After seeing the Kingdom Hearts III: Re:Mind trailer last week, I am excited for the DLC. Exploring Scala ad Caelum, fighting the Xehanort clones with ALL of the Guardians of Light (aside from Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy), the Final Fantasy gang, Yozora, and, more pertaining to the theme of this fic, playable Kairi fighting Master Xehanort! Kairi will finally get to see action and have a dignified fight, and it turns out she actually is pretty powerful. She can even fly! (or Glide, hard to say) Doesn't erase my criticisms toward how Merlin appeared to have trained her in base game, and it only makes... that scene more aggravating (but the Xehanorts all had a Jobber Aura active whenever they were in a cutscene anyway). And it definitely doesn't forgive what they did with her to begin with.

Oh, well. I'll be patiently waiting for the DLC to come out, January 23. In the meantime, read on, and I hope you enjoy.

Destiny Islands – The Secret Place

After they reached the raft on the other side of the islet, they divvied up the work for the day. Sora and Riku would gather materials and bring the bags with work tools while Kairi and Lea would work on construction. When the materials and tools had been gathered, Sora and Riku would join them. Kairi guessed that Sora had taken the time to spar with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie while he was supposed to be collecting materials. When they had regrouped, they stopped to eat lunch. Kairi pulled out her peanut butter and fluffernutter sandwich and sat down next to Sora, who had a ham sandwich.

"So, what did you dream about?" she asked. "Is it alright if I ask?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I don't really know what it was. It was weird. It started out with me sinking in the water. Then I opened my eyes and I was standing on the beach. Riku was standing in the water, and a huge wave was about to fall over him. I ran to try and help him, but he just stood there, reaching his hand out to me, as if he wasn't afraid that he was about to be swept up. Then the wave crashed and submerged us both. He was still standing there. I tried to reach out to him, but the current pulled me away. I rose to the surface and saw you on the shore, waving to me. I ran over to meet you, but then we saw some shooting stars, and there was another me falling from the sky. Then I was suddenly falling into the sky. I fell into the sun, and then I was underwater again. I kept falling before I landed on a dark surface. I took a step, and doves flew up from the floor, which turned into a big stained glass window with a picture of a girl eating an apple. Everything else was pitch black. The only light came from the floor and a few spotlights that appeared every so often.

"Then I heard a voice. It was kinda faint and raspy. It said something like, 'So much to do, so little time. Take your time. Don't be afraid.' Then these pedestals and floating weapons appeared: a sword, a shield, and a magic wand. The voice told me to take one and give up another. I took the sword and gave up the wand. Then the floor shattered and I fell until I landed on another platform with another girl in a white gown. These black monsters with twitching antennae and glowing yellow eyes appeared out of the ground and attacked me, but the sword appeared in my hands and I defeated them, but then I was swallowed in a pool of darkness."

Kairi considered the implications of the dream's imagery. She immediately recognized that the monsters were the same as the Shadow Heartless that had plagued her Sora throughout his adventures. She remembered the sight of them as they overran her islands on that fateful night, and she also recalled fighting them alongside Riku in the Organization's castle, the first time she had held a Keyblade. Reflecting on the platforms, she guessed that the girls depicted were two of the Princesses of Heart. She did not know who was whom, as she had never properly met them, but she remembered catching a glimpse of a young woman in a white ball gown trapped in a crystal coffin as she, Donald and Goofy fled from the Great Hall in Hollow Bastion. She wondered if he had seen any of the other Princesses in the dream.

"Next thing I knew, I was on another stained glass window. There were three silhouettes in heart-shaped frames, but I couldn't make them out. A door appeared and I opened it. When I stepped through, I was up on the tree fort. Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka were there. They asked me these weird questions. After I answered them, the voice said something about my journey starting in midday, then I was on a window that showed a woman in a purple dress surrounded by thorns. I fought some more of the shadowy monsters, then went up a ramp of glass plates that appeared out of nowhere until I was on another window, which showed a dark-skinned woman in a green dress."

Kairi was confused. She did not remember seeing anyone who fit that description when she was in the castle. There was one girl with a darker skin tone, but her clothes had been blue, and she could not tell if it could properly be called a "dress".

"There was a spotlight shining in the middle of the platform," Sora continued. "I stepped into the column of light, but then a monster rose from my shadow. It grew until it was, like, ten times my height. I tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. The sword appeared in my hand and I fought it. I think I beat it, but then it started to fall on me, and then I was swallowed in darkness. That's when I woke up."

Kairi restrained herself from shuddering. She knew exactly what monster he was talking about. She had never properly seen it, but it had haunted her nightmares for months. The Darkside Heartless was the monster that led the creatures of darkness in attacking her world two years ago, and she had heard that there were many more in the Realm of Darkness. She wondered if she would be facing one of those monsters in the days to come.

"That does sound like a weird dream," she said in response to Sora's account.

"Was it really a dream?" Sora mused. "What was that place? So bizarre…"

Kairi shrugged. Despite her remark, she no was no longer sure that it was simply a dream.

After they finished lunch, they spent the afternoon putting the raft together. When they finished, they looked upon their handiwork, beaming with pride.

"This is amazing!" Sora said, excited. "I can't wait to take it sailing."

"We still have to practice and make sure we actually can sail it," Riku reminded him.

Sora nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Kairi giggled. "Well, I think that's enough for today. Let's pack it up."

They put their tools away and packed up their bags. Sora and Riku finished first and left for the other side of the island, saying that they were going to go to the tree and wait for them. A new memory let Lea know what tree they meant. Kairi figured that they were going to spar while they waited, a thought which gave her an idea. She zipped up her bag and left it on the raft.

Lea finished packing his bag when he noticed Kairi walking toward him, a daring smile on her face. "What's up?" he asked.

"I figured that, since we're here, we might as well get some practice in," she said. She held her hand out and wished for a Keyblade to appear. A few seconds passed, yet nothing happened. She frowned, disappointed, wondering why the weapon would not appear.

Lea shook his head. "You can't get it either? Same here. I've been having trouble getting it to appear on command, even though I passed the rest of Merlin's trials with flying colors. Wouldn't even show for my dramatic entrance to rescue Sora."

Kairi shrugged. "Oh, well. I'm sure we'll get it working pretty soon." She turned and looked back at her bag. She walked over to it, opened it up, and took out a toy sword like Sora and Riku's. "But we can still train." She gripped the sword with both hands and held it out to the side, mimicking Sora's stance.

Lea nodded appreciatively at her pose. "You might want to adjust your footing," he advised. "Be ready to move swiftly, but put your feet down firmly when you aren't moving, especially on sand."

Kairi nodded and did as he suggested. "Thanks."

Lea retrieved his frisbees and entered his own battle stance. Kairi made the first move. While she had initially taken inspiration from Sora in terms of a fighting stance and style, she had quickly figured out that following his pattern exactly was not good for her back, so she decided to come up with her own style. She decided that, rather than focus on the weight and power of the attacks and force her body to follow through on them, she should make the attacks fit her naturally lithe and agile figure and movements. She was light on her feet while still landing firmly for each hit, and her style incorporated quick lunges and flashy pirouettes. Lea was impressed; he had a tendency to jump around and use both long- and short-ranged attacks, and Kairi's movements allowed her to close the gap as well as jump out of the way of his strikes. Her free-flowing movement let her swing her sword as if it were an extension of her body rather than let the weapon drag her around, with an ease that most swordsmen took a long time to learn. Her sparring sessions with Tidus and Selphie gave her the experience and practice to refine her style. When she ended each combo, she put her feet down hard, throwing more weight into the finishers.

"You're pretty good," Lea commended after Kairi deflected one of his frisbees and struck him in the chest with a single spinning lunge.

"You too," she returned the compliment.

They dueled for a few more minutes before Kairi got tired, so they decided to meet up with Sora and Riku. They returned to the opposite side of the island and climbed up onto the elevated platform that was connected to a bridge. Kairi went first, and Lea was about to go next, but he turned around sheepishly as he realized that he was accidentally getting an upskirt shot. He did not turn back around until Kairi called down to him and offered her hand to help him up. They crossed the wooden bridge to the smaller platform elevated in the shallow water, on which several palm trees and a horizontally-extending Paopu tree grew. Sora and Riku were putting their swords into their bags, proving that they had indeed been dueling. Based on their body language, Kairi and Lea guessed that Riku had won. She cheered for both of them equally anyway.

Sora waved and Riku smiled as Kairi and Lea approached. Sora climbed over the trunk of the Paopu tree and took his seat. Kairi maneuvered around Riku and climbed up so that she was sitting next to Sora. Riku leaned back against the rooted end of the trunk. Lea stood behind the tree and leaned his elbows on the trunk on Sora's right. They sat quietly for a moment, watching the orange glow of the sunset and listening to the ocean waves lap against the rocks.

"So, what kind of worlds do you think we'll get to see?" Sora asked. Kairi and Lea held back the urge to smirk as they thought of how varied and fantastic the worlds out there really were.

Riku shrugged. "I don't know. We'll never find out by staying here," he remarked.

"But how far could a raft take us?" Lea asked. Kairi pondered the question as well, knowing that they never did and never would get the chance to find out.

"Who knows?" Riku replied, admitting that he did not have everything planned out. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

Despite the fact that she already knew how her universe's Riku had answered, Kairi decided to ask a familiar question, both to progress the conversation logically and because she wanted to hear his answer. "So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?"

"Well, I haven't really thought about it," Riku admitted. Lea chuckled at his expense. Sora slapped him lightly on the forehead in Riku's defense. "It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? If we get out to the other worlds, maybe we'll find the answers. And, just maybe, we can see if there's anything left of your world."

Kairi and Lea's eyes widened in amazement. So, in this universe, Riku's desire to travel to other worlds was, at least in part, inspired by a desire to uncover the truth of what had happened to their old home. They were touched. "You've been thinking a lot about this, haven't you?" Kairi noted.

Riku smiled softly. "Thanks to you and Lea. If you hadn't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this," he said. "Kairi, Lea, thanks."

Kairi giggled. "You're welcome," she replied.

"No problem," Lea added.

Shortly after, they decided to call it a night. Kairi and Lea led the way back to the dock, with Sora and Riku following. As they crossed the beach, Lea glanced back and saw Riku toss a Paopu fruit to Sora, then tease him about sharing it with Kairi. Embarrassed, Sora tossed it off of the bridge after Riku passed him, then followed him down the stairway carved into the rock wall and out of the shed at the base of the platform. Lea chuckled, then went to help Kairi put their stuff in the boat and untie the rope.

That night, Kairi had a very strange dream. She started out in a beautiful scene where the blue sky extended endlessly, reflected flawlessly on the watery surface on which she stood. Suddenly, a wave of Shadows appeared out of nowhere and flew around. When it flew past her, she was suddenly in a desert landscape filled with broken stone mountains and lifeless Keyblades. The swarm of Shadows continued to fly, and each time it passed her, she saw a different face: a woman with blue hair who somehow struck her as familiar; a boy who looked like Roxas, but something told her he was not the same; a man who looked like a younger, brown-haired clone of Xemnas; a black-haired girl whose face and hairstyle reminded her of her own younger self; Roxas, for real this time; and Saïx. A tornado made up of Shadow Heartless rose up ahead of her. She saw Sora, Riku, King Mickey, and Lea throw themselves at the tornado, aiming to strike the monster swarm down with their Keyblades, only to be swept up in the tide. Kairi gasped and reached her arm out toward them, but in a split second, they were gone. Another wave of Shadows flew toward her, but then they exploded into glowing white chains. She turned around and saw Naminé standing there, extending her hand out toward her, much like when she appeared to rescue her from the Organization's prison. Kairi took her hand and saw a flash of light.

When the light faded, she was falling from the sky. Six lights of different colors flew alongside her, swirling around her, then dispersed. As she passed through a cloud, she saw Sora, Riku, and Lea falling as well. She tightened her arms and legs together to reduce resistance and try to go faster so she could reach them. When she came close to Sora, she extended her arm out for him to grab. The moment their fingers touched, however, Kairi was suddenly tumbling downward through a body of water. Over time, her descent slowed, and she eventually began to feel herself rotate. She felt her feet touch ground. She took a step, causing the dark sheet below her to explode into doves, which flew away. After watching the doves fly off, she looked back down and saw that she was standing on a circular stained glass platform that depicted Naminé over a grey and pale blue background. Circles surrounded the outer rim, showing images of crayons, sketch books, the roses that made up Castle Oblivion's artistry, Larxene's kunai, and Marluxia's scythe. The platform was illuminated from below. The only other light source was a spotlight high above that shone a soft pillar in front of her.

So much to do… so little time… a soft, feminine voice echoed in the air with no identifiable source. Take your time… Don't be afraid…

"Naminé?" Kairi asked, recognizing the voice as that belonging to her Nobody.

Your time to awaken draws near… Follow my guidance… Step forward… Naminé's voice continued. Kairi wondered why she was speaking in such a cryptic manner, but noticed that the situation was similar to how Sora had described his own dream. Naminé had access to all of Sora's memories; could it be that, whatever this "dream" was about, she was simply copying the instructions that he had heard?

Following her instructions, Kairi stepped into the glowing pillar. She saw three pedestals materialize out of the ground in front of her. A black shield with a red frame materialized above the pedestal to the right. Power sleeps within you… Naminé said. A green staff with a blue crystal materialized above the pedestal to the left. If you give it form… A sword with a gold hilt appeared over the pedestal in front of Kairi. It will give you strength… Choose well…

Kairi walked around, examining each weapon closely. As she passed each one, she heard Naminé provide commentary as if reading from a museum placard. The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all… The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction… The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin… She considered which she would like to take and which she would give up. She imagined the sword, which was to be wielded by a warrior to strike down his enemies. She did not particularly want to be a warrior. She just wanted to stand by Sora and Riku's side and keep them safe like they had done for her. Looking back at each weapon, she considered that she could complement Sora and Riku's strength, as well as Lea's. Sora had chosen the sword and given up the wand. What would she choose?

She approached the wand and took it in her hand. She had heard much about magic from Sora and Riku, how one could cast fire, project freezing blasts, command the wind, or heal injuries. She laughed when Riku told her about how one spell let him conjure giant balloons which he used to throw Xehanort's younger self around. She wanted to learn spells like that and use them to help her friends.

Is this the power you seek? Naminé asked.

"Yes," Kairi answered.

The wand vanished in a flash of light. Now, what will you give up in exchange? Kairi turned to look at the other two weapons. She did not want to give up the shield, because how could she keep her friends safe if she could not adequately defend herself or them. Instead, she walked over and took the sword. You give up this power? Kairi nodded. The sword faded away. You've chosen the power of the mystic. You've given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?

"Yes."

Suddenly, the pedestals began to sink into the ground, and the glass shattered from opposite ends. When the whole platform burst into shards, Kairi fell into the void. After a few moments of falling, she landed feet-first on another platform, which depicted a black-haired girl dressed in an Organization XIII uniform hooded duster on an orange background. A prominent section of the background resembled the Twilight Town clock tower, although Kairi had never actually seen it, only recognizing the shape from a poster in the hangout under the rail tracks. The encircling images depicted Sea Salt Ice Cream, the Kingdom Key, thalassa seashells, Roxas, Axel, Riku, and Naminé. Once again, she wondered who the girl could be. Before she could ponder further, the staff appeared in her hand. As she examined the wand, she noticed that the crystal was shaped to resemble King Mickey's head, except the ears were ovoidal rather than flat. As she thought on it, she recalled seeing the same shape on the front of the shield. After pondering the coincidence for a few more seconds, she decided not to worry about it.

You gained the power to fight, Naminé said. Kairi swung the staff the same way she had done with the toy sword. Creatures formed from the shadows, rising up from the ground, taking the very familiar shape of Shadow Heartless. There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong.

"Do you really need to say that?" Kairi asked as she slashed at the Shadow in front of her, knocking it back. "That's kinda the whole reason I'm doing this." She spun around, hitting all three Heartless with her staff.

Ahem… My bad. I'm sort of repeating something that Sora remembered from his dream. I'm sure you get the gist. Oh! Behind you! Kairi turned to see that, after she had apparently defeated all of the Heartless, another Shadow had attempted to sneak up behind her.

"Thanks," Kairi said as she slashed at the Shadow. After she slew the last Heartless, a shadowy void materialized from the center of the platform and expanded to swallow the entire surface. Kairi began to sink into the void, struggling to escape but failing, as if it were quicksand. She sank until she was completely enveloped in the darkness, but continued to thrash about until she realized that she was no longer trapped in darkness but lying on a different platform.

Standing up, she saw that the platform depicted six circles containing silhouetted figures from the waist up. She guessed that they were supposed to represent the other Princesses of Heart, but as she had never met them, she could not tell who each one was. Near the top image, she saw a transparent door. She walked over to it and tried to open it, but her hand passed right through. Nearby, a treasure chest appeared out of thin air. Recalling how Sora would open chests by tapping on the lids with his Keyblade, Kairi willed her wand to appear and she rapped the chest with the crystal head. The chest opened, but there was nothing inside. However, it did seem to cause the door to become a bit more solid. A crate and barrel appeared as well. After attempting to open them normally to no avail, she resorted to smashing them. That seemed to meet the requirements, and the door became completely solid. Curious as to where it led, Kairi pulled the double doors open, only for them to open automatically once they were ajar. A blinding white light shone through the crack, forcing Kairi to shield her eyes. The doors opened completely, but the light did not fade, so she simply stepped through the doorway.

She found herself standing on the upper level of the fort that was built around the trees. Three figures stood around her, manifestations generated by her subconscious. One was Naminé. Another was Selphie. The third was the same blue-haired woman from the first part of the dream. She wondered if there was supposed to be some significance to Naminé, the other side of her being, and Selphie, a link to her home, and wondered who the bluenette was.

She approached Naminé. "What's most important to you?" the blonde asked.

Kairi raised her finger to her chin, considering the question. "What's most important to me? That would be my best friends. I'm doing this all for their sake," she answered.

"Is friendship such a big deal?" the phantom of Naminé asked cryptically.

"Of course it is!" Kairi shot back without hesitation. Satisfied with her answer, Naminé smiled and faded away.

Kairi turned to Selphie. "What do you want out of life?" she asked.

"What do I want? I want to see rare sights and do the impossible, with my closest friends by my side."

"To see rare sights, huh?" The phantom of Selphie faded away.

Kairi turned to the blue-haired woman. "What are you so afraid of?" the woman asked.

"What am I afraid of?" Kairi mused. Memories played before her eyes. She watched Sora fade into light after releasing his own heart to revive her. She saw a phantom of Riku struggle to keep Ansem from attacking her. She saw herself holding Sora's hand as the worlds began to separate with the two of them on opposite sides of a rift, knowing that Sora would not be coming back with her for a while but clinging on to have just one more moment with him. She remembered a nightmare that she had a few days back, where Sora was sinking into darkness helplessly, followed by the battle where Xehanort tried to possess Sora with a piece of his heart only for Lea to save him at the last second. Lastly, she saw the scene at the beginning of her dream, where Sora and Riku were dragged to their doom by the tide of Shadows. She knew exactly how to answer the question.

"Sora and Riku, they put themselves at risk so many times to keep me safe. My biggest fear… is that one day they'd throw themselves into the abyss to save me… and… and they won't be able to come back out."

This time, the woman did not question her answer. Her expression seemed to show empathy, as if she had experienced the same pain. She nodded, then faded away.

Your friends are the most important to you. You want to see rare sights with those close to you. You're afraid of losing your best friends, Naminé's voice said. Your journey begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one.

Kairi nodded. "Cool." There was a flash of light and she found herself standing on a new platform with a light blue background. The platform depicted Riku, wearing his grey jacket and blue jeans, but with longer hair from before he got a haircut before the Mark of Mastery exam. The encircling images depicted a toy sword, a raft, the Soul Eater sword, the creepy eye that was in the hilt of said sword, the symbol for Dream Eater Spirits, and the hood of an Organization XIII coat.

A group of Shadows appeared around her. The staff materialized in her hands, and she proceeded to fight the Heartless off until they were all gone. After that, squares of multicolored stained glass appeared, forming a path away from the upper edge of the platform. Kairi walked up the winding path until she reached another platform with a blue background, this one showing a sleeping Sora, who wore his black and red clothes that he was currently wearing in her own universe. The encircling images depicted various keychain tokens that went with each of his Keyblade forms. Seeing an illuminated column in the center of the platform, Kairi stepped into it.

Be careful. The brighter your light shines, the deeper the shadows you may cast. Kairi turned and saw her own shadow rise up from the ground. It grew to gigantic size, taking a physical form of shadow. Dragon-like wings grew out of its back. A tattered black robe developed around its figure, draping from its arms. Yellow eyes glowed from behind the mess of hair that tangled around its head. Kairi shuddered at the sight of the dark creature.

But don't be afraid… and don't forget…

Kairi took a step back, every instinct telling her to run. But she knew that in this dream, she had nowhere to run. She willed herself to stand her ground. The staff appeared in her hand. She gripped it tightly.

The Darqueen reared back and slammed its clawed hand into the ground, tearing a hole across the surface through which Shadows came out. Kairi did not waste any time, closing the distance and striking the hand with her staff while avoiding the Shadows to the best of her ability. Eventually, the Darqueen stood back up, pulling its hand away. Kairi decided to focus on defeating the Shadows. After a moment, the Darqueen slowly spread its arms out. Lightning crackled around its hands and arced over its head to cross over to each other, forming a ball of energy above its head. Bolts of energy shot from the ball and flew toward Kairi. Kairi ran to avoid the attack, striking down the last Heartless along the way. She ran over to one of the Heartless' legs and swung her staff at its ankles. As another bolt flew toward her, she swatted it away, and it arced up toward the Darqueen's head.

Kairi continued to whatever damage she could, deflecting the energy bolts back up to the Heartless' head when they came near. After a minute, the lightning and energy orb dissipated. The Heartless reared back and drove its claws into the ground again. Kairi returned to the hand, attacking it. After a moment, she had an idea. Stepping up onto its hand, she marched up the arm and climbed up onto its shoulder. Safely standing on the giant's shoulder, she began to whale on its head with her staff. When it began to stand back up, she stopped so she could adjust her footing as it shifted. When she and the giant were stabilized, she continued her attack.

Pretty soon, the Heartless' form began to shudder. After one last combo finisher, it stumbled and lurched, causing Kairi to fall off. She groaned in pain as she hit the ground and picked herself up. She saw that the Darqueen was starting to fall over, right above her, so she prepared to defend herself, until the staff vanished into thin air. The Heartless began to dissolve, dripping black globs from its collapsing form. Kairi turned to run, wanting to get out of harm's way. However, a large glob landed on her foot, pinning it to the ground. She tried to pull herself free, but she could not. Another glob landed on her shoulder, causing her to drop to the ground. The black globs continued to fall on and around her, covering her and leaving her unable to move.

But don't be afraid… A glob fell on her head and began to drip over her eyes. The shadows covered the entire platform, and Kairi felt herself sinking into the goop. You hold the mightiest weapon of all…

I'd be a little more reassured if you weren't just riffing off of Sora's memories, Kairi remarked inwardly.

I can hear you, Naminé retorted.

Kairi sank into the darkness.

She woke up shortly after. She shielded her eyes from the sun's morning rays and sat up in bed.

That was just like the dream Sora said he had, she thought. Is it supposed to mean something?

She climbed out of bed and walked over to her table, where she saw an incomplete trinket made of thalassa shells. She smiled, remembering the lucky charm that she had made two years ago, and which she had given to Sora before he left on his return trip to Hollow Bastion. Maybe she could finish it for her doppelgänger, seeing as they were sharing the same body. She took it and put it into her bag.

Lea knocked on her door and opened it. "Morning, Flower Girl," he greeted. "Ready for a new day?"

On the islet, Riku and Lea took the raft out for a trial sailing run. Meanwhile, Kairi and Sora had the job of gathering provisions and ingredients from around the islet. After a few hours, they would switch roles. Sora showed Kairi how to knock coconuts out of the palm trees without letting them fall on their heads. Later, Kairi stifled her laughter as she watched Sora climb another palm tree to reach a seagull egg on another tree. On the glimpses that she caught out at sea, Kairi could tell that Riku and Lea were having fun sailing.

"Okay, we got two sets of mushrooms," Kairi said after she picked the mushrooms that she found in the alcove behind the rock that Sora moved aside. She stuck her tongue out in mild disgust of the fungi, of which she was not a fan, as she dropped them in a plastic bag. "Are there any more we can pick?"

"There would probably be some growing in the Secret Place," Sora said.

"Good idea," Kairi commended. They returned to the other side of the island, greeted Wakka as they stepped out onto the wider area of beach, and pushed their way through the vines that hung in front of the cave entrance. Placing their hands on the rock wall to guide them, they navigated the narrow, winding path until they came out into a larger room. The walls were covered in chalk drawings, illuminated by the sunlight shining through a hole in the ceiling. On the opposite side, there was a wooden door that did not have a doorknob.

Kairi shivered as she looked at the door. When her island was attacked two years before, she had somehow known to go to the door. She had approached it in almost a trance-like state, feeling the strong aura of darkness permeating through the air of the cave. She registered Sora calling her name, and she turned around to face him, weakly saying his name, only for the door to blow open and a strong wind to thrust her toward Sora. The next thing she knew, she was inside Sora's heart.

"You okay, Kairi?" Sora asked.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." Wanting to draw attention away from what had happened, she scanned the area for mushrooms. She saw a batch a few feet away to the right of the door and pointed them out to Sora. They crouched in front of the wall and picked the mushrooms, putting them in their pouch.

After pocketing the mushrooms, they took notice of a pair of drawings directly in front of them. They smiled as they remembered when they drew profiles of each other's faces when they were children. Kairi also had another memory tied to the drawings that Sora did not: the day she returned to the islands after the worlds were restored, she went back into the Secret Place and saw that her Sora had added something to it—a hand passing a Paopu Fruit from him to Kairi. She was touched by the gesture and copied the shape, passing one back to him. She noticed that the drawing had not been appended yet, but she could tell from her doppelgänger's memories that she might be interested.

"You know, this cave is filled with so many memories," Kairi said, glancing around at all of the drawings that she, Sora, Riku, Lea, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie had made. Some of the ones that she remembered on her world were gone on this world, or they were in a different place, or slightly different, while there were some new ones as well. Her doppelgänger's memories flowed in to provide context to each unfamiliar image, and also to the images whose stories were altered by Lea's presence.

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You know, I used to see this place as something mysterious and spooky. When I was little, I even thought there were monsters in here." He let out a laugh. "Then we 'conquered' this place, and we turned it into a place of memories."

Kairi giggled. "We did. Although, I think this place still has an air of mystique to it. Like that door." She turned to address the mysterious door, then let out a yelp as she saw something she was not expecting.

She and Sora shot up and turned to face the stranger that had materialized in the cave only twenty feet away from them. Kairi's heart rate skyrocketed. How had the figure come in without either of them noticing? Even the smallest sounds tended to echo in the small space, and they would surely have heard the vines rustle from outside. Sora instinctively took a step forward so that he could step between the stranger and Kairi if he were to try something.

They could not see anything about the figure that left any indication of who he was or what he looked like. He wore a large brown robe with the hood raised, its sleeves so long and baggy that they completely covered his arms. His face was completely obscured in shadows under the hood. Two dark brown belts looped over his shoulders and under the opposite arms, creating an X as they crossed over his chest. Although she could not figure out who he was, he exuded a hauntingly familiar aura that put her further on edge.

"Who are you?" Sora asked.

"I've come to see the door to this world," the stranger said in a masculine baritone. Kairi gasped as she recognized the voice all too well. Ansem!

"Huh?" Sora was confused by Ansem's statement.

"This world has been connected," Ansem continued.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.

"Tied to the darkness, soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Whoever you are, stop freaking us out like this," Sora warned, noticing Kairi's fear. He then stopped and blinked as he realized something strange. "Huh? Wh-Where did you come from?"

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door," Ansem said. Kairi shivered. She could almost feel him smirking at the notion of their "ignorance".

"So… you're from another world?" Sora realized.

"Uh, Sora? I don't think we should…" Kairi touched him on the arm and tried to tell him that they should leave.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little," Ansem said dismissively. "Your light does not shine all the way through."

Kairi gulped and hid behind Sora. Although she still could not see his face, it seemed as though Ansem was looking directly at her.

Sora glared at the robed figure, partially indignant at the insult and partially angry that he was scaring Kairi. "Oh yeah? Well, you'll see. We're going to get out and learn what's out there!" he challenged.

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing," Ansem retorted.

Affected by his words, Sora looked uncertainly at the door, wondering if he would ever really find what he and his friends were looking for. When he turned back to the figure, he saw that he had vanished without a sound.

"Kairi, I think he's gone," he said. Kairi peeked out from behind him, then breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that Ansem really was gone.

"You okay?" Sora asked.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah," she replied.

"Any idea what he was talking about?"

"No," she lied, shaking her head. "He just gave me the creeps." She did not want to tell him the real reason for her anxiety. "Well, we should head back out."

"You go on ahead. I'll take another look around," Sora said. Kairi nodded, then turned to leave. As she meandered through the path leading out of the cave, she heard the scratch of a chalk rock on the cave wall. She smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing.

When she stepped out onto the sand, she saw Lea and waved to him. He gave her a relaxed salute as he made his way over to her, but his grin faded when he noticed her poorly-covered up expression of fear and anxiety. "Whoa, hey, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Kairi took a deep breath before answering. "Ansem. Xehanort's Heartless. He was in there," she said.

Lea went pale. "Did he do anything? What was he doing there?"

"He said he wanted to see the door to this world."

Lea crossed his arms pensively. "So, the Keyhole is in there, I take it," he surmised. "Do you think…"

Kairi nodded. "I think the Heartless are going to attack tonight."

"If so, then they're going to try to destroy this world. But the thing is, that's almost certainly going to be our gateway out into the worlds and onto the adventure we need."

Kairi nodded again, letting Lea know that she fully understood the dilemma that they faced. She thought about it for a moment before she reached a conclusion. "Try to stop this world from falling into darkness, and leave all others to be doomed, or let it happen, let everyone we love suffer the apocalypse and drown in shadow, so that we can save all of the worlds including this one. And not just here, but also so we will be able to fight to protect all of the worlds back home and everyone on them." She sighed. "I know it's going to break my heart, but we have to let it happen."

"You're right," Lea agreed. "If we want to help everyone, we can't prevent this tragedy." His tone remained calm, but tears rolled down his cheeks, and he balled his fists. Kairi could tell that the situation hurt him almost as much as it ate at her.

Lea shook his head and wiped his tears. "Well, when Sora comes back out, why don't you go sailing. I'm sure it will clear your head."

Kairi nodded. "Okay."