Sea gulls were flying with the gentle breeze that made the fluffy, white clouds formed shapes and blowing the surface of the deep-blue water of the sea that surrounds Destiny Island. The leaves of coconut and palm trees moved where the winds dictate them to move. The sandy, golden beach was decorated with seashells, seaweed and walking crustacean who were out looking from their midday meal.

Walking down the beach, hand in hand, was a boy and a girl. The boy has brown, spiky hair and sky-blue eyes while the girl has auburn, long hair and sea-blue eyes. The girl was resting her head on the boy's shoulder as they admired the sun.

'I'm glad that you're here to enjoy the view of the sun with me today, Sora.' The girl said, squeezing Sora's hand tightly.

'Yeah', Sora said. 'I suppose to meet with Riku today but he said he got something urgent to do with King Mickey so I thought of hanging out with you.'

Kairi smiled mischievously. 'So you're saying that if Riku didn't had something urgent to do, you would rather hang around with him than me?'

Sora grinned. 'Nah, I will tell him that I rather hang around with my beautiful girlfriend than with him. No hard feelings of course.'

'Oh Sora, you're so sweet.'

They reached the place where they normally hang around: the slanting Paopu Tree where Sora, Riku and Kairi sit and stare at the sun. Now it was only two of them, watching the fish into the water and the sun sinking down.

Sora moved closer to Kairi. 'I think it's one of those moments.'

Kairi looked up at him. 'You mean kissing?'

Sora smiled at her. 'May I?'

Kairi rolled her eyes. 'Oh god, Sora. We have together like years! Surely you don't need to be acting the gentleman now.'

'Just being a gentleman', Sora said defensively but moved his face closer to Kairi's. Kairi closed her eyes, expecting the soft lips of Sora to touch hers.

One second.

Five seconds.

Nothing. No touch. No wetness from the lips. Puzzled, Kairi opened her eyes and saw Sora looking around, frowning.

'Sora', she asked, worried. 'What's wrong?'

Sora pointed to the sky. Kairi followed Sora's gaze and was shocked. The sky was suddenly darkening and although the breeze was still there, it was becoming stronger and more chilling. The ocean water was churning roughly and trees were on the edge of being blown away by the strong wind. What were worse were dark clouds swirling in a spiral. They were going downwards, nearing the island.

Sora jumped off the tree he was sitting on and his Key-Blade appeared in his hand. Kairi did the same thing. Sora, noticing her, said, 'Kairi, stay behind me.'

Kairi shook her head, gripping her Key-Blade harder. 'No. I'm fighting with you.'

Before Sora could stop her, Heartless suddenly appeared from the shadows and moved slowly towards them. Expertly, Sora brought his Key-Blade down and three Heartless vaporized. Kairi swung her Key-Blade in an arc before a Heartless could jump onto her. Side by side, they fought against the Heartless, bringing them down with their Key-Blades and magic. Finally, all of the Heartless were vanquished and Sora was searching for any Heartless they haven't killed while Kairi continue to stare at the sky. Kairi looked back at Sora who also turned to her direction at the same time. They smiled to each other, glad that both of them were okay.

Kairi was about to run towards him when she suddenly saw a skeletal hand appearing behind Sora from a dark portal.

'Sora! Behind you!'

She was too late. Sora suddenly fell to his knees and his eyes were closed when he fell onto the sandy beach.

'Sora!' Kairi screamed as she run towards him but skidded to a stop when the one who was responsible for Sora's sudden fall stood out of the portal. Kairi was appalled at the being she was looking at.

It was tall and it was shrouded in brown robes with a black cape. Its' hands and face were that of a skeleton with horns sticking out of its' head. Its' eyes were glowing yellow with red pupils: like ember in a furnace.

The being now stooped below and carried Sora in it arms. Then it turned back to the portal.

Kairi, overcoming her fear, ran towards him and shouted, 'STOP!'

The being did not stop but gestured with his free hand. Immediately, three Heartless stood in her way. Angrily, she slew them all and desperately raced to the being and Sora. Before she could reach it however, the dark portal closed behind the being.

'NO!' Kairi screamed as she tried to find an opening into the Realm of Darkness. There was none. In fact, the darkness was already disappearing as there was no more presence of the being that abducted Sora. The gusts of wind returned to gentle breezes and the water calmed down. Destiny Island returned to its' tranquil and soothing state when the darkness was no more.

Kairi, however, did not care about the state of her beloved home. She looked around, desperately hoping that Sora was still here with her. That hope proved to be forlorn. Kairi squatted and buried her face into hands, weeping uncontrollably.

Sora was gone. Gone.

Forcing herself to calm down, she shakily stood up, ignoring her surroundings. Tears continued to flow down from her cheeks as she clenched and unclenched her hands.

Sora did say that Riku had something to do with King Mickey. That means that Riku must be in Disney Castle. With King Mickey. With two of the most powerful Key-Blade wielders, they can help her save Sora!

With determination in her eyes that were filled with tears of sadness, she strode purposely to the place where she and Sora had hidden the Gummi ship. He taught her how to drive so she will be able to make it to Disney Castle. She just hope that Sora was still alive before…

She shook her head angrily. No! She must not think of such thoughts! She looked at the place where she and Sora were about to kiss before the whole disaster happened.

'Sora, please wait a bit longer. I'm coming!'

In his marbled library, Mickey, king of Disney Castle, was studying the reports that were sent to him from other worlds when he heard a knock on the door.

'Come in!'

The great wooden door opened and a young man with long, purple hair and green eyes came into the room. He was wearing purple pants and a sleeveless yellow vest over a black shirt.

'You sent for me, Mickey?' the young man asked.

''Ah, Riku", Mickey greeted, putting down the papers. 'I'm afraid I have some bad news. From my reports, activities of Heartless have been increasing drastically over the past few days.'

Riku was shocked when Mickey just said that. 'But why? Surely with Organization 13 and Maleficent gone, the should be no reasons for the increase rate of Heartless.'

'That maybe true', mickey agreed. 'But don't forget, Maleficent is still active and is still powerful.' Mickey shook his head. 'But this is not Maleficent's doing. The Mastermind of this is more powerful than any enemies we had ever faced.'

Riku just stood there as if he was rooted to the ground, digesting what the king was telling him. 'Then shouldn't we also tell Sora about this?'

Mickey sighed. 'At first, I thought you and me were enough to stop this spread of darkness but after receiving this reports', he gestured at the papers on his desk, ' I think we need all the help we can get. I already sent Donald and Goofy to Yensid to see if he has anything to aid us.'

Riku nodded. 'If that the case, I'll return to Destiny Island and bring Sora with me.'

'That's be great. We…' Mickey stopped talking suddenly. 'What's going on?'

Riku followed Mickey's gaze and was surprise to see dark spores falling from the ceilings. They were descending very fast. Before Riku could do anything, the spores were already on him. Suddenly, he felt heavy and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. His vision was blurring and through his blurred vision, he saw Mickey struggling to stand up before slumping down on the floor: in a coma.

Finally, Riku could take it anymore and fell his eyes close. He didn't feel anything when he fell hard on the marble floor. Mickey and Riku just lay where they fell. Unbeknown to them, the entire castle was also fast asleep from the descending spores.

The castle's hangar's door opened automatically as Kairi steered the Gummi ship into it. Kairi turned off the engine and quickly got out. As she stepped into the hangar, she was uneasy that deadly silence has greeted her. She continued onwards into the Castle garden. As she glanced into the sky, there was no darkness in the sky, and yet there was this ominous feeling in the castle.

Fearing the worse, she ran through the courtyard and straight to the Royal Library where Mickey spent most of his time. She slammed the door open and gasped. Lying in front of her were Riku and King Mickey.

She dropped to her knees as she reached Riku and gave sigh of relief when she felt a pulse. She also checked Mickey and he too also have a pulse. She let out a breath of relief until it was replaced by a new fear. Without Riku or the King to help her, she was hopeless! Now she will never save Sora. She sank to the ground, sobbing her hearts out.

'You know, if you're going to stay there, crying in your self-pity, you're more than hopeless.'

Kairi stopped crying and looked up towards the direction of the voice. She gave a shrill yelp when she saw the owner of the voice. It walked on two long legs with short but sharp claws attached to a large body. It has a long tail that reached to the ground even though it was standing on its' hind legs. It had a head of a lizard but with razor, sharp teeth and small, yellow eyes. It was all blue in color except for five orange stripes on its' back.

It was a dinosaur.

Kairi jumped to her feat and conjured up her Key-Blade. She pointed it to the creature. 'What do you want?' she demanded. 'Who are you?'

The creature just cocked its' eyebrow. 'I wasn't expecting our savior to be a small, frail girl.' It said nastily.

'Just answer my question!' she demanded, ignoring the comment.

'Kairi!'

Kairi turned behind her and was relief when she saw Donald Duck and Goofy running towards her. Donald was hurrying towards her with his short, webby legs and holding his staff while Goofy strode fast with his usual shield. When they got into the library, they stared at the sleeping bodies of the their king and Riku.

'Don't worry', Kairi assured them, knowing their concern. 'They are still alive but sleeping. I believe this creature', she gestured to the blue dinosaur. 'Is responsible for all this.'

The creature looked offended. 'Listen you stupid girl, if I was behind all these, I wouldn't trouble myself showing myself to you. Unless I want to gloat that is.'

'Krocken?' a high pitch voice said. A small cricket wearing a black coat and a blue top hat jumped off Goofy and landed in front of Kairi. It was Jiminy Cricket. 'Krocken, is that you?'

The creature, called Krocken, answered sarcastically, 'No, I'm your fairy godmother. Of course it's me! What other blue dinosaur with orange stripes on its' back is called Krocken?'

'It seems you didn't change since the last time we met', Jiminy said, not the least annoyed at Krocken's. 'I'm glad you're here. Don't mind him', he told Kairi and the other two. 'He can be a bit rude and sarcastic but he is on our side.'

'Too rude if you ask me', Donald quaked.

Krocken ignored Donald and said, 'I just came back from my scouting on other worlds when I felt a presence of darkness over Disney castle. I rushed back as quickly as I could but I was too late. Everybody in this castle is fast asleep.'

'Us too', Goofy confirmed. 'We saw this clouds of darkness over Disney Castle.'

'I was hoping that King Mickey have summoned the Key-Blade master, Sora, here…'

'Sora is gone.' Kairi said shortly.

'WHAT?' Donald and Goofy yelled together. Even Krocken is looking at her in surprise.

'Kairi', Jiminy asked. 'What do you mean?'

Breathing slowly, Kairi narrated what happened to Destiny Island, about the darkness coming in onto them, about how they fought against odd numbers, and finally the abduction of Sora.

'Then that being just took away Sora into the dark portal before I could reach them'; she finished, trying her very best not to shed a single tear. Goofy and Jiminy stared at her, open mouthed while Donald threw a tantrum.

'Why I oughta…' he raged. 'When I get my hands on that guy, I'm going give him the worst thunderstorm and blizzard he ever felt! I…'

Krocken, who was listening patiently, interrupted Donald's rant, 'Can you described this being?'

Kairi turned to Krocken. 'It was a skeleton with horns and wearing a brown robe with a black cape. Its' eyes were yellow with red pupils.'

Krocken nodded slowly. 'Then it was what I have feared: the Horned King had taken out his biggest obstacle.'

Everybody looked at Krocken with a puzzled look. 'The Horned King?' Jiminy asked.

Krocken cocked his head. 'Surely you must have heard of him when you were travelling with Sora.'

'No', Jiminy shook his head. 'So far, we have encountered no enemies that goes by that name.'

'Then you must be lucky not to cross pass the Horned King', Krocken snorted. 'The Horned King is one the most evilest and dangerous foe you have ever face. He is a Lich, an undead creature that rely on magic spells and rituals to keep its' immortality. The Horned King is more vile and cunning than his predecessor. He is ten times worse than Maleficent.'

'Worse than Maleficent?' Kairi said dubiously.

Krocken nodded. 'After the fall of Maleficent, the Horned King must have gathered the remnants of Heartless and had been saving them until the time is perfect. That's why I have been scouting in so many different worlds, to keep track on the Horned King's activities.' He sighed. 'With Sora captured, I'm afraid there is no hope for us.'

'No hope?' Kairi said vehemently. 'Sora maybe captured but I am still here! I'll rescue Sora and stop the Horned King's plans!'

Krocken snorted and said scornfully. 'So says the girl who cried so much that will flood the World. Forget it! I doubt the Horned King will take you seriously.'

'Oh', Kairi now angry. 'So are suggesting that we just stay here and do nothing? At least if I go out there, there maybe a chance to foil this Horned King's plans and save Sora. Besides, Sora have been teaching me how to fight.'

Krocken just study her. Then without warning, sprinted towards her and brought something down on her. Luckily for Kairi, her Key-Blade was with her the whole time and parried the blow. Looking up, she saw it was a katana that was locked with her Key-Blade.

Krocken just turned his short wrist making the katana swing towards Kairi's left side. Kairi blocked again and threw a stab at Krocken's chest. Krocken defended himself with the hilt of his katana before the Key-Blade could cause any damage.

Kairi and Krocken continue to dance with each their blades for some time and yet both sides were showing no signs of backing out. Donald, Goofy and Jiminy watched in amazement at the swordplay being performed in front of them.

After exchanging blows with each other, Kairi and Krocken jumped back away from each other: panting heavily. Slowly and grudgingly, Krocken sheathed back his katana. 'Not bad', he admitted. 'Sora have trained you well.'

'I'm glad that's a praise and not an insult', Kairi said as her Key-Blade disappeared.

'But bear in mind', Krocken continued. 'The Horned King is still a powerful adversary. You will still need to become stronger before you can face him.' He said with a small smile. 'Go. Travel to other worlds and search for clues of the Horned King's stronghold. Your mediocre companions can accompany you.'

Donald Duck looked insulted but Goofy just asked, 'Gosh! What about you?'

'I'll be doing my own scouting and see if I can find out more what the Horned King is up to.' Krocken replied. 'Just don't mess up and expect me to clean up your mess.' He turned his back on them. But before he left he turned his head over his shoulders and just said, 'Good luck.'

Then he left the library. All of them saw the back of him until Jiminy broke the silence, 'First thing first. Before we head out, I think we take everybody sleeping into somewhere safe until they wake up. Then we will first go to Master Yensid to cast a protective charm all over the castle so no Heartless or anybody could attack the castle.'

Donald and Goofy nodded and set out to work: Goofy carrying the king and leaving Donald to drag Riku. Kairi just stood there, staring at an empty space.

'We coming for you, Sora.' She said before she helped the others.