Brittany's Point of View

"Are you sure about this? You know you don't have to. It's okay. We'll build new memories. You really don't need your old ones," Dad tried for the umpteenth time.

"I'm sure. I really want to do this," I assured him.

"Brittany, please reconsider," Mom pleaded.

"I'm doing this. I'm sorry," I sighed. We entered the abandoned mansion in Twilight Town.

"Welcome. This way," Namine greeted. She took me to the pod in the basement. "Once you step into that pod, I have to finish what I started. There won't be any going back. There may even be difficulties that will prolong your sleep. There's no shame in turning back now, Brittany."

"I'm sorry. I know you all want me to, but I can't let this go. Forgive me," I apologized before stepping into the pod.

"We love you, Brittany!" Dad exclaimed as the pod began to shut.

"We really do," Mom added.

"I love you too!" That was the last thing I said before the pod shut and sleep overcame me.

Dreams of memories flooded me as I slept.

"Daddy!" I exclaimed as Dad came home from work. Mom let out a heavy sigh as Dad picked me up.

"That took too long. Will you stay home longer this time?" Mom asked.

Dad kissed my cheek and turned to Mom. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises. As is, they could have used me longer, but I told them I needed to get home. They'll manage, but we all know I'm a valuable asset to the team."

I took a finger painting off the fridge. "Daddy, look!"

"Wow! Did you do that?" Dad wondered.

I nodded proudly.

"It's a..." Dad trailed off, trying to figure out my squiggles.

"That's you, that's Mommy, that's me, that's Aunt Aerith, that's Uncle Merlin, and that's Uncle Cid, and that's our house," I explained.

"Where's Uncle Leon?" Dad questioned.

My smile fell. "He's scary and doesn't give me candy like Uncle Cid."

"It's a great painting, Brittany. I'm so proud of you," Dad chuckled. He put it back on the fridge and stared at it. "You know what? I think this is too good for the fridge. We need to go to the store and get a frame for it to hang on the wall. Let's get you ready to go out."

"Okay," I replied with a smile.

A book opened, and a white light surrounded me. When the light cleared, I was in the Hundred Acre Woods with Sora and Dad. Winnie the Pooh approached Sora and began talking with him. Pooh was taller than me, and I must have been scared because I ducked behind Dad.

"It's okay, Brittany. If you want to go home, we can," Dad assured me.

Pooh walked around my father. "Hello there. My name is Pooh. What's your name?"

"Brittany," I replied shyly.

"Would you like to play Pooh Sticks with me?" Pooh offered.

"Pooh sticks?" I asked.

"It's a game where you go on the bridge and drop a stick in the river, and then you look on the other side of the bridge to see whose stick comes out first," Pooh explained.

"Okay," I answered, still clutching onto my father.

"I don't like that idea. Brittany shouldn't be around any rivers. That sounds dangerous," Dad mentioned.

"It'll be okay, Riku. The two of us will be there with them. How much trouble can they get into?" Sora brought up.

"You really want to ask that question?" Dad scoffed.

"Brittany, will you be a good girl and not go near the water?" Sora asked.

"Um..." I trailed off.

Sora hoisted me onto his shoulders, eliciting a laugh from me. "Good enough for me. Let's go, Riku."

Dad let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, but if anything happens, that's it. We can't do this anymore."

"I'm not worried. Nothing will happen. Lead the way, Pooh," Sora prompted.

"Alright," Pooh agreed.

"Uncle Sora, have you played Pooh Sticks?" I wondered.

"Yep. It's really fun. You'll like it a lot, Brit," Sora answered.

"Do you think I'll win?" I questioned.

"You bet!" Sora smiled.

Pooh led us to the river, and Sora put me down and helped me find a nearby stick before selecting his own. When we got back to the bridge, Dad and Pooh were waiting. "Where's your stick, Riku?" Sora inquired.

"I'm not playing," Dad huffed.

"Uncle Sora said it's fun, Daddy. Why don't you wanna play?" I said.

"I'll be on your team, okay? That way, we'll have twice the chances of winning," Dad decided.

"We're going to beat their pants off!" I shouted.

Dad frowned. "Who did you hear talking like that?"

"Mommy," I replied.

"Alright. Don't talk like that anymore," Dad sighed.

"So now we hold our sticks over the water, and when I count down from three, we drop them. Ready?" Pooh instructed. Me, Pooh, and Sora held our sticks over the water. "Three, two, one!"

Pooh and Sora dropped their sticks, but apparently, it didn't register for me because I still held onto my stick. "Drop your stick, Brit," Sora urged.

I dropped the stick and went to the other side of the bridge, where Pooh was already cheering his stick onward through the water.

"Come on, stick! You can do it!" I cheered. Pooh's came out first, followed by Sora's, with mine last.

"I didn't win," I gasped.

"That's too bad. You should have dropped your stick when Pooh and Uncle Sora dropped theirs," Daddy commented.

I started crying. "You didn't help me!"

"Brittany, cut it out," Dad groaned.

My crying turned into screams which turned into a tantrum.

Dad lifted me as I kicked and screamed. "That's it. We're going home. Sora, let's go."

I approached Dad when he got home. "Can I do the book again, Daddy?"

"What are you talking about?" Dad asked.

"The book where we played Pooh Sticks. I wanna go back," I answered.

"I don't know about that, squirt. Last time you were there, you got pretty upset," Dad pointed out.

"That was then. I'm older now. I can handle it," I tried.

"Brittany, it's been two days. You're not that much older," Dad scoffed.

"Please, Daddy?" I requested.

"Alright. Fine. We'll go," Dad sighed. He took me to Merlin's, and we went into the book.

Kanga approached us. "Riku! How wonderful to see you again! This must be your daughter, Brittany. I've heard so much about you from Sora."

"Brittany, this is Ms. Kanga," Dad introduced.

"How do you do?" Kanga smiled.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Would you like to play with my son?" Kanga wondered.

I nodded.

"Roo!" Kanga called.

Roo came bouncing over. "Yes, Mama?"

"Roo, this is Brittany. Would you play with her while her father is visiting? She's a bit younger than you, so you might not be able to do certain things, but I think you can find a way to entertain yourselves," Kanga asked.

"But Mama, Tigger was going to take me bouncing today," Roo complained.

"I can bounce," I remarked, not liking that Roo didn't want to play with me.

Tigger came bouncing down the path. "Hello, Roo boy! Hoo hoo hoo hoo! Who's this different-looking little kiddo?"

"This is Brittany. She's Riku's daughter."

"Another kiddo? That's Tiggerific! I was about to take Roo bouncin. Would you like to come, Brittany? With your daddy's permission, of course," Tigger offered.

I looked up at Dad with pleading eyes. Dad turned to Kanga. "Do you trust him?"

"He is quite good with children," Kanga offered.

Dad turned back to me. "Alright. You can go bouncing with Tigger."

"But she's a girl," Roo whined.

"Girls can bounce, too," I huffed.

"That's right, Brittany. Come on, let's bounce!" Tigger started on his way, bouncing around. As Roo and I followed, he turned back to make sure we were nearby every few minutes and sometimes bounced in place while we caught up.

"Uncle Cid!" I cheered.

"Hey, there! There's my favorite niece!" Uncle Cid picked me up and threw me into the air before catching me again.

"Please don't throw her in the air. And this time, I mean it, don't give her any-" Mom began.

"Want some candy?" Uncle Cid interrupted, pulling some taffy out of his pocket. I took it from him and placed it in my mouth.

Mom sighed. "What do you say to Uncle Cid?"

"Tank yo," I replied with a mouth full of taffy.

"You're welcome. Just remember that I'm your favorite Uncle. You got that, kid?" Uncle Cid asked.

"You're my favorite Uncle Cid," I said with glee.

"That's my girl," Uncle Cid smirked.

"Brittany, look who it is! It's Uncle Leon!" Mom announced, clearly trying to be overly enthusiastic in an attempt to make me unafraid of him. Uncle Leon put on a small smile and waved slightly at me. I cried immediately. "Ugh, you're unbelievable, kid. Sorry, Leon. She'll come around, I'm sure. It's hard to show her that you're nice with her having Cid to compare you to. He spoils her rotten."

"That's okay, Yuffie. I was never good with kids anyway. When she grows up, she might take more interest in me. If not, that's okay, too," Uncle Leon assured her.

"Brit, stop crying. You're being overdramatic. What don't you like about Uncle Leon anyway?" Mom questioned.

I traced my finger in a line over my face. "Bad," I stated.

"The- the scar? You're getting this worked up over a scar?" Mom asked in disbelief. I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded.

"I could use some help tonight. The Heartless have been increasing," Leon mentioned, getting Mom's attention.

"It looks like you get to stay with Auntie Aerith tonight," Mom told me.

"Again? I want Uncle Cid," I whined.

"Too bad! You're getting Auntie Aerith! If you say Uncle Cid one more time, you're going in a time-out!" Mom yelled.

I resumed bawling my eyes out.

"Uncle Sora! Aunt Kairi!" I exclaimed, running into what would become my home.

Sora and Kairi hugged me as I ran into their arms. "We're so happy you can stay with us, Brittany," Kairi mentioned. I didn't know I wouldn't go home for several years to come.

"I'm so happy, too. Mommy and Daddy said that since I'm a big girl now, I get to spend the night with you for a bunch of nights in a row," I smiled.

"Ma, Da, who dat?" A young girl with silver wavy hair asked.

"This is your cousin. She's staying with us, Aly. You'll be like sisters," Sora explained.

"Sistas?" Alison asked.

"I'm Brittany. What's Your name?" I wondered.

"Alson. Almost tree," Alison replied.

"Her name is Alison, and she's almost three," Kairi translated.

"Brittany, before we go, I want you to know that we love you so much and always look out for you. I'll come back as soon as I can, my pretty little princess," Dad sniffled. He was leaving me and wasn't holding himself together very well.

"We both will. I love you, Brittany, though I know I haven't always shown it very well. I did my best, but now you might be- be- be better off-" Mommy began to sob.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

"We're just going to miss you very much," Mom shuddered.

"I'll be back soon. It's okay, Mommy," I said, patting her gently in an attempt to attempt to comfort her.

"Yeah, Baby. You'll be back soon," Dad repeated sadly. I didn't understand then. I didn't know that he was lying.

"Aunt Kairi, Alison took my coloring book, and she won't give it back!" I screamed in frustration. I turned to Alison. "Give it!"

"No! I wanna color!" Alison insisted.

"Give!" I screamed, trying to tear it out of her hands. The coloring book ripped as Kairi entered the room.

"Now neither of you can have it. Next time, learn to share. Like it or not, we're all in this together," Kairi huffed.

"When are Mommy and Daddy coming back?" I shuddered.

"Your parents should be coming for a visit sometime soon," Kairi assured me.

"And then I can go home?" I asked, filled with hope.

Kairi didn't say anything at first. She gathered her thoughts before proceeding. "We'll talk more about this when Uncle Sora gets home tonight."

Kairi and Sora were waiting for me in our living room. "Brittany, it's time we have that talk now," Aunt Kairi said gently.

"Okay," I replied, sitting in a chair, waiting for them to start.

"Brit, I know you want to go back and live with your mom and dad, but there are things going on that you're too young to understand," Sora started.

"The truth is, your parents will still visit, but this is your home now. You're not going back to Radiant Gardens," Kairi admitted.

"What?! No! I'm not going home? Why not?!" I screamed.

"We'll tell you when you're older," Sora assured me.

"No!" I began to throw a tantrum.

I was alone in my room, recovering from my tantrum. There was a knock at my door. "Are you ready to come back out now?" Sora asked.

"Yes," I replied weakly.

"Okay. Come on to the living room," Sora prompted.

I opened my door and went down to the living room, where two familiar faces were. "Mommy! Daddy!" I ran into my father's arms, melting into another fit of tears. "I want to go home," I whimpered.

"Baby girl, this is home now. I'm sorry you had to find out this way," Dad murmured.

Mom hugged Dad and me as I cried, taking in the truth that I wasn't going home because it was one thing when Sora and Kairi said it, but when my mommy and daddy said it, this younger version of me was forced to accept that it was the truth.

A pregnant Kairi sat across from me on the floor cross-legged in the open space basement. "Today is the day we will begin to work on your powers. I will be working with Alison after you, which means you will find something quiet to do, like play with your dolls nicely or read or color. It is important that you girls are quiet when the other is practicing because you'll need to concentrate. Now, focus. You have power over light and darkness inside of you. They are two sides to the same coin.

I raised my hand. Kairi sighed. "Yes?"

"What does a coin have to do with my powers?" I wondered.

Kairi groaned. "Practice time is over. We'll pick this back up later. I need two hours of quiet time to nap before I help Alison. Go play with your sister."

"Kay," I said happily.

I continued to regain so many memories one by one until, one day, there were no more memories to regain.

Author's note

Almost finished. From here, all we have are the three epilogues.

Thank you, Shadow queen 579, for favoriting and following.