A/N: I realized that I had made a continuity error in Chapter 4. I said that Sora and Riku introduced the healing items to the Destiny Island pharmacy, but I now realize that such items (or at least Potions) were already on Destiny Islands in the first game.

Chapter 104

Feet in the Sand

All was calm aboard the Gummi Ship. Aqua washed the dishes from the party's waffle breakfast. Sora, Riku and Kairi worked on their homework. Mickey, Donald and Goofy remained in the cockpit, keeping enemy ships and stray asteroids from damaging the ship. Jiminy attempted to construct a relationship diagram that was to help determine the nature of the artifacts and who might be guarding them, which included a majority of the photographs he had taken, but he was having little success.

After their separate business had been completed, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Aqua joined the others in the cockpit. When they all sat down in the passenger chairs, Donald turned around to address the islanders. "How was your homework?" he asked.

"It wasn't too bad," Kairi replied.

"A bit of a challenge, but we got through it," Riku added.

"Alright, fellas. Where to next?" Mickey asked.

This left them all stumped. Sora crossed his arms as he was deep in thought. Donald raised his hand, finger pointed up, three times, retracting it each time as he tried to think of something, then simply gave up and slumped in his seat.

"Anything on the Naughty List scanner?" Kairi asked, stifling a laugh as she realized how silly that sounded aloud.

Mickey shook his head and brought the map up to full view so everyone could see. "There are a few blips jumping around, but it looks like they're just solitary, as if they were just taking a look at the worlds in general," he explained. "At one point, there were two dots on one world, and they did some moving around, but they went back to Radiant Garden before you came up."

"That means they have another artifact," Riku realized.

"How do we even know they haven't already won?" Donald asked dejectedly.

"Don't go and lose hope just yet," Jiminy advised. "Remember, there are a lot of worlds out there. It took a decade for Ansem and Maleficent to get as far as they did with the Heartless invasion, and they didn't even consume most of the worlds. It took nine years to find seven people. They're looking for dozens, maybe hundreds of pretty well-hidden objects. Sure, they somehow seem to have a good idea on where most of them might be, but remember that they couldn't find the ones in Agrabah and Beast's Castle. And as long as we can keep them from getting ahold of every single one, we have a chance to stop them."

Goofy grinned and nodded. "A-hyuck. Jiminy's right. We can do this. We just need to believe in ourselves!"

This lifted everyone's spirits, but this only made the following silence more awkward. Aqua finally spoke up, addressing the concern on everyone's minds. "So, where are we supposed to go from here?"

There was another pause as the crew members tried to come up with ideas. Donald considered simply going from world to world at random to see if they would find new information. While he knew that they would all love to explore new lands, he felt that he was getting tired of that pattern, especially when it yielded almost no results.

Sora, Riku and Kairi traded glances, appearing to have a covert silent conversation between them, which was actually a continuation of a conversation they had had earlier while doing homework. When they had reached a decision, they turned to address the others.

"We were thinking that we might go to Destiny Islands," Sora suggested. "We could visit our families and friends, and we could show you around."

"And, if things work out, we can find out a thing or two about the artifact on our world," Riku added.

"So, what do you say?" Kairi asked.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, and Jiminy traded glances and smiled. Mickey turned back to Sora, Riku and Kairi and nodded. "That sounds like a great idea," he said.

"You know, we never really got to see much of the place," Donald noted.

"I was only there for about an hour. I would love to see it again," Aqua added.

"I would like to get my own impression of the islands," Jiminy mused. "Maybe take a few pictures for the album."

Sora let out a laugh. "So, are we set?" he asked, a little too enthusiastically.

Mickey chuckled. "Sounds like it. Now, let's plot a course." He proceeded to do just that.

"Then we can hand our homework in personally," Kairi added, mostly to Sora and Riku, but indicating to the others that they had not already submitted it through the mailbox. Aqua and Jiminy realized that they had discussed going back home while they were doing their homework.

Sora crossed his arms behind his head and sat back in his chair. "You know, I always wanted to know what our world looked like from orbit," he mused.

"When I first went there, I couldn't see anything past a bright light, and by the time everything came into view, I was already too close to get a full view," Aqua told him.

"That's funny," Mickey said. "When we flew there to pick you guys up, we could see it fine."

"You think it was because Sora's Keyblade was in the heart of the world?" Aqua wondered, recalling how she and Mickey had found the Kingdom Key D behind the door on the island remnant.

Mickey shrugged. "Maybe." He took a moment to prepare the flight path, then turned to speak directly to the passengers. "Okay, fellas. Strap in and we'll get ready to go!"

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Aqua excitedly buckled their seatbelts. Mickey gunned the engine and launched the ship through space.

The party beamed down onto the beach, causing a few people to do double takes when they noticed them, only to promptly shrug it off. They closed their eyes and let out a relaxed sigh as they felt the sea breeze.

"Feels good to be back," Kairi said.

"Yep," Sora and Riku agreed.

"Let's go say hello," Kairi advised.

They made their way into town. Sora, Riku and Kairi waved to friends and neighbors in passing. They split up into three groups when they reached an intersection. Sora, with Donald and Goofy tagging along, went to his house, comparing the local time to their schedules and determining that his parents were home. Riku, followed by Mickey, went to check and see if his parents were home, but overheard conversation informed him that they were at the courthouse. Kairi, accompanied by Aqua, went to city hall.

As he approached his house, Sora glanced at the windows and noticed that some of the lights were on. Satisfied to see that his parents were home, he stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door. Ten seconds later, his mother opened the door. Suta gasped and smiled with delight.

"Hi, Mom," Sora greeted, sporting a cheeky grin. They hugged each other tightly.

When they separated from their embrace, Suta noticed Donald and Goofy standing behind him. The duck and dog waved cheerfully, and Suta waved back.

A moment later, Kumo appeared at the door as well. "Hey, son," he greeted.

"Hi, Dad," Sora replied. He and his father hugged.

"I see you brought your friends," Kumo noted as he and Sora separated. "Well, come on in. Tell us what you've been up to." He and Suta beckoned Sora, Donald and Goofy inside, where they sat around the dinner table and Sora told them what had been going on since he had left. At a few points, Sora trailed off as he noticed that his parents looked confused.

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked.

Kumo shook his head. "No. It's just that… There is a lot to keep track of," he said. "You're looking for these things that are all over the place, but you don't know what they're even supposed to be, or how they'll help these bad guys change… reality?"

Sora shrugged, while Donald groaned and drew circles over his temples with his fingers, clearly not enjoying having to try to wrap his head around the confusing plot. "Honestly, we're still trying to figure it all out," Sora admitted.

"So, you're still on your quest?" Suta surmised. "You're not all done?"

Sora shook his head regretfully. "We still have a ways to go. I don't think we really made that much progress. Maleficent and all of her friends are still running around. The most we really did was take out some of the Heartless under their control. Oh, and we let Yzma get turned into a little kitty cat." Kumo and Suta laughed at this. "But we figured we'd come back to say hi."

"Well, that's really thoughtful of you," Kumo said appreciatively. "I'm sure you could use some time to relax from all this."

Sora nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

"So, Sora, what happened next?" Suta asked.

Sora continued with his story, starting with Port Royal, which only led to more confusion as he tried to explain the deal with Davy Jones' heart.

"Hold on, Riku. Should you be telling us all this?" Iwa asked. "Isn't there a rule against letting others know about other worlds?"

Riku chuckled. "When I was working undercover with DiZ, I made sure that I wasn't noticed, but Sora and Mickey have ignored it as much as they possibly could," he replied.

"When we're trying to save the worlds from monsters born from darkness and negativity, keeping a secret isn't as much of a priority," Mickey said, defending himself.

Riku and Mickey sat with Iwa and Chikyu sat at a table in the courthouse following the denouement of the day's trial, where Riku and Mickey told Riku's parents what had happened out in the worlds.

"Besides, we can't really get any information about the artifacts without talking about them. I think half of the people we talked to about it didn't know about them beforehand," Riku added. "Almost everyone else just pretended not to."

Chikyu sighed. "I know the feeling. I've had my share of cases where people just don't tell us important information. But I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough."

"Thanks," Riku replied. "But right now, we're hoping to just stay here a few days and rest from all the action."

"By the way, have any more Heartless shown up after we left?" Mickey asked.

Chikyu shook his head. "None that have been reported," he answered. "So that means that either they haven't appeared at all, or there have only been few enough that the lucky and skilled ones managed to dispatch them."

"Well, everyone did see us fight the Shadows and Darkside," Riku recalled. "The Aurochs helped take the Darkside down with harpoon lances, and it wasn't just Keyblades that beat the Shadows. A lot of people fought back even when all they had were a Blitzball, a fence post, or martial arts. If they know how to handle themselves, and have a weapon strong enough to hurt the Heartless, they could manage against a few of them."

"But that does make me wonder," Mickey said. "If they didn't show up afterward, why did those Heartless attack at the beach? Were they really here just to fight us? What drew them here?"

Riku shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. I don't really understand how the Heartless act or decide to act on their own."

"If there really is one of those artifacts somewhere around here, we can assume that their controllers will be around here one of these days," Iwa determined. "But for now we should keep quiet about what's going on past the islands. Like you said, outside of opposing the apocalypse, the code of secrecy between worlds should be maintained as best as possible."

Mickey nodded. "That's a good idea," he agreed.

Riku and Mickey continued to summarize their adventures. Whenever they mentioned meeting a new villain, Chikyu scribbled in a notepad, making notes of each of them in case, as Iwa had mentioned, they came to the islands one day. Noticing this, Riku and Mickey made sure to describe the villains thoroughly so he could fill in the notes.

"What was that about a Keyblade?" Mayor Braska asked. Kairi had started her story around the same time as Riku had, as Braska had paperwork and procedures to run through before he could take her aside to hear her piece.

Smiling giddily, Kairi raised her hand above her head and summoned her Keyblade. Braska let out a laugh in amused delight. Aqua giggled. Kairi let him admire it for a moment longer before dismissing it.

"Okay. That is really cool," Braska said. He had only seen a Keyblade a few times before, including during the fight with the Heartless on the beach, and seeing his daughter hold one of the fabled weapons of light was very impressive.

Kairi continued telling her story, with Aqua also listening intently, as she had only gotten a quick summary of what was going on before she joined the party. Kairi recounted the adventures on all of the worlds that she had visited by that point, only receiving simple responses and a few inquiries of clarification as she spoke, until she got to the part where the party rescued Aqua.

"Hold on a moment," Braska interrupted. "How did you already know Aqua, exactly?"

"She saved me from monsters when I was a little girl back in Radiant Garden," Kairi explained.

"When I sensed the light within her, I cast a spell that would protect her from danger and take her to someplace safe, where there would be someone to help her," Aqua added.

Braska directed a warm smile at Aqua. "Well then, thank you for keeping my daughter safe," he said.

"You're welcome," Aqua replied.

Kairi continued telling how she and the others found Aqua and brought her back to the Realm of Light, while at the same time Aqua explained what she was doing there in the first place.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that," Braska told Aqua sympathetically.

Aqua nodded. "Thank you."

"But wait. You were there for over a decade. And yet you're still a young woman, not that much older than Kairi now?"

"Time passes much more slowly in the Realm of Darkness, it would appear," Aqua explained. "It felt like only a few months had passed, while it was much longer for everyone else."

"I see. But still, any amount of time with that torment is far too long."

Kairi continued the story and filled her adoptive father in up to the present.

Braska chuckled. "Well, I see you all have been busy. And I know it will only be for a few days, I'm glad that you're back."

Kairi smiled. "Thanks, Papa. I'm glad to be back."

Braska stood up from his seat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I ought to get back to work. But I'll see you tonight. He made his way around the table and kissed Kairi on the forehead. Kairi returned a kiss on the cheek. "It was a pleasure to meet you," he said while shaking Aqua's hand.

"Likewise," Aqua replied.

"See you later," Kairi said as she watched Braska return to his office. She turned to Aqua. "Come on. We'll go meet up with the others, and then I'll give you a tour of the town."

Sion jabbed at the punching bag, with his friend Volt holding it still. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he practiced his punches while Volt encouraged him. After a few minutes, Sion stopped and took a deep breath. He took his towel from over his shoulders and wiped the sweat from his face, then drank from his bottle of vitamin water.

He and Volt turned to see Sora approaching them. Sion grinned while Volt gave Sora a respectful nod. Sora gave Volt a friendly wave and high-fived Sion.

"What's up, Sora?" Sion greeted. "You're back in town?"

"For a few days," Sora replied. "And, actually, I wanted to talk to you about something while I was here."

Sion nodded. "Shoot."

"So, the other day, we ran into this guy who's gotten Maleficent and a bunch of these other villains together. He's basically kind of behind everything we've been going up against," Sora explained. He scratched the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed about what he was going to say next. "I fought him, but he kicked my butt. Everything I threw at him, he saw coming and countered."

"Ouch," Sion said sympathetically. Volt shook his head.

"We were thinking that it was like he knew everything I knew, not like he could do all of that too, but he knew every single attack I could think to use, and he knew exactly what he should do against them. Except one."

Sion crossed his arms. "What do you mean?"

"The roundhouse kick you taught me," Sora answered. "He actually seemed surprised that I knew that, and he wasn't prepared to counter it."

Sion beamed with pride, while Volt appeared to be deep in thought. "So, he knows all of your skills, up to before you left on your quest," the large bouncer surmised.

Sora shook his head. "I don't know what else he knows about me or what he doesn't, but he seems to know a lot about my earlier adventures. So, anyway, we were thinking that I might be able to do better next time if I learned some new moves."

Sion's eyes widened and he let out a laugh. "You want me to teach you new moves?" he asked.

"Well, I was actually going to ask Volt," Sora joked. Sion laughed, while Volt let out a mere "hmph", which the spiky-haired cousins knew was as close as they would ever get to hearing the man laugh.

"Alright. Let's see what I can do for you," Sion said. He adjusted his stance. "Okay, get into position. Find your center and settle your body weight." Sora did so, recalling Sion's instructions in Kenpo and having practiced from previous sparring and practice sessions. "Now, show me what I taught you."

Sora threw a few quick jabs, but Sion blocked them with open hands, then stepped to the side to deal a jab to the back. Sora twisted around and elbowed Sion. He turned around to face him and dealt a few punches, followed by a knee to the stomach.

Sion grinned. "Okay. You could work on your form, though," he told Sora. "I saw you cock your fist a few times. You should deliver it perfectly from the point of origin, aiming as you go. That way, you won't telegraph your moves. Got it?"

Sora nodded and got back into position. He threw the first punch, but Sion slapped it aside with his forearm and dealt three blows, followed by a spinning kick to Sora's shoulder. Sora ducked and delivered a punch, knocking Sion off balance. He then grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him to the ground.

Sion laughed as Sora stood over him. Sora helped him to his feet, and the two bowed to each other.

"Not bad," Sion complimented. "There's room to improve, but you're getting better with your technique."

"Thanks," Sora replied. "I had a good teacher."

"Now, let's show you some new moves."

"There's the track and field. And up here is the basketball court," Kairi said to Aqua, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Her tour of the town had led them to the school grounds. She shielded her eyes from the sun's glare and peered at the court. "And it looks like someone's there." They approached the court and saw Riku, Wakka, Tidus, Irvine, and two other boys, playing in a three-on-three game. Selphie, Lulu, and a few other students sat on a nearby bench watching them play. Riku blocked Tidus, but the younger boy passed the ball to Irvine, who made the shot perfectly, eliciting cheers from the audience. One of the other boys retrieved the ball and was about to bring it back for the next play when everyone took notice of the visitors. Kairi and Goofy gave them friendly waves.

Wakka let out a laugh. "Hey, sista! Good to see you! And you guys, too!" he greeted. He noticed Aqua behind her. "Hey, who's your friend?"

"I'm Aqua," the bluenette introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."

Wakka walked up to her and shook her hand. "I'm Wakka," he replied. "And right back atcha. A friend of Kairi's is a friend of mine, ya?"

Tidus stepped forward and flashed her a cocky grin. "Name's Tidus. I'm the star player around here." Kairi struggled to hold in her laughter, while Lulu rolled her eyes in annoyance. Irvine pushed Tidus aside with a playful poke to the side of the head and introduced himself, and everyone else gave Aqua a proper greeting as well, as well as to Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

"So, how have things been here while we were gone?" Kairi asked.

"It's all going well," Selphie replied. "Festival preparations are going according to schedule. The teachers are all glad that you, Riku and Sora have been getting your homework and quizzes in on time. I think they're also impressed with how well you've been doing on them without actually participating in classes."

Riku smiled proudly. "We do our best," he said plainly.

Aqua eyed the basketball under Irvine's arm. "Say, you mind if I join in on a game?" she asked.

Irvine blinked in mild surprise, then smiled. "Sounds fine. Anyone have a problem with it?" The other players shook their heads in a negative. "Great. Of course, we'd either have to kick someone out or add another person." He looked at Goofy and sized him up. "Goofy, right? Care for a game?"

Goofy nodded. "Sure," he replied, stepping forward onto the court.

"Alright, then. Pick your teams."

Aqua joined Riku's team while Goofy joined Irvine's. The spectators, now joined by Kairi, Mickey and Donald, sat down on the bench to watch their friends play. Irvine bounced the ball to Aqua, who bounced it back, and then the play really kicked off.

Well, the cast is back on Destiny Islands. But you should know that the next few chapters won't be entirely breather episodes. The next chapter will introduce a few Disney characters into the mix (the title will be a bit of a giveaway as to who they are when it goes up). I actually foreshadowed them a bit in the earlier chapters. I hope you enjoy my take on their story (though, admittedly, a bit of the script was taken from the movie). And you're all welcome to take a guess at who they are :)

You may remember that I mentioned that I had a conversation in an upcoming chapter (actually the next one) that I have been having trouble with. Since I have not yet resolved it, and since it can probably be left out without taking too much away from the story, I decided that I will simply cut the scene out in the initial upload and update the chapter with the full scene intact when I figure it out.