a way.

Sora: Hey, can I just point out this one guest review that made a little reference to Dragon Ball Z when it talked to me and Ven about how Genie was right to say you could be surprised what you can live through?

AN: Well, you just did, so I can't really say no now, can I? Anyways, thanks for pointing that out, pal.

Ventus: How about the one talking to me about the new intel regarding me and the Keyblade War?

AN: Go for it.

Ventus: I just want to remind you that this story is an AU, and was started before this intel was out, so naturally, it's going to ignore things like that, mostly because at this point, it would be next to impossible to add it in without doing a lot of story revision that none of us really want to do right now, if ever.

AN: Well, that feels like a bit of a mean way to put it, but it's definitely blunt and to the point. Moving on, let's get on with the show, and dive into the adventure. In more ways than one this time around.

Kairi: What's that supposed mean?

AN: You'll find out in a minute. You especially, my dear Kairi.

I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise mentioned in this story.

---

Chapter XI

Deep in the heart of her castle, Maleficent was standing proudly at the head of her meeting table, smirking with glee at the fact that they had now had six of the Princesses of Heart in their grasp. Sure, they may have lost Jafar to Ventus and his little friends, and Agrabah's Keyhole may have been sealed shut to prevent the Heartless from plunging the world into darkness, but that was a small price to pay in exchange for what they had gained. After all, in the long-run of this game, nothing that Ventus, his apprentice, or the king's lackeys did would be able to prevent darkness from consuming all of the worlds once they had opened the final door. Of course, some of the other people in the room had to disagree with her on how her priorities were ordered. After all, losing one of their own was a serious blow to their efforts, and it only made them think that they would need to rethink some of their own plans if and when these four meddlers arrived on their own worlds. Then again, the only one who was voicing their grievances about the loss of Jafar was the Lord of the Dead, even though he did not really seem like he cared that much about it.

"That smarmy vizier could've had 'em, if someone had stuck around to give him a hand," Hades sighed, throwing a small pointed look to their organization's newest and youngest member.

Riku just rolled his eyes at the ruler of the Underworld in response at first. He honestly did not care what Hades thought about his actions. While the other individuals in this room probably would not be doing the same, he was not about to try and hurt his friend, even if he did feel like Sora had betrayed and abandoned him. After all, if he were to do that, he knew that one particular person would never forgive him, and her opinion was all the really mattered to him at the moment, even if deep down, he did still acknowledge that Sora would likely hate him if he did something to bring harm to the spiky-haired boy. When he noticed Hades' look did not change, Riku immediately jumped to his first defense and pointed out, "Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?"

Honestly, the boy did not expect anyone else to speak in his defense, since he had gotten the sense that only one person here was even a little tolerable of his presence ever since he had arrived on this world, but then again, considering that the person who spoke up for him was that very same person, he probably should not have been that surprised. "Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred," Maleficent revealed, having seen the signs that Jafar was about to drive himself into his own downfall ever since her latest trips to Agrabah. She then drew a cautionary look in Hades' direction and added, "One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely."

Hades did not need any other hints to indicate that she was talking to him, or why she was giving such a warning, and immediately insisted, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up, huh? I'm as cool as they come, okay?" He then returned his attention to Riku and said, "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

Riku could only hum in confusion as he looked between the two for a minute, until Maleficent reminded him, "We had a deal, yes? You help us, and we grant you your wish."

When a light flashed from the center of the table, Riku's eyes immediately moved in that direction, and he was instantly greeted with the sight of a familiar dark red haired girl, dressed in a sleeveless white top, with a black one underneath, a purple skirt and biker shorts, white shoes with purple caps, yellow wristband and purple armband on the left arm, a pair of bracelets on her opposite wrist, and a black choker and necklace around her neck. Even though her eyes appeared to be closed, indicating that she appeared to be sleeping or something, Riku did not need to see her eyes to know that they were definitely the violet-blue ones of his missing friend that he and Sora had been searching for. "Kairi," he gasped in both relief and surprise.

"Go to her," Maleficent commanded him. "Your vessel is waiting."

Hearing the dark fairy say that caused Riku to turn his attention to another one of the room's occupants, this one being a man with curly black hair and thin mustache in a pirate's getup, which included a frilly white shirt underneath a red coat with gold lining and maroon cuffs, an orange sash over his right shoulder that held his sword scabbard in place on his left hip, maroon pants, white knee-high socks, black boots, and a large hat with a huge feather stuck in it. The thing that stood out the most about him though was how he had a hook in place of his left hand, which glimmered a little as he stepped out into the dim light of the room, waving said hook. "Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage," Captain James Hook informed the boy, confirming that he would be the one to transport Riku to wherever Kairi was.

In all honesty, Riku would have loved nothing more than to head straight for wherever Kairi was right that second, and he likely would have too, but something about this just did not seem right to him. Sure, Maleficent was delivering on her end of their agreement, but so far, he had only done one part of his job for her, so why was she bringing him to Kairi now? More importantly, from what he could tell, Maleficent was not the type to do just anything without there being some kind of catch to it, and having grown up on an island world, Riku knew that you could never catch any fish without the right bait, so he had to wonder just what Maleficent was aiming to reel him in for with this particular worm. This suspicion made him feel like he had to know, and it had eventually driven Riku to ask, "Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?"

"Catch? What's the catch," Maleficent asked in reply, her tone far too innocent for Riku's liking. She then slowly approached Riku and slowly caressed his face with her free hand as she merely said, "Silly boy, you're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy."

"I seriously doubt that," Riku scoffed as he batted Maleficent's hand away.

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain," Maleficent shrugged, hardly seeming at all offended by Riku's actions or words.

As much as he hated to admit it, Riku did have to acknowledge that Maleficent had a point there. Still, that did not mean that he dropped his guard until after he was well out of the room. There was just something about the woman that Riku did not trust at all. Sure, she had done quite a bit for him since he had arrived here on this world all alone with neither of his friends anywhere in sight, including giving him his new weapon and some magic, but there was just something about her that still made his skin crawl a bit. Then there was the fact that she seemed so determined to drive a wedge between him and Sora. Sure, that was not really too hard to do at the moment, given what he had learned the last time he had seen Sora, but the fact that Maleficent was pushing for it so much made him feel like something else was going on there. Whatever it was, it did not matter right now. If she or any of these others crossed him, he would deal with them, but only once he was absolutely sure that Kairi was safe and sound again.

---

Getting out of the Cave of Wonders before it completely collapsed on them was not an easy task for our little group of adventurers. Carpet and Ven both had to do some really fancy flying just to avoid the boulders that came crashing down from the collapsing ceiling, never mind what they had to try in order to avoid being roasted by the lava geysers that were erupting beneath them, but thankfully, they all managed to escape in one piece, relatively speaking. The only one that they could not say entirely the same for was Aladdin, because he was still upset over how they had lost Jasmine and seemed to have left her behind. The latter of those two things actually caused him to nearly slug Ventus once they had returned to the Arabian boy's home, and he would have too had Sora and Goofy not intervened just as he was winding up to swing. After Aladdin had calmed down enough, they all sat him down and did the only thing that they could do at that point: tell him the truth, and nothing short of the whole truth. Everything regarding other worlds, how Maleficent was kidnapping the other Princesses of Heart, and even how they were traveling to other worlds in an attempt to stop both the evil fairy and the Heartless. Sure, it did break quite a few rules, but at this point, it was not like they really had any other choice after everything that had happened.

Needless to say, it was a lot for Aladdin to take in, even without all the incredible things regarding other worlds that he had just learned. The one thing he was most focused on was that Jasmine was still alive, but was now being held captive somewhere outside of Agrabah. If that was the case, then he had to wonder why they were all wasting time just sitting here when they could be headed off to the next world to find and rescue her. With that in mind, Aladdin immediately looked his new friends right in the eye and said, "Sora, Ven, let's go find her."

No one needed to guess what Aladdin meant when he said that, and that made telling him this next bit of sad truth all the harder for the four. "Sorry, but we can't take you with us," Sora informed Aladdin.

"Wh-why not," Aladdin asked, practically begging them at this point.

"It's not that we don't want to Aladdin, but the sad fact is that if we do take you with us, we'd be tampering with the world order even more than Maleficent and her allies already have," Ventus replied.

Hearing that caused Aladdin to deflate quite a bit, now feeling even more helpless than ever, because this served as the final proof that he would not be able to do anything to help Jasmine now. Seeing how depressed their friend was, Goofy could only sadly moan, "Gwarsh, I wish we could bring Aladdin with us, too."

"But we can't," Donald sadly reminded his friend. Even though he was not saying it, the sorcerer did wish they could do more to help Aladdin right now. "If we take him to another world, we would be…"

"Muh…Mudd…" Goofy stuttered in an attempt to say the word that Donald was leading him into.

"Meddling," Donald finally filled in.

"Poor Aladdin," Kairi sighed in despair from inside Sora's heart. "There has to be something that we can do for him."

"I can only think of one thing right now, Kairi," Sora replied, and he quickly turned his attention back to the boy in question. "Aladdin, we'll find Jasmine. I promise."

What none of them ever noticed was how Genie was glancing around the room with a sad look, most of which was directed at Aladdin, and after seeing just how depressed the guy was, Genie knew what he had to do. "Uh, earth to Al. Hello? You still have one wish left," Genie reminded them all with a melancholic smile. "Look, just say the word. Ask me to find Jasmine for you."

That surprise everyone who had heard him, and they were all showing it to Genie in full with the shocked expressions on their faces. "But…But what about your freedom, Genie? Aladdin promised he would use his last wish to set you free, and none of us can wish for it since we're not from this world," Sora reminded the big, blue, cosmically-powered guy.

"Hey, it's only an eternity of servitude," Genie shrugged. He then waved over to Aladdin and said, "But what Al's feeling for Jasmine, that's love! When you find the one, you're not ever going to find another girl like her in a million years. Believe me, I know, I've looked."

Everyone had to give a small smile at Genie's little joke at the end, but that did not change the fact that he was basically giving up what could be his only chance to finally be granted his own wish in exchange for helping Aladdin. If anyone needed more of an indicator that Genie considered Aladdin to be a true friend, they would not find one greater than this. Knowing this, the quartet could only turn and stare at Aladdin, wondering just what he would do now. Would he follow through on his promise, or would he listen to Genie? It felt like time had slowed to a crawl until Aladdin finally grasped the lamp, looked up to his friend, and uttered the words for his third and final wish. "I…I wish…for your freedom, Genie."

Genie had made a show of rolling up his nonexistent sleeves as he prepared to grant what he thought would be Aladdin's wish, until it registered that the kid had not said what he had been expecting him to say. "What? Al," Genie gasped.

A moment later, everyone watched a twister of magic erupted from the lamp, swirling around Genie at a rapid pace that most of them could only equate it to the lights of an incredible meteor shower on a moonlit night. When the twister finally came to an end, it did so in an eruption that revealed Genie's lower half had changed from being a ghostly tail to a pair of long blue legs with brown, pointed shoes, and shortly afterwards, the gold bracelets he wore on his wrists snapped off and vanished in a flash of light, revealing that they were more akin to cuffs than they were bracelets. By the time Genie's latest transformation had been completed, the lamp had dropped down to the floor with a loud clatter, indicating that its power was now gone, and prompting Genie to slowly bend down and pick it up himself, just to confirm for himself that it no longer had any power over him.

When he did not sense anything coming from the lamp, he could not help but laugh a little as he whispered, "I'm free…I'm free!" He still had one last thing he needed to check just to be sure though, and he instantly deposited the lamp into Sora's unsuspecting hands, while telling the kid, "Quick! Quick, wish for something outrageous. Say uh, um…Know what, I don't care what you say. Just wish for anything, and make it as out there as possible if you can. Anything at all. Just try it."

Sora exchanged a few glances with the others, wondering why Genie would be asking him to do that, but all he got was a couple of shrugs that said to humor the guy. So, after thinking for a minute, Sora eventually shrugged and ended up saying the first thing he could think of. "I wish for a paopu tree."

"NO WAY," Genie instantly denied, and he then burst out laughing as loudly as he could before literally bouncing off the walls in joy, cheering about how good it felt to finally be able to say that in response to a wish. "I'm free! I'm free at last!"

"Yes you are, Genie," Aladdin nodded with a smile, drawing Genie's attention to him, along with a look that asked the obvious question. "Hey, a deal's a deal, Genie. Now, you can go anywhere you want. You're your own master." He then hesitated for a minute before adding, "But if you can, it'd be great if you could go along with them and help Sora and Ven find Jasmine."

Genie studied Aladdin very carefully for a while, and for a moment, the others were sure that Genie was going to refuse. Their worries increased as Genie turned away from the guy and said, "Sorry, Al. I'm done taking orders from others." Everyone was silent for a minute, waiting for him to say something else, and for a brief beat some of them thought that he was not going to, until he did speak up again while flashing a smile to Aladdin. "But…A favor, now that's entirely different. I guess I could give that a try. After all, we're pals, right, Al?"

"Genie…" Aladdin sighed with a grateful smile.

"Just leave it to me!"

"And us too," Sora added on. "We'll do everything we can to get Jasmine back home to you safely."

"Still, doesn't this mean that now no one can wish for Aladdin to be made a prince," Goofy asked.

"Hey, it's not like I can't still do it. Like I said, a favor is an entirely different story from taking orders, and I figure that I now owe Al quite a few," Genie shrugged.

"Actually Genie, I think I'll pass on that," Aladdin revealed, surprising everyone. He then looked over to Ventus and explained, "You were right before, Ven. I could tell when I saw her in the square before she was taken, Jasmine really does care about me despite the fact I'm not a prince. So, if Aladdin the street-rat is who she fell for, then why try and be anyone else?"

"Not quite how I would've put it, but yeah, that is the basic gist of it," Ventus nodded in satisfaction.

"But I've gotta ask, just who was the girl you were talking about in your story," Aladdin inquired.

Ventus fell silent for a minute, and the other three were sure that he was not going to answer because it was too painful to think of at the moment. Eventually though, the blonde did answer Aladdin's question in full, saying, "Her name is Aqua. She's an exceptionally gifted mage, easily the best in our little trio of friends when it came to magic, if not the best magic user among all Keyblade wielders, and the first of us to become a true Keyblade Master. She cared a great deal more about others than herself, and as such, she ended up disappearing one day while searching for a way to help our other friend, Terra. But even so, I know that she's still out there somewhere, looking for a way to get back home to us while doing whatever she can to help us all from where she is."

Hearing that brought smiles to everyone's faces, all of them thinking of just how sweat Ven's description of Aqua was, but they could not stay in the moment forever, because the quartet of adventurers needed to move on. Before doing so, Genie made sure that they would be able to call on him for help by gifting Sora with a summon charm that the boy could use to call him for help. Aladdin also had a parting gift for them as well: a Keychain that he had found in the Cave of Wonders while they were making their way down to the lamp chamber in order to face Jafar, but when he tried to offer it to Ventus, the blonde just waved him off and told him to give it to Sora. When asked why, Ventus just said that he already had his own impressive collection of Keychains while so far, Sora only had the one he received from Tarzan, so it made more sense for the kid to get it instead.

Aladdin was not the only one who found something down in the Cave of Wonders though, as Donald had actually discovered what he believed to be one of the missing pages from Merlin's book. Looking it over to see if he could recognize it, Ventus was soon nodding in confirmation of this fact, and they were all eager to return to Traverse Town right away so that they could give it to the wizard. Ventus immediately advised against that, saying that it would be better if they only did so once they had all of the missing pages, and from what he could remember, there were still four pages left somewhere out there. On the topic of missing pages though, Sora revealed that he had actually found another page from Ansem's report, saying that he spotted it falling from the sky after they had sealed Jafar in his new lamp. Hearing that gave them all reason to believe that Jafar had the page on him for some reason. Sadly, this new page was from much later on in Ansem's research, and made little sense to them. It talked about a body being gone and yet the heart did not return to the Heartless, while also speaking about the Realm of Darkness, how there were other worlds out there in the Realm of Light, and something about a world between the Realms of Light and Darkness. Since it was so far further into the report than the last one, they figured that it would make more sense once they had retrieved the other pages, so they simply pocketed it with the first one they found, bade Aladdin and Genie goodbye for the moment, and returned to the ship, ready to set out for the next world.

---

A few hours had passed since the team's departure from Agrabah, and as he thought about the recent events that had unfolded since this journey began, Ventus could not help but feel very worried. He knew long before their meeting that he would likely be thrown into one crazy ride the minute that he found Sora in Traverse Town, but this was a bit more than he had been bargaining for. Six of the seven Princesses of Heart were now missing and likely being held captive by Maleficent, several worlds had fallen to darkness, and while he and the others had managed to secure a few worlds against the Heartless and any villains who were commanding them, it was more of a hollow victory in comparison to what had been lost at the same time. Do not misunderstand, Ventus was sure that they would be able to save the princesses, but if they did not do so quickly, all the worlds would suffer the consequences. Yes, he could take pleasure in the fact that they had achieved a few small victories that had possibly slowed Maleficent down a little or set her back, but Ventus was not as young as he had been when he first ventured across the worlds; he knew how to look at the bigger picture, and right now, it was not a pretty one. Then again, one could say that his mood was just a little foul after his little reunion with Maleficent, but that did not mean that he was not able to think clearly enough to realize such important details.

Sora on the other hand, was feeling just the opposite of his master, so much so that you would think that their viewpoints were black and white. Despite the losses they suffered, Sora seemed to believe that they were still doing great. Maybe he was just still feeling pretty excited over how well he had been doing with his training along with how they had now managed to seal five Keyholes while stopping quite a few villains like Jafar now, but aside from that, one could easily tell that Sora was letting those wins get to him. Even as he did a few practice swings with his Keyblade while using it with his newest Keychain, Three Wishes, Ventus could see that Sora was not feeling the least bit concerned at all. More than that, he could even hear Sora excitedly conversing with Kairi about how they were "on fire right now" and likely going to save all the worlds and get her back before she knew it. Ven knew the kid was probably just saying that to keep Kairi from worrying too much, not that she really seemed like it from what he had heard from Sora so far, but he had to wonder just how much of that confidence was just for show, and how much was actually real.

The blonde master soon learned he was not the only one thinking that Sora was getting a little carried away with his confidence, and it was right after the next thing that he heard Sora say from his position at the pilot's controls. "I'm telling you, nothing can stop us right now. Maleficent can go ahead and do her worst, because we'll be able to beat it no problem," Sora boasted.

"Now Sora, you shouldn't go and antagonize people like that, even if they aren't here," Jiminy lightly scolded as he jumped down onto the control panel in order to better address the room. "I'm glad you're feeling confident and sure right now, we all are, but we still need to exercise caution whenever we come across the Heartless or Maleficent."

"But Sora does have a point. Every bad guy we've fought so far, Heartless or otherwise, we easily defeated. And Ven said himself that he beat Maleficent when he was still a kid and in training, so maybe she isn't really that tough," Donald pointed out.

"Don't forget that was ten years ago, and a lot can change in that time," Jiminy pointed out.

"Besides, I never said I was alone when I fought her," Ven added, jumping into the conversation the minute he spoke up. "I had some extra help from three good fairies, and while that did make the fight a little easier, she was still pretty tough. Considering that she now controls the Heartless, there's a very real chance we could be in for the fight of our lives if we face her right now, never mind the fact that we may very well lose that fight. Don't forget what would happen if the Heartless ever got to you, Sora."

Sora sobered up a little at that reminder, but he was quick to recover and say, "I didn't forget, that's why I don't plan to hold back if we do fight her. I can't keep Kairi's heart safe if I'm too busy worrying about getting hurt or something."

"I admire your courage, Sora, really, but that doesn't mean you should be acting like you can't get hurt at all. That kind of overconfidence can easily lead to one's downfall," Ventus cautioned. "Besides that, you still haven't got halfway through your training yet. Don't forget, you haven't mastered the three basic Command Styles or even discovered what your Unique Command Style is yet. While you may have a natural talent for Shotlocks, you still haven't discovered what any of your other personal ones are. For now, you should really just focus on keeping your training up until you do at least one of those two things, because once you do, then I'll be able to safely say that we could stand a chance against Maleficent. More importantly, you can't get too swept up in the small victories and forget the bigger picture."

Sora's response was to moan a little in misery, knowing that meant he was going to likely be meditating a lot after he was done, while barely acknowledging anything that Ven said after he brought up his training, assuming he really understood it that well at all, and when he heard the boy's complaining, Jiminy could only sigh and say, "And here I thought Pinocchio could be a bit difficult at times."

"Huh? Who's Pinocchio," Sora asked when he heard that.

In an instant, the others were all looking at Sora like he had just grown a second head, until Goofy suddenly remembered, "Oh right, Sora doesn't know about how Jiminy here is an official convenience."

"Conscience," Donald corrected.

"Yep, official conscience," Goofy nodded.

"You see Sora, a long time ago, I came to an old clockmaker's shop, and saw he built the cutest little puppet you ever saw," Jiminy explained, recalling his tale with a smile. "The same night, the clockmaker made a wished upon a star that his puppet could be a real boy, and the next thing I know, the Blue Fairy appears and brings the little fella to life. If he were able to prove himself brave, truthful, and unselfish, he would become a real boy, and in order to help him learn right from wrong, I was named his conscience. Ever since then, I'd been doing all I could to help out the puppet known as Pinocchio so that he could achieve his dream of becoming a real boy, and help his father's wish come true. But then, our world fell to darkness and we got separated. I can only hope that Pinoke's been staying out of trouble since I've been gone. Gosh knows that Geppetto worries about him quite a bit when the little guy isn't careful."

You could not help but feel a little touched after hearing Jiminy's story. It was just so sweet how Jiminy cared about Pinocchio, and despite how much trouble the little puppet seemed to be from what the cricket had said, you could still tell that the little guy did mean well just from how Jiminy talked about him. Hearing about Pinocchio, Sora could not help but compare himself and Ventus to the little puppet and Jiminy in a way. Both Ven and Jiminy wanted to help their respective charges in any way that they could, and if Pinocchio was anything like him, then Sora knew that he and the puppet both wanted to see their own dreams come true so that they could bring happiness to those they care about. At the same time though, he had to wonder just what that could mean for him if he really was that much like Pinocchio. After all, from what Jiminy said, the little guy had gotten himself into quite a bit of trouble, so would that mean he would end up dealing with something similar, or that he may end up separated from Ventus like Pinocchio had been from Jiminy at some point? Sora did not want to think about that, and he did not really have time to anyway, because the ship's proximity sensors suddenly started blaring all around them, pulling everyone to their stations.

"What's going on? More Heartless," Sora asked once he was seated at the weapons controls.

Goofy checked his readouts for a minute before he said, "No, I don't think so. It's way too big to be a Heartless ship, or at least a Heartless ship like the ones we've encountered so far."

"Wak! Look! What is that," Donald suddenly shouted, pointing out the viewport.

Everyone's eyes immediately followed Donald's finger, and they were soon gazing upon a large, dark grey, almost black mass that appeared like it was swimming towards them in a manner similar to a fish, and it only continued to get bigger as it got closer. A minute later, they all heard what sounded like a loud moan, and the ship shook under the g-force that ran between the two as it swept past them, giving them a better look at it when it did. When they did see the thing though, they could hardly believe their eyes. "It's a giant whale," Goofy shouted.

"But how's that possible? I thought you couldn't pass through interspace without a ship like ours, or something like Ven's Keyblade Glider," Sora argued. He was pretty fascinated by the sight of the creature, having never seen a whale up close before himself, but he was still more concerned about how such a creature could exist out here.

"Some beings are able to survive in harsh environments without that kind of thing, assuming they have a strong enough body and will. Though some times, that's not always a good thing, because of what kind of creatures can typically exist in this place," Ventus explained.

"You can say that again! That's Monstro," Jiminy exclaimed in a panic.

"You know that creature, Jiminy," Donald asked.

"Yeah. He's from my world. He's a whale of a whale, and vicious besides," Jiminy explained. "Why, he swallows whole ships, alive! In fact, before Pinoke and I got separated, we were actually looking for him because we heard that he swallowed Geppetto and the ship he had set sail on to find Pinocchio."

That definitely left the team worried, and their worries only grew when Monstro came back around again, shaking the ship once more as he passed by, and from the way he was swimming, they did not need to guess what he was probably going to do the next time he came near them. "Whoa! Ven, get us out of here," Donald shouted.

"Too late! He's going to swallow us," Sora shouted, having seen that Monstro was already closing in on them, his massive mouth wide open and ready to do exactly as Sora said he was going too.

"BRACE YOURSELVES," Ven ordered, grabbing onto the steering controls as tightly as he could, prompting the others to grab hold of whatever they could to make sure they were not thrown out of their seats or the ship. The last thing any of them saw was the shining teeth in Monstro's open mouth closing in on them, and then everything went black as a loud crash echoed around them.

---

It was just another beautiful day on Destiny Islands, just like most other days, and since it was such a nice day, it came as no surprise that the kids were all outside playing around and having fun like only young kids could. Two such boys were four-year-old Sora and his best friend, the five-year-old Riku, who were all set to explore the mysterious cave on the Play Island behind the waterfall, all the while, the former would not stop gushing about what he thought was in there. "It's true! I saw it with my own eyes," little Sora insisted.

"You sure you didn't just hear it this time," little Riku asked, still incredibly skeptical of his best friend's claims.

"What difference does it make," Sora asked. "There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!"

Riku then just sighed, finally giving up on trying to convince his friend otherwise, and then moved onto his next question. "All right. Suppose there really is a monster…Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?"

"No problem. Let's do it," Sora declared confidently as the two boys reached the cave entrance. Riku turned to his friend and nodded with a confident smirk that was so similar to the one his older self would one day be constantly sporting, until his attention was directed back to the cave entrance as Sora suddenly shushed him. "Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?"

"Shh, quiet. We've gotta be careful," Riku hushed Sora, and after listening for a minute, he did hear something. That very same sound was the all the reason Riku needed to slowly, cautiously lead the way into the cave. When they finally came into the cave that would one day become the Secret Place, they found no signs of any monster, or anything else that could be causing the sound, at least until Riku looked up at the ceiling to see a large hole in it. "See that? It was just the wind making that noise," Riku pointed out to Sora, though you could tell that he was still just as disappointed as his friend.

"Aw, man! I wish it was a monster," Sora moaned, sadly. He let his eyes sweep around the cave, thinking that it could make a good hideout, despite the fact that there was nothing really cool in here, until his eyes found something strange on one of the far walls. "Hold on! What's that over there?"

Riku turned to where his friend was looking, and he was soon greeted by a large, wooden slab with gold lining, embedded into the wall. He immediately made his way over to get a better look at it while trying to move it, only to find that it would not budge an inch. "A window, or maybe a door? It won't open," Riku reported as he continued to try and move it without any success.

"Geez, is that really all that's in here," Sora asked.

"What do you expect in a boring place like this," Riku rhetorically asked. He would not admit it, but he was just as disappointed as Sora that the weird door was the only thing in here. He had gotten his hopes up thinking that something interesting was finally going to happen on their otherwise boring world, and from what he could tell, Sora was just as disappointed as he was. He was just hiding it with a small smile, but that was just like Sora, and Riku had a good idea on how to cheer the kid up. "Hey, Sora."

"Hm?"

"When we grow up, let's get off this island," Riku suggested excitedly. "We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"

"Sure," Sora nodded in agreement, and the two then turned to make their way back out of the cave. As they went though, Sora had to ask, "But isn't there anything fun to do now?" There was a small moment of silence between the two until the spiky haired kid perked up and said, "Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house? Did you hear? She arrived on the night of the meteor shower!"

---

It was sunset on Destiny Islands, and while many had already gone home for the day, two particular boys were still out on the Play Island having the time of their lives as they raced against each other. "Hey, wait up," one boy called out to his friend.

"Too slow, Sora! See ya at the finish line," the other boy called back, who turned out to be five-year-old Riku, and he was just barely keeping ahead of four-year-old Sora as they both ran past the bridge that lead to the small island with the paopu fruit tree.

When they came to a stop on the other side of the bridge, little Riku immediately pumped his fist in victory, while Sora skidded to a stop and panted hard with his hands on his knees. It did not take long for Sora to get his breath back though, because he was instantly standing up straight again as he turned to Riku and demanded, "One more time! You just got lucky."

Riku would have easily retorted to that had something not caught his attention on the bridge above them. When Sora noticed this, he also turned his gaze upwards as well, and he was soon resting his eyes on a tall, slender woman that was slowly walking across the bridge, looking down at them as she went. From where the two boys were, they could see that she had a very strange outfit, or at least strange by Destiny Island standards, which composed of a black and navy blue, high-collared halter top, a black corset with two pairs of white laces, and black shorts. In addition to that, she also wore a pair of intersecting pink straps over her chest, held together by a strangely shaped silver badge, while her arms were covered by white bell-sleeves, and her hands were covered by tan fingerless gloves. Moving on down allowed them to see that she also wore a pair of black stockings that reached halfway up to her thighs, leaving a small area of skin on her legs bare, while two strips of blue cloth were draped over each of her hips, along with a smaller white strip that was tied around her waist and draped in the same manner. Completing her outfit was a pair of silver, pointed boots with a sharp hook on the outer side of each, and a small, segmented armor piece on each of her upper arms, leaving her shoulders otherwise bare. In short, from where Sora and Riku were standing, the woman was probably one of the most beautiful girls they had ever seen until now.

While the two boys continued to stare at this mysterious beauty, the woman in question just smiled at them before dropping down on the sand before, startling Sora a bit when she did. When he saw that she was okay, and now down on one knee before them, Sora sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with a small chuckle, which drew an amused smile from the woman as she chuckled a bit herself. As she looked over the two, mumbling something under her breath as she did, one could see a bit of recognition in her eyes before she laughed a little again, leading Sora and Riku to exchange a confused look between them until she spoke up at last, bringing the boys' full focus onto her. "One of you might be special enough," she muttered before directly addressing the two. "Hey, you two mind telling me your names?"

"I'm Sora," the spiky haired child announced while raising his hand like he was in a classroom. He probably had not heard about the whole stranger-danger thing from his parents yet, but then again, considering that everyone on Destiny Islands knew each other, there was never really much reason to consider most people a stranger.

"And you," the woman then asked the older boy.

"Riku," the silver haired lad replied.

The blue haired woman studied Riku a little bit for a minute, before she turned back to the younger boy and asked, "Sora, do you like Riku?"

"Of course I like him, he's my best friend," Sora nodded happily.

"Good," the woman smiled. "So then, if something happens, and Riku is about to get lost, or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone, you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. That's your job, Sora, and I'm counting on you to do it, okay?"

While the two boys were a little confused by what the woman meant by that, Sora was still able to get the basic idea of it, and immediately nodded in reply. His response earned both him and Riku a playful little rub on the head from the woman as they all laughed a bit, and after she gave each of them one last, bright smile, the two boys headed off for home, their little rematch forgotten, and knowing that the blue haired beauty was watching them go with a smile on her face.

---

Kairi awoke with a start, and was instantly on her feet as she began trying to figure out what she had just seen. Were those some of Sora's memories, and if so, why did she just see them in that dream? More importantly, was that woman that Sora and Riku met when they were kids Master Aqua? She certainly seemed to match the description that Ventus had given them, and she was dressed a lot like him too, namely in the fact that she wore a badge just like the blonde man's, along with a similar set of armor, so it could have been her. If it was though, why did she look so familiar to the redhead? Kairi was not entirely sure, and she had a feeling that asking Sora was probably not going to help that much, since it did not seem like the woman ever gave him and Riku her name, at least from what she saw of the memory. Still, it could not hurt to ask, hence the reason why Kairi was now directing her gaze upwards as she called out to her friend.

"Sora? Did you see that just now? What was that," Kairi asked, but to her surprise, the boy did not answer her. She figured that meant he was still knocked out or something, so she tried again, this time a little louder. "Sora! Wake up, you lazy bum!"

Kairi continued calling out to him for a few minutes, but continued to receive no reply, until finally, she just plopped down on the stain glass floor beneath her with a sigh, wondering why she could not wake up her friend. She had always been able to before, many times just by looking down at him, but this was the first time that she had not roused him at all. She reasoned that he must have gotten hit really hard in the head when Monstro swallowed them up, so she might as well wait him out for a little bit. With that decided, she took a moment to once again look around the unchanging area that was Sora's heart, something that made her smile a little as it reminded her of the promise she asked for Sora to make to her that night before the islands fell. At the same time though, she was a little concerned by how nothing in Sora's heart ever seemed to change aside from the dark, grey cloudy sky above the stain glass platform. If it were not for her conversations with Sora in the past, she probably would have felt a little bit of panic and worry building up in her stomach by now, but then again, this was still Sora's heart, and knowing that put her a little more at ease. When her eyes glanced over to a section of the floor though, she noticed that something was a bit different, and as a result, she immediately turned back to said area, only to blink twice before she registered what she was seeing. Instead of a large image of Sora sleeping with Keyblade in hand next to smaller images of herself, Riku, and his other friends, Kairi saw that it was actually her who was sleeping with a Keyblade in hand alongside smaller images of Sora, Riku, and the blue haired woman from that earlier dream, along with a few other blank circles.

"What the…What's going on here," Kairi whispered as she jumped to her feet, shocked at the sight beneath her feet. She was soon startled once again when an odd voice suddenly called out around her.

"So much to do, so little time…Take your time. Don't be afraid," the voice advised.

"Hello? Is someone there," Kairi asked.

"The door is still shut, but the day it opens can be closer if you are to aid the chosen one in his quest. Can you do it, Princess of Heart," the voice questioned.

Kairi may not have been sure what was going on, but she did understand enough to figure out what the voice was asking. It was basically saying that she could somehow help Sora in a bigger way than she had been so far, if she had the courage to do so. Knowing this, Kairi's face soon became set in determination, and she answered, "If it means helping to keep Sora safe, and saving everyone else who has suffered because of the Heartless, I'll gladly do whatever I can to help him."

She was not sure how, but somehow, Kairi just knew that the voice was smiling at her, even as it spoke again. "Step forward then."

Kairi immediately did so, and like that, the ground shook around her while three pedestals rose up from the ground. When they came to their full height, Kairi could only gasp in awe as she saw three distinct Keyblades appear above the pedestals in a flash of light, and one of those Keyblades was one that Kairi recognized from Sora's explanation of his dream as the Rainfell Keyblade; the Keyblade that Ventus had said was Master Aqua's default. The other two were Keyblades that Kairi did not recognize at all, but somehow felt like they held a connection to the blue haired master. The first of which held a water theme by being reminiscent of cresting waves, both along the shaft and the teeth, held a blue version of Ven's Wayfinder in a dark circle at the top of the shaft surrounded by a cresting wave, and two heart-shaped openings at the hilt, while the handle and chain on the Keychain were both ivory in color, and the token on said Keychain was the same, blue Wayfinder. The other mystery Keyblade was simple in its design, and possessed a color scheme of various shades of grey and copper. In addition to that, the shaft was smooth and cylindrical, tapering out at both ends, with the teeth forming a boxy "E"-shape, while its guard and grip both held a more squared design as opposed to the usual cylindrical one that was possessed by most of the other Keyblades that Kairi had seen. The Keychain was held onto the base of this final Keyblade by several simple chain links and its token was the same symbol that Ventus and Aqua both wore on their outfits as badges.

"Like the chosen one, power sleeps within you, perhaps a power that is far greater than any other Keybearer could imagine, given you are a Princess of Heart. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well," the voice decreed.

That was when it all finally clicked into place for Kairi. "This is…This is a Dive to the Heart, like Sora's! But then, does that mean that…I'm also going to get a Keyblade?" She received no answer from the voice, not that she was really expecting to, so instead she shrugged it off and began looking at the different Keyblades before her, thinking carefully over her decision. She figured she should follow Sora's lead and hear about the different aspects of the Keyblades before making any decision, so she immediately walked up to the one Keyblade she had instantly recognized and picked it up, while asking, "Tell me a little about this one, at least in how it pertains to me."

She was not met with silence this time, as the voice was soon explaining the aspects of the Keyblade to her like it had to Sora. "The Rainfell. The promise of a path that is of equal inner and outer strength. The power of a mystic mixed with that of a noble knight, the path of this blade promises that one shall always seek out what is true, just, and right. Even when all is at its darkest, the light of what is good shall always prevail to keep loved ones safe, so long as the connections you hold in your heart remain strong. Is this the path you seek?"

While it started off similar to what Sora had been told, Kairi was a little surprised that some of it was different. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this was her own dive as opposed to Sora's, but more than that, Kairi somehow felt like something about this blade was calling out to her in a weird way, almost like someone was encouraging her to choose it. Kairi was not going to be hasty though, and she placed Rainfell back on its pedestal before moving to the first, mystery Keyblade that she did not recognize. Picking it up, she heard the voice whisper about the blade in her ear. "The Brightcrest. A blade that grants impressive physical strength while bestowing incredible magical power. A path of the mystic is most common for the wielder of this blade, with great wisdom and inner strength being guaranteed. But be warned, ruin can also follow the path of the mystic, for physical strength will often be sacrificed for the strength within."

"Why does that not sound entirely accurate," Kairi wondered as she placed Brightcrest back. She had always thought that inner and outer strength were pretty closely tied together, but then again, considering the light she had inside of her was apparently so great, while her own physical strength could not compare to Sora or Riku's so easily most of the time, she had to admit, she could see some reasoning behind that.

Her question went unanswered once more, even as she made her way to the third Keyblade and picked it up, getting the rundown on this one as well. "The Master's Defender. The blade of a powerful warrior passed down to those who defend something of great importance. Though even the mightiest of shields can blind us to what really must be done to protect others, when it blocks our view of what is important to us. Sometimes, a shield to repel all, can repel even those closest to our hearts, if we are not careful."

Something about that last sentence made Kairi a little bit concerned. She liked be able to defend all from harm, but she did not find the idea of losing those most precious to her in the process of trying to defend them. She could not have placed Master's Defender back on its pedestal more quickly before she moved back to the center of the room and began looking at the three Keyblades in an attempt to decide which she would choose. Since she was sure she would not choose Master's Defender, that just left the other two Keyblades to choose from, but in their own ways, they both sounded so appealing, even if one did have a drawback or two to it. Both promised great strength in terms of magic powers, and after seeing what Sora could do with his magic, Kairi could honestly say that she saw herself as someone who would likely fight primarily with magic, so that would have made Brightcrest the most logical choice since it was said to amplify magical power. The only downside was how the voice had talked about how physical strength would sometimes be sacrificed for inner strength, and Kairi did not want to become too weak to help others in any way possible. Still, that was just a word of caution, and it did mean that it would not happen if she was careful. She was just about to turn back to Brightcrest when something unexpected happened.

"…fell…" someone seemed to whisper in her ear. It was not the same voice as before, and Kairi could tell that this one was most definitely female, but at the same time it also sounded very distant, like they were extremely far away from wherever she was right now. After a minute or so, Kairi heard the voice again, this time a little more clearly. "Rainfell."

"Hello? Voice, is that you," Kairi asked as she looked around, hoping that she could at least catch a glimpse of this person.

"Choose Rainfell…Serve you as well as it did…" the female voice called out, almost sounding a little desperate just then, but her voice seemed to fade in and out as she spoke, which was why only parts of her sentence got through, until finally, she seemed to fall silent completely.

Kairi was not sure who that person was, but something deep in her heart said that she could trust this mystery woman, and if she were being honest, Rainfell did seem to be the most appealing option to her, so she instantly walked up to the Keyblade in question, lifted it off the pedestal, and when the first voice asked again if this was her chosen path, she replied yes. A second later, the base Keyblade of Master Aqua vanished, and the first voice then said, "Your path is set. Now, what will you give up in exchange?"

Kairi knew that was coming based off of Sora's story, but that did not mean she was any less surprised. Both of the other two options had some qualities that appealed to her, so that made this choice a little more difficult. Glancing between Brightcrest and Master's Defender, Kairi could not help but ponder which she should give up a little, until the woman's voice suddenly whispered in her ear again, this time a little clearer, almost like she was closer to Kairi, but still a ways away from her. "You only recoiled away from one of the two, and besides, you obviously don't want to lose that which you are protecting. The choice should be easy with that in mind."

As much as she wanted to protest, Kairi knew the voice had a point. She did like the idea of being a warrior that defended something of great importance, but if that kind of power and responsibility caused her to lose what she was protecting, then she did not want it. So, she marched right over to Master's Defender, and lifted it high into the air as she said, "I'll give up the Master's Defender."

At once, Master's Defender vanished, and the first voice recited, "You have chosen the power of Rainfell, the power of a courageous, loyal, and unselfish warrior. You have given up the Master's Defender, the power of a staunch defender. Is this the form you choose?"

"Yes," Kairi nodded, not failing to notice that she had spoken at the same time as the woman's voice.

A minute after she had spoken, the pedestals sank beneath the ground, and Kairi found herself falling down to another stain glass platform as the first one broke apart, just like Sora had. However, this one was the same as the one that Kairi had seen in Sora's heart, pictures and all, something that made Kairi sigh in relief until her mind wandered back to the woman's voice. After thinking for a minute, Kairi looked up, thinking that the person that voice belonged to might be able to answer her, and questioned aloud, "You sound so familiar. Do I know you?"

Surprisingly, the woman answered her, and Kairi could somehow sense that she was smiling as she answered the redhead. "You do, Kairi. We met long ago. You might not remember right now, but maybe, by the time this is over, you'll have at least recognized me."

Kairi was not sure what this woman meant by that, but from that sentence, she was able to figure out that she must have been one of the people that Kairi had known from her birth world. If she was likely to remember this person from completing her Dive to the Heart, then that made Kairi all the more determined to hurry and do so as quickly as possible. Besides, who knew what kind of trouble Sora was getting into without her to keep an eye on him, even if he did have three other friends to do that at the moment.

---

"Knock it off," was the annoyed warbling that finally roused Sora from his unconscious state, and after rubbing his head a little in an attempt to get any small aches out, he quickly turned to see Ventus, Donald, and Goofy standing a short distance from him, looking up at the top of a tower that seemed to be made of old wood, while the last of the three was holding his shield over his head like he had done when the Cave of Wonders was collapsing around them. In point of fact, it was actually the knight in question who had first noticed that Sora was finally awake.

"Hey, Sora. Are you okay," Goofy questioned as Sora came over.

Sora merely nodded in reply as he looked between the three and asked, "What are you guys doing? Where are we anyway?"

The answer to Sora's first question came when a small chest suddenly fell down from above them and nearly hit him in the head. Thankfully Sora had jumped back before the thing had done so with a thump, and Ventus then said, "We're inside of Monstro's mouth. That big whale swallowed us and our ship whole, just like Jiminy said he was known to do. I'm just glad he didn't decide to chew his food, otherwise, we'd be a lot worse off than we are now."

"How's the ship doing," Sora asked, glancing around in an attempt to find it. When he did finally spot the gummi ship, it looked like their vessel was still in one piece, but ever since becoming Ven's apprentice, and even when he first got his Keyblade, Sora had learned to not take anything for what it appeared to be.

"The ship's still in reasonably good condition, according to Chip and Dale. Nothing too serious that they won't be able to fix up in short order, but the real problem is figuring out a way to get Monstro to cough us up, and to make sure we're on the ship when he does. Trust me, it is not a good idea to be out in the middle of interspace without some kind of ship or protective suit," Ventus explained.

"And for today's weather: expect showers," Goofy joked in conclusion, referencing how the small chest and others like it had been falling from the platform above them. His point was emphasized when another chest dropped down on his shield with a clang, causing him to quickly amend his state. "Heavy showers."

"Hey! Who's there," Donald called out once again, drawing Sora's gaze upwards as well, and allowing him to see that there was indeed someone up on top of the tower before, rummaging about in a larger treasure chest while tossing down the smaller chests that had nearly hit him and Goofy.

"It's me," the person in question replied when he heard Donald, and he instantly stood up straight so that the group could see him better. When he heard the person's voice, Sora knew that it was most likely a young boy, but when he saw the boy in question, he was shocked to see that said boy was actually a living puppet, with black hair and blue eyes, dressed in red shorts, a tan, short-sleeved shirt under a black vest, a yellow hat with a red feather in it, white gloves, brown shoes, and a large, blue bowtie.

"Oh, it's just Pinocchio," Donald sighed when he saw the living puppet. A few seconds later, both his words and the person he saw finally registered to him. "Pinocchio?!"

"So that's Pinocchio," Sora asked.

"Yep, that's him," Ventus confirmed, having heard quite a bit about the little puppet from Jiminy ever since the cricket had arrived at Disney Castle.

"Pinocchio," Jiminy exclaimed in excitement as he jumped up on Sora's shoulder to get a better look. Unfortunately, he only made it up to Sora's shoulder in time to see the little guy walking off with a large object in his arms. "Pinoke, where are ya going? Pinoke," Jiminy called out, but it did not seem like Pinocchio heard him. "Come on, everybody! After him, quick!"

No one argued with Jiminy at all. They owed the little guy a lot for all the help he had been so far, and for making sure that there was an accurate record of their journey, so helping him reunite with his friend was the least they could do. Thankfully, they did not have to go too far, as it turned out that Pinocchio was just heading over to a small boat that was a little further back in Monstro's mouth than they had been. The only downside was that they had to swim through the water that had collected in the whale's mouth to reach said boat, but they did not complain about it that much. When they reached the boat, they could hear voices coming from up on the deck, one of which they recognized as Pinocchio's while the other sounded a bit older and more intrigued, no doubt by whatever it was that Pinocchio had brought back from the chest he had been searching through.

"What have you got there, Pinocchio," the older voice asked just as they were climbing up onto the boat's deck, letting them get a look at the man it belonged to. When they did, they saw an older looking fellow dressed in a white shirt with a red vest, black pants, brown shoes, and a set of glasses, looking down at what they all quickly realized to be a gummi block, and if they had to guess, the team had to figure that this must be the clockmaker that Jiminy had told them about.

"With this, we can get out of here, Father," Pinocchio explained, confirming their suspicions.

"Really? With this big block? You think so," the puppet-boy's father asked, sounding all the more intrigued as he studied the gummi block more eagerly, and the team took that as their cue to step into the conversation.

"It's true," Sora said as he and the others climbed up, causing Pinocchio and his father to turn to them. "Gummi blocks are really helpful when you want to travel somewhere. Our own ship is actually made up of them."

"Oh, my. So the whale swallowed all of you, too? My goodness," the clockmaker gasped.

"Afraid so, sir," Ventus nodded. "Sorry to intrude like this, but a friend of ours was very eager to see Pinocchio."

"Oh, no need for such formalities, my good man. My name is Geppetto, and any friend of my son, Pinocchio, is a friend of mine," the clockmaker insisted. "And who is this friend you are referring to?"

"Geppetto! I'm so glad to see you're all right," Jiminy cheered as he jumped up on Sora's shoulder once more.

"Jiminy! Boy, am I glad to see you," Pinocchio cheered just as happily as the little cricket hopped up on the living puppet's shoulder.

"Jiminy Cricket! Now how did you end up with these fellows," Geppetto asked, smiling almost as much as Pinocchio when he saw the cricket.

"It's a long story, but how'd you two wind up here," Jiminy asked.

"Well, when we got separated, I traveled all over, looking for Pinocchio, until one night, Monstro swallowed my boat whole. I never expected that one day, while I was catching the fish that the whale swallowed as well for food, I would fish Pinocchio out of the water as well, but I'm so happy that we're together again," Geppetto explained. He then lifted up the gummi block that Pinocchio had brought to him so that he could carry it into the ship's cabin, and said, "So, I hope that Pinocchio was a good boy in my absence."

"Well, he still has a little trouble with telling small fibs, but aside from that, he's been nothing but a good little fella the whole time I was with him. I actually got separated from Pinocchio myself and wound up meeting these guys soon after," Jiminy explained as he jumped down from Pinocchio's shoulder once again.

"Sheesh, don't be so hard on the little guy, Jiminy. He is still young after all," Ventus reasoned.

"Hey, part of my job as an official conscience to help people learn right from wrong, and I can't do that if I let Pinocchio get away with telling fibs, Ventus," Jiminy defended himself.

"Well, it seems we've all had quite the journey, right Pinocchio," Geppetto concluded. When his son did not reply, Geppetto turned to where the boy had been, only to see that Pinocchio was not there anymore. "Pinocchio? Oh, where has he wandered off to now?"

"Does he disappear like that a lot," Ventus guessed, while the others wondered how the little puppet could have snuck away without any of them noticing.

"I'm afraid so, yes. I've warned him not to wander too far in here, but he still seems intent on exploring every part of the whale as possible, always saying that he wants to find some way for us to get out," Geppetto explained.

"Well, if you want, I'm sure we have some spare gummi blocks that you can apply to your ship to aid in your escape," Sora offered. When he remembered that he should not be making that promise on his own, he looked to the others and asked, "Uh, can't we?"

"Of course," Donald nodded. "We'll just need to make sure they're the right blocks before we do anything like that."

"We'll ask Chip and Dale to help you out with that while we go look for Pinocchio for you, if you don't mind, Mister Geppetto," Ventus offered.

"Oh thank you very much, uh…Ventus, is it," Geppetto asked.

"Yeah, but you can just call me Ven. And this is my apprentice Sora, and our friends Donald and Goofy," Ven finally introduced.

"Your apprentice, eh," Geppetto asked as he looked the younger Keyblade wielder over. "Well, it seems like you and I have something in common besides having Jiminy around, in a manner of speaking."

Ventus and Sora exchanged a small glance between them before they both smiled and former said, "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He then glanced at his team and told them to go down to the passage that led further into the whale while he called Chip and Dale to inform them of the situation. When he finished with said call, the blonde was ready to signal the team to move out when he noticed an apprehensive expression on Sora's face. "Something wrong, kid," he asked his apprentice.

When he realized Ventus was looking at him in concern, Sora immediately turned to face his teacher and explained, "I was trying to talk to Kairi about Pinocchio and Geppetto, and maybe see if she could help us track him somehow. I know that he's not a Princess of Heart, but if she can sense stuff like that, maybe she could sense other things too, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it, but you really should learn to trust your own abilities in sensing things like that instead of always relying on Kairi. She's not going to be able to help you out like that forever, you know," Ventus confirmed with a word of caution. When he finished speaking though, he noticed Sora's expression had fallen a little more, and he quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did Kairi say something that you didn't like hearing?"

"No, it's not that," Sora replied. "She didn't say anything at all. I've tried getting her attention, doing everything to talk to her that you told me to do, but I haven't even gotten a whisper out of her. It's like she's not even there. What if something happened to her when Monstro swallowed us? What if her heart got pulled out of me while I was unconscious? Or what if…"

"Sora, Sora, SORA! Just calm down. Kairi's still inside your heart," Ventus told his apprentice as soothingly as he could before he quietly added, "Both figuratively and literally." He then returned his full attention to Sora and explained, "I'm sure you can sense her light in there as well as I can, right?" When Sora nodded, the blonde then explained, "Then there shouldn't be anything to worry about. I'm sure she's probably just sleeping or something. This journey has been rather tiring for her, too, after all. Just give her a little time, and I'm sure she'll be wide awake to talk with you again before you know it."

Sora took a deep breath to help calm his nerves, and then nodded with a small smile on his face. With that settled, the quartet of adventurers set out to find the missing puppet, with Jiminy tagging along with them since he was almost as worried about Pinocchio as Geppetto seemed to be. All the while, Ventus could only stare at Sora as he wondered about what the boy had told him. He did not doubt that Kairi was still inside Sora's heart; like he said, he could still sense her heart's light in there, but he had to wonder if he was right when he said that she was just sleeping at the moment. Was that really accurate, or was there another reason?

---

In truth, looking for a way to escape from Monstro's belly was only part of the reason why Pinocchio had wandered off. The other part was because he thought he saw someone else walking into the cavern just a few moments before, and he wanted to find out who it was. If it was another one of Jiminy's new friends, then Pinocchio figured he should go after this person before he ended up getting into trouble. After all, Monstro's stomach was like a maze if you did not know how to get around. Fortunately, he found a way to mark the correct path after all this time he and his father had spent in here, but that did not make the whale's stomach any less dangerous. It was still a beast's stomach after all. After looking for a few minutes though, Pinocchio did not find anyone else down there, despite how sure he was that there was someone else in here, and he was still very certain of it. Even so, that did not mean that someone else had found him.

"What are you doing, Pinocchio," a voice called out from behind him, and he quickly turned to see Ventus and the others coming after him, the blonde being the one who had called out. "Come on, let's go back."

"You know, Geppetto's awfully worried about you," Goofy informed him, making Pinocchio feel a little bad.

"I didn't mean to make him worried, but I thought I saw someone come down here," Pinocchio explained.

That surprised the four a little, but they had to wonder if the little puppet was just seeing things, since none of them had seen anyone else. After taking a minute to try and sense if someone else was there and finding nothing, Sora just looked to the puppet and said, "Pinocchio, stop fooling around. This is no time for games."

Sora then turned to depart for the ship when Jiminy suddenly said, "Hold on, Sora. If Pinocchio was telling even the smallest of lies, his nose would grow a little longer, and yet, it's still the same. That means he's telling us the truth."

The others were about to question Jiminy on that when someone else spoke up, and it was not someone they had been expecting to find here. "But Sora, I thought you liked games. Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

Instantly, Sora spun around to find his best friend standing next to the little puppet with a smirk on his face and an odd look in his eyes, one that set off a few warning bells for Ventus, along with the fact that the silver haired boy was even here at all when it should not have been possible without some kind of vessel or some special magic. Sora did not seem to have thought of that, because he was more focused on the fact that his friend was here at all. "Riku! Wh-what are you doing here," Sora asked.

"Just playing with Pinocchio," Riku shrugged, acting like he was not in a dangerous location at the moment, or like he did not know what Sora really meant by that question.

"You know what I mean," Sora snapped. "What about Kairi? Did you find any clues about her?"

"Maybe. Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know," Riku then challenged, much to their surprise. He could not have been serious, could he? This was not the place or the time to be fooling around like that, but from the look in Riku's eyes, it was hard for any of them to tell if he really cared that much at the moment.

"Riku, look around you. We're inside of a whale's stomach. This isn't the place for that kind of thing," Ventus said, hoping to appeal to the boy's better judgment.

"Stay out of this, Blondie. This is between me and Sora," Riku scoffed, and he then grabbed Pinocchio by the hand and raced off.

"Riku, wait! There's something about Kairi that I've gotta tell you," Sora cried out, but Riku had already gotten out of earshot and out of sight before he could finish. Sadly, the same could not be said for the Heartless, because they were quickly appearing just seconds after Riku had vanished. Most of them were Shadows of course, but there were some new ones too that had heads that looked like jack-o-lanterns, tunics that had the Heartless emblem emblazoned on the front while the sleeves ended in pink cuffs, and large clawed hands that possessed no flesh or skin to connect them to the sleeves of the tunic, leaving a disturbingly empty gap. The new Heartless also did not have legs, but instead, a ghostly tail, and one of its swirling, yellow eyes hung out of its socket by a length of silver chain. Jiminy quickly explained that these new ones were called Search Ghosts, and that they typically only attack when someone enters the searchlight they emit from their good eye. More importantly, the Search Ghosts were also noted to be able to warp out of harm's way for a short time, and absorb an enemy's strength if they got close enough, and that left the team with all the more reason to avoid getting too close to these spooky-looking Heartless.

They soon found out how tough these ghost-like Heartless were firsthand, as the minute they charged into battle, the four found themselves met with quite the match whenever they struck out against these Search Ghosts. Often times when Sora or Ventus were about to slice one of said ghosts, they would warp out of the way and then reappear to attack them from behind. Such a sneaky tactic would have worked had Donald not spotted the danger and fired off a quick Blizzara or Fira spell to intercept the Search Ghosts before they could harm the two Keybearers, but anytime that the little trick did work, it left the two feeling quite a bit of pain afterwards. What made matters difficult was that another version of the Yellow Opera was now floating around the area as well, this one being green and healing their enemies if the team was not fast enough to destroy them, which Jiminy identified as Green Requiems. Add that in with the Shadows and the small number of Soldiers that appeared throughout the fight, and it was a good while before the four were finally able to chase after Riku and Pinocchio.

Their pursuit was not an easy one, though, because they quickly discovered that navigating Monstro's stomach chambers was like trying to find your way through a massive maze. Every time they were sure they had found a passage that would lead them directly after Riku and his hostage, they ended up meeting a dead end, and many times, those dead ends included a Heartless ambush, often times, ambushes that consisted of two Large Bodies at minimum along with a squad of Green Requiems supporting them. No one could blame the four for the groans of misery they let out whenever they walked into such a battle. A number of Large Bodies were hard enough to deal with without the added support of a Heartless that could heal damage that the team inflicted, and they quickly discovered that magic was of no help against the Green Requiems when Donald tried blasting them away with a Thundara spell, only for it to have no effect at all, so they ended up leaving the little guys to Goofy most of the time, or just hitting them with anything that was not heavily magic based. Such tactics allowed Ventus to show off another move to Sora that he called Strike Raid, in which he infused the Keyblade with a bit of magic, threw it at their enemies, and then either summoned it back to throw again, or let it spin back into his hand like a boomerang. Sora picked up on using this ability just as quickly as he had Sonic Blade, much to the blonde's pleasure, but he was still a little worried that learning such moves so quickly might not be very beneficial in helping Sora reign in his overconfidence. That would have to wait for now, because they needed a huge break if they were ever going to find their way through this maze to wherever it was that Riku had taken Pinocchio.

They got that break a bit sooner than they thought when Jiminy noticed something that the others seemed to have missed. "Hey, fellas, have any of you noticed how some of the entrances have a bunch of boxes next to them that the others don't," the cricket asked.

Looking around the current chamber, the group did indeed see that there were a bunch of large boxes around one of the tunnels that lead into another chamber. "Hey, now that I think about it, there were some other boxes that were placed around specific passages in the other chambers as well," Goofy exclaimed.

"But what does that have to do with anything? We've gotta hurry and find Riku and Pinocchio, remember," Donald reminded everyone.

"I wonder," Jiminy muttered to himself, jumping out of Sora's jacket so that he could run up to the closest box. After looking it over for a few minutes, he cheered in excitement, and waved the group over to show them what he found. "Look at this! The logo for Geppetto's workshop is stamped onto this box, and I'll bet that each of the others boxes have it somewhere on them, too."

Once they got a good look at the image, they quickly moved to check the other boxes and found that, sure enough, each box had it stamped on there. It was a little more faded on a few boxes than others, but it was definitely there. They all quickly assumed that the boxes had come from Geppetto's ship, but that did not explain what they were all doing down here. At least, not until Ventus caught onto Jiminy's train of thought. "I get it. You're thinking that Pinocchio must've put these all around the place as a way of marking the trail so he wouldn't get lost if he or Geppetto ever came very far down here, right?"

"Exactly," Jiminy nodded. "Pinoke may be a little naïve at times, but he's always been a smart and resourceful little guy. Maybe, if we follow the boxes, we'll find Riku and Pinoke in no time at all."

"It's worth a shot. Riku doesn't know how dangerous this place is, and if he has found out something about Kairi, then we need to hurry and find out what it is. Plus, I've gotta tell him about Kairi being inside me, and quick," Sora agreed, but while the others all nodded in agreement right away, Ventus did so with a bit more hesitance.

It was not that the blonde did not want Sora to tell his friend about Kairi, but Ventus had a strange feeling that Riku would not be too willing to listen to Sora at the moment. There was something different about the silver haired boy in comparison to how he was when they saw him back in Traverse Town, and Ventus was very sure that neither he nor Sora would like it when they found out what it was. Still, the kid had a point when he said that they needed to know if Riku had found out something about Kairi, so he could not argue with Sora's suggestion even if he wanted to, and once again, they were all racing off to head further into the belly of the beast, this time with more of an idea on which direction to go in.

---

It honestly baffled him. Really, Riku could not believe how easy those fools were making this. You run off with one little, living puppet, and basically drop a hint that you know something they want to know, and they come running like a man dying of thirst to water. Honestly, Riku did not want to actually hurt Pinocchio, but given what he now knew, he needed to take the puppet in order to test a few theories. The fact that it gave him a chance to mess with Sora turned out to be an added bonus, along with how he was getting the chance to see if this Ventus really was what he claimed to be for himself. Honestly, he might come close to looking the part, but if you were to ask Riku, that blonde guy was nowhere near as impressive or strong-looking as the last, real Keyblade Master that he had met.

Of course, he was not about to explain the full scope of what he was doing to his current shadow, and he was not referring to the Heartless. "Why do you still care about that boy," Maleficent questioned him. "He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all."

"I don't care about him. I was just messing with him a little," Riku scoffed, hoping that Maleficent would buy the little fib. One thing that Riku had learned long ago was that mixing a bit of truth in always tended to make a lie more believable.

"Oh, really? Of course you were," Maleficent smirked, her tone disbelieving, but her words indicated that she was willing to let him keep his secrets for now. Still, she had to caution him about something before she departed. "Beware the darkness in your heart. The Heartless prey upon it."

"Mind your own business," Riku snapped after her as she disappeared. He could not stop from glaring down at the ground for a minute for what the evil fairy had just implied. In Riku's eyes, Maleficent was basically implying that he was weak like that foolish vizier, Jafar. There was no way that Riku would ever let himself fall that far. The power of darkness was his to command and not the other way around.

He was so focused on his brooding that he almost missed Pinocchio running past him and into the next chamber, with Sora and the others hot on his heels. When he saw Riku standing before the passage that Pinocchio had run through, the spiky haired boy immediately called out, "Riku! What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Sora," Riku retorted, a cross look firmly planted on his face while he glared down at his friend, or rather, the Keyblade in Sora's hand and his blonde master to be more specific. "You only seem interested in running around with your so-called 'master' and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?"

"I do, and I'm doing a lot more to try and help her than you think," Sora tried to say. He was about to explain about Kairi being in his heart, when he was interrupted once again. The only difference between this time and the last one was that the interruption was due to a scared cry for help that everyone knew was coming from Pinocchio.

There was something of an unspoken agreement between everyone that got all of them to race into the next chamber together to see what had happened to the little guy, and what they found was not quite what any of them had been expecting. As it turned out, they had entered the literal bowels of Monstro, and there, in the middle of the room, was a large, Heartless boss, which rested on a violet and lavender flower-like base, with a body that looked like a giant orange head. A smaller, tan colored head rested atop the large one that had the typical, glowing yellow eyes of all Heartless, along with a jagged mouth, purple spikes beneath that, and an orange antenna. A pair of long, pale green arms extended out of the smaller head and ended in yellow, three-fingered hands, each with dark purple spikes on them, while the Heartless emblem rested between the eyes of the larger head. The most horrifying thing about this Heartless though, was that inside of the larger head's mouth, which gave off an appearance of being like a cage, was a scared little Pinocchio, a sight that got everyone on the team very worried, while Riku had to struggle to make sure the smirk on his face stayed mostly hidden.

Seeing Pinocchio in danger had caused Jiminy to start freaking out like crazy, but thankfully, Goofy was able to calm him down long enough for the chronicler to check his journal for any notes on the Heartless boss before them that could help. "Okay…okay, umm…Got it! Here it is," Jiminy finally declared once he had gotten himself relatively calm. "It's called the Parasite Cage, a name that's reflective of how its larger mouth resembles prison bars and its great appetite, seeing as it literally eats anything in its path. It's often known to either capture victims so that it can take its time with swallowing their hearts, or find a way inside of really large beings so that it can take their hearts from the inside."

"Well, I'd say that Monstro certainly fits the bill on that latter one," Ventus commented as he readied his Keyblade. "Anything in there that we should know about its attack patterns and abilities?"

"Just that it mainly attacks with its tentacles when it's not trying to trap enemies in its mouth, and that it can't move from whatever spot it's in while someone is trapped inside of it," Jiminy replied.

"Which makes it that much more of an easy target," Riku noted, summoning forth his dark sword in a haze of shadows that instantly confirmed Ventus' fears about Riku using dark magic to be true. Riku took no notice of Ven's worried look, but instead just looked to Sora and asked, "You up for this?"

"No problem. Let's do it," Sora confirmed, dropping into his battle stance as he did, prompting Riku to do the same, followed shortly by Ventus, Donald, and Goofy.

The minute the fight started, the five found that Jiminy was right when he said that the Parasite Cage could not move while it had a prisoner, because it did not budge even a single inch from where it was standing aside from swinging its arms at them. That was good news for them since it meant that they had an easier target, but at the same time, they still had to be careful in how they attacked if there was a chance that they could harm Pinocchio. Not only that, but what the Parasite Cage currently lacked in mobility, it made up for in resilience. Despite how hard or fast they hit the beast it did not seem to be injured all that much or that often. They were not even sure they were even making it flinch by the smallest amount at times, but all the same, they were not letting this thing keep its tentacles on Pinocchio, and they were definitely not going to let it stay alive long enough to reach Monstro's heart. If the massive whale lost its heart while they were inside of him, then there was a very likely chance that they would soon follow afterwards, if not because of the Heartless then definitely because they would have been set adrift in the middle of interspace without any form of protection. They just had to figure out a way to really hit the Parasite Cage hard and make it hurt.

They soon found one way to do so when Donald and Sora both blasted the beast with some magic spells, the former with Gravity and the latter with Fire, and when they saw the Parasite Cage lean from side to side a bit because of the blow, they quickly gained the same idea on what their plan for hitting it should be. While Goofy and Riku kept the Parasite Cage busy by hitting it up close with their own weapons, Donald and Sora peppered it with as much magic as they could, with Ventus doing a little of both. It was a pretty easy plan to execute since Donald and Sora did not have to worry about keeping their distance, due to how the Parasite Cage was stuck where it was standing so long as Pinocchio was its prisoner, but that did not mean it could work forever. After all, the energy needed to use magic does run out after a little while, and while he did typically carry a lot of Ethers on his person, even Donald was going to run out of them eventually. As such, the sorcerer of Disney Castle was very grateful for the fact that Goofy always carried so many Potions and Ethers, and that Ventus and Sora were both able to provide him with a little magic of their own, but it was still not quite enough for it to last forever, and it seemed that Riku recognized this, because the next time he jumped back from attacking the beast, he made sure that he was at the same distance that Sora and Donald were so that he could fire off a spell of his own.

That had been Riku's plan, at least, but when the silver haired boy reared his hand back, forming a shroud of dark flames around it, he caught Ven's attention once again, and this time, the Keyblade Master did not stay silent. "Riku, no! Don't use that spell," Ventus shouted, startling Riku a little just as he was about to cast said magic. Riku appeared to ignore Ven's warning, and continued readying his spell, prompting Ventus to continue. "Riku, listen to me! Even if it's one of the simpler spells like the Dark Firaga that you're preparing to use, dark magic is still extremely dangerous! If you're not careful, it won't just consume your heart, it will poison your very being until you become nothing more than a creature of darkness!"

"Butt out, Blondie! I know what I'm doing! I'm not afraid of a little darkness," Riku snapped, while Sora froze in shock at hearing what his friend was doing, until he turned to stare at Riku in disbelief. Riku stopped in his tracks though when Ventus added one last little detail to his warning.

"If you use that spell now though, we won't just hurt Pinocchio, we'll run the risk that he'll be completely destroyed! There will more than likely be nothing left of him to save! No heart, no body, nothing," Ventus shouted.

That got Riku to stop his spell. He could not risk Pinocchio being completely destroyed if he wanted to follow through on his plans, but at the same time, this fight was taking far too long to finish for his liking. Sora was not any happier about the fight's current pace either, but at the moment, what he was more concerned with was that his friend was about to use dark magic, and did not seem to care about what the consequences were. Was that how he had gotten to Traverse Town and here? How long had Riku been using such dangerous powers? Sora was not sure he wanted to know, for his sake, Riku's, and Kairi's, and when he turned to glare at the Parasite Cage again, he felt a new burning desire to finish this fight here and now, before his friend was tempted to use such magic again. When he aimed his Keyblade at the Parasite Cage, he immediately cast a fire spell, but instead of the typical, basic level spell, he ended up firing off the much more powerful Fira spell, and it showed in how much of a fiery inferno had burst forth after the fireball had hit its target.

When the others realized this, they could only turn to stare at Sora in awe, but it did not seem like he was paying much attention to that, because he was quickly unleashing a barrage of Thunder spells soon after, right up until he reached the point where he could unleash the Thunderbolt Command Style. Once he had said power running through him, Sora charged the beast and began hitting it with several, lightning-infused strikes, prompting Ventus to drop back and start peppering the Parasite Cage with a few spells alongside Donald in order to keep the Heartless boss from harming his apprentice. At one point during the fight, Ventus quickly infused a big of time magic into his Keyblade before throwing it at the Parasite Cage, unleashing the power of a finishing move known as Twisted Hours, causing its movements to become much slower than normal. Seeing that his move had the desired effect, Ventus turned to Sora and shouted, "Sora, hit it with the command style finisher now while it's slowed down!"

"You've got it," Sora nodded in reply, and he immediately charged forth before raising his Keyblade upwards and rapidly shouting, "Command Style: Thunderbolt Finisher!"

At once, an orb of electricity sprang forth from Sora's Keyblade and began raining down lightning bolts all around the Parasite Cage, hitting it with a storms worth of lightning and then some, and causing some of the group to turn their gazes away due to how bright some of those lightning flashes were. When they looked back though, they could see that the Parasite Cage was still on its last legs, and they were all preparing to gear up for one last, powerful attack when it suddenly jumped up to hang from the ceiling and spat Pinocchio out, right down into a large hole in the floor that had suddenly opened up. When he saw the puppet fall, Riku immediately raced forward and jumped after him, ignoring any cries from Ventus and Sora to wait when he did, and that prompted Sora to immediately rush after him, with Donald and Goofy hot on his heels.

Seeing the three take off in such a rush without even pausing to think about where they might end up after jumping down, Ventus could only shake his head with a sigh as he said, "Seriously, we've got to do something about this rushing off thing that they keep doing. Can't really blame them this time though. We've gotta catch up with Riku quick before he does something stupid, besides using dark magic. I'm not going to let Sora and his friends go through what my friends and I did with Terra."

With his resolve in place, Ventus rushed after the group, hoping that they would be able to catch up in time, but somehow, he could not shake the sinking feeling in his stomach that they might be too late to do much of anything.

---

Ventus's Journal Entry 4

It's still so unbelievable. Even now, I can hardly comprehend it. Oh, I suppose I should explain what is that I'm talking about so that you're not totally lost. Well, it's in regards to a surprise I had during the last visit Mickey and I had to Radiant Garden. We were meeting with Ansem the Wise once again to discuss the topic he had been helping us research, and while Ansem informed us that they had not made any progress beyond determining how dangerous the Heartless and the realm they come from is, I did learn something new that I was not expecting: the identity of Ansem's newest and lead apprentice. When I first saw him, I thought he was Terra, and even after getting a better look at him, I still can't help but think that. The two look so much alike, except for the hair and eye color. It's not just that though; this apprentice even feels a lot like Terra too, almost exactly like him even, but there was also a very strong scent of darkness in him as well, one that I can only compare to that of Master Xehanort's, or should I say Former Master Xehanort. Mickey, Yen Sid, and I all agreed that the old man was not worthy to be called a master any longer, at least as anything other than a distinction between him and…well, that's another matter entirely that involves some things from my first journey, and is a little off-topic.

The really crazy thing about this guy was that, when we asked for his name, Ansem introduced his apprentice as Xehanort. Two similarities is a coincidence, but three of them? I don't think so. I'm sure that this apprentice is definitely the same Xehanort that my friends and I fought all those months ago, and if I were to guess, it would seem that he is definitely possessing Terra's body. It's the only explanation for why I can sense Terra's light and essence coming from him as well as Xehanort's. Still, if that is the case, then why did it seem as though he didn't recognize me? Did something happen to him during his fight against Terra's Lingering Will, or was it something that happened after when he met Aqua? Whatever the case, I'm still not sure. All I know is that it took a huge amount of restraint that I did not even know I had to keep from attacking the man outright. If he was someone else, then I doubt he or Ansem would've been too happy with me raising my Keyblade against him.

When I told him and Isa about it later on after meeting up with them, Lea seemed to think I was crazy and just laughed it off. Mickey on the other hand had a much different opinion. One that agreed with mine, but he still advised me to be cautious for now. After all, if that man is Xehanort in Terra's body, then we will have to be careful of how we approach him in the future. And not just in regards to our topic of research, either.

---

AN: Okay, so not quite as long as last chapter, and I honestly felt like it was pretty close when I was originally writing this, but then again, I was going to split this into two chapters anyways. The reason being: Kairi's Dive to the Heart. Yeah, we're seeing that this time, and as I'm sure you've noticed, like with Sora's, Kairi's is much different from the usual thing. I doubt I really need to point this out, but I'm sure you all noticed how Kairi's dive seemed to center on Aqua quite a bit, namely in terms of the Keyblades she had to choose. The reason for that is that Aqua is the one who passed on the power to Kairi, and also the only one of the BBS trio that Kairi ever met. So...yeah, there ya go on that. There will be a couple other things about Kairi's dive that will be significant, which we will see next chapter.

Kairi: Now I'm really eager to see what those things are. Am I going to meet someone like Namine or something?

AN: Namine, no, someone really significant to Kingdom Hearts...you'll just have to wait and see.

Namine: Translation, yes.

AN: [sighs] Speaking of our blonde artist, Namine, do I really need to say that you're not in this story?

Namine: No, I just wanted to appear here since you've already let Roxas show up. Besides, I've been looking through your notes, and I could've sworn I saw something in here about you planning on a way to at least work me, Roxas, and Xion into the story at least in some small way.

AN: Yeah, very small, and not likely to appear for several chapters, and besides, that's just a small idea at the moment. The earliest we'll see you three will still be the sequel to this story, so can you please wait a little bit?

Namine: I make no promises for my boyfriend and his female clone.

Xion: Hey! What do you mean your boyfriend?

AN: Oh no you don't! You two are not starting that argument here, understand me?! We've already got enough people arguing about the whole Roxas&Xion vs Roxas&Namine pairing as it is, so let's avoid doing that here, please?

Xion & Namine: [both silently nod while throwing apologetic smiles at each other]

AN: Anywho...I'm sure you all caught when Kairi saw the flashback of when Sora and Riku met Aqua, and yes, I added that in partly because I just wanted Aqua to make at least one appearance besides references and the one guaranteed one she'll be getting much later on in the story. The other reason was to show how much of a connection Aqua has to Kairi, but I'm sure you all figured that out on your own. Plus, it'll serve another purpose for next chapter.

Kairi: That seems to be a reoccurring thing for some of the stuff that happened this time.

AN: Yeah, I noticed. Anyways, with the conclusion of Agrabah, we've also confirmed that Ventus does indeed have other Keychains, likely on his person if not back at Disney Castle from his last journey and training, so Sora will most likely be getting a majority of the Keychains that the team finds in this story, plus they also found another page of the Ansem Reports and the first of the pages from Pooh's storybook, while also mixing in a little bit of stuff on how Genie got his freedom in the movie and how it happened in the game. Am I good, or what?

Aqua: You're good.

AN: And now you're here, too...You know what, since you're actually going to be showing up in this story in full, I've got no problem with you showing up now.

Aqua: Glad to hear it, but are you sure part of that is not just cause you have a fanboy crush on me?

AN: No! I mean, no, don't be ridiculous. If I were to let my feelings dictate how I do these things, Xion would likely end up in this story more often.

Xion: So you have a fanboy crush on me?

AN: I never said that! I just really identify with you and feel like you were a great character who got the short end of the stick when it comes to how your story currently stands, and how it ended in 358/2 Days. Moving on...

Kairi: That sounds a lot like denial to me.

AN: We're done with this line of conversation now, and talking about the latest entry in Ven's journal. You all asked, and here's your answer on what happened when Ventus met Ansem's apprentice Xehanort, aka Terranort with amnesia. Pretty spooky how that went, huh? And while we're on the topic of Ventus, it seems he's not likely going to be able to talk any sense into Riku, given how Sora's best friend seems to hate him so much. Though you have to wonder if it's just jealousy talking, or if it has something to do with Riku not really believing Ven's a Keyblade Master.

Namine: Why would he not believe that?

AN: A question that shall be answer in due time. Here's a better one though: why are all of you girls the only other ones here right now? Where'd the guys go? I know they were just here at the beginning of the chapter.

Aqua: [points to a door that says "Gym/Training Room", where sounds of magic, battle, and playful teasing can be heard coming from]

AN: Oh...Okay then. Why'd I even put that in here? Or better yet, WHEN did I even put that in here? Oh well, let's just move on to the most important part of this ending author's note already so you can all move on with your lives, and I can start rehersals for the next chapter, and future chapters of other stories. Onto the Preview!...

Sora and his friends continue to pursue Riku, who has taken Pinocchio hostage once again, this time right before Geppetto's eyes while claiming its his way of trying to find a way to help Kairi. After learning about his friend using dark magic though, Sora's a little doubtful of Riku's true intentions, but the question still stands as to whether or not he would be able to raise his Keyblade against Riku as a true enemy. Meanwhile, Kairi's Dive to the Heart continues in a way that some may not expect, as she is met with three unique and mysterious individuals, while the mystery woman's voice continues to echo in her ears. Just who is this person that Kairi's hearing during her Dive to the Heart? Can Ventus, Sora, and the others save Pinocchio before its too late? How far is Riku really willing to go in his quest? And when all is said and done, what kind of effect will this all have on Sora's resolve? Answers and escapes are coming soon enough, next time.

Please read and review, and see ya real soon!