The Family That Never Was

by Kawaii Overdose

.:Or rather "That Would Be Again":.:kairi.centric:. "You're home." Yes... You're all finally home.

...This was meant to be a drabble, honest...

For lack of anything else to say, I shall initiate the One-Shot Story Skeleton.

Title: The Family That Never Was (Or rather That Would Be Again)
Genre: Family/Hurt/Comfort
Rating: K+
Pairings/Characters: Kairi-centric (but, oh, it's got a bit of everyone)
Warnings: Pro-Kairi-ness, theory-spewing
Notes: ...It was meant to be a drabble and is now a little over 8000 words...
Summary: Sora extended his hand, revealing her "lucky" charm; she grabbed the hand. "You're home." Yes... You're all finally home.

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The Family That Never Was (Or rather That Would Be Again)

The charm was never lucky.

Yes, he certainly had luck; he came back to the island, after all. But who was to say that it was because of a charm made for sailors?

No, it wasn't the charm, with its five pointed sides and adorably familiar face. It was merely the carrying case of the real charm.

Good thing Sora never pulled back on the face, or else he would have found it.

It was an old photo, she mused. It had been folded over many a time over to fit in that small compartment, and wearing showed in the creases. It was so long since she'd seen it and looked upon the smiling faces she once knew so well.

In her own defense, it wasn't her fault she didn't remember. Or rather, she couldn't. After all, if you're seven years old and you wash up on a strange beach far from home, would you remember everything? It was considerably lucky for her that she could remember her own name. And yet, that photo. Who were those people standing around her, and those two men in the middle, holding her hands so lovingly…?

It took time for it all to come back, but it did, slowly but surely. It started with the actions of her new friends; whenever Sora would tell his exaggerated tales to her and Riku would roll his eyes, it reminded her of how that man with the one-lens sunglasses told her about the time when he fought one hundred Heartless and only came out with that scar and the other man with the braided hair would give a smile and a wink that said, "Don't listen to him; he's crazy". (And he was, most of the time.)

Whenever Tidus started to excitedly talk about how much he was improving his sword fighting, she remembered the tall, blonde man with big green eyes, always smiling, even when things didn't turn out as planned, and how happy(er) he seemed when he made progress in an experiment. (He was one of the funny ones in the bunch, she recalled. She had liked him a lot.)

Whenever she caught sight of Selphie staring out into the sea, it reminded her of the giant man with strange curly hair and ice blue eyes, and that, no matter how tough he looked and no matter how cold his eyes seemed, he was really just a big soft teddy bear of a man when the two stayed up late to watch the sunrise. (He even took care of her when she was sick once. He was a big sweetheart.)

And whenever Wakka tried to teach her how to play blitzball (and fail horribly), she remembered how that one boy whose eyes she rarely saw through his hair tried to explain to her his research (he had better luck what that than with Wakka and blitzball, that was for sure.)

Of course, their names didn't came back, but, possibly even more importantly, there was the matter of the last two men, the ones she could remember nothing about, and yet in the photo she seemed so happy to stand between. Why could she not remember them? The tan skin and silver hair of one, the blonde beard of the other, and their identical glowing orange eyes; surely, she should have remembered them first!

And yet, the memories lost would not return to her for another seven years.

At the beginning of six of those seven years, one name resurfaced, and suddenly she was filled with the memories of those two men. She remembered how the bearded one would always buy her ice-cream when she asked and let her explore a library (whose location was also vague), and how the tan man would always take her into the town (whose name she couldn't put her finger on), leading her by the hand or carrying her on his shoulders.

She spent a good deal of her time contemplating them, as well as the other five men; there wasn't really much else she could do, being at the time a mere ragdoll with only a slight grasp of the events taking place around her. But again, she couldn't give either of them that name; it seemed that it made her think of them both at the same time.

At the end of six of those seven years, her memory took another toll, as did everyone else's around her. Riku was still there, with his oh-so-cool attitude, but the other boy… the one she gave her "lucky" charm to… where was he?

But more importantly… who was he?

He was important if he had her charm, her only link to her first life. She knew he was real; she'd held his hand, cried for him, she knew she had. The others were not so sure. They didn't have that special connection; that little star in both his hand and on the wall wasn't theirs to share with him. They told her to forget him, that he was made up, to worry more about her silver-haired friend who suddenly wasn't there anymore.

She didn't.

And then, at the beginning of seven years, the voice came.

"Naminé?"

She felt light headed.

"Naminé…? What's happening to me?"

"Who are you? And that's not my name. I'm Kairi."

"Kairi… I know you. You're that girl he likes."

Her heart jumped. That voice was a beacon of light to her.

"Who?"

He didn't respond.

"Please, a name!"

"I'm Roxas."

"Okay, Roxas, but can you tell me his name?"

A new voice entered.

"You don't remember my name? Thanks a lot, Kairi!"

It was him; somehow, she knew.

"O-kay, I guess I can give you a hint. Starts with an "S"!"

That was all she needed to remember Sora.

She counted the days in school; the time between when she sent the message in the bottle to the time it took till he responded. It may have been a mere days or weeks, but still, they passed like eternities. She found herself staring out at the island every day, until finally, she decided…

"Maybe… waiting isn't good enough."

She never expected a response.

"My thoughts exactly! If you have a dream, don't wait. Act. One of life's little rules. Got it memorized?"

A shock of red hair erupted out of a pool of darkness, belonging to a man. Instinctively, she knew; she knew that, albeit the black coat was a symbol of evil, it was also the symbol of memories, the symbol of the boy she forgot.

"Who are you?"

"Axel."

For some reason, the voice of the mysterious Roxas flitted through her mind at the sound of his name.

"I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora's."

A charcoal gloved hand extended to her.

"Why don't we go see him?"

"…Sora?"

This, too, she knew. She heard his words, and though they seemed honest and helpful, she could not unnerve herself from the dangerous undertone. He isn't lying, she thought, but he's not telling the truth, either. And yet, she could not help but feel that the hand Axel offered was her only chance…

A bark from her other side snapped her back to reality. That dog –skinny, yellow-orange, and barking enthusiastically for her, saved her, at least for the moment. He spun in a circle for her, happy to see her, but then jumped and growled. The white husks were there, and, she saw, they were there for Axel's sake.

A whistle, sounding off just as mysteriously as the bark, came behind her, and another dark entryway opened, black wisps breaking off and disintegrating on the sand. Unlike the first one, this one seemed… safe. At least, that's what she gathered when the dog ran to it, barking, waiting for her to come with him.

Of course, the man in black wasn't going to give up that easily.

"We've got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about."

This was true. She could feel it. Roxas again returned to her mind. It couldn't have been him Axel was talking about… could it? No, it was. It had to be. There was no other explanation for why that boy came back to her. Was Roxas to him like Sora was to her…?

"Hey… I feel like we're friends already."

Maybe they could have been friends, she now mused. Maybe not. But she couldn't risk being a pawn. She had had enough of that.

She ran through the darkness.

"You're not acting very friendly!"

Then it was her and the dog –Pluto, said his collar, surrounded by a blue, red, and golden abyss. No, she certainly hadn't expected a passage way of darkness to look like this. There was no beginning and no end, and a strange symbol flitted each way. That symbol, too, was familiar, but then… why? Why did the men in the photo come to mind?

"Hey, what is this place?"

And yet again came the whistle, and with it, another portal. But was the bell made of red light really darkness? She wasn't exactly sure, but anything was better than staying where Axel could find her. Pluto ran in first, and she followed in suit. But before the light engulfed her completely, she turned back.

Black leather stood behind her.

It wasn't Axel; he wasn't skinny enough for it to be. Yet, she knew him… at least his presence. But it made no sense. She must have been mistaken. After all… what possible reason could Riku have for wanting to look like Axel?

Then the light engulfed her.

"You okay?"

The landing wasn't pleasant, but she forced herself to sit up, groaning slightly as she did. Her hands felt around the cement as her eyes stopped spinning. This was not Destiny Islands.

"What…?"

She looked to her rescuers; a blonde boy, a black haired boy with a headband, and a brunette sat around her, Pluto panting happily beside; again, Roxas was front and center in her head.

"You and that dog came flying out of a hole in the wall. You nearly gave us heart attacks!"

Oh yeah. This was definitely not Destiny Islands.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette; they introduced themselves as that. Though she was not one of their own, those three welcomed her with open arms, and somehow, she felt as though she was filling a void left empty for unknown reasons.

She told them her story. She never expected they knew Sora as well.

"What a romantic story!"

"If you stick around, Sora's bound to show up."

"Yeah, he said he's coming back."

Finally –finally!

"Okay!"

She was making progress. Soon she would see him again. Sure, Riku may not have been home yet, but together, she was sure that they could find him.

Of course, things never go as planned.

"What took you so long, Kairi?"

It was Axel. Again.

Darkness flowed throughout the wall, and out came the fire cascade.

"Somehow I just knew you'd be here."

He didn't sound angry or surprised. Rather… he sounded disgusted. He glanced past her to the others, his eyes narrowing; she didn't need to be told that Roxas had something to do with it.

"I tell ya, Kairi, you've got a lot of guts, jumping right into the darkness like that."

He slowly started advancing. Hayner and Pence went charging, fists in the air, but Axel merely shoved them aside and grabbed her wrist, dragging her towards the inky abyss. Olette tried to free her, as did she, but it was too late; those two were already at the portal. Pluto ran in after them.

"Let go of me! Let go!"

Though her cries fell on deaf ears, Axel looked back at her. His bright green eyes stared into her blue ones. His were sad, filled with past memories and desperate to continue living in those memories.

For a moment, she was glad she couldn't remember hers.

His eyes went on, saying, "I'm sorry, really, I am, but it's the only way. But hey, at least you'll get your wish. So for both our sakes, you gotta meet up with him again. Got it memorized?"

He may not have known he said that, even when he faded, but she did have it memorized.

After that it was a blur; a blur of black and white, of looming skyscrapers and castles, of Heartless and Nobodies, and of that ominous moon in the sky and the thousands upon thousands of tiny hearts flying up to it. Was it really Kingdom Hearts? She didn't exactly remember seeing its shape, so she couldn't be sure.

But of course, it wasn't like she could really ask. She was their prisoner, after all. They had placed her and Pluto in their dungeon. The poor little guy. He shouldn't have had to be here for this. She scratched his ear comfortingly; right now, they were all the other had.

He perked his head up; someone was approaching. She stood up and ran towards her cage door.

Another man in black stood before her; tall, blue hair, two scars crossing over his solemn, deadpan face. She stared at him.

"What are you going to do with us?"

He was silent for a moment.

"You're the fire that feeds Sora's anger."

And then he walked away, leaving her to absorb her regained position as a pawn.

"No…"

She didn't see Pluto examining the new rip of darkness in her cell.

"Sora's in danger because of me…"

Then Pluto barked.

She turned around; out of the darkness was a contrast of white. A blonde girl in white stood in the wall, far in the back, as to not be seen by others.

"This way!"

She was wary.

"Who-?"

The girl gave out her hand and ushered her over.

"Believe in yourself. C'mon, hurry!"

The girl's voice was getting louder; she was afraid they'd be caught soon. Her blue eyes seemed far too familiar to her, but she found she didn't care.

And as she took the girl's hand and saw the light between them, she knew that trusting herself was the right choice.

They ran out of the cell, hand in hand, their heels clicking loudly on the castle's metal floors, Pluto at their heels. The girl explained the situation; Organization XIII, the Nobodies, Sora, Roxas, Axel, and all else that she was able to.

And, honestly… none of it at all surprised her. She had longed guessed the connection between Roxas and Axel, why Sora was there, and, even though she never said it, maybe even why she and the girl had such a strange yet nostalgic connection, and even why the blonde's image was slowly distorting as they ran.

No, the thing that surprised her the most was the images of the men in the photograph again.

They were here; maybe they weren't all here now, but they were at some point. She just… she just knew. She felt the faint prescence of the blonde haired man and the young boy, discussing the new stronghold; the threats aimed at Axel by the man with braided hair; the man with the strange sunglasses showing new recruits around; the man with curly hair standing atop the altar, staring out at the moon…

But where was the silver haired and the bearded ones?

They came to a stop. The blue haired man from before was waiting for them.

"Naminé… There you are."

She looked at the blonde; this was who Roxas talked about…?

"Naminé…?"

The blonde just stared onward; the blue haired man continued.

"Kairi. I'm afraid leaving is not an option."

He extended his hand; that was the third time.

"I'll take you to see Sora."

Unlike Axel, whose ulterior motives were still reasonable and not purposefully hurtful, this one intended harm.

She backed away.

"You don't want that?"

She brought her hand to her heart.

"I do. More than anything."

She raised her arms, hands balled into fists, ready to fight her way through even though she knew she couldn't win. Naminé followed her lead.

"But not with you around."

The man smirked.

"If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter."

A small ping brought his attention behind him. One of the Nobodies at his side fell, revealing another man in black.

But it was not one of him; that was universal knowledge.

"You… Didn't Roxas take care of you?"

Naminé let down her guard, smiling approvingly.

"You can take it from here, Riku."

She jumped.

"Riku?!"

She looked back; the sword in the other's hand was one she knew well. She had a feeling it was him back in the tunnel…

The second man shot something at the blue haired one; was it darkness? Light? She couldn't be sure, but in a matter of seconds, the blue haired man was against the wall. He had an upper hand, though; the darkness swallowed him by his hand, and the second man prepared to follow.

"Wait!"

He had to wait, she thought. He had to.

Pluto followed her lead; he ran up to the man, barking excitedly, happy to see him again. As the dog moved towards him, he backed up; farther and farther away from the portal.

She would have to remember to buy Pluto some dog biscuits later.

The man looked to her and she slowly walked to him, afraid he might run away again. But he didn't; he knew he had been caught.

"Riku… you're really here…"

She pulled down the hood and faced her long-lost friend once more.

True, it wasn't his face, and it was a face she'd rather not have to see again. But it didn't matter; she knew it was him. Two-thirds of the Destiny Island Trio was back together.

Now for Sora.

It must have been sheer luck that they came to that door at the right time, but once she heard the blue haired man address Sora, she ran to the balcony.

There he was, just as she remembered, not a spike out of place. He was surrounded by Heartless, Keyblade in hand and his friends by his side. Her heart filled with joy.

"Sora!"

He looked up.

"Sora! It's really you!"

He jumped up, his silly happy, lovely grin back up on his face.

"Kairi!"

Then he was tackled by the dark soldiers.

"You leave Sora alone!"

She ran back a few feet, then jumped off the edge.

In retrospect, that was never exactly her smartest modus operandi, but she found didn't care. Her dear, dear friend was in trouble, after all. It was no time for thinking. She landed perfectly on her feet, but was soon surrounded; the Heartless wanted a second taste of the Seventh Princess.

They were on her in an instant.

"Sora-!"

The Heartless dissipated in one swoop; Riku pulled her up, handing her a new blade.

"Take it."

It was golden and adorned with flowers at the edge, sprouting like a fountain near the hilt. A small star rested at the end of the small chain at the end. Fitting, she thought.

"This time, I'll fight. You know Sora's completely hopeless without us!"

She looked to her friend.

"C'mon, Riku!"

The Heartless never stood a chance.

Slowly but surely, they worked their way down to Sora and, as she had expected, he was completely hopeless -for the moment, at least. The darkness was again pushing him to the ground.

She was only vaguely aware of what he said during the fight until that bullet hit the ground.

"Have you been a good boy?"

"Show yourself!"

She looked the new voice, as did Sora and Riku. There, standing atop another balcony, was yet another man in black. But this one was different. The scar and patch over his right eye proved it.

She knew him.

He was one of the men in the photo.

Their names came rushing back, one by one by one.

…Ienzo…

…Aeleus…

…Even…

…Dilan…

…Braig…

Braig… Braig…

He was Braig.

It was Braig. It was Braig!

Braig –or at least, Braig's remnant- shook his head.

"Oh, it sounds like you haven't. Sora! Roxas!"

Sora was confused.

"Roxas? Did he just call me Roxas?"

Yes, that was indeed her Sora. He must not have been told.

"You've really put Organization XIII in a pickle. I guess that must be why the Keyblade chose you. But man, did it pick a dud this time. You don't look like you're half the hero the others were."

"Are you done rambling?"

She saw where the conversation was going, and she began to plead with her old uncle-figure in her mind. No, no Braig, please no. Not this, please…

"Rambling? As if! All I'm trying to tell you, traitor, is that your time is up!"

Please don't make Sora do this…

Of course, she knew Sora had done it before, and he was ready and willing to do it again.

And of course, he did.

Braig -or at least Braig's remnant- fell to one knee. The sniper fell from his hand.

"Why did you call me Roxas?"

He was, strangely to Sora, still smiling, laughing even. Not at all surprising to her though; he had always been a smiley one, even in death, she supposed. He had a penchant for riddles, too.

"Wouldn't you like to know…"

And then Braig –or at least his remnant- was gone.

She never hated Sora for that, or for any of the other deaths that came before or were to follow. She just… she just wished he had known them before all this, when they didn't speak in such depressing metaphors and analogies and riddles. They were a much happier crew back then.

Of course, she wished she could remember them better herself.

Xigbar –for that was the name of Braig's remnant, she found out later on- was the last surviving member of those five.

So again, what about the first two?

"Kairi, you were great!"

"Oh?"

That's right. She couldn't focus on that right now.

She and her friend approached each other. Oh, how strange it felt, after nearly two years of absence! The gap in between them showed it.

"You are different, Kairi, but I'm just glad you're here!"

But as different as they were, they were still friends. Still family.

"You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you."

Sora looked away. Don't look like that, she thought. It doesn't matter now. You're here.

"I'm sorry."

She embraced him without another word, efficiently destroying the gap.

"This is real…"

It was real. He was there. She was there. He was in her arms.

And, apparently, that was all Riku needed to see.

"Wait, Ansem! I mean, Xehanort's Heartless… I never thought for a second that I'd ever see you again."

He let go of her to see the Heartless man he thought he destroyed try to walk away. She couldn't believe him; couldn't he see it was Riku…?

"Just thinking about all the things you did makes me really mad."

Riku must have been lapping in his words like a starving dog.

"But… You saved Kairi, right? I have to be grateful for that… Thanks."

And, as she had expected, the moment Riku was thanked, he began to walk away.

She ran to him, pulling on his sleeve. He had to stay, he just had to…

"Riku, don't go!"

Because if he did, she didn't know what she'd do. She had already lost so much of her family, if she ever even had one to begin with; she just couldn't risk it anymore.

"Huh?"

"Kairi, what did you just say?"

She looked back to Sora; he truly couldn't see it.

"Riku."

Said Riku tried once more to leave.

"I'm no one –just a castaway from the darkness."

Come on, Sora, she thought. You have to see it now. Our Riku is the only one who could whine like that…

"Sora, come here. Say something to him."

He came over, slowly, reluctantly, trying to fit together the pieces his friends left behind. She saw this, and took hold of his hand, placing it on top of Riku's.

"Here. You'll understand. Close your eyes."

He did as she said, and understand he did.

"Riku… It's Riku. Riku's here…"

And as Sora fell to his knees, crying, clutching to his friend's hand, she knew their tiny, patch-worked family was together again.

They left soon after, working their way up to meet with DiZ, or as Riku had corrected himself, Ansem the Wise. Again, memories of those men came back. She saw images of the first five, passing her in the halls with papers stacked to their chins, always giving her a "hello" and a smile before retreating into a room at the far end.

She recalled entering that same room herself many a time. Inside sat those two men holding her hand at a desk, working on some experiment in some language she could never hope to understand. But whenever she walked in, they stopped what they were doing and took her in with open arms…

Alright, seriously. This was becoming annoying. Their faces would have been clear as day, if she could just get a name for them…

The group soon encountered a hidden room; a gravesite it seemed. The markers left behind depicted those who had become nothing instead of nobody. Strangely appropriate, she thought, passing by the tomb of one Melodious Nocturne. She had seen him a few times; he'd brought her down food, talked with her, and even played to her on his instrument to try and raise her spirits. He was a sweet one, he was; she would have to remember to bring flowers for him as well when she would come again for the others, if she could ever come back here.

Through the gravesite they entered two more rooms, and in those rooms the last two Nobodies fell; the blue haired man in one, and a bearded man in the other. But it wasn't her bearded man, she thought solemnly; she didn't recall hers ever having something to do with cards, but she felt a pang of likeliness with the blue haired man, even if he did keep her prisoner. It was when had had begun to fade; grappling at his chest, he reached his hand out to the moon.

"Why… Kingdom Hearts… Where is my heart?"

Just like her, Kingdom Hearts never answered him, and he, too, returned to the darkness from whence he came.

However, for her, it would soon not remain so.

It seemed that when all twelve odds were met, the true battle began. A door appeared in the middle of the gravesite; the door that led to the poor lost leader of these poor lost souls. But before that, they were met with a… predicament.

"Ansem! The machine!"

"Run, my friend! It's going to self-destruct, and anything could happen!"

"But…"

"Your Majesty!"

They ran up those stairs as fast as they could; there, at the top, stood King Mickey, looking strangely helpless. And, next to the shaking machine that shot out at Kingdom Hearts, was the bearded man from her memories.

His name was Ansem; it was the only thing that made sense.

But why could she still not remember him?

"Sora, the rest is up to you… And Roxas- I doubt you can hear me- but… I am sorry."

His Majesty jumped.

"Ansem!"

"My heart is telling me what to do. Please allow me to do what it says!"

"No!"

Riku held the King back.

"Riku!"

"His heart's decided. We can't change that."

And amidst all of this, the leader of Organization XIII joined them.

"I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts. And look- here you all are. How convenient for me."

He gestured to their group, and she saw his face. But it was not for the first time. She had seen his face many a time before; in the photo, standing beside Ansem and holding her tiny hand.

But why could she still not remember him?

"Ansem the Wise… You look pathetic."

"Have your laugh. I deserve as much for failing to see you for the fool you are."

No, don't say that, she heard herself say in her heart, because she just couldn't speak. Please don't say that, stay happy, please…

"Students do take after their teachers. Only a fool would be your apprentice. After all, none of this would have happened without you."

Her mind suddenly raced with images; yelling and cursing, books being thrown, beakers and glass objects hitting the floor, six men standing at a computer, unlocking a secret entrance, and the scared little girl caught in the midst of it all…

"You are the source of all Heartless. It was your research that inspired me to go further than you ever dared."

"I admit… my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one. But what were you seeking? You erased me from the world, only to take my name and continue research better left forgotten… Is this the answer you've been looking for?"

"All that and more. I'm carrying on what you yourself began, and I'm creating a brand new world, one heart at a time. I thought you'd praise me, but all you ever do is hold me back."

She remembered hearing that amongst the swearing and screaming.

The Nobody gave a slight bow.

"I understand, though. Unlike me, you have heart. And you're powerless to control it. Consumed, by the jealousy you feel toward the student who surpassed you."

Ansem was silent.

"Xehanort. Foolish apprentice of a foolish man."

She held her breath, feeling her eyes widen.

…Xehanort…?

"You have surpassed nothing- only proved how little we both know."

Apprentice…?

"We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We're both ignorant- as oblivious as when we began. I'm afraid that any world you try to create… Any world of yours… would be an empire of ignorance."

When they began…? Ignorance…?

"That is why you and your creation are destined to fall!"

Ansem returned to the machine; it was shaking more violently now.

"We've said enough!"

No, don't stop, she thought, though she didn't know where that thought came from. I was so close to knowing who you are…

"Riku, you know what to do!"

Riku nodded.

"King Mickey, my friend, forgive me!"

A light burst from the machine.

"Farewell!"

They braced themselves for impact. Riku held Sora and the others back, while she grabbed King Mickey's arm; it was all she could do from running into the fray herself. He has to do this, she told herself, he has to do this… so why did she suddenly want to cry?

The explosion, despite being named such a thing, was quite silent in the eye of the storm. All she could recall before falling to the ground was the intense light, the sea of hearts raining down and the lesser Nobodies grappling at them, the familiar sensation of Heartless approaching, Ansem the Wise disappearing with his machine, and her forcing back sobs.

No matter how joyful she was when she saw Riku –actually saw him, and not the Heartless man- again and that he had finally forgiven himself (alright, maybe not entirely), she couldn't grasp the situation. Ansem the Wise was gone, yes- she had seen it with her own eyes, but…

Ienzo was gone.

Aeleus was gone.

Even was gone.

Dilan was gone.

Braig was gone.

Ansem… was gone…

And now… only Xehan… Xemnas remained.

"What should we do, Riku?"

"We must defeat Xemnas. He's the Organization's last survivor."

"Right!"

Right…because… he had to be stopped… of… of course…

As they ventured further up, she did her best to ignore the pangs in her heart, sounding off like a child's voice, "No… No… why…?"

The darkness came through every corner on their way up, and even though those two who controlled it the previous year were there to help, it was still an impeccably difficult journey. Xehan- Xemnas, she told her heart, his name is Xemnas, had taken every measure to stop them from getting to him. But, they were the heroes, she thought bitterly. They had to get to him. And they did.

"Ohh… my Kingdom Hearts… ruined."

The giant crater in the moon did indeed look painful.

"Now I'll have to start all over again. Warriors of the Keyblade!"

For of course he knew they would come.

"Go forth, and bring me more hearts!"

"No!"

"Please put the Keyblade away… please…" begged the child's voice in her heart.

"Denizen's of light, answer this: Why do you hate the darkness?"

She couldn't answer him; she just didn't know. She never really hated it, after all.

"Aw, we don't hate it. It's just kinda… scary."

Truth be told, she'd never exactly been afraid of it either, but she didn't say that aloud.

"But the world's made of light and darkness. You can't have one without the other, 'cause darkness it half of everything."

His Majesty looked away; in shame or confusion, she'd never know.

"Sorta makes ya wonder why we're scared of the dark."

"It's because of who's lurking inside it."

The little voice kept talking. "Don't talk to him like that, Riku, it's not his fault…"

"Then allow me another question. You accept the darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark- never given a choice?"

"I never hated you…" Why wouldn't her heart be still?

"That's simple."

"No it's not, Riku!"

"It's because you mess up our worlds."

"That's not true!"

"That may be…"

"No! Don't listen to him! He's crazy!"

"However, what other choice might we have had?"

"Yeah! You tell 'em!"

"Just give it a rest!"

"Sora, not you, too!"

"You're Nobodies! You don't even exist!"

"Yes he does! You don't know what you're saying!" The voice was crying, now, growing ever louder.

"You're not sad about anything!"

The voice screamed. "Neither are you!"

Xehan- Xemnas, his name is Xemnas, laughed.

"Very good. You don't miss a thing. I can not feel- sorrow… No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist."

For some reason, as the voice in her heart broke down in sobs, she felt that his words were directed at her in particular.

She blinked for only a moment after that, trying to calm down her fast beating heart, when suddenly Sora wasn't there anymore.

"Sora! Where are you?"

"Sora, answer me!"

She blinked again, and there he was.

"You're okay!"

"Where's Xemnas?"

Of course. The first thing he asks after he falls out of the sky is where the bad guy is.

"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts!"

Oh, there he was. Up in the sky. Naturally. Where else would he be?

"It seems we must begin anew. Ah, but know this: I will give to you as may hearts as it takes."

She didn't doubt him; whenever something touched his heart, he never did let it go so easily, if at all.

"Mark my words! You can no more be complete without me than I without you."

There was a time when that wasn't true; the little voice told her so.

"Heed me, Kingdom Hearts! Lend me your power, so that we may be complete! The power to erase the fools that hinder us."

No…

"Xemnas! No!"

Don't…

"Hearts quivering with hatred…"

"Xemnas! Don't!"

Please…

"Hearts burning with rage…"

"You'll never win!"

Not this…

"Hearts scarred by envy…"

NoDon'tPleaseNotthisNoDon'tPleaseNotthisNoDon'tPleaseNotthisNoDon'tPleaseNotthisNoDon'tPleaseNotthisbrother!

…Brother…?

"That fool Ansem said the hearts true nature was beyond his understanding. But it's not beyond mine!"

…Xehanort…?

"Hearts are the source of all power!"

…Ansem…?

…Fa-

Light filled her vision. It would figure that the moment she found the truth she was pulled away.

Xehanort was gone. She didn't even bother trying to correct her heart.

"Xemnas! You can't hide from us!"

It was all she could do not to correct Sora.

"We're not gonna let him get away now!"

King Mickey looked at her for a moment; he seemed… saddened for her, as though he knew what she was thinking. But before he could say more…

"Look at that!"

Her hand and mouth moved on their own. In the middle of their view was a door. It wasn't the Door to Light, at least not the one Sora had seen. But she knew. She knew Kingdom Hearts put those symbols on the door because Nobodies, as well as Heartless, Keybarers, and normal people alike were all the reason it existed. She pitied the poor moon.

"Let's go. Xemnas must be inside."

Where else would he be?

"The worlds gave us this doorway. They want us to be the guardians of their destiny!"

A part of her thought Xehan-Xemn-Broth-whoever he was had given them the door as well. Maybe he wanted her to see him now as he was, heartless and all. Maybe even give him rest…

"Once we go through there's no turning back. It's victory… or oblivion."

That was true for both sides of the coin. She just wished it wasn't so.

Her friends pointed their blades at the door; it opened for their light.

"Get ready, Xemnas! It all ends here!"

…But why?

The inside of Kingdom Hearts didn't differ much from the city. Perhaps it made itself that way for the sake of the Nobodies. Far ahead, Xemnas stood ready for his final battle.

"So… it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration. Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to ones heart. I will have to be sure to remember that."

She heard this, just as much as Sora and Riku did, but heard it as this in her heart:

"My… how much you've grown, Kairi. Your heart always was pure. You truly are the Seventh Princess."

Xemnas…

Xehanort…

B… Big brother!

One of the buildings next to them fell, and they all ran back to the door. As soon as she and His Majesty were through, it closed behind them. Is this your doing, Kingdom Hearts, she asked, or is it yours, brother?

But it seemed to be that Kingdom Hearts was not behind it when she and the King found their way back to the others. She assumed that Xemnas had done his best to keep them out of his death; the only people in the group who knew him as he was, once long ago. Because right now, with death beside him, he did his best to not let the truth slip out.

"I need… more rage… I need more… hearts…"

"Xemnas."

Sora?

"There's more to a heart than just anger or hate. It's full of all kinds of feelings. Don't you remember?"

Do you remember, big brother?"

"Unfortunately…"

He looked at her, and, emotionless or not, it was sadly.

"I don't."

"Forgive me, Kairi."

And he faded away.

She did her best to appear happy, and it was good enough for Sora; he'd gone off to check on Riku. She was thankful; she didn't want to talk about it, not right now, not to him.

"Kairi?"

It was His Majesty.

"Uh… yes?"

"Are you… alright?"

"Huh? A-About what?"

"You remember, right? Xehanort…"

He was concerned. He was just as saddened by the situation as she was.

More importantly, he knew.

"…I don't know."

It was the truth.

"I see…"

So it was decided.

"Welp! I'll tell ya what. When you're all settled back home, I'll take ya to Radiant Garden. For old time's sake."

He gave her his best smile.

"How's that sound?"

She paused for a moment, then smiled back.

"I'd like that."

The ground shook; they all ran to Sora and Riku.

"Hurry!"

"I'll open a path."

But when Riku raised his hand, nothing happened. It seemed strange to him. Silly Riku.

"You're not a part of the dark realm anymore, Riku."

"How do we get out of here, Your Majesty?"

While King Mickey thought, Sora and Kairi were called a few ways back.

There, smiling, was Naminé. With a flick of her finger, the dark entryway opened. She faded away a moment later when the other ran to it.

"Who did this?"

"Welp, I'm not sure. But we better hurry and get through."

Pluto (where had he been all this time?) was the first to run through, followed by Goofy, then Mickey, and then Donald, but the three of them stayed behind. The witch in white appeared once more. She smiled.

"Thank you, Naminé."

"Sure."

Naminé looked to Sora.

"See? We meet again, like we promised."

"Huh?"

A new voice entered; it was the voice of the boy who was gone for most of this journey but still there at the same time.

"You said we'd meet again, but when we did, we might not recognize each other."

Roxas walked out of the shocked Sora's body, smiling. Naminé looked at him; they were cute together, she thought.

"I did, didn't I?"

"But I knew you."

"Mmm… it's strange."

"I think I understand. I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you."

"I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness…"

"Yeah, but you and I didn't. We got to meet our original selves."

"So, we can be together again!"

Roxas moved to her side; he seemed so much at ease now.

"Right. Anytime Sora and Kairi are together."

They smiled at her; they must have had the same thought about her and Sora that she had about them.

No harm in proving them right.

"We'll be together everyday. Right, Sora?"

"Uh… yeah!"

Again, their others smiled approvingly, and she extended her hand to Naminé. She had had enough of people giving her their hands on this adventure, thank you very much. Naminé stepped forward and took it; golden white light shimmered around her, and with that final shared smile, the two girls were one once more.

"Look sharp!"

There was laughter in Roxas' voice. She was glad. He had sounded so serious and confused before. But now he wasn't. In a blue light all his own, Roxas was a part of Sora again. The boy looked at his hands; did that really just…?

"Don't worry. You're all still you."

She wasn't worried about that, but thanks anyway, Riku.

"Hey, let's go home!"

Because, quite frankly, it was about time.

It didn't take a genius to be able to tell that they had all experienced more tragedies than should be allowed of people their age, and they had been kept apart longer than should be allowed, but fate would bring about one more tragedy. As Sora and Riku approached the darkness, it started to disappear.

"Sora! Riku!"

When they were coming out of sight, the last hidden words of the last Nobody, Ansem the Wise's most promising apprentice, her dearest big brother (even if not by blood), returned to her mind.

"Forgive me, Kairi."

And then she was the only one of them who made it home.

Again, waiting for them felt like an eternity, despite only being a few hours. She'd spent many a day waiting by the shore until sunset, hoping, praying, wishing… wishing they'd jump out from a bush behind her and laugh, like they were just playing a joke on her.

But of course, they weren't.

This was real, she told herself over and over again. They were fighting. The fighting wouldn't end. The darkness and the light would just keep to themselves for a while before one tried to overpower the other.

Maybe that was why the Keyblade existed; to regulate the powers that be for a relatively peaceful coexistence. Darkness and light had to abide by each other, like it or not.

But still, she asked bitterly, what about nothing? Where did that fit in?

No, no, no more of that "nothing" and "Nobody" business. It just wasn't true. And even if it was (which is wasn't) she would hear no more of it. From now on, they were… Twilights. Yes, Twilights. Not on one side or the other. She liked the sound of that.

So where did the Twilights fit in? Did they exist? Yes, they most certainly did. In her memories, and the memories of the family that they left behind. And so, she decided, as one of those memory holders, it was her duty, maybe even her destiny as a Princess of Heart, to find the family of Organization XIII. It wasn't fair that she was the only one to know what happened to them.

Pleased with her new resolve, she looked back to the ocean, sparkling in the dimming orange light. Demyx –for that was the name of the Twilight that had been so kind to her before- would have loved it here. Where ever his family was, she'd be sure to bring them here one day.

And then they came home.

She wasn't surprised to see them falling from the sky; she'd always expected things like that from those two, but rather she was shocked that they came the moment she'd resolved. It went to show, she thought, that they all were truly connected; when one resonated, in light or darkness, the others responded. She felt her legs go weak; waving was all she could do not to fall over into the sea.

They swam towards her, and King Mickey and the others ran to them. Sora was immediately tackled to the ground by his friends; oh, they had grown so close over the years. Riku merely picked His Majesty up and threw him up in the air; it was the King's own fault for being so small.

Sora looked to her, and smiled.

"W-We're back."

Naminé saw Roxas, yes, but Kairi saw much more than that in his smile.

She saw Nelera's love of children.

She saw Alumari's strong sense of justice.

She felt Rulod's upholding of the rules.

She heard Edym sing in joy.

She felt Lea's burning passion for helping others.

She understood Asi's will to fight.

She saw Ienzo's approving blue eyes.

She saw Aeleus' kindness.

She heard Even's laughter.

She saw her world's view change on Dilan's shoulders.

She heard Braig tell his insane stories.

And –most importantly, she felt Father's and Big Brother's love for her.

Sora extended his hand, revealing her "lucky" charm; she grabbed the hand.

"You're home."

Yes… You're all finally home.