Time for another chapter! It's so crazy to be posting only chapter 6 seeing as how I'm already working on chapter 9. I guess this is what having a regular posting schedule will do to ya. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 6: Adrift in a Sea of Stars

Hands shaking, heart thundering,
Meet a royal mess!
Start smiling, stop wondering
Why did I say yes?

"So where's this 'top secret' ship you guys keep talking about anyway?" Skye asked as he followed Riku, Donald, and Goofy further into the castle. The effort he was making at conversation was twofold, really; to learn more about what their plans were and to chase away the uneasy feeling these abandoned, broken-down halls left inside his stomach.

"We've been keepin' it down in the basement-" Goofy cut himself off with a pained yelp when Donald elbowed him in the knee.

"Don't go saying that so loudly, ya big palooka! What, do you want everyone on the islands to hear you?"

Riku couldn't help but smirk, rolling his eyes at his friends' usual antics. That smile slipped when he caught Skye coming to walk alongside him, looking at him intently. "What?"

"Nothing," Skye hastily looked away. It didn't take Riku long to notice the boy's bright blue eyes landing on him once again.

"Ok, seriously, what are you staring at?" he stopped. Donald and Goofy followed suit, exchanging a confused glance.

"I don't know," Skye shrugged. "You, I guess."

"Why?"

"...I… don't know…" Skye repeated, slower and softer this time. He looked down as something flashed across his face, something serious, sad almost. Whatever it was, it passed in an instant as he perked up again, throwing his arms behind his head as he strolled past Riku with a smile. "If it bothers you that much, I guess I can stop. Though I can't say I've ever met anyone who gets so worked up just because someone looked at them."

"I-I wasn't worked up," Riku protested. He didn't know why he was suddenly so flustered, just as much as he had no idea where the rush of red filling his cheeks was coming from. "I was just-" He stopped short when he heard snickering behind him; it fell into sharp silence the second he glared back at Donald and Goofy. "What's so funny?"

"He does have a point, you know," Donald said as they began to make their way down to the basement. "It is pretty easy to get you worked up."

"What? No, it's not," Riku scoffed.

"Yes, it is."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"No," Riku nearly growled, his face even redder than before. "I-"

"Whoa!" Skye's awestruck gasp cut through the argument. While the others had been distracted, Pluto had taken the liberty of leading him to where their Gummi Ship was stored. They'd found its remains years ago, buried deep in the depths of the castle. It had likely been scrapped even years before Xehanort took over, derelict and disrepaired, yet still in one piece, which was more than could be said about any of the island's other ships.

Skye ran over to it before anyone could try to stop him, fascinated with the ship's bright red and yellow exterior. "I've never seen one of these in real life before. Does it still work?"

"It will once we finish fixin' the engine up," Goofy grinned. "It's a good thing our pals from back home–Chip and Dale–were old pros when it came to gettin' broken-down Gummi Ships up and running again. They taught us everything we know."

"At this point, it should only take us about a day or so to finish the last few repairs," Donald grabbed a hammer to beat a bent piece of the hull back into place.

"Well… maybe it'll take even less time if I help," Skye suggested as he picked up a screwdriver.

"Uh, no," Riku immediately turned him down.

"Why not?" Skye pouted.

"Well, for one thing, you just said you've never even seen a Gummi Ship before," Riku began with a smooth, knowing smirk. "So I doubt you'd know the first thing about fixing one. Secondly, princes don't get their hands dirty fixing up old ships."

He plucked the tool out of Skye's hands, turning to get to work alongside Donald and Goofy. "How is it that you know what princes do or don't do?" Skye asked, trailing after him.

"I make it my business to know," Riku barely glanced over his shoulder at him.

"Oh," Skye took a seat on a bench nearby. "So while you guys are working on the ship, what am Isupposed to do then?"

"Stay out of our way maybe?" Riku grunted as he tightened a particularly stubborn bolt.

"And stay quiet," Donald added just as sternly. "This takes a lot of concentration, you know."

That concentration was broken when Goofy suddenly tripped over a mess of discarded wires sitting next to the ship. "Oops!" he offered the others a sheepish grin that wasn't returned as they got back to work.

"Ugh…" Skye groaned as he laid out on the bench. "Why did I say yes to this again?"

He answered that question for himself as he looked back down at his necklace. From it, his eyes drifted up to the ship sitting just a few feet away from him; he could only hope that it'd be enough to finally carry him far away from these gloomy islands, all the way back to where he really belonged, back to who he was supposed to be.

"A prince, huh?" he muttered to himself, smiling. He had to admit it was a nice thought, as difficult as it was to believe. For all the years he spent eating slop and sleeping on a sheetless cot, he couldn't exactly picture a past where he might have worn a crown or sat on a throne. But if he somehow was the prince… then would that kind of life really be his future? Would he really have status, riches, an entire kingdom to call his own?

Or would he still be just a lonely little orphan just the same, heir to a broken crown and a broken kingdom? Heir to a throne of nothing?

"Would you sit up right?" Riku broke him out of his thoughts. He stood before him with his vest slung over his shoulder to keep it from getting dirty. His sleeves were rolled up high to reveal his toned arms as grease smeared his scowling face. Skye swallowed hard at the sight of him, his heart running just a beat quicker. But even still, he didn't do what the older boy said. "No one will ever think you're a prince if you just lie around all day."

"Riku," Skye sat up just the slightest bit. "Do you really think I'm royalty?"

"Of course I do," Riku returned, hardly sounding sincere.

"Then stop bossing me around," Skye shot back as he flopped down once more.

"Garwsh, he sure does have a mind of his own, doesn't he?" Goofy said to Donald, aside.

"More like he's got too much sass for his own good," the magician huffed as he worked on wiring the engine.

"Kinda like Riku," Goofy stopped just briefly upon hitting his head on the ship's undercarriage. Despite the red bump forming on his forehead, he recovered quickly. "I'm surprised the two of them aren't getting along better…"

"I'm not," Donald glanced back at the pair as they continued bickering.

"Where did you say you came from again?" Riku asked, wiping his face with an old rag.

"The orphanage," Skye replied, still focused on his necklace.

"Oh, of course," Riku sneered at the irony. "You're from the one place I've spent most of my life trying to avoid."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense," Skye smirked. "Someone like you wouldn't be tough enough to survive a place like the orphanage anyway."

"Oh, and you are?"

Skye finally stood, throwing his arms out. "I'm here, aren't I? By the way, you missed a spot." He took the rag out of Riku's hands before lifting it up to his face to wipe a stray spot of grease away. That was all it should have been, all it was going to be until their eyes met. Skye's hand froze as it hovered just above Riku's cheek as he wondered how his eyes were so uniquely teal, why they almost seemed so strangely familiar. Riku was wondering much of the same thing, how Skye's eyes could be so very blue, how they could be so close, so incredibly close to–

The silence of the moment was shattered by the sound of a sudden crash from somewhere above them. "What was that?" Donald asked, peeking his head out from under the ship.

"No idea…" Riku frowned as he headed for the stairs. Skye trailed after him, ignoring Riku's whispered warning not to. They both treaded carefully up the stairs, peeking out of the door that connected them to one of the castle's main hallways. In almost no time at all, a large, dark shadow passed by, and the familiar sight of it alone was enough to scare them both stiff.

The second the coast was clear, Riku shut the door, locking it tight. He slapped a hand over Skye's mouth before he could shout the warning down to Donald and Goofy. As far as he could tell, they hadn't been discovered yet and that's how he wanted it to stay for as long as it possibly could.

"Heartless," he told Donald and Goofy as soon as they were in earshot. "There are Heartless in the castle."

"What?!" the pair gasped, equally alarmed.

"Uh… I'm guessing you guys don't get Heartless around here that often?" Skye asked.

"We've never had them!" Donald exclaimed, pacing frantically. "The Organization is onto us; they must've followed you here!"

"Hey!" Skye winced at the accusing finger the magician pointed at him. "Don't blame this on me! It's not like I meant to lead them here."

"How they figured us out doesn't matter," Riku said as he hurried to gather what supplies he could. "We need to leave now."

"But… the ship isn't ready," Goofy protested, worried.

"Will it fly?"

"...Well.." Goofy and Donald exchanged an apprehensive look.

"Then it's ready enough!" Riku snapped as he heaved a box into the cockpit. "Everyone, get on board! And hurry–a locked door won't keep the Heartless out for long."

No one wasted any more time on arguing. Instead, they finished gathering what few possessions they had to take with them before they all piled into the ship's cramped cockpit. It was barely big enough for the five of them, but right now, getting comfortable was the least of their concerns. Donald and Goofy took the helm, both of them hoping they'd still remember how to operate a Gummi Ship after eight years. They switched the ship on, relief and hope rising as its engine roared to life. Only for panic to ensue when something suddenly slammed into the ship's side.

"W-what was that?!" Skye asked as he held Pluto to keep him calm.

Riku peered out the window, hissing between his teeth. "The Heartless–they've already made it down here." Sure enough, a flock of the monsters was clawing at the hull in a fierce bid to get to the group gathered inside. Riku turned his attention back to Donald and Goofy as they rushed to get the ship ready for takeoff. "We don't have much time. We have to get this thing in the air!"

"As if we weren't already trying!" Donald shouted back between flipping switches.

"Get ready, fellas!" Goofy warned. "Things are about to get real bumpy!"

He wasn't wrong; the ship violently lurched into motion, throwing its passengers forward. Donald and Goofy only barely managed to stay in their seats to push the thrusters and flame the engines. The bottom of the ship grinded across the basement floor, the chassis rattling as the Heartless assaulting it were thrown off. One problem was solved, but as they approached the far end of the basement, they were met with another one entirely.

"How are we getting out?!" Skye shouted over the chaotic din of the cockpit.

The pair at the front exchanged a nervous glance; they honestly hadn't thought about that. They'd hoped they'd have time to push the ship out of the castle, but now… now they were forced to resort to much more desperate measures. "The lasers work, right, Goofy?" Donald asked.

"I sure hope they do…" the captain frowned as he began gearing them up.

"Wait," Riku spoke up when he realized what they were about to do. When he realized they didn't really have any other choice than to damage a place that was still so special to him, even now. "We can't just-"

"Fire!" Donald ordered. Goofy did exactly that, shooting a massive blast at the ceiling just as the ship started gaining air. The hole it created was just large enough for the ship to fit through, and so was the second hole they blasted through the castle's wall. As soon as they were out in the open though, the ship struggled to climb any further than the low hover it maintained above the ground. As soon as it started speeding across the open waters of the surrounding sea, their situation only went from bad to worse.

While the ship hadn't caught the attention of anyone on the main island yet, it was quickly spotted by a group standing on the smaller island's far shore. And at a first glance, almost none of the three Organization members could believe what they were seeing.

"Aha!" Demyx jumped, pointing proudly at the ship as it haphazardly zig-zagged over the ocean's surface. "See? I told you guys they had a ship!"

"Inconceivable," Vexen scoffed. "How did they manage to get that pitiful pile of rust up and running?"

"It won't stay running for long," Lexaeus said, throwing his arm out. Upon his command, a wave of winged Heartless materialized, all of them flying straight for the Gummi Ship swerving around the sea. They reached the vessel in mere seconds, slamming their bodies straight into it from all angles and making its already rough ride even rougher.

"They're still attacking us?!" Skye held even tighter onto Pluto as several smaller Heartless pelted into the nearby window.

"Something's wrong," Riku struggled to move to the front of the cockpit. He couldn't make much sense of all of the dashboard's buttons and monitors, but the severe expressions on Donald and Goofy's faces alone were enough to tell him they were in trouble. "Why aren't we going any higher?"

"The engine hasn't finished warming up yet," Donald said as he slammed a fist against one of the many screens blaring warning alarms. "We told you we needed more time to get it ready!"

"We didn't have that kind of time!" Riku argued back.

"Well, we could sure use more of it right now!" Goofy exclaimed as he fought with the ship's controls.

All three of them were equally caught off guard when a sudden gust of heavy wind filled the cockpit. Their initial worry was that the glass had been broken by one of the Heartless. But when Riku turned to investigate, he found something even more alarming by far.

There was a small hatch on the cockpit's ceiling, mostly used for emergency escapes. That hatch had been flung wide open by none other than Skye, who had stacked a few boxes to reach it and stand halfway out of it. From that vantage point, he used a stray pipe he'd salvaged out of their cargo to begin beating the Heartless back. His swings were wide and sloppy, though he managed to hit more than a few of the monsters who tried to get their claws in him, sending them plummeting down into the ocean's waves below.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Riku shouted up at him, aptly alarmed.

"Buying us some time!" Skye yelled back, not even looking down.

"Are you crazy?! Get back in here!"

"And let these things tear our one chance of getting out of here apart?" Skye didn't let up as his pipe slammed into the side of a larger Heartless. "I don't think so!"

Back on the shore, the trio of Organization members could only watch the ongoing brawl afar in the distance with rising confusion. Especially when they noticed a small, lone figure emerge from the top of the ship to fight their Heartless off.

"Oh! That's him!" Demyx pointed. "That's the kid they're trying to pass off as the prince!"

"That ruffian hardly looks like any kind of prince to me," Vexen squinted to make anything about the boy out. "Still, I suppose we have our orders." He snapped his fingers, summoning another wave of Heartless, far more fierce and dangerous than the last. "Capture the boy," he commanded them. "And as for his friends… go ahead and send them to a watery grave."

The monsters did as they were told, racing for the ship with bloodlust in their glowing golden eyes. As preoccupied with the first round of Heartless as he was, Skye didn't see any of them coming until a set of sharp claws latched onto his arm, wrenching the pipe out of his grip. As strong as the creature was, it easily began to hoist him out of the cockpit altogether. His frightened cry was enough to prompt Riku into action; he jumped, catching the bottom of Skye's legs as he pulled him back down into the cockpit. At the same time, the ship lurched, its engines finally ready to go as both boys fell back inside and landed on top of each other in a messy heap. The Heartless was too big to fit through the window, not that it would have had enough time to before the ship suddenly rocketed forward at full speed.

The other Heartless were all blown back as the vessel bolted out of their range, finally climbing away from the ocean and up to the sky. Donald and Goofy let out an excited cheer as they pushed the ship as hard and fast as it could go. Despite how rickety it still might have been, it held itself together well, approaching the atmosphere far faster than they thought it would. It only took a matter of mere seconds for it to break through the cloud barrier, the first ship to leave the Destiny Islands in eight straight years.

By now, the people of the islands took notice. Gasps arose from the town as they watched something they hadn't seen in so long, something they didn't even think was possible anymore. Inside of Xehanort's castle, guards and Organization members alike crowded around windows to watch in a mix of shock and anger. And in that castle's tallest tower, a young prince stared up at that ship with wide, wondering eyes as someone else made an escape he could only dream of.

From the shore below, another trio watched the ship's departure in muted disappointment. Demyx kicked a stray coconut while Vexen continued ordering Heartless to chase after the ship to no avail. Lexaeus, however, was much calmer as he kept his sights on the now-shattered sky above.

"They won't make it far," he said simply, ever a man of few words. Demyx and Vexen picked up a sharing set of sinister smiles as they began to leave alongside him, knowing exactly what he meant. What fate those fugitives would meet out there in the endless abyss of stars. "The others will make sure of that…"

"We did it!" Goofy hollered as he scooped Donald and Pluto up into a happy hug. They'd reached The Lanes Between, allowing them to coast safely without worrying about any Heartless pursuing them. While the others celebrated their successful getaway, Skye and Riku focused on picking themselves up off the floor first.

"I don't know if I should call you brave or just plain stupid for what you did back there," Riku sighed, fixing his ponytail. "Honestly, what did they teach you in that orphanage?"

"They didn't teach me anything," Skye smirked as he reclaimed his fallen hat. "That was all me. You gotta admit, I looked pretty cool swinging at those Heartless."

"Yeah, you looked really cool when one of them was about to drag you away and you were kicking and screaming for help," Riku rolled his eyes.

By now, Skye wasn't paying him much mind anymore. Instead, his focus was on the window as he approached it, eyes wide with wonder as he watched the Lanes Between go by. It was a cascade of lights and colors, each more beautiful than the last and a far cry from the dreary grays and shadows that enshrouded most of the islands. "Whoa…" he whispered. As captivated as he was, he didn't even look over when Riku stepped over to join him, equally amazed. "I've never seen so many stars before…"

"Those aren't just stars," Donald pointed out from his spot up front. "Each of them is an entirely different world."

"And people can just… go to them?"

"As long as they have a ship like ours they can," Goofy chuckled.

Skye couldn't help but smile. The idea of so many different places beyond the Destiny Islands, so many worlds he could have never even dreamed of before… it filled him with a kind of excitement he'd scarcely ever felt. A longing to know more, to see more. To be more than he ever thought he could.

Riku saw Skye's smile out of the corner of his eye, though he caught himself just before he could slip into one himself. He took in a deep breath, dipping his hands into his pockets as he began moving over to his seat. There weren't too many other places to sit, so he wasn't exactly surprised when Skye eventually came over and plopped down beside him. What did surprise him was just how quickly it took for the awkward silence between them to bother him.

"Look," he began, clearing his throat to catch Skye's attention. "I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot."

"Aw, well, I think we did too," Skye briefly glanced away from the window. "But I appreciate your apology."

"Apology?" Riku arced an eyebrow. "Who said anything about an apology? I was just saying-"

"Please, don't talk anymore, ok?" Skye dryly cut him off. "It's only gonna upset me."

Riku scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "Fine. I'll be quiet if you will."

"Fine," Skye crossed his arms."I'll be quiet."

"Fine."

"Fine."

From the front of the ship, Donald and Goofy exchanged another silent look. The captain stifled laughter while the magician shook his head, annoyed. Pluto sat in between the pair, watching curiously as the back and forth continued, even despite the pair's agreement to stay silent.

"Do you think you're gonna miss it?" Skye spoke up first, his gaze still fixed on the window.

"Miss what?" Riku asked indignantly. "You talking?"

"No," Skye shot him a scowl before motioning back to the window. To the world that was growing ever smaller in the window behind them. "The islands." His frown softened as his gaze lingered on it. A haze of darkness rested over the entire world, long-since tarnished and torn asunder, but there was still something about it he couldn't bear to leave behind. Something that still tethered his heart to the only place he'd ever known.

Riku, on the other hand, hardly seemed to feel the same way. "No," he said simply, flatly.

"But it was your home."

"It was a place I used to live in," he looked away. From Skye, from the islands, from everything he wanted to leave behind. From the memories far too painful for him to keep… and far too precious for him to let go of. "End of story."

"Well, then… are you planning on making Radiant Garden your home?" Skye guessed.

"What is it with you and homes?"

"Well, duh," Skye stood, disgruntled. "It's only something that everyone wants. Everyone but you, I guess."

"I don't want one and I don't need one," Riku said. The defensive edge in his tone wasn't lost on Skye. "I've been doing just fine for the past eight years without one."

"Well, where did you live before then?"

"What does it matter to you?" Riku narrowed his eyes at the other boy. "You don't even remember where you lived before then."

"Well, according to you, I lived in a palace," Skye said with a smug grin.

"And your point is…?"

"My point is that homes are important," Skye stressed. "They're where your family is, where your memories are made, and… and if you don't have one…" His sharp tone melted into something that was suddenly so much softer and sadder as he cast one final, solemn look back at the islands disappearing behind them. "Then what do you have?"

The cockpit fell into silence at this. Riku forced his gaze away from Skye, a burst of sudden guilt swelling through him. It wasn't quite enough guilt to compel him into apologizing, but still, it was close.

The relative calm didn't last for long before the ship suddenly shuddered violently. The crash knocked Skye off his feet, and coincidentally enough, he landed on Riku's lap. It was only after a beat of awkward silence that Riku sullenly shoved him away.

The dashboard began blaring alarms again as something else crashed into the hull, and it didn't take Donald and Goofy long to figure out what. "We're under attack!" the captain exclaimed.

"Again?" Skye asked, sitting up.

"Another ship is shooting at us!" Donald shouted as he worked on priming their own defenses to fight back. "I've never seen one like this before. Wait…" He squinted at the monitor showing their assailant, or more specifically, at the symbol brandished on the other ship's dark hull. "Is that…?"

"The Organization's insignia," Riku finished gravely. "They're following us. We have to lose them!"

"We're on it!" Goofy shoved the ship's clutch forward. Despite its age, the engine responded well, kicking the ship into full speed. Unfortunately, the Organization's ship was much newer and more than equipped to pursue them.

On board that ship, Zexion calmly manned the helm, even against the orders his two senior members kept hounding him with. "Aim for the undercarriage," Xaldin said sternly. "If we can ignite their engine, the entire ship will go up in flames in seconds. A quick and easy way to deal with such irksome traitors."

"Have you forgotten the king's orders?" Luxord asked with a haughty frown. "He wants us to bring this so-called 'prince' back to him. I doubt we'll be able to carry out such a request if his body is charred to a fine crisp."

"The king told us to bring him back, dead or alive," Xaldin huffed. "If we capture him and he's no longer breathing, then all the better I say. At least the little brat won't be able to put up a fight."

"Would you two please be silent for a change so I can focus?" Zexion interrupted, thoroughly annoyed.

Though his superiors both shot him a dirty look, they surprisingly complied nonetheless. Their quiet cockpit stood in stark contrast to the chaos unfolding in the ship they were attacking. As it sustained another brutal hit, the Gummi Ship abruptly rolled onto its side, throwing Donald and Goofy out of their seats altogether. They landed hard against the back of the cockpit, leaving essentially no one in control of their already flagging ship.

"Somebody's gotta get up there and steer!" Goofy shouted as he and Donald struggled just to get up.

"Ok!" Skye immediately volunteered, reaching the dashboard as quickly as he could. Before he could so much as touch any of the controls, however, Riku harshly pulled him back.

"You are not steering this ship," he said as he tried to push his way past the other boy.

"Why not?" Skye shot back, not backing down. "Because it's not something a 'prince' would do?"

"No, because you don't have any idea what you're doing!"

"Oh, and you do?"

"I'm bound to know more than you."

"Would you two quit arguing for one minute so you can keep our ship from going down?!" Donald snapped. They were all reminded just how severe their situation was when the ship was rocked by yet another heavy blast near its tailpipes.

Knowing they didn't have any more time to lose, Skye and Riku finally made it to the front seats, doing whatever they could to get the ship back under control. Skye pulled hard against the yoke to try and right the ship while Riku worked on firing back at the Organization's ship to ward them off. As inexperienced as they were, their efforts didn't amount to much, especially as another direct hit slammed into the back of the ship.

"Keep it steady!" Riku shouted over the almost deafening alarms.

"I'm trying!" Skye yelled back as he yanked on the control stick. When the ship lurched once more, they both nearly fell out of their seats, grabbing each other just to stay upright. They only had the smallest moment to look at each other before another blast, far worse than any of the others before it, sent the ship spiraling.

"The engine!" Donald called, recognizing one of the screeching alarms. "It's been hit!"

"W-what do we do?!" Skye asked, frantically looking over several monitors he didn't understand in the slightest.

"We've gotta land somewhere!" Goofy advised.

"But the Organization will catch us!" Skye protested.

"No, they won't!" Riku slammed his hand down on the defensive controls. He'd already lined up the shot; he could only hope their blasters still worked well enough to land it. By some miracle, they did as a powerful laser shot out of the ship, slamming directly into the front of the Organization's vessel.

Though they'd thought their victory had been assured, Zexion, Luxord, and Xaldin were all shocked as the tables quickly turned against them. Their ship was thrown back, critically damaged as they watched their target spin and sputter away from them. Try as they might to chase after them, their ship's broken control panel won't respond to any inputs. Until their fellow members came to rescue them, there was little they could do other than angrily blame each other for an easy mission gone wrong.

While the Organization's ship was stranded but safe, the Gummi Ship was in much more dire straits. Almost the entire back half of the vessel was on fire as it continued swerving through the Lanes Between. As Riku made sure the Organization was no longer tailing them, Skye frantically searched for some place for them to make an emergency landing. As if on cue, a world popped into view nearby and with few other options available, Skye wasted no time steering the ship in that direction as best he could.

Their landing was anything but smooth. The ship all but fell out of the sky as soon as it entered the world's atmosphere, nosediving several hundred feet a second. Barely anyone heard Donald's warning to brace themselves as Riku dragged Skye to the back of the cockpit, hoping to shield themselves from the crash in any way possible. Fortunately, the ship didn't crash nose-first. Instead, the undercarriage collided with the ground, throwing its passengers around as it skidded to an eventual stop. They didn't have much time to breathe once it did as another explosion reverberated through the hull, leaving them with only seconds to take what they could and escape the ship before it was too late.

Pluto was the last to hop off just before the engine finally exploded and the entire ship burst into flames. Its former passengers collapsed to the ground not too far away from it, exhausted, but otherwise, miraculously uninjured. Even if their ship was clearly beyond saving.

"Ya know," Goofy spoke up, trying to be optimistic. "That coulda gone a whole lot worse."

"It could have gone a whole lot better too," Donald grumbled as he found his missing hat.

"Where are we anyway?" Skye asked, looking around. They'd landed just outside of the walls of a city, with strangely-shaped buildings that towered high into the air. It was already quite late at night, but the sky here was clear, full of shining stars and so unlike the one he was used to back home. He found himself smiling at the sight of it. "Is this Radiant Garden?"

"Naw, from the looks of it, I'd say we're in Traverse Town," Goofy said, familiar with the world from visits years ago. "It's still a pretty long ways to Radiant Garden from here."

"How are we supposed to get there without a ship?" Riku eyed the smoldering pile of metal that used to be theirs.

"Well, now that we're off the islands, we can just hitch a ride on someone else's," Donald said, leading the way toward town. "But for now, we should probably lay low here for a few days, just in case anyone from the Organization is still after us."

"Do you really think they could be?" Skye asked, suddenly worried. "Wait… do you think… they know what we're doing?"

"No," Riku quickly assured, though he had no way of knowing. What he did know was that something about the look on Skye's face, so full of sudden fear where there'd been so little before, didn't sit right with him. Even if he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. "There's no way they could know. In their eyes, we're just a group of runaways. Nothing more."

"...Right," Skye eased up just a bit. "Just runaways. Nothing more."

Even as they began to follow Donald and Goofy into Traverse Town, Riku could tell Skye was still unnerved. He walked with his hands wrapped around himself as he continued searching the skies for any signs of the Organization's pursuit. As scared as he was now, it was almost hard for Riku to believe this was the same aggravating boy he'd traded barbs with back on the ship.

It took a bit of effort for him to swallow his pride. Once he did, he chose his words carefully, not wanting to give the other boy too much at one time and not wanting to leave him with too little either. "Hey, uh… Skye," he began, hands in his pockets as he averted the boy's fretful gaze. "The way you handled things back on the ship, well-"

"I know, I know," Skye sighed. "It was stupid and reckless."

"Actually," Riku slipped on a slight smile. "If it wasn't for your taking charge like you did… I'm not so sure we would have made it. So… Well, I… um… I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

"Thank you?" Skye filled in.

"Yes. That," Riku nodded, still not quite able to say it for himself.

"...You're welcome," Skye replied with a soft smile of his own.

Riku noticed how he kept that smile when he looked up at the sky again, this time in wonder instead of fear. The way the night sky seemed to reflect in his ocean blue eyes… it reminded Riku so much of how he used to watch the stars with someone else by his side. It reminded him of how Sora would smile in so much of the same way, how he'd point out constellations and comets, how he would fall asleep alongside him and Kairi on those warm summer nights. It all felt like a lifetime ago, but right now, with Skye walking by his side… it was almost as if…

"What are you staring at?"

Riku blinked, broken out of his thoughts to find Skye looking up at him, confused. He tore his own sights away from the other boy, clearing his throat.

"Nothing."

"...Uh huh," Skye smirked as he walked on ahead. "See how I didn't get bothered by you looking at me? Maybe you oughta take a page out of my book for a change, Riku."

"What-" Riku cut himself off with a harsh scoff. Whatever grace or patience he might have felt toward Skye a moment ago all but disappeared when he heard him laugh at his expense. "Maybe I should have just let that Heartless drag you off after all," he muttered back. He didn't mean it of course, Skye knew he didn't. But that didn't stop him from looking back to playfully stick his tongue out at Riku.

"Shucks, ya know, Donald," Goofy grinned as he glanced back at the pair. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think those two are finally startin' to become friends."

"More like they're starting to flirt," Donald retorted. "Which is a problem."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"We're taking Skye to Princess Kairi, remember?" the magician huffed as he explained what should have been obvious. "She's Prince Sora's betrothed. And if Skye convinces her that he is Sora…"

"Then… we get the reward?" Goofy asked, scratching his head.

"No!" Donald squawked. "...Well, yes, but it also means that if she thinks he's the prince, then that means one day, the two of them are gonna get married."

"Aw, a royal wedding!" Goofy beamed, excited. "Do ya think we'll get invited?"

"Aw, phooey! Don't you get it yet?!" Donald's fierce scowl evened into something far more sympathetic as he and Goofy looked back at Skye and Riku. The two were still teasing each other, though unlike before, they were sharing smiles all the while. After how rocky their relationship had started out, it should have been a reassuring sign. But for the captain and the magician who had taken care of one of those boys for the past eight years, it was anything but.

"Skye's gonna end up breaking Riku's heart. Whether he wants to or not."

Next time, Skye learns to do it ^_^ Don't forget to leave a REVIEW please! Until next time!