A/N: And here's part two of the first Traverse Town visit.

Lucky Holt © to Kristen Verne

Skadi Thurston © to DinoWriter23

Other OC's © to me.


Chosen One II


KAIRI: I couldn't believe what was going on.


"Come on Lazy Bum, wake up!"

Was that...my voice? Kairi regained consciousness to see Sora, once again through his eyes, waking up in a bed. And standing next to that bed was... Kairi? What am I...doing there... when I'm...here?

"You okay?" asked Kairi?

Sora stared at the girl. "K...Kairi?"

"Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the Great Ninja, Yuffie!"

This prompted Sora to shake his head and the other Kairi was replaced by a black haired teenage girl.

Oh... Sora was just...hallucinating...about me. Kairi wasn't sure how to feel about that. But that thought was quickly pushed away as she got a good look at the Yuffie girl. She looked very familiar to her, even her name seemed to ring a bell. Do I...know her?

Yuffie scratched her head. "I think you gave him a concussion, Squall! Didn't you say you were going easy on him?"

A man with shoulder length brown hair stood up from leaning against a wall. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's Leon." He then looked to Sora. "What's your name, kid?"

"Uh... Sora..." The boy then looked to see what looked like a large key leaning against the wall. "The Keyblade!"

Keyblade? Why does it feel like I've heard that word before?

"Yeah... Those black creatures that attacked you are after you because of the Keyblade," Yuffie explained. "We had to get it away from you to shake them off. It turns out that's how they were tracking you."

"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them," said Leon. "But it won't work for long." He then picked up the Keyblade. "Still... Hard to believe a kid like you, of all people, is the chosen one." The key then disappeared from Leon's hand and reappeared in Sora's. "Well...I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

Magic...key... Just like...my Key Witch! And now...Sora has one.

"Alright," Sora said seriously. "Why don't you start making sense? What's going on here?"

As tired as Kairi still felt, she wanted to know what was going on too. And so she willed herself to stay awake for this.


At the same time, Laguna sat in his wheelchair, waiting in the hotel room next door to Leon.

Soon Aerith came inside with a pair of toons, a white duck in blue and a black dog in green.

"Ah! You two must be the ones King Mickey sent," Laguna greeted.

"Are you Leon?" asked the dog.

"Not quite... I'm Laguna, Leon's...advisor you could say. Leon is picking up someone important but he should be along soon enough."

"Good to know," the duck said impatiently. "I'm Donald Duck, the Royal Court Magician."

"The name's Goofy Goof," said the dog. "Captain of the Royal Knights."

"Pleasure to meet you both!" The former guardsman then looked closely at Donald. "You know, you kinda remind me of this other duck I used to see back in our old home. An ice cream salesman if I remember correctly."

"Hah... Probably my Uncle Scrooge McDuck. He's the only 'sales-duck' I know traveling to other worlds looking for business."

"So uh... You all know about our king?" asked Goofy.

Laguna nodded. "He came to us a few days ago, asking for a favor."

"He requested that we help guide two of his most trusted friends and a new Keyblade wielder to the start of their journey," added Aerith.

"Do you know where the king went?" asked the duck.

"Alas no," answered Laguna. "He told us he was getting ready for an important mission, but didn't elaborate. Do you know what it is?"

"Not really," answered Goofy. "All we know is that stars have been blinking out one-by-one, the king went to investigate, and instructed us to go out and find the 'key'. We don't know nothing else about what's going on."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to fill you in on what we do know."


Kai stood between the balconies outside both hotel rooms. With his darkness enhanced hearing he heard both conversations.

Basically they were talking about the other worlds, the threat of the Heartless, the importance of the Keyblade, and they even spoke of Ansem and his reports on the Heartless. Kai was aware that Maleficent had been collecting some of those reports, but he never got to read them himself, not that he was interested at the time. But now that he knew that Xehanort was taking Ansem's name, he had to wonder who actually wrote them.

Soon a loud cry prompted the redhead to leap up to the rooftop, from which he saw a Soldier crashing out the window followed by Leon and Sora. The two were then surrounded by Shadows and Soldiers.

After slaying a few Heartless, Leon addressed Sora. "Don't waste too much time on the small fry! With so many Heartless running around as of late, they must have a leader somewhere! Let us handle these swarms! You find that leader and take it out!"

"Okay!"

With that, the boy left the alleyway and Kai followed him into the Second District. Once there, Sora got attacked by another swarm.

However it didn't take long for him to receive cover fire courtesy of Laguna, who was shooting at the Heartless with his gun while Aerith was pushing his wheelchair. "Haha! Glad being paralyzed hasn't affected my aim!"

Yuffie was in front, guarding the former guardsman. "Doesn't change how vulnerable you are, old man. We better get you back to Cid's before... Sora look out!"

Sora turned to see a Large Body approaching him. The boy swung at it, only for his Keyblade to bounce right off its bulbous belly, the recoil causing him to fall on his butt. The Large Body prepared to body slam him... but midair the large Heartless suddenly gets home-runned by a metal club.

"Quick tip: Attacking those fat ones from the front will do you no good!"

Sora turned to see a freakishly tall brown skinned woman with dark arrow-like marks on her limbs. "Whoa! You're huge!"

The woman sighed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Impeccable timing, Skadi!" shouted Yuffie.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late! The Heartless are becoming a real pain today!" Skadi then looked to Sora. "So you're the kid with the Keyblade huh?"

"Uh, yeah! I'm Sora!" Then three more Large Bodies appeared behind him.

Skadi walked past the boy towards the Heartless. "Leave these chunky chumps to me, kid." And as if to prove she could handle it, she just lifted one of the heavy looking Heartless as if it was nothing and tossed it into the other two. "I saw something big heading toward the Third District. If you're competent with that key at all, you might wanna check it out."

Sora was stunned at the giant's display, but quickly snapped out of it. "Okay!"

Kai watched the boy run to the Third District. He was interested to see how this boy fares against an alpha Heartless. But suddenly he sensed a familiar dark presence in that direction, and grunted in frustration. "Of all people to show up, it had to be him!"


A man stood in the middle of the Third District, examining the damage. "Quite the sight! No way some random Heartless did this kind of damage! No! These claw marks have Lycan written all over them! Haven't seen him in about a week... What's he been up to?"

Before he could contemplate further, he sensed someone coming and decided to hide himself. When he saw who it was, a scrawny boy with Keyblade, he smirked in amusement.

After a pair of weirdos literally dropped in on the key bearer, the trio fought off a swarm of Heartless. Despite having only just met, Sora managed to work surprisingly well with Donald and Goofy. Then a Guard Armor dropped in. It was a tough fight, but they were able to take out its detached limbs one by one before finally finishing it off.

The three took a moment to catch their breath before a maniacal laughter echoed in the area, putting all three on edge. "That was quite the show, Key Bearer! You actually managed to entertain me!"

"Who's there!" shouted Sora. "Show yourself!"

"If you insist! But I warn you... I'm not exactly a handsome man!"

The voice then came out of hiding. It was a man with spiky violet hair, green eyes, and wore a blue vest. But what really startled them was his grotesque black reptilian left arm, along with the black scales covering half his face and reptilian left eye. Needless to say, all three were very disturbed by the sight, but Sora in particular felt an eerie chill running down his spine. Something about this guy felt strangely familiar to him, despite him being certain that he's never met him before.

The man chuckled. "I warned you! Quite the freak show aren't I!" He sounded almost proud of that, which unnerved them even more.

"Wh-who are you!?" shouted Donald.

"I'm Reptile, of Maleficent's Chaos Squad!"

"M-Maleficent?" asked Goofy.

"The sorceress who commands the Heartless! Many worlds have fallen to her campaign! And I am part of her elite squad!"

"Wh-what do you want?!" asked Sora.

"Officially, I'm on recon duty. A world that has become a refuge for survivors of fallen worlds has caught the mistress's attention recently. But personally..." Reptile then made a slurping sound as stuck his tongue out of his crazed grin and licked his teeth. "I'm looking to satisfy my thirst for blood! And I can't tell you how long I've waited to throw down with a Keyblade wielder!" He then summoned a dark longsword in his human hand. "I see you can handle the Heartless fairly well, you even managed to take down an alpha. But can you handle a monster like me? Let's find out!"

With that, Reptile opened the fight by generating a large fireball in his lizard hand before tossing it toward the trio. Midair the fireball split into a fusillade of smaller flames. Goofy ran in front and blocked the fireballs with his shield, but the crazy man rushed up to him and roundhouse kicked him away. He swung his sword down on Sora, who blocked with his Keyblade, but in the sword lock, the boy was unable to avoid the swipe of his reptilian claws, knocking him to the ground. Donald jumped back before launching a fire spell from his short staff, only for Reptile to deflect it with his monstrous arm before stretching said arm to grab the duck. He then saw the dog charging in and decided to throw the duck into him. Sora got back up and started clashing swords with the freak, taking better care to avoid the claws. But then a spike sprouted from the man's arm and launched at the boy, grazing him in the side.

Reptile started cackling. "Is this supposed to be a challenge?!"

As the fight went on, the trio found themselves unable to get the better of the Chaos Squad member, largely due to his unpredictable movements. At this point it seemed like he was just toying with them. Soon Reptile managed to knock out Donald and Goofy, before stretching his monstrous arm and pinned Sora to a wall. The boy dropped his Keyblade as he struggled to free himself.(1)

"You know, I must confess myself disappointed," the lunatic said bitterly. "Why the hell would a Keyblade choose a shrimp like you? You were hardly worth the effort." He then chuckled as he approached the desperately struggling boy. "Well whatever... I may as well go ahead and finish this. After all... Your life isn't worth spit!"

As Reptile readied his sword to strike, time seemed to slow down for Sora. He couldn't get out of his attacker's grip and he was on the brink of getting beheaded. The boy feared for his life and shut his eyes in anticipation.

"SORA! NO! DON'T DIE!"

Hearing Kairi's voice, although he didn't know where it came from, seemed to trigger something within him. His eyes opened back up, which briefly glowed, and his hand reached out for his dropped Keyblade. Said Keyblade glowed, started spinning like a buzz saw, and flew right through Reptile's monstrous arm, cutting it right off. This caused the madman to stagger backwards, shouting in pain as his severed arm dissolved into darkness. Sora, now freed from his opponent's grip, fell onto the ground, sitting against the wall as his Keyblade flew back to his hand.

Sora found himself stunned at what just happened. "How...did I do that?"

"Damn it," Reptile grunted as he looked at the stump on what was left of his monster arm, which was spewing a hint of black smoke. "That Keyblade is no joke." Then he chuckled creepily. "Unfortunately for you, a wound like this means nothing to me." His stump then twitched and swelled as the arm slowly grew back.

Sora watched this in horror. "Wh-what are you!?" Even Donald and Goofy managed to wake up in time to see this.

The creep seemed to take delight in the boy's reaction. "Call me what you like! Monster! Freak! Science experiment! A human-Heartless hybrid! We of the Chaos Squad have power that the likes of you can only dream of! An amateur Keyblade wielder like you couldn't hope to defeat me!" He then leapt up to attack Sora... only to get intercepted by a flying boulder. He was sent crashing into a wall, the rock that hit him shattering on impact. He burst out of the rubble and looked to see Skadi brushing dust off her hands as she walked in front of Sora.

"Ugh... Does anybody ever tell you that you talk too much?" the giant complained before brandishing her club.

Reptile then started laughing. "Well well well! So this is where you fled to, eh Gigas?!"

"Don't call me that! I'm done with that ridiculously code name those scientists gave me!"

"Ha! Doesn't change the fact that you're still as much a monster as me!"

"That's enough!" Leon walked in with Yuffie, the latter quickly rushing to Sora, Donald, and Goofy and giving each of them a healing potion.

"Squall! It's been ages, hasn't it, old comrade?"

"Tch... Some comrade... A real pain in the ass is all you've ever been, Ryu?"

'Ryu' wagged his reptilian finger. "I don't answer to my human name anymore! I'm Reptile now! Member of the Chaos Squad!"

"Whatever! Still... When Skadi described a certain prisoner she saw, I didn't wanna believe it was you. To think that you, of all people, survived." Of course Ryu's survival was all but confirmed to Leon's gang thanks to the intel Lightning passed on to them, but they weren't gonna let him know that.

"What can I say? ... I just hate to lose!" The psycho growled that last bit.

Leon then drew his gunblade, prompting everyone else to ready their weapons. "So are you gonna come quietly?"

"Hah! You think I'm scared of all of you?! Scared of an amateur Keyblade wielder, or an out of touch experiment?!" Reptile then held out his monstrous arm, charging a large fireball. "I'm in a whole different league now! You don't stand a chance-AUGH!" Suddenly, a large vertical wave of darkness came down on him, cutting his arm off for a second time that night, and leaving a large slash mark the ground next to him.

Everyone looked up to where the attack came from. On the balcony where Donald and Goofy had previously been before dropping onto Sora was a figure shrouded in a navy blue tattered cloak, pointing a black bladed katana at Reptile. Everyone looked back at the crazed man to see him trembling, with a mixture of anger and...fear? "Grrr... You're gonna regret that!" He then turned to Sora. "Fine! I'll let you go this time, Keyblade Runt! But mark my words, we will take you down!" With that he disappeared in a Corridor of Darkness.

Everyone then looked back up to the cloaked figure, only to find that they too had left.

After a moment of silence, Sora scratched his head in confusion. "What the heck was that all about? Who was that Reptile creep anyway? And what about that other guy?"

Leon sighed. "Let's just say I used to train alongside that wack job years ago, before he went off the rails. Though admittedly that was the first time I've seen him in that ugly state. As for the other guy, I have a hunch, but I couldn't say for certain. That's all you need to know for now. Right now, I think you should speak to those two." He pointed at Donald and Goofy. Sora nodded and began conversing with the duo.

As they talked, Yuffie and Skadi approached Leon. "You think that was Kai just now?" asked the ninja.

"Dark powers, used a katana, spoke not a word to us, not to mention the look on Ryu's face... Yeah, it was him alright," answered Leon.

"Lucky was wearing a similar cloak when I found her, albeit a different color," added the giant. "So, I wouldn't doubt it being Kai either."

They silently agreed to leave the discussion there for now and rejoined the new trio.

"So... You were looking for me?" asked Sora.

"Uh huh!" answered the toon duo.

"They too have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade," Leon interjected. "But unlike the Heartless who seek your heart, these two seek your assistance."

"Hey! Why don't you come with us?" asked Goofy. "We can go to other worlds on our vessel!"

Sora looked down somberly. "I wonder if I could find my friends, Riku and Kairi?"

"Of course!" said Donald.

Goofy then pulled the duck aside before whispering, "Are you sure?"

"Who knows?" Donald said nonchalantly, as if he didn't care whether they did or not. "But we need him to come with us to help us find the king."

Leon stepped up. "Sora... Go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends."

"Yeah...I guess..." the boy said with uncertainty.

"But you can't come along with a face like that. Understand?" explained Donald. "No frowning... No sad faces... Okay?"

Goofy then moved his face comically close to the duck's. "Yeah! You gotta look funny...like us!" He chuckled before being pushed away.

"This boat runs on happy faces!"

"Happy?" Sora kept looking down for a moment. Eventually he lifted his head up making the goofiest grin he could, causing the toons to burst out laughing.

"That's one funny face!" exclaimed Goofy.

Sora nodded. "Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys!"

The duck then held out his hand. "Donald Duck!"

The dog did the same. "Name's Goofy Goof."

The boy followed suit. "I'm Sora! Sora Kazekiri!"

The three then put their hands on top of one another as Goofy declared, "All for one and one for all!"

Little did anyone know, Kai was now hiding around a corner, having managed to sneak there from the balcony once everyone else looked away.

"Great..." he muttered to himself. "Our only hope is a trio of clowns. They may have taken down an alpha Heartless, but aside from that one lucky strike, they couldn't even touch Reptile, and in the end they needed outside intervention to escape his bloodlust. If those imbeciles don't get stronger there's no way they'll survive the Chaos Squad. Someone really needs to whip them into shape and show them how dangerous the Squad really is." He then looked at his katana. "Guess an ex-member will have to do." Then he held his head in pain, the growling in his head was getting worse. "First things first: I should probably find Lucky now."

With that, he left.


Meanwhile in Hollow Bastion, Maleficent's allies gathered around a table gazing at a magical projection of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"That little squirt took down that Heartless!" Hades growled. "Who woulda thought it!"

"Such is the power of the Keyblade," said Jafar. "The child's strength is not his own."

"Why don't we turn him into Heartless?" Ursula laughed. "That'll settle things quick enough."

"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys," said Hook. "Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself," Oogie laughed.

"Shut up!"

"Enough!" commanded Maleficent. "The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness, or will the darkness swallow him. Either way, he could be quite useful."

"He is also dangerous," said Jafar. "He was able to wound one of your Chaos Squad."

"He got lucky!" Reptile shouted as he walked in alongside the rest of the squad. "I would've had that runt if that runaway Gigas hadn't gotten in my way. Worse yet that damn Lycan! He just shows up out of nowhere and what does he do!? He attacks ME and not the Keyblade wielder and his allies! I mean, how dare he!"

"Calm yourself, Reptile," said Dhampir. "Still, while it's good to finally know where Gigas has been all this time, I'm afraid Lycan is the bigger problem here."

"How do you like that?" Cyclops huffed. "He and Insetto take off following some lead, neither of them report back in about a week, and now it's clear that Lycan has betrayed us! And since Insetto hasn't reported back either, and knowing how close those two obviously were, she's probably a traitor too!"

Lightning looked away with her arms crossed. Well, those two are caught now, she thought. Surprised Kai risked exposing himself like this. She then looked at the image of the Keyblade wielder before raising an eyebrow. Isn't that one of the boys who was with Kairi?

Maleficent grabbed her chin. "Yes, that certainly complicates things. Not only do we have this Key Bearer to watch out for, but Lycan is more than likely plotting against us. They may even join forces for all we know. We will need to make finding and eliminating those traitors one of our top priorities. We'll have to divide our efforts to make sure neither threat interferes with our plans, which unfortunately means full scale invasions are gonna have to be put on hold for now. Can I count on the Chaos Squad to take care of our threats?"

"Of course milady," answered Dhampir.

Reptile sighed, "So much for watching Hikaru slowly abandon his humanity, giving in to his madness, and becoming a true monster." He chuckled. "Oh well, at least I can kill the dog now, and his little flea too."

"What about that rat, Gigas?" asked Cyclops.

"As I said, Lycan is the bigger problem," said the vampire. "Gigas knows nothing about our plans, but the same can't be said for Lycan and Insetto. We will focus on them first. Leave the giant for now unless she gets in our way."

"Fair enough."

"Now then..." Maleficent turned to her allies. "The rest of you may return to your affairs. Search for the Keyholes on your worlds, as well as any information on the remaining Princesses."

"Speaking of which," interjected Jafar. "I believe I may have a possible candidate in my home of Agrabah. I'll need some time to confirm it, but I'll let you know when I do."

"And there's a maiden who dropped in on Neverland who I think fits the bill," added Hook. "I'll just have to capture her, though she's under the protection of a very tricky scoundrel."

"Then get on it, both of you," commanded the sorceress. "You're all dismissed."

Jafar and Hook left at once.

"In that case," said Hades, "Diablo and I have a tournament to prepare for! Come on, Cloud!"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Whatever..." With that the god and swordsman left.

"Well, I better go see how my old friend Triton is doing," Ursula said before leaving herself.

"Ugh... I still need to figure out how to get them Heartless to do what I want," Oogie grunted before taking his leave.

Maleficent then sighed. "And where is that bumbling buffoon Pete at a time like this? He's certainly taking his time gathering his Heartless army for me." She looked to Cyclops. "Any report on the princess that vanished?"

"I found this rabbit hole that seems to connect to a different world from hers, and a wacky one at that. I've sent Heartless scouts already. She shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Good."

"Mistress," said Dhampir. "I think you should know that we have a castaway outside the castle. A teenage boy with silver hair. I can sense his potential in the dark arts."

Teenage boy with silver hair? Lightning thought, remembering the other boy she saw with Kairi.

The evil fairy grinned, figuring this was probably the one 'Ansem' said he'd send to her. "Is that so? Then bring him to me."


Lucky sat in her bedroom in her parents' apartment. While it was used as a guest room over the years, her mother had actually prepared this room for her in case she came home. Her father wasn't too keen on the idea at the time, thinking it was a waste of space preparing a room for someone he believed was dead, but he was definitely glad now. She found herself smiling at her situation. Here she was, back with her parents after all these years. In spite of what she looked like, they accepted her with open arms. It really made her feel warm inside, and part of her couldn't believe this was real.

She wasn't without her concerns though. How long would she have to savor this opportunity before...something happens to pull her away from them? She hadn't yet told her parents anything about what happened to her. They had told her that she didn't have to tell them anything if she didn't want to, and that they were just glad to have her back. But they deserved to know the truth. The question was what would they think of her joining someone as vile as Maleficent? She was also certain that Skadi and whoever she was working with had questions for her, especially about everything that happened in the castle. She wasn't sure what she should tell them, especially without Kai's approval. And speaking of Kai, she still had no idea where he was or if he was alright. What if he was having one of his berserk episodes? She was getting really worried about him.

Suddenly she heard a knock on the window, which made her jump in surprise. When she looked out, to her great relief, she saw Kai standing outside. Lucky wasted no time rushing to the window and opening it. "K-K-Kai! Y-You're alright!"(2)

"Yeah..." Kai said as he climbed inside before removing his hood holding his head in pain. "Aside from this roaring headache I've been enduring all night."

The pinkette winced at this, having been afraid of that. "O-Oh... I've g-got you." She then put her hands on his cheeks gently before releasing some of her pheromones.

The redhead breathed in the pheromones, and started feeling slightly dazed. His headache soon subsided before he shook his head to snap out of the daze. "Thanks...I needed that."

Lucky smiled. "You're w-welcome. S-so, where h-have you b-been? I-I was so w-worried about y-you."

"Well, for the past couple hours, I was following the new Keyblade wielder... emphasis on new." Kai then grumbled bitterly. "And of all people to get one, it's that Sora boy."

The bug woman was surprised to hear that. "Sora!? Really?"

"Yeah... Couldn't believe myself. Why would a Keyblade choose a slacker like him?"

"W-well, from what I've s-seen, he h-has a g-good heart. M-maybe he will g-grow into it?

The werewolf scoffed. "Well so far, he's leaving a lot to be desired. I'll give him credit for being able to handle the Heartless at least but he picked a fight with one of my old fellow trainees, Squall, and got trounced. Clearly receiving a Keyblade meant squat against well trained swordsman."

"Well... Y-you said h-he was still n-new. He c-can still l-learn."

"He'll need to learn fast! Especially now that he has a target on his back. After taking down an alpha Heartless with the help of these two weirdos sent by that king Maleficent told us about... Reptile of all people came into the picture. And aside from one stroke of luck where that Keyblade cut off his chaos arm, those doofuses stood no chance against the wack job. They needed intervention from that giant girl, Skadi was it, for them to survive." Kai sighed. "...And I needed to attack Reptile myself to get him to flee."

Lucky grew worried as she sat down on her bed. "O-oh… th-then he kn-knows we're on the r-r-run…?"

Kai nodded. "And no doubt Maleficent will find out soon if she hasn't already. I'm sorry...but now we officially have targets on our backs too." He thought for a moment. "If Maleficent is smart, then she'll probably divide her followers' attention between the Princesses, the Keyholes, the Keyblade wielder, and us. It could take some of the heat off the boy, but it won't be enough. If he is to stand a chance against even one Chaos Squad member, then he needs to get stronger now!"

"I-I believe he c-can. He has a s-strong w-will and c-conviction."

"Oh sure, a lot of good those did for me," the redhead grumbled sarcastically, remembering how despite having those traits himself, he still couldn't keep Kairi safe. "Well I'm not gonna wait around for him to get killed when he's the only Keyblade wielder around with a chance of stopping Maleficent! He and his new partners are planning on traveling to other worlds soon, and I intend to follow him and make sure he gets stronger...even if I have to motivate him myself..." He summons his katana. "...by personally giving him a taste of just how dangerous the Squad is."

The pinkette looked nervous at what he was implying. "Uh, i-is th-that really n-n-necessary? I-I mean, I th-think he'll w-want to get s-stronger. If y-you offer to h-help, I b-bet he will t-take it."

"The only help I'm offering him, is the kind he won't appreciate. What he needs is someone to push him into gaining more power!" Kai dismissed his sword and turned away. "In his fight against Reptile, there was a moment where the boy managed to get one over on that creep while under intense physical pressure. It was short-lived, but it was enough to convince me that pushing him hard is the fastest way to get him stronger."

Lucky brought her hands to her chest in concern. "I-I don't kn-know… That s-sounds awfully h-h-harsh. Y-you know K-Kairi cares for S-sora. I d-don't want him to t-tell her you're an e-enemy."

Kai glared at her. "If he ends up seeing me as an enemy, so be it! I deserve as much anyway for what I've done!" Seeing the bug woman flinch at him snapping at her, he felt a pang of guilt. He took a deep breath before continuing. "He can't afford to slack off, and I can't afford to be soft on him. Besides, he's not gonna know of my connection to Kairi. I won't give him my real name, I won't even let him see my face. As far as he's concerned, I'll just be a cloaked swordsman who's taken an interest in him because of his Keyblade."

"A-Are you s-s-sure about th-this?"

"I am... end of discussion."

Lucky couldn't help but sigh at his stubbornness. "I-if you s-say so." She thought for a moment. "If S-Sora is alright, m-maybe K-Kairi is t-too. P-perhaps I-I can try to f-find her."

Kai scratched his head with uncertainty. "Yeah... About that. While I was observing Sora, for some strange reason I could sense Kairi's light within that boy."

Lucky gasped in surprise and confusion. "Wh-what… b-b-but how is that p-possible?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out. But... I'd be lying if I said it didn't concern me. Her light was faint...well more like obscured by the boy's own admittedly strong light. I'm sure that if it were anyone else observing him, like Reptile, they would've missed it. Honestly, I think the only person who would probably get a better picture than me would be Cyclops with that chaos eye of his, but it's not like we can just walk up to him and ask now."

"A-and you're sure it's r-really h-hers?"

"No doubt... I suppose it's another reason I need to make sure that boy can defend himself."

"I see." The pinkette sighed as she stood up. "I'll have to explain things to my parents, and they won't be happy about it… but it'll be fine. So, when do we leave?"

The redhead looked at her as he seemed to be contemplating something. He hesitated for a moment before sighing. "You should... stay here with your family for a while. I'll go it alone for now."

Lucky was taken aback by that. "W-what!? B-but, why? W-we… we've s-stuck together this l-long. I d-don't want y-you to be a-alone."

Kai paused for a moment before answering. "It won't be for long. It'll probably be until I think I can afford to give the Key Bearer a little more leeway, or he decides to return to this town. Whichever comes first."

"B-but...w-what will h-happen if you n-need my help? What if the Ch-Chaos Squad f-finds you? What if...D-D-Dhampir finds y-you?"

"I won't let them catch me. And don't forget, the squad will be looking for you too. If they find you before I return, flee back to our hideout and I'll meet you there. But for now, you should catch up with your parents while you can."

Lucky still looked unsure. On one hand, she really did want to spend as much time with her parents as she could. She knew she couldn't stay too long, because if the squad found her with them, it could put them in harms way. This was perhaps the only opportunity she would have with them for a while. On the other hand, she was deeply worried about Kai going out on his own. She believed that he still needed her by his side, because despite discovering that Kairi is still alive, he insists on staying out of his own sister's life, seemingly as punishment for his own sins. She was concerned about his mental health, with how he's been talking lately, and worried he might have another one of his beastly episodes if he was away from her for too long. "Y-you sure you'll b-be alright? W-what if the b-b-beast g-gets to you a-again?"

Kai sighed at her concern for him. "If its growling starts getting irritating, I'll come right back." He then put his hand on her shoulders. "I'll be fine...I promise."

The pinkette thought for a moment before an idea came to her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a distinct looking seashell. "I p-picked this thalassa sh-shell up from th-those islands…" While the duo were watching over Kairi, they also took turns scouting the islands, studying the place and keeping an eye out for interlopers. On one of her scouting trips, she found this shell on the beach. She knew Kairi was collecting them and had heard the rumors about thalassa shells supposed power to ensure a safe voyage. So maybe... "I'd l-like you to h-hold onto it." She smiled at him encouragingly. "I-I expect you to r-return it when you c-come back... okay?"

The redhead tilted his head in confusion, not quite getting why she wanted him to borrow what he only saw as a useless seashell. But that pleading look in her eyes again and that caring smile... once again somehow he just couldn't bring himself to refuse, so he took the shell. "Alright, I will." He pocketed the shell before turning around.

Lucky then thought of something she should probably ask. "U-um... S-Skadi and the others w-will likely want t-to ask me q-questions about everything. W-what... sh-should I tell th-them?"

Kai sighed before telling her, "Honestly, you can just tell them everything if you want. I don't really care. My only request is that they keep their mouths shut about me in front of Sora."

"I'll t-try... B-but...d-don't forget he m-might f-find out s-some other w-way."

Kai grumbled at that but chose not to comment. He opened a corridor of darkness but before he could start walking through, he suddenly felt the urge to congratulate Lucky for reuniting with her parents. He turned to her and gave her a very small smile. "You know...I am happy...that you found your family," he said a bit awkwardly, not really good with words. "You deserve this chance...after everything you've put up with."

Lucky was surprised by this sudden statement, and found herself blushing as a result. "Th-thank you... Um... G-good luck...K-K-Kai."

Kai only nodded before entering the corridor, which closed behind him.

The pinkette couldn't help but smile. She felt reassured that despite his cold exterior, he still cares.

Suddenly, a light crash startled her. She looked to see that her parents had both tumbled onto the floor through her bedroom door. "M-M-MOM? D-D-DAD?"

Clover chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that darling. We heard a loud noise and wanted to make sure you were alright."

"H-h-how long were y-you j-just out the d-door?"

"The first thing we heard was you talking about staying here for a while," answered Jeremy as both parents stood up.

"I-I s-s-see..."

Clover then gave her daughter a mischievous grin. "So... Who was that handsome man?"

Lucky was now blushing up a storm. "M-M-MOM!"


KAI: Lucky deserved to spend as much time with her family as she could. I was...glad she took this chance. I couldn't help but hope that she would be fine...while I personally made sure that the lacklustre Keyblade wielder toughened up.


A/N: And that does it for the first visit to Traverse Town. Hope you all like the additions I made.

Footnotes:

(1) So you know how the games have a few bosses that allow the story to continue whether you win or lose? Well if this fight were in the original game, I envision it would be a straight up forced loss fight. If Sora survived long enough or dealt enough damage, Reptile would pull an unavoidable instant KO move. Or you could make it one of those fights that just ends abruptly for story reasons instead.

(2) Special thanks to Kristen Verne for her help with this scene.