As he reached the shore, Thatch climbed out of the small rowboat, ankle deep in water, and dragged it up the shore until he was certain it wouldn't be carried away by a wave or high tide. He had to cut the prospecting short after only 15 minutes, having realized that he'd forgotten to check in with the old man. Dion wasn't extremely strict about rules, but he did at least make a point of wishing to be informed of where Jared planned to go and how long he would take. And so, with naught but the rusty harpoon in his hand, Jared walked back toward home, dreading the lecture he was sure to get for forgetting to check in.

Elsewhere in the city, two of the famed Judges exited the gummi ship they had arrived in. Their ships were distinct in that they were mostly a silvery white color, and each one bore a large key-shaped insignia branding it as one of theirs. The Judges themselves, dressed in their usual white robes, were unable to be specifically identified as they were currently wearing their hoods up. However, one of them was clearly a masculine figure while the other was more frail and feminine. The other thing setting the Judges apart from most groups was their insistence on working in pairs. The primary failure of groups like Organization XIII, they believed, was that each member always seemed to work alone, with no one providing support or backup of any kind, and so the Judges implemented their partner system to ensure that such a mistake was never made. The two were heading toward the computer station that housed WDS of Lunaris, as that was where they would begin their inspection. This station was in a guard tower that of course was restricted to all but those who were authorized. As the robed figures walked, the male figure spoke in a low voice, "I still say this kind of work can be just as easily done by a crew, our brethren need not be involved." he said in a somewhat irritable tone. The woman with him shook her head.

"We've been over this, Raiden. It's better to do the work yourself and ensure quality, otherwise we run the risk of overlooking something which, in turn, will lead to disaster." she said her response in an exasperated tone, clearly they'd had this conversation before, probably many times.

"I'm just saying we could get more things done, and besides, nothing ever happens anyway- What the?!" he was cut off by the unmistakable sound of an explosion, both Judges looked at each other and, in unison, instantly realized that it came from the WDS control center and both rushed toward it, now brandishing weapons. The man, Raiden, sported a long-bladed glaive and the woman appeared to wield an angelic staff.

Even the Judges couldn't be fast enough to fix the system before it could damage the world, however, as the dreaded yellow-eyed Heartless known as Shadows began to emerge thanks to defense system no longer locking them out, and of course they attacked without much discretion. This included Thatch, who was half-way up the beach when he heard the explosion in the distance and suddenly found himself swinging his harpoon around, desperately keeping the Heartless from swarming him as he tried to run back into town.