Welcome to Gaia! ::

-RESERVED-

The spiraling darkness of the unknown changed into a flash of bright light. Yuffie fell into a pile of soft sand kept cool by the shade of a nearby treehouse. "Sand....where am I?" She slowly looked up, her eyes taking in the unfamiliar sights of the tan sand, intense sunlight, bright blue sky and even bluer waters. Coconut trees dotted the horizon, and the only signs of settlement were the rickety structires obviously built by children. The most striking thing about the area, however, was the almost eerie sense of calm that pervaded almost everything. This calm, ironically, most troubled her; although she gave the appearance of being hyper and carefree, her ninja training conditioned her to be wary of everything and anything.

She rembered Sora telling her about his island the first day they met. More specifically, he expressed concern on its fate, and the fate of his friends. I wonder....Could this be the island? What's its name again....? She thought hard for a moment, trying not to be distracted by the delicious breeze ruffling her hair. Destiny Islands? Hey, I think that's it!

So, you're Destiny Island I see. She walked out of the shade, partly to get a better look at the surroundings, and partly to see what her companions, or at least those who had made it through already, were doing. I have a feeling the name suits you.

She stretched herself out in the warm sun, smiling as the rays hit her face. This place is so beautiful....This is going to be just like a vacation...

...Or, more likely, hell....if those brown-cloaked freaks come back.

"This place....is called Destiny Islands....I think."

Yuffie had walked over to the little shack, and was now leaning against the door Saix had opened. "Sora, Riku, and Kairi are from the Destiny Islands. When I first met Sora, a year ago, he told me about his island home, and the description fits this place....Then again, he might have been disoriented at the time...given the fact one of my best friends had just beat the s**t out of him."

"One thing we can be sure of....this place was destroyed a year ago by the Heartless, and is only here now because Sora destroyed Xehanort, the 'real' form of the man you knew as Xemnas. Given the circumstances, this island will most likely be attacked again shortly. Maybe that's the plan of those creepy guys..."

Her face went serious for a moment, but then reverted to her usual happy counternance. "Well, since it's safe now, I'm going to make the most of it. I'm going to build the world's greatest sandcastle; you wanna join?"

(( You people and your mass amounts of posting @_@))

The first thing that met Marluxia's blue eyes was paradise compared to the endless darkness he had finally stepped out of. It was thick with the scent of flowers and fruit and a hint of salt from the ocean. The man let all of it sink in, a sigh escaping frowning lips. It could be a trap or an illusion...but Marluxia felt oddly calm here. After what had happened with the three cloacked figures, this place was paradise or a slice of heaven. Though, he did not let his suspicion and gaurd down. Everything needed to be organized properly, and he would not become distracted just because he had barely escaped the peril before hand. He stepped onto the soft wet sand, where the movement of two figures caught his attention. One was Saix, and the other was the jumpy ninja he had not learned the name of yet. Eyes flicked back and forth, taking in and observing all the surroundings, the peace of the place suspicious to him. He finally made his way to Saix and the other girl.

"Where are we, exactly?" he asked, both curiousity and the want for answers in his mind. Surely one of them knew where they were?

"What? A cave? Where? I wanna see!!"

Abandoning a mound of sand she was trying to shape into a castle, Yuffie took off towards the two men. Stopping abruptly mere inches from the cave opening, as well as nearly giving Saix and Marluxia heart attacks, she dropped to her knees and proceeded to inspect the immediate area. "Hmmm..." She closely examined the leafy growth around the entrance and the gravel of the cave floor. "I don't see anything unusual here..."

She then proceeded to stand back up and tip-toe cautiously into the cave. The initial near total darkness caused her to trip a few times, but once her eyes adjusted she was able to continue. "I've got this covered," The ninja yelled back "You guys focus on finding the crazy pyro."

After tip-toeing a bit more, using the rocky wall as balance in the dark corridor, she found herself in a small chamber. Light was streaming through cracks in the rocks, and it was enough for Yuffie to see the incredible amount of graffiti covering the rocks. On closer inspection, she found it wasn't just mindless scribbles, but drawings of people, places, even imagined adventures. One particular picture that caught her eye was that of Kairi and Sora sharing what looked like a star-shaped fruit. So...I guess this place is the Destiny Islands.

Walking around the small area, she looked at and admired countless doodles on the walls. However, her art gazing was cut short when she came across one glaring idiosyncrasy in the natural, stone room; a large, wooden, man-made door. Judging by the size and craftmanship, it obviously wasn't built by Sora or his friends; even more peculiar was its lack of hinges or even a keyhole.

This is too wierd. What's this door doing in a place like this? Could it be the door to theheart of the world?

Well, whatever it is, I probably should go back and tell the others.....Don't know what a bunch of Organization XIII cronies could do to help though....

Suffocation. It was killing Axel as he seemed to glide oh-so slowly through that dark corridor. There was no air, it seemed. It wasn't so much the dark killing him, he found it fine, though he wouldn't complain if he was handed a match.

Axel stumbled out of the darkness, a great relief, as though the doorway spit him out. He landed on a sandy beach, and raised an eyebrow as he stood up. An...island? Right! This had to be that Destiny Islands place Roxas knew, but he never knew how!

Axel brushed the sand from his sneakers and pants and looked at the other three.

"So they didn't kill us! Just a little vacation to Destiny Islands! Ha ha! I bet you were all worried." Axel grinned. In truth, he thought he might have died too, but no way would he admit it!

Axel looked around, only to see Marluxia.

'And we were all supposed to be calm then, is it?' the Flower Boy's icy voice rang. It send a frightening shiver down his back, and made him want to draw back. But he didn't, hs ego wouldn't let him.

Axel immediatly thought of what could have made Marluxia hate him so much, seeing as he adn't earlier. He must have remembered.

"Ooooooooohhhhhh, right. You must have remembered what happened at "home"." Axel's index and middle fingers on both hands bent twice, in a 'quote-unquote' gesture.

"If your didn't remember, I didn't kill you. That was Sora. and apparently, it didn't matter anyway, 'cause here ya are." Axel's arms gestured to the pink haired man.

"Maybe he just knocked ya out." Axel shrugged lightly, in a nonchalant manner. Hey, he wasn't the dead one.