So… I'm very sorry. Living on your own is a whole other ball game, and when you have to work to pay bills, go to school, and get married, writing fanfictions sadly has takes a back seat.

I really didn't see me doing that but it happened. Writing has become something of a lost lover. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever be good again… If we'll be reunited…

Or motivated for that matter…

So again, I'm sorry.

This chapter is going to be different from the initial plan for two reasons. One: I was stuck and didn't know what to do, and two; that chapter got deleted by another story which also needs to be updated.

Recap: After an intense battle with the famed antagonist Arelius our protagonist finds herself in Atlantica with Sora (keyblade wielder), Kairi (new b.f.f.), and Riku (a possible love interest), searching for way home, and also stardom?

Chapter Begin

The sadistic glee that came from watching Sora, Kairi, and Riku participate in the musical quickly ebbed.

It wasn't funny as much as painful. Their singing was like the squawking of flaming crows.

Okay, that is an extreme hyperbole. They were just tone deaf.

Apparently it was normal for fish to have a natural inclination for music and anything related. Becoming an aquatic creature didn't qualify if this only happened hours prior.

"Sora, you need to hit da pitch, mon." Sebastian sighed for the umpteenth time. These kids just weren't getting it, and the crab didn't understand why. All creatures under the sea got the rhythm… mon.

The little crab was at his wits end, and didn't know what to do. He never had to recast his cast, and honestly, Sora was a good kid, and his friends seemed nice. It wouldn't be fair to oust them from the musical… But if he didn't do something soon the musical would be ruined, which would lead to a mob of angry fish and merfolk.

The maestro had to think quickly if he was going to save his friendship with the keyblade wielder and save the musical.

Sora nodded his head, sucked in a deep breath of water, and started belting out the note.

"Dear lord, somebody put me out of my misery." Tal moaned hitting her head against a rock.

Kairi, Riku, and Sebastian cringed.

There was no hope.

The little crab sighed tiredly. His plans for the musical weren't quite what he wanted. "We'll take a 20, mon."

Translation: 20 minute break. Perhaps in this short window of time the maestro could think of something to save the musical and his friendship with the young keyblade master and his friends.

After the break was up, Sora was ready for round two. The others were not. Sebastian was no where to be found which raised an alarm for the four, leaving them to wonder if perhaps the crab was eaten by a local fish.

Or maybe he just fled the scene because there was no hope for Sora and his tone deafness. This would lead many to the conclusion that perhaps Sebastian was having a mental break down somewhere screaming in agony that there was no hope.

The mass populace will vote for option two, because there is no cannibalism in Disney!

Left to their devices, several minutes after the given break time, the four came to the conclusion that maybe perhaps Sebastian wasn't coming back, and if that was the case then they should do other things such as: find the source of darkness that brought them here in the first place.

There was only a slight problem with that. They didn't know where to begin, and the entire Atlantian populace was ignorant of such things as tangible darkness.

The four made a brave attempt to visit King Triton, but he was busy tending matters with Captain Gordon.

"You're the one who knows more than the rest of us." Riku flicked his fin, slightly peeved at the standstill they had come to. "There must be something you think of that could be associated with darkness?" This dialogue was of course directed at Tal, for who else would be as knowledgeable?

Riku was going out on a limb, for once, and probably the last time attempting optimism in the hopes of possibly triggering a deep rooted thought into the fan girl's mind that could lead them to a clue, for surely she had to have an idea where darkness could possibly reside. She's been immersing herself in their world for years before actually becoming apart of it.

Tal chewed her lip for several seconds, nothing particular coming to her mind, other than the fact that even annoyed Riku still made a sexy merman. "Nope."

The trio sighed, defeated.

"I guess we could ask around." Sora scratched the side of his cheek.

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Most people aren't even aware darkness like that exists. We can't just go around asking about that."

"What should we do? Go snooping around the ship graveyard?" Sora offered.

"Oooh!" Tal piped in. "Yeah, that sounds like the kind of place we'd find darkness…. Or Ursula's lair!" She chirped.

"Der you are!" Sebastian came swimming up. "I been lookin' for you mon." The crab was glowing, a grin fitting of only his face stretching from one end to the other. "I found a solution to our problem." He waved his meaty claw, as one girl and two merfolk swam up. "Lip singers."

The four fidgeted anxiously. With their trail hot and blazing, they didn't have much patience for bad numbers and cliché dance moves.

"Well wat are we watin' for mon, let's get a practicin'." And thus they were dragged back into the world that they were going to despise. If not for them being Disney based, even if only in copyrights, there would be mass genocide of merfolk and other singing aquatic creatures.

No one could stand still, or more like float contentedly with the sense of urgency to solve Tal's dilemma.

Riku was thinking up ways to pay Sora back for his asinine idea to incorporate himself into the musical, many of the vengeful thoughts including cheap shots during their training and maybe a wrestling match where he went all out. Perhaps even going so far as to hide Sora's hair gel.

Yes, the hiding of hair gel had the ability to render Sora a mess. His attachment to that was akin to Sephiroth's attachment to Jenova.

Tal on the other hand had quickly realized that she was not partaking in this musical and was free to roam about.

And roam about she did. It would also greatly behoove the protagonist as an exercise in learning how to maneuver underwater as well as fight. Guns aren't reliable underwater only proving somewhat effective if the bullet is able to leave the gun, but even then the projectile rate is still greatly diminished.

If worse came to worse, she would have to rely on hand to hand combat, which obviously wasn't her first choice, considering her punches usually tickled.

Yes tickled. Like, I punch, you giggle.

"If Ariel can survive a shark attack, what could get me?" She mused. If Atlantica was exactly as they had made it out to be, there would be no fear of being kidnapped and sold into the sex trade or even slavery.

This wasn't the real world. Realistically, it was safe for a 16 year-old-girl to go adventuring the great blue. Ariel was a testament to that.

But lest Tal forgot, she is not Ariel, and she was not created by Disney.

Yes dear readers, the author won't let you forget! Reality always rears its ugly head when you least expect it.

Thwump, A fist connected with the back of Tal's neck, dazing her. She was swiftly tackled, and felt up.

"What's this?" A rough looking merman grunted, holding up her prized pistols, gifted from Vincent Valentine himself.

The man chuckled. "This is from the human world. Where did you find treasures like this?"

She glared up at him, trying to think of something to do. Punches would be futile, as hand to hand combat. He was a native to these waters, and knowing how to fight would definitely be something he would be capable of.

She needed to outsmart him if she wanted to keep her pistols.

"Yea. All you have to do is just point the barrel at your face and push that button, but make sure it's pointing at your face."

The grizzled fishman eyed her warily. "Why would I do that?"

Tal had to think quickly and plausibly so she wouldn't be busted for trying to blow someone's head off. "Well, that's what it's for." Her mind was racing. "It helps clear your thoughts." In the literal sense of course, "So when you're panicking, it really helps mellow out the situation. Why do you think I'm so calm?"

He thought it over for a second, leaving the fan girl ever hopeful. "Well, ya see. I don't believe you, so how about I try this out on you, and if it don't work then we'll both know if you're lying."

Tal's eyes widened in alarm, her voice stuck in her throat.

He pointed the gun at her face, and pulled the trigger. Click.

"What?" She growled, leaning closer to the gun, examining the barrel. There were no bullets inside to fire. Her life had been spared, but so had the muggers.

"Wow, ya really do look concentrated. Lemme try." He pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger. Click. "Hmm, didn't work. Lemme try 'gain." Click, click, click. "Why isn't it working for me?"

Tal was fighting off despair deep within her chest. She didn't want to lose her guns, but at this point she had no idea how to retrieve them either…

Until… A military merman swam past in the distance. She finally knew what to do.

"RAPE! HELP ME!" The mugger jumped, glared at her and smacked her.

He started to swim away, but Tal grabbed him and held on despite him trying to kick her off. She got smashed into a nearby building made of coral which cut up her back, and got a few punches but desperately held on.

She didn't know if she'd ever see Vincent again, but those guns were the only connection she had to him. He had taught her how to be useful and gave her the tools to be, and she wouldn't let some sleazy mugger take them for his own greed.

Within in no time, the two were surrounded by military personal.

"Oh thank Neptune!" Tal shook the hand of the nearest military merman. "You saved me. This man here was trying to steal my guns, and he attacked me."

"I HAD NO INTENTIONS OF RAPING YOU! LIKE I'D WANNA FERTILIZE YOUR EGGS!"

Tal froze. Fertilize? Suddenly it became clear why there was no sex trade in Atlantica. Merpeople reproduce like fish. The females would lay eggs and then the male would come and fertilize them.

Sex was something else entirely. It was solely for making babies, not for pleasure. If that was the case, did they have TV shows here where they had "Who's the daddy?" like with Jerry Springer, or maybe even "How many daddys can you have?"

Images of angry mermaids yelling at mermen, being held back my bouncers flashed through the girls mind as she saw a audience of people cheering and yelling…

This put a whole new twist on reality television.

"Ew." She mumbled under her breath, wishing desperately for mind soap to erase this recent revelation.

Tal was abruptly ripped from her grotesque thoughts when she was bound by reinforced seaweed. Considering metal was quick to break down under the salt water, natural elements seemed to be the best cuffing aside from plastic can rings.

"Why are you arresting me?" She screamed, outraged. "I've done nothing wrong!"

The military cop sneered, "You've falsely accused a man of fertilizing your eggs." The disdain dripping from his voice couldn't be more obvious if he had a neon sign flashing 'I DON'T LIKE YOU!'

It was official at this point. Tal was not good at making friends with strangers from another world; first Sora and Riku, then Yuffie, and Cloud, and now this man. She just couldn't win.

She would have fought against the cop, but with a wounded shoulder from getting slammed into the building, and a bruised face, she decided to let them take her, administer medical attention, and after all that was said and done, get a pardon from King Triton.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"What do you mean it'll take a month for me to make my appeal?" The fan girl seethed. "I am a guest of His Majesty! Sora is my friend and well as my traveling companion! If he finds out that you're holding me in this nasty algae covered cell you're gonna be so neck deep in your own crap, you'll be begging me for forgiveness."

The military cop laughed, and swam off, hands folded behind his back. "If only I had a clam every time I heard that."

Tal crossed her arms, glaring at the fuzzy green wall, face throbbing from the earlier assault made by the mugger.

Atlanica sucked. Hard core.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Several hours later, during rehearsal:

"I can't find her!" Kairi swam back to Sora and Riku. "I thought maybe she went to take a nap or something but she's no where to be found." Her brows knitted together.

"I've been asking around, but no one remembers seeing anyone like her." Riku mumbled, his fists clenched.

Both Sora and Kairi could pick up the vibes Riku was emanating, it was obvious he was far from being as calm as everyone thought.

"Let's look for her together. Surely nothing bad could happen to her. It's Tal!" Sora replied cheerily.

Riku scoffed, "That's what I'm worried about! It's Tal, she's a magnet for trouble."

Dread settled on the three. They made up their mind. Forget the musical, they had to find Tal, and help her get home. No more diversions or distractions.

"But wat about the musical mon?" Sebastian swam in front of the three in a desperate and futile attempt to stop them as he was only one 3 inch crab and they were 3 almost fully grown adults, albeit their mind was still in the teenager stage. "We still have to do one more run through!"

Riku shrugged, "Tal comes first." He wasn't really sorry. In truth he'd be willing to do anything else than participate in this asinine musical that really made no sense. Tal was just a very legitimate excuse to skip out. "Use our lip singers as our fill-ins. They're more prepared."

Kairi nodded relief obvious in her actions. She as well was fed up with the musical. Sora though carried a small air of melancholy.

He liked being in musicals. They were fun.

It is at this time, we venture off to parallel worlds for a moment. The authors thinks that if Sora wasn't a keyblade master he probably would have grown up participating in musicals and other various show tunes in high school, and possibly pursue a career in the theatre as a grown adult leading many to assume he was gay until he finally found a girl to marry.

"Let's find Tal before she's eaten by a shark." Sora kidded. Kairi punched him.

"Don't even joke. It could really happen."

Sora felt a twinge of guilt.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Several hours later:

The three teens swam back to the palace rather dejected. There search ended up no where. No one had seen a mermaid with peachy pink sea shell bra, fin, and carrying two guns.

No more jokes about her disappearance were uttered in fear of them being real.

"What if we let King Triton know about Tal, maybe he'll send out a search party?" Kairi mentioned ever hopeful.

Riku shook his head, worry creasing his brow. "No, merpeople come up missing all the time. It's how things are under the sea. Fish eat fish and sharks favor merfolk above any other fish or crustacean. We can make our request known to him, but the probability of us getting a search party is unlikely." Riku the realist said.

The three swam past a military official who was telling one of the mermaids about the crazy day he had today. When the author mentioned mermaid she literally meant a mermaid that works as a maid in the castle. Perhaps to differentiate the two she'll call them mermaidmaids… or not.

"…and she was screaming for this man not to rape her…"

The maid gasped. "No, she really didn't think he would!"

The MP laughed, "No, I don't think anyone would. She's kinda funny lookin… unlike you." The pick up in his voice was coated on as heavily as a 16 year old coats on AXE over his nasty boy funk; doesn't make them more flattering, just pungent.

Sora had stopped swimming and was staring at the MP as he blatantly hit on the maid.

"You're the most beautiful mermaid in the ocean."

"Did the mermaid you arrested earlier go by the name of Tal?" Sora shamelessly cut in. The MP jumped, and stared at Sora. "The funny looking mermaid? With a peachy pink bra and fin? With two guns?"

The cop tried to form words but was at a loss, his mouth hanging open.

"Guys! This man knows where Tal is!" Sora hollered. Riku and Kairi were at Sora's side in seconds.

"Where is she?" Riku breathed out, his muscles tensed with anticipation.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"I hate my life." The protagonist floated disconnectedly, afraid of the algae latching on to her and consuming her like the mutant life form she believed it to be.

"You realize it's your fault we're here." The mugger from earlier grumped.

The teen threw herself at the bars, eyes lit with rage. "That's a load of crock! If you didn't mug me we wouldn't be here! It's your own fault we're both here you scum!"

The door to the jail area opened up, but Tal was too engrossed in her ranting to notice.

"Fact is, all I wanted was to just figure out how to get out of this aquatic nightmare, but noooooo, some idiot like you has to go and try to steal my guns, by the way, if they were loaded you'd be dead you stupid fish!" Ah, the rants of the angry teenager, incoherent and every bit amusing.

Of course Tal did not realize she would have died before the mugger, considering he tested out her theory on her before himself.

"Tal?" Riku's voice's penetrated the haze of anger that had enveloped the protagonist. The white haired teen was already at her cell, beckoning for the MP to unlock her and free the disgruntled fan girl. .

"We were worried about you." Kairi swam up, smiling. "I'm so glad that you're ok."

"Yeah, we were looking all over for you." Sora piped in.

Tears brimmed the young fan girl's eyes. It was so like them to come at the right time. She swam up to Kairi, desperately needing a hug.

"Thank God you're here. They said that I would be in here for a month before I could make my appeal." Her voice cracked. "I got stuck in here because I was mugged-"

"What happened to your shoulder?" Riku interrupted, gently separating the girls, and studying Tal's body to see what other damage has been sustained. "And your eye?"

During her struggle with the mugger she had also sustained a black eye.

The fan girl's eyes narrowed. "That stupid guy tried to mug me. I was able to hold onto my guns, but he did this to me."

All four teens glared at the mugger. "It's her own fault, if she would've let me go, I wouldn't have had to do that to her." He shrugged non-challant.

Before an assault could be launched on the sleazy man, the MP had already gotten in between the teenagers and the sleazy mugger..

"We can't have civilians in the dungeon." The MP cut in. "Please leave now."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"So, what do we do now?" Tal asked with much trepidation. She wanted desperately to leave this aquatic nightmare as previously stated, but until Sora gave the okay, she would be forced to endure this place.

"We're leaving." Sora stated.

A chorus of angels sang.

"Really?" The peachy mermaid was beginning to wonder if Sora could read minds.

"While we were looking for you, we searched those places we were talking about earlier, and we didn't find anything."

The joy the protagonist felt was amazing, and she couldn't stop smiling. "So…"

"Where will we go next?" The ever brilliant and thoughtful love interest of Sora, Kairi, asked.

"Port Royal." Sora said with much resolve.

Just when Tal thought things couldn't get better, she was proven wrong. Oh so gloriously wrong.

Back on the ship, Tal stretched her legs and even did a little jig. "I never realized how much I love being human." She grinned.

"Ugh, but now my hair is a mess." Kairi muttered ruefully, trying to work her hair into something decent looking. "The salt won't wash out."

"It's just hair." Riku and Sora stated together, the typical male response.

"By the way… Has anyone seen my hair gel?" Sora tilted his head to the side, his spikes droopy, resting his hands behind his head.

Riku suppressed a sinister chuckle. "Let's head to Port Royal."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"What is your next plan of action?" Xemnas looked apathetically at Areilus.

"Lead the girl to reality." The man chuckled. "Then we'll move forward with our plan, and what you long for will finally be obtainable."

Xemnas would have feigned annoyance but then that would imply he remembered such emotions and he had been a nobody for far too long to remember such frivolous but amusing emotions. "I do not long for anything."

"Once you manifest yourself in reality, emotions will be very real for you, for beings as you cannot exist in veracity without evolving." The man grinned madly. "I have lost the ability to cross the threshold, but that little fanatic can. With that ability I can wreak havoc upon what she knows and change the very nature of this universe." He erupted into maniacal laughter. "She'll be the undoing of her own world!"

Xemnas grinned sardonically. "What are we working to obtain?" His non-existent curiosity finally took hold.

"The very core of our universe, it's where Kingdom Hearts was born." The secretive tone dripped off of Arelius's words.

End Chapter

So yay for updates?

Okay, I am sorry but the story is never abandoned. Just put on the back burner until I can get back to doing what I love. Writing. Well anyway shout outs!

By the way: FANDOM; KINGDOM HEARTS, HERE I COME – HAS REACHED 100 REVIEWS! WHOOOO!

I don't make a big deal about reviews but my goodness do I love getting them. Why? Because I love to hear what you guys have to say, that's why!

Minx The Shadow Thief: Sorry for never writing. From the moment I wake up until 9 at night I'm running around, but since my promotion at my job I now have Sunday's and Monday's off! Yay! That's kinda of been the reason why I'm writing again. Oh, and now that I'm married I have the urge to write again… and my husband's been on me about updates. Apparently he's a fandom fan! Yay! Yeah, Tal in pink is awesome. Only cause it burns, muwahahaha!

Gotta stay calm: Name changes are only because fanfiction won't accept your name any other way. I'm sorry :( Thank you so much for the compliments and review. I'm trying really hard with the story. The only thing that scares me is after not updating for a year, I don't want to get a bunch of reviews saying "Dude, you lost it"

Unless of course someone had suggestions. I love those because it means I can improve. Well, thank you so much for the encouragement.

I have some fun in store for the Port Royal chapter if you like Tikuness (hint hint)

Neoi: Mind in the gutter is ok. Sometimes makes for some awesome jokes :D I am not a fan of sharks. This summer went to Hawaii, while swimming in the ocean I was scared to death that I would meet my end by being shark bait. I'm sorry for the lack of Riku singing. I felt limited by the words, and without much to go on I couldn't do it believability. I actually feel that's part of the reason why I got stuck. I know it sounds like I'm making excuses, but I had it down up until I started writing the musical portion and at that point I was like, "… Uh… yeah, I don't think this is working… (sigh)" and usually when that happens, updates don't happen.

Sorry again D:

Liliafax: Glad my story was able to make you feel better :D That's the whole point. Bring joy and laughter and as long as everyone enjoys I'm happy.

Day Dreamer: I hope you can forgive me after this freaking forever lack of update. I'm so sorry. I did what every person does on fan fiction :( Okay, not every person, just a lot of them.

I really tried, it just took me forever to get the picture back.

I guess I just want to make sure that the story is going somewhere but sometimes I really wonder what I'm doing.

I'll seriously consider the Roxas idea. Sounds like a plan… one I like… :D

As to latest Kingdom Hearts information, honestly I haven't the foggiest. Since moving out I really haven't had internet or time to research stuff. My little sis back home is all in the KH stuff, and I s'pose I should be brushing up, and will probably soon. I'm a spoilers fan, makes my hubby crazy b/c I ruin everything for him. Muwahaha.

Incredibles world! Brilliant. If I can fit it in, I definitely will. I just have to see how it could tie into the plot… or make it a fun chapter… Hm…

If I were to do a FMA chapter it would have to be a parody or something like it because I don't know if it is accessible because of copy right issues ;P hehe, jkjk, but I might consider a chapter that isn't part of the story if I have time.

Thanks for the notice of name changing, and hey, I'll check out your stories. I have been inactive on FF since last year, so perhaps it's time for some catching up :D

Darkmekmon: I believe work is more of an issue with my not updating than school. Well, dating interfered too… funny how that works. After getting married I find myself wanting to write again… I'm glad though, I missed it. I missed updating fandom. I'm going to try to keep up this story and it being awesome, but I'll need help considering the fact that I've abandoned it for a whole year D8

Not bueno, I know, I'm so sorry. I'll keep trying.

Luxord's Xigbar: Still not settled to an extent. I bum wi-fi because it's cheaper… and saving up to go home and visit family over 800 miles away. I'll work on being more consistent with updates, promise. Remember this story is never ever abandoned. I have every intention of finishing.

Anonymous-L: You're right. Ariel's name is spelled the prior. Not Arial :p Love little tips, because it' what helps improve and sometimes, my grammar is no bueno. Like my Spanish… haha.

I like the idea of putting Riku in awkward situations… now if only I could make him believable. That's most likely why I didn't really have any scenes with him doing the musical stuff… Because I just couldn't see it in my head and if I can't see it up there, then there's no way I can write it (regretful sigh) I feel like I led people on then copped out. Sorry.

Like I stated before, I only like reviews because it shows me what I'm doing right… and sometimes wrong, but that leaves room for improvement. I'm working on perfecting spelling. I think this chapter is pretty decent… except for when Sebastian is speaking XD

Thank you for the review.

Simple Shimmers: Do I think Roxas is cute? Hm, in a little brother, or pouty kid kinda way. I'm a little too old to be crushing on someone his age XD I don't like writing Mary Sue's so we'll see what I can do about any Tal x Roxas, 'kay?

laptop chick: Gah, I'm sorry there isn't much Riku suffering. I just couldn't see it, and couldn't write it. I tried, I really tried. There were so many drafts, and the one time I did get started it was deleted because my computer is an ancient piece of machinery. 2002 laptop to be exact… (sigh) I'm sorry I copped out.

Yaoi-Beloved: Cut me some slack. I love Beyblade because it's one of my first animes, but the intensity of dradles battles? It's a little bit much :D I mock what I love so don't get mad, it's my childhood to. I mock everything… with love XD

Okay, I do owe one person a apology. Less-than-3 a while ago, she messaged me telling me she made a fanart for class, but since I had limited time on the internet, and have been pretty much on hiatus on this site, I got the notification through email, but I'm not very web efficient. I wanted to personally thank her for sharing that, and making the devinart because well...

...

THAT IS SO FREAKING COOL! And... I'm sorry for never writing back... I'm so sorry D:

Okay, so from one ocean to another, we bring our protagonist to a world that is more familiar to her, even if it's only in graphics.

The next chapter we'll experience some difficultly as the man who sailed the Spanish Maine, finds himself looking for "fine female company" in the form of our loveable protagonist, and Riku finds himself wondering how he really feels.

Next time on Fandom Installment: Kingdom Hearts Here I Come!

Peace!