The Journeys of Final Fantasy

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Aerith ambled aimlessly toward Merlin's house, smiling serenely and hoping she wouldn't run into more Heartless. She never was a fan of fighting and those vicious creatures forced her into combat constantly. She then heard the sounds of a struggle a pain-filled groan reaching her ears.

Slightly worried and nervous, Aerith turned around the corner. A man lay on the ground, covered in scratches and hardly conscious. His hair reminded her of Cloud's: pointy and blond. On one entire side of his face she noticed a tattoo, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly. She approached him hesitantly, frowning slightly and placing a hand delicately on his cheek.

"Who's that, Aerith?" Yuffie's chipper voice superseded Aerith's thoughts.

"I think he's a lost traveler," Aerith murmured, looking back at Yuffie.

"He's hurt!" Yuffie finally noticed, running toward Aerith and the blond. "Let's get him to Merlin's house," Yuffie finished, turning around and running for help.

"I hope you like people," Aerith mused, smiling happily even though the unconscious blond couldn't see it.

--

"He's waking up!" an excited voice yelled, Zell lazily opening his eyes.

Selphie? Zell thought wearily, wiping his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" a motherly voice asked, green eyes practically glowing with concern.

"Better I guess. Thanks for the help," Zell said, trying to sit up.

"That's good, but you shouldn't try to get up just yet," the nice brunette instructed, easing Zell back onto the bed.

"Where am I? And who are you people?" Zell asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh. You're in a place called Hollow Bastion. And my name is Aerith," Aerith tried to explain with a smile. "And that girl over there is Yuffie. She's a little loud," Aerith continued sheepishly, as though she shouldn't have made a comment about Yuffie's obvious talking problems. "And the man at the computer is Cid," Aerith finished, feeling his forehead for any signs of a fever.

"My name's Zell," Zell offered, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Nice to meet you, Zell," Aerith said, shaking hands with the exuberant blond.

"Aerith, I…," Leon's voice cut off as he noticed who occupied the sick bed after coming in from his work on the Bailey.

"SQUALL! Buddy! I haven't seen you in ages! How've you been?" Zell asked all in one breath, his talking reminding Aerith of Yuffie to a degree.

"You two know each other?" Aerith and Yuffie asked simultaneously, looking from Zell to Leon.

"Of course. Squall's my best friend," Zell exclaimed proudly, grinning like an idiot.

"Zell? Is it really you?" Leon asked quietly.

"Of course it's really me…who else would I be?" Zell asked, confused.

Leon gave a small smile, and walked to Zell. "How'd you get here, Zell?" he then asked, sitting on the bed next to Zell.

"I'm…not sure. I don't really remember too much after we stopped Ultimecia," Zell explained, scratching his head.

"Ultimecia?" Aerith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She tried to destroy the world using this time compression spell," Leon explained with a dismissive wave, not even bothering to look at Aerith while he talked.

"Oh. She was like Sephiroth then. And wait a minute. Did Zell just call you 'Squall'?" Aerith asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why wouldn't I?" Zell asked, pouting slightly.

"He makes everyone call him 'Leon' here," Yuffie explained, a bright smile gracing her features.

"Why?" Zell asked Leon, Leon's dark hair falling over his face.

"I wanted to forget the past, Zell," Leon answered quietly, turning his head to the side.

"Why would you want to forget something like that, Squall?," Zell demanded, giving him a hard look.

"I'm not going to talk about this now, Zell. Get better and then we'll talk about it," Leon stated flatly, getting up and walking towards the door of Merlin's house.

"Squall! Get back here! We're not done talking yet!" Zell yelled after him, trying to get up as Aerith and Yuffie restrained him.

"You can beat him up later," Yuffie assured him, "But right now you need rest." Zell grudgingly let the two ladies push him back to the bed as he began pouting again.

--

Blond spikes bounced as a leather-clad man made his way through the merchant district of Hollow Bastion. Where are you Sephiroth? Cloud wondered to himself, his face stoic as per normal. Not watching where he was going, Cloud bumped unceremoniously into a mysterious figure that was loitering around the Moogle's synthesis shop.

"Sorry," Cloud muttered, his head downcast.

"Cloud?" a deep voice asked, Cloud's head lifting to face the stranger who knew his name.

"Vincent? What are you doing here?" Cloud asked, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.

"I…don't know. All I remember is leaving Lucrecia after defeating Omega…Shelke… and then it's all a blur," the vampire-looking man responded quietly, his red eyes looking over Cloud.

"VINCENT!" Yuffie's excited voice yelled, Vincent resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't verbally respond, but inclined his head shortly as a sort of greeting.

Yuffie pouted; "That's all I get after not seeing you in forever?" Yuffie asked, playfully outraged.

"What is this place?" Vincent asked, ignoring Yuffie's question and looking around at the odd city that was Hollow Bastion.

"We aren't in Midgar anymore," Cloud muttered, his eyes narrowed. "We're in Hollow Bastion…and I bet Tifa, Aerith, and Cid would like to see you," Cloud finished, walking away from Yuffie and Vincent towards Merlin's house.

"They're here too?" Vincent asked, directing his gaze towards Wutai's notorious ninja.

"Yup. It's weird how only some of us got here," Yuffie responded, pouting lightly. "Hey! I was talking! Vincent!" Yuffie yelled, hurrying after Vincent as he followed Cloud after Cloud to Merlin's house.

Leon had just left Merlin's house when Cloud, Vincent, and Yuffie all approached. "Who's he?" Leon asked, gesturing towards the red-eyed man.

"This is Vincent," Yuffie volunteered, running up to Leon. "He's an old friend of ours, just like Zell is to you," Yuffie further explained, bouncing on the balls of her heels.

"Who's Zell?" Cloud asked, cutting in.

"Zell is from my old world. He was a friend of mine," Leon replied, eying Vincent with untrusting eyes. "Cloud, I need help fixing some of the damage down at the Bailey. Care to help?" Leon then asked, crossing his arms over his chest with darkened eyes.

Grunting lightly, Cloud inclined his head. "I'll see you both later then," Cloud said, saying goodbye to his friends. Cloud then followed after Leon, unaware of the bad mood that Leon had developed moments before finally reaching the set of stairs that led to the dilapidated Bailey. "What's falling apart so badly that you need my help in fixing it, eh, Leon?" Cloud asked, leaning against the stone structure with arms folded against his chest.

Leon stiffened, turning around to face the blond who looked annoyed. "I wanted to talk, Cloud," Leon started, eying him with his most businesslike face. "Don't you think it's more than just a coincidence that two people just seemingly appear out of thin air and both happen to know someone here?" Leon asked, furrowing his eyebrows with thought.

"Hm. I see what you mean. But what are we supposed to see? Sephiroth hasn't been making a nuisance of himself any more than normal lately, and even Organization XIII has been quiet. Besides, can you honestly tell me that you haven't wanted to see your friends? And anyway, you could use some time off. Aerith and Yuffie worry that you work yourself too hard," Cloud then explained, his eyes deep.

Leon sighed, running a gloved-finger through his hair; "I guess it isn't worth my breath telling them not to worry. But I know my limits," Leon explained, shaking a loose hair out of his face.

"Can I ask you something, Leon?" Cloud asked, lifting his head to meet the brunet's gaze.

"I may not answer, but go ahead," Leon answered vaguely, meeting the blond's gaze with shielded eyes.

"How did you get your scar?" Cloud asked, Leon taking a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh, I could tell you that," an arrogant voice filled the Bailey, Leon and Cloud's heads turning in the direction of the intruder.

"What do you want?" Cloud asked coldly, eying the other man with hostile eyes.

"Seifer. How the hell did you get here?" Leon asked pointedly, eying him.

"Hell if I know. First I was in Balamb with Rai and Fuu, and the next thing I know, I'm here with you and this other idiot," Seifer smirked, giving an explanation.

Leon sighed; "Come on. We have a lot to talk about," Leon told him, walking out of the Bailey and back towards the town.

"Who made you boss, Leonhart? I kinda like this place. Reminds me of the orphanage," Seifer said, looking around the run-down Bailey with nostalgia.

"I never thought you'd be one for nostalgia, Seifer," Leon commented dryly, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Seifer's cheeks flushed scarlet; "And where's your princess? Still protecting her are you?" Seifer sneered, Cloud's confused face turning to Leon's angry one.

"Don't you dare mention her again, Seifer," Leon glared menacingly, getting up in Seifer's face and jabbing a finger into his chest.

"Yeah, or what?" Seifer rolled his eyes, shoving Leon's finger away with mild annoyance.

"Or else I'll kill you," Leon answered dangerously, his eyes flashing. Leon then turned on his heel and began walking towards Merlin's house again, his boots making more noise than normal on the hard ground.

Seifer and Cloud exchanged glances before Cloud turned to follow Leon and Seifer followed suit.

--

"You and Leon actually did that?!" Yuffie exclaimed, Zell nodding avidly.

"Yeah. The damn sorceresses were always a pain in the ass," Zell said with a smile, Yuffie nodding and giggling silently to herself.

"So how've ya been, Vincent?" Cid asked, a cigarette dangling precariously from his lips as he eyed the other man with interest.

"Well, I've been-,"Vincent's voice got cut off as angry voices yelled outside the doors of Merlin's house.

Merlin's door opened with a loud 'bang' as Cloud, Leon, and another angry blond walked in, not noticing the other occupants stare at them with interest and annoyance.

"Chicken Wuss!" Seifer yelled, noticing Zell lying in the bed.

"SEIFER! SHUT UP," Zell roared, glaring at the smug blond.

"Another friend of yours, Leon?" Aerith's voice filtered to his ears, a soft hand landing on his shoulder.

Leon rubbed his temples; "I guess it depends on what you mean by friend, Aerith," Leon explained, Seifer's eyebrow lifting slightly.

"Ah, Squall, I'm hurt," Seifer said mockingly, a hand to his chest.

"Quite the motley bunch," Vincent spoke up, Cloud nodding his head in agreement.

"Seifer is it?" Aerith asked gently, the blond looking to her and nodding.

"Well, I suppose you know Leon and Zell then," Aerith said, a confused looking coming over Seifer's features.

"Leon? Who the hell is that?" Seifer asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh. I forget. Squall to you, but he makes everyone else here call him Leon," Aerith explained, glancing sidelong to Yuffie as she whispered something into Cid's ear; he then abruptly burst into a fit of giggles which he hardly suppressed, given his cigarette.

Seifer's eyebrows shot up, giving Squall a 'what-the-hell' look. "Anyway, I'm Aerith, those two are Yuffie and Cid, and that's Vincent and Cloud," Aerith named everyone, Seifer nodding his head slowly and not caring to memorize the names he had just been given.

"Where's Tifa? I thought you said she'd be here," Vincent stated, noticing the brunette had been the one missing.

"I don't know. I thought she'd be back by now. . .,"Aerith's voice trailed off, biting her lip.

Almost as if on cue, a knock at the door reverberated into the room.

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"Hey, Aerith, have you seen...," Tifa's voice trailed off, brown eyes widening as her gaze drifted slowly around the room. "What's going on?!" Tifa then demanded, suspicious eyes stopping at Aerith.

"That's something we'd all like to know," Seifer answered, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Cloud and Leon exchanged glances briefly, the brunet sighing before getting to his feet and tacitly demanding everyone's attention.

"What is it, Leon?" Aerith asked in a gentle, calm tone, Yuffie and Cid's looks turning somber before looking to Leon.

"This isn't just a coincidence," Cloud interrupted quietly, his gaze meeting Leon's before the brunet nodded in affirmation.

"Something sinister is in the works," Leon continued grimly, Seifer groaning loudly while raking a hand through his hair, clearly agitated.

"Always one to take charge, eh Leonhart?" Seifer sneered, Leon's stoic countenance never wavering as Yuffie stomped over to Seifer, impatience written all over her face.

"Quiet, you! Can't you see he's trying his best to think?! And who do you think you are waltzing in here, which, might I add, we only LET you do in the first place?! If you're going to talk like an asshole, then get the hell out of here!" Yuffie finished, many wide eyes gazing at her with amazement.

--

"You're certain this will work?" an eerily smooth voice questioned skeptically, a dark sleeve rolled up to his muscular bicep as another pair of eyes glanced nonchalantly before swabbing a small area.

"You don't trust us?" another voice questioned, the uncertain man hardly making a sound as a long needle pierced the skin of his elbow, drawing blood before pulling it out once more.

"I don't enjoy one-sided bargains," the voice answered icily, pulling his arm of the cold, vice-like grip before standing. "How long?"

"Not too long. I am quite capable," a new voice replied, a creepy grin splitting across his features before leaving the room.

"Where is the other?" the skeptic wondered aloud, golden eyes glancing once at his looming form before leaving the silver-haired man to his solitude. "It won't be long now, Cloud," Sephiroth smirked, fist clenching before disappearing.

--

"Riku! Riku! Stop running!" Kairi yelled from behind him, out of breath with a pretty smile set on her lips. "Why were you running so fast?" Kairi then asked, her posture slightly tilted forward as she regained lost breath.

"Sorry, I'm guess I'm just used to racing Sora," Riku answered somewhat sheepishly, a lazy grin settling on his lips.

"Hey guys! Look what I found!" Sora's unmistakable voice shot through the air, Riku and Kairi glancing up at the blue-eyed boy as he jumped off the dock into the sand with a silly smile. "I think it's another letter from the King," Sora told them excitedly, Riku's eyes rolling as Kairi's brow creased with anxiety.

"I wonder what's wrong this time...," Riku's voice trailed off, his eyes scanning the letter.

"He said Donald and Goofy would get here a day after the letter arrives...that doesn't leave us much time!" Sora exclaimed suddenly, insistence embedded in his naïve eyes as he silently pleaded with Riku.

Sighing, Riku told him, "Yeah. We better go get ready." Obviously what Sora wanted to hear, a genuine smile crossed his features, Riku ruffling his hair before walking towards the dock. "C'mon. Let's go," Riku instructed lightly, untying the rope that held the single boat to the dock.

--

"Has Sora been notified?" Merlin's voice cut through the retort Seifer was more than prepared to give the spunky and albeit smaller girl, most eyes landing on Merlin's aged face.

"I'm sure it goes without saying that the King has already taken their position into consideration," Squall answered smoothly, Merlin nodding before cupping his chin with a thumb a forefinger, nodding at odd intervals and seemingly holding a conversation with himself.

"The 'King'?" Vincent questioned quietly, Squall glancing sidelong at the man before inclining his head in affirmation.

"The King of Disney Castle," Squall began, a few people fidgeting in their seats.

"Sorry, Leon, but I better get to the castle; Tron's been bugging me about MCP activity that really shouldn't be happening in the first damn place," Cid spoke gruffly, Squall waving him out the door before turning to face the group once again.

"It's a rather compli-," Squall's voice abruptly was cut off at Cid's loud yelp, the sounds of battle alerting the rest of them to the outside ruckus. "Cid?" Squall ventured, Cid's shoulders heaving, his spear resting against the crook of his neck.

"Heartless. They're back," Cid breathed, Squall's face visibly contorting. "Damn menace never go away," Cid muttered under his breath, Vincent, Zell, and Seifer exchanging confused glances.

"Yuffie, Aerith, go with Cid. Cloud and I should explain the situation," Squall informed them, determined eyes nodding in his direction before the trio left.

--

"Where are they?!" Sora cried, pacing back and forth in the sand, an amused Riku watching with a slight smirk perched on his lips.

"Chill out, Sora. They'll get here eventually," Riku placated the other teenage boy, a feeling of nostalgia washing over him before he shook his head free of those thoughts. As if on cue, a certain Gummi ship bolted into the clear blue sky before plunging into the watery depths that surrounded Destiny Island, Sora's face hardly able to contain his excitement.

"A-hyuck! Hiya, Sora!" Goofy guffawed, dropping into the water before enveloping Sora in nothing short of a bone-crushing hug. "How ya been?"

"I've been great, Goofy. How are things at the castle?" Sora made conversation, Donald squawking in an attempt to interrupt.

"Now isn't the time for this! We gotta go see Leon!" Donald continued, Goofy's eyebrows creasing as he tapped a finger to his lip.

"I'm coming with you," Riku insisted, both anthropomorphic creatures gazing at him lamely. "What?" Riku then asked, clearly annoyed.

"Well, I guess it's okay...," Donald conceded, Sora smiling happily.

"What about me?" another cracked voice called, Riku and Sora turning to see a clearly-distressed Kairi eying them. "You're not just going to leave me here, are you?!" Kairi continued, Riku and Sora exchanging glances.

"It wouldn't be safe for you to come with us, Kairi," Riku began, raking a hand through is long hair, his eyes drifting everywhere over the island, save for the hysterical redhead now staring down Sora.

"What if the islands are attacked again?" Kairi pressed, torn between wanting to go and respecting the boys' decision.

"She has a point," Sora commented aloud, Donald 'hmph'ing.

"Fine. She can stay in Radiant Garden," Donald mumbled, a look of relief now present on Kairi's face.

--

"Do you think they believed us?" Cloud asked Squall softly, the both of them staring out over the Great Maw, not a Heartless in sight.

"It won't matter soon," Squall replied concisely, Cloud inclining his head in agreement. "Besides, they have no reason to not believe us," Squall continued, his eyebrows furrowing as his hand subconsciously tightened his hold on his gunblade, another presence close by.

"You sense it too?" Cloud wondered aloud, Squall briefly nodding before swiftly moving out of the corner, gunblade extended as if he expected to find an enemy laying in wait.

"Squall?" a familiar voice asked, Squall's eyes widening as his gunblade dropped to the ground in shock. "Where...where is this place?" she continued, pushing herself off the ground and flipping a rogue strand of ebony hair over her shoulder.

"Radiant Garden," he answered, his shoulders visibly relaxing as he allowed a small smile to lift his lips subtly.

"I've never heard of it," she told him with a small smile, slowly rounding the corner and taking sight of Cloud. "One of your new friends?" she then asked knowingly, Cloud surreptitiously glancing back and forth between the two, trying to venture a guess as to their previous relationship.

"It's Cloud," he told her nonchalantly, extending a hand for her to shake.

"Edea," she told him with a soft smile, her black dress ruffling in the wind that now decided to pick up.

"She was the Matron of the orphanage when I was a child," Squall explained, Cloud nodding stiffly after releasing her hand.

--

"We're here!" Sora told them all, his eyes darting across the square in hopes of finding one of his many friends who lived in the lively place now called Radiant Garden.

"Sora! Wait for us!" Goofy called, he and Donald chasing after the teenage boy as Riku and Kairi exchanged glances.

"He's like a little kid," Riku sighed, Kairi giggling for a moment before nodding in agreement. "We probably shouldn't let him roam alone with those two bozos for too long; who knows what kind of mess they could get into," Riku joked, slowly making his way past the Moogle's Synthesis Shop. Hesitating, Kairi looked behind her before shaking her head; had she really seen a glimpse of the white dress? Blonde hair? She sincerely hoped not.

Having reached Merlin's House, Sora politely knocked on the door, an irritated 'come in' in a tone he didn't recognize answering him. "Leon...?" Sora questioned, Riku shrugging when Sora looked back him before he pushed open the heavy, wooden door.

"Oh! Hey, Spikey!" Tifa called to Sora through pants, dodging a left sweep as she countered Zell's attack with a fist in his gut. "You're good!" Tifa told Zell, both of them now thoroughly exhausted and panting for much-needed air.

"Uhm...," Sora stuttered, his eyes moving from the blond who was pointedly ignoring him, to the dark and somewhat scary figure who seemed caught up in his own thoughts, to the new blond Tifa had just finished sparring with.

"Oh, right. You don't know them, right?" Tifa asked with a smile, pulling off her gloves and sticking them in an interior pocket of her skirt before pointing back towards Zell with a thumb. "This is Zell; he and Leon were buddies back in the day," Tifa snickered, Zell waving at Sora with another silly grin. "The blond with the stick up his ass is Seifer; he and Squall were rivals for years," Tifa explained briefly, Sora's mouth creating the letter 'o.' "And last, but not least, is Vincent. He was part of our group a while ago," Tifa's voice softened minutely, Vincent's red eyes glancing at Sora's wide blue ones.

"N-Nice to meet you," Sora greeted him sheepishly, a hand resting on the back of his neck.

"Sora? Would you mind moving?" Squall's unmistakable voice rang through his ears, an eyebrow raising at the two he didn't recognize. "What are you doing here?" Squall continued, Sora's face instantly turning serious.

"The King sent us a letter and these idiots," Riku cut in, suppressing a snicker as Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked playfully outraged, outraged, and oblivious, respectively.

"And you are?" Squall asked with a small smirk, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Riku," he answered succinctly, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Matron!" Zell interrupted, eyes widening as Edea smiled knowingly and stepped forward.

"Zell and Seifer too; what a reunion," Edea laughed, a hand on her forehead before pushing a few strands from her eyes. "You didn't tell me they were here as well, Squall," Edea reprimanded gently, Squall merely shrugging as Edea chuckled. "It's rare to see you without Raijin and Fuujin," Edea commented to Seifer, his piercing green eyes lifting to hers.

"I don't know where they are," Seifer answered, his teeth grinding.

--

"How are things, Tron?" Yuffie asked him worriedly, Tron's reply muffled by static. "Cid! Do something!" Yuffie then insisted, Cid glaring at the spunky ninja before continuing to install his newly-made program.

"Take your time, Cid," Aerith told him airily, Yuffie's mouth gaping as she sputtered at Aerith.

"But Tron could be-," Yuffie's voice was cut off as the static's noise increased, Tron's voice finally becoming discernible.

"Hello, Friends. How are you Users doing?" Tron asked mechanically and politely, Yuffie punching a fist in the air.

"We're great, Tron. How are things in there?" Yuffie asked, the trio almost able to hear him wince.

"MCP activity has been growing and I still don't know why," Tron sounded troubled, Yuffie visibly frowning.

"I ran a scan of the entire system, but didn't find anything that could explain it," Cid itched idly at his hair, trying to think of some glitch that could cause such a disturbance within the computer.

"I'll be back in a moment," Aerith informed the other two, neither of them really paying too much attention as she quietly exited Ansem's secret computer room and continued through to the veritable maze. "Ugh," Aerith heard a voice groan, her eyes widening in concern as she ran to the Postern, a man crumpled on the ground.

Shuffling around for a mere moment, Aerith retrieved a potion and quickly administered it to the injured man, his eyes finally blinking open.

"Thank you, Pretty Lady," he whispered with a debonair smile, Aerith not skipping a beat as she merely shook her head slightly with an amused smile.

"You know, you're the second person today to show up out of nowhere," Aerith whispered more to herself than to the mysterious man as she pulled her arms from around his shoulders. "How do you feel?" Aerith then asked, the man getting to his feet and staggering a bit before regaining balance.

"I should be all right," he responded, picking up his unattended gun and slinging it over one shoulder. "Name's Irvine," he stuck out his hand, Aerith looking shocked for a brief moment before slipping her hand into his and moving it up and down.

"Aerith; it's a pleasure to meet you," she answered, releasing his hand as she debated whether to take him to the Computer Room or back to Merlin's. "You wouldn't happen to know someone named Squall, would you?" Aerith asked vaguely, Irvine's eyebrow raising almost suspiciously.

"Yeah...," his voice trailed off, not sure whether this was a good thing or bad. For all he knew, she could be working for the enemy! Sure, he didn't know quite who or what the enemy was or where he was but that was besides the point!

"Aerith! Hey Aerith! Where are you?" Yuffie called, rounding a corner to see the cowboy. "Ooooooh. You're from another world too, right?" Yuffie asked, Irvine giving her a quizzical look.

"Damned Yuffie. Always running off," an unhappy Cid mumbled to himself, sauntering into the group before actually taking notice. "I wonder how long this is gonna last," Cid complained, Aerith giving him a disapproving look while Yuffie slapped his shoulder.

"That's not nice! He can't help it he's here!" Yuffie defended Irvine, a guy she had met only five minutes early.

"We should take him to the others," Aerith murmured, Irvine's eyes turning a bit panicky. "Don't worry. Squall and Zell and most of our friends are there," Aerith assured him, Irvine not entirely believing her story.

--

"Are you almost finished, Vexen? Sephiroth's restlessness is growing and it isn't I who it will be taken out on," Xemnas warned the mad blond who apparently wasn't even listening.

"How am I supposed to work with you watching me? Get out of my laboratory!" Vexen replied irritably, his eyes practically glued to the microscope in front of him as he swirled a red substance in a flask. "Yes...that's it!" Vexen talked to himself, another creepy grin falling over his features.

--

"Have they found him yet, Xemnas?" Saix asked tonelessly, Xemnas glancing back before turning back around.

"Not yet. But I doubt it will be long, and this time, things will be different. I assume you've put him under lock and key?" Xemnas continued, Saix nodding.

"Marluxia and Larxene were unhappy with it, as is to be expected," Saix commented, his eyes turning to the moon.

"Are Lexaeus and Xaldin in place?" Xemnas questioned, Saix nodding. "Good. Now leave me," Xemnas instructed, Saix disappearing in a dark, abysmal flash.

--

"So the Heartless have been showing up here?" Sora asked seriously, Squall nodding grimly.

"Then that means they've been showing up in other worlds too," Goofy added his input, Sora and Donald agreeing.

"You're going then?" Squall asked, Riku nodded as though it were the most obvious action in the world.

"We don't really have a choice. People need our help," Sora answered softly, Riku laying a hand on his shoulder. "Anyway, would you mind if we left Kairi here? She didn't want to be left alone on the islands," Sora asked, Tifa nodding happily.

"We'd be glad to let her stay," Tifa explained, Kairi feeling more at ease now than she had all day.

"Hey! Why don't you guys come with us! You can help us clean up the worlds!" Sora explained, his companions giving him a disbelieving look.

"I think before we do anything, we should check to make sure the Organization isn't around anymore; we don't need them making more trouble for us," Cloud explained wisely, Squall nodding his head in agreement.

"The road to The World That Never Was isn't open anymore...we'll have to go back to Twilight Town," Sora commented, his spirits slightly lifted that he would see Hayner, Pence, and Olette once again.