Brittany's Point of View

Leon took me back to his place after dinner. "I still can't believe you're here," He commented.

"I still can't believe that you can't believe I'm here. It's so strange to think I was missed by Kingdom Hearts characters. I'm still getting past the fact that all this is real, and the fact that you all remember me from when I was a baby blows things out of proportion," I replied.

"I wish you could have grown up around here. That's what your parents had originally planned," Leon mentioned.

"I didn't know until today that they had a house here. When I first left my world, they took me to the castle in Radiant Gardens. That was before I knew that Sora wasn't my real father. When I met Riku and Yuffie, they took me to Destiny Islands. I guess I just assumed they lived there, or they traveled. I hadn't even considered that they live here. It's cool that they live next to Merlin, I guess. If they made me live with them, that would be a bonus. Riku is a main character, so I guess I overlooked the fact that Yuffie is in The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. I never would have imagined that you guys were family friends. Your roles were smaller than someone like Sora or Riku. In the end, it was little more than a detour on the big adventure," I said.

"You wanna tell me what happened that Merlin felt like he needed to get involved?" Leon asked.

"Well, I guess it started when there was a family day at school. See, I had been hanging around some-" I paused, not wanting to stir up any negative feelings left by Maleficent, and thought carefully about how to word my situation. "exchange students that didn't have the best backgrounds. My dad didn't like it and had told Kai, Sora's son, to keep me away from them, which didn't make sense to me. Kairi asked me about it, and when I told her what happened, she approached my dad, and things got ugly. I think my dad feels threatened by Kairi because she's been a mother to me for as long as I can remember. Now they're fighting over me."

"That sounds like a pretty sticky situation. Knowing them, they'll work it out. Sora, Kairi, and Riku have always been good friends," Leon assured me.

"Shouldn't they have made up by now, though? Kairi said it wouldn't take long," I brought up.

"Just give them some time. I'm sure they'll get this figured out," Leon advised.

"I'm scared. I keep wondering what they're going to agree on. I don't want to choose one set of parents over the other. They're all my family," I admitted.

"Perhaps it would be best if I took over."

'No. I don't want to miss the coronation. We don't know how long I would be out.'

"We don't even know if you'll make it to the coronation anyways. Besides that, you can't possibly be thinking of helping those children do their parents' bidding, can you?"

'I never said I was.'

"But you've been thinking about it."

'So, are you going to stop me?'

"If it comes down to it. I will not have you jeopardizing the fate of the worlds to get back at your parents. Keep in mind that I don't necessarily need your consent to use your body. I ask permission, only as a courtesy."

I became angry at Shadow. I felt violated because I couldn't even have free control over my own actions. "Leon, is there somewhere I can rest up? It's been a long day for me," I requested.

"Sure. I'll show you to the guest room. I don't know if you'll be here overnight or not, but feel free to use it for now," Leon replied. He led me to a small bedroom, and I went inside. "I want to go check in with Merlin. Will you be okay if I leave you here by yourself? I can get Cid to stay with you if you need it."

"No, that's okay. I'll be fine," I answered.

"Okay. If you need anything, Aerith lives next door. It's the house with all the flowers in front of it," Leon mentioned.

"I'll be fine, but thanks," I replied.

"Okay. I'll see you later," Leon said before leaving.

When I heard the door open and close, I felt it was safe to talk to Shadow. "Are you going to keep plaguing me for the rest of my life?" I huffed.

"Just until it's time for me to move on, which won't be for a long while. I'm just looking out for you, Brittany. I only didn't say anything before because I knew you were never truly going to go along with their plans to steal Fairy Godmother's wand, but now that you desire to help them, I must say, I am very disappointed in you."

"Your disappointment means nothing to me," I snapped.

"That's not true. I know it isn't. You know it, too. If you continue to deny it, let me remind you that even Kairi would be convinced that Riku was right if you were to go along with this plan. Does this continue to sound worth it to you?"

"Leave me alone," I growled. There was silence. I wanted to push past my doubts, but Shadow had successfully rattled me. My confidence was completely shaken. It was late, so I tossed and turned in the bed, but I couldn't sleep. I heard Leon come home and rushed to find out what had happened with my parents. "Did they figure it out?"

Leon gave me a look of pity. "No. They're still up in arms about this. Merlin said he would take you to that coronation thing that you wanted to go to. It's the day after tomorrow, right?" Leon asked.

I felt crushed. "Yeah. I don't really want to go, though," I sighed.

"Hey, you should go. You've been looking forward to it, haven't you?" Leon urged.

"Won't my parents be there?" I wondered.

"Well... they will, but you don't have to talk to them if you don't want to. They're going to be on opposite sides, a crowd-filled room. You probably won't even be able to see them," Leon commented.

"Well, I guess I'll go," I reluctantly agreed.

"You'll have a good time. It's pretty late. Try to get some sleep. Hopefully, they'll have this all sorted out soon." Leon suggested.

"Alright. Good night," I said. I went back to the room.

'I won't do it. You won't let me anyway, so there's no point in trying.'

"You are absolutely right about that. If you have so much as a thought to help them in their scheme, I will take over."

'I know. I'll behave.'

"Good.'

After some tossing and turning, I was able to drift off.