My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria

by Codex92

The Caribbean (Part 2)

Silverstream groaned as she started to come around. Squinting her eyes, she was blinded by the sun shining down high at its apex. She sat up with a grunt, trying to remember what happened to her.

"Silverstream." Mumbling, confused, her vision was blurred, but sitting in front of her was Gallus. Confused, she wanted to ask how he got here or knew where she was, her mouth dry and parched as her head began to pound. "That was cutting it close, huh?"

"W-Whu...?" Rubbing her eyes, she blearly looked up at the griffon, who ran his claws down her face and body, checking her for any injuries.

"You ok?" Gallus asked. "I was really worried. I thought you got more hurt from that blast."

"...Gallus? Why are you here?" she mumbled.

"Huh? Gallus? He's not with us," "Gallus" said. "It's me, Sora." Baffled, Silverstream rubbed her eyes again, her vision clearly up more. Sora was kneeling in front of her, replacing the Gallus she was hallucinating in her delirium. "You feeling alright?"

Blinking, Silverstream looked around now that she was fully conscious. With Sora, she was thankful not to be separated from all her mentors. Applejack and Goofy were gathering coconuts from the nearby palm trees on the small island they were beached on. Rarity and Donald were talking amongst themselves, and, surprisingly, Kaito was here as well. She didn't even know the Nobody was going to be joining them.

"...Where are we?" she asked.

"From what I could gather, we're definitely quite a ways away from Port Royal," Kaito said. He walked over and grabbed a coconut, summoning his aquatic cutlass and punctured a sizable hole into the thick fruit. "Drink up. You look thirsty."

Taking the coconut, Silverstream immediately tilted it with her mouth open, drinking down the liquid stored inside. Her thirst quenched, she let out a relieved sigh, smacking her beak as that dryness began to fade slightly.

"Never had this problem living underwater," she mumbled. Once she came back to her senses, she winced, quickly standing up and checked her saddlebags. "Sandy!? Sandy, where'd you go, boy!?"

"Who's 'Sandy'?" Kaito asked.

"A little sand crab friend we met in Davy Jones' Locker who helped guide us to other pirates and carried a huge pirate ship out of the burning white sand!" Silverstream exclaimed, all while dumping out her supplies and searching frantically for her crustacean companion.

"...Oddly, not the strangest thing I can believe," the Nobody mumbled.

"Did he fall out when I got hit!?" Silverstream continued panicking, finding no sign of the crab. "Is he trapped at the bottom of the ocean!? He was too young!" Behind the hippogriff, digging itself out of the sand was the familiar white sand crab she was searching for. Skittering up to her, Sandy tapped the back of her leg to get her attention. "Sandy, not now. I'm trying to look for you." Sora and Kaito noticed the crab, then Silverstream finally did when she realized what she said. Relieved, she picked up her little friend and nuzzled it. "Sandy! You're ok!"

"Probably wanted to get a little cool sand bath from the tropical sun," Sora said.

"So, you guys were really down in Davy Jones' Locker?" Kaito questioned curiously. "And it was a desert?"

"Nope. It was a lot worse than just being trapped in the bottomless pit in the ocean that I thought it was meant to be," Sora said. "There was some water, but it felt just as endless as that deserted island."

"Huh. Good to know." Silverstream began putting her gear back in her bags, making sure Sandy was sitting comfortably on her noggin. Kaito glanced over toward the others, then back to Sora. "So, was your plan to just fall off the edge of the world and be trapped down there?"

"We ran into a little trouble with some Heartless attacking the Black Pearl," Sora explained. "We took care of them, but I think there's still more out there." Sora looked out at the ocean, grimacing slightly. "...Er, we've...got a whole lot of ocean to explore."

"Well, we're definitely not going to just stay around here on this island," Rarity huffed. "We need a bigger boat. There is no chance we can survive traveling from island to island to gather more provisions to move on to the next."

"And we don't have any clue when the weather might change for the worst," Applejack added. "Them little boats ain't gonna match up with a tidal wave. Or a maelstrom."

"I was only able to take the dinghy from the port when a couple of soldiers were too busy talking to each other," Kaito said as he pointed his thumb to his "vessel". "I could have called my Swashbucklers and commandeer a better ship, but with the amount of people there, I didn't want to cause a panic. Not with Davy Jones prowling the seas. Along with this Becket guy who's supposedly controlling his every move."

"He's got something important to Davy Jones and blackmailing him," Goofy said.

"And if we don't put a stop to him, he's going to rule the entire sea," Donald added.

Kaito grunted in response. "Damn. That's just outright diabolical," he uttered. "Probably should have gotten some more info from those guards."

"But since we're going to be branded as 'pirates', we won't stand a chance unless we have our own ship," Rarity said.

Suddenly, Sandy hopped off of Silverstream's head and began to skitter inland. "Huh? Sandy, where are you going?" she asked. As she followed the sand crab, she noticed the small oasis that rested not too far from the small shoreline where they were currently resting. Sandy approached the edge of the water, then turned around and pointed one of its claws to it. "Uhh...An oasis?"

"Not much of an oasis if it's all saltwater," Applejack said. "Not much of an expert on ocean caverns, but this little pool must connect to some around this island. The only thing drinkable is from these here coconuts."

"I think Sandy's trying to tell us something," Silverstream said. Sandy took its claw and stuck it in the sand. It began to walk in a direction, creating a slightly squiggled line that spanned about a foot. Finishing the line, it pressed its claw against the end of it, making a crude-looking muzzle. The crab then pointed at its drawing, everyone staring at it curiously. "Is it...an eel?"

"Kinda wished Fluttershy was around to understand what Sandy's trying to tell us," Sora mumbled.

Sandy tapped its serpent-like drawing, then pointed to one of the small boats down by the shore. "An eel boat?" Silverstream asked.

"I don't know if that's supposed to be an eel," Donald pondered aloud.

Sandy began gesturing the serpent was much bigger. Kaito hummed, thinking more about what the crab was expressing until it slowly hit him.

"...Leviathan," he uttered. Sandy clicked its claws, telling the others the Nobody got it right. Confused, they looked back at the drawing, then to Kaito. "A mythical serpent of the sea. And...if the crab's pointing to the boats...Is there a ship named after Leviathan underwater?"

Sandy once again clicked its claws in confirmation. "I highly doubt there's a ship hiding under the water in this island," Rarity said. "There were no caverns we could see as we rowed up here."

"Didn't Tia Dalma tell us Davy Jones rose the Black Pearl for Jack, and that ship was in the ocean?" Goofy asked. "This little crab is from Davy Jones' Locker. Maybe it knows where this one ship it's trying to tell us is at?"

Sandy clicked its claws again and pointed to the salty oasis. "It'd be better than trying to survive on the dinghies," Sora said. "And luckily, we have a way of traversing through long underwater caverns without a need for air."

"We do?" Silverstream asked. Sora, Donald, and Goofy fell over in exasperation while Applejack and Rarity stared blankly at the hippogriff. She finally got what Sora meant, giggling sheepishly. "Oh yeah. The pearl."

"Goodness gracious, Silverstream, ya turned yourself into a seapony when we flipped the Black Pearl upside down," Applejack mumbled.

"You know, with all my training and schoolwork, I rarely have the time to be a seapony and swim around," Silverstream admitted. "Not much to do fighting with fins and a tail than all fours and wings."

"Now you have that chance to test your combat skills underwater," Kaito said.

Once they gathered their belongings and filled their canteens with some fresh coconut juice, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Applejack, Rarity, and Silverstream stepped into the oasis, Sandy hopping into the water and began to swim on ahead. Silverstream activated her pearl, spreading the magic between her teachers to help them transform to survive underwater. Rarity and Applejack took their seapony forms back in Sequestria, their clothing remaining, though the patterns on Rarity's dress had changed into seashells. Sora, Donald, and Goofy, however, transformed into their underwater forms from Atlantica: Goofy as a sea turtle, Donald as a half duck half octopus, and Sora as a half man half dolphin. Their clothing disappeared, but they still kept their pirate headgear.

The group dove underwater and followed Sandy through a cavern leading toward the center of the island. They paused when they saw what looked like the wreckage of a couple ships in the hidden grotto. There were a few coral reefs along the walls, the wrecked ships showing some lost cargo in barrels that were coated in algae. Distracted by the sight of actual ships managing to find a way in the grotto, they forgot that Kaito didn't join them. Turning around, they were surprised to see him still normal and swam toward them without struggling to hold his breath.

"Relax. I can breathe underwater," he assured.

"You can!?" they all questioned.

"Since when!?" Donald squawked.

"Uhh...when I took that dinghy?" Kaito sheepishly answered. Neither of them believed him, which he expected. "Yeah, I was a little surprised as well while sneaking under the water. I think because my magic element is water, that's how I'm able to breathe underwater."

"So...is he part fish?" Silverstream asked curiously.

Before Kaito could try to explain, their bout of interesting news was interrupted by a wave of Heartless appearing in their path. New aquatic Heartless swam toward them, a cross between skeletal fish heads with eel bodies, they came in three different colors matching a magical element: red for Fire, yellow for Thunder, and blue for Blizzard.

"Speaking of fish, time to fry some!" Sora said.

Summoning their weapons, they swam toward the Sea Sprites and wiped them out. They acted coy as they swam around like a normal school of fish, but they either tried to bite at them or unleash an attack with the respective element that radiated from their bodies. Rarity and Applejack had only a brief time as seaponies and were used to just casually swimming around, so learning to fight underwater was even more of a challenge without flailing about. Luckily, they were quick enough to figure it out against a weak kind of Heartless.

With them gone, they spotted Sandy at the mouth of an underwater cavern that led further inside the lower recesses of the island. Jellyfish floated aimlessly in the cavern to barricade them, their long tentacles threatening to zap anything that dared to pass underneath them. Without harming them, Silverstream was able to gently nudge them aside, using her fins to give the rounded membranes a push to shift them aside and open the passage for the others. Considering the hippogriffs' magic pearl was protected by a jellyfish and Silverstream was related to Queen Novo, she would have had some knowledge dealing with jellyfish without disturbing or aggravating them.

While following Sandy and dealing with more Sea Sprites, they noticed some bits of cargo that were sunk further down into the cavern. Some of the other passageways that led elsewhere had hints of gold coins or treasures. There was some mystery to how these ships wound up here when there was no possible way a sizable vessel could enter a closed in island like this. And if there was a ship somewhere around here if the sand crab was guiding them, they had no idea where it would be anchored. All the while, Sora wondered just what Tia Dalma meant before he took care of the Raging Vulture.

Use that key to free me, Sora, and you have my most certain promise; all the power on the sea you ever wish for be yours.

Sora wondered just how much Tia Dalma knew of him and his friends. Considering she's a vessel or a sea goddess' spirit, like with Zeus, was it Calypso who spoke with him and knew of the Keyblade? And how did she know about Applejack, Rarity, and Silverstream, even when there was no possible way this world had any connection with Equestria unlike Olympus? Then there was Silverstream's crab friend. Clearly intelligent and guiding them to a ship hidden within this island, was it a servant of Calypso, seeing how Tia Dalma pet and caressed one of the sand crabs when they met with the washed up pirate crew in Davy Jones' Locker?

Sandy skittered on the floor of the cave to an opening, where a massive room laid that was devoid of any lost boxes, barrels, gold, or supplies, not even any of the numerous jellyfish that thrive in the cavern. Not noticing the crab trying to warn them not to go further inside, they swam through and found something suspiciously odd in the empty space. In the middle of the seabed, there was a treasure chest, but there were also two glowing rods between the chest.

"Hmm...I smell a trap," Kaito uttered.

"Hey, lookie! A treasure chest!" Silverstream cheered. "I call dibs on the treasure!"

The seapony began to swam down toward it, only for Applejack to swim after Silverstream, bite her tail, and drag her back. "Now hold on a cotton pickin' minute, sugarcube," she said. "A random chest in the middle of a room doesn't look at all suspiciously like a trap?"

"And what about those...What are those glowing reeds?" Rarity asked. "They might be shock traps."

"I don't think any pirates would know how to set up something this elaborate for a single chest." Sora swam down toward the chest. "I'll check it out."

"Be careful, Sora," Goofy warned.

"It's gotta be some kinda trap," Donald muttered. "But pirates can't resist treasure, even if they don't know it'll bite them in the butt. Just like Barbossa and that Aztec gold."

"Aww. But I called dibs," Silverstream whined. She pouted, watching Sora swim closer to the chest. He stared at the oddly placed rods with glowing orange lights, watching them sway slightly despite how still the water felt in this room. Cautiously approaching the chest, he summoned his Keyblade to open it, but as he reared his arm back, he paused, eyed the rods, then swam back and launched a Blizzaga spell. The giant ice shard exploded and struck the rods, which trembled violently as the sand erupted, and out popped a massive angler Heartless that was ten times their size. "...Ok, never mind. I don't want that treasure anymore."

"Clever Heartless," Kaito scoffed, he and the others preparing for a rough fight.

Angry, the Lightning Angler shook off the freezing blast, looming down at its prey who uncovered its ploy. With black and blue scales, the "rods" were attached to both sides of its jaw, each end and the spines on its back shaped like lightning bolts, its spiral eyes glowing an ominous yellow, and its fins were shaped like anchors with the tail a ship's wheel. It went after Sora first for catching it off guard while trying to catch them off guard, moving really fast despite its size. Sora outswam it, making it chase him and distracting it for the others.

Avoiding using Thunder spells and the Thundaga spells the Heartless unleashed with its sparking antennae and spines, they kept a safe distance to avoid getting chomped by its sharp teeth or getting smacked by its wildly flicking tail. Sora led it toward the wall, quickly diving down toward the sand while the Heartless was too slow to react, slamming face first against the craggy cavern wall. It shook it off without issue, spreading random bolts of lightning around the room as it searched for its target.

"Ok, this thing is way more aggressive than an actual shark!" Sora exclaimed. "And one of them was a menace back when we first went to Atlantica!"

The Lightning Angler soon set its sights on Kaito. With his weakness ironically being Thunder spells, he tried to keep his distance from the electrical feelers protruding from its jaw. Boosting himself with his Water magic, he dropped to the bottom, making it follow him, then shot back up and flipped around, landing on the ceiling. Before it could give chase, Kaito threw his sword in front of the Heartless, brought his hands together, then as his hands formed a sphere, he slowly spread his hands outward with a strained grunt. The water around his blade began to swirl and be absorbed into it, increasing its size and length. Along with the growing sword, he pulled the water apart within the cavern, creating a growing sphere of air in the middle of the cavern.

The Heartless tried to chomp down on the cutlass, but it wedged its jaws and left it vulnerable as its tail flicked in the pocket of air Kaito created. Its body began to spark, charging up electricity to zap the Nobody, but Sora swam into its face, slamming his Keyblade into it and dropped it down into the sphere of oxygen. It hit the ground with a heavy thud, flopping wildly to try to get back to any water. Together, Sora, Silverstream, Applejack, and Rarity sped into the open air pocket, lunging down with their Keyblades and thrust them into its body. It flailed, still kicking, but Kaito raised one of his hands, and with a yell, thrust his expanded sword into the giant angler's forehead.

It froze for a few seconds, then fell limp as its body faded away, releasing the heart inside. After it floated through the ceiling, Kaito let out an exhausted groan, filling the opening he made back up with water, his sword dispersing and returning to its normal length before it disappeared.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Silverstream cheered. "Two big Heartless in a row, and we took them down together! That air sphere thingie was so cool, too!" Kaito panted heavily as he floated down, grunting slightly from the amount of exertion he used just to create such a sphere. Silverstream swam up to him, excitedly taking his hands and shaking them up and down. "We can grab air bubbles to help others breathe if they're not seaponies, but to create a big air bubble and make it a literal fish out of water was brilliant! Can you teach me how to do that!? Or can Keyblade magic do that?"

"H-Hey, easy!" Kaito pulled his hands back, doubling over slightly. "That took a lot more effort than you thought it was. If I messed that up, I could have accidentally increased the pressure of the water instead and crushed all of us to the floor."

Silverstream winced, tapping her fins sheepishly. "Oh...That wouldn't be fun."

"No. No, it wouldn't." Silverstream swam backwards awkwardly before she turned and swam over to grab Sandy. Kaito winced, feeling heavily out of practice after being trapped in the Organization's base for the last several weeks. Healing bellflowers suddenly appeared over him and recovered his exhausted form. Sora floated up to him, giving him a grin and a thumbs up. "...Thanks for the assist."

"Just paying you back for all the times you came to my rescue," Sora said.

"Heh. Doesn't seem like you need me helping you out as much nowadays," Kaito muttered.

Once everyone got their bearings, they proceeded forward, except the massive chamber didn't have another opening. Sandy hopped out of Silverstream's flippers and swam over to the opposite end of the room from the entrance. The others followed, leading them to a wall with some rubble. There were a few cracks, big enough for a shellfish to squeeze through, which must lead to a hidden passageway that was caved in for some time. Kaito increased the pressure of the water at the cave-in, pulling it toward him and freeing the opening, letting the boulders roll and tumble into the middle of the room.

In the newly opened path, there was a jetstream of water flowing upward at the end. Swimming forward, they rode the stream up, where there was what seemed to look like a pocket of air. Reaching the surface, the pocket of air was an opening that continued deeper inside the island with the cavern slightly flooded with a couple inches of water. Kaito stepped onto land first and scouted ahead while the others turned back to normal with Silverstream's pearl. They soon reached a hidden cove buried deep in the island, and beached on the far end where they entered was a large ship.

"Whoa! There is a ship!" Silverstream gasped.

"Well, how about that," Applejack uttered.

Everyone ran over to the ship, admiring the perfectly pristine vessel despite how long it's been built here. There were cannons mounted on the sides, fitting for battle on the high seas, red and black sails that matched with Sora's attire, and the bow's figurehead resembled a huge, aquatic serpent, long flowing whiskers trailing from its face with accents of waves at its sides. There was even a pair of arrow-shaped anchors at the sides of the bow, though they didn't seem to act like anchors from the way they were attached.

"So, this is the Leviathan," Sora said in awe. "This is awesome! We've got our own ship!"

"Now we can be real pirates!" Goofy added.

Silverstream flew up onto the deck while the others climbed up the carved-in ladder on the stern with a little Aero boost. "Ooooh. Roomy. Beats any of the navy ships back home. Although they're more metallic than metal. Makes this one more authentic."

As soon as the others climbed up on deck, they inspected the vessel. It almost looked brand new despite it being hidden inside the island. Not even a speck of dust. Kaito went below deck to check out the cannons, even spotting some of them mounted toward the bow to launch cannonballs head on, though they were a bit smaller than the port and stern sides. There was a lack of ammunition to load them for high seas battles, though he did note some curious glyphs marked where the fuses should be. Matching the name of the vessel, there was a large aquatic serpent curled around a heart, the same heart that came from the Emblem Heartless.

"Magic cannons?" Kaito wondered curiously. "Who designed this ship?"

After an inventory check, Kaito climbed back up on deck, watching Sora at the helm grasping the wheel. As he looked forward, Sora wondered how they were going to get the Leviathan out while it was still beached on the sandbar in the cove, and how they would get it out when the cove seems to be sealed up. His thoughts were answered when the wall before them crumbled away, revealing sunlight and their exit out of here. Water began to fill up more of the cove, giving the ship just enough to slip away from the sand and float forward.

"Well, I supposed that answers how we get this ship out of here," Rarity muttered.

Sora steered the vessel out of the mouth of the newly opened cove, the sails unfurling themselves and picking up more speed. The sails surprised them as they acted on their own, but Kaito noticed more of the same glyphs that were etched on each bar of the wheel.

"This isn't any ordinary ship," Kaito said aloud. "This must be enchanted."

"I guess so," Sora pondered as he also noticed the glyphs.

"Well, if this ship doesn't need a crew, I call the crow's nest!" Silverstream exclaimed. Flapping her wings, she flew up along the center mast, where the crow's nest was placed on their vessel. With Sandy resting on her head, she looked around at the sea, spotting a few islands in the distance. There was a sudden fog that appeared on the waters to the ship's portside, and through that fog were mysterious ships matching the same one that brought the Vaporflies to attack the Black Pearl. On the sails, she can see the Heartless insignia as clear as the ocean, and on different segments of the ships were glowing orbs, either on different sides of the ships or on the sails. "Captain, we got enemy ships on the portside!"

To their left, Sora grunted as they spotted the incoming vessels. "Alright, guys! Prepare for battle!" he commanded as the captain of their new ship.

The enemy ships launched cannonballs at them in a deadly volley headed straight for them. Sora reacted and turned the wheel hard to starboard side, but through his quick thinking evasion, the Leviathan suddenly shot forward in a burst of speed that was impossible for a vessel its size to make. Everyone stumbled, nearly losing their balance as they hung on, narrowly getting hit as the cannonballs struck the water behind them with a splash.

"W-What in the hay just happened!?" Applejack questioned.

"Kaito, if you were going to give us a boost, warn us before we go tumbling overboard!" Rarity exclaimed.

"T-That wasn't me!" Kaito said.

Sora steered the ship around some pillars of islands to avoid another blast, wondering how that happened himself. "More on the starboard side!" Silverstream called out.

A few more Heartless vessels came out through a growing fog, which dissipated just as quickly as it appeared. Both sides fired more cannonballs at them, but they seemed to aim ahead where the Leviathan was going. Sora gripped the wheel tightly, the ship reacting to his grasp and formed a massive pillar of water around the ship. The cannonballs struck the water wall, eliminating the deadly enemy fire before it struck any part of it. Sora glanced at the wheel, noticing the glyphs shimmering with light as they acted with his will.

"Definitely enchanted," Sora confirmed. With a grin, he grasped the wheel and turned it, aiming the starboard cannons at the ships in that direction. Noting the orbs sticking out, he targeted them with his gaze. "Fire!"

By his command, the cannons from the starboard side fired, striking cannonballs at the weak spot tearing the enemy ships to pieces. "They fired on their own!" Donald exclaimed.

"They were direct hits at least," Goofy added.

Sora turned the ship, targeting the first wave of ships that came after them. Instead of blasting them with cannon fire, he was going to ram them. Applejack, Rarity, Donald, Goofy, Kaito, and Silverstream wondered what Sora was thinking as the ships launched more cannonballs at them. Like before, the Leviathan reacted and set up another water wall to block the incoming fire, and Sora grasped the wheel, speeding up and ramming through the enemy vessels. He crashed through the middle one, destroying it while the Leviathan remained in one piece, then ordered both sides to blast the other two ships at point blank with cannon fire. Splinters scattered everywhere as the Heartless ships sank and faded into the water.

"Ha ha! This is the best day of my life!" Sora cheered.

"Better than marrying Kairi?" Kaito asked, making Sora balk in surprise.

"Err...Second best day?" he answered sheepishly. The Nobody chuckled and shook his head at Sora's reaction. "Just...don't tell her I said that."

"Won't be much hidin' it when ya show Aqua how well Silverstream did," Applejack teased.

Grumbling, Sora turned the Leviathan out toward open waters. "Belay that, or I'll have you all keelhauled for mutiny!"

"Kairi would swap that around to you, actually," Donald teased with a snicker.

"I'll have ye walking the plank, Mister Duck!" Sora warned.

The others laughed as Sora's threat was anything but. The teasing came to a halt when a thick fog suddenly surrounded the Leviathan, blotting out the sun. Expecting more enemy ships, Silverstream looked to the port side, shrieking in surprise as a much larger ship pulled up beside them. The others noticed as well, along with the large Nobody insignia on the large front sail. Kaito grimaced, backing away slightly, but it was too late to hide below deck. Approaching the rail of the enemy vessel was none other than Luxord, who smirked at his enemies as Applejack, Rarity, Donald, and Goofy brandished their weapons.

"Parley," Luxord called out.

"Luxord," Sora grunted.

Silverstream hovered down, landing on the lower beam of the center mast to see the same man who attacked her and her friends. Though he wasn't a pony, she did recognize his hair, his eyes, and the piercings in his ears. Luxord looked up, spotting the hippogriff.

"Ah. One of the new bearers," Luxord said. "It has been quite some time. How fare you and your companions?"

"Hey, if you want her, you're gonna have to go through us!" Applejack warned.

"Relax. I have no need for finding any of your young pupils for the Organization," Luxord assured. He climbs up onto the rail and jumps onto the deck of the Leviathan. "Would a little friendly chat help ease your concerns about my presence here in this world again?"

"Friendly how?" Rarity questioned. "You just climb on our ship, alone, and you expect us to talk when you just surrounded yourself?"

"He said 'parley', Rarity," Kaito stated. "Following the Pirate Code, parleys are a moment of ceasefire while both sides make a bargain to avoid bloodshed the moment both ships disperse."

"What!?" the unicorn shrieked.

"And as pirates...we have to honor the Code," Sora agreed, begrudgingly.

Reluctantly, Rarity and Applejack dismissed their Keyblades. "This clearly ain't gonna end well," Applejack grumbled.

"I believe it is fair, and as a man who loves games and contests, why would I not follow the rules to assure an honest victory?" Luxord asked. Neither of them trusted the Nobody, but he seemed to be a man of his word despite his own "games" had rules he made up for his own benefit in a fight. "I even gave my word to Aqua that I would not tell the others who your new subordinates are. It was unfortunate that Marluxia discovered the griffon boy when he blurted out the secret I swore to keep when I was bested by the timid changeling."

"Hard to trust someone when you work for a group who only wants to destroy every world with the power of Kingdom Hearts," Sora said.

Kaito grimaced, avoiding making eye contact with Luxord. "You trusted Axel, and he betrayed the former Organization XIII," Luxord reminded Sora. "Now he's your ally, back to his true self, and with more power as a wielder like yourself." Sora grunted, understanding his logic, but at least Axel tried to keep Kairi safe from the Organization to avoid them holding her hostage to blackmail him. "Have either of you uncovered any clues about the Black Box in the last year?"

"No. We were busy dealing with stuff in Equestria and protecting the new Princesses of Heart you guys are going after," Sora said. "And even if we did, why should we tell you?"

"As I mentioned, I have kept your apprentices a secret from the others," Luxord repeated, pointing to Silverstream. "Their fortune favored them in meeting each of them one by one. And, since this was a game I set up for the rest of them, they abide by my rules and uncover them for themselves."

"So, how come you don't want to try to kidnap me?" Silverstream asked curiously. "Is it because we're getting stronger? Or you're the weakest and you can't take us all on at once?"

"Care to challenge that little wager of yours?" Luxord asked, flashing his hand of cards.

"Back off, Luxord," Sora warned. "You want them, you're going through me. I'll make you fold just like last time."

Luxord chuckled at the card pun, dismissing his playing cards. "I have no doubts you will, Sora. But how about a race instead of a battle?" Confused by the competitive suggestion, Sora leered at Luxord quizzically. "Whoever makes it to the lovely port town east of here shall be the victor. The stakes between us: information to better prepare in the coming war."

"...Fine, then," Sora said. "I'll accept. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Assuming you hold up to your end of the bargain."

"Then we have an accord." Luxord teleported back to his ship through a portal of darkness, giving Kaito a sly glance before fading into the dark void.

"Should we really trust him?" Rarity questioned.

"He seemed to be honest to me," Applejack said. "And involvin' the Young Six and their trainin' as Key Bearers, he was tellin' the truth, too."

"I'm still giving him the benefit of the doubt," Sora said. "Avast, lads and lasses! Prepare for battle and man your stations!"

Following Sora's orders, they split up on the deck and kept an eye out for any ambushes Luxord might try to throw at them in their race. Applejack, Rarity, and Silverstream watched the port side while Donald and Goofy took starboard. Kaito, however, remained frozen in place. He thought for sure his cover would be blown knowing Vexen was with them, but thankfully, he dodged a bullet. But knowing Applejack was basically a living lie detector, he had to be cautious speaking around her. If she could tell he was hiding something, he was going to be in for it.

The race began as both ships sailed off. Luxord's vessel was gaining speed thanks to the wind blowing the the numerous sails compared to the Leviathan's, but it had a glaring flaw like the Heartless ships. Jutting out from the sides and even the back were the same glowing orb weak points. And there were even ships that appeared in the dense fog that tried to shoot at them, so firing back was definitely fair in this deadly race. Sora commanded the cannons to fire at Luxord's ship, knocking out a few of the orbs while rocking his ship.

While Sora focused on steering, his friends were able to use Leviathan's enchanted defenses as well, giving his full attention to where he's steering to avoid crashing into the other scattered islands in their path. "Incoming!" Goofy warned as cannonballs came raining down from the starboard side.

"Defenses up!" Sora ordered, turning the wheel and commanding the Leviathan to activate its aquatic shield.

With the water wall covering them, Kaito used them as a counterattack with his power. As the enemy cannonballs were struck, he contained the blast in smaller spheres of water from the barrier, then shot them back in retaliation. Though it didn't do as much damage as the heavy mass of iron and gunpowder, striking the orbs on the ships did just enough to sink them to the bottom of the ocean. Silverstream aimed the portside cannons at Luxord's ship, making them fire and strike the last of the orbs that were visible. Upon contact, Luxord grunted as he grabbed hold of the mast, losing speed and watched the Leviathan speed off.

"Not bad," Luxord muttered to himself, smirking all the while. "But victory won't be claimed that easily on deadly seas."

Silverstream began cheering as they were leaving Luxord in the dust, but when she looked toward the bow, she let out a gasp as several waterspouts began to form and flow in their direction. "Water tornados on the horizon, captain!"

"Those are called waterspouts!" Kaito corrected. Grunting, he rushed toward the bow, balancing himself on the angled mast for the front sails until he reached the end. He stared at the aimlessly wandering tornados, right in front of a set of large masses of land Sora was trying to weave them through to avoid more enemy fire. "They're gonna tear this boat up if they head in our direction. Hope I can keep them clear while we head through this obstacle course."

Concentrating on the water flowing up into the waterspouts, Kaito thrust both his hands forward, bracing his stance on the mast. Clenching his fingers, he "grasped" the seawater within the twisters and tried to pull them away in opposite directions. They only budged aside a few feet, not enough for them to make it through, and the force from the wind was much stronger than he could grip them. It didn't help that the stray cannonballs firing at them threatened to break his concentration, along with keeping his balance so he didn't fall off.

Appearing in some fog, a Heartless vessel shot forward, intending to ram the Leviathan. "Hang on!" Sora called out as he turned the ship toward the enemy vessel and shot forward, ramming it right back.

Kaito grunted from the sharp turn and increased speed, losing his focus as Sora shattered the enemy ship to pieces. Being so close toward the front, he yelped, losing his balance and slipping off, grasping the mast before he could fall into the water and get metaphorically run over by the Leviathan. His lost focus caused the waterspouts to head toward them, feeling the powerful winds getting stronger as they got closer.

Panicking while holding on for dear life, Silverstream flew off toward the bow, swooping down and gave Kaito a boost back up onto the mast, startling him. He was about to thank and warn the hippogriff, only to gape in shock when he watched her fly toward the waterspouts, her Keyblade in her claws, then dove down into the water, shifting into a seapony. Kaito kept his hand on the rope to help keep his balance, about to help her, but as he was going to use his magic, he watched something swim up and get caught in the waterspout on the left. Inside, Silverstream swam through the sucked up water in the opposite direction, casting an Aero spell around herself in the opposing force of the twister's as well, heading right to the top. Using her own magic, she managed to disrupt the natural twister, slowing it down, then with a powerful wind-like shockwave, spread the funneled seawater in a circular wave where the waterspout was.

While still a seapony, she dove back down and proceeded to do the same thing with the second one, astounding Kaito while he could hear Sora cheering her on. The Nobody had no idea how Silverstream was able to pull this off. Considering her ability to shift between forms for the air and sea, her affinity toward the water and sky with her power as a Key Bearer helped give her an edge for both elements. Her power of water was much stronger than his own. Silverstream dispersed the last waterspout, freeing their path from any natural disasters.

"Nice one, sugarcube!" Applejack called out.

The hippogriff returned to the ship, swooping down toward Kaito and tackling him back on the deck. "Wowie! That was a close one!" she said. "Good thing all those practice with whirlpools while I was training at home paid off! Just swim or fly in the opposite direction, and they just go poof! And they always spin clockwise. Isn't that weird?"

"...Uhh...right," Kaito uttered. He sat up, astonished and slightly despondent, staring at his hands in disbelief. He really must be losing his touch, not only from being held prisoner by the Organization and the threat they held over his head, but also from the conflicting thoughts in this sudden crisis he was experiencing as Sora's father and Manami's husband. Kaito was his own person, but those thoughts about who he is, who he REALLY is, still bothered him while the instincts he thought were his rightfully belonged to the original Kaito. He felt like a failure, and he didn't want to disappoint Sora or Manami, or see their reaction if he did find a way to tell either of them he was forced into the Organization and would soon be their enemy. Pushing his inner thoughts aside, he stood up, glancing back at Luxord's ship gaining speed and catching up again. "...Thanks."

"No problem!" Silverstream said. "Happy to help!"

They were soon reaching the entrance of the bay and Port Royal. Just as they were about to cross the proverbial finish line, a thick fog barred the Leviathan's path, and behind them were more ships lying in wait to attack them.

"So much for playing fair," Sora growled. "Alright. Guess we have to win a race AND a seafaring battle." Giving the wheel a harsh spin, Sora forced the Leviathan to turn hard portside. With the cannons facing the ships, his friends took aim while the enemies shot homing cannonballs surrounded by a dark aura. "Fire!"

The cannons shot and their magical ammunition struck down the incoming fire. The contact of both sets of cannonballs caused the enemy's to explode in wide blast of ethereal dark fire that lingered for a couple seconds before fading away. Continuing to rain cannon fire, they struck their weak spots and destroyed them before they tried to retaliate. As more appeared with Luxord's vessel arriving to aid in the battle, Sora noticed the glyphs on the wheel were all lighting up. Curious to see what it meant, he gave the wheel a hard spin, causing the ship to suddenly launch up high into the air.

"AHH! What is happening!?" Rarity screamed.

"We're about to find out!" Sora said.

Luxord gasped as he watched the Leviathan make an impossible leap into the sky. "What in the world...?" The ship soon began its descent, diving down toward him and the other Heartless ships. "Oh, this might not end well."

The crew onboard the Leviathan yelled as they dropped, the bow diving down toward the sea. Landing down heavily into the water, instead of plunging into the water, it landed perfectly with a slight bounce, but it unleashed a powerful tidal wave in a wide radius. The wave crashed against the ships and took them apart like they were hit by a tsunami, the wave even striking Luxord's ship and causing him to stumble and roll back toward the cabin wall.

As the Leviathan settled calmly, the adrenaline rush from the immense tidal wave the ship made startled the crew onboard. "...Phew. Didn't expect us to be makin' a rodeo out of a boat," Applejack said.

"But that was awesome!" Silverstream cheered. "We flew so high like we breached the water, and then CRASH! Tsunami wave destroying those ships! We're better pirates than the pirates we were just with!" She noticed the cannons' glyphs all glowing brightly, enamored by the glimmering symbols as she approached them. "I wonder what else we can do." Touching one of the cannons, every cannon on the deck began to glow a bright orange, then unleashed a barrage of flaming cannonballs, which conveniently began raining down on Luxord's ship. The Nobody on board took cover as the flaming artillery struck his mast and sails, shattering them to splinters and leaving the vessel completely stranded in the ocean. The cannons finally stopped, blowing out smoke that dissipated into the sky. "...I think we win."

"Then let's board and get our prize," Sora said. As he guided the ship closer to the floating vessel, one of the side anchors shot forward and latched onto Luxord's ship. With both ships connected by the chain, Sora lowered the Leviathan's anchor and approached the extended chain. His companions soon joined after him, grinding along the chain and onto the battered Nobody vessel. Finding Luxord getting back up after the onslaught they were dealt with, despite having lost, Luxord was still confident that this game was far from over. "Alright, Luxord. Enough twists in your little games."

"Fair enough," Luxord admitted. "I concede. Clearly, you are all the better navigators and scurvy sea dogs than I. I will give you your prize."

"So quit stalling!" Donald squawked.

"If you want to know, I'd need specifics as to what you seek from us," Luxord stated.

Donald grumbled at the semantics, but Sora approached him. "Then how about you explain what you planned to do with Sombra," he said. "I asked Larxene about him, and she did mention the Organization planned to have him be part of your group. You had a vessel made for him, but someone stole it, yet he came back and almost destroyed Equestria...Was she telling the truth?"

Luxord glanced at Kaito, spotting him grimacing slightly. Kaito knew of what happened to the vessel, but keeping his forced alliance a secret to avoid arousing suspicion of what happened to him.

"...She has a big mouth, but I assure you what she told you was one hundred percent true," Luxord said. "Yes, we had planned to use Sombra as one of our numbers. Unfortunately, an intruder, or a traitor, snagged the vessel just as it was finished. Even the remote Vexen built to zap Sombra into submission should he try to retaliate against us for his own personal gain."

"So, you're saying someone else planned to bring Sombra back and found out where your hideout is?" Goofy asked.

"That appears to be the case," Luxord agreed.

"But Sombra didn't mention who brought him back, even when I asked if he was working with you guys," Sora stated.

"Whoever stole that vessel may still be out there," Luxord said. "We would have known if any intruders came anywhere close to where our hideout lies with the numerous Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed prowling about. Even with the ability to camouflage, they wouldn't make it one step inside."

"So...where exactly is your hideout?" Rarity questioned, but her idea to get pivotal information like that made Luxord laugh.

"Sorry, but your questions are limited to information that don't involve coming up with an ambush before the Keyblade War even begins," Luxord said, making Rarity growl and pout bitterly.

"Drat," the unicorn grumbled.

"Alright. Then how about you tell me who the last two members of the Organization are," Sora demanded.

"Well, from who you've seen, all of the new Organization XIII are foes you've faced before," Luxord answered vaguely with a grin.

"But Larxene said Demyx and Vexen were Xehanort's backups for the other two!" Sora exclaimed. His frustration made Kaito frown and glance to the side, clenching his fists. If Sora didn't get his answers, he was going to lose it. "Who are the two new people you guys recruited!?"

Luxord subtly glanced at Kaito, sensing his trepidation, then looked back at Sora. "The Organization is made up of those who you've faced before," he repeated. "You know these two very closely."

"Huh? 'Close'?" Sora questioned. "Why would I be friends with anyone who's my enemy?"

His response made Kaito's face turn pale. "That is all I will say," Luxord said. "You'll soon find out when the real battle comes."

Sora let out a grunt, but if he was just going to receive vague responses from Luxord, he wouldn't get much more out even if he threatened the gambler. "Uhh, can I ask some questions?" Silverstream asked. Luxord nodded, gesturing for the hippogriff to speak. "Ok. So...is it because you have your full thirteen evil villains in your group that you don't need me or my friends anymore?"

"That is correct," Luxord said.

"Ok. And about this box you're looking for. You have no idea what's inside of it?" Silverstream asked. Luxord shook his head, having explained what he knew of to the Young Six and Aqua that fateful day. "Well, we heard there's a chest in this world that holds the heart of an evil pirate. Is the secret thing inside the Black Box a heart?"

"A pirate's heart?" Luxord questioned.

The others winced and looked at Silverstream at her innocent question. "Silverstream, don't go giving him any ideas!" Sora scolded.

"What? They have their thirteen," Silverstream stated. "It's not like they need some heartless pirate guy joining them."

"A 'Heartless' pirate, eh?" Luxord uttered with a grin.

Sora groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Silverstream, they can still gather powerful Heartless and Nobodies to fight along with them," he reminded the hippogriff.

Realizing her mistake, Silverstream scrunched her beak. "...Oh."

"This particular chest may not be what we're searching for, but to control a man whose heart is concealed inside it would make a good member of our mass army." Luxord snapped his fingers, summoning Vaporflies that swooped in, catching the group off guard as they rammed into them.

One by one, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Rarity, Applejack, and Silverstream were headbutted back onto the Leviathan, but Kaito didn't get booted out along with them. After hitting the deck, Sora got back to his feet and ran toward the rail, but there was no sign of Luxord's ship. The Vaporflies were also gone, too, leaving the crew alone on their ship in front of Port Royal's bay.

"Damn," Sora muttered. He looked back at his friends, realizing Kaito wasn't with them. "Huh? What happened to Kaito?"

"Did he go overboard?" Applejack asked.

Looking around the ship, Kaito was nowhere in the water. "I don't see him," Goofy said.

"He might still be on Luxord's ship!" Donald squawked.

"You think he can handle Luxord by himself?" Silverstream asked.

"Just as long as he doesn't pull anything out of his sleeves," Sora uttered. Hoping Kaito will be ok, Sora returned to the ship's wheel and lowered their sails, taking them into the port town. "I think we need to get our bearings and find out where Jack and the others went. And possibly stop Davy Jones now that Luxord knows about his secret."

---

In the blink of an eye, the moment Sora and his companions were flung back onto the Leviathan, the Nobody ship had teleported away to a secluded island far from Port Royal. Kaito let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, but he was far from relaxed. Turning to face Luxord, he growled and stomped toward him.

"You just gave me away!" Kaito shouted.

"I was vague in my response," Luxord assured. "With how many foes and friends he's made in the past, who he would least likely expect won't be you."

"And you're gonna bet on that kind of gamble!?" Kaito exclaimed in disbelief. "So far, you guys had barely any of that luck succeeding with all your schemes! Sora's going to find out I'm a part of this against my will! And who the hell is the pony who you guys brought onboard before Xigbar enlisted me!? They haven't said a single word, and they never take off their damn hood!"

"Trust me. He won't know...until the war comes," Luxord promised. He kept his cool, even with the enraged Nobody ready to go all out and drown him along with the entire ship. "Besides, I believed your curfew was coming up. Luckily for you, we chanced a meeting at sea. Sending one of my Gamblers while you were with them would have gotten it killed." Kaito grunted and turned away, needing a moment to breathe and compose himself. "But the little slip-up the young hippogriff mentioned is highly informative. A man at sea without his heart would make him immortal."

"Well, there's bad news if what I heard at the port followed with that," Kaito grumbled. "Some guy named Beckett's working with Davy Jones. And by that, I mean he's probably controlling him and his ship while holding his heart hostage in that chest."

"Then we have no trouble against a normal man of the sea to take that chest," Luxord said.

A portal of darkness suddenly appeared between them, Vexen popping in with an eager grin on his face. "You found the Black Box? So it was here after all!"

"Ah. Done blending in with the stiffs at port?" Luxord asked with a smirk.

"Gathering information about this special chest," Vexen corrected. "But clearly, you two found out more out at sea than in that filthy port town."

"But it's not-" Kaito tried to explain, but Luxord cut him off.

"An issue you don't need to concern yourself with," Luxord said.

"Hmph. It should, because I had also gained some information of my own," Vexen haughtily stated. He pulled out a few scrolls, each of them charts of the Caribbean with all the islands around the explorative section of the ocean. "I overheard the name Beckett, and this person just so happens to be an important business figure of the East India Trading Company in this world. He's also the commander of the redcoat soldiers that were patrolling around. Although they were up in a frenzy when one of them mentioned a shifty pirate in a black coat stealing one of their longboats."

"At least I'm starting to become famous among my fellow seafarers," Kaito jokingly stated, which made Luxord snort in laughter slightly.

"Well, I hope you've had your fun, because that chest is as good as ours," Vexen said. "These seacharts I apprehended mark the different routes his more powerful fleets take across the seas, both for trade and terrorizing the vagabonds following their own rules. Not to mention a vessel called The Flying Dutchman, and even taking charge of the captain who mans it: Davy Jones, the proprietor of the Black Box Master Xehanort wants."

"Do you expect us to charge in with a fleet of ships of our own?" Luxord questioned.

"Obviously," Vexen scoffed. Luxord and Kaito glanced at each other deadpanned, then back to Vexen, gesturing to the state of their vessel. Completely unaware, Vexen looked around, noticing the intense damage that was done by Sora and the smaller Leviathan earlier. "...Ok. Change in plans. We repair the ship and figure out where they'll be heading next by these charts."

"Good enough for us," Luxord said. "Go play with your maps while we do the heavy lifting." Vexen let out another scoff in annoyance, taking his maps and entering the cabin to chart their next course in peace. With the two of them alone, Nobodies appeared and began to fix up the ship. "Perhaps you should find Sora and warn him."

Kaito was taken aback, giving the gambler a skeptical leer in befuddlement. "...Did you drink any of the seawater out here? You're insane if you think I'm going to outright tell Sora I'm not his enemy!"

"SHH!" Luxord hissed, glancing back at the cabin, along with the Dusks slithering around and fixing the holes in the hull and resetting the masts. Seeing neither them or Vexen heard Kaito's exclamation, he turned back to the Nobody. "I'm talking about searching for Davy Jones and his ship. I'm not sure how accurate those routes are, but when Vexen discovers the exact location, I'll inform a Gambler to relay the message to you. Savvy?"

"...So they can take the chest before you do," Kaito muttered, slowly understanding Luxord's plan. "And when you 'discover' what's actually inside it, you leave and forget about the red herring."

"Bingo," Luxord said. Appearing beside him was one of Luxord's Gamblers. These Nobodies were shaped similar to a wizard's, their skin a light pink and gray, though their heads bore the three-pronged cross like their symbol. While one "hand" juggled a set of dice while the other had some playing cards, it held a map of its own, giving it to its commanding Nobody. Luxord took it and unfurled it, revealing a normal map of the Caribbean and pointed to an open space in the ocean far from any of the islands. "We're several miles off the perimeter of the ocean, far from any passing eyes. Port Royal is far to the northeast."

"Alright. Good to know." As Kaito approached the rail on the deck toward the direction Port Royal was in, he hopped onto the rail, startling Luxord.

"Wait. Don't you want a ship?" he asked.

"Lux, I'm a master of water," Kaito said. He turned around to face the gambler. "I'll make my way back without looking inconspicuous on a Heartless vessel."

Leaping backward, Kaito dove into the sea as his cutlass appeared in his hands. As he hit the water, he began to spin his sword out in front of him, using it like a propeller as he zoomed off under the surface faster than any of the Heartless vessels. Impressed by the Nobody's powers over water, Luxord let out a chuckle.

"'Lux', eh? If he's giving me a nickname, I think he's finally trusting me," Luxord uttered to himself.

---

Sora lowered the Leviathan's anchor at the docks in Port Royal. Without the gloomy night atmosphere from his last adventure in this world, Sora could see the liveliness of the port town while it's daylight. As long as there weren't any cursed pirates that turn into demons during the day after stealing enchanted jewelry, he had one less problem to worry about. The group stepped off their ship and walked down the deck onto the busy bazaar streets, though the vendors, dock workers, and locals gawked at them, more so at Applejack, Rarity, and Silverstream.

"No sign of the Black Pearl around the bay," Sora muttered to himself. "Either they went off to find Davy Jones or got caught up with something else on the ocean."

"I doubt anybody around here would know where they are," Donald said. "Pirates aren't all that trustworthy after all."

"Aren't we pirates, too, Donald?" Goofy questioned.

"I don't like all the looks these other humans are giving us," Rarity mumbled under her breath.

"We do stick out like a sore hoof," Applejack stated.

Sticking close to each other, the Equestrians followed Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they gathered some information. Silverstream eyed some of the wares curiously while Sandy sat on her head. The sand crab shifted slightly, then hopped off the hippogriff's head. As he began to skitter away faster than any normal crab did, heading off down a dirt path surrounded by foliage between some of the stalls.

"Huh? Sandy?" Silverstream spotted her little crab friend slip through the thick palm leaves. Panicking, she chased after the crab, losing her mentors in the crowd while they were unaware of her disappearance. "Sandy, wait! Where are you going!? And how are you scuttling that fast!?" she called out. Unaware she could get herself in trouble, she continued racing after her crab companion. Pushing through the leaves, she lost sight of him, growing concerned that he could get eaten by a seagull or another predator that enjoys tiny crab legs. "Oh no. Sandy! Here, boy! Uhh, how do you call a pet crab? Clickity clacking? Blowing bubbles? There isn't any water to do that around-!"

In her rant, she heard the bushes up ahead where she lost Sandy begin rustling. Freezing, thinking it was a Heartless lying in wait to ambush her, Silverstream summoned her Keyblade in self defense. The rustling grew louder, the leaves trembling and parting as whatever it was approached her. She was about to jump the ambushing creature, only for her beak to hang open in shock when what she didn't expect to walk through the shrubbery was Gallus. Unlike her, Gallus wasn't wearing anything pirate themed. Her brain went haywire encountering him while baffling her over how he figured out where she was and how he arrived in this world without any knowledge driving any of the Gummi ships.

"Hey, Silverstream," Gallus greeted.

Silverstream dropped her Keyblade, gawking at the griffon's mysterious appearance. "...Gallus?" Thinking she was hallucinating, the hippogriff rubbed her eyes, unaware of a sand crab that dropped from behind the griffon and scurried off into the brush. When she opened her eyes, she wasn't seeing imagining things. "W-What are you doing here!? How did you get here!?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing," Gallus said.

"W-Well, obviously, I'm doing alright for the most part! But you're not going to be!" Silverstream ran over and began to push Gallus back into the jungle, startling the griffon. "If Master Aqua finds out you're here and you stole one of their Gummi ships without permission, you're gonna get it big time!"

Digging his feet into the ground, he stopped Silverstream's panicked shoving, grasping her claws in his. "Relax. You're freaking out over nothing." Silverstream let out a squeak, frozen in place while holding hands with Gallus. "No one knows I left."

Despite fearing for the griffon's well-being, something seemed off about the griffon. There was the fact he wasn't wearing anything similar to what she or her mentors were wearing to blend in with this world. Ignoring their change in physical appearance, Gallus wasn't wearing any pirate-themed attire or accessories, nor did he look the slightest bit filthy like a scurvy sea dog. There was also the strange scent of fish wafting from him, which was more odd considering Gallus has never once been to a beach or the ocean. And the look in his eyes when she stared at him was much different; they were almost glossy, barely noticeable from a distance.

Skeptical, her nerves disappeared and she leered at Gallus. "You're not Gallus." Her claim startled the griffon, but as he tried to double down on his identity, Silverstream pulled her claws back, called her Keyblade back, and aimed it at Gallus' face. "Nice try, imposter! Are you a Nobody pretending to be him!? A siren who can walk on land and trying to lure me into a false sense of security!?...Although I hear those actually go after males, but that's beside the point!"

Realizing he was caught, "Gallus" let out a sigh in defeat. "I thought this form would have fooled you, but I guess not." A bit of sand suddenly peeled from atop the griffon's head, startling Silverstream when she backed away. The sand fell from "Gallus'" head, revealing a small sand crab sitting on top and giving the hippogriff a small wave. "It's 'Sandy', the crab who helped guide you and your friends."

Gasping, Silverstream dropped her Keyblade again. "S-Sandy!?" she exclaimed, recognizing her little crab friend. She shouldn't have been this surprised to know the white sand crabs they saw in Davy Jones' Locker had some special magical prowess moving a massive ship across an endless sandy dune, but pretending to look like someone she knew without seeing them astounded her. But that only added more insane questions to the strange meeting and her little companion steering her away from her chaperones. "...Why did you turn into Gallus?"

"Is this creature not the one whom your heart has affection for?" "Gallus" asked.

Silverstream sputtered, her face blushing madly. "W-Wha-!? Buh-I...N-No! I don't-! He's not-!" Her backpedaling didn't fool the sand crab controlling the griffon puppet he crafted, nor did the fake Gallus smirk teasingly at her reaction. Puffing her cheeks, she pointed at Sandy on the griffon's head. "Who told you!? Was it Donald? I knew he was the kind of duck who pokes fun at others!"

"Your heart expressed it clear as day," "Gallus" spoke, gently grasping her wrist and lowered her claw down. "I also overheard you in your daze this construct's name back on the island where Leviathan rested."

Still shocked, she stared at the crab, trying to avoid looking at the fake griffon the sand crab was perched on. "...What kind of magical crustacean are you???"

"Was it not obvious earlier?" The Gallus mimic grabbed Sandy and lowered him, rubbing a claw along the top of Sandy's head in the same petting manner Tia Dalma gave to one back in Davy Jones' Locker. "My brethren and I are servants to the sea goddess Calypso."

"Really?" Silverstream uttered. "...I...guess that makes sense...Sorta?"

"Confusing, yes, but how else were you able to figure out where the Leviathan was, or where to go?" The griffon double set Sandy back on top of his head, then gestures Silverstream to follow him through the tropical brush. "She even knows of yours and your friends' power. Far beyond this world's capabilities."

Silverstream followed, looking back slightly toward the town before hurrying after him. Their trek didn't stray too far as they appeared on a secluded beach, no sign of any of the port's residents. "Gallus" sat near the shore, the waves lapping at his feet while Silverstream joined him.

"So, you and her really do know who we really are?" Silverstream asked.

"Yes. Outsiders beyond the seven seas of this world," "Gallus" said. "Calypso even knows about your Keyblades. Their power to unlock anything passing on from millennia of generations and beyond."

"Seriously!? She's THAT old!?" Silverstream squawked.

"She is a 'goddess'," the griffon construct emphasized. "Though her own selfishness and being an all powerful deity became her own undoing many years ago."

"You mean when she fell in love with Davy Jones?" the hippogriff asked.

"Gallus" scoffed at the question. "More like HE fell in love with her...And she toyed with his heart after promising him five years of ferrying the drowned souls out at sea to the afterlife. She was impatient not even a year in, and betrayed his love. Now Davy Jones is a man trapped by a curse she placed upon him, forever wandering the seas, unable to step on land, and ripped his own heart out of his chest to avoid the pain she inflicted upon him. But just because he tore his own heart out, it does not mean he still isn't able to forget about her, nor the feelings he still had despite her betrayal." Sandy and the Gallus clone looked at Silverstream, the griffon's expression full of confliction. "I may serve Calypso, but I still believe she went too far playing with his heart like that.

"Now Davy Jones continues his role, spreading carnage on the high seas, and instead of ferrying those lost souls, imprisons many of them into his crew. No longer are they people; they are mixed between human and aquatic monsters, the Flying Dutchman covered in algae, coral, barnacles, traversing above or below the surface of the ocean. And now that Cutler Beckett has control of Jones and his ship by threatening to kill his beating heart within that chest, his strength being used by a heartless man who wishes to control all seven seas in this world."

"Yeah. But we won't let that happen," Silverstream assured. "That's what Captain Jack Sparrow, who isn't actually a sparrow, and all his crew are going to stop him."

"Well, you won't find any of them here in Port Royal," "Gallus" said, confusing the hippogriff. The griffon waved a claw out to the sea. "Right now, the Black Pearl and its crew are on their way to meet with the Brethren Court. It's a hidden meeting place for the nine pirate lords of the world. One of them just so happens to be Jack Sparrow." The griffon smirked and let out a cheeky laugh as he looked out at the water. "Oh, Tia Dalma relishes his roguish charm. He is one of the greatest pirates of his time, even if he does come off as delusional or insane."

"He did figure out how to get us out of Davy Jones' Locker," Silverstream admitted. "That was probably one of the most fun ways I've ever wanted to tip a boat over. But what is this Brethren Court going to do?"

The griffon construct frowned and lowered his head. "...Davy Jones had sealed Calypso in the body of Tia Dalma for breaking his heart," he said. "And in order to put an end to his terror, every pirate lord will be present to free her from her mortal coil and use her power of the sea to stop him." Silverstream let out a slight gasp in shock. "Her wrath will be ferocious once she is released. And if Jones is not slain, she may destroy the entire world."

"Oh no! W-Where are they going to summon her!?" Silverstream asked as she grabbed the griffon double's shoulders.

"Shipwreck Cove, to the northwest of Port Royal," "Gallus" stated, pointing toward the direction of the location where the final battle against Davy Jones would take place. "The pirates will be needing the aid of the Leviathan and you outsiders. This is a fight no mere mortal like these humans in this world can handle."

"Don't worry! We can end this faster than you can say 'Matey!'" Silverstream was going to head back into town, but "Gallus" grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Huh? What? Is there something else we need to worry about, Sandy? Because if it's that Luxord guy and the Heartless, we can take them, too!"

"Before informing your friends about the situation...you still seem troubled by your own thoughts," he said.

"What?" Silverstream muttered.

"I chose to create the form of the griffon your heart pines for," "Gallus" said, his explanation causing the hippogriff to scrunch her beak, suddenly feeling incredibly anxious. "Though your heart desires this Gallus of yours, you are scared to tell him. With how excitable and chatty you are, you are struck with silence about your love for him."

"...I-I..." Silverstream stammered, feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place knowing this crab was able to sense her feelings, and knew how she felt about Gallus without even mentioning a single detail about him to him. "...T-This is...something that's kinda...personal?"

"So you are able to tell him how you feel before something happens to either of you?" "Gallus" questioned. Silverstream opened her beak, but the griffon placed a claw over her beak before she could make any excuses. "From battling these Heartless, your duties are far more dangerous than being a pirate in open waters. Far worse than getting struck by a stray cannonball, getting struck by debris from a ship being struck by one, or getting run through by a cutlass through your heart. You were struck by one of those smaller things before it disappeared and plummeted into the sea. Without Sora saving your life, you would have drowned despite your ability to shapeshift into a mermaid creature."

The griffon removed his claw from her beak, making her realize how her life could have ended horribly if she didn't get rescued. It brought her back to what she saw from Gallus' nightmare back when she and her friends were called by Eraqus in their dreams. He had been escaping from what was his biggest fear, unable to escape the closing void as Heartless chased after him. His relief upon seeing the real Silverstream saved him, causing him to spontaneously kiss her and hold her tightly, and express what else occurred in his nightmare beforehand; fighting those Heartless with a dream version of her, but she fell and lost her heart, and he was left with no choice but to escape. Silverstream had always seen Gallus as a close friend, felt sympathetic for him for his claustrophobia and how he was orphaned and raised by a grumpy old griffon who barely cared about him.

After that kiss, her thoughts about him began to spiral and change, flustering her to no end as that friendship could become something more. She wanted it after learning how much he cares about her in that way, but all at once, she felt foolish not seeing his reactions around her the whole year she knew him. His blushing cheeks and flustered stammering flew way over her head whenever she showed off her choice of makeup, or when she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek when she helped motivate her into facing her own worst fear after admitting his claustrophobia to her. She was always excitable and wacky, liking just about anything new she's never seen before, but her personality made her seem like she was just a kooky, wild hippogriff who rambles about something exciting at the drop of a hat. And because of that, she was afraid Gallus might not take her seriously if they did get serious.

"...I...I don't know if I can," Silverstream mumbled.

"Why not?" the double asked.

"I don't know," Silverstream repeated. "We were just normal friends...but when we all had that shared dream together when the Tree of Harmony was destroyed and needed our help, everything I thought about him just...changed. I-I don't even know HOW to tell him when I was clueless about how he felt about me for a year! And anytime I see him or bump into him at school, I act even more weirder than I normally do! Before leaving to come here to save the world, I randomly jabbered about gardening tools just to find a random topic to talk about! GARDENING TOOLS! How dumb is that!?"

Sandy nor the griffon he was controlling expressed any judgement toward Silverstream. "...I would not know anything about gardening," "Gallus" said.

"W-Well...I think it was stupid to bring up! So, he thinks I'm being even more weird than usual!" Silverstream exclaimed. "I never felt this way about him at all until he up and stole my first kiss, and it made me look back at how he acted around me and how stupid I was not seeing it because of everything else I never knew about in my life because I was hiding underwater from an evil tyrant king since I was a baby!"

She started hyperventilating, struggling to contain her emotions as her mind and heart spiraled out of control. "Gallus" gently grabbed her shoulders, forcing to look him dead in the eyes.

"Does he think that of you from your personality or your likeness toward new things?" he asked. Silverstream hesitated, but she shook her head no. "Then you shouldn't be afraid to at least talk to him and see where your relationship with him goes." As "Gallus" released her, he looked out toward the sea, taking a couple steps forward where the gently lapping waves struck his feet. "Davy Jones was willing to wait for years to be reunited with Calypso. But as time wore on, thoughts and feelings could change far quicker than that. A lot can change within such a short amount of time, and no one knows what may come within that next moment.

"There is also another couple who are beginning to grow distant from their actions with Jack Sparrow avoiding the debt he owes to Davy Jones." He turned around to face Silverstream, noting the surprised look on her face. "William Turner and Elizabeth Swann. These two met by pure chance as children when young Turner was floating helplessly at sea, and Miss Swann's family vessel rescued him. Even as the years passed, she hid his connection as a pirate to spare him his life, even when Barbossa and his cursed crew hunted down every last piece of Aztec gold and required the blood of a pirate to undo what their greed brought them. Many times, they both fought to save each other, but recently, they committed some heinous acts to not only save each other from a deadly fate, but also to put an end to the madness happening now.

"That kind of rift can grow and tear relationships apart. But it will close when what has been on their minds and weighing them down heavily is finally expressed." "Gallus" dug his claw into the wet sand, pulling out a seashell hidden underneath. Lifting the shell, Silverstream was intrigued by the unique shell he pulled: colored pink and turning a golden yellow down to the smooth, rounded edge. "The concerns you have over what may happen may come true if you delay what your heart wants to say. It is always best to say something right away before waiting too long and regretting it when it's too late." He tossed the shell to Silverstream, catching it and eyed the seashell up close. When she looked back up, her eyes widened when she saw the Gallus double suddenly begin to peel away into sand, parts of his body shedding to reveal several white crabs like Sandy plopping into the water. "My Goddess' power is waning. Seems like my time is almost up." The fading construct gave Silverstream a grin while Sandy gave her a small wave of his claw. "Don't be afraid to take the plunge."

The griffon's body suddenly glowed, and in a flash, it turned into a small puff of sand and more crabs, splashing into the sea and fading under the foamy waves. Getting advice about romance from a crab might not have been the strangest thing Silverstream experienced, but Sandy's words lingered in the forefront of her mind. She looked back down at the seashell Sandy dug up and gave her. As pretty as it looked, her thoughts raced over her feelings for Gallus and the fear she had of telling or not telling him.

"'Don't be afraid to take the plunge,'" Silverstream repeated. Closing her claws around the shell, she looked out at the water. "...Why is it easier said than done?"

Comments

[Postwarmonkey50]

Wow, so many things happening.

Kaito's cover is nearly blown, but somehow I get the feeling that Sora and the others will realize that he was forced to join sooner or later.

And I'm surprised Sandy tried to convince Silverstream to open up to Gallus, because if she doesn't, she might regret it for the rest of her life.

All and all, here's hoping that things don't go spiraling out of control that much.

[Princespeedywhooves]

Sora will understand and he will save his family and home no matter how bad it may seem

[DeathRider2021]

It's too bad Sora can't take the Leviathan with him, not just because it's too big but also because of the secret to the ship's enchantments. It's such an awesome ship & he loves being a pirate. The only way that would be possible is for Genie to show up & give Sora an enchanted bottle that holds a replica of the Leviathan inside it. When Sora opens the bottle, Leviathan will come out & grow to the appropriate size & to get the ship back inside, he points the bottle at the ship, reopens the bottle, & it will shrink & go back into the bottle.

[BenictheHedgehog]

This was interesting since it seems Kaito fears Sora & the others would think he is a traitor if they find out. But if he knew Sora as long as his friends have, he is not one to turn his back on a friend, let alone one that was forced against his Will. I think Kaito is safe to tell them, and it’s good Luxord is neutral to all this since he seems to agree that what Xehanort wants to do ruins the fun. But like Kaito, his hands are tied so he is placing his bet on Sora to be the one to stop Xehanort like a true gambler.

As for the talk Sandy gave to Silverstream, I think it was sweet that he wanted to give her advice on romance while warning her how romance have happen before & current in the Caribbean. Thus wanting Silverstream not make the same mistake as Jones with Colipso & Will with Elizabeth have made. Sandy a good crab.

And finally, for this mysterious pony they keep bringing up in the organization and that it could be someone Sora & the others know, that is concerning. I just hope it’s not a pony version of Roxas, unless this pony is the only new one in the group that none of them but Xehanort knows.

[SoraFan23]

I have a real bad feeling when Sora finds out the truth about Kaito he is going to snap. I remember how really angry he was when they first met.

[DeathRider2021]

11858844
Not unless he finds out the reason why.

[nightshroud96]

11835323
I wonder how will he get one anyway and will he even get to use it much(as in hopefully he won't get it way too late which results him barely getting much screentime using it).
In fact wouldn't he feel upset deep down he isn't allowed to get one but the Mane 6(and apparently Young Six according to the TV tropes)?

[MLPFanForever]

Awesome! Looking forward to the next one.

[DeathRider2021]

11868426
Me Too!
I can't wait for the finale!