Full Summary:

Secrets of the past are revealed as Sora and the gang join forces with Aqua to help save Ventus, Terra, Roxas, Namine, and Xion from their fates. Meanwhile, the organization has returned as humans with the Master-Xehanort possessed Terra leading it, having regained the keyblade. Larxene and Marluxia have their own schemes, Axel just wants to hang out, and Maleficent is once again making a bid for the worlds. Kairi must deal with learning to fight, romance with a clueless Sora, and the troubles of her newfound royal status. For Riku, he must keep fighting, and ignore the oh-so unstealthy ninja that keeps flirting with him. Sora must begin his most difficult journey yet, save the worlds (again), prove to Aqua he has what it takes to be a Master, and deal with his most dangerous foe yet...himself.

Definite Pairings:

Sora/Kairi, Roxas/Namine, others will be revealed

Rated M

For language, violence, and possible lemons in later chapters.

Disclaimer:

I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney, or anything else I may include.

Kingdom Hearts: The True Journey

Prologue: Things That Remain

"It seems not all of us are present and accounted for."

Deep in the halls of the Castle that never was, several figures gathered. Their dark cloaks stood out in contrast to the gleaming white stone of the corridor.

A man with short dark hair, an eyepatch, and a jagged scar down his cheek grinned. It was a malicious grin, one that hinted that its bearer knew more than he was letting on. "Even after getting your heart back, you're as boring as ever, Saïx. Or is it Ïsa now?"

The man in question, Ïsa, glared at him. He had wavy blue and an x-shaped scar between his eyes. His features were refined, yet slightly bestial: His pointed ears and sharp canines just visible. "I am simply being practical, Braig. Just because I can feel emotions now, does not mean I should flaunt that ability." Braig just kept on grinning.

"So, we were all defeated by the Keyblade master…" said another man, Dilan. He had long black dreadlocks and sideburns that curved around his jaw. "He truly is a powerful foe."

"He does play the game quite well." Spoke another. This man, Rolud, had short blonde hair and one earing with the symbol of a spiked, malformed heart. A neatly trimmed beard adorned his chin. "Perhaps if we had played our hand more effectively, we could have avoided making him our foe."

"Hey, uh, I'm kind of confused. How are we still alive, and with hearts now? Not that I'm complaining of course…" Said the final member of the group. He had a long mullet and was clearly the youngest.

There was a brief but sudden surge of darkness as a portal opened nearby. "I believe I may be able to answer that question, Dyme." The newcomer had long blonde hair and a cold, calculating expression. Behind him two other figures emerged: One was tall and muscular with short ginger hair, the other had his face partially obscured by long silvery blue hair. He was about the same age as Dyme.

"Even, Aeleus and Ienzo. So you have been reborn as well. Perhaps you can also shed some light on what happened at Castle Oblivion." Said Ïsa tonelessly.

"Gladly," Even said with a smirk. "When heartless are slain by normal weapons, they are simply reborn from darkness at some point in the future. When slain by a Keyblade, they release hearts, which gather in this world, gradually building up to create an artificial copy of Kingdom Hearts. We know this, and most of the Organization's plans revolved around it…but when a Nobody is destroyed, obviously its body fades, but what of its soul? I have a theory that this too, goes to Kingdom Hearts. If a heartless and nobody born from the same individual were both slain, then the heart and soul would merge, and a new body forged. At some point Sora or the mouse King must have slain a heartless corresponding to each of us, and thus, have we been reborn."

"I didn't understand a word you just said." Moaned Dyme, scratching his head.

"We wouldn't expect you to, kiddo." Said Braig. "And the Oblivion fiasco? Just how did you guys pop your clogs then?"

"Axel…" Growled Even. "That traitor killed me!"

Ienzo nodded. "He killed me too, if indirectly."

Ïsa nodded. "His actions were always difficult to read. It was only shortly before he perished he showed his true colours to us. I sent him to Castle Oblivion to eliminate Larxene and Marluxia, as we had been aware of their plot for a while. But I have no idea why he terminated you." This was of course, a lie. Ïsa had ordered Axel to kill Vexen so that the Replica Programme would not fall into Marluxia's hands. Zexion had been terminated because he knew too much about the Programme. But for some reason, none of the individuals concerned could remember these details.

"And you, Aeleus?" Asked Dilan. "How did you meet your end?"

"…Riku." There was a moment of silence, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn't. With a sigh, Braig walked over to a window and gazed to the sky.

"Well, I'm guessing that if they return, Lea, Relena and Malurai won't be showing their ugly faces here anytime soon." He chuckled. "Now, am I the only one to have noticed the distinct lack of a heart shaped moon in the sky?"

"It makes little difference now." Spoke Rolud. "We already achieved our goal- a heart to call our own. Though I am intrigued as to its disappearance. "

"On the contrary, my dear friends. Now, Kingdom Hearts is more important to us than ever before." Spoke a new voice. From the shadows, another man emerged. He had long silver hair, gleaming amber eyes, and a smirk upon his face. Upon his arrival, the others all stood up straighter.

"Superior," Began Ïsa. "You were defeated as well?" The man in question simply smiled, his eyes flickering to Braig for a brief moment.

"I made a serious error of judgement all those years ago, when I was apprenticed to the old fool Ansem. After our experiments created the emblem heartless en masse, we sought to make ourselves stronger by becoming Heartless ourselves. But by becoming a Nobody as well, we split that power…essentially becoming weaker. You will find yourselves much stronger than before."

"Sweet…" muttered Dyme, careful not to let anyone hear him interrupt.

"Now that I am whole once more, I have unlocked the last pieces of memory that were hidden from me…memories of the life I led before I became a scientist." Braig's one eye widened, and he grinned.

"So, you have returned at last…Master Xehanort."

"Yes…and with these memories, I now remember my true goal. A goal that will require more than the imitation Kingdom Hearts we built before. I came very close to achieving this goal many years ago, but was foiled. Now with your help, dear friends, we can succeed." Xehanort raised his arm and gathered energy in his palm. "Another thing that returned to me was a certain ability. Behold!"

And the gathering of black cloaked figures gazed in amazement as a wicked black blade materialised in his hand, shaped like a key…

FZ FZ FZ FZ FZ

"Argh! That spiky haired bastard and his stupid animals! I'll kill him! Kill him, his nobody, his girlfriend, everybody! ARGH!" Screamed a young woman with bright blond hair styled with two antenna like extensions. As she got more and more angry, her body crackled with electricity, threatening to explode in a violent arc of energy toward the other occupant of the room.

"Calm down, Relena." He said. He was a man who looked surprisingly like a woman with his pink hair, but he held an air of danger that prevented others from mocking him. "All that in good time. For now, we need to lay low from the Organization."

"Whatever, Malurai. It was a mistake to try and take over that stupid group. Complete Kingdom Hearts my ass; we didn't need any of that crap to get our hearts back! First thing I'm doing now I'm whole is get some new clothes other than this silly cloak! Although it does look quite cool…yeah, I'll keep the cloak for when it rains."

"We didn't think big enough." Mused Malurai. "The power of the Keyblade is ancient…a power we could use to rule all of the worlds. But the hearts of wielders are strong, too strong to be manipulated, as we saw. What we need is to acquire Keyblades of our own."

"And how are we gonna do that? You can't just buy one from a shop, you have to prove yourself worthy. And apparently we aren't worthy."

"Unworthy to the Keyblades of light perhaps…but not the ones of darkness…"

FZ FZ FZ FZ FZ

"You know, it's funny…I don't feel all that different, with a heart."

Sitting atop a tall clock tower in a town where the sun never set, Lea helped himself to some more ice cream. He had changed out of his cloak and put on one of his old outfits…tan shorts, red sneakers, a white shirt with an orange jacket, and a yellow scarf. His hair was blood red and spiky, and he looked much like he had 10 years ago, only his markings under the eyes remained, and his hair was much longer.

"I guess there really was something special about you, Roxas. And Sora, too…" Glancing down, he spied three youths making their way to the station- Hayner, Pence and Olette. Probably not a good idea to show his face to those three after the trouble he caused before.

Standing up, he gazed at the twilight sky pensively. "Now…what to do…"

FZ FZ FZ FZ FZ

On the shores of the Dark Meridian, the pale glow of the moon illuminated two figures parting ways.

The first was a tall man dressed in the cloak of the Organization, his face shrouded. The other was a young woman with deep blue hair and eyes, garbed in an outfit whose top half was reminiscent of a kimono, but tailored for flexibility in battle. She wore hot pants and knee high boots, and attached to her belt were two flowing pieces of blue material.

"I must thank you," spoke the cloaked man. "If you hadn't shown up, my memory may not have returned. Now that it has, I believe I can fashion us a way out."

"You can? How?" Asked Aqua eagerly. Wordlessly, the man raised his hand and concentrated. Suddenly, a portal of darkness appeared in front of him. Aqua's eyed narrowed. "The power of darkness, huh…"

"I understand your concern," the man said defensively. "But it is the only way to leave this realm, and I have never once used this power for anything other than travel. Darkness is not necessarily evil, but it is very…moreish, so to speak, which is what leads so many villains to obtain it as a weapon. There are those who wield darkness in the name of good…but I digress. I am a scientist, not a fighter." He lowered his arm and took a step forward. "This leads to my homeworld. Perhaps now I can begin to make amends for the things I have done. Once there, I am sure there will be transport for you to reach your homeworld."

Aqua kept silent. She was only seven when she first unlocked the Keyblades power, and was found by Master Eraqus, she could barely remember her original world anymore. But the world she had come to know as home, where her family resided…that had been destroyed by him. Casting those depressing thoughts aside, she turned to the man again. "That boy you told me about…the one who saved the worlds. Do you know where I might find him?"

"I believe he lives with his friends on the Destiny Islands…"

FZ FZ FZ FZ FZ

Deep within the recesses of a heart is a very strange place. It is here that the deepest secrets about oneself reside, secrets even the individual concerned may not know. A great platform rose out of the darkness, with an image of spiky haired young boy in a black outfit, wielding a large key shaped blade. Around this image were several smaller ones- a boy with silver hair, a girl with red hair, a duck, a dog, a mouse, two seemingly identical images of a boy with spiky blond hair, and finally, a girl with blonde hair. Resting on the platform were three people. The two boys from the images seemed physically identical, even their outfits were similar. One was sitting in the centre of the platform, his eyes closed. The other was standing of to the side watching with the other person, a young, dark haired girl in a black cloak.

"Why can't Roxas see or hear us?" Xion asked.

"I'm not sure," replied Ventus. "I think it's because as his Nobody, he has the strongest connection to Sora. He sees through his eyes, and can talk with him…he doesn't move around here like we do. I think."

"I see…" said Xion sadly. I really wanted to talk to him again. She looked at Ventus. "But I'm still a little confused as to who you are, and why you look like Roxas?"

The blonde haired boy sighed. "I'm not really sure either, but when Sora was just a kid, there was a link between us. I got into a fight- one that nearly destroyed my heart, because a part of it was lost that day. I took refuge here, in Sora's heart, until my own is strong enough for me to wake up in the real world, and meet my friends again." He looked back at Roxas. "Me being here must have influenced Sora so that his Nobody looked like me…and so that Sora looked like…him."

"…Him?" Xion asked quietly.

"My darkness." Whispered Ven. "The part of my heart I had to lose to save everyone. I don't know if he was completely destroyed, or healing like me…" He shook himself and grinned. "Still, I'm glad you came along. It was pretty boring in here for the past 10 years, ha-ha!" He frowned when he saw the upset look on her face. "Huh? What's the matter?"

"If you're going to wake up soon…then I'll be all alone. And you'll forget me, just like everyone else." She took a deep breath. "I gave myself this fate to save Roxas and Axel, but it's so much harder than I imagined. I-"

"Hey, c'mon." Said Ven reassuringly. "There has to be some way to solve this whole mess, you'll see."

Xion nodded, and gazed out into the darkness surrounding the pillar that was Sora's heart.

"I hope you're right, Ven. I really do…"

So, thoughts? I know its quite short but hey, its the prologue. This was just to show all the enemies and allies of Sora and their movements. Next chapter will be longer and focus and Sora, Riku and Kairi on the islands.

Zooki Out.