For once, things were quiet in Radiant Garden even as the locals continued their efforts to restore their town to the City of Light it had once been over a decade ago. Much to his embarrassment, Sora found himself taking the back streets and ducking behind walls and piles of construction materials in order to avoid Leon and the others. While he would have been happy to catch up with them another time, he had a more important matter to attend to. He continued on and made his way toward the castle.

"Hey, Lea!" he called out as the black-garbed young man came down the steps near the castle's main gate. He looked up curiously and returned Sora's wave as the boy hurried over.

"Hey, Sora," Lea replied with a confident smile. "You okay to be traveling? I thought Yen Sid was keeping you under watch."

"Just because I failed the exam doesn't mean I'm totally useless!" Sora argued. "But he said-" he paused, and Lea stared at him quizzically. "Well, he said there's a Heartless threat that I need to take care of, but he wanted me to have some backup, you know? And since Riku is busy and Kairi's barely started training, he told me to come find you." Lea shrugged and scratched the back of his head.

"That right?" he sighed. "Sure, okay. I guess I could use the exercise. Not gonna get anywhere if I don't practice, especially against Xehanort."

"Right," Sora nodded. "Anyway, we should get moving." Lea nodded as well and raised his hand, but Sora stopped him before he could summon the Dark Corridor. "Hey, hey, we'll take the Gummi Ship!"

"That clunker?" Lea snorted with a grin. "But it's so sloooooooow."

"Maybe, but Yen Sid would throttle me if I put myself anywhere near the Darkness," Sora grumbled, "Let alone using it."

"True," the red-head sighed. "Fine. We'll do it your way. Lead on, Sora."

Some time later, the two arrived at their destination, Twilight Town, and emerged at the Market Street. Lea glanced around with an expression that said he'd lost himself in memories, and Sora waited patiently and quietly for him to come back.

"Whew," he said once he'd shaken his head. "Sorry, I guess I spaced out there. It's been a while since I've been here."

"Did you ever visit after... After that fight against the Dusks?" Sora wondered as they started up the slope.

"I didn't have much of a reason to," Lea replied. "I was looking for Braig and Isa- or Xigbar and Saïx or whatever they call themselves anymore." He paused. "I knew something smelled weird when they weren't around when the rest of us woke up."

"The rest of you?" Sora wondered, perhaps hoping to keep his comrade distracted. "Rest of who?"

"All the Organization members you managed to wipe out," Lea said with a laugh. "Their real selves: Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo."

"Wait, wait," Sora stopped. "So the other Organization members are out there too? But what are they doing? What if Xehanort is using them?"

"Don't worry," Lea said, patting Sora's back a time or two. "Xehanort is pretty much the reason they lost their Hearts in the first place. Most of them were planning to overthrow Xemnas even when they were Nobodies. You don't have to worry." Sora nodded as they came to the Station Plaza.

"There they are!" the boy said quickly as he summoned the Kingdom Key, and Lea looked up to find a small hoard of Shadows.

"THAT'S our Heartless threat?" he scoffed. "Aren't you the kid who managed to take out a thousand Heartless by yourself? What'd you need me for?"
"Er... uh..." Sora stammered. "I guess Yen Sid doesn't really trust me around the Darkness right now, even if it's just a few Heartless... But hey, more practice for you, right?"
"I guess," Lea shrugged and snapped his wrist a couple of times before actually summoning his Keyblade.
"Still getting the hang of it?" Sora laughed, and Lea stared at him before smirking.

"I'll catch up! Come on. Let's take out these Shadows." They both rushed forward and felled the Heartless with ease, no Shadow taking more than one or two hits to finish off. The two Keyblade wielders had barely broken a sweat by the time they had all been taken out.

"Mission accomplished," Lea muttered, and Sora looked up at him curiously as he glanced up to the top of the clock tower. The boy shifted his weight a bit awkwardly and looked from it to the sky to the horizon.

"I bet the view of the sunset is beautiful from up there," he said, and Lea nodded slowly.

"It is," he agreed absentmindedly. Sora frowned and looked down, crossing his arms.

"Guess I'll see you back at the Mysterious Tower," he went on, and Lea turned to him.

"Yeah, okay," he nodded. "See you around." With that, Sora headed off, and Lea hesitated before heading inside the station and making his way up to the clock tower. He sat down and swung his legs over the edge and looked out at the sunset.

"Hey, Axel..." the voice said again. "You said you'd always be there to bring us back." As he sat there, he couldn't help but ponder what the boy had meant. Us? Who else was there? Thinking about it made his head hurt. He couldn't say "us" was wrong, but it didn't make any sense. He hadn't said anything about anyone else... had he?

"What a mess..." he mumbled.

"Well, it's gonna be if you don't eat it," a voice said, and Lea almost jumped off the ledge in shock as he found Sora sitting next to him, looking at him with eyes that were friendly, hesitant, and awkward all at the same time. "Sea Salt is your favorite, right?" He continued, holding up the bar of ice cream, and Lea stared at it for a moment. An ache made itself known in his newly recovered heart, but he took it anyway.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed. "Thanks." Sora nodded and took a bite of his bar as he turned to watch the sunset. It took a moment longer for Lea before he said anything else. "How'd you know?"

"Well, Roxas is my Nobody," Sora replied with a weak smile. "And Axel was yours."

"Yeah, but I thought you didn't remember anything from being a Nobody," Lea pointed out as he bit into his ice cream.

"I didn't," the boy said. "But... When I was taking the exam, when I was in the dream, I came to the Organization's world. While I was there... I guess I had a dream about all the people I've met, the people important to me... and some that I've never met." He paused. "I saw Roxas... And he showed me everything." His grip on the ice cream stick tightened. "All the pain, confusion, and grief he felt over that year I was asleep, everything he went through... I saw and felt it all in a minute or two." He looked back up to the sunset with a soft smile. "But... This made it all bearable, both for me and him. He always liked coming up here and watching the sunset with Axel and..." He frowned. "And that other girl."

"Other girl?" Lea echoed. "What girl?" Sora turned to him. "It was always just me- er... Axel and Roxas."

"I'm not entirely sure who she is," the boy admitted. "All I know is that she's a girl that looks a lot like Kairi, except she had black hair that was shorter." A brief grunt escaped Lea's throat as something in his head pounded, and he placed his hand against it. "Lea? You okay?"

"That... sounds so familiar," the red-head replied. "It's weird. It's like... what you're saying may be true, but it feels like... like trying to remember a dream. It's all hazy, like maybe it was real, maybe it wasn't." He sighed. "I know Roxas was there. But... I can't help but feel like something was missing."

"She could wield a Keyblade," Sora recalled from everything Roxas had shared with him. "The Organization had ordered her and Roxas to keep collecting Hearts... And Saïx hated her- or, at least, that's what Roxas believed." His voice caught in his throat as he sorted through the memories his Nobody had of her, why he'd shed a tear for reasons unknown when he saw her in his dream. "Roxas... He really..."

"...Really cared about her," Lea finished, and Sora placed his hand over his chest absentmindedly. "He was so mad at me by the time he left the Organization. That must have been why. I'd done something to hurt her, or didn't stop her from getting hurt... Something like that." He frowned. "I don't remember."

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "It kind of hurts my head to think about. But I'll let you know if I come up with anything that might be useful to you." Lea smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Sora," he replied. "Now, finish your ice cream before it melts." Sora grinned and slurped away the melting sweetness, turning his attention back to the sunset.

"Hey, Lea," he said, catching his companion's attention again. "He cared about you too. You were his best friend. And..." His grin softened into a warm smile. "I think he'd be happy right now to know we're sitting here like this." Lea smiled and shook his head.

"I know I am," he agreed and leaned back once he'd finished his ice cream. "Thanks, Sora."

"Happy to help," the boy replied. "...You think we could be friends?"

"What?" Lea wondered, turning his head to look at Sora's back.

"Do you think we could be friends?" he repeated. "Not as Roxas and Axel, but as you and me- as Sora and Lea." Lea smiled and sat back up, shoving him playfully. "Hey!"

"You think I risked my butt to save you from Xehanort because I felt like it?" Lea asked sarcastically with a laugh. "Yes, Sora, we're friends. Don't tell me I have to teach you everything about life- EVERYTHING- too. It was bad enough when Roxas was a zombie." Sora started laughing, and Lea joined in a moment later.

"No, I think you're good," the boy said once he caught his breath. "Tell you what- I don't think we'll have time for it to be every day, but let's come back here every now and again for an ice cream and watch the sunset. That can be our thing." He paused, and his voice softened. "Just like it always has."

"Sounds like a plan, Sora," Lea agreed. "Just like always."