This is an imagining of what the universe would be like after the events of the Xehanort Saga in the Kingdom Hearts series. This takes place roughly three years after the events of Kingdom Hearts III.

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After the Battle

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How many years has it been since Xehanort had fallen and peace had returned to the worlds? Has it been three years? The name's Jiminy Cricket, and this may be the final entry within my magnificent journal that tells of the three great journeys Sora and company has faced over the years. That boy had come a long way since his first journey when he was just fourteen. They do grow up so fast.

Whoever it is in the distant future that has gotten a hold of these journals, you may be wondering, where's the great Jiminy now? I departed Disney Castle and returned home with Pinocchio and Gepetto. Saying goodbye to Queen Minnie, Princess Daisy, Chip and Dale, and even Pluto…it was too heartfelt to describe into words. I have my ways of keeping in touch with the many friends I have met over the years, and here in this final entry I shall tell you where each of them ended up in life after the defeat of Xehanort.

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A lot of the residents within Disney Town had returned to their respective home worlds. Others wouldn't dare depart so they ended up staying. But besides those few people, from what I've heard, things were pretty quiet around the Castle.

Chip and Dale still continued to help build and pilot the many Gummi Ships around the world. They're now in the Gummi Block business. They're prices are far too high though! You'd never see me trying to buy one of those. Well, if I were tall enough to actually drive a Gummi Ship, that is.

Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto were pretty much the only others living in the Castle now. Mickey and Donald and Goofy had a lot of work to do but they always seemed to make it home before dark to keep the three castle's residents happy. If I recall correctly, Donald's Uncle Scrooge and Donald's nephews, Huey, Duey, and Louie appeared in Disney Castle one day…that sure was a surprise!

Though there weren't many living in Disney Town, Minnie made it the once beautiful amusement park it once was that attracted people from the worlds all around. Oh yeah, did I tell you that? The Lanes Between were safely accessible for non-Keybearers!

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Yen Sid and the Three Good Fairies watched over the worlds from the Mysterious Tower with the help of Merlin the Wizard, in case any oncoming dangers threatened the Universe.

Oh, whatever happened to Maleficent and Pete? Yen Sid had banished the two of them to a mysterious realm for all eternity. That was the punishment for attempting to rule the worlds with the Heartless as well as trying to create a new one from the World's Data. I hear whispers that the two are slowly but surely plotting their escape, but one can't be two sure. Maleficent might not get anything done with Pete by her side. I don't think he can even tie his own shoes.

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All is well in Radiant Garden. The Hallow Bastion Restoration Committee is no longer needed as Radiant Garden is back to its true former glory. Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid continue to live together while they help Tifa effortlessly search for Cloud. I think Cloud eventually did show up and brought news that Sephiroth was still out there and that their final battle would have to come at a later date. But so far Seph hasn't shown his face in over a year.

Apparently at that moment Aerith had a flashback of someone she used to know who had died, and her and Cloud mourned his dead.

The Gullwings had gone back to collecting treasure all across Radiant Garden, stumbling once again on some strange Cavern.

Stich had somehow found his way back to his home world.

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Ansem the Wise had finally returned to Radiant Garden, but had resigned as the world's ruler. Instead Terra had taken his place, becoming not only ruler but a researcher just as Ansem had been, but instead of studying the heart he was studying the light and the darkness and how to control either one both separately and at the same time without falling prey to either one of them.

Although sad to see their former master go, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo had stuck behind to work with Terra because he reminded them of someone who they used to call their friend. Although not trusting the apprentice-Xehanort lookalike all that much, they eventually warmed up to the man and called him their master. With Terra's Keyblade and the powers the four apprentices retained from their Nobody counterparts, the castle of Radiant Garden and the entire world was safe from any threat.

On the walls surrounding him, after getting rid of the picture of his fusion-self with Xehanort, he put up framed pictures of himself, and his two dear friends, Aqua and Ventus, as well as his old master, Eraqus. Hanging around his neck in the form of a necklace is his red Wayfinder that Aqua had given him.

Although most would like to think of him as one, Terra has decided not to don the title of Keyblade Master until he could truly make a difference in the universe.

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Master Aqua stayed behind in the Land of Departure, training three apprentices of her own. Her and Terra still kept in touch pretty often and discussed things concerning their works and what was going on in their personal lives. Despite her late master Eraqus's ways of teaching, Aqua taught her pupils how to use the powers of light and dark hand in hand, teaching them how to traverse the realms of light and darkness if the need should ever arise.

Just as Terra had, she had pictures of her and her friends and her master all along the walls to remind her of the cherished times they've spent together many years ago. Around her neck was her blue Wayfinder, ensuring that hers and Ventus's and Terra's destinies would always be linked.

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Ventus had gone to live on the Destiny Islands. He didn't want to burden Terra or Aqua with the responsibility of taking care of the boy so he had gone to live with Sora, and the two trained and became good friends. The two's hearts warmed up to each other instantly. They were the perfect friends. He wore the green Wayfinder around his neck to remember his two friends. He was able to control the darkness inside of him, Vanitas, perfectly. Vanitas would never escape.

Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie were pretty much the same in terms of where they were in life. Although, some good things have happened. Wakka became the champion of Blitzball, known to everyone on the Islands. Tidus and Selphie had started dating and even moved in together. The three friends were still close.

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And the biggest news of all, as you've seen from my third journal in the final arc of Sora's adventure, is that three people have been brought back! Living in Twilight Town are Roxas, Naminé, and Xion, who were all previously thought to be gone. Roxas and Xion had been freed from Sora's heart, and Naminé from Kairi's. They were now their own separate individuals.

Roxas and Naminé and Xion had made the mysterious mansion their home.

Roxas had gone to visit three old friends of his—well, three friends of his from the data simulation of Twilight Town, that is—and they, believe it or not, somehow could faintly remember him. Hayner, Pence, and Olette welcomed Roxas into their group as if he had been their friend all along and not just in some made-up world. Roxas had seen how different Twilight Town was now after the past few years.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette had started some college courses over at Twilight Community College, and were able to hang out all the time. They were even in the same dorm building! Roxas would have tried to get accepted into it, if he had any school records to begin with. He did get in, however, because someone had pulled the strings. Seifer.

In recent years, not only has Seifer become friends with Hayner's group as well as the champion of the Struggle tournament, but he had also become mayor of Twilight Town. Surprise twist, huh? He let Fuu and Rai take over the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, while Vivi left to pursue his dream of becoming the next Struggle champion. Could he do it?

Setzer sits in the Twilight Town prison because he had let his gambling go too far. As if losing the Struggle tournament was bad enough, now he had a prison record.

Overall, things were pretty good in Twilight Town.

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Whatever happened to Braig? After his defeat alongside Xehanort, he seemed to disappear. They say that Terra caught him lurking in the Outer Gardens of Radiant Garden, and threw him in prison to atone for his terrible deeds done over the years.

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Lea, everyone's favorite flaming haired hero had returned to Radiant Garden…with Isa by his side! I'm not entirely sure what had happened between the two during the final battle, but Isa took Lea's side over Xehanort's and the two would have to patch up things between them. As Isa tried to redeem himself for what he's done, he decides to work as a guard for Terra much like Dilan and Aeleus were.

Lea would still use the corridors of darkness to revisit his old friends. His most frequent stops were Twilight Town and Destiny Islands where he would visit Roxas, Naminé, Xion, and then finally Ventus.

He was made Keyblade Master a few months ago and works hard to make sure that his friends are safe. He would never let them slip through his fingers again.

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Donald and Goofy have been promoted! Instead of being Disney Castle's Court Magician and the Captain of the Royal Knights respectively, they became protectors of the other worlds. Their job is to use their skills to make sure that peace remains in the worlds. The two were an inseparable tag-team.

While they had their own adventures, their King Mickey traveled alongside none other than Riku throughout the Universe, trying to find any other Keybearers that might be hidden throughout the worlds. They would go on adventures to find said Keybearers as well as keeping the balance between dark and light, making sure one would not overpower the other.

While Mickey, Donald, and Goofy would always return to the Castle to their loved ones, Riku would also return to the Islands to see his friends as well. Being a Master himself, he was well connected to Aqua and would go to her if any problems beyond his control would arise. Riku was the one who recruited the three of her apprentices in the first place!

He also journeyed to find and study new worlds he had never seen before as well as returning to previous worlds he'd been to before. He would return to Radiant Garden to see Terra and to tell him of the things he's found in his travels. He kept Terra up to date on how well light and darkness were in balance.

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Kairi was now an expert at wielding a Keyblade as well as utilizing magic that she had learned from Aqua. Although her home was on the Destiny Islands, she would travel to Castle Oblivion which she used as a place to train people how to use and protect their hearts of pure lights. You may be wondering: hearts of pure light? Aren't there only seven of those? The answer's simple.

There were seven other Princesses of Heart discovered by Yen Sid recently and Kairi is making it her goal to teach these seven new Princesses how to wield Keyblades of their own so that they could protect themselves and their pure hearts. Of course she accepted help from Aqua and Riku every now and again, but she figured she was best suited for training them.

She would return to the Destiny Islands often so she could see her closest friend, Sora. Although she had a childhood crush on the boy, she realized that she needed the two of them to stay friends. The best of friendships!

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You've probably been waiting to find out where Sora ended up after all of this. Of course, he's back on the Islands. Every sunset after long days of work, Riku and Kairi would join Sora in watching the beautiful sky. Sora decided not to join either one of them when they left during the day so he could stay back and train Ventus, his own pupil.

Riku tried time and again to make Sora a Keyblade Master, especially after all the boy's been through, but Sora refuses every time. He wants to wait to accept the title, much like Terra does.

Every night before he would return home, Sora would go to the Secret Place to think about how good his life was now after all this Xehanort business had ended. He would occasionally be accompanied by Kairi, and the two would stare at the drawings for what seemed like hours before calling it a night and returning to their homes. After they departed, Sora giving Kairi a quick kiss on the cheek, the two would go home.

One particular night, Sora told me, it was a tad stormy. Instead of giving him a sense of fear as it did on the night of his first departure, the sound of the thunder and the rain soothed him. After one strike of lightning his mother called him down for dinner.

Sora stepped out of bed, took one look outside at the threatening weather, and told the storm, "Not this time." Smiling to himself he left his room, going down for dinner.

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As you can see, everyone is leading new and happy lives. I'll leave you a few words at the end here. Your friends, they are your power. Keep them, cherish them, and never let go of them. Sora didn't, his friends didn't…and now look at where they were now. All is perfect.

This has been the story of the Protectors of the Worlds, and I have been Jiminy Cricket. See ya!

-Jiminy Cricket