Key to Return Hearts.
A/N: I know...I'm starting yet another new story due to writer's block and all. It's a curse sometimes, but I just couldn't leave this idea or hold back the urge to begin it any longer. I know I still have to finish "Kingdom Hearts III: Second War", but...I just felt the need to make another version of Kingdom Hearts 3, completely outside of the Second Chance Universe and definitely outside of my other fanfics.
While this is mostly based on the game, it also has ideas that were discarded from the final release and other changes. First off, the Key to Return Hearts. That was never used or was re-translated as the Power of Waking. Secondly, this will have Final Fantasy characters and one certain Disney World that were not in the game. Thirdly, three worlds from the game will be left out of this story: Toy Box, San Fransokyo(as I haven't seen the movie yet) Monsters Inc world(can't remember it's name) and a couple of new worlds will be added as well.
Finally, the stupid Black Box thing will also be left out because it makes no sense. So, let's begin with the Prologue, shall we?
I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, Kingdom Hearts 3 would've been different.
Prologue: The Secret Key.
~Long, long ago, all the worlds were still one.
One day, this would be called the age of fairy tales.
It all began here in Daybreak Town.
The Master of Masters had an eye that gazes into the future.~
The room of the Foretellers was almost virtually never empty. Not by anyone's standards. It was a room which large gears that never stopped, a round table with seven chairs, a small corner desk with scientific tubes and such, a book that foretold the future. And two men in black coats. The tallest and oldest, even if he can be childish and mysterious, was known as the Master of Masters, the mentor of his six apprentices. The other, shortest and youngest, a bit shy they say, was known as Luxu. In his hand was a gothic like Keyblade with a symbol of a goat, but it was what was on the tip of the blade itself that was the importance; a blue cat-like eye.
"The Gazing Eye?" Luxu queried at the Keyblade, which that belonged to his mentor who'd now passed it on to him as his successor.
"Uh... That's not what it's called." Said the Master, a bit sheepishly.
"Oh? Then what?"
The Master of Masters, seated by his desk, was silent for a moment before answering. "Actually...no name."
"No Name..." Luxu repeated, gazing at the Keyblade again after taking a look at the Master. Well, that seemed rather unusual for a Keyblade to not have a name.
"Well, "gazing" or not, that Keyblade does have an eye in it." The Master told him, adding rather too casually. "My eye, to be exact."
'What?!' Luxu thought, shocked to hear this. Did his mentor really just say that his eye was the eye design of the Keyblade!? But that means...
"Ew!" He flinched, cringing back a bit.
"Oh, you think that's "gross," do ya?" The Master mocked, though mentally, he couldn't blame the kid. Actually, he didn't mention it but the process of having to do that was...painful.
"N-no!" Luxu quickly denied, not wanting to upset his mentor. But still...
"Yeah, sure." The Master rolled his remaining eye under his hood, but then decided to brush it off and continued, becoming serious once more. "Anyway, about your role. You need to pass down that Keyblade to your apprentice, and then him to his, so that my eye can see the future."
Luxu stiffened slightly at this, as he began to realize what the older man was talking about.
"So the Book of Prophecies..." He began, only to jump slightly when the Master caught him off-guard by pointing at him.
"Bingo!" The Master replied, grinning. "The fact that it exists is proof of your success! That means you've trained a worthy apprentice, passed down that handsome Keyblade, and fulfilled your role!"
He then clapped enthusiastically, "Congratulations!"
When Luxu remained silent as the younger hooded man still couldn't get the picuture, the Master of Masters didn't understand his apprentice's reaction, or rather, there lack of. "What's the matter? Come on, you did a fantastic job! At least smile a little!"
"But I haven't done anything yet..." Luxu pointed out.
An awkward pause of silence.
"Good point." The Master agreed after realizing that Luxu was right, before saying once more. "Guess you better get started then! Unfortunately, you'll have to go alone from here on out. No Book of Prophecies to keep you company, either. I can't have you causing any temporal paradoxes. But, hey, we both know you'll do just fine without it, right?"
Alone? Did the Master really think Luxu had to go off by himself? The apprentice wasn't certain if he liked the sound of that. More than anything, while he wasn't as close to the other apprentices, he trained with them and he did like to consider them as friends.
"Do I really have to go alone? What about the others?" Luxu queried.
"Minor details, so don't sweat it." The Master chuckled, before standing up as he approached the corner of the desk while continuing. "For now, you, that Keyblade, and..."
He pulled something out as Luxu, curious, dismissed his new Keyblade and approached and was surprised when the Master pulled out something that was strikingly familiar but very unfamiliar. "...This Key need to stay out of sight."
"Another Keyblade?" Luxu asked, puzzled. Unlike the Keyblades he has seen, this one was remarkably different. The hilt was black, the handle around it was shaped like a heart in golden colour, the blade resembled that of a silver shiny sword while in the middle was a line which seemed to flow and glow with energy like a stream of light, pink, red and yellowy white in colour, the very tip that went upward was also heart-shaped but with a hole in with two linings. The outside was silver while the inside was also glittering gold.
Finally, the teeth and even the Keychain were crown shapes.
"Well, sort of." The Master shrugged. "This Keyblade is unlike any other. Had to keep it hidden for a long time, because you see, it's not made to be used to fight like other Keyblades. It's a key to restore lost, sleeping or corrupted hearts that were taken over by darkness if it's in the right hands."
His tone then turned serious as he added, "But if anyone with a heart of darkness wields it..."
"It would corrupt hearts that didn't fall into darkness?" Luxu guessed.
"Yep! Pretty much. Just watch with your own eyes-and my eye, of course-as
things unfold between the others. Then when the time is right, go off and do your thing, and then hide this beauty into a place that can only be located by finding seven pieces of light, and I'm not talking about what is foretold in the future. Should anything happen to this blade's chosen, like say...someone who isn't truly chosen by the Keyblade but has a strong heart to accomplish the impossible but lost the power to do so, this will call out to him or her." The Master explained.
"Who would not be truly chosen by the Keyblade but has a strong heart?" Luxu asked, curiously.
"Uh...honestly, that part of the future is kinda fuzzy even I don't have a clue. But hey, they'll come around. Just make sure to pass on only part of this Keyblade's destiny. Can't have anyone with an already corrupted heart go look for the chosen one should things get out of hand someday, even when you and me are long gone." The Master informed him. "So, this is between the two of us. You have to promise that no one finds this until the time is right."
Even though Luxu was concerned about who the corrupted person would be and actually somewhat scared that it could happen in many years to come, maybe in centuries when he would be long gone, he suddenly realized that this was an important responsiblity and that keyblade could be the only hope for peace in the future.
"I promise." Luxu nodded, and as the Master handed him the Keyblade, he carefully took it and nodded to his mentor who nodded back.
"May your heart be your guiding key." The Master told him.
~In the Master's playful and mischievous way, he gave his apprentice
Luxu a very important role.
What seemed like a simple task was the element that would connect all of the events to come.
The Key to Return Hearts would soon be calling to it's chosen,
a Keyblade wielder who was not truly chosen, but has a heart to
accomplish many impossible, one having the gift to connect his heart...
To many, many others.~
Present Day...
It hadn't been long since Riku returned with Kairi by his side, which King Mickey Mouse was still stunned and shocked to see and hear that the Princess of Heart, who was also his friend, and the best friend of both Riku and Sora, was now a Keyblade Wielder. Still, he didn't have time to ask how the sixteen year old girl had gotten her Keyblade, as they had more important things to worry about.
So the King stood beside Kairi and Riku as they listened to Master Yen Sid, Mickey's former teacher and old friend, speak of what he had to say.
"The great battle with Xehanort is almost upon us. As you know, we must take action to keep the seven pure lights safe, and thus we must hasten to assemble the seven guardians of light. It is time to return to our world the three Keyblade wielders we lost over a decade ago." Yen Sid adressed the trio.
"Ventus, Terra, and Aqua must be saved from their sad end, for they have more to achieve. Following their first battle with Xehanort, Ventus's heart refused to awaken, and so Aqua found a safe location to conceal him. But when she set off in search of her other missing friend Terra, she fell to a place from which there is no return without outside help." He continued.
When the powerful elderly sorcerer turned his gaze to Mickey, his sharp eyes gazing at the King's kind, soft ones, the young mouse nodded as after for so long even though he felt terrible for not telling anyone of his friends of this, he was finally given permission to reveal another truth. Mickey then turned to look at the two teenagers who gazed at him, as he began to tell a story of one of his adventures from two years ago.
"I saw her. In the realm of darkness." Mickey began.
At the Dark Margin within the Realm of Darkness, Aqua was once again seated on the dark beach, next to the mysterious but kind figure in the black coat with his hood up. The two had began a routine of this since she first discovered him, discovering what has been happening in the Realm of Light during her absence.
"What do you intend to do now?" The figure queried. He had discovered that the more time he'd spent with the kind, young woman who reminded him of Sora, the more his memories were slowly returning at a steady pace.
Aqua smiled, already knowing what she had to do. While she still had no way of returning to the Realm of Light on her own, the fact that Sora and very likely Mickey were looking for ways to find her and rescue her was enough to keep her resolve alive, as all doubts and fears were locked away once more for the first time in timeless years in the dark realm.
"I'm staying. I've made up my mind until the time is right." Aqua replied. Plus, being in the same spot or at least near it, it would make it a little bit easier for anyone to find her. Even though she didn't want Sora or Mickey to risk their lives to come here to rescue her, she knew there wasn't much of a choice.
The two fell into a comfortable silence, which given how they'd been alone for so long, being in each other's company was the best thing either one had since entering the realm of darkness. Better than being constantly surrounded by Heartless that wanted to devour their hearts. Even if the dull white moon or sun remained in it's place, at least it was some light.
When she spent time here, fighting Heartless, Aqua hardly remembered much being here, but she kept onto her memories of her time in the realm of light, of her friends, her adventures, their battles against Master Xehanort and Vanitas, and saving Terra while taking his place to become trapped here. However, she didn't remember of what occured two years ago, not even the beginning of the latest threat.
"Only your heart is hollow enough to be a demon's."
Gasping softly at the sudden, somehow familiar, dark and chilling voice that rang in her mind, Aqua jolted slightly when not only something uncomfortably stirred in her heart, but she also sensed powerful darkness and movement creeping...and getting closer. Looking sharply behind her, which the figure noticed this before looking to see what was wrong, their eyes widened as a huge number of Heartless appeared and formed into a Demon Tide.
"Careful!" Aqua exclaimed as she jumped to her feet and flicked her wrist to summon the Master's Defender Keyblade. She turned to her only company and told him firmly, "Stand back. I'll handle this!"
Despite not wanting to leave the young woman to fight on her own, the figure knew he had very little choice. So, after reluctantly nodding and telling her to be careful, he stepped aside as back back as possible. Aqua in the meantime turned her focus to the Heartless that launched towards her. She cartwheeled out of the way to avoid in getting hit before immediately slashing at it, knocking back some of the Heartless before it went too far and out onto the water, diving in.
Aqua quickly tried to sense where it would attack next before the Demon Tide emerged from the ground and knocked her back. But she managed to flip and land safely before casting Firaga at it, doing minimal damage but enough for her to dodge more of it's attacks before finding herself able to actually run and stand on the water like it wasn't deep at all, but as she did, her heart beated hard and loudly and it was actually painful. She tried to ignore it and instead swiped her Keyblade at the very top of the Demon Tide when it lunged at her at the wrong time.
She fought long and hard both on the beach and on the water which the latter part ached her heart each time and Aqua had no idea why, but she tried to keep ignoring it and focused on her fight against the Heartless with her skills and magic. Eventually she seemed to have defeated it as it sank into the water, and Aqua tried to sense any movements from it. When she found that she couldn't, she sighed in a bit of relief before hurrying back to the beach as the figure in the black coat waited on the shores.
"Are you alright, Aqua?" The man asked, worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank y-" Aqua cut herself off when she suddenly sensed more darkness and to her horror, another Demon Tide emerged from the ground behind the man who sensed it too late as it was already descending towards them, leaving them with no time to move out of the way together. Without much of a plan and knowing it was the only way, Aqua knew what she had to do, even if it risked her life.
"Look out!" She screamed, shoving the man out of the way to the side while she had her Keyblade ready and tried to focus her magic as quickly as possible. Unfortunately she'd only been fast enough to at least not dismiss her Keyblade and having saved the man. The Heartless though engulfed her and flew towards the water.
Aqua let out a loud scream as the Heartless attacked her from within the tide and even though she grunted and only managing to slash at a few with her Keyblade, breaking free, it left her defendless as she dropped from the Demon Tide before falling right into the water that was very deep and began to sink while the Heartless, as though sastified, vanished.
The figure, his hood falling when Aqua pushed him out of the way, revealing his blond hair and beard, aging face and orange kind eyes, was devastated as he saw what happened, reaching out before realizing it was too late. Horrified and distraught at the woman sacrificing herself to save his life, he fell to his knees in dismay, not wanting to believe that the young woman had just now fallen into the deepest abyss of darkness.
Even worse, because of Aqua's sacrifice, the man's memories came flooding back; Sora, Mickey, and many others he didn't recognize before, now he did remember, appeared in his mind. Even his own name came back to him, but none of that gave him any comfort. If anything, it ached his heart terribly. Yet another young person's life had been ruined because of his actions, and this time she had just saved his own life.
"I had a feeling you were here, Ansem the Wise. It's a pity that foolish Keyblade wielder risk her life to save you and now will become one with darkness." A familiar, dark voice chuckled coldly behind him.
The man, identified as Ansem the Wise, looked behind him and in both shock and horror, out from a corridor of darkness was another figure in a black coat much like his own; Xehanort's Heartless, who had stolen Ansem's name and renamed himself as "Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness", thought to have been destroyed himself, yet was standing right there as though Sora and his friends never defeated him.
"...Xehanort." Ansem grunted angrily. "So it was YOU who sent the Heartless. Tell me. Why are you here?"
"To collect you, of course. You are far too valuable to be left here in the realm of darkness. Your research is much needed." The fake Ansem smirked, approaching Ansem the Wise who continued to glare at him. "But first, I had to get rid of that woman with the Keyblade as she posed a threat. Now that she is out of the way and will soon turn into a hybrid of a Heartless, all that is left is for you to come with me."
Ansem gritted his teeth angrily. "I would rather die than help you, Xehanort."
Xehanort's Heartless's smirk faded into a frown, before he forcefully grabbed Ansem by the arm and yanked up not too gently, saying as he forced the older man with him despite his struggles. "You have no choice, Ansem. Now move it."
Left with very little choice and forced into the portal that would no doubt lead them back into the realm of light, Ansem knew that there was nothing that could be done now to help Aqua and could only hope that Sora and his friends would at least defeat Xehanort once and for all again, even if they were too late to save the young woman who had been trapped here for far too long.
In the water sinking, Aqua began to lose her strength as she found herself unable to resurface since this water was nothing like in the realm of light. To make things worse, a dark spot that hit her on the chest when the Demon Tide swallowed her up began to sink into her chest painfully and coldly, and then slowly but quickly spread across her body.
'What is this feeling?' She thought to herself, finding herself losing consciousness, and as such, her grip on her Keyblade loosened and soon it sank away from her into another direction, glittering in light before fading away, but not dismissing itself back into her body. But to somewhere else. Aqua in the meantime, finding that she could somehow breathe underwater, could only mutter one name of someone she knew...
Someone whom wasn't at fault...but the darkness was taking control over her, making her finally lose her battle to hold back the darkness.
"Mickey..."
No sooner had Mickey finished retelling his story of how when he entered the Realm of Darkness that he found and saved Aqua, and the two teamed up to find the Kingdom Key of Darkness, how they were on the other side of the fake Ansem's Kingdom Hearts and that Aqua had risked her life to save Riku who had just been racing the doors after Mickey made mental contact with him with his heart, and that the Heartless separated her from them and driven her back into the darkness and Mickey been unable to reach her, he somehow heard something ring in his ears, his mind and in his heart.
"...Mickey..."
"Huh?" Mickey blinked, before gazing to his left and at the window. Was that...Aqua calling out to him? Could it mean that she was somehow trying to make contact with him, the way he managed to do so with Riku at Castle Oblivion? Or was it just Mickey's imagination?
"I thought...I heard her voice in the distance." Mickey muttered, confused. He tried to listen out with his heart, but quickly found that it faded as soon as it appeared unexpectedly. It was left with silence, allowing Kairi and Riku to absorb everything they heard about Aqua, the brave and noble Keyblade Master who didn't deserve to be trapped all alone in the dark, cold, lonely and terrifying place such as the realm of darkness, yet she did for twelve years.
Twelve, long and unbearable years, and it made Riku angry, upset, worried and guilty. Angry and upset that he never knew about this and Mickey, his closest friend besides Sora and Kairi, had kept this from him. Worried and guilty because Riku felt that it was his own fault for not having noticed and Aqua chose to save him while he did nothing...making him feel terrible for failing to save her.
"She sacrificed herself to save me?" Riku asked softly in disbelief, before turning to Mickey in frustration, lashing out at him without even thinking which would've reminded Kairi and Mickey of how Sora would've reacted. "Why did you keep it from me for so long?"
Mickey gazed at his friend, feeling terrible for not having told him sooner, let alone let Aqua down even though he felt that he did.
"I had to respect her choice." The King replied.
"What about us? You could've given us a choice! We could have gone and helped her!" Riku argued angrily.
"...I know..." Mickey admitted, lowering his head and closing his eyes in guilt, feeling so ashamed with himself. For the past twelve years, ten before he even knew that his fellow Keyblade Master had been trapped in the realm of darkness but had been missing, Mickey had blamed himself for not being able to help her, or save Ven's heart and stop Vanitas from overtaking it to form the false X-Blade.
The King tried for a long time to save his missing friends, and had foolishly believed that their sacrifices stopped Master Xehanort for good, but had been blinded by his own gullibility, which in retrospect, Mickey knew that being gullible and naive always got him into trouble. He thought that when he trained under Master Yen Sid, Mickey had outgrown that and become more responsible, especially when he became King. But now he knew that he never outgrew it, and had gotten everyone else involved.
Mickey had wanted to bring Aqua home, but the realm of darkness terrified him, and what scared him the most was that he could end up trapped all over again with no hope of coming back home, or that his friends he still had were in trouble and needed his help, or other distractions and that only made him feel even worse.
Fortunately, before he could end up being scolded by Riku, Yen Sid stepped in.
"Do not be rash, Riku." The Sorcerer told him. "As Mickey told you clearly in his story, reaching the realm of darkness the first time was not a simple task. And even if we had found a way back in, regrettably none of us possessed the necessary means to get Aqua back out safely. So I forbade Mickey from telling you, let alone going after her."
"Why keep it secret?" Riku demanded, gazing at the sorcerer while Kairi looked at her friend in concern.
"That much is obvious. If not you, then certainly Sora would have staged a reckless attempt at rescue." Yen Sid answered.
Hearing this made Riku reluctantly settled down with a resigned sigh. The sorcerer was right. Going into the realm of darkness wasn't something to be done easily or recklessly, and even how much it can effect anyone from the realm of light should they go in there, they could end up lost forever with no hope of returning home. Back then two years ago, Riku had been terrified and alone, but that didn't stop him feeling guilty at the fact that Aqua, who had been there much longer than he had, willingly lost her chance at freedom to save him and Mickey. Not to mention that Mickey himself was probably traumatized because of it.
The fact that his friend had lost three friends, one of them being in the worst place possible, and tried so hard to bring them back even on his own without risking the lives of the rest of his friends and feeling guilty for failing, Riku quickly felt bad for lashing out at him. Mickey too had saved him, and Sora, Donald and Goofy on many occasions. He had such a bleeding heart that he would do anything but also knew that the risks were too great.
"But now, we can go help Aqua." Mickey spoke up as he took a couple steps closer, his resolve renewed. He then gazed at Riku and gave him a determined smile. You and I-we're gonna go find her!"
Quickly seeing and hearing this, Riku nodded without second thoughts. He'd been rescued enough times already; now it was his turn to help someone and return them to the light, like how he saved Sora and woke him up a short time ago.
"Yeah! Count me in!" Riku readily agreed, and Mickey nodded, smiling happily.
"Who's this new Riku and where's the old one?" Kairi teasingly asked as she stepped in, giggling in amusement.
"New me?" Riku asked, slightly confused.
"Yeah." Kairi replied, giggling again. "You're more like Sora."
Realizing this, Mickey nodded in agreement with a laugh of his own.
"Should I be flattered?" Riku smirked, realizing what his friend was talking about. "I try too hard to be the role model. It's more fun to just listen to my heart. Which is Sora-esque." He shrugged as he said this.
"Well, we still like you." Kairi laughed, which made Riku laugh as well. They really missed the times of hanging out together, especially with Sora. While making a mental note to make up for it, Kairi then gazed at Yen Sid and with the mood turning serious again, approached the desk with intention. "Master, I came here because I wanted to help somehow. What can I do?"
"I have entrusted the wizard Merlin to oversee the training for our new Keyblade wielders, yourself and Lea." Yen Sid responded, accepting the teenage girl's resolve despite that it was putting her at risk, but she wanted to join in keeping the worlds safe, and thus he accepted her request. Unlike most of the Princesses, Kairi was the only one who was fully bold and brave. There was one exception, but thus far Kairi was the only Princess of Heart to become a wielder of the Keyblade.
"Lea?" Kairi muttered, confused at the unfamiliar name. Who was Lea?
The answer she got from Mickey was the last thing she expected.
"He means Axel." Mickey promptly answered.
"What!?" Kairi gasped, alarmed and suddenly quickly afraid. At the mention of Axel's name, it brought back very uncomfortable memories that terrified her. While she had heard from Sora that Axel wanted to find his friend Roxas, who was Sora's Nobody, and that the redhaired Nobody, the Assassin of Organization XIII, had sacrificed himself to stop a large horde of Nobodies to save Sora, Donald and Goofy and gave them the passage to the Organization's world before he died, and that he was sorry for what he did to her, Kairi was still uncertain.
But to hear that Axel was still alive, under the name of Lea? And having a Keyblade of his own, training with Merlin? Kairi didn't know what to do or think.
"Aw, he's a regular person now." Mickey reassured encouragingly, as though sensing Kairi's unease. "He even saved Sora for us. You can trust him!"
Kairi still felt uncertain and a bit scared, however. She turned to Riku who gave her an assuring smile and nod, agreeing with the King. Well, if they and Yen Sid and even Sora felt that Lea can be trusted, then Kairi knew that she had to trust him too. Who knows? Maybe she could become friends with him, but she didn't want to jump to that conclusion just yet. So in the end, if she wanted to help her friends, she had to hold in her fears and train alongside her former kidnapper.
With that, Mickey began to walk out, gesturing Riku to join him. "C'mon, Riku. It's time for us to go. First, we gotta find an entrance to the realm of darkness, and then-"
"Mickey." Yen Sid's voice stopped the pair and Kairi from leaving. When the trio looked back, the sorcerer magically conjored two large suitcases with a wave of his hand. "Take these along with you. The three good fairies asked that you be presented with them. They are new vestments which will shield the both of you from the darkness. Before you enter the Realm of Darkness, first take Kairi to Radiant Garden where Merlin will be waiting. I will informed him and Lea to expect her arrival."
Seeing this and very relieved that they wouldn't have to worry about being swallowed up by darkness, the King and Riku approached the desk once more. Mickey took the smallest suitcase while Riku took the largest.
"Thank you, Master." The two chorused as they bowed their respects to the Sorcerer, before they shared a glance as Riku slinged his suitcase over his shoulder with a confident smirk.
"Okay, let's go!" Mickey told his friend, before taking the lead once more as the two teenagers out of the door to start their assignments.
Meanwhile, in the still sleeping world of Traverse Town in the Realm of Sleep, Sora, having come back here in the present to meet up with his Dream Eater friends to thank them for helping him on his journey during the Mark of Mastery Exam, was finishing up the last of his self-training as he slashed two more Nightmare-Dream Eaters into oblivion with the slash of his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key of Light.
Sighing in relief once he saw that they were gone for now, Sora straightened himself up and sighed, rolling his shoulders one by one to ease the tension before sighing again, this time in disappointment. While what he said to Riku when his friend had woke him up from Xehanort's darkness of a nightmare, that Sora never felt better, he noticed a complete downside to that.
Since he came here for a bit of training to see if he was up for another round and hopefully another chance at the Mark of Mastery to claim the power to awaken hearts, Sora found that some of his powers hadn't been working right. Sure he can still use magic, but he felt...a bit drained. Like he lost them like when he woke up from a year of sleep.
"Maybe I'm still adjusting in being back to normal." He muttered to himself. Now that he thought of it, maybe Sora should've waited a bit longer before coming back here to the Realm of Sleep. But...he'd been eager to say thanks to the Spirit-Dream Eaters since he didn't get the chance to, no thanks to Organization XIII-the real Organization XIII.
Finding that he wasn't going to get any answers here, and that he did promise Riku, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey that he'd be back soon, and even Axel-or was it Lea?-had the right to be assured considering that he is Roxas's best friend, Sora nodded to himself.
"I'd better head back. Bet the others are worried sick by now." Sora concluded.
Heart of Strong Will...
"Huh!?" Sora jumped, alarmed as he heard an unfamiliar voice, somehow soundless but seeing words form in his mind, but finding no one in the Second District he was at. Who said that? Was it Xehanort trying to trick him again? This thought alone was enough to make Sora unexpectedly gulp somewhat nervously. He didn't want a repeat of what happened to him after fighting Xemnas.
Do not be afraid...
"Who's there?" Sora called out, holding a tight grip on his Keyblade, spinning back and forth to find the source. He suddenly had a sense of deja vu coming to him, but in a different way.
Seven pieces of Light...needed to be found...
"Seven pieces...of light? You mean the Princesses? Or seven Keyblade wielders? I don't understand." Sora replied. The voice didn't seem like a threat, but he didn't want to take his chances.
Seven Princesses...past and present generation...Seven Guardians of Light...Seven pieces of Light...You need to find them...to find the Key to save hearts...connected to your own. Even hearts that sleep within you...the Time has come...to begin your new journey...
"The Key...to save hearts? But...I don't think I have that kind of power yet." Sora pointed out, still confused. But only silence followed, and despite Sora calling out to whoever it was that spoke to him just then, it was gone just as it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
What was that voice talking about?
Finding that he wasn't going to get answers out of this either, Sora sighed before deciding, "Maybe King Mickey and Master Yen Sid would know. They're good at stuff like that."
So after he found all of the Dream Eaters he made friends with at the First District and thanking them once again, before having a somewhat emotional goodbye to them and promising to always remember them, Sora then held up his Keyblade as a beam of light shot up into the Keyhole that materialized in the night sky, revealing a portal that would take him back home, to the Realm of Light.
Sora soon felt himself floating and with a nod and an excited smile, he allowed it to engulf him as he flew up into it, ready to reunite with everyone else.
Unaware that his next journey was about to begin, and the final clash against Xehanort would soon start.
A/N: So there you have it. The Key to Return Hearts will be an important role in Sora's journey, and also, since how Aqua lost Eraqus's Keyblade and it somehow appeared on Destiny Islands that no one even noticed given the time-difference made no sense, I thought it was better to make Aqua lose it at the dark shores where it would end up in the Realm of Light itself.
...And I'm also aware of Aqua's situation...so please don't be hate me! I promise she will be saved as will everyone else!
See you in the next chapter!
