A/N: First post of the New Year! Happy 2024 everybody!

Lucky Holt (c) to Kristen Verne.

Skadi Thruston (c) to DinoWriter23.

Other OC's (c) to me.

What to do?

KAI: It was one of those times where you make one decision, but then circumstances make you wonder: Now what!?

Dear Journal,

It's Lucky again. Here we are in this abandoned cottage, on the outskirts of a kingdom called Camelot. Right now, Kai and I are getting by through selling the healing potions I brew. They seem to be quite popular, so much so that I worry they'd be missed if we have to leave this place. Can you believe that the current king of this land, Arthur, is actually just a kid who was somehow able to pull an enchanted sword from a stone? When we heard about this, I heard Kai mumble something about fate being cruel to the poor kid. I wonder where that came from. We also had a strange encounter with this crazy old witch, Madam Mim I think she called herself, who was curious about the brewer of the healing potions going around. She even mentioned a rivalry with Merlin the Wizard, which made me curious if it was the same Merlin I heard about back home. She was too crazy for my liking and tried to rope us into some kind of game with her, but thankfully Kai was having absolutely none of her nonsense and used his werewolf to scare her away.

We've also been checking up on Kairi. So far nothing bad has happened. She is just happily hanging out with her new friends, those boys, Sora and Riku I believe their names were, and occasionally a girl named Selphie. Is it wrong that I feel kinda jealous of them? She seems so close to them, and I've noticed that she seems particularly fond of Sora. I wonder if Kai has noticed, and if so, how he feels about it. He does tend to look at Riku with narrow eyes. I'm not sure why but something about the silver head seems to be bugging him. I have to admit, I never imagined Kairi being interested in sword fighting. Then again with how much she looked up to Kai, and that Keyblade Wielder Aqua she told me about, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I am concerned about their plan to take a raft out to sea to reach other worlds. Not only do they have no idea where they're going or if their plan will even work, but if they do go through with it, how are we gonna protect them?

*sigh* I'm also worried about Maleficent and the Chaos Squad. It's been a few days since we left, so they're likely wondering why we haven't reported back by now. How long will it be before they figure out we're not coming back? How long before they find us? Or Kairi? But more importantly, what are we going to do about their plans? We can't just let their plans continue, can we? I certainly don't want to allow this, but what can we do? Maybe I should ask Kai about this, see what he thinks.

Lucky finished writing in her journal when Kai walked in, now wearing a navy blue tattered cloak to lay low, carrying a bag of munny from selling Lucky's potion. He walked over to a chair in the corner and sat down.

The two were silent for a while, neither of them any good at small talk. They were used to the silence between them though, as that's how it's been most of the time for the last nine years. But now there were a couple things Lucky needed to talk to Kai about.

"Um, K-Kai?" she stammered. "Wh-what are we g-gonna do about M-M-Maleficent? I-I mean...are w-we just gonna l-let her continue her c-campaign?"

Kai sighed. "Believe me, I certainly don't want to, especially since sooner or later she'll come after Kairi. But honestly, I'm not sure what we can do. All I know is that a direct approach isn't gonna work."

"Y-yeah... Sh-she has s-so many supporters right n-now. Her p-partners from other w-worlds, and the C-C-Chaos Squad. N-not to m-mention, we d-d-don't really know w-what Maleficent h-herself is c-capable of."

Kai rubbed his temple in thought. "We can hope that her cohorts are too concerned with their own affairs to be of much help, but that still leaves the Squad. Lightning's hands are tied, and I've no idea what Cloud will do in this situation. I'm not worried about Reptile, a wild man as he is, that lunatic could never match me, with or without the wolf. Cyclops may be a tricky son of a gun, but as soon as the beast comes out he's a wuss." He then grumbled. "No... It's Dhampir who's the real problem. That man is stronger than I am in my human form, he knows too well how to exploit the fact that I can't think straight in my werewolf form, and his power to drain energy from others is one of the few things capable of subduing the beast."

Lucky twiddled her thumbs. "A-and on t-top of that, he's i-immune to my ph-pheromones, so I w-w-won't be able t-to p-put him to s-s-sleep."

"So yeah... If we try to take them on ourselves, we're as good as dead."

The two pondered for a while until Lucky got an idea.

"D-do you think a K-Keyblade wielder m-might be able to h-help us?" The Chaos Squad had been told about the Keyblade by Maleficent, instructing them to watch out for wielders of them as she claimed to have had run-ins with them before.

The red head grabbed his chin in thought. "Perhaps... A Keyblade might be able to exploit the Squad's vulnerability to the power of light, especially Dhampir. The problem is finding a Keyblade wielder. The Squad has been at this for a good long while and yet we've never encountered one."

"K-Kairi told m-me about A-Aqua. M-Maybe we can l-look for h-her?"

Kai sighed. "That's gonna be difficult because..." he hesitated for a second, "I never told anyone this, not even Kairi, but the last time I saw Aqua, she was fighting Xehanort, just before he was found by Lord Ansem and became his apprentice. The fight ended with them both sinking into a pool of darkness, and only Xehanort came back out. Aqua's Keyblade came out, along with an empty suit of armor, but not Aqua herself."

"O-o-oh m-my!"

"I never trusted Xehanort, but I never told anyone because I didn't think anyone would believe a kid like me. Plus...I didn't want Kairi to be crushed by Aqua's fate, whatever it was. Still... Sometimes I wonder how things would've turned out had I just worked up the nerve to say something to Ansem from the start."

Lucky clutched her heart in sorrow. "I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry... B-b-but...p-please know that n-none of that w-was your f-f-fault." They paused for a moment before she spoke again. "Y-you said A-Aqua's K-K-Keyblade was l-left b-behind?"

"Ansem's apprentices took it. Never found out where they put it, though. And it's not like we can search the castle for it without getting caught by the Squad. And even if we did somehow obtain it, the odds of it working for either of us is not very likely." Kai shook his head. "You know, Aqua once told me that one day I would wield a Keyblade of my own. And yet so much time has passed, and no matter how strong I got, a Keyblade never appeared before me, never even in my hour of need. Not that it matters at this point, I've long given up on that." He then sighed in frustration. "So in short, unless fate decides to throw us a bone, we're pretty much screwed."

The pinkette didn't want him to lose hope, but honestly, she wasn't feeling very hopeful herself. She had to concede that the only thing they could do right now was keep an eye on Kairi, all the while waiting and hoping that a solution presents itself.

After a moment of silence, Kai said, "Come on. Let's go check up on Kairi."

Lucky nodded. "R-Right..." She then drooped her wings before putting on a dark gray tattered cloak.

With that, they entered a dark corridor.

Kairi entered the cellar of her house, walking toward something covered in drapes. She removed the cloth to see a human-sized brown container with a heart-shaped window on it.

Her mother had shown her this a few years ago. She told her how although they didn't want to jump to conclusions, they found it an awfully big coincidence that a meteor shower occurred one night, one of them landed in the ocean right near the beach, Kairi was found washed up on that same beach the next day, and Genma found this container in the water near that same beach the day after. Still, when the redhead looked at this thing she felt an uneasy familiarity with it, so it seems that their suspicion about her being connected to it is probably true. But how this brought her here is still up in the air. Despite the unsettling feeling she got from it, she still felt compelled to come down here every once in a while and look at what's perhaps the only solid clue to her past. She put her hand on it as she imagined seeing her younger self sleeping inside the glass.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice from behind. "Still thinking about it, huh?" She looked to see Mayor Hitomi.

Kairi looked down in shame. "I'm sorry..."

Her adoptive mother shook her head. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Kairi. Curiosity is a hard thing to resist, especially if it involves something so personal. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be being unable to remember your past."

"I just...haven't been able to get it out of my mind lately. I can't shake this feeling that...there are people important to me that may still be out there somewhere. But...no matter how hard I try to remember who they are...all I get is a headache."

"Dr Summers did say that she believes you're suffering from some kind of mental block. That there's a part of you that's too afraid to remember, and it's fighting the memories in hopes of sparing you from potential pain."

Kairi sighed. "I just wish I knew how to shut it off."

"Remember the doctor's advice. It's best to let the memories come back naturally. The more you try to force it, the more pain you put yourself through. And you shouldn't focus so much on the past that you forget to live the life you have now."

"I know. Don't get me wrong, I love these islands. I love the friends I've made. I love...being your daughter. I really am happy here. It's just...I feel so bad about the people I left behind, especially because despite how important they could be to me I still don't remember them. Is it right to just forget about them just to spare myself the pain?"

Hitomi sighed. "I know what you mean. I have someone that I would never want to forget, no matter how painful it might be." She then pulled out a picture depicting herself and a man with hair as bright as gold standing side by side, each with one arm around the other. "We had a lot of good times, Satoshi and I. We fell in love in high school. After graduation, we spent some time apart to pursue our own goals, me studying to become mayor and him working to become a boat racer, but we kept in contact. Eventually, we got back together after I was finally elected and he made a name for himself, and we got married."

Kairi listened intently as this was the first time her mother really talked about her late husband.

"I can't tell you how excited I was when we found out I was pregnant. My friends were already way ahead of me with Genma's son Riku and Ayame's Sora, so it was about time too. Satoshi and I were so happy." Hitomi face then turned sad. "But then...all that happiness went down hill when suddenly...we had a miscarriage. It turns out I had a...subtle disease that I didn't know about, and that disease...killed our baby before it could even begin its life. We were both crushed when this happened, and well, grief can affect people in very strange ways. Our emotions were all over the place, and soon our sadness shifted into anger, which we ended up turning on each other. I don't even remember how we came to it, but we ended up blaming each other for what happened to our child. Soon Satoshi decided that he needed to spend time away from me, so he took his boat and sailed out to the sea. After he left I regretted our fight, and was hoping we'd make up after he returned. But then a tropical storm hit...and no one ever saw him again." At this point she was in tears. "Sora's father Ichigo led a search for him...but they couldn't find anything. Satoshi, my husband, the man I loved most, was gone, and on top of losing a child too."

Kairi couldn't help but shed a tear of her own hearing this tragic story. "I'm...so sorry."

"Even now I keep replaying that day, thinking 'if only we hadn't fought'. We left our last conversation on bad terms. I didn't tell him that I still loved him, despite our argument. I can't help but wonder what he thought of me before being lost to the sea. Did he hate me? Did he think I hated him? Did he leave the living thinking it was over between us? I guess I'll never know."

The redhead put her hand on her adoptive mother's shoulder. "I may not know him, but...I believe that he still loved you too."

"I was a wreck for about a month. I struggled to figure out how I was going to go on without him." The violet haired mayor then smiled. "And then you came into my life. A lost little girl washed up on our shore with a high fever and no family in sight. I just felt...compelled to take care of you myself. And I'm glad I did. Caring for you helped fill the void that was left after my husband's passing. You've been such a wonderful daughter, and I wouldn't trade you for anything."

Kairi smiled back. "And you've been a wonderful mother. If I'm being honest, when the idea of you being a mother to me came up, I had the strangest feeling that...I never actually had anyone to call my mother, even before I came here. Out of all the people to take me in, out of all women to let me call her 'mom', I'm glad it was you. I wouldn't trade you either."

Hitomi chuckled. "But even though I have you now, I would never want to forget Satoshi, no matter how painful his departure. Even if I'll never see him again, I'll always cherish the good memories we had together. Just the idea of forgetting any of my loved ones feels like a sin against them."

Kairi looked down. "That's just how I feel. Like I'm hurting my loved ones just by not remembering them. How would they react if they finally found me, only for me to not recognize them?"

Hitomi grab the girl's shoulder. "I'm sure they wouldn't hold it against you. And even if for some stupid reason they would, know that I'll always be here for you. No matter where you come from, or who your past loved ones are, one thing will never change: You are my daughter. You and I are family. And if I do ever meet anyone from your old family, I'd be more than happy to be a part of it with you too, if they'll have me. Whatever happens, I'll always love you, Kairi."

Kairi then pull the mayor into a hug. "And I'll always love you, Mom." They stayed in each other's embrace for a bit before pulling away. "Well, Sora and Riku should be over at the other island by now, I shouldn't keep them waiting." She started walking out of the cellar.

"Kairi?" Hitomi called with an air of concern in her voice. "Whatever you three have been up to lately...please be careful."

Kairi couldn't help but stiffen at this. The trio has never told anyone of their plan to build a raft and sail out to sea in hopes of finding other worlds, especially not their parents. How could they tell them? If they did, they're more than likely to do whatever it took to stop them. And honestly Kairi couldn't blame them, as she could see how risky an endeavor this will be. But their parents have been showing suspicion lately, and yet they choose not to pry much into their business. She couldn't help but wonder what they suspected they were up to.

Truthfully, while Kairi put on a brave face, she was still conflicted on the whole plan. There's no guarantee they will reach other worlds. Sitting ducks on a raft at sea, there's no telling what will happen. Would this trip really be worth it? Part of her wanted to talk the boys out of this, but Riku seemed too dead set on traveling to other worlds and Sora had already agreed a long time ago to go with Riku. As for her...she didn't want to be left behind by her best friends and she didn't want them to get hurt, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave her mother all alone. She didn't like lying to her mother but she wanted to respect her friends' wishes. She wanted to just accept what she had on these islands, but the possibility of finding out about her past was hard to ignore. She really didn't know what to do.

All she could do was look at her mother with a smile. "We'll be fine! Don't worry!" A statement that she wasn't too sure of.

With that Kairi exited the cellar and headed for the hang-out island. Hitomi soon exited as well, closed the door and headed back into the house.

Little did either of them know, they had a pair of eavesdroppers that whole time. Luck and Kai had been listening in to their conversation from outside the cellar door, before moving around the corner of the house before Kairi exited.

"H-her new m-mother really c-cares for her a l-lot," said Lucky "I-I'm glad sh-she's been l-loved and w-well t-taken care of a-all this t-time."

"The mayor lost someone she loved, while Kairi was taken from everyone she loved," Kai replied before he huffed. "It's like the two of them were fated to meet."

"S-Still, you h-heard what she s-said. She f-feels b-b-bad for not r-remembering us. A-Are you s-sure you don't w-wanna show yourself t-to h-h-her, and h-help her remember?"

The redhead glared at the pinkette, causing her to flinch. "All I'm good for now is just screwing things up for her and hurting her! She doesn't need a sinner like me complicating her life any more than it already is! No! She's better off without me! And whether she likes it or not, she's better off not remembering her past...especially me..."

Lucky couldn't help but feel dejected at this, as a part of her actually wanted Kairi to remember her, not as a dream or a drawing, but as a real person. But she wanted to respect Kai's wishes. Besides, she wasn't sure she wanted to show herself either. Not so much in front of Kairi, but moreso in front of everyone else, still worried about what they'll think of her appearance.

Kai sighed before saying, "Well, we better head to the other island." He then opens a portal and the two walk through it.

Later Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat at the hangout island's cove, looking at blueprints for a raft that Riku had taken from his dad's workshop. Hiding on top of a ledge next to a zipline, that appeared to be part of some kind of obstacle course, was Lucky and Kai.

"I'm w-worried," said Lucky. "Th-they d-don't know where they're g-g-going, and are p-putting themselves in d-d-danger. And h-how are we g-going to p-p-protect her once they s-set s-sail?"

"Bah!" said Kai. "I'm sure they're smart enough to realize how foolish this plan of theirs is, and back out at the last minute."

"I d-don't know. They s-seem awfully d-determined to see other w-worlds, especially R-Riku." The pinkette then sighed. "I-I w-wish we could j-just t-take them to o-other w-worlds ourselves. Th-then they'd g-get their w-w-wish, while w-we could k-keep them s-safe."

The red head shook his head. "But taking those kids through the Corridors of Darkness carries great risk. Kairi's pure light will protect her, but her new friends are civilians who are not likely to survive such harsh darkness."

Lucky clutched her heart in sorrow. "A-And it w-would be c-c-cruel to t-take her away f-from her f-f-friends."

Kai then sighed in frustration. "Still, if push comes to shove, we might not have a choice but to whisk her away...as much as I don't want to."

The two continued to watch the teens, the boys deciding to have another duel while Kairi appeared to be gathering sea shells.

Soon Lucky noticed Kai clench his teeth in anger. "I-is something wr-wrong, K-K-Kai?" He didn't answer at first. She wasn't sure she should push, but she wanted him to know he could trust her. "Y-you kn-know you can t-tell me anything...r-right?"

Kai was reluctant, but for reasons he couldn't fathom, he felt he could trust her. He grunted in frustration before speaking. "This is not how things were supposed to be. But fate had other plans, and it just loves being cruel to me."

"Y-you keep m-mentioning f-f-fate... W-why is th-that?"

"Before my father was killed, he taught me that fate had a plan for each and every one of us, that everything that happens is part of its will. I guess I took it to heart without noticing, only really thinking about it after the tournament where Ryu first went crazy on me. When Kairi was born, I knew she was special, so I made a vow to protect her with my life. I believed my purpose in life was to be her guardian so she could live her life and fulfill whatever destiny had in store for her. That was my fate. I busted my ass to get stronger, even struggled to get magic to work for me in some way just for more power, all for her sake. But then Xehanort took her and I believed she was dead, and I then thought my purpose, my fate, was to avenge her and destroy him by any means necessary. I swore allegiance to Maleficent for nine years, and did terrible things for that hag, all in Kairi's name. And now I find out that she's been alive this whole time long after the fact! Now because of my sins, I can't possibly face her again. And if that wasn't enough, I had a foul power I never wanted forced onto me, a Keyblade I was promised but never received, experienced the deaths of both my parents and grandmother, and now I have an enemy I can't possibly take down myself. And meanwhile, Kairi has lived most of her life in blissful ignorance and not suffering nearly as much as I have. If all of this was destiny's plan, then what exactly am I supposed to take from all this? Finding out that Kairi is alive after all these years, I feel as though fate is just deliberately mocking me for the choices I have made, just rubbing salt into my failures!"

Lucky listened to Kai's rant. She really wanted to say something to help him look on the bright side of things. But she knew nothing about destiny and all that stuff, so what advice could she provide about this?

"None of it was supposed to be this way. Our lives should've been simple. But no, destiny decrees that nothing goes right with me, nothing goes as I planned. My purpose to protect my sister was taken from me, and I tarnished my chances to ever truly get it back! My purpose to seek revenge on Xehanort was revealed to have been a pointless waste of time, and I committed sins for nothing! So what does fate want me to do now?! I don't even know what my purpose in life is anymore! And I'm just stuck in a loop of failure!"

Don't you think you're over thinking this a little? Lucky thought to herself but dared not voice it for fear of angering him even more.

"Part of me wishes Lightning hadn't shown us this. It would've been more merciful if I had just finished my mission to take down Xehanort oblivious to Kairi's new life."

At this, the bug girl did have a retort. "B-but wh-where would th-that leave K-Kairi? M-M-Maleficent would still f-find her e-eventually. If w-we had s-stayed in the S-squad long enough, we w-would've f-found out anyway...a-after d-doing even more h-h-harm than w-we already h-have. A-and if y-you had l-left before l-learning this, w-what p-protection would sh-she have?"

The werewolf sighed. "I know... I certainly can't trust a pair of teenage boys for her protection against the forces of darkness, that's for sure." He then shook his head. "Still, how does fate expect me to face that problem with Dhampir as the one wall I can't break through?"

"W-Well, wh-who knows? M-Maybe our l-l-luck will ch-change s-s-soon."

"Oh I have no doubt about that. The question is whether it'll be good or bad."

With that the two resumed their watch.

All the while Lucky found herself saddened by Kai's pessimistic view on his life. And this mindset about fate also has her worried about his mental health. If only she knew how to help him out of this funk.

KAI: Watching and waiting... It seemed like that was all we could do. I couldn't help but wonder: Will destiny finally present us with a solution...or will it just throw us yet another curve ball?

Meanwhile in Traverse Town:

Skadi walked in the Accessory Shop to find Cid behind the cashier counter, Squall, or rather Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith sitting on the couch, and Laguna in his wheelchair in the middle.

"I hope this is quick," the tall woman sighed. "I did so much work today, and I'm tired."

Laguna chuckled. "Not to worry, Skadi. As soon as we're done here, you can go home."

"So... What's this urgent meeting about?" asked Yuffie.

"Well," the crippled guard reached in his coat and pulled out a folded piece of pink paper with a lightning bolt drawing, "I found this in my room."

Cid looked at it inquisitively. "Say, didn't the Farrons receive something like that?"

"Correct."

"Then it's a message from Lightning?" ask Leon.

"Yes. It seems she wanted to update us on the Chaos Squad's roster."

The ninja girl groaned, "Don't tell us we have to watch out for more freak shows."

Laguna laughed. "Actually, quite the opposite! Two of its members have left the squad."

"Really?" ask Aerith. "Who?"

"Kai and Lucky."

Skadi's eyes widened at this. "Lucky? Lucky Holt left the Chaos Squad? Does it say where she went?"

"Alas no. Lightning says not to expect them to come to Traverse Town anytime soon, and that for everyone's sake it's best that no one, including herself, knows where the two are for the time being. In fact, as of now, the rest of the squad are unaware they've gone AWOL. They think they just went to pursue a lead, but it won't be long until they suspect something."

Leon crossed his arms. "So what happened? Did Kai's patience finally run out?"

"Not exactly. According to Lightning, his whole quest for revenge has now become moot, but she didn't elaborate on why that is. I'm guessing she believes, for the time being, the less we know about Kai and Lucky's situation the better. But she assures us he will probably not take part in the suffering of any more innocents."

"Well good for him." Leon said sarcastically. Truthfully, Squall had already thought Kai was dangerous ever since he went berserk on Ryu, the werewolf he gained after only cementing his belief. So it really didn't surprise him that the redhead went off the rails like this the moment he lost the one person keeping him grounded. Though that didn't stop him from feeling a little betrayed when he heard that he was siding with the very creatures that ravaged their home. And now after all this time, he suddenly decides to jump off Maleficent's bandwagon?

"As for Lucky, she mostly stuck around to look after Kai. Apparently her sedative pheromone dust is one of the best ways to keep his inner werewolf in check. Probably for the best that she sticks by him."

Skadi sighed. "I was hoping she'd come here and see her family again."

Laguna gave the giant a soft smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure that, now that she's out, Lucky won't be able to stay away from them for too much longer. I'm willing to bet she'll be visiting sooner or later simply because she misses them."

"I hope you're right."

"Now then... Lightning also mentioned that Cloud has just recently made a deal with one of Maleficent's cohorts, one that'll supposedly assure him that he'll be able to leave the Chaos Squad without a fuss and get more direct help with finding Sephiroth, but involves 'getting rid of a pest', which could potential mean killing a hero. It'll be another week or two before that contract will be carried out."

Aerith put her hands up to her chest. "He wouldn't actually do that...would he?"

"As much as I wanna believe he wouldn't, at this point we have no way to be sure. Even Lightning expressed uncertainty on how this will end. She can't confirm whether or not he'll go through with it, or if even if the cohort will stab him in the back. I'd be lying if I said that I'm not dreading where this could potentially go. Unfortunately, all we can do is hope Cloud will back out in the end."

The mood was pretty somber, so Yuffie tried to lighten it. "Well, whatever happens, it sounds like it'll be another less Chaos Squad member to worry about, right?"

Leon rubbed his temple in frustration. "It's still a headache either way."

The crippled guard rolled to the lit fireplace and threw Lightning's note into the fire, ensuring the Chaos Squad would find no evidence of this leak. "And that's all she wrote. I know I don't have to remind you that should the Squad show up here in Traverse Town, do NOT let on that we know anything that Claire told us, for her and Serah's sake."

"I wish they weren't in this situation in the first place," said Skadi. "I still feel guilty for allowing this to happen to them."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help them out of it?" asked Aerith.

"I've spoken with Merlin," said Laguna. "On top of searching for our missing evacuees, I also asked him to search for a way to reverse Serah's crystalization so she won't have to rely on Dhampir every time her powers act up, ending the Squad's leverage on Lightning. But until he finds a solution, I'm afraid there's not much we can do for them."

Soon, the door opened and two figures walked in, one of which was Merlin himself. The wizard cleared his throat before saying, "Am I interrupting?"

Laguna chuckled. "Well speak of the devil! How's your search going?"

"On the front of helping the Farron sisters, nothing yet. But I have finally found one of our missing evacuation ships."

"Really! That's wonderful news!"

"Was it the one Rinoa and Tifa were on?" asked Leon.

"And my friends, Palom, Porom, and Rydia?" added Yuffie.

"I'm afraid I can't confirm right now. I've only spoken with an old guard, and asked him to gather anyone who wishes to reunite with the other survivors and fly them here. I had to give them a Navigation Gummi because apparently someone messed up the coordinates on their ship."

Cid groaned. "Go figure! I might have to ask you to teleport me there so I can install it myself, just to make sure no one screws up again! Still, that's one missing transport found, finally, one to go."

Laguna then took notice of the other visitor, a short funny looking mouse person. "Oh and who's this?"

"Ah yes!" Merlin answered. "This here is an old friend from a world called Disney Town. And he's a friend of Lord Ansem as well."

The mouse stepped forward. "Hiya fellas! My name is Mickey Mouse, King of Disney Castle!"

Cid then looked closer at the mouse. "Wait a tick...Weren't you the one who provided our kingdom with knowledge on gummi blocks?"

"That's right!"

"Interesting," said Leon. "And what brings you here now?"

"I'm getting ready for an important mission and I need some trustworthy people's help with something. My old teacher received a message from the stars about someone who will be the key to everyone's survival... A brand new Keyblade wielder will soon appear right here in Traverse Town!"

A/N: And that will do it. So now you've got more insight to Kai's mindset, Kairi feelings on her situation, and a hint of what's to come.

Next time we will cover the Night of Fate!