Happy (belated) New Year, readers! For this chapter, we're gonna be checking up on a character which some of you might be wondering about. As usual, please read, review and enjoy! ^^

P.S. I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Max, P.J. and Roxanne belong to Disney. Snow and (name omitted) belong to Square Enix. Only Sho, Mizuki and Aisha belong to me.

"Quick, give me your other hand!"

Looking desperately at her brother, Mizuki tried to move her other arm but the vortex was becoming stronger and she was barely able to hold on as it is. "I can't! The wind's too strong!"

"Hurry, I'm slipping!" Just as he finished that sentence, Mizuki's hand slipped out of Sho's grip and she was sucked into the vortex screaming. The last remnant of Destiny Islands she saw was her little brother clinging to the broken dock, watching her as she was pulled away from him.

Tears brimming at the edges of her eyes, the raven-haired girl silently wondered if this was the end… before someone grabbed her wrist, hopefully pulling her to safety.

…

Mizuki jolted awake from her dream to find herself in a large and rather comfortable bed. Looking around, she realized she was in a large bedroom with few furnishings apart from the bed, a dresser with a mirror, and a chair.

She then noticed a figure standing by a tall window, and still a bit shook up from her recent experience, Mizuki instinctively created a fireball and prepared to shoot it. "Who's there?"

The figure quickly held up his hands in surrender and slowly approached the girl. She could now see that standing before her was a thin young man with long black hair going past his shoulders, pale skin and sharp green eyes. "Please put out that fire. I have no desire to harm you," he told her, his voice smooth and calm.

Mizuki wasn't too keen on listening at first, however. "Who are you, and what is this place?"

"Ah, of course. Where are my manners?" the man replied with a slightly sheepish smile. "I am Loki, prince of Asgard. The castle we are in right now belongs to a friend; you'll be safe here."

Whoa, this guy's a prince? Mizuki thought. Then again, he certainly looked like one in those green and gold robes and that oddly charming smile of his. Realizing her rudeness, her cheeks suddenly flushed with embarrassment as she quickly extinguished her flame. "Oh! S-Sorry, I didn't know…" Taking a breath to compose herself, she introduced herself as calmly as possible. "I'm Mizuki of Destiny Islands."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mizuki," Loki replied with a light bow of his head before a look of concern crossed his face. "I was the one who pulled you out of that vortex. How are you feeling?"

"Uh… hard to say," the young girl answered, staring at the covers. "It's true, isn't it? The islands…"

Sitting at the edge of the bed, the prince gave a slow nod. "I'm truly sorry for your loss. But what's important is that you have survived."

Mizuki was barely listening to him. Mom… Dad… Sho… Uncle Riku… are they all gone? They can't be… they can't! As she tried to deny the worst case scenario, her asthma suddenly kicked in and she had difficulty breathing. It had been a while since she had an attack due to panic, and now it had happened twice in a row; once on the island and now here.

Loki noticed the asthma attack and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mizuki? What's wrong?"

Unable to speak, Mizuki tried lightly tapping her throat to get her condition across to him before checking her pocket for her inhaler. She began to panic even more when she realized that it wasn't there; she most likely didn't have it on her when the islands were destroyed.

Luckily, Loki got the message and pulled something out of his pocket. "Here, this should help," he said as he quickly secured around her neck a black velvet choker with a pale blue stone on it.

Seconds after the choker was put on her, the asthma attack seemed to stop and Mizuki's breathing miraculously returned to normal. "Wha…? I'm okay?" she muttered. She then noticed the choker and lightly touched it.

"When the healer was checking on you earlier, she detected a strange illness affecting your throat," Loki explained. "According to my friend, the blue lace agate on that choker is supposed to help those with breathing problems, although in this case a little enchantment didn't hurt, either. It should prevent any more of those attacks from happening."

Chuckling at the prince's words, Mizuki gave him a small smile. "Thank you. Wow, I can't believe it's actually working," she muttered in amazement.

"I must admit, I'm a bit surprised myself," the man admitted. "But then again, such illness is… uncommon where I'm from, so I don't know very much about it. Either way, I would suggest staying here for a while so you can get some rest."

"Look, your highness…" the girl started before being cut off.

"Please, just Loki is fine."

"Loki… I appreciate what you've done for me, but my family could still be out there and I have to find them," Mizuki explained. "My parents can figure out what's going on, and they might be the only ones who can stop the Heartless. So please… let me look for them."

Loki was quiet for a moment, as if he was giving it some thought. Finally, he said, "Very well. But I still insist on resting for at least one more day. After that, I will personally help you with your search."

"You will?!" the teen asked in surprise.

"Let's just say I know some shortcuts to other worlds," the prince explained. "It makes traveling much easier. So, what do you think?"

Getting the feeling that this opportunity wouldn't come up again, Mizuki answered, "That would be great! Thank you so much, Loki!"

"You're welcome," Loki replied with a pleased smile. "Now rest up, I'll have some food brought up to you." And with that, he left the room.

Once he was out of the girl's sight, Loki started a brisk walk down the hall to the castle's throne room. As he moved, he couldn't help letting out a sly chuckle; who knew how easy it was to fool a mortal teenage girl? At this rate, his job was going to be a breeze.

As he reached the throne room, he entered without knocking and strode toward the throne in the back. Occupying it was a man clad in armor from head to toe, any other features hidden by the shadows of the room.

Kneeling before the man (although he hated doing so), Loki spoke up. "The girl has awakened, and it seems the choker is successfully treating her illness."

"…I still question why you took her," the armored man said, his deep voice echoing throughout the chamber. "The Keyblade chose the boy, not the mage girl."

"I understand your concern, my lord," Loki began to explain, using his silver tongue to talk his way around things. "But the girl is a powerful mage in her own right, and I believe she can lead us to the rest of her family. Either way, I see her as a worthy asset. Just give me some time, and she will come to see my way of thinking."

The armored man was silent at first. "…I certainly hope you know what you're doing, Loki. But perhaps she could be useful to us. After all, you two have much in common; use this to your advantage."

Slightly grimacing due to past memories, the fallen prince nevertheless bowed his head. "I assure you sir, you will not be disappointed." Loki then turned and left the chamber, silently wondering how much longer he would have to play second fiddle to the mysterious tyrant.

…

Sho and his newfound companions were about to head out when Snow caught up with them. "Hey, wait a second!" he called, catching their attention. "Mind if I talk to Aisha before you go?"

"Sure, but don't take too long, okay?" Max told the blonde girl.

"Don't worry, I won't," Aisha promised before walking closer to the tall brawler.

Sho couldn't hear what was spoken between the two, but he did see Snow give Aisha a piece of paper: a photograph. Upon looking at the photo, the girl nodded as she said something to the older male, resulting in a quick hug. Somehow Sho couldn't help but feel jealous; he had only just met Aisha that day, but already seemed to like her a lot. But if she was already in a relationship with a guy who could take on the Heartless with his fists, then that would likely complicate things.

Snow then ruffled Aisha's hair and the two bid each other farewell before the white mage returned. "Okay, I'm ready to go."

"Good, then let's go," Sho said, deciding to wait a little longer before asking her about that last conversation.

As they walked, something occurred to P.J. "Oh yeah, Sho you mentioned that you haven't learned magic yet."

"Oh. Yeah, Dad said I might not be able to learn it until I got my Keyblade," Sho explained.

"Well you've got it now, so… if you like, I could teach you a couple of basic spells," the mage offered shyly, not looking Sho in the eye.

The boy's eyes widened with excitement. "Really? You'd really teach me black magic?!"

"O-Of course!" P.J. replied, a little startled by the response.

"Cool! Thanks a ton, P.J.!" Sho said with a grin.

"And once you get experience with that, I can teach you some white magic," Aisha piped up. "As a Keybearer, you need knowledge in both types of magic."

A whistle from Max caught their attention. "Hey, you guys didn't forget about me, did you?" Turning around to face Sho, he continued, "Your agility wasn't half bad, but it could use some work. I can help you with that; from the looks of things, you're gonna need it."

Sho couldn't believe his incredible luck. "Thanks, guys! I look forward to learning from you!"

"Awesome. Alright then, we're not too far from the ship," Max said as they began walking again. Soon, the group reached their destination: the Gummi Ship Mark II.

The young Keybearer was amazed; he had heard about Gummi Ships before, but this was his first time seeing one. "Wow… Did you guys build this?"

"Actually, our friend Roxanne built it," P.J. answered.

"Dude, we helped!" Max protested as he opened the door to the ship. "A little…"

But as soon as he stepped inside, someone shouted, "Maximilian!"

The knight froze in his tracks; standing in front of him was a certain red-headed mechanic and she did not look happy. "R-Roxanne?! What are you doing here?"

"I stowed away and apparently for good reason," Roxanne replied, her arms folded as she glared at Max. "What were you thinking, flying through that meteor shower?! You could've badly damaged the Mark II, or worse get crushed!"

"Nothing bad happened Rox, the ship looks fine to me," Max argued. "Right, Peej?"

"I'm staying out of this," the black mage replied, not wanting to get involved.

"Well everything is not fine, mister…" Roxanne's voice trailed off when she saw the two humans standing with P.J., and her attitude quickly changed to a friendly one. "Oh, who's this?"

Happy that the subject got changed for a second, P.J. took care of the introductions. "Yeah, sorry. Rox, this is Sho and Aisha. Sho and Aisha, this is Roxanne, the ship's mechanic."

"Nice to meet you," Sho said with a smile as Roxanne approached him.

"Nice to meet you too, Sho!" the redhead greeted. "So you're the Masters' son? That must be something!"

"Ha ha, well you get used to the idea after a while," the Keybearer said sheepishly.

Curious, Aisha couldn't help asking, "Miss Roxanne, is something wrong with the ship?"

"Aisha, right? You can just call me Rox," the young mechanic said as she led the group into the cockpit. "And to answer your question, the ship was somewhat damaged."

Confused, Max asked, "What are you talking about? We only got hit like once!"

"Well it was enough to knock the ship's map out of whack!" Roxanne retorted as she brought up part of a map on a screen. Aside from Traverse Town, only two worlds were appearing: Lower London and Nottingham. The rest of the map was covered in static.

"Uh-oh," Max muttered, silently telling himself to be more careful while flying.

Aisha looked at the map worriedly. "It can be repaired, right?"

"Given enough time, yes," Roxanne answered. "I was able to restore this much while the boys were out, but the rest will take a while. Until then, our travel plans are kinda limited."

"Our? Whoa whoa, hold on a sec!" Max interrupted. "Rox, I gotta get you home! This isn't exactly flying around Disney Castle, it's gonna get dangerous."

"I'm aware," the mechanic said placing her hands on her hips. "But you forget: I know this ship inside and out, and if you get your hands on new Gummi Blocks, only I know how to install them and upgrade the ship. I'm also the only one who knows how to fix things around here, so I'm not going anywhere!"

"She makes a good argument," Sho commented.

Leaning in, P.J. whispered, "Roxanne's one of those people you don't want to have on your bad side."

"I'll… keep that in mind," the younger boy muttered while Aisha nodded in agreement.

"Fine! Fine, you can stay," Max gave in reluctantly, although deep down he was happy that Roxanne stowed away. If she hadn't, who knew how long it would've been before he saw her again?

"Thank you." Taking a deep breath, Roxanne seemed to finally calm down. "Alright then. Sho and Aisha, grab a seat; looks like we're about to take off."

Situating himself in the pilot's seat, Max announced, "Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. Grab a seat and hold on tight, we'll be taking off in one minute."

Acting quickly, the remaining four teens each grabbed a seat behind Max and fastened their seatbelts; luckily for them, the Mark II had four more chairs.

"Five, four, three, two, one… Blast-off!" Max shouted as the engine roared to life and the ship took off, soon leaving Traverse Town far behind.

"Whoooaa! This is awesome!" Sho exclaimed with joy while P.J. nervously held onto the armrests of his chair. Aisha couldn't help looking back at the world she had called home for the past five years as it grew smaller and smaller.

Once they were a good distance away, Roxanne unfastened her seatbelt and stood up. "Okay, you should be good to wander around the ship for a while," she told the younger teens. "Make yourselves comfortable; grab some food, take a nap, whatever you'd like."

"Just be ready for when we land on a world," Max added, glancing back as he continued steering.

"Got it," Sho and Aisha replied simultaneously. The brunette glanced over at the blonde girl and let out a slightly nervous chuckle. "Wow, that was weird, huh?"

"A little," Aisha agreed, but she gave a small smile nonetheless. "I'm thirsty. Are you thirsty?"

Nodding, Sho accompanied Aisha to the room behind the cockpit where they found a drink dispenser. Choosing water, the two teens got their drinks and sat down on some cushions in the corner. "Somehow this ship seems bigger than the one Dad told me about," the brunette commented as he glanced around.

"I guess Roxanne built it for comfort as well as function," Aisha suggested. "You look like you have a question."

In fact, Sho had several questions on his mind, most of them involving the cute blonde sitting next to him. "Well, uh… *ahem* Yeah, I was kinda wondering… where you learned white magic." Not quite what I wanted to ask, but it's a start, he thought to himself.

Shrugging, the white mage replied, "To be honest, I have no idea. Aside from my name, the only other things I could remember were my magic and how to use a battle-staff, although the latter I needed a lot more practice on. I must've learned it on my homeworld, wherever it is."

"I see," the young Keybearer muttered. It was then he noticed something: each time he had seen Aisha, one of her emerald green eyes was covered by her hair. "Hey, how come your hair is over your eye? Isn't it harder to see that way?"

The girl's visible eye widened for a split second before she looked away. "Um, not really. I like the look of it, so I've gotten used to it."

Sho had the feeling she wasn't telling the whole story, but he let it drop for now. Now that those questions were out of the way, he could ask the one he really wanted an answer to. "Okay… So what were you and Snow talking about?"

This time Aisha seemed more willing to answer. "Oh, he asked me to look for someone… and also he wanted to wish me luck."

"He seems like a cool guy," Sho said. "You two aren't, um…" He could feel his cheeks getting warmer as he struggled to get the words out. It didn't help that Aisha was looking at him, waiting for him to finish the question. "Well, do you like him?"

Once again, Aisha seemed to misinterpret Sho's words. "Yes, I like him a lot!" she replied happily. "He's like a big brother to me, although I wish he and Lightning got along better."

So wait… she doesn't like him THAT way? Sho wondered, cocking an eyebrow. Still, I better make sure… "Who'd he ask you to look for?"

Pulling out the photo Snow had given her, Aisha showed it to the boy next to her. The photo showed Snow happily carrying in his arms a teenage girl with light pink hair in a side ponytail. "This girl right here," the blonde replied. "Her name's Serah; she's Snow's fiancée."

This surprised Sho big time; Serah looked so young! "Snow's engaged to her?! How old is she?!"

"She's eighteen in this photo," Aisha explained, prompting a sigh of relief from Sho. "It's been three years since they saw each other, though. They got separated when… well, you can probably guess."

"Oh… wow, he must really miss her," the boy said, suddenly feeling a little guilty about being happy that Aisha was apparently single.

As she put the photo away, Aisha spoke up again. "I promised him I'd find Serah. I just hope I didn't make a promise I can't deliver."

"You'll find her," Sho encouraged. "You seem like a person who keeps her promises."

"…Thank you, Sho," the white mage said with a smile, once again resulting in the Keybearer's cheeks flushing. The two teens continued to converse as the Gummi Ship flew through space to their destination.

Author's note: In gameplay, Sho would've learned the following skills and spells in this section: Fire and Blizzard (P.J.) and Dodge Roll (Max). Also, Roxanne would now be available any time you're on the Gummi Ship to take care of Gummi Block storage, upgrades and repairs.

Author's note 2: I know some of you may be thinking why in the heck I'm bringing the Marvel Cinematic Universe into all this. Well, there are a couple of reasons: one, Marvel Studios is technically owned by Disney and therefore I don't consider it going too far (the other exception being Dreamworks); and two, I felt like the manipulative Loki would make an excellent antagonist for this story. Don't worry; aside from a few other characters making appearances, I don't plan on spamming the MCU too much here, just where I feel it's needed.

Author's note 3: To add to my earlier disclaimer, Tom Hiddleston's Loki is owned by Marvel and our mysterious tyrant is owned by Square Enix. (Three guesses as to who it is!)