Chapter 1: Home is where the heart is

It was unfair, they had earned a happy return to their home. And it had been happy because they were reunited again. But when everybody had been hugged and they had celebrated their reunion, Sora had gone home to see his parents, only to find his home cold and empty.

After searching the house from top to bottom several times, he noticed a small letter sitting alone on top of the dining room table.

Dear Sora.

We're so sorry, more sorry than you can ever imagine. We forgot about you; our own son. For almost two years you were gone and we didn't even miss noticed. The moment you disappeared from home, you disappeared from our memories and our hearts. What kind of parents are we if we don't even remember our own child? Shame is all we felt when we suddenly remembered you again. So much shame that we don't dare to face you. We've decided to leave you. We believe it is for the best. Please find the kindness in your warm heart to forgive us since we cannot forgive ourselves.

Much love,

Your mom and dad.

P.S. The house is yours.

Warm tears ran down Sora's cheeks after reading the sorrowful letter. Despite his efforts, he couldn't suppress the streams of salty water. Of course his parents didn't remember him while he was gone. During his first adventure his parents were swallowed in the darkness along the rest of Destiny Island. They had been unconscious then. And though he couldn't remember his adventures in Castle Oblivion, he knew that he was erased from everybody's memory. But his parents didn't know that, and even if they did they probably wouldn't understand it. After a while, there were no more visible tears to cry. Yet, his heart still cried in silence.

His sorrow didn't come from his parent's rejection alone. In fact, during the time he had been away from the island, he had hardly missed them himself. He understood his parent's shame for forgetting about him because he felt the exact same shame. What really hurt was the stain of his return. It wasn't perfect anymore. It was unlike the perfect happy ending of his adventures he had dreamt of so many times. It was unfair. He had fought so hard for that happy return, and now loss had stained it.

He remained still when he heard the doorbell ring. His doorbell ring. He didn't say a word; he knew it was only Riku. Like old times, Riku took the liberty to open the door and enter the home on his own.

Sora looked up when he entered. Riku's face was sad too. The friends looked at each other for a moment, Riku was the first to speak. "What's your excuse for the long face?"

"My parents have left and probably won't return." Sora cursed himself for choking on his tears when he said it.

"So, you're a big mamma's boy after all?" Riku commented quietly on his friends tears giving him a small smile.

Sora shrugged "It's more like home isn't home any more. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, things have changed quite a bit."

Sora looked at Riku curiously. Despite his own sorrow, he was somewhat worried when he heard the bitter tone in his friend's voice.

"Aren't things normal at your place?" He asked after a moment.

Riku turned his face to the ground but his voice remained normal.

"Turns out my parents left a year ago, they went looking for me."

Sora was about to comfort him when Riku continued. "God I feel guilty."

Just when silence seemed to fall, Kairi entered the house. "Hi Riku what are you doing here?"

"Well Sora was crying cause his mommy and daddy left him, and I was trying to make him feel worse by telling him my parents at least loved me enough to go looking for me." Riku tried to joke. His sad mood seemed to be lifted the moment Kairi walked in.

The happy face Kairi had on a minute ago completely disappeared at this comment.

"S-So...all of our parents are...gone?" She asked quietly, her voice carried more worry then pain. Yet Sora and Riku understood the meaning of the words.

"What do you mean? Have your parents gone too?" Sora asked worried.

She gave a failed attempt to a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. My parents never returned to the island after the storm. So I've been alone since I returned to the island, more then a full year ago. You kinda learn to deal with it. I'm just worried about you two."

Kairi's story shocked Sora, enough to forget his own misery for the moment. "What? But how? I thought everybody returned to their own world after I locked Kingdom Hearts!"

"That's just what happened, my parents returned to their own world. Have you forgotten me and my parents originally came from Radiant Garden?"

"But how come you're not in Radiant Garden?" Riku and Sora asked simultaneously.

Kairi smiled. "Your world is where your heart lies, and mine lies with you two."

XXX

In an enormous, floating castle illuminated by the remains of kingdom hearts a hooded figure was walking through a completely empty white room. The person seemed to be desperately searching for something.

Without any warning Malificent's frightening voice spoke from the darkness. "What are you looking for?"

"Damn it, if I had a heart you would have given me a heart attack." The figure said angrily.

Malificent chuckled but otherwise ignored the remark. "I'm fascinated with your obsession with this room."

"Yes, it seems rather pointless to investigate this room since it's obviously empty." A small disappointed tone could be heard in the figure's voice.

The remark seemed to irritate the witch. The hooded figure assumed that she found the remark to be ignorant.

"Of course this room is empty! The members of the organization never put anything in their rooms." Calm again she continued with her normal, sweet, yet very creepy voice. "And why would they? Why would they collect objects they allegedly feel connected to if they indeed cannot feel connected to anything at all?"

She continued before she gave the figure a change to answer. "But the fact that you're searching through an empty room doesn't fascinate me. I'm fascinated with the room you chose to investigate. Why this one? What's so special about the room of number eight?"

It seemed the figure was angered by the question. "Why would Axel's room be unworthy of investigating!? Do you think the other members are more interesting!?"

Malificent raised her eyebrows, surprised by the sudden anger of her interlocutor. "Well yes I do. Compared to Xemnas and Roxas, none of the other organization members are worthy of investigating."

"Ha, you still believe Xemnas and Roxas are worth investigating?" The figure said, almost laughing at the witch in her face. Even more demeaning, he continued snapping at the woman.

"Xemnas was hardly any different from any other organization member. True, he had great power, but he was certainly not interesting. He was just a fool who willingly threw his life away in a search for power. That same determination was what made his will so strong and gave him so much power."

Not giving Malificent a change to reply he continued. "Roxas was special by his ability to wield a keyblade, a weapon that chooses his master based on the strength of his heart. So a nobody, one without a heart, should never be able to wield it. It is easily explained, though. Sora's heart never resided in the realm of darkness long enough to became a real heartless and therefore he never became a real nobody. Part of his heart had still been connected to his soul and body. Because of that piece, Roxas could wield keyblades and feel emotions. He was also very important. He was needed for the reunion with Sora to make Sora's heart complete again. I know this, because my power and the way I obtained it, is little different from Roxas power and the way he obtained his."

The answers didn't surprise the witch, she didn't cared enough to be surprised by the answers. But the disrespect the figure spoke to her was what surprised and shocked her. Who did the boy think he was? Speaking to her like that. Yet she knew better then to demand respect from him. She needed his power as well as he needed hers. Instead, she chose to demean the figure by a remark.

"And what would make the flurry of dancing flames special? His powers were nothing out of the ordinary compared to the rest of the organization."

This time a more compassionated laugh came from behind the black hood. "Huh, you're still solely focused on power aren't you? How pitiful. Axel's behaviour is what made him special. Axel had sincere issues with the orders to either retrieve Roxas or to kill him. Later he even rebelled against the organization in order to separate Roxas from Sora again in attempts to see his friend one last time. In the end he even sacrificed all that was left of his existence to help Sora and give him a way back to his friend, Kairi. Such actions are only a mark of true friendship. However you can only become true friends with someone when your hearts are connected. So a nobody shouldn't be able have a real friendship."

No reply came from the witch, it was out of her understanding to be interested with something else then power. The boy saw Malificent wouldn't reply so he continued.

"Axel truly was a nobody for he was truly without a heart. Yet, he could be a true friend. The only explanation is that he had something like a heart, an imitation. But one so close to a real heart that there was almost no difference. That's what interests me. Is it possible to make an imitation of a heart.