The night sky over Destiny Islands was clear, with maybe one or two purple-tinged clouds hovering off in the distance, and thousands of stars sparkled in the night sky. A gentle wind was softly stirring the trees and the shoreline just off in the distance, bringing the smells of star jasmine and salt water to anyone who might be up and awake at this hour. Kairi was watching the waves brush up against the shore, breaking against the sand in gentle bursts of foam, over and over as they had always done. A handful of forgotten thalassa shells rested on the window ledge by her arm, along with a length of dark, leathery cord, already half-knotted into another seashell charm like the rest that all but covered the sewing table.

The antique sewing machine rested silently on the table with its arm poised neatly over an unfinished dress, the gray-green fabric spilling over the edge, with part of it pooling in ripples on the padded seat of a rolling stool and part hanging freely over the floor. A partially-finished friendship bracelet dangled from a drawer in the table, and a dressmaker’s dummy with pattern pieces pinned to it erratically sat still and alone in the corner. On the small, paint-splattered wooden table close to her bed lived stencils and a few small jars of paint– all these things were silent testaments to the many, many previous distractions Kairi had tried in order to take her mind off her worries.

After several moments, she sighed and pulled away from the window, flopping into her bed and staring up at the ceiling fan as it swirled slowly round and round in an attempt to start a breeze in the bedroom that was only partially successful. Again, as they had many times before now, her thoughts turned towards Sora and Riku, and the strangeness that had overtaken Sora some time ago. Both boys were gone now, and it had been so long since then that she couldn't quite keep the worry from gnawing at her any more...

Kairi sighed, shaking away the ominous worries as best she could, and shifted her focus from the ceiling to the window again; at least watching the night breeze rustle the trees was somewhat more interesting than brooding.

Something’s not right, Naminé said suddenly.

Kairi blinked in surprise before reaching for the small compact she kept by the bed; if a mirror was tilted at the correct angle, she'd discovered, it would reflect her other half back at her, and the same for Sora. Only Riku had never tried it, and neither Sora nor Kairi had once thought about pressing the issue. "What's not right, Naminé?" she asked, once she could see the other girl.

Naminé gave her a strained little smile. ...I'm not sure, she confessed after a moment. ...But I thought I heard Roxas just a moment ago-

“You did?” Kairi cut her off without even thinking about it, nearly dropping the mirror out of sheer surprise. “What did he say? Does he know anything about Sora? Or Riku?” Please, she thought, hope rising again. Let Roxas know something…

I don’t know, Naminé said after a moment, shaking her head. I… just now noticed. I couldn’t hear him very well, but he sounded upset.

Kairi shifted on the bed, trying to keep the mirror steady in her hand. "Upset? Upset about what? …what would that mean?”

I don’t know. I wish I did. Naminé paused for several seconds, expression changing slightly. ...Wait. Listen. Do you hear that?

Kairi strained her ears intently for the hint of the faintest sound, nearly falling off the bed as Roxas's voice came through loud and clear for a bare moment. Back off, damn you! he bellowed. I won't disappear again!

Both girls jumped in alarm. Roxas! Naminé bellowed with surprising strength. Where are you?

...Naminé? ...Incoming! And suddenly there was a presence in the room, boyish and flustered, and for a moment Roxas was there, standing tall and defiant - but against what? I won't! he bellowed. And I won't let you have Sora, either!

Something entered the room after him, dark and ominous, with a strange heart-like symbol on its chest, and Kairi shot to her feet. "Roxas, watch out!" she yelled, and Roxas did a flailing sort of a dodge that was so much like Sora it was creepy, leaping onto the bed and putting himself between Kairi and the mysterious something, even as his image began to flicker and wave again. "You're fading!"

Roxas half-turned, giving her a cocky little grin. Don't worry about me. You and Naminé get out of here!

Not without you! Naminé insisted, and as if by instinct, Kairi's hand reached out to brush his shoulder - and there was light all around the two, and then Roxas was gone. Kairi found herself staring at her hand in disbelief for a bare second before the something turned its attention to her and she yelped in shock, diving out the window without thinking and into the tree outside it, scrambling down as fast as her legs would take her into the sand below.

"What is that thing?" she gasped as she darted around her house and on out toward the docks.

I don't know, Roxas's voice said suddenly in her head. But it's after me, and I think it did something to Sora.

Look out! Naminé said, and Kairi pulled up short as she stopped at a clearing that dead-ended at the ocean. Now what?

"...What else?" Kairi said slowly, turning around as the something lurched towards them. "Fight."

There was dead silence for a moment. ...Sounds fun, Roxas said suddenly, that little grin evident in his tone. Let me handle this. You've got a keyblade, don't you...? Let me borrow it.

Kairi nodded, closing her eyes and focusing; there was a pulling sensation, and then the weight of the Unshakeable Memory in her hand brought her back to her self. "Just be careful, all right?" she said.

Of course, Roxas replied, just a little smugly.

Kairi shook her head and sighed before focusing again; she could feel herself being swept away, tucked neatly out of sight, and then she was looking out through someone else's eyes - and Roxas was holding the Unshakeable Memory. "Kind of girly for a Keyblade, don't you think?" he said as he hefted it carefully.

Oathkeeper's 'kind of girly' too, Naminé pointed out ruthlessly, and Kairi stifled a little giggle.

"Hey!" Roxas muttered disgruntledly under his breath as he made a gesture, and Oblivion appeared in his free hand as he dropped into battle stance; the something was nearly upon them now, and that same devil-may-care grin slid into place. "All right, then! Let's see what you've got!"

The something paused at the entrance to the clearing, apparently sizing up the situation, though one couldn't tell by its blank face. Roxas just smirked. "I'm not going anywhere with the likes of you!" he announced. "If you're looking for a fight, then come and get it!"

As if to grant his wish, the hooded something shifted closer, its robes billowing in an invisible wind, for all that there seemed to be no hands or feet to support them. Roxas shifted his feet slightly, brandishing both keyblades, and then lunged forward; the creature raised its hands and a hard wall promptly sent Roxas back into the dirt. He grunted as he picked himself up off the ground and grimaced slightly. "Oh, is that how it's going to be?"

Roxas leapt around where he thought the wall was and feinted to the left, striking the creature hard with Oblivion from the right, and whirling to club it with the Unshakeable Memory. The creature flailed violently and swiped at him; an invisible hand knocked Roxas backwards and only through sheer will did he keep both keyblades in hand the whole way. "Damn it," he grunted, picking himself back up with a grimace. "What is that thing?"

The creature flew over, slapping at him with those invisible hands again. Roxas darted backwards, blocking with Unshakeable Memory, making a metallic clanging sound. The creature forced the keyblade lower and lower, and Roxas lashed out with Oblivion at its head; the blow made the creature tumble several feet in midair before it righted itself and raised its non-hands. A giant bolt of energy formed in mid-air and then lightning erupted, scorching the earth around in a wide circle, and Roxas lunged this way and that to dodge the lightning arcs.

A sudden, sharp shock throughout his body flung him backwards, and he landed in the dirt; Oblivion went flying as the creature pointed at him, and a giant lightning bolt lashed out. Roxas rolled to the side, his hair standing on end from the near miss, and he scrambled to take up Oblivion again. "Damn it!" he growled, using the back of his arm to wipe some dust from his eyes rather awkwardly. "How'm I supposed to beat it when I don't even know what it is?"

The creature floated closer to Roxas, and Roxas lunged aside, drawing on what little memories of Sora he had - barely dodging its vicious swipe and dropping into a roll to the side - before he sprung into the air, bringing both keyblades down atop the creature and scoring an incredible blow. It reeled, stunned, and Roxas sprung forward, thrashing outward with both keyblades; the cross-strike culminated in an explosion of light that sent the creature flailing wildly back, a keening sound escaping-

-and he was floating in blackness, staring Ansem down with a sort of grim certainty; they had to prevent him from getting to Kingdom Hearts-

-and Roxas barely jumped out of the way of a potent electrical discharge that scorched one of the coconut trees behind him; he skidded several feet in the sand before narrowing his eyes at the creature. "Enough of this," he grunted as he shot to his feet, both keyblades held ready as he began to focus; while he hadn't had to fight in so many months, this, at least, was a skill he'd never forget.

Bits of light began to coalesce around the tips of each keyblade, before shooting down their length and covering Roxas in a golden glow; Roxas then rushed the creature, slashing at it left and right in a blur of keyblades, each strike giving off sharp sparks of light this way and that in all directions, and then leapt backwards; a burst of light trailed out behind him as he darted forward with unnatural speed, using his momentum to put his all into a violent cross-strike with both keyblades.

The creature shrilled sharply with each blow, finally flying across the sand and landing with a heavy thud, its body starting to break up into nothingness-

-"From those dark depths are all hearts born." Ansem's voice proclaimed from the inky blackness. "...even yours." He then started at the sight of the monstrous thing before them, pink and black and easily as massive as a world itself, even as Ansem continued his relentless proclamation. "Darkness conquers all worlds!"-

-before it finally disintegrated and faded away.

The Unshakeable Memory clattered to the ground as Roxas stumbled, preventing himself from outright falling to his knees only through the grace of Oblivion, which he leant heavily on while he caught his breath. "...what the hell was that?" he demanded of the empty space where the creature had been.

...A memory, Naminé piped up finally, voice sort of subdued - after all, she was the one who would know best. ...One of Sora's.

"Hm." Roxas finally made himself stand upright long enough to dismiss Oblivion, before sitting properly in the sand and brushing a few stray strands out of his face. "...what was that thing?"

Roxas... Kairi said after a moment. Do you remember what started this?

Roxas nodded absently. "...I woke up in a strange room," he said slowly after a moment. "...Sora was there, but he was... different, somehow." He exhaled heavily while reaching out to grab Unshakeable Memory without really thinking about it. "...And then that thing came after me, and I had to run for it. That's about it." A pause. "...Kairi... I think we should switch."

Oh- okay. And with that, Kairi moved forward - and Roxas backwards, past her - and then she was sitting in the sand with Unshakeable Memory in her lap, and a faint breeze beginning to stir the treetops again. "Well," she said finally, pushing her hair aside and dismissing her keyblade before standing, feeling oddly drained in spite of not actually being the one to fight that battle this time; for all that it hadn't actually been more than a few minutes, it felt like forever. "It looks like we're going to go find Sora and Riku this time."

...All right. There was a strange note in Roxas's assent - or was she imagining it? The question is, how are we going to start?

"I don't know," Kairi said after a moment or so. "But we’ll figure out something." The wind whistled over the island, stirring stray bits of sand into new and interesting piles on the beach around her. “We can’t stay here, though.” She picked herself up, the sand rough against her hand as she dusted off her skirt. “We won’t find Sora or Riku that way. But we really can’t go unprepared, either…”

Mm. Roxas thought for several seconds. There’s always Traverse Town. I remember a little bit about it. If nothing else, it’d be a good place to plan our next move.

Kairi started trotting towards her house; even from here on the beach, she could see her curtains hanging out her window, caught by the wind and twisting this way and that, left over from her flight out the window away from the strange creature. “Let me get together a few things,” she said finally, once she’d caught hold of a low tree branch to pull herself up and towards the window frame proper. “Then we’ll go.”

Fair enough, Roxas murmured after a moment. But hurry. We can’t take a chance by assuming that there aren’t any more of those things looking for us.

Kairi nodded, once, and then began moving around her room with purpose, hastily packing a small backpack full of some things left over from their last adventures; a small case of potions from the table, a fat little munny pouch out of the ‘secret’ drawer in her bedside table, the compact and decidedly battered first-aid kit that had patched up both Sora and Riku many times before. After several moments of thought, she snatched up a handful of packs of trail mix and buried them in a side pocket – more substantial food could be found later, and she didn’t trust anything else at the moment with the way her stomach was knotting through both anticipation and worry right now.

Finally, she grabbed near-blindly in her closet for the first outfit possibly suitable for traveling that came into her hand – white tank top, purple vest and pants, and a spare pair of shoes, shoving them into the top rather messily for the moment and cinching the top shut tightly. “Okay, I’m ready,” she said finally, sliding the straps up and over her arms and settling the pack into place.

Good.  Kairi could feel Roxas’s focus shifting and changing, both inside and out, and a bit of a lurching sensation crept into her stomach as a power she was very familiar with, yet had never used, began to move; one that tended to give her a sense of unease every time. A small spot of inky darkness began to form in front of her, growing into one of those too-familiar dark portals and their ever-present chill - and then it fizzled and collapsed in on itself, the disorganized mess fading away and sending a wave of weariness through Kairi. Ugh. That didn’t go so well.

Let me? Naminé piped up after a moment.

“…Okay.” Kairi could feel Naminé focusing on something else in turn, and then it happened; again the small spot of inky darkness began to bloom, rapidly developing into a full-fledged portal right in the middle of Kairi’s room, its top edge nearly brushing against the slow-moving blades of the ceiling fan. This time, though, it stayed open, its energies swirling and whirling in on itself over and over as it sat there, patiently waiting for them to enter.

There, Naminé said quietly. It’s ready.

Kairi carefully approached the portal; she’d gone through them many times before, but she couldn’t quite quell the apprehension that always rose at the sight of them. “Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath, face determined and jaw set as she strode boldly through the dark portal. “Let’s go find Sora and Riku.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere, on the other side of the island, the small block ship's hatch opened up to allow its occupants to emerge onto the darkened beach. "Come on, Goofy," Donald grunted, tapping one webbed foot impatiently. "We need to see if we can find them before something else does."

Goofy nodded, sort of glancing around at their surroundings on the darkened island for a moment. Donald strode off towards the houses on the main island and Goofy paused behind him for a moment, turning and glancing down another path for a moment, before shaking his head and ambling after the short-tempered magician.

Donald and Goofy wandered further into the little island town determinedly; after all, they’d both been there long enough to know where the three teenagers each lived. Donald thought hard for several seconds, before finally perking up. “Kairi’s house is closest,” he announced brightly. “Let’s go see her first.”

“Sure,” Goofy agreed. “I think Riku’s house is the next closest after that. Doesn’t Sora live on the other side of the island?”

“I think so,” Donald said, striding confidently on down the street. “But it’s not all that far a walk. Come on, Goofy, time’s a’wasting!”

The knight and the wizard moved on down the street, towards a well-tended house at the end of the lane, one somewhat bigger than its surroundings and possessing a spacious front porch, with a wild, lush garden in front of the porch, and all this kept in place behind a low, wrought iron fence covered in star jasmine. As they approached, they could see the figure of an old woman moving among the flowers running rampant, hose in hand, occasionally stopping to mist the soil under a bush or in a hanging pot, and she looked up as they approached, glancing at them apprehensively.

“Good evening,” she said after a moment, straightening up and adjusting her thick trifocals. “King Mickey has you two out this late? This must be important…”

“Good evening, Mayor Matoya,” Goofy said, courteously tipping his hat to her.  “Is Kairi available?”

“Well,” Matoya said after a moment, resting one hand on the weathered iron railing by the gate. “That depends. I think she may have been planning on going to bed soon, so I can’t say for certain at this moment.” She thought for a moment. “She still may be up, though…”

Donald and Goofy glanced at each other. “Can we speak to Kairi for a few moments?” Donald asked. “It’s important.”

Matoya nodded. “…of course.” She turned and beckoned them inside, setting the hose down on a stone bench sitting slightly askew by the garden path. They passed through the blue-purple front door and into the entranceway, where a cabinet full of crystal spheres, contently glowing in the soft lighting from the hallway, greeted them about a foot past the door. Despite the obvious age of the hewn stone floors, they shone brightly under their feet, in a decided contrast to the dark wooden walls decorated with what seemed like a lifetime’s worth of art and memories. Here on the left was a picture of a very small Kairi, bent over a coloring book with a look of intense concentration; just past that was a school picture of the entire fifth grade, with Sora bearing an incredibly cheesy grin dead center, stone-faced Riku on Sora’s left, and Kairi beaming from Sora’s right.

Over on the right wall was an old family tree with names and faces from long ago, coupled with a framed painting of a sunset on a distant, alien world that was signed in a gold scrawl at the bottom of the frame. A wooden table the color of copper nearby held a double frame – one side displayed a picture of Sora, Kairi, and Riku on the beach shortly after their return, while the other side of the frame displayed Donald, Mickey, and Goofy on the same beach, with the Gummi Ship clearly visible in the background. Through a doorway nearby could be seen a spotless, white-gold kitchen – save for a table by a large bay window in the corner that was littered with paper cutouts, newspapers, glue and glitter. But none of these were Matoya’s destination, and she moved past them with a practiced ease, leading Donald and Goofy through the house and on towards a bedroom in the back; the door was covered with stenciled designs and all kinds of dangly bits and bobs hanging from a corkboard. “Kairi?” she called, knocking softly at the door. “Can you spare a moment?”

There was no answer, and she frowned a bit. “…Kairi, are you all right?”

Still, no answer came, and so she opened the door, which swung aside silently. Kairi’s curtains still hung outside the window, fluttering quietly in the gentle breeze; her bed was disheveled, and things were askew, scattered this way and that. There was, however, no sign of her at all in the bedroom, and it appeared she hadn’t been there for some time.

“Kairi?” Donald asked softly, leaning around Matoya to peer into the bedroom. “Kaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiri. Are you in here?”

“It… doesn’t look like it,” Goofy said doubtfully; the last few times they’d been here, Kairi had always – always – been quick to greet them, even if only with a wave and a smile while she put her latest project safely and neatly away. Something wasn’t right if she wasn’t there to greet them, even at this hour.

“Oh, no, Kairi!” Matoya nearly whimpered, dread and worry in her eyes while one hand clutched at the hem of her apron tightly, forming sharp creases in the stiff cream-white fabric. “Where are you…?”

“Where in the heck is she?” Donald demanded, huffing and moving into Kairi’s room proper. “It’s not like her to up and leave without telling anyone. Do you think she’s out with Sora and Riku or something?”

“Maybe,” Goofy said after a moment. “But even then, I think she’d have said something, or at least left a note… And I don’t think she’d have left such a mess behind, either.” He scratched his head for a moment. “Should we go ask the boys, then?”

“…I don’t think that will help,” Matoya said shakily after a moment. She shook her head, eyes fixed firmly on the mussed bed and the bay window that lay wide open to the world before her voice took on an oddly even calm. “I suppose she’s gone to find them herself, then….”

“…Find who?” Goofy asked, scratching his head.

“Sora and Riku,” Matoya replied softly after a moment, still staring into the emptiness of Kairi’s room for several seconds, before she turned to face them – her expression a study in stoic resolve by now -  while pushing her trifocals up on her nose to allow her to properly focus. “…You see… something happened to Sora and Riku. As far as anyone knows, they’ve… simply vanished.”

“…what?” Goofy asked, flailing backwards a little bit in shock. Donald squawked loudly,  jumping up and down and shaking his staff this way and that, heedless of the painting that nearly fell off the wall behind him. “What do you mean they’ve vanished?! What happened?”

“Nobody knows,” Matoya sighed quietly. “…Sora disappeared first. Riku vanished next shortly afterward. I knew Kairi was worried about them, but I never would have expected that she’d actually leave and try to find them…”

Donald’s palm met his forehead. “That’s dangerous!” he squawked. “She should know better than to go traipsing around the worlds by herself. Oh, the King is going to have a fit!”

“So now what’ll we do?’ Goofy asked, peering around the empty room as if that would have made the young Princess appear out of nowhere before them, both safe and sound.

“The only thing we can do,” Donald muttered sulkily. “There’s no way we can go back to the King and tell him we’ve failed. We’re just going to have to find them, one way or another. But where the heck do we start?”

“…We could try in Radiant Garden,” Goofy suggested hopefully after a moment. “Maybe Leon might have seen them and could tell us where they went.”

“That’s a possibility,” Donald muttered under his breath. “Or he could at least give us an idea of where to look next. Right! We’re leaving!” And with that he turned, huffing down the hall while muttering to himself about teenagers with absolutely no sense of self-preservation whatsoever the whole way.

“Thank you for your time, ma’am,” Goofy said, tipping his hat to Matoya. “I’m sure we’ll find all three of them, so no worrying, okay?”

“…All right,” Matoya said, with a quick nod. “Do be careful, both of you.”

“Of course, ma’am..” And with that, Goofy too turned and followed Donald out the front door. Matoya watched them silently as long as she could until they were both out of the house, before pulling Kairi’s door shut once again and leaving the hallway. “Oh, Kairi,” she sighed, reaching up to remove her glasses and wipe her eyes dry. “Please be safe…”

Several minutes later, the Gummi ship lifted off from its place in the sand. Donald fumed silently from his place in the pilot’s seat, while Goofy busied himself twiddling his thumbs. Despite the relatively short distance between Destiny Islands and Radiant Garden, it still was a matter of a few days’ time for the journey – and it wasn’t exactly a journey either wanted to be making right about now. One could only imagine what King Mickey would have to say about this, if he knew.

They both only hoped Leon would be able to tell them something when they landed.