Even after years, flying the gummi ship still felt exhilarating to Sora. After more than a decade isolated on islands, the freedom offered by the vastness of space was almost intoxicating. Even at warp, with the ship practically flying itself, he still felt an overwhelming sense of opportunity and choice.
"It's funny," he said to the young man seated to his right. "We can go anywhere, and after all the time we spent trying to get away, all I want is to go home."
Riku, seated in the copilot's seat, smiled nostalgically. "Yeah. I never would have guessed I'd want to come back. I guess we've grown up." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Remember the raft?"
Sora smiled. "How could I forget? We spent months building that thing."
"We?" Riku prompted, opening his eyes to fix Sora with a playful grin. "I did all the work. You just kept falling asleep on the beach."
"Hey! I helped! I found the sail, and all the food." He recalled the days he'd spent gathering the materials. "And besides, I came up with the name."
"Only because you cheated and took the zip line when we raced."
Sora smiled, recalling their competition. One of the many they'd had over the years. "You're just made because I got to it first."
Riku smiled and leaned back again. "Maybe you're right." He put his feet up on the console in front of his chair. "Not that it matters. You got to name this thing anyway," he said, referring to the gummi ship.
Sora smiled. The King had given him the Highwind for his own personal use after the Mark of Mastery Exam, and he'd used it to travel the worlds while he trained. "What, you think you could have come up with a better name?"
"Excalibur," Riku answered without hesitation, re-using the name he'd wanted for the raft all those years ago.
Sora smiled. "That sounds like a challenge."
"You think you can beat me?" Riku prompted, a glint of excitement in his eyes.
"I know I can," Sora said with a determined smirk.
"Fine then," Riku crossed his arms, confident. "A race, just like last time. First one to the star tree and back gets to name the ship."
"Are you two fighting again?" A familiar voice called out from behind them.
The boys turned to see Kairi entering through the open flight deck door.
"Sora here thinks he can take me in a race," Riku replied.
Kairi sighed. "Some things never change." She place a hand on each of their shoulders and smiled. "But I wouldn't want it any different."
After a brief pause Riku turned to Sora with a wicked smile. "You know, Sora, if we really wanted to relive the old days, we could wager something else on the race."
"What's that?" Sora asked, excited to hear the proposal.
"Oh, just a little something we wagered last time. I'm sure you'll remember."
Sora thought back. They'd competed so much, the bets all seemed to run together. He remembered saying he'd be captain if he won, then Riku suggested… He froze. The paupu fruit. With Kairi. Kairi, who was standing right next to him.
Seeing the look on Sora's face, Riku started to laugh.
"What?" Kairi asked, confused. "What is it? What's the bet?"
"Yeah Sora," Riku taunted, "what's the bet?"
Sora could feel heat rising in his face. He stuttered, searching for an answer.
Riku let him suffer for a moment, before jumping to the rescue. "It's nothing, Kairi, just a joke from a long time ago. Don't worry about it."
Kairi fixed them both with a hard stare. "You know I hate being left out."
Sora desperately searched for a way out. Just then, a light began flashing on the dash. "We're coming up on the islands," he said, relieved. He flicked a switch with his right hand, activating the ship's intercom. "Take your seats everyone, and buckle in. We'll be landing in Destiny Islands in five minutes." He turned off the intercom and turned to Kairi. "You too."
She looked like she was going to keep on him about the bet, but then sighed. "We'll talk about this later." She removed her hand and took the seat to Sora's left, buckling herself in.
Within minutes, the Highwind cut its warp drive and entered realspace. The jolt of leaving warp was jarring, but Sora had gotten used to it. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kairi flinch. She'd only been flying for a few months, and only intermittently at that. She reminded him of himself when he'd first set out from Traverse Town with Donald and Goofy. Conversely, Riku had, of course, gotten the hang of gummi travel in a heartbeat. He'd only flown a few times, but he proved to be a natural, much to Sora's irritation.
Sora disengaged the pilot assist, and took direct control of the Highwind as it moved towards the world below.
The world of the Destiny Islands consisted of a vast ocean with a large clump of islands gathered together just above the equator. Sora pointed the ship towards these islands, entering the world's atmosphere. He descended until he was a few thousand meters above the surface, then leveled off. He flew over the islands, looking down at the familiar setting. He decided to put the ship down on the main island, near the beach where they could travel to the play island, but first…
Sora smiled to himself.
He reached for the intercom again. "Everyone buckled in?"
After a moment, a voice Sora recognized as Hayner's responded through the flight deck speakers. "Yeah, why?"
Sora clicked off the intercom and gunned the engines. The Highwind soared out past the shoreline of the big island and over the open ocean.
"Sora, what are you doing," Riku asked, eying his friend with curiosity.
Sora looked at him and smiled.
Then he put the ship into a dive.
The Highwind streaked straight down, cutting through the air at speeds even Sora had never attempted outside of warp. The force of their descent pushed the ships occupants back into their seats. Screams of panic and joy filled the ship's interior.
Sora began to laugh and turned the controls, pitching the ship into a wild aileron roll as it fell. The ocean surface swirled in front of them, nothing but a giant blue field. Only one thing was clear: the field was getting closer very, very fast.
Sora stopped his roll, and at the last possible second, pulled back on the controls. The Highwind strained, trying to break its immense downward momentum. The engines whined, protesting the forces they were fighting. The supports in the ship began to creak, threatening to collapse under the pressure of the maneuver. Then, with painstaking slowness, the ship slowed. The creaking and wailing of the engines died down, and the Highwind pulled out of the dive, mere meters above the surface of the sea.
Sora was laughing with tears in his eyes as he cut the ships speed. He looked to either side at his friends. Riku had remained seated normally, but his hands gripped the armrests of his chair like a vice. His eyes were wide with fear, and a small bead of sweat trickled down his brow. Kairi had raised her arms to cover her face. As the ship slowed, she lowered them and opened her eyes. She turned to Sora, a mixture of panic and anger in her eyes. "You jerk!" She howled, reaching over and smacking him. "Why did you do that?!"
Sora laughed even harder, not trying to hide his mirth. "You should see your faces!" He ducked another one of Kairi's smacks.
Kairi looked at Riku, who hadn't quite regained his cool, then started to chuckle despite herself. Her chuckling devolved into laughter as the adrenaline high subsided. Even Riku joined in after a moment.
Sora piloted the ship towards the shore, and deployed the landing gear. He put the Highwind down high up on the beach, well past the tide line. Once the ship touched down, he cut the engines and unbuckled his seatbelt. He left the flight deck, followed by Kairi and Riku, and the trio went to the passenger quarters to gather their belongings. The quarters had been expanded by Chip and Dale at Sora's request. He'd wanted more space for guests and passengers. What had been two small bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room were now two large bunk rooms with room for six each, a living room with seats for twelve, and two bathrooms. The furniture was all bolted down and came equipped with seatbelts.
As he entered the living room he was met with shouts, some of excitement, but most of fear.
"We made it," Sora declared triumphantly after the initial wave of yelling had died down. His six passengers stood before him scattered throughout the room.
"No kidding," Lea responded with his usual sarcasm. He had gotten out of his seat and was gathering his duffel bag.
"Sora, you are the man!" Hayner shouted excitedly, a wide grin plastered across his face. "That was awesome!" His opinion appeared to be the minority.
"It was not," Olette countered, hands on her hips. "You could have at least warned us first."
Sora blushed at the normally sweet girl's rebuke. "Sorry."
She let out a breath, then smiled. "It's okay. It was a little fun, after all."
"I disagree." Pence was still seated in his chair, breathing heavily.
"Sorry, Pence," Sora said, feeling more than a little bad for having upset the young man.
"Oh, come on Pencie" said the girl next to him. "It wasn't that bad." Rikku, the youngest member of the Gullwings, cuffed Pence on the shoulder playfully. "What do you think, Yunie?" She turned to the young woman next to her.
Yuna, Rikku's leader, crossed her arms. "It was fun," she replied, though her bearing seemed to contradict her opinion. "But Olette was right. A little warning would have been nice.
Sora smiled sheepishly at his gathered friends. He was glad they'd all decided to visit the islands. He'd asked Leon and the rest of the Restoration Committee, but they'd refused, saying they had too much to do already. Paine, the third gullwing had elected to stay with them as well. The Gullwings had become official members of the HRC after Merlin had restored them to their original human sizes.
"Well, what are we waiting for," Kairi asked with a smile. "Let's get this vacation started. She ran into the girls' bedroom and returned with her duffel bag. Everyone else followed suit and followed Kairi to the back of the ship and down the landing ramp onto the beach.
Standing in the sand, Sora looked out over the sea and took in the beautiful familiar sight. The bright afternoon sun made the golden sand almost glow. The blue-green water was clear, and lapped against the shore calmly. The palm trees rustled in a light breeze, casting soft shadows on the ground. The smell of sea spray and the sound of gulls filled the air.
Sora took a deep breath, letting the sensations of his home fill him up.
Riku clapped him on the shoulder. "We're back," he said, somberly.
"Yeah," Sora replied. "It feels weird, knowing we have to leave again."
"Not forever," Kairi said, forcing her way between the boys. She put one arm around each of them. "One day, we'll come home and we won't have to leave."
"Yeah," Sora said, thinking about Xehanort's return and the monumental task ahead of them.
"Hey," Kairi said, seeing his faraway, disheartened look. "We'll make it happen. Together." She squeezed her two best friends tight. "I promise."
Sora felt her and Riku's presence and suddenly felt better. He knew that they, as friends, could do anything. "You're right. I'll stop moping. We're on vacation. We should be having fun."
"Right," Riku said. Then he smiled mischievously. "Speaking of which…"
He stepped around behind Sora and Kairi and put one muscled arm around each of their waists. He lifted them up mightily and took off for the waterline. Before they could react, Riku had carried them knee deep into the ocean. Gathering some power in his legs, he crouched and jumped farther out to sea. Sora and Kairi screamed joyously as the three of them flew a dozen feet before hitting the water in a chaotic splash. Riku let go as they floated and the three friends surfaced separately.
"Oh it is on!" Sora declared with a huge smile while he treaded water. While Riku was shaking water from his hair, Sora swam at him and tackled him, forcing his head under water again. Sora let him up, laughing. Riku broke the surface and smiled before splashing at Sora. Sora ducked under the surface and the splash hit Kairi square in the face.
"Oops," Riku said, grinning.
"Oops is right," Kairi said with mock fierceness. She swam at him. Riku tried to escape, but Kairi had always been the best swimmer of the three. She caught him and dunked him again, laughing. Then Sora caught her in a bear hug and dunked them both. The three friends surfaced again, laughing.
"Hey," Lea shouted from the shore. "Do you three want some alone time, or what?"
Riku looked at Sora and Kairi. "Truce?"
Kairi looked at Sora, then nodded. "For now," she answered teasingly.
The three friends swam until they could stand up, then walked the rest of the way to shore.
"Glad you could get that out of your system," Lea said coolly. "The rest of us normal people are ready to find out where we're staying, if you've got time."
"Sure thing, Lea." Sora said, catching his breath from their excursion. Sora, Riku, and Kairi, all soaked from head to toe, led the group along the beach toward the pier where a road let into town. As they approached the pier, however, three figures left it and began charging across the beach towards them.
"Hey guys!" the lead figure, a young man with bright orange hair called out. The two figures behind him, a young man with blonde hair and a young brunette woman waved.
Sora, Riku and Kairi recognized their old friends and rand forward to meet them.
Sora ran up to Tidus and the two of them shook hands and pulled each other into a bro hug. Selphie ran to Kairi and hugged her tightly, not caring about her wet clothes. Wakka and Riku met and shook hands, both content to avoid a hug. The friends exchanged greetings and then turned to the rest of the Highwind's occupants who'd just caught up.
Introductions were made, and the group of twelve travelled along the beach together. Sora caught Tidus up on his training and what they'd been doing to combat Xehanort. Tidus had taken quite the interest in the conflict, and he'd picked up his practice sword again whenever he had free time. He was determined to protect the islands if the Heartless ever showed up again. Sora appreciated his enthusiasm and had stopped occasionally during his training to teach Tidus some fighting techniques. Hayner joined them, as he was trying to do the same thing for Twilight Town. Kairi, Olette and Selphie all bunched together, talking about the trip and what they planned to do for the next three days. Wakka, Rikku, and Yuna grouped up while Wakka told the girls about the town. Pence followed behind the group, snapping pictures of the beach and trees with his camera. Riku and Lea led the group, content to walk in silence.
The group approached town, and stopped in the main square. They'd decided in advance how to split the room assignments up. Lea would stay with Riku, Hayner and Pence would stay with Sora, and the girls would stay with Kairi. The group split up, agreeing to meet on the beach later for a bonfire and dinner.
Sora approached his house with Hayner and Pence in tow. It still felt strange to go to his house. He'd stopped by during his training, of course, but it still felt odd to be home. Over the years, the Highwind had become his home, and now his house almost felt foreign, a museum showing the life he could never fully go back to.
He arrived at the front door and knocked. He heard a rustling, then the door opened revealing his mother. She looked up at him and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Hi, mom," Sora said, smiling.
His mother smiled back and pulled him into a warm hug. He hugged her back and could feel her trying to fight back her tears. She'd cried constantly since he'd first returned from the Realm of Darkness. Thanks to Namine's spell, she'd forgotten about him for a long time, but once her memory had returned, she'd felt horrible about having forgotten him. When he'd finally returned, she'd held him for what felt like an hour, but he'd appreciated every minute. He'd missed her more than he'd realized, and it still hurt him to come and go like he did. Now that he was coming and going while he trained, she was crying every time he arrived and left. He felt bad putting her through that, but he didn't have much choice.
She eventually released him, and he gestured to the young men behind him. "Mom, these are my friends Hayner and Pence."
The boys waved as they were introduced.
"Guys, this is my mom, Mei."
She hugged each of the boys briefly, then led the group into the house. She directed them to Sora's room, where Sora changed into dry clothes, then they all went back downstairs to talk to Mei.
The three boys talked with Mei for a long time, until the sun began to move towards the horizon.
The clock chimed the time, and Mei stood up. "Well, it looks like you boys should be headed to the beach. Wouldn't want you to be late for your friends." She ushered them to the door. The three boys offered their thanks for the warm welcome, then left the house. As Hayner and Pence made their way to the beach, Sora hung back.
"You guys go ahead," he said. "I forgot something."
He went back into the house and found his mom sitting quietly on the couch. She was crying.
"Hey," he said, not really knowing what to say.
She brushed the tears from her face, embarrassed at having been caught. "What are you doing here? You should be with your friends."
He sat next to her on the couch and took one of her hands in his. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."
She sniffed. "I'm fine, Sora." She put her free hand on his face. "I'm glad you brought friends home. It shows me you're happy."
"Of course I'm happy, mom." He gave an exaggerated smile. "See?"
Mei laughed, but fresh tears appeared in her eyes. "It's just, when you came back, you were so grown up from what I remembered. It was still you, but you didn't seem like the child you were when you disappeared. I think since you came back, I haven't been able to see a little boy. You've been working so hard, sometimes I forget how young you are." She stopped, and wiped a fresh set of tears from her eyes. "But now, you bring your friends home for vacation and I remember the child I lost a few years ago. I remember how young you are and what you're trying to do out there. I remember what you're facing every time you go out, and I think 'No! He's just a child! He's just my baby!' It scares me."
Sora leaned over and pulled his mom into a hug. He could feel her sobbing against him, and he even felt his own eyes beginning to water. "Mom, it's going to be okay. I promise. I'm still your little boy, that will never change. But I'm not just a kid anymore. I'm strong, and I'm not alone. Riku and Kairi are with me, and Donald, Goofy, and the King. Together, we can face anything."
Mei took a deep breath while she held her son. "I know, Sora. I know." She pulled away from him and took his hands in hers. "I know you will be fine, but it's still hard. I think it always will be, but that's what it means to be a mother." She wiped a final set of tears from her eyes. She stood up. "Now, you need to go relax with your friends. I know you've been working hard, so take this time off to relax. Don't worry about me, I feel better already."
Sora followed her to the door. "Thanks for letting me stay here, mom."
She kissed him on the cheek before left. "Any time, dear. Now go have fun."
As he walked to the road from the front door, she called after him. "I love you, Sora."
He turned back to her with a smile. "Love you too, mom."