Bloodbath Kingdom

by SpringBorn

Sora, Donald and Goofy crash land into a world that is unknown to them. They soon meet Lanna Scarlet Kennedy, a young agent sent to the old village in Spain to save her parents. OcXSora Is being rewritten. Other characters include Jake, Sherry, Chris and Jill. Finished

14. Chapter 12

Bloodbath Kingdom

Author: Springborn

Co Author: Warrior of Six Blades

Chapter Twelve

(Everyone's POV on the ship)

"Leon, Chris, join me at the control room. I'll get the radio working so you can contact your people" Luis said from the control room, his voice coming from the speakers.

The weary traveler's had been taking a break from all the running and fighting they had been doing for the last few hours, thinking of the horrors they had seen on the island and the bittersweet memories there. Kairi and Ada stayed close to Riku, waiting for him to wake up as Donald and Goofy were sound asleep, snoring in a corner. This earned a giggle from Jill and Claire as they held their children close to them. Sherry had her head resting on Jake's shoulder, dozing on and off.

Lanna was curled up against Sora, her muscles slowly relaxing from the adrenaline that had been racing through her. She kept remembering when she had became infected and her face went blank from the memories. Sora held her close in a gentle embrace letting her rest as he too was dozing on and off. Barely watching Chris and Leon walk out of the room as he yawned.

"Chris, I know this goes without saying, but we can't let the BSAA or DSO know about Sora or his friends" Leon said making Chris snort at the obvious.

"Don't have to tell me, Leon, the question is how the hell do we explain our disappearance to everyone else? Or even why the island we left exploded only thirty minutes after we left?" Chris brought up, remembering the scare the explosion caused everyone. Everyone watching wide eyed as the explosion caused a mushroom cloud and was very glad Xigbar waited until everyone was gone before causing that. Sure, they knew his boss wanted no witnesses according Luis from his last conversation with the man.

They just never thought he'd cause an explosion that looks like an off brand nuke.

Lanna watched her dad and uncle leave to join Luis as she felt her eyes closed for good this time, falling into a troubled sleep as she held onto Sora, her only rock during her dreams.

Luis controlled the ship as he looked out the window, waiting for the agents to join him. He didn't know how he would explain to people that he had came back from the dead with the help of a character from a Disney movie. He worried about Sora and his friends as well.

It wasn't long before the agents showed up and gave Luis a nod and a wave from Chris and Leon respectively. "Look, we'll play this by ear and let them assume whatever they want. Just as long as we keep them from realizing the truth about Sora and his friends. We'll tell them we was kidnapped by Wesker who was revived by Alex Wesker. She's never been confirmed dead yet, so if anyone finds her, we can stop her plans" Leon suggests getting a nod of agreement from Chris.

"It's risky, but I think we can work it. Best call your people first, Leon. They likely already know about the explosion and are looking for answers" Chris said as Leon went to the radio.

"This is agent Kennedy reporting. Does anyone copy?" Leon asks as he tunes into a channel he knew the DSO uses.

There was static and a familiar voice greeted Leon. "Leon! Thank god you're alright" Hunnigan said in relief. "Where are you? Is everyone alright?" The questions came quick and fast. The woman had been worried sick about her friends. She had been working with Leon since his first mission in saving Ashley Graham.

"Yes, we're fine, and you best let the BSAA know Chris will be contacting them as soon as I'm done telling you what happened" Leon says happy to hear his old friend and support for many years now.

"I'm calling them now," Hunnigan said. "I'm guessing Jake and Lanna were able to save you?" She had known Jake was leaving, but only found out a few hours later that Lanna had followed him. Leon could hear her talking on the phone as she contacted the BSAA about Chris and Jill.

"Yeah, a big surprise for us, but one I was glad for none the less. It makes me wish Jake took up my offer or even Chris's about joining the DSO or the BSAA. Lanna truly did great under his supervision and handled herself like a pro when facing the ganado, the uroboros infected, and those strange B.O.W.s that attacked the BSAA headquarters" Leon explains remembering how before he was kidnapped, that the DSO heard about the strange black creatures attacking the BSAA headquarters.

Creatures he now knew as heartless and mentally prepared himself for the mother of all cover stories.

"Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if they let Lanna graduate early," Hunnigan said and frowned a bit. "Did you ever find out what those black shadows are? It's not in our databases."

The question hung in the air as Luis looked at Leon at the corner of his eye, wondering how he would answer this.

"I'm afraid they're something new to me as well, but I have a possible suspect on where they came from. That said, don't interrupt me as I explain and I'll answer any questions you have. This is important and I need you to take notes" Leon requested of his tech support.

"There is this group known as Organization XIII, we encountered one of their members while prisoner and as Lanna and Jake freed us. We don't know their end game, but we know they wanted Jake and Lanna to live through whatever they faced. As well as the deaths of one revived Albert Wesker and one Alex Wesker. Alex Wesker sadly is unknown if alive or dead, so have search teams ready when checking the island where Ashley was kidnapped years ago. Also, tell the teams to bring hazmat suits as I don't know what caused the island to explode, but I saw a mushroom cloud in the distance as we left the island on one of their empty battleships" Leon explains thoroughly without mentioning Sora or his friends. Plus if he could get the DSO to look for clues on Organization XIII, they might be able to protect Lanna from being targeted easier if the DSO spots them.

It was a risky game he was playing, but Alex Wesker and Organization XIII were the biggest threats to the world and his family. He had to prepare for them and track their activities.

Hunnigan frowned a bit. "What?" she said, surprised by the info. "Why would they want Jake and Lanna?" She wrote it all down. "Alright, I'll send out a team to the island." She remembered the island too well. "Organization XIII...sounds like video game characters."

"I wish they were, but unfortunately they are very real and proven to be able to control those creatures," Leon states knowing this was where the hard part came in. "I don't know if they're some new B.O.W. like the Trigger virus or something new entirely, but those creatures attacked the BSAA and now seem to follow the Organization's command. We need to know more about them and keep an eye out for them. Alex Wesker has also shown ability with these creatures as did Albert Wesker" Leon explained with mostly guess work on his end. Sora HAD mentioned Organization XIII used the heartless so saying they could control them wasn't a lie. While Alex on the other hand was more assuming because her brother could control them.

Hunnigan took a breath and let it out slowly as she processed what she had learned. "Alright. I'll let the other groups know about the new B.O.W. threat and I'll have guards set up at Jake's and your house. The danger for them is severe." She believed him.

"Thank you, Hunnigan, I owe you one. I wish I could say why they were targeting Lanna and Jake, but it's something I don't know yet. That said, I must advise extreme caution when dealing with these guys. The operative Lanna and Jake encountered is said to have superhuman speed, reflexes, and strength much like Albert Wesker. You can recognize the one known as Xigbar or as he calls himself, #2 in his cloak. All black in design with black pants and combat boots. He has two high tech crossbows that Ada would envy, they can pierce shields and bulletproof armor" Leon explains to Hunnigan, but bending the truth on the crossbows.

"Not a problem," Hunnigan said as there was clinks and clacks of the laptop as she typed it down. "Xigbar, huh. Interesting name." She finished typing. "Is there anything else I need to know, Leon? I need as much information I can get." She didn't want to miss anything.

Luis raised a brow as he listened to the conversation as he kept the boat going.

Chris himself raised an eyebrow impressed at Leon's story. It had practically only one lie in the whole thing and the words carefully chosen in a believable manner. If Chris didn't know better from personal experience, he might've bought Leon's little story. Now he knew why Leon always complained to him that he hated the politics side of his job, because he felt it was corrupting to one's morals.

It only made Chris hate politics even more and yet, still felt truly grateful to Leon for thinking out these things in advanced to better protect everyone.

"I'm afraid all I know about Organization XIII after that is their boss is someone named Xemnas, but little else is known about him. Lanna learned of this and I was told in turn. On the plus side, one Luis Sera is now among the living and helped us escape. I want you to grant him asylum as his home was destroyed thanks to the explosion and our battle with the B.O.W.s, his research knowledge could be useful to us or the BSAA" Leon says giving a small smile to Luis to show he had his back and wanted to repay Luis for his help. Especially after he was told how he helped Xigbar rescue their son from being an experiment of Alex and Maleficent.

Luis smiled at Leon, grateful for this as Hunnigan whistled in surprise. "He's alive?" she asked as she remembered that Leon had told her about an informant that helped him in the case years ago. "I'll grant him Asylum. I'll be happy to meet him and I'm sorry about his home. But I'll cut connection so I can hook up Chris with a man name Barry?"

Seeing the happy look on Chris's face was all Leon needed to know. "That's perfect Hunnigan, Leon out" Leon said as the line cut and he handed it to Chris. Knowing the channels were being switched.

"You talk, Chris, I have to warn the others to hide Sora and his friends" Leon said as Chris nodded to Leon walking down the hall to the others.

"This is Chris Redfield, do you copy, Barry?" Chris asks waiting for the channel to clear.

"Chris? Is that you? My god man! You're alright" Barry said sighing in relief. "Where the hell are you? Please tell me you're on a ship or plane right now coming home." The channel cleared pretty easily as the voice of his old friend came in clear. "Is everyone alright? Jill? Leon? Claire? Lanna and Jake?"

"I'm on a ship actually, but I have a long story to tell you. One I admit will be hard to believe, but you know I don't joke about serious matters...This is as serious as it gets, Barry" Chris says knowing he needed to prepare Barry for what he had to tell him. Even though it was Leon's version of the story, he knew it would be a hard to swallow for most people. Barry though he trusted to know he won't joke about this, especially once he mentions a certain she-Wesker is still alive...

(Scene change: Royal suite room #1 3rd P.O.V.)

Claire looked up to see her husband coming down the stairs. "Leon?" she said.

"Hey, Claire, I see you all made yourselves at home here" Leon says with a smile glad to see his friends and family finally relaxing. It was ironic to use Wesker's royal suite rooms, but after all the crap he gave them. Taking advantage of the stuff he left in his boat seemed like a great idea. Something he could tell Jake felt as he raided the bar for some good booze.

Claire chuckled softly. "Yeah," she said. "I finally got Matthew to sleep and Elly is asleep as well." Jill looked up to see Leon. "Everything alright?" she asked.

Sherry stirred as she woke up and yawned, hearing Leon enter the room. Lanna was still curled up against Sora, sleeping still.

"Well, I just got in contact with the DSO and managed to keep them in the dark about Sora. As well as get us and Jake some protection at our homes in case Organization XIII comes looking for them" Leon begins surprising Jake at the fact he told the DSO about the Organization.

"Please tell me you didn't tell them about the magic and otherworldly stuff..."

"No, Jake, give me a little more credit than that. I told them Organization XIII was an unknown Organization that had made sure you lived for mysterious reason we don't know. Also they control the "creatures" that attacked the BSAA headquarters. Which isn't a lie as Sora told us they can control them and we need the DSO to keep eyes and ears open for their movements if they come looking for you" Leon explains getting Jake to think over the idea.

"Sounds good...but I think you forgot something. How the hell are we sneaking, Sora and his friends into our homes if two of them are under protection and watch?" Jake asks making Leon rub the back of his neck.

"That's...something I'm still working on. If we can sneak him into the states, we can say Sora, Riku, and Kairi are survivors or Lanna's friends, but I think they need to stay with you, Jake" Leon explains before everyone heard Riku groaning as he awakened.

"Actually...I think...Kairi and I should stay with Ada," Riku began holding his head in pain having heard some of the last bits of the conversation.

Ada looked at Riku and nodded. "I have enough space," she said as no one knew were she lived or if she even lived in the states. She leaned against her chair. "How are you feeling?" Kairi looked at Riku, relieved to see him wake up. "You're awake..." she said smiling.

Donald and Goofy woke up, listening to Riku and Leon speak. "We could stay with Ada," Goofy suggested. "She could sneak us in without anyone noticing?"

"Yeah, I'm awake and feeling like I went ten rounds with Ansem. Seeing as we're all alive, I take it we won?" Riku says before asking his question.

"Yeah, we won. Wesker's dead and we're on a ship talking about living arrangements for everyone. Since the government isn't suppose to know you guys even exist, but they will be helping us look for Organization XIII" Leon said making Riku nod in understanding.

"Have your government run recon and patrol for their activities, clever, but also risky. You know powerless humans won't stand a chance against them" Riku says which Leon nodded in agreement with.

"I know, that's why I advised extreme caution because they have superhuman abilities similar to Wesker" Leon assures making Riku smile in relief.

"Sounds like you thought of everything then on your end. While we can help Ada look into Organization XIII if they show up and keep an eye out for the King when he comes looking" Riku says adding his own plan to the mix.

"It'll work," Jill said. "I'll help Chris on his end with the BSAA."

Claire nodded and was ready to speak when Sherry beat her to it. "Claire, you need to relax. You just gave birth," she said. Claire sighed heavily. "I know..." she said.

"She's right mom," Lanna said as she woke up. "Plus you'll need to get checked out by a doctor to make sure that you're not bleeding too much."

"Lanna and Sherry are right, dear, please rest for now" Leon said to his wife almost pleading with her, holding her hand gently as he sat next to her. Sora silently wonders if he should stay with Lanna and her family or go with Riku and Kairi to Ada's place...

Claire sighed and nodded. "Alright," she said softly, knowing they were right. Lanna looked at Sora and held his hand gently. "Mom? Dad? Is it alright if Sora stays with us? He can stay in the guest room." Claire looked at Lanna. "If it's alright with your father," Claire said as she held her husband's hand.

Leon looked at Lanna's pleading gaze and felt his heart melt at the sight. "Fine...he can stay, but only in the guest room" Leon agrees before giving a stern glare at Sora.

Lanna grinned a bit. "Thanks dad," she said. Sherry laughed at the look on Leon's face, remembering that same look that he gave Jake when they had been dating. "Somethings never change," she said grinning.

Kairi and Lanna soon shared a look, irritation, anger and distrust. "Let's go talk, Kairi," she said standing slowly. Kairi nodded as she stood up as well. "Fine," she said. This was something that they couldn't put off anymore and stepped into the hallway, away from the group.

Claire looked a bit worried as she watched the two leave. A feeling shared by Sora and Riku as they saw them walk away from the group. Sora starting to get up and follow them, but held back by Jake shaking his head.

"Sorry, spikes, but this is a girl thing they need to settle now. Us guys have to stay out of it" Jake says having a very good idea what was about to go down and prayed it didn't end badly.

(Kairi's and Lanna's POV)

Kairi folded her arms over her chest, glaring a bit. "You think you can just come in and ruin it for me and Sora," she said. "You only known him for a day and a half and your all over him!"

"No, I wasn't," Lanna said stiffly. "I was there when he needed help and he saved me more than once as well as my family! I love Sora. He's means a lot to me and I wouldn't hurt him."

"And how would I know that? Your some strange girl with a potty mouth and uses weapons and is okay with killing people!" Kairi accused.

Lanna felt her anger surge forward. "Don't you accuse me of that!" she snapped. "I do not enjoy killing, ever. It comes with the job, Kairi. Don't you get that yet? Haven't I proved it yet that I wouldn't hurt Sora, you or Riku! Dammit, Kairi, I know you have a crush on Sora but he and I care about each other and want to to give each other a chance."

Kairi swallowed, hearing this and looked away. "..." Lanna sighed. "You can kick my ass if I ever do hurt him, okay? But I have seen you look at Riku and I know he likes you." Kairi blushed, biting her lower lip as she sighed a bit. She did like Riku but she was nervous. She had a crush on Sora for so long...she didn't think Riku had any feelings for her, not like that.

"Fine...you have my blessings for being with Sora, but I will not forgive you if you hurt him," Kairi growled and headed back inside. Lanna sighed heavily. "Fine..."

(3rd P.O.V.)

Everyone waited silently as Kairi came back in and sat next to Riku. Who was quick to place a concerned hand on her own hoping to comfort her and quell any anger she's feeling right now. Lanna came in not too long after and sat next to Sora, who in turn wrapped an arm around Lanna hoping to ease her. Unsure what's going on, but not saying anything about it for the moment.

"Well, if everyone is alright, it looks like we have a plan then. For now though, Ada, could you please hide Sora and the others. It wouldn't surprise me if we have the government coming to pick us up and escort us back. I'll leave it to you how they sneak inside our escort's rides" Leon said hoping Ada wouldn't mind doing them a favor to help their friends.

Ada looked at the two girls before looking at Leon. "I can," she said. "It won't be hard to hid them." She had a plan for that and looked up at the air vents in the ship. "Just hope they don't mind doing a little...climbing and shimming." Donald and Goofy shared a look at that.

(Scene Change: Control room 3rd P.O.V.)

Chris sighed as he finished explaining the gist of hos Alex Wesker was "still" alive, revived Albert, kidnapped them in a plot of revenge by watching their children fight to save their lives against multiple types of B.O.W.s, Organization XIII mysteriously helping them and their control over the heartless, and finally their own freedom.

To say Barry was cursing up a storm in several parts of his retelling was putting it lightly, but he was happy to hear Matthew was born and with his mother now. Though furious when he learned Alex intended to use him as a test subject before Xigbar, for some reason, helped them save Matthew. With Jake having to fight Albert and nearly dying as a result. In the end, he had to paint a picture that it took everyone to finally kill off Wesker with many close calls.

He hated hiding the truth from Barry about Sora and the others, but it couldn't be talked about over the radio. Too many chances someone could listen in on their chat, someone from the government no doubt.

"And now as I told you before, we're on one of their battleships that Xigbar cleaned out for our escape." Chris finishes with a heavy sigh glad the retelling was over.

Barry grunted a bit. "BSAA and DSO is sending teams out to meet you at the harbor and with doctors as well," he said. "I'm sure everyone will need an exam to make sure nothing is broken." He sighed a bit, glad that the kids were safe and sound. "I'll be there with the others to greet ya."

Luis noticed they were an hour away from the port now, relieved to get on solid ground that wasn't contaminated.

"Sounds good, can't wait to see you and I'm sure Moira and Natalia must be worried for Claire and her baby." Chris said looking forward to being on safe and familiar grounds too.

Barry chuckled softly. "They are," he said. "I will see you soon, my old friend." Soon the line was cut. Luis looked at Chris. "DSO? BSAA? Man...I've been dead for a while." He didn't remember those organizations before he had been killed by Saddler. "We'll be hitting ground in an hour."

"We'll walk you through our groups purposes, Luis, but just know the DSO and the BSAA are both fighting Bio terrorism in our own ways." Chris says glad to have Luis on their side, even if he joins the DSO, but hopes he joins the BSAA. They need more researchers just as much as the DSO to help them make vaccines and combat viruses.

"Thank you," Luis said, feeling a bit relieved. He wanted to explore the world again, get an idea of what he had missed. "Heh...I wouldn't mind having a cheeseburger again." He grinned. "That and a bath." He hit a few buttons and steered the boat. "Lanna mentioned that B.O.W.'s have gotten worse during the years."

"Well, the burger and bath will be easy enough to bring you. Once we get all the political tape out of the way and you are settled in your new home. As for the viruses, I won't lie, it's gotten worse alright. I was hoping when Wesker died and Umbrella fell, things would recover. For a little while it felt like it, but certain people just couldn't resist using bio weapons to get what they want. No matter how many died..." Chris said warmly at first before turning slightly angered in the end. Remembering all of his fallen comrades and the innocents he couldn't save. Like leon he too felt responsible when they failed to save someone while on the job. It happens and they knew it, but it still hurt.

Luis sighed a bit. "I know the feeling, comrade...Before I knew what I doing for Saddler...I thought my research would help people..not control them. Leon...Lanna, they were infected because of me and my blasted research. I have to make it up to them and their friends and families. You and the others suffered because of it."

"Well, you've done quite a bit so far and have the potential to do more, if you choose to." Chris said patting the man's shoulder with a sincere smile. "Just think about it as I go check on Jill and Elly, I've spent too long without my baby girl." Chris said walking through the door and making his way to his family. Smiling brighter as he saw Elly wave at him joyfully and Jill gave him a smile that made his heart swoon for her. Honest to God he felt incredibly lucky to have married her and have Elly as their baby girl.

Now if only he could convince Jill to let him set up barb wired fences around their house once she's in middle school...

Luis chuckled as he watched the man leave. "Hello everyone. We will be reaching the docks in fifty minutes. I hope you enjoyed your ride on Hero's ship" he said, grinning and shut off the mic.

(Everyone's P.O.V.)

Luis's message gave the tired survivors a chuckle at that as Elly ran to her dad. "Daddy!" she said and hugged him. Jill smiled as she watched her daughter run to her father.

Sherry smiled as she watched the little girl run to her dad as she leaned in Jake.

"Hey, baby girl! Did you miss me?" Chris said with a lighter tone in his voice as he took a seat next to Jill. Elly wrapped in a one arm hug and Jill in the other with her head resting on his shoulder. he did raise an eyebrow as Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were all sitting near Ada as she showed them some blueprints on the ship.

"Dare I ask what Ada is showing them blueprints for?" Chris asks wondering what was going through the female spy's mind.

"I did!" Elly said giggling happily as Jill leaned into her husband, smiling a bit. She looked over at Ada and the others. "She's coming up with a plan to get them off the ship without anyone noticing them. Leon didn't tell the DSO about their existence and I'm sure you didn't either."

At this Chris frowned a little. "Yeah, I didn't like keeping secrets from Barry like that, but I can't risk the government learning about Sora or the others. It'd cause too much trouble for them and they've done too much helping us for me to accept such a thing. Maybe we can tell Barry the truth with Sora's help once we catch him in private." Chris said bouncing Elly on his knee as the girl rode it like a horsey. Giggling at the motions making her parents smile at her innocence.

Jill nodded. "Yes, when we can get Barry alone, we can tell him," she said, smiling at Elly's giggles. She was happy to know that Elly could still laugh after the days events. "It'll be good to be home again. Sleeping in a cage isn't exactly comfortable." She looked to see Lanna holding her baby brother, seeing the baby gurgle and giggle happily, thinking it was game.

"Amen, I am never taking our bed for granted again." Chris said fully agreeing as he noticed Elly looked down for a second, making her parents worried.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Chris asks wondering what was upsetting his daughter.

Elly whimpered a bit, rubbing the back of her head. "My head still hurts when that fat cat hit me..." she said. "He was being a meanie to Aunty Sherry...along with that bad man. I bit the cat's tail and I wouldn't let go...he ruined mama's piano and your couch daddy..."

Jill felt anger rush through her. "What!?" she asked, though the idea of Elly biting the cat's tail as he ran around was a little funny, but she was more worried about the girl.

"Sweetie, are you going to be okay? Need an ice pack or maybe some medicine?" Chris asks worried, but internally cursing a storm at Pete for wrecking his couch, Jill's piano, and harmed their daughter. Next time they saw that fat cat, they were gonna skin the fucker alive!

Elly shook her head. "No...it barely hurts anymore..." she said and whimpered. "He ruined Disney!" She wailed, crying heavily as she had her fists against her eyes, like a cartoon character. Her whole room had Disney toys and other memorabilia from the series in her room. She never cared for Pete really but now she was scared of him. Jill hugged her daughter, rubbing her back. "Sh, sh" she soothed.

"There, there, sweetie, not all Disney is bad. Remember Mickey, Donald, and Goofy? If you like, you can chat with Donald and Goofy before they have to play hide and seek." Chris offers hoping to ease his poor baby girl. He was secretly planning on making Pete suffer before he died though for wounding her heart like this. She loved Disney and the characters they had, so to see her like this hurt him.

Elly sniffed and nodded slowly. "Really...?" she asked softly, looking at her parents. Jill nodded, smiling. "Yeah," she said. "I'm sure they would be happy to talk to you," she said, stroking her hair gently. It hurt any parent to see their child crying from being hurt, even if it was emotional.

"Hey, Donald, Goofy! Can you two spare a few minutes, please?" Chris asks deciding it was best to ask them now and use the time they had to their advantage.

Donald and Goofy looked up. "Sure." The two headed over to the family, wondering what was up. "Is everything alright?" Goofy asked, seeing the tear stains on Elly's face. "Elly is upset because of Pete. She loves Disney and she's a bit nervous that all the Disney characters are the same."

Donald blinked. "What? No! We're not all the same," he said, smiling at the girl.

"I was hoping maybe you two could spend sometime to play with Elly a bit before it's time to hide. Maybe that'll help cheer her up and assure her that not all of them are like Pete is." Chris informs Donald and Goofy of his idea for their play date to help raise Elly's spirits.

"Well sure!" Goofy said grinning a bit. "It would be fun. We'll do anything for ya, Elly. You're our friend." Elly sniffed and gave a shaky smile. "T-Thank you," she said smiling and hugged Goofy and Donald. The two hugged the girl back, hoping to ease her mind a bit. "What would you like to play?" Donald asked.

Elly smiled. "Tag!" she said, tapping Goofy and ran down the hallway. Goofy blinked and ran after her, calling out to her. Donald looked at Chris and Jill, smiling a bit. "We'll keep an eye on her" he said and went after his friends.

Chris couldn't help chuckling at how fast they got along with Elly. "I'm counting on it..."

"Hey guys! You got to try the steak!" Jake calls from the bar gaining everyone's attention to see Jake and Sherry enjoying two plates of steak that Jake apparently had been cooking. They saw more plates set up with a slice of steak and mashed potatoes, a classic dish that has proven very filling.

Chris seeing this offers his wife an arm. "Shall we dine while our little angel enjoys her play time?"

Jill smiled as she took his arm. "Yes," she said as her stomach growled hungrily. She could have sworn she heard the others stomachs as well. They all needed food.

"Smells great," Claire said as she had came back from feeding Matthew, who was now sleeping in a box with extra blankets. Sherry grinned. "Jake makes great steaks," she said as she handed a plate to Riku and Kairi and Ada. She soon handed over plates to Lanna and Sora.

"Thank you," Lanna said smiling and looked at her aunt and uncle. "This is better than those energy bars." Jill laughed. "Any food better is better than the bars."

"Food!" Sora and Riku both shout in joy as they ran to their plates and started eating like starved wanders. Which to be fair made sense as Sora hadn't eaten in a day and Riku had barely any food sense getting captured.

Ada laughed softly as she watched two eat like hungry animals. She didn't blame them as she sat in a corner to eat her food a bit more quietly. She watched the happy families, joking and laughing as if they were at a cookout instead of being in a war ship made by Wesker and goonies. She sighed softly, feeling a little lonely and felt her age as well though no one would know what she was feeling, as her face was blank as usual.

(Scene Change: The World That Never Was 3rd P.O.V.)

Darkness, that was all he knew for a long time before he heard the beeping of unmistakable hospital equipment. Opening his eyes, Wesker bit back a harsh hiss in displeasure at the light shining in his eyes. Before trying to recall how he got in this position, it lasted a few seconds before he remembered everything.

The final battle, Maleficent falling against Riku, and Sora nearly killing him. Except for the Neoshadows below him. He noticed one jump above tanking the hit and sparing him long enough for the others to drag him down into a dark Corridor. After that...nothing but darkness.

The door opened and in came Alex. She was surprised but happy to see her brother. "Albert, you're awake," she said grinning. "It seems like we're not yet ready to die for good this time." She didn't remember much after getting knocked out and wake up here. She saw #2 greet her and tell her about her brother being here.

"So I take it the big boy is up too?" They both hear Braig's voice as he came in behind her grinning at the sight. "That's good, Isa would've had my head if you didn't wake up sooner. He hates waiting, so I'll let you two catch up a bit before letting you two see the boss. he's got an offer you both will be interested in." Braig said wanting them to know the offer that was to be made before walking off to inform Isa.

"Where are we?" Wesker asked Alex, seeing she was alive and well.

"I'm not to sure myself. He didn't say much except his boss want's to see us," Alex said shrugging as she looked at the white walls. It felt like they were in a hospital or an insane asylum. She wasn't sure what to make of it either.

"So it seems Braig was serious in you awakening, that's good to see." Isa said coming into the room, his yellow eyes watching them impassively. "I understand you all have questions, so I'll answer the basic information you need to know before meeting Xehanort." Isa explains as he gestures to a chair for the woman to sit on.

Alex looked at the man curiously as she sat down on the chair. "Yes, a lot of questions" she said, folding one leg over the other as she leaned into the chair. Wesker sat up slowly, looking to see his wounds were still healing from the attack from Sora and growled in annoyance. "That little brat" he snarled. "Where is he?"

"According to the Creepers we had sent to spy on him, he's taken a battleship to the one of the countries called the U.S.A. to return the families home. But we should start with where you are and why you've been spared by us. You are now in the world of caught between light and dark. The World That Never Was, it was our old base as beings known only as Nobodies. Funny thing is, we are whole now thanks to Sora killing our Nobodies. Unknowingly helping our plans to claim what we seek." Isa began his explanation to the two Wesker. Smirking coldly as he mentioned Sora unknowingly helping their cause.

Wesker and Alex stared at Isa like he was a bit bonkers. "Nobodies? The World That Never Was?" Alex asked, never heard of such things before and Maleficent never mentioned them either. "And how did the child help you?" Wesker watched the man, wanting to hear more about this.

Isa looked at them in a calculating manner and could see Maleficent hadn't told them everything she knew yet. Why he could guess, but decided it was best to clear up the basics.

"To answer your question, the boy made us regain our human bodies with all of our power both as our heartless and Nobodies. This was accomplished by slaying our heartless and nobody halves." Isa demonstrates by summoning Luna Divider, his huge blue and claymore, shocking Wesker as he felt the power creating it wasn't darkness or light, but something else entirely. Something that felt empty and longing for substance, a void wanting to be filled.

"I'll explain more on that later though, first I should explain how Nobodies are created. Surely you know how heartless steal hearts and the body of their victims "fades" into darkness. Replacing it is a heartless, correct?" Isa asks beginning his explanation on the Nobodies.

Wesker nodded as did Alex. "Yes," Wesker said. "Maleficent has told us that much." Alex looked at Isa, seeing his weapon as Wesker did feel that odd power radiating from it. It was on a different level of power than what he was used to. He wondered if he could somehow get a hold of that same power.

"Well, when a person with a strong heart, be they light or dark, lose their hearts to the darkness or the heartless. A nobody is born, some being like the common Dusks or Creepers as I told you before. To show an example..." Isa began before snapping his fingers. A Dusk appearing out of Dark Corridor. It's shape humanoid to a degree, but had no thumbs or fingers, but rather sharp looking "hands" that could pierce their enemy with two feet in a similar shape. It's mouth had a zipper on one end of it's cheeks. Giving them the impression it's mouth could be zipped shut or open. The creature was mostly gray in color and gave off the same void energy as Isa and his weapon. Only much weaker.

To the Dusk's right appeared a creeper, it looked like an all gray bird that they saw change shapes. From a sword, to a shield, and even to a spear. Before turning back into a bird with a sharp beak.

"These two are the Dusk and Creeper respectively. A heart with some strong will inside will create these, but the stronger your heart is before corruption or consumed by a heartless. The Strong a Nobody it creates, like myself for example. I was one of the stronger Nobodies once, but now thanks to Sora doing our dirty work. He's made us human again and closer to our goal of gaining the thirteen darkness we need. Why we need the thirteen darkness, I'll leave for Xehanort to tell you as we need to get you caught up on the basics." Isa continued his explanation curtly and without missing a beat.

"Hm," Wesker thought, taking it all in. "I am curious about the thirteen darkness. And I am assuming that Xehanort is your boss." He looked at the human, humming. "How does one know you have a strong heart? Or is it random?" He raised a brow at him. He didn't have his sunglasses on so Isa could see his orange cat eyes.

"Usually it's about willpower or overcoming trials in life that would break most people. Weak people with weak hearts, for only the strong endure and overcome their trials. Another way of knowing is the amount of power they draw from their hearts, like you two do. I sense strong darkness in you after all and I know you sensed my power in turn. You are correct in your assumption though about our boss. Xehanort is the true leader of Organization XIII and has been gathering us in secret. To keep the keybearers guessing until the time was right and that time is soon approaching." Isa says letting Wesker understand more about the heart and how they can be strong.

Wesker smirked as he listened to the explanation, his eyes darkening. "Yes. We both can sense your powers. Isa, yes? Is there any difference between you being human again and being a Nobody?" he asked. He was interested in the process, leaning against the headboard. Though...the whiteness of the room was bugging his eyes a bit and closed them to relieve the irritation a bit. Alex saw this and pulled out a slightly beat up pair of sunglasses and handed it to him. Wesker grunted his thanks and pulled them on. 'Ah...better' he thought.

"Yes, as a Nobody, I was missing a heart that was obviously stolen by the heartless. A broken being with limited power that was fated to fade into nothingness and is hated by both the light and the dark. Yet, they were never allowed to choose a side or given a chance to do so, it's believed they have no emotions due to their lack of a heart. That was a lie Xemnas had created to weed out candidates for his own plans on who is worthy and who isn't. We do have emotions, but being made a nobody has different effects on different people. Some warriors who had potential for our cause were sadly proven not fit for our goals. Sora killing them spared us the trouble of doing so ourselves." Isa explains to the Wesker's patiently without pause. Remembering certain candidates of Organization XIII that were human as well, but were left behind due to them not being useful to Xehanort's plans.

Alex leaned against her chair, thinking a bit. "I see," she said, thinking. "I am guessing the other members relied on their emotions to much and got in the way. That is bothersome really." She pushed back her blond hair as she looked at Isa. "Did you retain any memories of your past life before you were turned into a Nobody?" Her scientific mind was going a mile a minute. If they could somehow replicate a Nobody into a . they would wreak havoc on the planet and get revenge on those that had killed them in the past.

"Most of us did with perfect clarity, the only exception being #13, Roxas. He was supposed to be a very important piece to our scheme despite his lack of memory that we took full advantage of. A blank slate is easy to mold after all, but we ran into a few problems. Despite our attempts to make him believe he needed a heart to feel emotions and rely on us more to acquire him one. He went rouge on us the moment he had to strike down a puppet we created to steal his powers. Oddly, it wasn't the fact it was stealing powers that made him rebel, but how we treated it and it forced him into a life or death match against it. We suspect he may have developed some kind of bond with the being, being a girl in appearance to him, as it had done for him. It was a surprise to us all the puppet could even feel emotions, especially love for that matter. That it would risk it's own life to force Roxas to kill it, in order to stop it's power from draining Roxas's strength and life force. To be frank, it was a project that took us all by surprise and led to Roxas leaving the Organization. Only to be stolen and rejoined within Sora to awaken at full power once more." Isa explains at length as he tried to avoid going over ALL the details that would take days to explain.

A heavy sigh of irritation escaped his lips as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's a shame really, Roxas was a good candidate for our Organization if not for that unexpected turn from the puppet."

"A puppet? So Roxas was Sora's Nobody," Wesker said, thinking about this as he thought. "That is incredible...you made a puppet. How was that possible? There had to be a process to it." He had made B.O.W.'s and clones and he had made a puppet similar to the clone he had made of Claire though it didn't work as he hoped.

Alex looked at Isa. "Have you tried making another puppet? One that had memories of being with the Organization?" she asked.

"In order of your questions, yes, there is a process. We needed at least a sample of memories from Sora himself, but that was easily collected by Xemnas back when the boy was weaker. We used those samples to create Xion, the puppet and former #14 of organization XIII. A hidden joke if you would, as we never intended for her to be one of us unless she kills Roxas. The other requirements for making Xion was in Vexen's notes, but the treasonous doctor wrote it in a language we can't understand. So we're working on translating it in hopes of making a better puppet in the future. You can never have too many back up plans for something you need done. As for your question, Alex, I presume, that would be much harder without Namine who now resides Kairi, the Seventh Princess of heart that I will explain later." Isa answers their questions in order as a Dusk came in with a two trays of food. A simple meal of eggs, grits, and toast.

"Ah, almost forgot the dusks prepared you both meals as it is morning and we weren't sure if you were hungry or not." Isa says as the Dusks dropped off their food on Wesker's bed for them to pick up.

Alex nodded. "Thank you," she said as she picked up her tray as did Wesker. Both their stomachs gave a loud growl as they hadn't eaten since the other day. Alex started to eat as did Wesker. "Who is Namine and what are the Seven Princess?" Wesker asked, remembering Disney characters and the princesses in the movies. He wondered if it had to do with them somehow.

"In order, Namine is a witch with power over Sora's memories and by proxy had influence on Roxas as well. She was originally under the care of some traitors we had marked to be eliminated and sent Axel in to do so. It became more apparent when they tried to force Sora under their thumb to fight us by having Namine mess with his memories. Only something happened, Namine refused to destroy Sora's memories when ordered and Marluxia dug his own grave. Not only in trying to brainwash Sora and getting caught, but also in attempting to harm her. The boy grew furious and killed both Larxene and Marluxia, while Axel eliminated Vexen when the blabber mouth started saying too much. The damage was small and nothing too serious for us, but we couldn't risk Sora knowing too much. The Seven Princesses of heart are the only people alive with no darkness inside their hearts. Everyone has little of both, but the princesses are an exception for one reason only..." Isa trailed off as he looked at them seriously to show this subject was very important.

"Kingdom Hearts, the heart and power that will allow one to potentially control and shape the universe as they see fit. Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness tried to drown the universe in Darkness using this power, but he was mistaken in thinking it was only darkness and the light within destroyed him for being too weak to control it's power alone." Isa said with grave finality to imply how dangerous and awesome the power is.

The name seemed to resonate power to the siblings. Both had a good feeling that Isa rarely kid and joked around about things, seeming to be as the youth's called it 'A stickler' for rules. "Kingdom Hearts..." Alex said, feeling something tingle inside of her, excitement. "Heh...it sounds like something from a game."

"Yes but this is no came, Alex," Wesker said, looking at her. "Something about this Kingdom Hearts...it smells of power, something we want. Control of the world."

"Why control one world?" Braig says walking in with a grin drawing everyone's eyes on him. "When you can control them all? The old man will be ready whenever you guys finish the basics. He's finished up his meeting with Xemnas about a small progress report. How are you doing, Isa?"

"Good, actually, they are quick on the uptake. Which makes my job easier and shouldn't be much longer." Isa replies smoothly glad to being dealing with someone smart and serious. He respected Braig for his power and ability to be serious when needed, but his humorous side did get on his nerves at times...

"Hm, just another question," Alex said as she finished her meal and wiped her mouth elegantly as she looked at Isa and Braig. "Lanna Kennedy and Sora. I can understand Sora but why the girl? I heard from the others that she is of interest to your boss." She raised a brow as she stood up, the bangles on her wrist clinking together. She was a woman with a business like mind as well as a scientific one, but she knew there was more to their story than what they had told them and had a feeling that this went long before Sora and his friends came into play.

"You see, Sora has this form known as Anti Form, a representation of his darkness in his heart. It's always been that Sora completely rejected darkness before, but lately Xehanort sensed a change in Sora when Anti came out last time. That Sora was starting to accept darkness and if we can make him rely on it enough, it'll be better for our plans. Sora is a candidate for a vessel much like Terra was, one that wouldn't choose to work for us, but rather as Xehanort's new body. He once stole Terra's body as his own to continue his research to attain Kingdom Hearts, along with combining their powers together. It made Xehanort frightfully strong, but again, age has made him old and while he could take on Sora as he is. Having a new younger body in our attempt to take Kingdom Hearts much easier than needed." Braig explains with a knowing smirk.

Wesker smirked. "So you need the girl only to help Sora be more open to the darkness inside of him," he said, laughing. "And once you have what you want, she will be tossed aside? I doubt she has much use to you than what you already stated."

Alex hummed. "I don't know, Albert," she said. "She is still learning but she is smart and quick on her feet. In time she can be proved to be even more troublesome than her family, especially Chris Redfield. If you can brainwash, erase her memories of her past and encourage the darkness in her own heart, she would make a good addition."

"Indeed she does, but time will tell how useful she will be to our goals. For now we must meet with the boss if you both are ready." Isa says agreeing with their statements on Lanna, he heard from Braig how she handled herself and the surprise of her using light based magic. As well as the twist of Jake having a strong darkness inside him that he was not using right now. Both were potentially useful to their goals in lesser ways than Sora, but useful none the less.

Wesker and Alex stood up, ready to meet the boss. "Ready," Wesker said as he wanted to meet the man who had brought them here in the first place, deeming them useful for his cause. Maybe they could work together, for the time being. He wasn't too sure of these people yet.

"Very good, follow me please." Isa said in a professional manner as he led them down the hall with Braig bringing up the rear in a more relaxed pace. It took a few minutes and some turns down the halls, but they soon made it to a large room that was all white and gray, with the Nobody crest on the center stage in the middle of the risen chairs. All of them at different levels of height, but the tallest one being Xehanort's as he looked at them all from his chair.

An Elderly looking gentleman with tan skin and yellow eyes. A gray goatee being the only hair on his face as his lips twitched into a small grin. His outfit different from the rest of the Organization as it had white gloves, with a black long sleeve jacket with a white shirt underneath and black pants to match his boots. Xehanort could sense the potential in them as members for his plans, but knew to be wary of the Weskers. If he was careless they might try to kill him and he'd be forced to do them in, time and effort he rather avoid.

"Welcome to one of our humble bases, Wesker children, it seems we have much to talk about." Xehanort began politely with a short nod as Braig and Isa backed off a step since they weren't being addressed.

Alex looked at Xehanort, surprised by how old he was and was reminded how Spencer was...old and decrepit as he got older and more sickly. "You must be Xehanort," she said pleasantly, head titled and smiled lightly as Albert nodded at him. "Yes," he said. "A lot of questions. While your friends gave us some answers but not enough."

"Yes, we would like to hear more," Alex said as she looked at the older man.

"I respect those with a pursuit of knowledge and power, so ask away. I'm rather curious what's on your minds myself." Xehanort states with a small smile. Both hands folded under his chin as he rests it on them, waiting to hear what they have to ask.

"Why did you bring us here?" Alex asked, looking at him. "What use do you have of us?" She put a hand on her hip, watching the man. "We know of your interest in Sora and his girlfriend, Lanna and your interest in Kingdom Hearts."

"And something about different worlds?" Wesker said, his interest in the different worlds was clear. He only knew vaguely from what Maleficent had said.

Xehanort hummed as he heard the questions, not the first he was expecting, but they were understandable ones.

"In order, my purpose of having you here is because of your potential and Ms. Wesker's B.O.W. research that Braig has provided me a full copy of." Xehanort informs the two Weskers, making Alex's eyes widen at the news he slipped past her and got her data. "For you see, with plans to control the universe, you can never be too careful. I was careless once in my youth and it set my plans back a full decade, so this time I'm being cautious and thorough in my moves. You two could have part in my plans to take Kingdom Hearts and be part of the governing body controlling the universe. For you see, as much as I want to say one person alone can control it all. I can't, I know my limits better now and having extra will to take portions of the power that I can trust would be a wiser move. People with the will to rule, power to show their authority when needed, and the desire to seek answers of our existence and all the universe!" Xehanort explained simply at first, but grew more passionate about in the end. A hand reaching out and clenching as if grabbing something only he could see. A future he wants to claim and make his own.

"So you need us to help control the worlds if we prove to be useful," Alex said as they watched him speak passionately about his dreams and his plans. She was impressed while Wesker is as well but didn't show it as easy as his sister did. She laughed a bit. "My, my...it sounds wondrous."

Wesker nodded slowly. "Yes," he agreed, thinking of the princesses and remembered seeing Donald and Goofy and Maleficent. He never dreamed of meeting them, let alone working with the witch in the beginning. "Heh..."

"Indeed, but first we can't have you stuck at your current levels. Especially you, Alex, as while your brilliance is useful. We can't leave you too weak to stand your own ground, one must be strong enough to take matters into their own hands if needed." Xehanort says to both Weskers knowing they'll need training to match the Seven guardians of light when the time comes.

Alex nodded, remembering when she had been alive before Barry had killed her she had a terminal illness that couldn't be treated. She wondered if she still had it. She certainly haven't felt sick when Maleficent brought her back to life, but she had been doing other things. "Yes...it would be a good idea," she said slowly. "I had not much use for it before. I was sick, even with the virus inside of me that I share with Albert."

"I doubt Maleficent would bring you back in a diseased body, but it's always better to check for yourself. You can have Vexen's old research room, notes, and equipment. We plan to experiment on combining heartless with B.O.W.s as well as the nobodies. Feel free to take your time for now as we have other priorities, but there is one project I would like you to work on. A new virus meant to infect people, but not turn them until a certain signal is given off. I drew the inspiration when I was going over the known viruses in the world that's been used and saw the Trigger virus research." Xehanort explains to Alex Wesker before giving Isa a wave of his hand, making him bow and leave the room to prepare her new room.

Alex smirked a bit as she heard this. "Really now? I have used something like in the past," she said and started to explain to him about the bracelets she had installed onto her tests subjects wrists and the virus would only activate under intense fear and the virus would mutate the person, turning them into a B.O.W.

"Impressive, the Trigger Virus and the T-Phobos could prove useful to our goals. As you know, the heartless are drawn to darker emotions in people's hearts and your viruses could cause the people to stink of fear and desperation." Xehanort says liking the ideas of the viruses being used to draw the heartless toward their prey in bigger numbers.

Alex smirked a bit, nodding. "Yes. It'll increase the heartless" she said. Wesker nodded, smirking. "A feeding frenzy..." he said. "And you'll get the hearts you need for your Kingdom Hearts."

"And maybe more members as well to help," Alex said.

"Don't forget it make the locals more wary of outsiders." Xehanort says with a cruel grin.

"So if we do expect Sora and his friends to visit, the locals won't trust them," Wesker said laughing. "They may even turn on them!" It would be a blood bath if the locals were scared to the point they may even attack Sora and his crew as it would affect the darkness inside of them.

"We can use the locals fear," Alex said thinking. "Maybe create a virus that could affect certain people with the most darkness in them, turning them into Heartless B.O.W.s."

"None to mention the frustration and anger will feed Sora's darkness. Make him draw closer to it as he has less faith in humanity as a whole if we play our cards right." Xehanort continues with a dark sinister grin.

Alex and Wesker smirked at that as they enjoyed the plan. "It will destroy the boy," Wesker said. "As well as his friends, being forced to watch his downfall."

"And poor little Lanna will blame herself for encouraging Sora to be more alright with his darkness," Alex said grinning evilly. "She'll be pushed into darkness."

"Now you two are catching on," Xehanort says with a grin as he leans back in his chair. "That said, I prefer to have you both ready as possible. So I suggest training with Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, Alex. While you, Albert will be training with Xemnas. It took both Sora and Riku to defeat him in the past. So I feel you two will help each other learn some new abilities and battle tactics."

As Xehanort says this a man with long gray hair, tan skin, and yellow eyes appears in the room wearing an all black cloak of Organization XIII. While to the man's left is another man with similar hair and eye colors, but his clothing was an open black jacket. Showing casing his chest with the heartless emblem on it. They did notice the man's clothes matched Xehanort in a lot of ways.

"In case you are wondering,this is the body I had put a piece of my heart into for furthering my research and prolonging my life. It was difficult and if not for his body, I'd be dead of old age before we even met. Now that Sora killed them both once, it brought me back and them with our powers at full strength." Xehanort explains easily guessing why they were confused why Ansem and Xemnas looks alike, as well as why Ansem has his clothing style.

Alex nodded as she looked at Ansem curiously, head titled. "That would explain it," Wesker said as he looked at Xemnas. "This should be interesting to say the least. How long do you think the others will figure out that Alex and I are not dead?"

"Really brother? That family is pretty smart. I'm sure they will figure it out," Alex said, pushing back her bangs. "But your 'death' was believable so we may have extra time."

"Time we will use to our advantage, just so you know, Alex, Ansem will assist you with your viral research as he too is a researcher. His knowledge is quite useful on the heartless and is a quick learner." Xehanort says letting Alex know of her new training partner's ability to assist her on and off the training field.

Alex grinned. "I'd be honored," she said, nodding at Ansem. "It'll be good to work with a willing partner this time and not someone with morals." She knew Luis hated working on the research at the island and he made no bones about it either, but he was fast worker and an efficient one as well. She hated working with a sniveling coward.

"Good, now I'll leave you both in their tutelage and care then for your training. I have my own affairs I must get to, if I need any of you, I'll come pick you up myself." Xehanort says as he warped away using a Dark Corridor, while Xemnas made his own corridor.

"Come, Albert, I need to gauge your skill first hand to understand where we will begin training." Xemnas says politely, but with authority one would expect from a leader of Organization XIII in the past.

"We should be going as well, Alex, Isa should have our research room prepared by now." Ansem informs his new coworker and ally of their plans.

Wesker nodded as he followed after Xemnas. "Very well," he said, hearing the authority in his tone. He could understand why he was the leader of the group back then.

"Thank you," Alex said to Ansem and walked with him, wondering where the research room would be and how large it is. She was curious about the previous owner as well.

(Scene Change: Wesker's battleship control room 3rd P.O.V.)

Chris, Leon, Claire, Jill, Jake, Sherry, Lanna, Elly, and Sora all watched as they closed in on the harbor. Leon and Chris trying to help Lanna get Sora to memorize the story he needed to tell the men who will be questioning him. Both from the government and Terrasave, which Claire would try to make as easy on him as possible being the new leader after Neil's betrayal.

But even then they knew they couldn't pull too many strings on an "unknown survivor" or it'd look like they were hiding secrets.

"Now once more, Sora, how did you meet Lanna and eventually help her save us?" Leon asked patiently, though he was rubbing the bridge of his nose in a mild annoyance. While Sora was strong and not a complete idiot, getting him to memorize long stories made up on the spot proved to be a challenge he too had. He couldn't completely blame him, as it had to be thoroughly thought out to be believable by human standards and many people have a hard time remembering small details in long made up stories.

Considering this was like a cram test for Sora, they had to be patient with him.

"Uh...I ran into Lanna and Jake after I escaped some ganados when they opened my cell to make sure I had water to keep myself hydrated. Which I took advantage of to kill one and make a break for it before it's friends could come?" Sora says trying to remember every detail they gave him for his alibi.

Lanna nodded as she watched her dad and uncle try to get Sora to remember the cover story. She knew Sora could do it and looked at her dad. "Yes, and what else happened?" she asked.

Donald and Goofy listened to the story, hoping Sora could remember enough to know what to tell the men and women in uniforms or else they would be in some major trouble.

"Ah...I heard you guys were looking for your parents and offered to help you and Jake find them. In exchange for helping me get out of there and rescue any other prisoners who may be there?" Sora said stopping himself from mentioning his friends, Riku and Kairi, they wanted to go with Ada and stay off the radar as much as possible.

"Yes, and did we find any other survivors?" Lanna asked, being calm as she knew the others had to be careful, especially Donald and Goofy as they would be even harder to explain than Riku and Kairi. Ada sat on a crate, going over the plans with Riku and others, making sure they had it memorized.

"Besides, your parents and your recently kidnapped aunt, little cousin, and Luis, no unfortunately." Sora said remembering that one pretty well after needing Chris to remind him three times.

Lanna smiled. "Good," she said and looked at her dad and uncle, wondering what they thought about this. "What else can you remember, Sora?"

"We fought several B.O.W.s, but you and Jake had to cover me at times due to me not having any food all day. Mostly my fault as I escaped during breakfast hours and because of my inexperience compared to you both." Sora answers with a small grin.

"Yeah, that's right so far, now what do you remember about the confrontation of Wesker at the end?" Chris asks Sora hoping he got this last bit right.

"It took all of us and nearly all of the ammo everyone carried to kill him. I sustained little damage thanks to Lanna covering me as Jake made himself a decoy to keep Wesker's attention on himself. Both for our safety's sake and because Jake wanted to settle his grudge with his father for endangering Sherry and Elly, as well as Claire, Leon, and Lanna." Sora answers knowing to Jake they were family to him and was a believable story for why he'd try to fight Wesker himself.

Lanna smiled. "I think that's it," she said, hearing Sora get the last of the story right and good timing too as Luis just announced they were ready to pull up to the docks.

Ada looked at Riku and the others. "Let's get ready," she said. Kairi nodded as she got ready. "Okay" she said and looked at Goofy and Donald. "Ready?"

"We best get to hiding then," Riku says waking to the nearest vent as he was pointed out that was where they'd travel through the ship undetected. Prying it open and waiting for Ada to lead on inside as they had to follow her lead, given that she knew best out of anyone when to move and when to stay still.

"Remember, Elly, Goofy, Donald, and the others are now playing hide and seek with the officers. So no telling them, okay? Pretend you know nothing to help our team win." Chris asks his little girl in Jill's arms giving her a wink that earned a giggle from the little angel.

Ada jumped up and climbed into the vents, motioning for the others to follow her. Kairi waved to the others as she climbed in after her, than Goofy and Donald.

"Okay daddy," Elly said smiling at Chris as Jill shifted her a bit. Sherry was happy to be back home and stretched a bit. "Home finally," she said and heard a groan. Lanna was at the window, getting a view of who was at the docks and placed her head head on the wall. "What's the matter Lanna?" Sherry asked.

"Mr. Burns is there as well," Lanna said as she didn't tell anyone, not even her teachers, that she was going with Jake to find her family. Given the treatment she got from the man from training, she had a feeling this wouldn't go any better.

"Oh perfect," Jake said with a grin on his face that usually meant some form of suffering for someone. "I was hoping to have a few words with him."

"Behave, Jake, and don't forget Claire and I get first dibs." Leon said making Jake frown at the idea of waiting.

"But she came with me on MY mission, as her superior, it should be me who defends her." Jake argues back, only for Leon to give Jake a deadpan look.

"Well, I'm her father and that outranks you in priority." Leon shot back making Jake stare down Leon as they had a silent battle of wills.

Claire spoke up. "I think Lanna should talk to him first," she said, earning confused looks from them both. She smiled. "We are her family but Lanna will have to learn to fight on her own to feet. Plus as much as we don't like to admit it, she's not a child anymore."

Lanna started at her mother, surprised. "Mom..." she said.

"But that doesn't mean we can't have some words with the man, either," Claire said smiling but her tone told a different story. It was the tone where she wanted payback.

"There's the woman I love and married," Leon said with a smile happy to see her protective and loving sides. Say what you want, but she was kinda hot when she got angry, teasing, and seductive. Something that made Chris groan when he caught the two teasing each other one time and bolted out of the house when he heard suggestive noises from their room.

Leon chuckled remembering how Chris spent the day in a bar bitching about how his little Claire bear grew up too fast.

Lanna sweatdropped as she heard her parents tease each other and groaned a bit. "Ugh...I think I have better luck with Mr. Burns..." she said.

Claire grinned at her daughter. "Heh, wait till you get married, Lanna. You'll be the same with your husband," she said, giving a teasing look at her and Sora.

"Okay..." Sora said looking confused as he still was new to the whole...sex thing. Leon shook his head at Sora's answer and confusion, unsure if he should be thankful or pitying the poor boy for his lack of knowledge.

One one hand, he wasn't some pervert wanting only one thing thanks to his innocent Lanna looked at and could learn from her when she's ready. On the other...it made it hard to tease him and talking about sex always flew over his head.

"Alright everyone," Luis said through the intercom. "We have landed at the docks and the ramp is lowered. I hope your all ready to step onto solid ground."

Lanna looked at Sora and smiled lightly at her clueless boyfriend. She would have to give him the birds and the bee's talk later when they were a bit more comfortable with each other. She nudged him. "Hey, ready to see the world beyond the monsters?" she asked.

"Sure! I always look forward to seeing new worlds!" Sora said cheerfully as everyone made their way out, surprised at the sudden camera flashes from outside a yellow tape were a bunch of reporters and cameras aimed at them.

"Guess they couldn't hide this from the press, huh? Fucking vultures..." Jake mumbled not liking being on some newspaper like some peacock. While this event would boost his rep as a mercenary, it also brought people endlessly hunting you down for questions. Only thing worse than a door to door salesman that doesn't take a hint. Is reporters who never takes a hint.

"Jake, language, we have a baby here." Leon reminded Jake with a scolding tone he used to use on Lanna and Jake both. It wasn't often he had to, but sometimes Jake's mouth did bug him at times. If Matthew's first word was a swear, he'd kick his ass after Claire did. Something they both agreed on during her pregnancy.

Sherry looked at Jake and took his hand, seeing the reporters. "Easy hon," she said, squinting her eyes at the flashes and had to shield her eyes.

Hunnigan and Barry were some of the people pushing through the reporters as they saw their long time friends and their families. Luis stood behind Jake and Sherry, seeing the reporters. "Jeez...so many people here..." he grunted, wincing from the lights.

"Leon!" Hunnigan called out as she and Barry made their towards them.

"Chris!" Barry said grinning, waving. "Claire!"

"Hunnigan! Good to see you again!" Leon called waving his hand to let her know he hears her.

"Glad to be back, Barry!" Chris said as the group met up with Hunnigan and Barry midway. "Just so you know, we got a new little member to our family, meet Matthew!" Chris told Barry as Hunnigan and Barry saw Matthew in his mother's arms. Hiding his face to get away from the loud noises and flashes.

"Well now!" Barry said grinning as he saw little Matthew. "He looks just like his parents. Congrats Leon and Claire. I hope the birth was a bit easy on ya."

Claire smiled lightly. "It was, but it was a bit stressful afterwards. We'll tell you later when there isn't much reporters." Barry nodded in agreement. "The vultures somehow knew you would be coming home today."

Hunnigan nodded. "We have a limo waiting for you as well," she said and looked up to see Luis and Sora. "This must be the two new members as well." Luis rubbed the back of his head. "Hello," he said, a bit awkward.

"Hey, I'm Sora! Nice to meet you, miss!" Sora greeted cheerfully staying close to Lanna while holding out a hand to shake with her.

"Yeah, sorry for not mentioning Sora at first, Hunnigan, kind of slipped my mind at first. What with being prisoner, Wesker being revived by his sister, and having Lanna and Jake both coming to rescue us along with this kid was a lot." Leon apologizes hoping Hunnigan would forgive the slip up on his end.

Hunnigan shook his hand, smiling. "I can only imagine, Leon," she said to her friend before looking at Sora. "Nice to meet you, Sora. My name is Ingrid Hunnigan. I've worked alongside Leon for a few years now." Lanna smiled as she got a bear hug from Barry, grunting a bit. "I'm...okay, Barry," she said, smiling at him and looked up to see an older man coming towards them. He had his hair cut close to the sides, a gray mustache and tall like Barry was. His eyes are small and black, beady almost. It was Mr. Burns.

"Mr. Burns," Lanna said to the man, her shoulders and back stiff. She swallowed a bit, seeing the man walk towards her with authority.

Sora watched his girlfriend worried as the guy came up to them

"Lanna Kennedy," Mr. Burns said stiffly. "I should have you banned from training with us. You left without anyone knowing and supervision! You miss...are not ready to be in the BSAA. You were lucky to have Jake with you ore else you would have died!"

Lanna winced a bit. "But I didn't die. I'm still alive," she said. "Yes, Jake helped save me...a lot, but sir. I have learned on my own. I have fought Ganados, became infected by the plagas and almost died! I had to shoot a fucking clone of my mother, thinking it was her!" Anger surged through her now, glaring at the man. "I had to go through hell to save my family and friends, including B.O.W.'s we haven't seen, a revived Albert Wesker and his crazy assed sister." She too a breath. "If you still think I'm not ready to be a member of BSAA than you need to wake up! I survived when most trainees would have died under pressure or ran away." Her shoulder's shook. "Mr. Burns, I put up with your crap so I could prove to you and everyone else that I am ready."

"Don't forget she protected a civilian the whole time while doing so, punk." Jake said in a smart ass tone that he knew pissed off people like Burns. People that thought their ranks or position meant they could lord themselves over others. Mainly cause the people he did this to usually looked down on him and he knew Burns didn't like him for some reason.

He had a few guesses why, but he honestly didn't care to dig around to find out what.

To prove his point, he pointed to Sora as he continued his defense for Lanna. "Sora here only knew how to fight with a knife using his instincts to kill ganados, while having zero knowledge on how to use a gun. Despite this, Lanna had to protect him and he provided us a good back up to have while reloading or in need of directions to find the prisoners. If I had to honestly give these two grades, I'd give Lanna an A on playing the second in command and on protecting a civilian. While Sora here gets a solid B for survival and combat skills. He lacks technique, but his instincts make up for his lack of training any day."

Mr. Burns grunted. "Maybe but the rules are rules," he said stiffly, not liking Jake at all. "She ran off. We can't have trainees running around like they want. They'll get others killed."

Claire glared. "Hey! Lanna isn't a child anymore," she snapped. "She has proved herself over and over again while on the island. She fought her fears and despite all odds against her and the others, she helped save us all. Me, my husband, Leon, Chris, Sherry, Jill, Sora and Elly...she risked her life along with Jake to make sure we made it back here."

It was then Jake had an inspiration as another flash from the cameras got his attention. An idea he knew would make Burns hate him for putting this over his head, but damn would it be worth it.

"You know, Burnout," Jake began getting his name wrong on purpose. "It'd sure look bad if you kicked out a girl who single handedly saved two entire families held prison by an old enemy of yours. Without backup from the BSAA or DSO no less. I think the media would eat you alive if they just so happen to learn of you doing that to Lanna for skipping class to save her family." Jake said giving a not so subtle motion with his arm gesturing to the very eager reporters waiting for them.

A thought that made Leon smirk coldly at how easily he could wreck Burns reputation with those vultures around.

Mr. Burns grunted, his eyes dark with rage. He glared at the family before looking at Lanna. "Fine...you can stay but you will fight for your graduation day. I will not let you graduate early because of this," he said.

Jill spoke up, clearing her throat. "Oh I don't know...I think she passed expectations and the requirements to graduate. Don't you agree, Chris?" she said, looking at her husband, a smile on her face.

"Completely, Lanna did better than I'd ever expected her to, no offense to either of you, Leon, Claire." Chris began before apologizing to his sister and brother in law. "She managed to brave dangers far worse than what we'd ever consider testing our recruits on and with a small team of one civilian and Jake, she managed to save us. Even helping us defeat Wesker and rescue her newly born baby brother. She went above and beyond the call of duty." Chris said making Burns backup a step at Chris's glare.

"So as of this moment and on MY authority as one of the founders of BSAA, I graduate Lanna Kennedy as one of us. Congratulations, Lanna, I expect you ready to meet your new teammates and leader in a week. Consider it a brief rest to get debriefed of your latest rescue mission and recover, before we need you on the field to continue our fight against Bio Terrorism. Is that understood, soldier?" Chris says with authority in his tone, but his eyes showing warmth as he held out a hand for her to shake.

Lanna stared at her uncle, eyes wide. She smiled and nodded as she took his hand. "Thank you for the honor, sir. I will do my best to serve and protect our home," she said.

Sherry cheered happily as they heard this and it was all caught on the news. Lanna had been named as one of the youngest recruits in BSAA history to graduate early. She could feel the excitement rushing through her as her dream had came true. Claire smiled happily, feeling like the proudest parent at that moment.

"Glad to hear, now get in the limo so we can get debriefed. Our superiors won't wait all day you know." Chris said with friendly grin as he walked ahead to the limo with Leon and Claire right behind him, Jake following and pats Lanna on her shoulder. "Congrats, sis, knew you could do it."

"Thanks bro," Lanna said smiling at Jake as she walked with Sora at her side, feeling like she would cry at any moment but didn't, not wanting the reporters to see. Luis, Barry and Hunnigan followed after the families, seeing that this was just one more thing to be thankful for and to celebrate as well.

Once everyone was inside and the doors closed, the limo headed down the road. Lanna sighed a bit, leaning her head back against the seat.

"This was a long day," Jill said chuckling.

"You said it... Hope the others are doing okay," Sora said looking out the window as the limo drove them to their destination. He had to admit it was strange, but in a good way, to see a world not needing his immediate help or anything. An almost peaceful world...

"I'm sure they're fine," Sherry said, looking at him. The limo drove down the road, giving Sora a chance to get in some sights of what would be his home for the time being.

"So what now?" Claire asked, holding Matthew still. "Head home?"

"For you and Leon, yes. You two have a little one to look after now and I'm not letting you two answers questions without your rest. Jake and Lanna both have to be debriefed as does Sora thanks to our cover for him. I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to get Sora an immediate entry to our ranks like Lanna has though, he started out as an unknown civilian for now after all. Jill, please look after Sherry and Elly till we get the debriefing done." Chris says letting everyone know what would happen. Getting nods of understanding from everyone as Sora wondered how he was gonna join.

He didn't have any family here to help pay for his training to get in the BSAA and didn't want to bother Lanna's family when they're letting him stay in their house.

Lanna looked at Sora and took his hand. "Hey, it's going to be okay," she said, smiling at him. "We'll figure it out." She squeezed his hand gently. She looked at Chris and nodded. "Not even on my first official mission and I'm already getting nervous."

Barry smiled. "Don't worry, kid. First mission shivers is natural. We all go through them," he said to them and looked at Sora. "We look after our own, Sora. And your one of us now." He smiled at the teen.

"I guess I'll count on you guys then." Sora says knowing he'd need it.

(Somewhere a few miles away from the docks)

Ada drove her red sports car down the road, putting miles between her an the docks. "Riku, Kairi, you can come out now, but not yet for Goofy and Donald," she said. She may be on the back roads but she didn't trust the area enough, not knowing if any of the houses on this road would look out their windows at any time and see the Disney characters. It was a risk she didn't want to take.

Kairi poked her head out from the blanket that had been flung over them and looked out the window, amazed. "Whoa..." she said. The place seemed peaceful, not like back on the island.

"Man...this town sure seems peaceful and the beach view is really nice." Riku says admiring the view as he got up in the front seat next to Ada. Clicking on his seat belt once he got seated.

Kairi buckled up as she was in the back with Donald and Goofy. Ada smiled lightly as she drove. "It is," she said. "We're in the town, the base of BSAA. And a few miles from here is TerraSave and DSO. So it's close together, which is good for the families, I suppose." She could feel her phone beep with a video but would look at it later when she got them to her safe house. "I'll get in contact with your friends later once everyone is settled down."

"Sounds good to me, but if you don't mind me asking. What can you tell me about your world? As a kid I was always curious of what others worlds were like and I'd like to take this peaceful time to learn about it." Riku says feeling relieved to have a chance to breathe easy and learn about the new world he'd be staying on.

Ada was quiet for a few minutes. "It's nowhere near perfect," she said. "It has its ups and downs " though lately with the B.O.W.'s its been more of a down but it does have it's moments. The States is run by the president." She continued to give them a run down of their world, called Earth. She barely scraped the top of the information as she explained; the different countries, cultures, languages, customs, the rules in some places. "If you like history, you'll find more about the U.S. there and the president's before them. We didn't always have problems with the monsters of today."

"I guess I'll give it a look, might help in blending in as a local at least if I know my stuff." Riku says knowing one thing made him stand out besides his hair and powers, was his lack of knowledge, same as Sora really...

"Kairi should join you as well," Ada said as she turned left onto a dirt path and headed up a hill. "All three of you need to learn about it as it will help you in the end. We'll go to the library tomorrow and I'll get some history books. I do have a computer at the place I'm staying, so you can start there."

The road was a bit rocky, hearing grunts and groans from Donald and Goofy, even a quack of surprise from the duck. The forest is dark and dense as Ada turned on her head lights. Kairi shivered as she rubbed her arms. "Why is it so dark here?" she asked.

"The trees are thick so we don't get much of the light on the road," Ada said.

"Makes for good cover if needed, I like it." Riku said from experience when he was working with DiZ to wake up Sora. He had plenty of times when he needed to watch from the shadows or hide to avoid overly curious locals.

"Yes. In my line of work, I need the cover," Ada said as she kept driving, going over a bridge. She kept driving till her wheels hit cobblestone and pulled into a driveway that belonged to an old Victorian home that is still in great shape. She stopped the car and climbed out. "We're here."

Donald and Goofy climbed out and stared at the two storied home, seeing the wrote iron fence surrounding the grounds, the large wrap around porch and porch swing. The double doors had beautiful glass work of flowers and angels.

"Nice place, Ada, must've cost you a lot." Riku says admiring the house and how well kept it is.

"Thanks. Well I do charge high prices for my work," Ada said, laughing a bit as she unlocked the front door and waved them in. Inside had a mix of Asian and American influences with a comfy atmosphere. Donald and Goofy entered after Kairi and Riku, shutting the door behind them.

"I have two guest rooms, each have two beds in them so there will be two in each room. I'll let you decide who's your room mate," Ada said as she she showed them the kitchen, living room, dining room, the bathroom on the first floor before leading them upstairs where the bedrooms were located as well the bathrooms. "My room is down the hall on the left."

"Thanks, Ada," Riku says looking at Kairi. "Want to bunk with me so Donald and Goofy can share a room? That way we stay with people we are most familiar with." Riku offers to his old childhood friend and secret love interest.

Kairi looked at Riku and nodded. "Sure," she said, blushing lightly but quickly shook it away. Not like anything would happen. "It'll be nice to sleep in a real bed again."

Donald and Goofy looked exhausted as they fell onto different beds and fell asleep instantly. Ada chuckled softly as she saw this and shook her head.

"Can't say I blame them...I think I'll hold off my research for now and get some...sleep." Riku says getting in bed and quickly falling asleep himself.

"Same here," Kairi said yawning as she climbed into the bed on the other side of the room and soon fell asleep, sighing. Ada watched the teens and gave a small smile. It was weird...having people in her home as she was used to not having anyone knew where she lived. Was this what it like? To have something close enough to what Leon and the others had? "Tsk...ridiculous." She headed to her room and laid down on her bed, falling asleep.

(Scene Change: BSAA headquarters 3rd P.O.V.)

Sora yawned as he waited for Jake and Lanna to finish their meetings as after they were debriefed. Lanna had to meet her team and leader, while Jake had some personal business to attend.

"Man, how much longer do I have to wait here..." Sora said feeling bored out of his mind as he sat on the bench. He really wanted to explore the place, but couldn't open any doors without a keycard and knew better then to flash his keyblade around here.

Moira Burton had heard that Lanna and the others had came home and the early graduation for the girl as her dad told her about it. She looked up to see Sora there and walked towards him. "Hey!" she said waving. "You're Sora, right? My dad told me about you. Barry is my dad. I'm Moira."

"Yeah, I'm Sora. Nice to meet you, Moira!" Sora said happy to have a distraction from his boredom.

Moira grinned and sat down next to him. "Heh, welcome to BSAA headquarters," she said. "You must be bored out of your mind huh? I heard that you guys finally came home after being stuck on that island. That had to have been scary." She hadn't heard much about Sora but knew he was a civilian that Lanna and Jake had been protecting.

"Yeah, but it's alright. I had a blade I could protect myself with and back them up. Since I don't know about guns, I wanted to help by being their knight...eh, just didn't have armor...if you know what I mean." Sora said trying to avoiding mentioning his keyblade, while implying he wasn't helpless.

"That's pretty cool. I used to hate guns, but after helping Claire a couple years earlier in a mission, I don't hate them anymore. I even started training with one," Moira said grinning. "I think you'll like it here. The people are nice, except Mr. Burns." She frowned a bit as she looked at Sora curiously.

"What's his problem with Lanna and Jake anyway?" Sora asks unsure what his deal was.

"Jake doesn't take crap from anyone, including his superiors, especially from Mr. Burns," Moira said as she leaned into her chair. "For Lanna...it's a bit harder. Her parents, her aunt, and uncle are big names around here, fought a lot fights against B.O.W's. Lanna is under pressure by the pears and staff because of the families."

"So Lanna has to work extra hard to not only make people stop comparing her to them..." Sora said realizing the pressure she must be in during training and on the mission.

Moira nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Mr. Burns doesn't really care for either family, so he's taking it out on her as well. Lanna tries hard to be known as her own person during this as well. She's struggling, but she has friends and her family to help her. She gets her stubbornness from her family so she never said anything." She chuckled softly.

"Lanna...she really is strong," Sora said feeling sympathetic and proud for his girlfriend.

"She is," Moira said smiling a bit and looked up as the doors opened and out stepped Lanna. She looked tired but happy as well. She had a new tactical vest with the BSAA logo on it. She smiled as she saw Sora and Moira. "Hey guys," she said. "Sorry it took so long. Met my new team and leader."

"Lanna!" Sora cheered happy to see her again and not have to wait any longer to see her. "What's your team like and who's your leader?" Sora asks eagerly wanting to know what it's like.

Lanna chuckled softly. "They're an interesting group that's for sure," she said grinning. "One is a pyromaniac. But my leader is cool. His name is Josh. He got transferred here from the African branch of the BSAA."

"Sounds awesome," Sora said liking the team so far when Moira, Lanna, and Sora heard a door open and Jake came walking out with Chris. Jake looking conflicted as Chris was beside him.

"Jake, I know we've made this offer before, but...would you consider being in the BSAA?"

"Look, Chris, I get what you guys are doing and it's cool, really. It's just...I'm not sure the BSAA is for me, I mean with all the orders and higher than thou superiors would drive me up the wall." Jake said getting Chris to reluctantly nod in understanding.

He didn't like bugging Jake, but they needed more people worth relying on in the field. Jake, despite his attitude and mouth, was one of the best he's ever seen.

"I understand, but if you ever change your mind...You know how to reach me, okay?" Chris asks getting a pat on the shoulder from Jake.

"Yeah, yeah, I know hero. Tell Jill and Elly I said 'hi', okay?" Jake asks earning a smile from Chris.

"Yeah, I hear you, hothead. Take care of yourself and Sherry." Chris says wishing Jake luck as he goes through another door. That done, Jake walks up to the group that was watching. Jake taking a second to admire Lanna in her uniform.

"Well, well, little red. You're finally living the dream, how does it feel?" Jake asks patting her shoulder with a friendly grin.

Lanna chuckled a bit as she looked at Jake. "Still feels like I'm dreaming," she said and looked at the outfit she was in. She wore a form fitting top under the vest, a tactical belt around her hips, form fitting pants and ankle boots. She tugged on her shirt. "Man...I can understand the material of the outfit because it's breathable, but it feels like I'm from a weird version of a wall model."

Moira laughed and shook her head. "You'll get used to it," she said, smiling. "The material is sweat resistant as well and it'll keep you warm in cold climates, but I wouldn't try it in Antarctica."

Jake turns his attention to Moira now, "Good to see you to, rebel girl, here to check on your old man or looking for Claire?" Jake asks knowing that while Moira is cool with her old man for years now. She's allowed access to the BSAA because of her connection to Terrasave and their alliance with the BSAA.

Moira looked at Jake. "Mostly on dad," she said grinning. "I heard Claire had her baby so I'd figure I'll check on her tomorrow. You guys must be tired."

'Yeah," Lanna said chuckling softly as she stood next to Sora, smiling at him. "It's been a long day, that's for sure."

"Ugh, I am gonna sleep like a freaking rock tomorrow..." Jake said groaning as he stretched his arms. Listening to satisfying pops as his kinks were worked out of his body.

Sora meanwhile yawned feeling tired from all the fighting and little rest, but still wanted to see more things about this world. "Lanna... can I have that tour around town you promised? I want to see more of what this city is like."

Lanna looked at Sora and smiled. "Sure," she said. "I'd love to." She looked at Jake and Moira. "I'm gonna show Sora around, if that's alright. He hasn't been this way before and he's a bit curious about what our city has to offer." Moira grinned slyly. "Sure Lanna. Are you sure it's not a date? He is cute," she teased her friend. Lanna flushed a bit at that.

"Just make sure you two get home before dark or Claire is gonna go mama bear on you both." Jake said with a dismissive wave, smirking as he remembered a few times when Lanna did sneak out late. Boy, Claire was one angry and worried sick mama when she caught Lanna.

Lanna remembered it all too well. "Yeah...we'll be home before dark," she said. "And I have my cell as well. Ready for the tour?" She smiled at Sora, excited about showing him around as she started walking down the hallway, waving to Jake and Moira as she led Sora away from them.

"You bet, Lanna! Where to first?!" Sora said excited at the chance to see this town for what it was.

"Heh...well there are a lot of places to go to," Lanna said grinning. "We have the fair going on for the next few days, the library, the beach, down town area, and the Aquarium." She listed off the areas that could go to that was in walking distance from the BSAA headquarters.

"Do we have time to see them all?" Sora asks hoping he could, those places sounded awesome!

"Maybe a couple of them," Lanna said smiling. "We still have a week to ourselves to explore more. So...what would you like to do first?" She doubted Sora would want to meet angry bear mama on his first day!

"How about down town? I already grew up on Destiny Islands after all..." Sora suggests wanting to see more of the town.

"Sure," Lanna said smiling at him. "There's a lot of stores, an arcade center." She led him down the street, passing people. Trees and bushes lined one side of the sidewalk and stores littered the other side, a couple of bakeries with baked goods greeting them. She didn't mind showing Sora around, even treating him if he wanted something.

"Man you got lots of stores and weird food, I kinda want to try some..." Sora said unfamiliar with certain stores and foods he was seeing for the first time.

Lanna chuckled softly. "What do you want to try?" she asked smiling as they passed a bakery with some sweet smelling food from cookies, cakes, cinnamon rolls, pastries and other baked goods. "We haven't eaten since the boat either."

"Those cinna...buns?" Sora said unsure if he was reading the name right.

"Sure" Lanna said and headed into the shop. She put the order in and soon came hot with two cinnamon buns for them, handing one to Sora. "Here you are."

"Thanks, Lanna!" Sora cheered as he started eating the icing covered bun and beamed at the sweet taste. "This is so good! I love how the icing makes it sweeter!" Sora said happy for the sweet meal.

Lanna smiled as she started to eat on hers. "It is. It's one of the best," she said grinning and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "It's one of many of the sweets you can find here."

"Seems like the universe always has something new to see and learn about." Sora says admiring how peaceful the town is and the new sights.

"It does," Lanna said smiling softly. "You never stop learning...no matter how old you get. It's peaceful now but knowing that there's something dark and evil out there, it makes you appreciate the little things." She had a little bit of the frosting on her cheek.

Sora spotting it reaches out and innocently takes it off. Putting the icing coated finger in his mouth. "hmmm...tasty." Sora said innocently with a small smile at the taste.

Lanna's face turned bright red at that, her heart slamming against her ribs. "Ah..." she stuttered and swallowed.

Sora seeing this grows concerned for Lanna, "Lanna, you okay?" Sora asks unsure why she's all red faced over him taking the icing off her cheek. His innocent face showing genuine concern that made him look cuter to her...

Lanna smiled at him. "I'm okay," she said and kissed his cheek gently. "Sometimes Sora, your innocence is just too cute." She just wanted to hug him.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Sora asks shyly not sure what she's talking about. He was only asking if she was alright, where did him being cute and innocent come from?!

"Sora, that little action you just did," Lanna said laughing. "To some that would be considered as flirting." She tried not to laugh from his expression on his face.

"F-Flirting?! But I was just being nice was all. I didn't think you'd want icing on your cheek..." Sora said now embarrassed and his cheeks blushing at the thought of flirting with Lanna...Not that he really knew how to do so confidently.

"Thank you for getting it though," Lanna said, winking at him teasingly and tossed out the napkin into the garbage. "It was sweet of you."

Some of the pedestrians gave them curious looks as they walked by. A couple of them even gave giggles at them, finding the young couple cute.

"You're welcome, Lanna," Sora says cleaning up the table and putting the paper plate into the trash.

"Ready to continue the tour?" Lanna asked, smiling a bit as she stretched a bit, looking at him. It was cool out, but not cold. It was comfortable.

"Sure, can you pick where to go next?" Sora asks hoping to see what she wanted to go to next.

Lanna thought for a moment. "Well, there's the arcade," she said. "It's pretty fun. They have a lot of games." She grinned. "You can even win prizes."

"Let's go!" Sora said hoping to win a prize for Lanna while enjoying himself with their games.

"Alright," Lanna said grinning as she started walking. "It's right across the beach." The beach and the arcade area was filled with people and concession stands that sold souvenirs. The arcade was busy with kids and adults playing different games. The lights and sounds greeted them. In the back of the building was the prize booth and they had different prizes to win from.

"Man this place looks awesome, which one do we play first?!" Sora asks wanting to find something he and Lanna can play together.

"There's the Dance Dance Revolution," Lanna said and listed off a couple of more games that they could play together, from shooting games, Skeet Ball, Whack a Mole, and a few others.

"Let's do the dancing game first!" Sora says dragging Lanna excitedly to the dance dance revolution. Sora taking place on the right as Lanna walked up to the left side.

Lanna smiled as she put quarter's in. "Any idea for music?" she asked, looking at him as she chose the beginner option for there is a lot of options.

"I'm not a local here, remember?" Sora said not sure why she was asking him. He wouldn't know which song to pick out of these and a lot of names sounded pretty cool.

"Kidding," Lanna said grinning as she picked out a song called 'Only You' by Captain Jack. The music started to play as their characters appeared on the screen, wearing outfits suited for dancing. The song itself was really catchy and a bit romantic as well. Soon the arrows started to show on the screen. "You hit the arrows on the floor, trying to match up on the screen."

"Alright, you're on!" Sora said feeling competitive as he tried to line up the arrows as the song plays. Missing a few, but still getting a good number of them right.

Lanna grinned as she hit the arrows with her feet, missing a couple, but hit the rest. Their scores racked up as their characters busted moves, staying in sync with the music. "Nice!" she said grinning, seeing Sora go at the game.

"Thanks, your doing good too!" Sora thanks his girlfriend really getting into the game. He had to admit the song was nice and had a good beat to it. The romantic lyrics did make him a little embarrassed, but couldn't say anything against it. He did like it after all and wouldn't mind listening to it with her more.

"Heh," Lanna said smiling at him as she stepped on the arrows, having fun. Maybe one night before the week is over, they could actually go dancing. She blushed at the idea and could only imagine the teasing they would get from Jake and probably the evil glares her dad would give Sora. The scores kept adding up as the music played still. Tickets slit out of the slot near the bottom as the song nearly ended.

"Heheheheh! That was fun, Lanna! Thanks for dancing with me on this thing!" Sora thanks his girlfriend as he sees her take the tickets.

"It was!" Lanna said grinning and hugged him "So what do you want to do now? There's the shooting rang, skeetball, racing games." She counted the tickets and whistled. "Fifty of them."

"Let's try racing, bet I can beat you!" Sora says in a challenging manner with a eager grin. He may be new to arcades, but he was still pretty competitive at times.

Lanna smirked at him. "We'll see about that," she said as she led him to the twin racing bikes. "The bikes move like a bike, from side to side. The handle bars is where you increase your speed and break." She climbed onto one as she put the quarters into the slots for them. "Ready?"

"I got it, don't worry about me." Sora says feeling pretty sure of himself as he gets on the bike and grips the handle bars.

The screen started counting down as it showed their bikes. There was a bang as the light hit green. "Racers, Go!" the announcer said. Lanna revved her bike and started driving down the track.

Sora revved his bike and drove down the track as fast as he could. Making sure to reduce speed to hug the inside corners of the turns.

Lanna drove down the track, going slow at the corners as she was in front of him now but it was clear Sora was right behind her. "Heh, not bad Sora."

"Right back at you, but don't count me out yet!" Sora said gunning the throttle just as the corner ends to boost ahead of Lanna.

Lanna laughed as she drove after him, revving the throttle as her bike was next to his. "Heh, I wonder how you would be on a real bike!" she said, remembering the red bike her mother used to have.

"I'd love to find out someday, if you're willing to ride with me!" Sora said liking the idea as they raced neck and neck through the course.

"I'd be honored," Lanna said smiling as she enjoyed the idea of riding with him as they neared their second lap already. "Just need to get a bike."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, for now, we can just enjoy ourselves!" Sora said enjoying the race and it was really getting close.

Lanna smiled. "Yeah, true," she said as the finish line was in sight. They were still neck to neck though Sora was inching closer and closer.

"Come on, come on..." Sora muttered seeing that both racers were nearing the finish line.

The bikes crossed the line as the announcer called out, "Blue racer wins!" Lanna looked at Sora and smiled. "Congrats Sora!" she said as more tickets came out.

"Thanks, Lanna, that was a close one." Sora said glad to have played the game with her and earned more tickets. "Wanna try skeetball next? I'm kinda curious about that." Sora suggests wondering what skeetball was.

"It was," Lanna said as she climbed off the bike. She grinned. "Sure. That one is fun, but you can't throw the ball too hard or else it'll bounce of the pipes and hit you in the head." She motioned him to follow her to the back wall, near the souvenir shop. Along the wall is slanted machines with netting around the upper half. Under the netting is slanted part of the game where five different pipes nestled in a half circle with different numbers. There was a ramp and a slot on the right where the balls would come out.

"Alright, this game looks simple enough." Sora says feeling pretty good about this game.

"It is," Lanna said as she put a quarter in and a row of twelve wooden balls rolled down the chute. "You grab a ball and roll it up the ramp and hope that it goes into one of the pipes with the numbers in it." She took out a ball and rolled it up the ramp. The ball bounced a couple of times on the pipes before sliding into the pip the read five.

"Alright, let's se if I can get a good one!" Sora says rolling the ball a little too hard and making it bounce a bit before landing on a two. "Oh..these things are really sensitive huh?"

"They are," Lanna said and smiled. She handed him another ball. "Here. Try again. Just go a little easier."

"Alright, I'll try..." Sora said rolling the ball easier and it barely lands on a hole marked ten. "I did it!"

"Nice job Sora!" Lanna said grinning happily and looked at him. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thanks to your advice," Sora says giving her the credit where he feels it's deserved.

Lanna rubbed the back of her head lightly, smiling at him. "Heh," she said. "It's one of my favorite games besides Dance Dance Revolution."

"I can see why. Which game should we do next?" Sora asks wondering what she would pick to play among the many games they had. Though they did remember to check outside to make sure it wasn't getting sunset yet.

"We may have time for one more game and look at the prize booth afterwards," Lanna said and looked at him. "Want to try one of the shooting games?" It was late noon now but not yet dark.

"Sure, it could be practice before I learn how to use guns for when I try to join the BSAA!" Sora said liking the idea of using a shooting game for training to at least get a feel for guns.

"Well that's one way of doing it, but real guns are a bit heavier to handle," Lanna said smiling. "And a lot of them pack more of a punch than others, but that's for later." She led him to the shooting range. They had a couple different ones. One is a zombie shooter and another is an animal one.

"Which one do you want to play, Lanna?" Sora asks wanting to play the same one she does. Seeing as both consoles have two players each max.

"Let's go with the animals," Lanna said. "It's a good idea to get some idea on how to hunt as well." She remembered her uncle taking her out to hunt at times when they took the family camping trips.

"Sounds great to me!" Sora said wondering what it would be like as they walked up to the machine. Sora picking up his plastic toy gun getting a feel for it. He knew to take Lanna's advice it would be heavier and have a recoil, but for now it gave him a small idea what he will be training with in the future.

Lanna picked up her plastic gun and put the quarters into the machine. There was a buzz, signaling the beginning of the game. Two deer leaped onto the screen. Lanna aimed and fired, hitting one. Leaving the second to Sora.

Sora took aim and fired two shots. One missing the deer and the second hitting it in the head just before it could hide behind some trees. "That was close..." Sora said keeping his eyes open for anymore animals.

"You're doing good," Lanna said seeing the second shot. Two more deer came out. Lanna shot and the bullet hit the dear in the head. "It's a fun game if you try not to take it too seriously." She smiled lightly. She had seen teens go berserk if they didn't get a single hit and complain.

"Sounds like someone is easily frustrated..." Sora said not getting why anyone would get mad because they mess up on a game. It's not like any lives were in danger like when he's out saving worlds. Aiming carefully, Sora managed a body shot, but the deer got away.

"So it takes takes more shots to take him down if you hit the body and not the head?" Sora asks Lanna surprised it managed to keep running, but figured that was because it wasn't a vital point on the deer's body.

Lanna chuckled. "I did when I was younger," she said. "But I've seen people get really frustrated at games." She watched the deer jump away. "Yeah. If you hit the body once it won't be dead. You do get extra points if you get head shots."

"Sounds tough for anyone not use to the game, but I'm sure with practice anyone can score all head shots." Sora said understanding it takes practice to master something, plus the game was kinda fun.

"True," Lanna said. "Practice makes perfect, but it also depends on how many quarters you bring." She laughed a bit as she birds flew onto the screen.

"Whoa!" Sora said trying to shoot them, but misses with a few close shots. "Dang, those birds are pretty quick."

"They are," Lanna said, taking one down as the rest of the birds flew off. She sighed and smiled. "Heh. The smaller the target, the harder it gets." A large bear came at them.

"True, but bigger targets are easier to hit!" Sora said grinning as he shot at the bear charging for them in the head.

Lanna grinned. "Nice one," she said as the points were added to Sora's side of the screen. "And extra points for a head shot." The points were added to the tickets.

"So are more gonna show or do we collect the tickets?" Sora asks wondering if more animals were coming or if they should grab the tickets now.

Lanna was ready to answer when two more bears came at them. "Whoa!" she said and shot at one.

"Bring it!" Sora shouts shooting at the other. Two shots hitting the body before a third shot hit it's head as it got close.

Soon both bears were killed and the game was over. Tickets spewed out of the slots. They had over two hundred tickets between them.

"Man, look at all of these tickets!" Sora said with a cheer as he held his share of the tickets. A proud childish grin on his face as he walked next to Lanna to the ticket counter.

Lanna picked up the rest of the tickets, smiling as she saw the look on his face. "Heh. Yeah, we got a lot of them," she said as the woman behind the counter counted the tickets. "Any idea of what you want to get Sora?" The prizes ranged from penny candy, pencils and other knickknacks tat was in the cheaper end of the prize list. Down the counter was the more expensive prizes. Stuffed animals, jewelry, cd players, radios, a tv.

"Well...what do you want that's worth a hundred tickets, Lanna?" Sora asks wondering what he could get her. The items were neat, but he really wanted to get her something.

Lanna blinked and hummed a bit, looking around. "Um..." she said as a lot of the items were cute. The woman smiled as she watched them."Something for the young couple eh? Maybe matching bracelets? They're fifty for a pair," she offered.

"Sounds nice..." Sora thought liking the idea and looking at Lanna hoping to see how she felt.

Lanna looked at Sora and smiled. "It sounds nice," she said as she liked the idea. "Want to get them?" Something about the couples bracelet...it felt special.

"Sure, let's do it." Sora said to Lanna before turning to the counter lady. "We'll take the two bracelets miss."

The woman smiled and took out the bracelets for them. They were silvery in color with blue stones set in them. "Here you go. You still have a hundred and fifty tickets left."

"What do we get now?..." Sora asks trying to think of something good to get as he puts on his bracelet. He had to admit it looks good and fits comfortably on his wrist.

Lanna slid on her bracelet and smiled a bit. "Hm..." she thought and grinned. "Any ideas? There's a CD player if you like music, a stuffed lion." She listed off a couple of ideas but she wanted to get him something.

"I... guess I would like to try the CD player, see what kind of music you guys listen to." Sora said unsure, but willing to try listening to their music.

The woman nodded and grabbed the CD player for him. "Here ya go" she said. "You have sixty left." Lanna looked at Sora. "I have a whole bunch of CD's in my room you can try out if you're interested."

"Thanks, Lanna, I'd like that as long as you're okay with it." Sora said liking the chance to listen to his girlfriend's music choices. He then turns to the counter woman.

"How much for the stuffed lion?"

"I don't mind," Lanna said grinning as she didn't mind sharing her music with Sora as the woman smiled. "Fifty and I'll give you a cup of candy for the love birds."

"Okay, deal!" Sora said blushing at the love birds comment as he gave the woman the tickets and she in turn gave Sora the stuffed lion and cup of candies. Looking outside they could see the sky turning orange, red, and yellow to show the sun was setting now.

"Guess we best head to your home then, Lanna." Sora said seeing the sight before him and feeling a nostalgic feeling gazing at the sunset.

'That'd be my fault...sorry, it's just been a long time since I've gone to the clock tower with Axel.' Roxas informs Sora telepathically from within Sora's heart. Reminding Sora sometimes Roxas's emotions can be felt by him now that he was in his heart.

"Yeah," Lanna said looking at the sunset and smiled, enjoying the view. "It is pretty." She looked at Sora and smiled, offering him her hand. "Come on. Let's head home. I doubt you want to see mom in bear mode on your first night here." The sun hit the stones in her bracelet.

"Yeah, sounds like something I best avoid." Sora agrees taking Lanna's hand and heading home with her.

"It is," Lanna said holding his hand as she led him back down the sidewalk. She sent a quick text to her parents, saying they were on their way. "Mom is pretty protective."

"Well to be fair, I think she has every reason to be as she is your parent and after everything you all been through." Sora says knowing that after the nightmare they all lived through, it'd make anyone protective...and possibly trigger happy in some cases.

"Yeah" Lanna said and smiled lightly.

"How much for the stuffed lion?"

"I don't mind," Lanna said grinning as she didn't mind sharing her music with Sora as the woman smiled. "Fifty and I'll give you a cup of candy for the love birds."

"Okay, deal!" Sora said blushing at the love birds comment as he gave the woman the tickets and she in turn gave Sora the stuffed lion and cup of candies. Looking outside they could see the sky turning orange, red, and yellow to show the sun was setting now.

"Guess we best head to your home then, Lanna." Sora said seeing the sight before him and feeling a nostalgic feeling gazing at the sunset.

"I just hope there isn't many nightmares tonight." There was a light frown on her face. Sora frowned in concern as he saw this and held her hand gently in a reassuring squeeze.

"If there is any, I'm here for you, Lanna, always." Sora promises making Lanna smile with a small blush. Squeezing his hand back gently to show her appreciation.

"Thanks, Sora," Lanna says kissing his cheek. Earning a blush from the keyblade wielder in response making her giggle as he shyly avoids eye contact.

"Y-You're welcome, Lanna..." Sora stutters as they walk home shoulder to shoulder holding hands.

They enjoyed a nice and quiet walk home together after that and saw Jake smirking as they walk up to the front porch. "Good thing you two made it, any longer and I wouldn't be able to keep Claire from coming to pick you up herself." Jake says making Sora grin sheepishly seeing the street lights were on and the sky was getting dark.

"Eheheh...Sorry about that, but at least we made it." Sora apologizes as Jake smiles showing he's not bothered with a small wave of his hand. "Don't sweat it, Spikes, just glad you two made it here safe."

Lanna smiled. "Thanks Jake," she said. "Kinda got caught up in showing Sora around. I think I got him hooked on cinnamon rolls." She laughed.

"Eh, there are worse addictions." Jake says before letting them in as he walks in front. "Claire, Leon! Lanna's home safe and sound with her boy toy!" Jake calls much to Lanna's embarrassment and Sora's confusion.

"What's a boy toy?" Sora asks Lanna innocently.

Lanna flushed heavily at that. "Jake!" she said and sighed heavily, looking at Sora. "Um...someone that offers their boyfriend or girlfriend as a sex object" she said. "But Jake was only teasing."

"Oh...I see." Sora says not sure on the sex thing, but could tell it was a serious matter. So he gave Jake a dry glare which he returned with a smirk.

"Good, you're all just in time for dinner." Leon says from the dining room as he walks into the living room. A room with a beige leather couch, a flat screen tv, and a small dining table in front of the couch to separate the tv from the couch. On the walls were pictures of Lanna through the years, as well as Leon and Claire in their youth and in present days.

"Welcome to the Kennedy household, Sora. We have the Redfields dining with us tonight to celebrate everyone making it alive and our new friends. Though it's also because Pete really wrecked their house and Chris doesn't want his family eating there the first night they get back. So we all agreed to eat here. Jill, Sherry, and Claire are in the Kitchen making the feast. While Chris entertains Elly and Matthew." Leon explains to Lanna and Sora as Jake walks into the kitchen. Which makes Leon turn to him quickly.

"No teasing Sherry while making food Jake, we got kids here!" Leon calls to Jake making him give a mock hurt look.

"Do you think so low of me?" Jake asks getting a dry look from Leon.

Lanna giggled a bit. "Heh, one family reunion," she said grinning and was ready to head to her room to change when Claire called out. "Lanna? You better not have changed out of your uniform yet! I want to see it!" she said, hearing Jill and Sherry laugh from the kitchen. Lanna sweatdropped, hearing her mother look for a camera.

"Well to be fair, you do look good in it, Lanna." Sora complemented his girlfriend sincerely and innocently making Leon smile. He was glad for the change of pace that Sora provides. Usually he has to worry about boys looking at her figure in a sexual manner when saying that, but Sora saw her for who she is and in an innocent manner.

"Thank you, Sora," Lanna said smiling at her boyfriend. Claire came out and smiled. "Heh, well look at that. Our little girl is all grown up, Leon," She said, smiling like a proud parent. Their daughter had grown a lot during the years and even more since the nightmare. But she was worried if Lanna and Elly would have nightmares about it.

"That she has, hun, I'm just glad that she's proven strong enough to stand on her own two feet. Especially after all the training we gave her to protect herself." Leon agreed with pride in his eyes as he watched his wife take pictures of Lanna and Sora, before spotting the bracelets.

"So what's with the bracelets? A gift to show the start of your relationship?" Leon asks them smiling gently.

Lanna looked at her dad and nodded. "It is dad," she said, wondering how he felt. "I never felt this happy or safe with any guy near my age." She felt safe with her family, knowing they had her back.

"Well, he has my blessing...As long as he remembers no sex in this household and before you're 18." Leon states making Jake snicker at him being the overprotective dad.

Lanna flushed heavily at that and whispered. "Dad...he doesn't even know what it is" she said, keeping her tone low so Sora couldn't hear her. She looked a bit embarrassed as she remembered that intense make out session in the bedroom at the castle.

"Just making sure, sweetie and the same goes for you too." Leon says with a stern look at the last part. "I love you, sweetie, but I rather not have to hear you teaching Sora how it's done in practice until both of you are legal at least. I would have preferred if you two waited until marriage, but I know it'd be hypocritical if I told you to wait that long." Leon told his daughter in a hushed whisper with Sora watching them in confusion.

"I know dad. Hard to teach anyone through practice when I don't how," Lanna pointed out and sighed. "But you or mom should at least give him the birds and bees talk. And you were the one that told me that sex isn't everything." She looked at her dad, remembering that talk when she was first started signs of growing up. Claire looked at Sora and smiled at him reassuringly.

"I suppose you are right, but that can be done later. For now, you two need to wash your hands and meet us at the table." Leon says feeling relieved as Sora follows Lanna to what he assumes is the bathroom.

Lanna showed Sora the bathroom and turned on the water. "Hungry?" she asked as she finished washing her hands with soap and water. She wiped her hands on a towel.

"Yeah, can't wait to try the food. I can smell that it's delicious." Sora said admiring the heavenly scent the food was giving off. Washing his hands and quickly drying them off as both walked to the dining room where everyone was gathered.

"Well, well, the young man and woman we've been waiting for has finally arrived." Chris said happy to see Lanna and Sora after a long day in the office.

"You won't be disappointed," Lanna said to Sora before looking at Chris. "Hey uncle Chris or should I start calling you Captain now?" She grinned as she sat down at the table, which was covered with cooked food by the women.

"Uncle when not at work, Lanna." Chris answers as everyone had taken their seats. Seeing a large Turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy, fried okra, mac and cheese, and some stuffing. For drinks the adults and teens had sodas. While Elly and Matthew had juice and milk respectively. Matthew sitting close to Claire on her left while Leon on her right. Chris on Leon's right and Jill on Chris's. Sherry and Jake to their right respectively before Lanna sat next to Jake and Sora next to her. Sitting next to Elly who was right next to baby Matthew to get the cousins use to each other.

Not that they seemed to mind as Matthew enjoyed the silly faces Elly gave Matthew at times.

"It smells great," Sherry said seeing all the food.

Jill laughed. "It does," she said. "Well let's dig in." Claire grinned. "Yes. I think it's something we all deserve," she said, looking at her family.

With that said the family dug into their meal, at the moment, truly feeling at peace as they chatted about little things they'd be getting back to. Looking forward to a brighter future as they enjoyed this moment of peace.

(Yen Sid's Tower 3rd P.O.V.)

An old man is seen with black eyes and with a long grey beard wearing an all blue wizard's robe with a pointed hat. In front of him was a mouse wearing a black and grey outfit standing before his old mentor.

These were Yen Sid and King Mickey respectively conversing on a grave matter.

"Sora and the others still haven't reported back, Yen Sid, I have to go look for them! They could be in danger for all we know if they've been quiet for this long!" King Mickey states to Yen Sid as he nods in understanding.

"I'd expect no less, Mickey, I also sense the darkness has grown stronger recently, but I'm unsure of who it is that's the cause of this shift in the balance. Mickey, go and find Sora, Riku, and Kairi cautiously. The Star Shard should help you get to this world they are on with little suspicion, but take this cloak with you. It'll conceal your identity and keep anyone from the darkness from sensing your presence." Yen Sid says with a wave of his hand. On his desk appearing a small black cloak Mickey used to wear and the Star Shard Mickey once took from Yen Sid years back in his first attempt at protecting the worlds.

"I understand, I'll be careful and make sure our friends are safe." Mickey says earning a nod from Yen Sid as the mouse king rushes outside in his cloak and activates the Star Shard. Zipping off in a zig-zag pattern toward a distant world.

"I only pray we aren't too late...Something serious has changed in the balance and I fear this is but a prelude to what's coming. We need Riku and Sora to take the Mastery exam as soon as possible to prepare ourselves." Yen Sid says aloud to himself contemplating the matter at hand, but unable to shake the uneasy feeling he has.

His senses were never usually wrong and the lack of knowing what puts him on edge made the old sorcerer wary. His gaze searching the stars for answers, as he waits patiently for the King to return with their keybearers and guardians of light.

FIN?