Once they'd made it back to the ship in turn, Sarah set her supply-pack down at "her" feet, strapped herself in, then smiled softly as Kuromaru nuzzled against "her" legs. Narrowing "her" eyes as she took hold of the triggers again, Sarah breathed deeply and settled more comfortably into her seat. Holding down the triggers as their ship steadily made her way back to Traverse Town, Sarah allowed herself to consider what she was going to do after they arrived, given that such a mindless task didn't really demand too much of her attention.

She was going to speak to Cid about potentially starting work on a ship of her own, of course, but she also wanted to speak to the Moogles. They knew more about crafting than she did, and most likely about magic as well, so if she wanted to know more about fairy magic – more specifically their weakness to iron and salt that all of the lore she knew about agreed upon, even if the type of iron specified was different – they were the ones most likely to have some concrete ideas rather than the bare outlines of a concept she'd been mulling over.

When they came at last to the end of their long, contested journey, Sarah breathed more easily as the familiar shapes and colors of the small planet that held Traverse Town – and had perhaps been named after the location, though she'd never truly found the time or the inclination to ask after such things – came fully into view again. Leaning back in her seat as she let go of the triggers, Sarah fished out one of her turkey sandwiches, eating it as Donald guided them easily back into the hangar; Goofy laughed softly, and she wondered what could have been so amusing to him, but then they were landing in the hangar and she had other things to think about.

She picked up her supply-pack as their ship settled back into her berth, swinging it up onto "her" back as Kuromaru ducked back inside and her traveling companions gathered together to leave.

Falling back into step with Donald and Goofy, Sarah found herself rather surprised to see just who else had decided to come meet them.

"Hey, you won't mind if I have lunch with you guys again, will you?" Riku asked, already insinuating himself into the midst of their group; right next to her, in fact.

"It's a bit late for lunch," she said, glancing over briefly as Riku wrapped his right arm around "her" shoulders. "How 'bout dinner?"

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I wouldn't mind dinner."

"Good havin' ya around again, Riku!" Goofy enthused, and Sarah heard the soft sound of someone who wasn't her being clapped on either the shoulder or the back.

The five of them made their way back to Scrooge's place, Riku seeming particularly happy to have been invited along, and once they'd all been settled around what had quickly become their usual table, Sarah took the opportunity to ask if they served steak and sautéed mushrooms. When the answer turned out to be yes, she ordered a steak topped with sautéed onions, a side of sautéed mushrooms to go with it. Aside from Riku's obvious desire to avoid any and all dishes that contained even trace amounts of fish – and her wondering amusedly if such would even extend to shrimp alfredo or other shellfish dishes – dinner was a fairly subdued affair.

Hell, even Donald seemed to have settled down, so that was all to the good as far as she was concerned.

Riku tagged along with their group as they all made their way back to the hotel, and while she briefly wondered about that – since the action was such a stark contrast to in-game events – she decided that such a thing wasn't really all that important in the grand scheme of things. Of course, it was nice that Riku wasn't being such a complete, dickish idiot as she remembered him being, of course.

Dropping her supply-pack off next to the blue-sheeted bed at the left side of the room she'd been staying in since she'd started this whole, wild adventure, she smiled slightly as Kuromaru hopped right up onto "her" back again. Scruffling the little Shadow's antennae, Sarah turned and made her way back out the door. Meeting up with the other members of her group, she took brief note of how Riku seemed content to just hang out in the main hall, before turning her attention to Donald and Goofy.

"I'm gonna go talk shop with Cid and the Moogles," she said, having a brief moment of amusement over the phrasing she'd just used; if nothing else, it would have made for an interesting band name. "You'll be all right without me?"

"I'm coming with you," Riku interjected, before Donald and Goofy had quite finished telling her that they'd be fine on their own.

"We're going to go talk to Leon," Donald said, after shooting Riku an annoyed look; something the silver-haired boy didn't seem particularly pleased about, but if he was going to go around interrupting people he'd have to learn that there would be consequences.

"All right," she said, turning her gaze back to her traveling companions. "Are we going to meet back up at the hotel, or do you want me to come looking for you when I'm done?"

After it was agreed that they would all meet back up at the hotel – as was becoming their wont – Sarah turned and left the main hall of their hotel through the doors on the side that would lead her to the First District, while Donald and Goofy took the set on the opposite side.

Riku seemed to be rather content, though whether that was due to the meal they'd all had not so long ago or for some other reason, Sarah wasn't entirely certain.

"So, let's take a ride on Marahute together," he said, once the three of them had made it out through the double-doors and into the First District proper.

"We can do that later," she said, hopping down from the curb, onto the crate, and down into the small alley between the Item Shop and the shop that Cid worked at when he wasn't running maintenance on their ship.

"Well then, let's go see what new Worlds we can find," he said, after only a moment's pause. "I'll bet I've seen more than you have."

"We can also do that later, Riku," she said, turning the corner, then pausing for a moment as Riku grabbed "her" right shoulder.

"Come on, you didn't really mean all that stuff you said back at the hotel, did you?" he asked.

She chuckled indulgently. "Yes, Riku, I really did mean all of that," she said, leaning against the side of the building for a long moment. "Still, I figure I'll probably talk to the Moogles first, since the discussion I want to have with Cid is going to be fairly involved."

"Oh," he said, looking dubious.

"You don't have to come along if you don't want to," she said, shoving off of the wall and heading for the shop with the decidedly odd-looking windows. "Just remember," she continued, bopping him lightly on the nose for emphasis. "You were the one who insisted on coming."

As she made her way into Cid's shop at last, she caught sight of the man himself speaking to a customer. Waving back to him as she climbed the ladder that would take her inside the Moogles' workshop, she paused for a moment as she saw five of them hard at work, bent over one of the long tables that she could remember seeing in the PS2-rendered version of this very same room.

Knowing how much she, personally, hated being interrupted when she was hard at work, Sarah waited patiently to be noticed. As it turned out, happily enough for her, the Moogle that appeared to be supervising its fellows as they continued about their laborious assembly of some items or other was quick to take note of her where she stood. The Moogle in question – she didn't know if gender was even applicable to these people, or just how one was meant to tell one of them apart from the other – came fluttering up on its tiny wings, ball-tipped antenna waving in the air as it came to a stop.

"Thank you for being so patient, kupo," the Moogle said.

"Of course," she replied, keeping her voice low enough that it only really carried between the pair of them; and to Kuromaru, though she didn't really know just how much the little Shadow understood.

"What would you like for us to make for you today, kupo?"

"Actually, I wanted to discuss something first," she said, as the pair of them settled down at a smaller table on the far side of the room. "Are you the resident expert on different types of magic?"

"All Moogles are raised and trained to recognize every different type of magic, kupo," the little creature said proudly, puffing its tiny chest; it was roughly the most adorable thing she'd seen in quite some time.

She wasn't going to actually mention that, of course.

"In that case, you'd know how to counter them, or build defenses against them, right?"

"That's right, kupo," the Moogle said, beginning to sound more interested in the direction of their current discussion.

"So, you know that cold iron and salt are reputed to be the best defenses against fairies and their particular type of magic, right?" she asked, wanting clarification more than anything.

"Of course, kupo," the Moogle said, sounding pleased and more than a little self-satisfied at once. "We integrate cold iron into most of our items, and all of our workshops have at least some salt added to their construction at one point or another, kupo."

"Do you know if rock salt or sea salt would be more potent, when dealing with fairies?" she asked, both because she was interested in the topic, and because she wanted to gauge the extent of this one's knowledge.

"Rock salt is better than sea salt, since the age of most deposits, and their sympathetic connection to the land they're mined from helps to ground and disperse fairy magic a lot better than plain sea salt. Though you could still use sea salt, if that was all you had, kupo."

"Would grinding the rock salt down to a fine powder affect its potency, or would it be better to use sea salt if you're planning to do something like that?" she asked, leaning forward a bit in her seat.

"I suppose you could do something like that with rock salt. But it sounds pretty strange, kupo," the Moogle said, a look of what seemed to be curiosity coming over its adorable little face.

"Mix that up with some fine-ground iron fillings, wrap it up in something thin enough to burst on impact, and you'll have a hand-held weapon that even Maleficent wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of," she said, pleased that the discussion was turning out so well.

"Especially Maleficent, kupo," the Moogle seated at her table laughed.

She could hear the other Moogles around them laughing as well, and Sarah found herself smiling. "I would also like a more, perhaps, conventional item, if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not, kupo," the Moogle said graciously. "If you can describe it to me, I'm sure I can get it started as soon as possible."

After detailing the precise form of the bracers that she wished to commission from the industrious little Moogles, Sarah was more than a little surprised to find her offer of payment rebuffed, if rather gently.

"Some things are a lot more valuable than Munny, kupo," one of the Moogles working at the long table on the right, nearest the double doors, said; looking up from its completed project.

"That's right," the Moogle she'd been speaking with for the duration of this particular meeting said, sounding rather pleased. "Especially to Moogles, kupo."

"Interesting," she mused aloud, standing up and smoothing down Sora's shorts as she did so. "I'm going to go speak to Cid. When should I come back to pick this stuff up?"

"Don't worry about it, kupo," the Moogle that was starting to seem like they'd been chosen to speak for the rest of their fellows said kindly. "Once all of your items have been completed, we'll leave the packages at Cid's shop, so you can pick them up."

"Thanks, I appreciate that," she said, reaching out to shake the little creature's tiny paw. "Huh," she mused, gently rubbing the back of the offered appendage with "her" right thumb. "You are fuzzy."

All of the Moogles present seemed to find the statement rather amusing, and so Sarah bid them a good evening, with the sound of soft laughter following her through the open trapdoor. Standing up, after the short hop that'd taken her down from the upper-level workshop, she made her way over to the counter Cid was standing behind.

"'Nother one'a your shortcuts, kid?"

"You don't mind?" she she asked; sure, there had been a gruff sort of amusement in his tone, but at the end of the day she didn't know him that well yet.

"Nah, s'fine," he said, shrugging as she came to stand before the counter, herself. "Long as you don't land on a customer."

"I shall endeavor to keep that in mind," she said, grinning at the answering expression of amusement on his face.

"You do that, kid," he said, shifting the long toothpick – almost long enough to be used for kebobs, that thing – he never seemed to be without to the other side of his mouth. "Did you want anything in particular, kid?"

"Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about my ship."

Before she could do more than open the conversation, however, Riku came striding back into the shop with his usual calm, almost cocky assurance. After a moment's pause to determine whether or not Riku was actually there to buy anything, Sarah turned her attention back to Cid.

"I've managed to collect a fair bit of cargo on my trips to and from this sector," she said; Riku commented that he wanted to go out and see those new worlds that he was always talking about, and so Sarah told him to have fun. "So, I was wondering if you would take a look at what I've collected so far; see if it's enough to at least begin working on a ship of my own."

Riku said he'd like to ride Marahute; she passed him the eagle's Summon Gem and told him to enjoy himself.

"I think I could arrange somethin', kid," Cid said, something distinctly amused lingering in his expression.

"Thanks," she said, turning to make her way out of the shop.

Continuing on her way over to where Riku had chosen to wait for her – leaning against the far wall in a way that she'd really never seen the point of doing without something to read in hand – she smirked amusedly at him.

"Should I have left you a book, you think?"

Riku laughed, waving her question off like it was the silliest thing he'd heard in awhile. "No. I wasn't that bored," he switched tacks quickly after that, his openly amused smile transforming into the smirk that she'd seen on his face more and more often, of late. "Come on; I know someone who really wants to meet you, but he says he shouldn't come out in a place with so many people around."

I suppose I'm the only one here who sees anything wrong with that, she mused, rolling "her" eyes briefly as she turned her thoughts back to the task she wanted to get underway; she'd make it a point to talk to Riku about things later, if nothing world-shattering came up to make her forget. "Cid and I have a few things to discus, so whoever your guy is, he's going to have to wait," she said, beginning to make for the hangar so that she could find out if the project she wanted to start up was viable, or if she'd need to gather a bit more in the way of raw materials if she wanted to start making any headway.

"What would you and Cid need to talk about?" Riku asked, sounding incredulous and dubious at once.

"I hope to start work on my own ship soon, and Cid is the only one I know of who has complete access to the hangar."

To say nothing of the dry-dock, but Sarah kind of doubted that Riku would understand the distinction; for all that he came from a sea-faring culture, Riku was profoundly incurious.

"But, you already have a ship," Riku said, sounding more than a little confused.

"That little puddle jumper?" she laughed. "It's dinky, it's under-armed… Really, the only thing I can say for it is that it's been a reliable transport up till now," she said, as she and Riku crossed Traverse Town's main square on their way to the hangar to meet up with Cid.

Even Riku seemed kind of curious about just what it was that they were going to be doing; it was a step in the right direction, at least. Once the pair of them had arrived at the hangar, she continued on her way to where Cid was waiting for her.

"All right, kid: this is your show, so whadda'ya wanna start with?"

"I'd like to work on a ship of my own, so let's start with how much raw materials I've salvaged, and if I need any more," she said, falling into step with the blond as the pair of them made for a part of the hangar that she'd never previously been to.

She could distinctly remember the ship-building interface from KH1; mostly because she'd ended up muting its music in favor of songs from her own iPod – something she'd done a lot when she'd been level-grinding – and because it'd taken her a few minutes to completely master the rather odd controls for the interface itself. I really hope they're not actually playing that annoying music, she mused, continuing on her way, a few steps behind Cid as their little procession turned and made their way up a flight of stairs and into a room that couldn't really be mistaken for anything but a combined construction bay and dry-dock. At least, not to anyone familiar with the concepts, she mused, making her way over to the large, nearly floor-to-ceiling windows lining the far end of the room.

Naturally, they looked down into the construction bay itself.

"So, anythin' wrong with the ship you're in now?" Cid asked, sounding gruffly interested in what she'd say in response.

Sarah shrugged easily. "Nothing, really. She's been a good ship; she's just puny and a bit under-armed for my taste," she said, plopping herself down in a swivel-chair only a few paces from the one that Cid himself currently occupied.

"Wait," Riku cut in, sounding rather distinctly amused. "Your ship is a girl now?"

"Pilot lingo," she said, noting after a moment's pause that she'd spoken in concert with Cid.

It was fairly amusing to note, though of course not remotely relevant.

"Right," Riku said, voice warbling with amusement as his gaze flicked back and forth between the pair of them. "I knew that."

"Course ya did," Cid returned, the gruff amusement in his tone not having lessened even the slightest bit. Then he turned his attention back to her, and his expression transformed into one of interested curiosity. "So, you'd be more interested in flyin' a gunship?"

"Well, that's if I don't have enough Gummies to build a dreadnought," she said, turning an amused smirk on the man she was working with.

"Real funny, kid," Cid huffed, ruffling "her" hair as the pair of them shared a chuckle.

~KH1~

It was really obvious now that this kid wasn't Sora; Sora had never been this cool. And besides that, Ansem had told him that he had an entirely different Heart than Sora's, too. He couldn't wait to introduce this kid to Ansem; the both of them were so cool and grown-up, so there was no question that they'd get along great.

Still, for now it looked like the new kid – Riku really wanted to ask him his name, now that he knew he hadn't been dealing with Sora – was absorbed in his project with that old man, Cid. The both of them had started talking about ship stuff, and while he did ask old man Cid to explain a bit more about one thing or another, he really did seem to know what he wanted and what he was doing. At least a lot better than Sora ever would, he mused, smiling as he tried not to laugh.

Old man Cid probably wouldn't have liked being interrupted like that, and the new kid… Well, he just didn't like the idea of being punched in the face again, that was all.