The leader of the Vulpes ran through the alley. She panted, frequently looked over her shoulder as voices cried out, "She went this way!" She tugged her hood down lower, and tucked back a string of hair as it fell out of place in panic. The Keyblade War had began after all their effort to stop it. Now she was a target. Gotta kill the weed at its roots to make sure it wouldn't come back, right?

The girl tripped, and quickly got up to discover she'd been cornered. She summoned her Keyblade as the other wielders closed in, relaying strategies to one another in preparations to make the Vulpes faction no more. The Foreteller had one thing she could really do, so outnumbered like this.

She removed her hood and mask.

The incoming circle was quickly repulsed by the ruby hair that draped down and the wide blue eyes of fear that were revealed. They knew that face. To say they didn't would be lying. They knew the girl, but was he most stunning of all was that they had been using the power of her future to aid their current situation. She wasn't supposed to exist now.

Kairi put the mask back on, pulled her hood up, and ran. She tried to ignore the confused clamoring behind her and hoped that she pulled the revelation quick enough to be dismissed as too fast to get a good look. Still, she needed a distraction, didn't she? She was pretty justified, otherwise she would've bit the dust centuries before she was even born. And yet she sighed. She had violated one of the biggest rules she had been assigned: don't reveal your face.

She ran through the plaza of Daybreak Town, yelling, "UNICORNIS! UNICORNIS!" She found herself only being answered with a new crowd of protectors and assailants.

...

Kairi smiled as Sora insisted on one more goodbye kiss. He pulled away with a grin, "Come back as soon as you can, okay?"

Kairi pecked his cheek, "I will, I will! Quit worrying!"

Sora's smile faltered, "Well you know when you're heading. Kinda saw the result of it for ourselves not too long ago..."

Kairi put on the fox (or was it wolf?) like mask she had been given and pulled up her hood, "As a leader, I can probably change all that, you know?"

Sora shifted uncomfortably again with worry, "But Kai... You know Xehanort mentioned-"

"And since when should we trust that old jerk?" She replied. She hugged him one more time, "Sora, I promise I'll be fine."

Sora hugged her back, whispering, "I love you, okay?" With a chuckle, he added, "By the way, the new duds look nice on you."

Kairi felt herself tearing up, "Thanks. I love you, too, durian head."

As Kairi left, Sora wiped up a tear, "I'll see ya later, my island flower." After a moment he let the tears fall anyways, "Come back soon, come back safe."

...

The Anguis leader was creeping in shadows as she normally operated. She didn't know how friendly competition for Lux had escalated into full out war, but here she was anyways. She needed to find the others and regroup so none of the masters would be lost.

She off-handedly fended off an assailant, not caring to check whether she had accidentally added another death to the already infamously dizzying score. She'd fought for far too long to bother to differentiate fatalities from mere injury. Mortal wounds from ones that you could get back up from. Then again thanks to that vast combat experience she was used to making either crippling blows of fatal ones. Maybe both. It was sheer muscle memory now to kill or disable.

She was drawn from her musings to find a party of Leopardis members blocking her path. "Well, you shouldn't be too hard! We got SR+ rank cards abound!"

The Anguis leader didn't have much expression with most of her mask covered, but her mannerisms displayed annoyance and that she wasn't impressed. In fact, she seemed angry. She quietly held up her blade, "Triple Firaga."

She moved quickly and calmly through the magical flames and explosions that followed. She was feeling more calloused than ever. She was used to war and thus her heart was unsympathetic to people dying like they were lined up for execution.

Except one corner of her heart felt emotion. It beat frantically in worry and fear and love and care. She had two boys she said she would bring back even if others or herself paid the price in doing so. Two boys she very dearly loved and worried for their lives.

She pulled out a blue glass star as she ran through the war-torn alleyways, "Please be safe."

...

"When traveling to this time, one thing must be clear; no one must know who you are. Do not reveal your face unless you have to or are assured of privacy, do not speak each other's true names." Yen Sid said as he handed the five in front of him animal masks and robes. He began passing out new keychains "Use these instead of your normal Keyblades, and be sure to hold them properly." Aqua examined her snake-like mask. Although really with how much of her face would be covered it was more of a helmet.

Kairi smiled at her vulpine covering, "This is so cute!"

Sora spoke up while the five chosen for the mission babbled, "Uh, sir? What about me?"

"Sora, I am afraid that there may not be a chance for you to travel to the time we seek. The others, from my divining, were somehow present amid the chaos of the Keyblade War, but it seems you were not." Yen Sid explained, "However, even then I am extremely uncertain as to how they will fare, and while I know you are willing to volunteer, so were they." The old wizard held Sora's shoulder, "Do not worry, I feel this will all work out. Besides, you are playing an important role here: defending the realm of light in their absence."

Aqua couldn't help but overhear the monologue. There was uncertainty in this plan- heading all the way back to the first war to try and prevent it -but maybe it would work. Just maybe they could stop all that suffering and death. She also wondered how Sora would fare if none of them ever came back...

Undoubtedly he would be crushed beyond despair if his friends were lost.

...

The Ursus leader was caught in the thick of it all. Not only were there Heartless drawn to all of the corrupt hearts, he had to fend off Keyblade wielders of every faction but his own. He wasn't doing good. His body felt stiff and unused to being in such a critical situation. With a growling yell he forced his attackers back in a wide circle, then made a run for it.

He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he had to find the other Foretellers. He could hear pursuers right at his heels, and he dug his Keyblade into the ground to rip up the earth to make it harder to follow him. Well, maybe easier since it was clearly caused by someone rather than nature, but at least anyone following him would be slowed by the irregular turf.

He came to a jerking halt at he sight of a Unicornis troop. In desperation to be avoided, he began climbing his own rocky formations, hands clenching on rock and moving on to buildings with a leap of faith the roofs would be better. He'd have a better vantage point, at that.

The Ursus Foreteller yelled as a blizzard spell nailed his shoulder. It quickly spread along his arm, and crept up his neck. He managed to pull himself onto the rooftop and fired off a few clunky and far from finessed spells in the general direction of anyone who had gotten him. He laid low for a moment, hoping no one would find him as he waited for a cure spell to let his arm recover.

He took off his mask carefully, sighing at the sky when his blue eyes, brown hair, and chiseled face had a clear view of it, "I can't believe I'm stuck in a mess like that again..."

...

Terra was mostly unamused by the thought of going into the Keyblade war. In fact, he was very adamant about not going into it. The only reason he was involved was because of Ven and Aqua considering it a good idea and getting involved. He'd follow those two to the ends of the earth, no joke or doubt about it.

He observed his mask as others said goodbyes. A bear, fierce and strong and protective like himself, huh? He ran a finger along the curves of the mask, wondering if he should mention the sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Terra," he looked up to see Aqua with her mask already on. She smiled, the only thing he could see with her hood lowered, "it'll be alright, okay?"

...

Aqua managed to find the Leopardis leader with little trouble. Then again there wouldn't be much if people were yelling that he was "being a sitting duck" and was "this way! This way!".

He was caught in the thick of battle as well, pulling moves that looked like breakdancing and casting aero after aero spell. It was clear he didn't want to hurt anyone, and that his offensive was still extremely pacifistic. He saw her, and the mouth visible from underneath his hood widened from a terrified frown into a relieved and hopeful smile.

"A-"

A Keyblade suddenly burst from his chest. After that all time seemed to slow. The boy dropped to the ground, his hood and leopard mask falling to reveal wavy blond hair and tearful blue eyes. A quiet and bloodied gasp finished his greeting, "...qua."

Aqua couldn't restrain herself and screamed, "VENTUS!"

Meanwhile Keyblade wielder after wielder backed up in horror. They had been using this boy's strength to fight, and now he'd been killed. It felt like they had doomed part of themselves from the horrible luck and even worse omen this was. Wielders all over using cards that borrowed Ven's power suddenly found them not working. Those who didn't adjust to the change fell.

Aqua skidded to a halt amongst the confusion and yelling, cradling Ventus in her arms, "Oh god Ven!" Ventus's lips trembled and quivered with unspoken words a they spilled ruby droplets, as if he couldn't say what he wanted to.

Aqua wrenched off her mask and hood, "Ven!"

Wielders practically evacuated the area. Not only had they killed one of their power sources, but they were in the presence of his very protective and almost unimaginably powerful friend. The only ones who stayed were probably too bold or ignorant to understand the wrath that would follow.

Aqua began curing the wound, "Ven, Ventus, speak to me!"

Ven coughed, then shakily smiled, "A...qua... Y-you're... Okay." He held up his hand, and Aqua grabbed it.

She forced herself to smile, "Of course I am. Now I gotta get us out of here-" she stopped and winced when Ventus convulsed from pain in her arms. She looked around for a sign of where to go, "We gotta find Terra, at least." She picked a way and ran as fast as her legs could carry them.

...

Ventus smiled and patted Sora's shoulders, "Well, this is the end, I guess." Sora nodded, knowing part of the plan involved Ven and his friends staying in the past to ensure their efforts truly prevented the war from happening.

After a moment, Ventus found himself running his hand over Sora's face. How long ago was it when those cheeks were poofy and chubby rather than becoming the elements of a strong jaw? Were those eyes always so small? The nose had lost some of its upward fwip...

Sora laughed, "I know, you'll miss me 'dad'."

That just about did it for Ventus's waterworks. That nickname had been said so mockingly and jokingly among their journey together, but never in such a meaningful way. It had just started off as a joke. Sora and Ven looked so alike they could be blood related, but Ventus was in a sense technically old enough to be his father.

It had become a joke among everyone, but now it meant so much more. Thank you for doting on me, thank you for being there for me, thank you for watching me grow, thank you for guiding me and nagging me and saving me.

Ventus hugged Sora as tight as he could, wondering why he had so many tears to spill, "I'll miss you... I'll miss you."

Sora hugged him back just as tight, "I will too."

...

Kairi couldn't find who she was looking for. She couldn't seem to even find Aqua and her friends. She was getting tired of fending off other Keyblade wielders. She just wanted to find her friends and head home, failure or not.

She was relieved to see the horned leader or the Unicornis sweeping his competition aside. She dove in after him with renewed strength, yelling for him. He lifted his horn towards her in a signal he heard her. They were treading the field of battle towards each other, synchronizing their attacks to make it easier.

Kairi smiled, and yelled when her friend was within distance to hear, "You're okay!" He nodded in reply, a smile of his own forming. Kairi was just close enough to reach for his hand and let him grab it, "Come on, we need to go back to Sor-"

She as hurtled into his arms as someone unleashed an explosion behind her. The Unicornis leader stopped and held her up. Kairi's mask had fallen off, revealing her wide and glassy eyes. There were cuts and bloodstains on her robes, and she pressed her fingers against one of the bloody wounds, "What..."

He took off his mask and hood, white hair tumbling out and cyan eyes starting to fill with tears, "Kairi?"

Kairi smiled deliriously, "Riku..."

Riku remembered they were in the middle of a war and quickly set up a barrier around himself and Kairi, ignoring the awed cries around them, "Kairi! Kairi hold on I need to heal you!" He looked her over, noting horribly that shrapnel had left far too many wounds to effectively heal.

Kairi's eyes started drooping, "Riku... I wanna... Cuddle with Sora, too... while I sleep."

Riku slapped her as hard as he was willing to, "Stay awake! Don't fall asleep on me! We still gotta get back to him!" Shortly after as he began healing her he cursed and muttered under his breath, "Hold on, damn it! Hold on!"

He then looked at her one more time to notice that although her eyes were wide open, they were lifeless.

...

Riku smiled at Sora, "I'll make sure your girl stays safe, okay?"

Sora smirked and wagged a finger at him, "Make sure you BOTH stay safe and you got a deal!"

Riku laughed, and grabbed Sora's hand in a firm shake, "I promise we'll come back safe and sound, bud."

Sora smiled, then pulled Riku into a fierce hug. On his tippy toes, "Ugh, you gotta fix that 'way taller than me' problem too!"

Riku smiled and picked Sora up, "You mean like this?"

Sora squirmed and laughed, "Hey! Put me down!"

Riku unapologetically dropped Sora, "Okay." The moment Sora got up he began tackling Riku, who brought Sora into a playful head hold while rubbing his knuckle against the mass of spikes. They laughed and cherished the moment. It'd be awhile before they would get an opportunity like this.

...

Terra and Aqua fled through the city, trying to find Riku and Kairi. Ventus had passed on, leaving both of them with purest contorted expressions of pain. They still carried him around, purely out of the desire to ensure Ventus didn't become some desecrated corpse that was merely a road bump in the bloody streets. Or maybe they just couldn't bear to part with him, even as his cold skin reminded them he was gone.

Everyone seemed to part the moment they recognized their faces, but there was still the reckless idiot or two who would think making anything close to an attempt would be possible. They were quickly proven wrong when Terra would launch them halfway across the city or Aqua blew them to smithereens.

After a time, Terra and Aqua stopped and looked at each other. Hundreds, maybe thousands of the infamous death toll of the Keyblade War had already been slain. Maybe Kairi and Riku were now among that number. Terra held Aqua's hand when the thought fully sank in and she started bawling. "What's the point? What's the point?!" Aqua cried, "We just ended up starting this whole thing!" She stared at Ventus, with blood on his face and his expression caught somewhere in sorrow and bliss, "And now they're all gone..."

Terra nodded grimly. He then held her, "We tried. We really did."

Aqua sat down against a wall, "I don't know what we should do..." Terra sat next to her, crying his own silent tears as she wept. He held his Keyblade out, and then formed their next plan of action. He quietly placed Ventus between them, then held up Aqua's head. He kissed her reassuringly, then held up his Keyblade. She realized what he was doing and did the same.

Their passing went unnoticed in the chaos.

...

Riku fell to his knees, panting. He'd taken down way too many people to count. He wasn't even sure if he was the only one left. He yelled at the heavens. It was so frustrating, seeing how everything had been going along so well. They could've avoided all of this. They were so CLOSE to avoiding all of this.

And now Kairi was dead and the war had happened anyways. In fact, he was pretty sure it was members of his faction that had decided to start it. They were good at getting Lux. Too good. They grew greedy and Riku had been unable to see it. He yelled again, unable to voice his anger and despair any other way. Once again it was

all

his

fault.

He failed to notice the person behind him winding up for a fatal blow.

...

Sora waited a week.

Waited a month.

A year.

By then it was too clear they weren't coming back. He'd stare at the records Yen Sid had on the war and at one sentence in particular: "The Keyblade War was a time full of atrocities and horrors as wielder after wielder turned on one another, resulting in one of the highest death tolls known to the wielders of the Keyblade, and thus one of the largest tragedies in The World more worthy of being called a massacre rather than war." He'd stare at that sentence until he fell asleep, hoping and praying that it would change. Maybe to "The Keyblade War was actually just a big party between everyone and everyone lived happily ever after." Yes, that'd be perfect.

But it never changed. Not even the font.

He hated having to tell Lea, Isa, and Roxas they lost a close friend. He hated having to tell Riku and Kairi's parents that their children weren't coming back. He hated having to tell himself they were gone.

Sora couldn't ever recall a time where he had cried as much. Maybe there was once or twice where he'd been really hurt and cried, but nowhere near as much. Everything within him seemed to just stop and halt and refuse to work. It dug in their heels and didn't let him move on from the pain this time. Just the barest thought of his friends dying in such a nightmarish place sent him reeling.

And perhaps because of this, Sora's smile broke, and never returned.

Well I saw this theory that the Foreteller folks in KHX are the previous incarnations of Kairi, Riku, Terra, Aqua, and Ven but then I had the idea that maybe it WAS KRTAV just time traveled n stuff and now I'm not crying you are I just have sand in my eyes.