A/N: Boy I managed to get this chapter out quicker than usual. I guess I was so eager to do a few things that I've wanted to do in this story for a long time, that I was just driven to get this out as soon as possible. Not to mention, after twenty-two chapters, one of the characters tagged on the story description FINALLY make his debut, I'm sure some of you were tired of waiting for that.

BTW, I forgot to give credit to Kristen Verne for roleplaying much of the previous chapter with me, and likewise, she roleplayed Kai and Lucky's scene with me in this chapter.

Also it's my Birthday as I am posting this. Just thought I'd mention that. Though now that I think about it, posting a chapter entitled New Beginnings on my Birthday seems almost fitting, wouldn't you agree?

New Beginnings

KAI: I had nothing left. Nothing but a desire for revenge. So when an opportunity to pursue that revenge came knocking, I took it.

Lucky sat on the couch, petting Dawn, not only to comfort the cat, but also in an attempt to calm herself, because she had been quivering with anxiety ever since Xehanort took little Kairi. She really hoped that Kai would be able to bring her back, but...something inside was telling her it was already too late. She did her best to hold back the tears that were building up in her eyes, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

Soon, Kai came storming into the apartment, his eyes still red and his teeth clenched with anger. He stomped around while holding his head in pain. "That traitorous scum!" he shouted as he knocked a lamp over, which shattered on the floor, and then flipped a table so hard it was thrown into the wall. "How dare he run from me after what he did!"

The bug girl was startled by his behavior, and his new wounds, especially the addition to the scar on his chest, made her concerned. When he paused to take a breather, she worked up the courage to speak. "K-K-Kai? Wh-what h-h-happened? Wh-where's K-K-Kairi?"

The boy glared at her for a moment, causing her to flinch fearing he was gonna take his anger out on her. But then his eyes returned to blue and his anger morph into sadness. "Sh-she's gone..." he choked out. "Kairi...is gone..."

That statement broke the dam, and Lucky's tears came flooding out. "N-n-n-no... Not that s-s-sweet l-little a-a-angel..." She then cuddled the cat as she began to cry.

After a while, the redhead punched the wall as he himself began to sob. "Why!? Why did this have to happen!?"

"I-i-it's m-m-my f-fault..." the pinkette choked out. "I-I-I-I tr-tried! I-i t-t-tried to s-save her! I-I br-broke m-m-my pr-p-promise... I-I'm s-s-sorry!"

Kai glanced her way for a moment before approaching her. "No...this isn't on you. Protecting her wasn't even supposed to be your job. She was my sister. It was supposed to be my responsibility, my duty! The day she was born, I made a vow that I would protect her at all costs!" He slumped as he sat down next to her. "And yet in the end I couldn't even be there for her when it mattered most. All because I was weak. I failed her."

Lucky looked at the boy with sorrow. She could only imagine what he must be going through as Kairi's brother. "I-it's n-no-not y-your f-f-fault... y-you t-tried. I-it was h-him...h-his d-doing, a-and n-now he's a-a-ab-abandoned u-us all."

Kai clenched his fist in anger as he clutched the now X shaped scar on his chest. "Xehanort... I swear...that bastard WILL pay for this! Somehow!" Soon he felt something crawl into his lap, he looked down to see Dawn meowing sadly. Kai couldn't help but pet her. "I miss her too. She was...all I had left... Her protection and happiness was my purpose, my reason to live. And now..." He sobbed again. "I can't believe she's gone."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Soon it was broken by Lucky. "Wh-what are w-we g-go-going to d-do n-now?"

"I...don't know."

The two then heard chuckling from the door, and look to see the vampire experiment himself. "Well, look at you two, behaving like a pair of saps."

Kai stood up in anger, the cat instinctively jump off his lap just he rose. "Shut up, pale face! My sister is gone! Our world is gone! How are you okay with this!?"

Dhampir scoffed. "As far as I'm concern, the lives of the weak are inconsequential. Though if it makes you feel any better, Cyclops spotted several ships transporting survivors to parts unknown, including our own chaos sister, Gigas, who seems to have turned her back on us."

Lucky looked down in sorrow. "I-I-I wish I-I could g-go w-with them."

"Too bad for you, you missed your chance." The pale man chuckled again. "Though something tells me you wouldn't want to...looking like that."

The pinkette hesitated before replying. "B-but it would b-b-be better th-than this."

"Oh, don't be like that. Though Xehanort has abandoned us, a new opportunity has just presented itself to us."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"A sorceress from beyond our world has come to us, and offered us subjects of the Chaos Program a new purpose."

"A sorceress?"

"Allow me to introduce you to...Mistress Maleficent."

Dhampir stepped aside and in walked an inhuman looking woman, in a dark cloak, carrying a scepter, and had a raven perched on her shoulder. Dawn hisses at her. The woman smiled at them. "Hello, children."

Kai summoned his sword and pointed it at her. "What do you want?!"

Maleficent raised her hand. Now, now! No need for weapons, I mean you no harm. I'm merely scouting for potential allies. I understand that the lot of you have been granted...extraordinary gifts."

"G-gifts?" asked Lucky.

"Your Chaos Powers as Dhampir described them."

Kai scoffed. "I wouldn't call them gifts"

"M-me n-neither," said Lucky.

Maleficent shrugged. "However way you view them, I believe you can put them to great use. And I have big ambitions that your powers could help me with. If you pledge your allegiance to me, I can give you all the worlds."

The redhead glared. "You can't give me what I want."

The sorceress chuckled. "Can't I?" She then approached the boy. "Tell me... What is it you desire?" She began circling around him. "You were wronged. You had something taken from you. Something you can never get back. And now you have nothing left. Nothing but your anger and hatred towards the one who took it all from you." She stopped in front of him. "Is it revenge you desire?"

Kai paused for a moment before saying. "Yes... but what I want truly is my sister back."

"And yet from the sound of things, that can never be, can it?"

"...No..."

Maleficent then turned to Lucky and walked over to her. "And you, girl?"

"M-m-me?"

"Are you a fairy like me?"

"F-f-fairy?" That word alone brought Kairi back into her mind, the only other person to ever call her that. "I-I... U-um... N-no o-offense but... You d-don't look like a f-f-fairy."

"Well, I may not look it, but I am one indeed. Now, what is you desire?"

"I-I-I...U-um... I-I-I...d-don't know...I..." The girl twiddled her thumbs with uncertainty.

"Come on, now. Don't be shy. I am listening. I won't judge."

Lucky looked down before finally answering. "I-I want a h-home... and p-p-people not t-to be sc-scared of m-me."

Maleficent puts her hand on her own chest. "You poor dear child! I can assure you, no one working for me will ever be scared of you." She then puts her hand on the girl's face in an almost motherly manner. "From one fairy to another, I can provide you a place where you will belong."

Lucky didn't know what to make of the sorceress, but she could not deny how tempting her offer was.

Maleficent then turned back to the redhead. "And you, boy! I can help you find the one you seek and destroy them."

Kai also didn't know what to make of this woman, but he wasn't sure he could trust her. He raised his hand and transformed in into a claw. "I don't need your help for that! I'll destroy him myself!"

The witch smirked. "And even if you do somehow find him by yourself, can you be sure that you'll be able to destroy him as you are now."

Kai grunted in frustration at that, knowing how badly his last fight ended.

Maleficent chuckled as she said, "As I understand it, your Chaos Powers derive from darkness. Your darkness is strong, that I can tell just by looking at you. But such power will mean nothing against an experienced veteran unless you learn to control it. I can help you there. I can teach you everything I know about the dark arts. Learn from me, and you will gain the power to take your revenge."

Kai thought for a moment. We wanted nothing more then to reek vengeance on Xehanort. At this point he'd do anything to get it. And he knew that he would need to get stronger in order to stand a chance against him. Without Kairi...he had nothing left to lose. He undid his arm's transformation and dismissed his sword. "Let's just get one thing straight: If you screw me over in any way, you are dead to me!"

Maleficent shrugged. "Fair enough! Now then! To seal our agreement, I want you two to swear your loyalty to me. When I require you to do something for me, you will do it without question. Only then will I guarantee you will have what you desire. Do you pledge your allegiance to me?"

Uncertain what she should do, Lucky looks to Kai, awaiting his response. Kai paused for a moment before saying, "Fine."

Lucky looked down before giving her own answer. "O-okay..."

The witch shook her head. "I need you to say it like you mean it."

The redhead grumbled before saying, "I pledge my allegiance to you, Maleficent."

The bug girl repeated what the boy said.

Malefcent smiled triumphantly. "Excellent! I know we will accomplish great things together. There will be a meeting in a few days to officially discuss my plans. I'll expect you both to attend." With that, she left the room.

Dhampir walked up to the two. "You made a good choice, Lycan, Insetto. Now we chaos siblings will certainly achieve greatness together."

Kai sighed in exasperation. "Can we stop using those codenames now?"

"I don't see why we should. As far as I'm concerned, we are part of an official team now." The vampire then gave a smug grin. "Besides, I already gave the mistress all of our codenames, so tough luck. You can drop them if you wish, but don't expect us to."

"Whatever... So, what is the plan? Are we staying here, or is she making us leave?"

"The mistress has taken quite a liking to this castle. It will be our base of operations. If you wish, you could even remain in this apartment of yours. But I am told that we will have the opportunity to see worlds beyond our own."

"W-Worlds b-b-beyond our own?" asked Lucky. "I-I thought that was a m-m-myth."

"It is no myth, I assure you. And soon they will all be ours. And you will help us." Dhampir then summoned his dark scythe. "But I warn you: Any funny business, and you will answer to me!"

Kai glared at him. One thing he couldn't deny was that the only match he ever won against Dhampir was the one where the vampire was prohibited from using his absorption powers on him. Those powers have proven to be very effective against his beast form. "Fine..." he said begrudgingly.

"Good..." Dhampir dismissed his scythe and left the room.

Once it was just the two of them, Kai turned to Lucky. "If you want Kairi's room, you can use it."

The pinkette looked back and said, "Th-th-thank you, K-Kai..."

"It's the least I could do for taking care of her in my stead."

Lucky then looked to the cat, sitting on the couch, looking down. "A-and I'll t-take c-care of D-Dawn for h-her."

"Alright..." The redhead then looked down with his teeth clenched in pain.

The girl noticed this, and looked at his with concern. "You w-want to t-talk about i-it?"

The boy paused for at moment before saying, "...I just...need to be alone for a while..."

"O-okay... I'll b-be in the k-k-kitchen if you need anything."

With that, Kai went into his room alone, while Lucky began cooking just to distract herself from everything that's happened.

Kai looked out his window seeing the destruction the Heartless had caused to the entire town. He then softly growled. "Just you wait, Xehanort...You will pay for what you did to Kairi." He looked at his hand. "This power you forced onto me..." He then transformed it into a beast claw. "...I will use it to rip you to shreds!"

Meanwhile, Lightning, Sarah, Cloud and Ryu were still in their cages, unaware of what was going on since Kai broke out.

Soon, the optical experiment came walking in. "Rise and shine, chaos siblings!"

"What do you want, Jack?" Lightning asked with disdain.

"I told you to refer to me as Cyclops, Avatar! But anyway, I came to inform you all on our current situation, especially since you've all been secluded down here that you probably don't know what's happened today, except maybe Lycan busting out of his cell."

"Oh?" asked Ryu. "Now this sounds juicy!"

"Well, first of all, it actually started a few days ago when that rat, Gigas, spilled the beans about the kidnapping and experiments."

"B-Bruta?" asked Sarah.

Lightning however scoffed. "So now she decides to fess up? Hmph! Well, good for her..." The bitterness was clear in her voice.

Cyclops continued. "Anyway, she told her parents, who told the left out guards. Then earlier today the guards attempted to break in. But sadly that was when Xehanort unleashed the Heartless all over town, so many, even Gigas couldn't have take them all if she tried."

"Are you serious?!" he older pinkette shouted. "Why would Xehanort do that?!"

"Apparently he was finish with this world. You should see the town now, it's been reduce to literally nothing."

"What about the people?"

"Many were either killed or devoured by the Heartless. And the few survivors escaped on ships, including Gigas. Where they went, is anyone guess. Don't ask about specific people, cause I didn't care enough study any of your associates. And to top it off, Xehanort and the other scientists, including those assistants, Lea and Isa, seem to have vanished without a trace. I don't know what happened inside this castle, because I was too focused on what was going on outside, that I didn't think to check. All I know is the scientists have disappeared. And now the only ones left in this castle are all us subjects of the Chaos Program, aside from Seraph and Gigas of course."

"Wait..." inquired Sarah, "what about Kairi?"

"Lycan's sister? I'm afraid she's gone too. And judging from Lycan's sour mood, whatever happened to her, was nothing good."

The younger pinkette was shocked to hear this. "N-no!"

Ryu found himself chuckling. "Well, good riddance to that leech! Tell me! How is Hikaru doing?"

The thief crossed his arms. "Well, he's definitely ticked off. He looked like he had gotten into a fight and got a brutal beatdown as result."

The violet haired menace then laughed out loud. "Oh man! I would've killed to see that!"

Cyclops then paced back and forth. "Whatever happened here, one thing is clear. We have been abandoned...by Xehanort and everybody else. Tossed away like yesterdays trash. On one hand..." he then unlocked everyone cells,"...with the scientists gone, there's no reason to keep you all locked up anymore. You could leave if you want to, but let's be real, with the kingdom all but destroyed, where would you even go? But fret not! Fortune still smiles on us, as a sorceress named Maleficent has come to our castle, and is in need of our...special gifts. We chaos siblings can still be useful, if you only pledge your allegiance to her."

"Get real!" Lightning snapped. "Like I would ever want to associate with the likes of you!"

The optic experiment clicked his tongue. "Oh, I don't think you have a choice in the matter, Avatar. Dhampir has already accepted the mistress's offer, and I know that you need Dhampir to stop Crystal's petrification. If you refuse to join, I doubt he'll be willing to."

Sarah shuddered in fear while her sister grunted in frustration.

Cyclops then turned to Cloud. "What about you, Diablo?"

The blond was silent for a moment before he asked, "And what exactly do I get out of this?"

The thief thought for a second before answering. "I hear that Seraph is the reason you're here in the first place. I was told that you hold quite the grudge against him. Perhaps you want to get back at him for that?"

Cloud shook his head. "Not so much as getting back at him, but just to be rid of Sephiroth entirely." He looked at his demonic wing. "His darkness continues to haunt my mind. The nightmares refuse to end. I just want his darkness to go away!"

Cyclops sighed. "Well, if you're so eager to be rid of your powers, perhaps destroying Seraph will release you of his darkness. But as you are now, you couldn't hope to defeat him. With Maleficent's help, you could get stronger, then track him down and end him. And once that's done, you're suffering could end."

Cloud was silent again, before answering. "Fine... What have I got to lose?"

"Good!" Cyclops then turned to Ryu. "And you, Reptile?"

The mutant-armed psycho chuckled as he stood up. "You don't have to convince me! As long as I get some entertainment out of this, I'd be happy to join!"

"Excellent! There will be a meeting between all of us and Mistress Maleficent in a few days to officially discuss her plans. Be thankful she's willing to give us all time to adjust to our new circumstances. There are several empty apartments in this castle for you all to use. Feel free to claim which ever one you each feel most comfortable in."

On a world far away, a pair of islands rested on a vast ocean. One was larger and was where inhabitants were housed, and one was much smaller, and serve as a place to hang out, usually for the younger folks. It was a small world, but it was peaceful.

One night, a five-year-old boy with chocolate colored hair slept... and was having a most unusual dream... and little did he know, someone else was having the same dream at the same time from a different perspective.

He found himself in a strange cavern. It was so dark, and yet he could still see things clearly. It was so cold, yet he wasn't shivering. It look pretty empty, however there was a voice that kept echoing throughout the cave.

"Help me! Please! Somebody! Help me!" The boy started walking through the tunnel, intent on finding the source of the voice. The voice kept speaking and more it did, the more the boy picked up the pace. "It's so dark! It's so cold! I'm so lost! I'm so scared! I'm so...alone! Somebody please! I don't wanna be alone anymore!" By now the boy had sped into a sprint, desperate to find who ever was calling him.

Soon he came across someone. It was a girl about his age sitting on a rock near a large hole in the ground. Her hand covering her face as she cried. "Please..." she said weakly. "Help me..." She sobbed some more as the boy approached.

"Hey!" He called, startling the girl. She turned to him. Her face was blurry but her tears were clear. He saw her shaking with fear. "Don't be scared. I'm here to help you." He held out his hand. "Come on! We'll find a way out of here together!"

She looked at the boy's hand for a moment before she hesitantly reached out and grabbed it. "Th-thank you!" she said.

The boy gave her a big heartwarming smile. "You're welcome!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake, and out of the large hole next to them, a vortex of darkness erupted, startling the two. Shadows could be seen with the vortex, their glowing yellow eyes swirling all over the place. The girl screamed as something grabbed her leg and started pulling her into the vortex, with the boy trying desperately to pull her back. They both looked to see what had grabbed hold her, and it was a cloaked figure with distinct golden eyes, who gave a sinister grin as they spoke, "Your fates are sealed!" Soon the boy lost his footing and the kids were dragged into the vortex.

Not once letting go of each other's hand, they found themselves falling through the whirlwind of shadows. They gazed at the bottom of the pit and saw a giant blue eye with a slitted pupil. The boy then embraced the girl protectively, who returned it in fright. But then they felt something warm coming from above, from where a bright light was shining around them. The light was dispelling the shadows around them.

They then looked up at the source of the light to see what looked like a heart shaped moon.

The boy then woke up with a start. He panted heavily as he looked around, confused as to what just happened. It took a moment to realize that he was just dreaming. He could only remember bits and pieces, but he knew that was the strangest dream he had yet. He looked out the window, noticing it was still dark out, nowhere near time to get up.

He was about to go back to sleep when he saw shooting stars falling in the night sky. He stared at the meteor shower in awe. But then one of them caught his eye. He couldn't explain it but something was different about this one. This one looked close. It felt close. And it proved to be pretty close when it crashed right into the ocean pretty close to the beach.

He was amazed by this, and he wanted so badly to check it out. But it was late and he was still tired, and he knew he'd get in trouble for sneaking out at night. And so he decided to go back to sleep, he'd check it out in the morning.

The next day the boy was walking around the beach with another boy, six-year-old with silver hair.

"I'm telling you, Riku!" the brunette said. "One of those falling stars landed right in the ocean so close to this side of the beach."

The silverhead, identified as Riku sighed. "Sora... You were probably seeing things. I was told that meteors usually burn into dust before they have a chance to hit the surface."

"I know what I saw Riku! I'll prove it to you! We'll go swim out there and find tha-" the brunette, Sora, stopped in his track when he spotted something on the shore. Riku noticed and followed his gaze and spotted the same thing.

It was a girl with red hair lying facedown in the sand. Awestruck, the boys rushed to her side.

"Who is this?" asked Sora.

"I don't know," replied Riku. "I've never seen her before. I wonder where she came from."

Sora then gently shook the girl. "Hey! Are you alright? Please wake up!"

The redhead stirred, and groaned weakly, before her eyes fluttered open. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out the silhouette of a chocolate haired boy.

"Who are you?" Sora asked. "Where did you come from?"(1)

The girl couldn't answer as she just felt too weak, and her head hurt so much as she groaned in pain and let out a small cough before passing out again.

"Whoa! Hey! Are you okay?"

"She doesn't look so good." Riku then put his hand on her head. "I think she's sick. I'll go and get help! You stay with her!" He then rushed over to town.

As his friend left, Sora continued to stare at the girl. He couldn't help but be reminded of the girl from his dream last night. Was this really her, or was he just imagining things? Whatever the case, he couldn't help but think that she looked pretty. But seeing her like this pained him so much. He put his hand on top of hers, hoping it would comfort her. He didn't see that her necklace had briefly glowed right then.

Meanwhile, a lone woman stood in another part of the beach. She had violet hair tied in a bun and black eyes, and wore red rimmed glasses and a formal attire. She stared out into the ocean looking very depressed.

Two other adults were watching from afar. One a woman with chocolate hair and hazel eyes, and the other a man with silver hair and gray eyes.

"Poor Hitomi..." said the woman. "She's been like this for over a month now."

"Can you blame her, Ayame?" the man asked. "First the miscarriage, and then Satoshi gets lost at sea. How would you feel?"

"I don't know, Genma. But you know she can't keep doing this, especially in her position."

"Right..." The two then approached their friend. "Hitomi?"

The violet haired woman turned to them. "Oh...hello Genma...Ayame..." she said somberly.

"You know that we are here for you, right?" asked Ayame.

"I know...I just...have a lot on my mind..."

Genma sighed. "I know it's hard, Hitomi. But you can't keep this up. You're the mayor, after all. The town needs you to be on top of things."

"I know that... I just...can't stop thinking about everything..." Tears started forming in Hitomi's eyes. "Losing the baby was hard enough...but then Satoshi went on that boat trip and got caught in that tropical storm. I...I just don't what I'm gonna do without him!" She then began sobbing.

Ayame then hugged the crying mayor. "It's okay. We're here for you. The three of us have always stuck together since we were kids. We'll help you get through this."

"Because that's what friends are for," Genma added as he put his hand on Hitomi's shoulder.

The mayor started to calm down. She sniffed as she started wiping her tears. "Th-thank you...I just wish that-"

"Dad! We need help!" The three adult look to find a silver haired boy running up to them.

"Riku?" asked Genma. "What's the matter?"

Riku took a moment to catch his breath. "Sora and I found a girl washed up on the beach. I think she might me sick."

The adults looked very concerned, especially Hitomi.

"Take us to her." said Genma.

Riku then led them to where Sora and the redhead were.

As soon as they arrived they were awestruck.

"Have you ever seen her before?" asked Riku.

"No, I have not," answered Genma.

"Me neither," said Ayame.

Hitomi was too focused on the girl to answer as she started to approach. She didn't know what it was, but something about this girl just drew her to her. Sora noticed the mayor's approach and backed away before walking over to Ayame. She then turned the girl onto her back and place her hand on her head as the girl let out another small cough. "Oh my! She has quite a high fever!"

"We need to get her medical attention now," said Genma.

"Right!" The mayor then picked the girl up and held her closely. "Let's get her to the clinic."

As they all made their way out of the beach, Sora looked up at Ayame. "Mom, is she gonna be okay?"

His mother gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course she will, sweetheart! We'll make sure of it."

At the town clinic everyone sat down as the doctor checked on the new girl, all of them hoping she was going to be okay. Out all of them, Hitomi and Sora were the most concerned.

Soon the doctor finished his check up and turned to them. "It looks like it's just a fever. With some medicine and a plenty of rest, she should be okay within a few days."

Everyone sighed in relieve. "Thank goodness," said Ayame.

"I must say though, I have never seen this girl in my office before."

"Honestly," said Genma, "none of us have seen her before period. The boys found her washed up on shore. No idea where she came from or what happened to her."

The doctor crossed his arms in concern. "No family?"

"None that we know of," said Ayame. "I'm planning on having my husband lead a search party out to sea. Maybe we can find them."

"I think I'll go on a diving expedition around the area we found her in," said Genma. "See if I can't find any clues."

"My secretary and I will ask around, put up flyers, see if there's anyone in town that does know her," said Hitomi. "But doctor, are you gonna keep her here until she gets better?"

The doctor held his chin in thought. "I don't know. Though she's still unconscious, I have noticed that she seemed to subconsciously tense up a little as I examined her. I don't know how she'll react to waking up in a place like this. Her illness isn't that serious, so it would be safe to allow someone to take her into their home until further notice if they were to volunteer. It might be for the best if she were to wake up in a more comfortable environment."

"I can take her," the mayor said almost immediately, catching the other adults off guard.

"Hitomi, are you sure?" asked Ayame.

"I'm sure. Besides, you two already have your hands full taking care of your sons, it wouldn't be fair to drop this on either of you. Trust me, I can handle it."

The mayor's friends look at each other for a second before Genma replied, "If you say so. But don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it."

"Very well, Mayor Hitomi," said the doctor. "But if her condition worsens, please give me a call."

"I will."

After signing a few papers paying the doctor, Mayor Hitomi carried the girl out of the clinic, followed by the others. They said their goodbyes, and started going to their separate houses.

As he walked alongside his dad, Riku looked back at the girl the mayor was carrying and couldn't help but wonder to himself, Is she from another world?

And as Sora walked hand-in-hand with his mother, he couldn't help but look back at the girl as well. As it happened, the girl's eyes had fluttered open again and she looked over the mayor's shoulder, staring back at the boy. She coughed again before slipping out of consciousness again. Sora couldn't help but think to himself, I hope she gets better soon.

Later that evening, the redhead was lying on a couch with a cold wet washcloth resting on her forehead. Hitomi sat in a chair next to her, waiting for her to wake. She looked at the little girl with deep sadness. Her old friends and her secretary were searching around, but if they couldn't find her family, then this poor girl was all alone in this world... Just like me... she thought. She checked the washcloth and decided it was time to change it, so she left for the kitchen to retrieve a freshly soaked one.

It was then that the redhead stirred before opening her eyes. Her vision was much clearer than the previous times. Her head still hurt and she still felt weak, unable to sit up, but she felt enough strength to look around. Here she was in a place completely unfamiliar to her. She didn't know where she was or how she got here. She was scared, but didn't have the energy to panic.

Hitomi reentered the room with a new washcloth to find the girl finally awake. "Oh! You're finally awake! Thank goodness!" She then sat back down in her chair. "How are you feeling?"

The girl coughed before answering in a raspy voice, "H-Head...h-hurts..."

The violet haired woman removed the old washcloth from the girl's forehead and replaced it with the new one. "You've caught a high fever, little one." She then grabbed a bottle of medicine and poured some it onto a teaspoon. "Here! This will help you feel better." She then held it up to the girl's mouth, who took the medicine without a fuss.

The redhead looked around again. "Wh-Where am I?"

"You're in my home, in a place called Destiny Islands. My name is Hitomi, Hitomi Suigetsu.(2) I'm the mayor of this town. What's your name?"

The girl paused for a moment. "...My name is...I think...my name...is...I think...K...Kai...ri...Kairi..."

Hitomi found the way she answered concerning, but she smiled warmly nonetheless. "Kairi... That's a nice name! Nice to meet you! Do you...have any family? I have people looking for them as we speak."

"I...I don't...I don't know...I..." Kairi couldn't finish as she weakly groaned from the pain in her head.

Noticing this, Hitomi gently put her hand on the girl's head. "Shh..." She then began caressing her hair comfortingly. "Please don't strain yourself. You don't have to say anymore until you're better. For now, you must rest." Kairi looked at her in the eye, a weak but pleading look on her face. The mayor smiled at her again. "I'll take good care of you, Kairi. I promise."

In the child's eyes, she briefly saw a pink haired fairy through the woman as she made her promise. She didn't know why, but that comforted her a lot. Little Kairi managed a weak smile. "Th-Thank...you..." She then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Hitomi didn't know what it was that drove her to take care of this girl herself in the first place. There was just something special about her that she couldn't put her finger on. All she knew at that moment was that Kairi needed her now, and she was more than willing to oblige. And she would never regret this.

KAIRI: I was weak, and scared. I was in a world I was not familiar with, and unable to do anything about it. Yet somehow, the woman who took me in...made me feel safe.

A/N: And there you have it! Both siblings get new beginnings, though very different ones.

Kai believes his sister is dead, and is now on the path of vengeance, something that I had planned from the very start. And now most of the subjects of the Chaos Program are now being employed by Maleficent. How will their placement in the witch's ranks affect the future? We shall see!

I hope you all like my take on Kairi's arrival to Destiny Islands. I've had the idea of her arriving sick and the mayor nursing her back to health for a loooong time. Also, I have not seen a KH fic where the mayor is a woman, so I decided to switch that up for my story.

Footnotes:

(1) Based on the KH Manga.

(2) This is the third KH story where I've used the name Suigetsu.