antaurilover685, who owns Kairi, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Skylanders belongs to Activision. Blaze belongs to robotman25. I only own Rachel, Crystal, and Amelia.

Never Far Away In Your Memory

Kairi stood by the giant pool of water in the Sensei Water Realm, but for once, she didn't really feel like swimming. She just sat by the pool, looking very forlorn as her mind was caught up in a memory and a few tears ran down her face.

Rachel was training with Hood Sickle and both were headed for the Sensei Water Realm when they found Blaze and the other Portal Masters looking very concerned. They went up to them. "Guys? What's up?" Rachel asked.

"Have you guys seen Kairi?" Asked one of the female Portal Masters.

"No," the Tech Portal Master answered. "Is she here now?"

"Master Eon said he felt her arrive," said Amelia. "But we can't find her."

Rachel fell into thought before having an idea as to where the Water Portal Master was. "Did you guys check with Thumpback?" She asked.

"He hasn't seen her all day either," said Crystal, Rachel's little sister.

"And we checked pretty much every body of water, but she's not swimming," Blaze said.

"That's unusual," the older girl said. "That's generally where she'd be."

Hood Sickle looked thoughtful and then remembered he and Rachel were headed for the Sensei Water Realm. "Perhaps she is in the Sensei Water Realm," he said. "There are many spots to hide in there. She may have gone there to hide and avoid questions."

"Hood's right," Rachel said in agreement. "Let's go check there."

With that, the eleven Portal Masters headed for the Water Realm and went inside, looking for their missing friend and soon finding her by one of the large pools of water, but she wasn't swimming. She was just sitting beside it and she looked like she had had a bad day. "Kairi?" Amelia called out, making the Water Portal Master lift her head up as she heard them and they approached her. "Kairi? What's wrong?"

"Are you okay?" Blaze asked, mentally checking for injuries on the girl.

Kairi shrugged. "Yes and no," she replied.

Rachel, instantly sensing there was more, sat down beside the younger girl. "Kairi, what's bugging you?" She asked gently. "Did…Did the bully Portal Masters bother you again?"

"No," Kairi said and took a deep breath. "It's been three years now."

They all looked at each other in confusion. "Three years since what?" Amelia asked gently.

"Since my grandmother passed away."

Everyone fell quiet, knowing how painful it was in losing a loved one. "Were you close to her?" Blaze asked gently.

Kairi nodded. "I was very close to her," she said. "She inspired me to be who I am today. And she always knew how to make my day better and she understood everything I went through."

"She sounds like an amazing grandma," Crystal said. Her and Rachel's grandparents had passed away years ago before Rachel had been born, so neither girl had gotten to know their grandparents.

"She was," the Water Portal Master said. "Sometimes, I felt like she was the only one I could go to if I was having problems. She always had a solution and sometimes, the solution would make the problem vanish before I had a chance to confront it."

"You mean like you would have solved it before the problem reared its ugly head again?" Rachel asked.

"Something like that," Kairi replied. "She made the best cookies and treats too." She then smiled. "And sometimes I think she could read minds, because there was days when I would be going to see her and I'd be craving a certain kind of cookie and when I arrived, she had a plate of the same cookies I had been craving all ready for us to eat with tall glasses of milk to go with them."

"Wow," Amelia said. "You two were really close then."

The other girl nodded. "It was hard when she passed away," she admitted. "I'm still trying to cope with her death because it's hard to believe she's gone."

She then curled up a little. "I miss her," she said.

Everyone nodded. "We know the feeling," Blaze said. "I felt the same when my first girlfriend died. It was very hard to deal with."

"And when I lost my grandmother, it was very hard for me too," Amelia said. "I didn't handle it too well until I met you guys."

"Crystal and I still remember when our dad passed away," Rachel said softly. "For a long time, we mourned and lost a part of ourselves too as we tried to cope with his death."

"Death's not easy to cope with," said one of the other male Portal Masters softly. "But…while it's not easy, the pain does become a bit more bearable as time goes on, but it never goes away."

Kairi looked at her friends, grateful that they understood how hard it was for her and that they had had similar experiences and so knew exactly what she was going through, just like her grandmother had. "I think she would have really liked Thumpback," she said after a moment. "She always told me I'd find a guy who would be amazing and would treat me right."

Blaze smiled. "I'm sure she's very proud of you, Kairi," he said gently. "And that she's watching and smiling at you from Heaven."

"Thank you, Blaze," the Water Portal Master said gratefully.

"The young man is right," said a voice and they all looked around to see where the unfamiliar voice had come from, but Kairi perked up because that voice sounded familiar to her.

"Look," Crystal said softly, pointing to a person coming towards them. She looked like an older woman and her facial features looked somewhat familiar. Rachel then gasped.

"Kairi," she said softy and the Water Portal Master looked up, her eyes widening at seeing her grandmother standing there.

"Grandma!" She exclaimed, running up to her and hugging her. Her grandmother's spirit did the same as she smiled at her granddaughter.

"I'm proud of you, Kairi," she said, her voice filled with love. "You've grown into a fine young woman."

"Thank you, Grandma," she said softly.

Her grandmother then looked up at the other Portal Masters. "Thank you all for befriending my granddaughter," she said. "You all are truly friends worth keeping."

"Your granddaughter is an amazing friend to us, ma'am," said Blaze. "We've very lucky to have her as a friend."

The older lady smiled again and looked at Kairi. "And as for your love being a giant whale," she began and then chuckled. "I can see he clearly loves you and thinks the world of you."

Kairi beamed, glad to hear that her loving grandmother approved of Thumpback. A bright light softly shone nearby and the older woman smiled. "Ah, it's time," she said softly and turned to look at them all. "Take care of each other and no matter what, never lose your friendships."

They nodded and she gently kissed Kairi on the forehead. "Take care, my dear granddaughter," she said softly before gently pulling away and heading towards the light.

Kairi had tears in her eyes. "Bye, Grandma," she said softly. "I'll see you up there someday."

The light grew brighter and when it faded, the spirit of the older woman was gone and the Water Portal Master felt tears run down her face as Rachel placed a hand on her shoulder. "She is an amazing lady, Kairi," she said, her voice soft. "And she's never far away in your memory."

"That's true," Kairi replied.

Her grandmother would always be alive in her heart and in her memory.

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GoldGuardian2418