Hey everyone. After a long hiatus, I'm proud to say that it's finally here. Kingdom Hearts: Journey of Discovery Final Mix. I want to give a special shoutout to everyone who had to endure all the notes and messages to get the story's plot right. This will not be the same as the previous story because some characters will not be appearing here due to the need to trim a large cast down. Also, I had to rethink which worlds would work, and which ones would not. I'm trying to go for quality over quantity this time around. Just because something's appeared in the games doesn't mean I HAVE to use it. Also, I won't be using worlds that are slated to appear in the future of the games. In other words,

No Kingdom of Corona

No San Fransokyo

No Toy Story

You get where I'm going with this, right?

Special thanks to Flautist4ever and YamiChaos27 for helping to edit this, and for writing a portion.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts. However, Jason Norman, Clair Fay, the world of Harthyn, and related characters and items are mine.


Journey of Discovery Final Mix

Chapter 1: A Canceled Trip

CLAIR'S POV

I giggled as I floated outside of the space station. I still couldn't believe that I was chosen out of hundreds of other students to be a part of Professor Anton Yeller's space program. It was all exciting to think about, because if this station experiment worked, then not just Netokan, but the entire world of Harthyn would be one step closer to achieving space travel, the stuff of fiction up until now.

I was enjoying the sensation of weightlessness so much I failed to pay attention to my surroundings. I grunted in unison with my partner when I collided with him. "Clair, do you mind? I'm trying to work on making the adjustments Yeller sent us out here to make."

"Sorry. I'm just having fun, Jace." I said as I worked at sending myself up to where I was supposed to be working.

I could hear him sigh over our comms. "Clair, I know you're enjoying all this, but I'm trying to take this seriously. If the radar's not fixed, we won't be able to scan for a decent spot for the professor's next build. And for the record, don't call me Jace."

"A station over the moon Bruck." I nodded as I opened the panel. Turning on my holo-screen, I looked over the instructions I had been given, and began following them. "Just think, Jason. We're getting closer to developing craft that can cruise through space. We'll be able to find new planets to inhabit, and perhaps other life as well."

"And pretty soon, as Dad keeps telling me, we'll be having wars between planets."

"Professor Yeller says that this space program is a solution to end war. Different groups of people will be able to colonize different planets, and do as they want."

"Yeah, but will it work?"

His question made me pause. The Last War, as the war against the country of Moruga had been termed, was supposed to end conflict forever, but there were rumors circulating that the spirit of defiance had only been kindled. Even though the government was saying the entire planet had been united at last, there were those who were saying that different groups, different gangs even, were uniting. There had been three public facility attacks in the last month alone. They were getting bolder. Shaking my head, I decided to change the subject. "On a more positive note, our involvement with Professor Yeller's experiments will help to ensure our academic futures, and open many doors to possible careers."
"Thanks for reminding me of who it was who sent me up here." His voice made me cringe. I hadn't meant to touch a sensitive spot, but I heard static when I tried to speak to him. He must've gone silent to me.

I made the last few adjustments, heard a click, and saw some blue lights turn on. "And done." I smiled as I closed the panel and the space station whirred as the adjustments took hold. Pressing a finger against my helmet, I contacted the professor while my holo-screen turned off. "Professor. We've finished our task out here."

"Good. Come back inside." Professor Yeller said, his voice being heard by me and Jason alike because he could override the radio silence one of us may have put ourselves into. Cough, Jason, cough. Holding on to the side of the station, I waited for my cousin to come back up so we could get back inside together.

He acknowledged me as he passed me, but didn't stop. Frowning at him for that disrespect, I began to follow him. But I couldn't stay mad. We just helped the next step for Harthyn's advancement. Future generations were going to remember this moment. Following my cousin, I thought there was no way the universe could destroy this moment.

I had no idea how wrong I was.

As we made our way to the entrance, the craziest thing happened. The space around us began to shake! Something that by all the laws of science should've been impossible was happening before us right now! Grabbing onto the side of the station, I clung to it like my life depended on it.

Jason also grabbed a hold of the station, and I got a feeling his eyes were just as wide as mine were. "A quake in space? That's impossible!"

"Well, it's happening right now, cousin." I told him as I did something I had never done. I began to pray to Gri for a miracle. I had never been religious, but I found myself making a promise that if we got out of this I would start looking into faith.

"Emergency lockdown initiated." The automated words from the station made my blood freeze like the cold emptiness of space had entered my veins. Jason and I stole a quick glance at each other before we hurried to the entrance, but it was too late. Alarms blaring, the only way we could get back into the station closed in front of us.

Fear took a hold of me as I began to pound on the sealed door. "No! Let us in! We're still out here! Professor Yeller? Santos? Anyone?"

"Communicators are down!" Jason said.

"Then how come we can still communicate?"

Neither of us had an answer for that, but we didn't have to worry about it for long. We both heard an earsplitting sound behind us, like a building was cracking and the world's largest flag was being ripped apart at the same time. A powerful suction, more powerful than the weightlessness of space, pulled both of us away from the station. Screaming like I had never screamed before, I found myself staring at something I would never forget.

There was just a large tear in front of us. It was like the area between the station and the planet had been a fragile antique vase, and someone had just punched a hole in it. Now we were being sucked towards that hole. The two of us tried to resist, but there was nothing we could do but get sucked inside that tear in reality.

Inside, I found myself blinded by a light that appeared to be hot and cold at the same time, before gravity turned back on. That was enough to make my skip a beat, but what I saw next threatened to make it stop completely. We were no longer in space, but heading straight towards the ground! I screamed again as the green grass came speeding towards us, before there was a big pain, and blackness.


Three Months Later…

I sighed in relief, taking in the beautiful day. It was nice to be able to find a place just outside the city where I could relax and take in the beauty of the world. Jason was right next to me as he had nothing better to do. But I didn't mind. It was nice to spend this moment with my family. I just wish my parents could be here. They would love this world.

Yes, I said world. It didn't take long, but it became obvious that we were no longer on Harthyn. We had crossed over into another world, just like in my books. According to our new friends, we were in a place called Radiant Garden. It didn't look like it lived up to its name, but it was still being repaired from when enemies had conquered the city. I sometimes helped out in the restoration process, but it was hard without the automated equipment that did the heavy lifting back home.

I stopped my meditation as I heard footsteps coming up. Look up, or behind, depending on your perspective, I saw Aerith standing over Jason and I. The cetra, as she said she was, still had her brown hair braided with a pink ribbon in it, and her green eyes were full of warmth, like the land was smiling through them. She also had on a pink and white top that was tied around her neck via a string, and two different dresses as well. One dress was pink with a horizontal white stripe near the bottom, and the other was pure white and slightly longer than the first. She also was wearing a pair of boots. "Oh, hi Aerith." I smiled.

"And here you two are." She said as she crouched down before us. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just enjoying the peace and quiet." I said as Jason sat up. "It's nice to be able to find a place away from the noises of the city. One of the advantages this world has over Harthyn."

"I take it you didn't come out here just to check on us." Jason was still as stern and serious as ever. He was wearing a red shirt he had gotten from the market, and a pair of jeans that now had a hole in them over his left knee. His brown hair had taken on a healthier complexion though, and his blue eyes seemed better than I remembered.

The cetra nodded, confirming his words. "Well, Cid just completed a successful test with Professor Yeller's teleportation device." She told us as she changed her position so she was now sitting. "He's making a few adjustments, but you two should be able to go home in a few hours."

"A few hours?" Jason sat up at that. "Best news I've had these last three months." With that he began to walk off back to the city.

Aerith watched him go before she noticed my reaction. "What's the matter? Aren't you glad to be going home?"

"I am." I told her faster than I intended. "It's just…" How do I explain this? I felt like I was being torn in half. Part of me wanted to stay and see what this world had to offer, but I missed my parents so much. Being unable to speak with them for months had been torture. This world could never be Netokan, and for some reason, I was okay with that. "…I've grown to like it here."

I waited for her to ask me how, but she didn't. I looked to see her waiting with more patience than I had seen anyone back home with to continue. After a few minutes of waiting, I continued with what else I had grown to love about being here. "Back home, books had gone out of existence. Everything is now read on the holo-screen, and people prefer that because of the interactive activities and motion pictures that come with them, but I never enjoyed that. I enjoyed turning the pages of the older books because I felt like I was part of the story. And not having pictures allowed me to create the landscapes, the cities, even the characters all in my mind.

"I would spend lots of my time in antique shops or online, trying to find books to read. Because of that, I got teased a lot by those who preferred to spend their time changing their DNA to match their idea of what was beautiful, or gossiping about other people, or having fantasies of being the girl of some actor or actress."

"I don't believe that's the entire reason." Aerith finally spoke.

Her words caused me to sigh. "You're right. One other reason why I don't want to go back is because this world has something Harthyn doesn't: magic."

"I've heard you've been having a hard time learning it."

I looked at the cetra at that. "Yes, I've been struggling with it, but at the same time, I love it. Something about it just draws me in. It's hard, but I feel a… something about myself when I'm pushing myself to get a spell right. It's hard to describe."

I looked to find Aerith smiling at me. "I think I understand. My people, the Cetra, gave up the luxuries of comfortable lives so we could be closer to the spirit of our world." Reaching out to a flower that was growing nearby. "Even amongst a field of flowers, I feel at peace with my choice because I can feel the life of the planet around me. And that makes me happy."

Her words struck a chord within me. "Wow, that's beautiful. Sometimes when you talk about the Cetra it makes me wish I could become one."

"Thanks." Aerith told me. "If you don't feel ready to go home yet, we'll speak with Professor Yeller. We'll see if we can work it so you can stay here and learn more. We'll even try to make it so your parents can use the teleportation device to come and visit you."

That brightened my spirits. "You will? Thank you, Aerith! I would love that very much."


?'s POV

Radiant Garden. Once hailed as the City of Light. Now it's just a wreck that the foolish inhabitants believe can be redeemed. Even I can see that this world is beyond redemption. Better to destroy it and find somewhere else to live.

The water dripped from loose pipes, creating puddles in the hallway. Guess their king felt like it was better to fix the town before the castle. Idiot. Guess he'll learn the error of his ways before long.

As I made my way forward I soon found what I was looking for: a large circular room with rows of shelves filled with books and scientific equipment. The walls had all sorts of equations scribbled on them. I found my target sitting behind a desk in the middle of the room tinkering with something. He was dressed in a white lab coat with a purple scarf around his neck. His blond hair was swept behind him and his golden eyes were focused on the task at hand when he realized he was no longer alone.

He stood when he saw me, but it wasn't fear in his eyes. It was determination. "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

"Ansem the Wise." I ignored his question. "You have something I want."

"And what would that be?"

"Information on the Princesses of Heart."

"That information is beyond you. It will avail you nothing."

"Spare me the lecture, old man. Give me what I came for."

He stood tall. "Never."

I formed a Dark Fireball in my hand. "Wrong answer."

However before I could do anything, I sensed a presence behind me and I ended up using my fireball to block a Firaga spell. I looked at the caster. It was a man wearing a guard uniform. He had neck-length brown hair, blue eyes, and a scar running across his face. He also wore what looked like a chain necklace with some kind of silver lion on top of a cross, whatever that's supposed to be. And he carried a sword that oddly had a gun-like handle, revolver cylinder and trigger included.

"Squall!" the old man shouted.

The swordsman sighed. "I'm so used to being called Leon," I heard him muttered. I didn't know what that was about, but I didn't care. He then glared at me. "Look pal, I don't know who you are, but clearly you weren't invited to this castle. So I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"Not until I get what I came for."

"Sorry, but I can't let you have classified information." Squall then pointed his...gunblade?...at me.

It was my turn to glare. "And I'm not about to let such small obstacles block my path." I then summoned my weapon.

Squall flinched slightly. "Is that...a Keyblade?" he asked.

"So you know about this?" I then shouldered my Vengeful Chaos Keyblade. "Then show me what you can do against it."

The man then charged at me, clashing his gunblade at my keyblade. I noticed a subtle gunpowder burst from the gun's chambers as the sword collided with mine. Must've been what the trigger was for.

I notice Ansem started to retreat to a wall, which opened to reveal a hidden room, but I couldn't focus on him.

After struggling to push me back, Squall leapt away and casted three more Firaga's from his palm. I merely blocked them with my Keyblade before slamming it onto the floor, creating a dark shockwave that knocked him back and blasted a way everything in the room. He then charged at me again and we started clashing weapon again and again. To be honest, he wasn't very challenging. I was just about ready to end it and stop wasting time.

He then raised his gunblade into the air and I could feel intense energy gather through it. Soon, the energy expanded the blade to twice its actual size. "Blasting Zone!" he called at he brought his sword down. Once again I merely blocked with my Keyblade. Admittedly the attack did take a little work to hold back, but not by much. Using my free hand, I casted a Dark Firaga, blasting him back and canceling his attack.

He was about to charge again when I decide to end this. "Enough!" I shouted as I began to charge a lot of darkness through Vengeful Chaos. "Dark Wave!" I unleashed the darkness in a massive burst, blasting Squall out of the room through the wall Ansem retreated through.