A/N: Due to popular demand, we are back with more MoM adventures. I'd like to thank robertkeller and his series Kingdom Hearts 4- Quest for the Heart on . It inspired me to continue my own rendition of the epilogue, and I highly recommend it to other KH theorists who follow this story. Most of all I want to thank all the commentors across AO3 and for all their feedback, I am proud to be of entertainment to you all.
If you have any feedback for this new chapter, please comment down below. If for whatever reason you hate it or feel that it ruins the previous chapter, please comment down below. If, on the otherhand, you enjoy it and wish for me to build on it, you guessed it, please comment down below. Thank you for your time and consideration, and please enjoy this rude awakening.
The world of Nowhere was consumed in an oppressive gravity. Caught somewhere between the realms of light and darkness it often fluctuated in nature. So chaotic was the struggle that life could not find purchase, save for one ever-present tree. It was beneath this beacon of hope that the young Sora fell into an eternal sleep. Now, it was the scene of a master's last gambit for rebirth.
Master Sora immediately felt a wave of discomfort upon his arrival. Almost as if they were quarreling children both light and darkness pulled at his very being. If it wasn't for the ages of denying his displacement, he would have quickly faltered in step; Just as he had so long ago. Seizing his box's handle Sora began a labored march across the barren soil. Only now realizing that the weight of the place also affected his luggage, he began to mutter "I feel like I'm getting payed back for saddling Xigbar with this stupid thing. 'Gee Sora, why didn't you get a smaller box to live in?' Well excuse me for wanting-. " His voice continued to fade into the dead world, leaving naught but echoes in the wake.
Eventually the black coated man stepped into the tree's boundary. Sighing in relief he dropped the box with an audible thunk. "Phew, I thought I'd be use to this kind of thing by now" telling no one in particular. "Oh well, just gotta put on one final schpeel and I'm home free". Popping out his back joint he knelt down to the box, rifling through its contents until finally retrieving a gold pocket watch. Checking the time he was delighted to know that he was early. Content, he chose to sit beneath the tree's canopy, for was only a matter of time till his younger self came stumbling in.
…But as the watch ticked ever further past the appointed time no such boy came into view. Having agonized over the quantum order for millennia Sora had little choice but to feel concerned. "Please tell me you're just broken…" the master pleaded to the inanimate object. "It is not your watch that has fallen out of use, but you dark one". Turning towards the sagely voice Sora nearly cursed in anger.
"I heard that my creator hated me, but this is just ridiculous" the former Master of Masters sighed, now staring daggers into the bodily form of one Yen Sid. "So it would seem" the sorcerer replied in stony countenance. "Yet your capacity of survival remains disappointingly intact". With a flash an arsenal of ultimas bore down on the sorcerer, only to be intercepted by a hastily conjured reflectaga. Summoning back his blades the true master of the keyblade charged his most recent foe.
"What did you do with my body!?" Sora demanded, attempting to cross cut his opponent. "Hidden from you, so that this nonsense can finally be put to an end" Yen Sid replied, forcing both blades into the ground with a pair of gravity spells. Sensing his opponents apparition he took to the air, just as Sora reappeared gripping one of the lodged keyblades. "You're being an idiot Sid, can't you see you're causing a time-paradox!?" With a great yank the Master of Masters caused the ground to erupt in projectiles. The sorcerer managed to cancel their ascent with graviga, but failed to notice the tossed keyblade masked by the debri.
The blade impacted the enchanter square in the chest, yet he managed conjure a firaga just as Sora teleported into place. Both masters were thrown back by the explosion landing shakily on their feet. Using the delay to his advantage Yen Sid dominated the Ultima once used to attack him. Casting curaga the sorcerer Yen Sid finally expounded upon his reasons. " Any variants my interference may cause will only lead to improvements". Raising a keyblade for the first time in decades the sorcerer took a stance against the wanderer. "The keyblade war will have never taken place, and you, a mere paradox, will be replaced by a more… docile, Sora".
The far traveled master knew the truth. The Age of Fairtales always came to an end, regardless of his involvement. But he had neither the time nor influence to convince the zealot of this. Hoping to put a swift end to the conflict he summoned a maelstrom of aeroza. Losing sight of the sorcerer behind a column of wind he took a note from Xehanort's playbook, depositing his entire arsenal into the torrent. Believing the chaos to be sufficiently hazardous Sora conjured one final spell. "omega thunder!" The tornado was engulfed in a literal maze of lightning as the bolts leapt from one keyblade to another. Eventually exhausted of mana the Master of Masters released his hold, leaving nothing but a gentle breeze.
The brown haired wielder was barely surprised by the standing form of Yen Sid. Having encased himself in a dome of stone wizard negated the brunt of the attack. Though some damage carried through, none of it was able to affect his cold countenance. "It seems you never learned to hold back" the sorcerer chastised. Before Sora could rally himself he was knocked prone by a torrent of water, followed by an ice spell that left the islander frozen to the ground. "With or without your vessel, your weakness was bound to prove your undoing."
Sora heard every step of the casual approach like the tramp of doom. To think, after all the millennia of planning, he would be destroyed by the one foe he could not see. Part of him considered letting the awakener's toll take hold, so that he could escape to some random branch of the universe far from here. But the idea of starting over again, having to drift through the endless oceans of eternity all over again… no, he could no longer endure that. Just as Yen Sid arrived, now raising the masterwork weapon in a manner nostalgic of Vanitas, a small corner of Sora's heart couldn't help but wish upon the shooting star flying overhead.
The familiar sensation of radiance rapidly engulfed his senses. At the same time Sora's eyes couldn't help but widen as the celestial object veered towards him. Struck by realization the man couldn't help but to begin laughing. Yen Sid paused in confusion at this apparent bout of insanity. That was until his own senses picked up on a new arrival. The sorcerer tried to turn around, but it was too late to evade the oncoming gummi ship. Swiftly carried off his feet Yen Sid crashed into the ground well beyond the tree's boundary. Suffice it to say, this left ample space for one classic model Highwind to comfortably land.
A pair of brandished keyblade wielders lunged out of the cockpit to defend their fallen ally. "Stay away from Sora!" an auburn-haired girl demanded. With a confidant stance the silver-haired boy warned "we won't hesitate to fight you master". Having sufficiently thawed the Master of Masters wordlessly got to his feet, and upon summoning the modest kingdom key he took his own place at his friends' side. For the first time in forever, Sora was able to stand once more as one of the destiny trio.
Yen Sid knew an impossible situation when he saw it. Letting go of his claim over the ultima he extricated himself from the new impression in the ground. Not once dropping his critical expression he dusted off his robes, attempting of maintain some level of decorum. "Riku, Kairi, you are making a grave mistake aligning yourselves with him" entreated the sorcerer. "The path he leads will only end in darkness".
Unfazed by his declaration the three keyblade champions maintained their positions. Accepting their conviction, Yen Sid closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh of disappointment. "Very well, we shall discuss this matter further after the this threat has been resolved." And with a puff of smoke he disappeared from sight, returning once more to the mysterious tower.
The threat now averted, master Sora sank miserably to his knees. Dispelling their weapons Kairi and Riku began fretting over his injured body. "Tell us where it hurts Sora" the young princess of heart begged. The black coated man only responded by trying to hide his face deeper into the hood. Poorly throwing his voice he tried to disparage such suspicions. "It's nothing miss, but I've never heard of a Sora. Though I'm sure that you-" He was cut off by all encompassing and tearful embraces, instigated by both of his best friends. "Just shut up" Riku pleaded as he dug his face into the man's shoulder. Sora couldn't help but relent to this onslaught of affection, lowering his hood as he reciprocated in earnest.
A few moments later Sora composed himself, and taking Kairi's cheek in hand he searched for any irregularity. "H-how are you hear? I thought Xehanort-" he was cut off yet again by the young woman's touch. "I pieced myself back together, just like you did" Kairi explained with a gentle smile. The supposedly indomitable Master began to openly weep at this point. "I'm so sorry, I was suppose to always protect you" Sora declared pathetically. "We all fell short Sora, no one expected you to handle everything alone" Riku consoled with an affectionate rub to his head.
"Actually," Riku cut in, "why are you dressed like an organization 13 member?" It took a few seconds for Sora to find the right answer. "…Would you believe that I was trying to set a fashion trend?..." Both Riku and Kairi erupted into fits of laughter. Considering how this was his first successful joke in decades, Sora couldn't help but grin in victory.
Sufficiently consoled, the original master ended the embrace. "How did you find me?" he tearfully inquired. Riku responded by pointedly staring at Kairi with a mischievious smirk. She in turn began to blush many hues of crimson. "Well, uh… I was working with master Aqua on meditation and… well… I felt like your heart appeared somewhere, sooo…" Kairi fidgeted in place trying to avoid eye contact with the boys. "…She ran straight to a gummi hangar and stole the first model she saw" Riku continued matter-of-factly. Kairi was almost steaming in embarrassment at this point, crying "I didn't steal it!" Both Sora and Riku fell apart at this point. "What are you talking about? Chip and Dale nearly sent 'the whole darn army' after us!" Riku chastised good-naturedly. The girl began to weakly beat against Riku's chest doing little to stem the tide of laughter.
The former islander wished that this moment could last forever, yet reality was always a bitter teacher. Sobering himself Sora reached into his coat to extract an hourglass. Having spent a considerable amount of energy in his fight, the sands that were left to fall reflectively truncated. Whether he liked it or not, this reunion had to be cut short. "Listen guys," Sora interrupted, "I… can't stay here". This immediately drew the attention of his best friends. Shocked, they couldn't help but fall into fits of denial.
"Sora, what are you talking about? You just came back!" Kairi exclaimed. Sora had to lower his gaze, or risk falling prey to his emotions. "I know, but like it or not the power of waking trapped me. I guess Yen Sid knew that all along, hoping that it'd get me out of the way". To punctuate his explanation Sora began to surrender control of an outstretched hand. As a result the appendage began to flicker in and out of existence. The duo's eyes widen, both quickly realizing what their prodigal friend meant. "I can't belong in the same place for long," Sora continued, "the world order has been tossing me all over the place for a long time now". Regaining control the master stood tall to address loved ones, possibly for the last time.
"The last place I was tossed to was in the past, where I had to do things that Yen Sid didn't like. Now he's trying to stop the original me from going back at all. If that happens… well, let's just say this meeting would never happen. Luckily I can still fix this, but we need to find the current Sora to do it". Taking Riku by the shoulder he shared his new plan. "Riku, I need you to become a dream-eater again. If you can find the original me in the dream world we can track our way back to the body". The silverette was not satisfied with this. Pushing the hand away from his shoulder Riku began to interrogate the man. "What about you!? What if you just disappear again!?" Sora turned away to retrieve the box from under a pile of rubble, never once showing his face. "No problem, this handy-dandy device will keep me in one-place until you get back. Then you just pop open the lid, and I'll be on my way to fix up the timeline, easy peasy".
Dusting off the lid the Master of Masters made a move to open it, only to be intercepted by a young woman's grip. "Sora…" Kairi entreated, "When will you stop carrying the weight of the world by yourself?" Kairi understood the true implication of his plan, for it would mean that she'd lose her Sora all over again. Realizing that his calm façade was quickly breaking the master tried to turn away from the girl. "You don't understand. There has to be someone in the past to ensure there's a future". Making another grab at the lid he was once more thwarted by the auburnette, and his composure finally fell. "I don't have a choice!" Sora cried out, at last addressing his companions with an expression fraught with misery. "I'm the only one that can do it…"
Ever so calmly the princess of light took his face into her hands. "I'm never, losing you, again…" With little resistance she pulled their foreheads together. "We're going to find the missing you, and then we can look for a better solution- together". Sora couldn't help but feel touched, yet the inner voice of cynicism could not be swayed. "I'm sorry Kairi, but how do you expect to keep me from disappearing?" the man questioned with a leveled voice. "The same way you sheltered me" Kairi answered smiling.
Pointing to her chest she made her own case for a solution. "Let me carry you in my heart, that way you can stay with us". The man paused at this, visibly conflicted by this final chance to stave off oblivion. "To be honest Kairi, I've spent so much time making room in my heart that I don't know if it'll fit". Kairi regained a vibrant blush, forcing out "There's always been room for you in my heart, always will be…" Akwardly coughing from the sidelines Riku couldn't help but impose himself into the conversation. "And if- um, for whatever reason there isn't then… well, I'm willing to help share the weight, or something…" The younger keyblade master began to sweat from the implications of his offer, but he trusted his friends to understand what he meant.
"… Alright" Sora finally responded while breaking into his trademark grin. "I'll give it a shot. Just don't complain when I start whistling Zippidy Dooda in your heads". The young islanders finally realized who they were dealing with here, and a surge of trepidation quickly took hold. "Y-you know what?" Riku stuttered out, "maybe I should just trust Kairi with-" "Too late!" Sora gleefully interrupted with a spell of heart transference.
As the dust settled the master of masters was nowhere to be seen. Kairi and Riku nearly felt alarmed, but the extra pulse in their chests quickly alleviated such fears. What surprised them, more so in Riku's case, was the lack of oppression it involved. Where Xehanort made a point of dominating his hosts, Sora seemed content with being a mere passenger. Their train of thought was interrupted by a male voice mimicking radio feedback. "Bzzz, testing, this is radio M.O.M., coming to you live from the best friends ever, waiting for you to respond over". Rather than feel irritated at the man's antics they felt relieved, for this was a clear a sign that the Sora they knew and loved was still alive and well. "10-4 good buddy, glad to have you aboard" Riku mocked with a radio voice of his own.
"Alright, so boring stuff out of the way. I'm technically inside Kairi's heart; but because I love hanging out with you so darn much I also linked myself to yours Riku. That way we can all keep track of each other". The hitchhiking Sora now drew their attention to the miraculously unharmed tree. "This little spruce is called ygdrasil, it has roots that connect across all the world lines. Since I'll be relying on you two for moving around, you'll be the ones to use it once we can track the younger me". He then shifted attention towards the gummi ship. "In the mean time, we should have ourselves a slumber party inside the ship. I should be able to manifest myself in the dream world to help you guys further. Any questions?"
Sora took their immediate approach towards the gangplank as a response. "That's the spirit!" Locking the bulkhead behind them the two champions (plus one half-pint) entered the realm of sleep. With luck, this would be the last journey needed to set things right.
The hooded master of masters observed the three teenagers from the skyscraper's roof. Each of them dashed through the city streets looking for one another, yet they were all blind to dimensional barriers that separated them. True to his word master Sora maintained the link between his former friends, but it was far too soon for its full utilization. So he was content with watching the three guardians of light shape a new history for him, under his subtle influence of course.
"Well don't I have some good news for you!" cried a new intruder. "I found Kairi! Though the search was so difficult. After-all, it took us whole 3 minutes. Really was basically a lifetime when you think about it".
"Ha ha~, laugh it up Luxu. Your master sucks at finding people, tell me something I didn't know!" the wanderer exasperated to the sniper. Having won his little power play Xigbar joined his master at the ledge. Accustom to Sora's habits at this point, the golden-eyed figure quickly caught on to the new strategy taking place. "And here I thought you finished playing games." The former islander scoffed at this. "And give up on the fun? Never! Besides," reaching back into his coat he produced the hourglass once more. "Thanks to princess down there, I have plenty of time to play with". As quick as a flash the master crushed the offending object between his hands, letting the once precious grains fall to the city streets below.
"Not going to lie boss," commented Xigbar, "I don't think the others will be happy that you're up to your old tricks". Sora crossed his arms behind his back at this. "Honestly Luxu, your old student Sid took the choice out of my hands". Turning away from his observations the master of masters gazed into the night sky. Levelly, the black-hooded man shared his most recent theory. "I think someone stumbled their way into an awakener's curse. Intentionally or not, their fooling around is messing up the world line we've set up." Addressing his overworked student, the master of masters assigned one last assignment.
"Make your way to nowhere, I left the box near to the doorway so it should be easy to find. After that, help the others reach this place, I'll need the kids put through their paces as soon as possible. In the meantime, I want you to keep an eye out for our newest interloper, trap them in the box if you have to". Xigbar responded with a heavy sigh, muttering to himself how tired he was of solo missions. "Well mister sassy pants" mocked Sora, "if you're going to be that way, just put your old goat mask on and switch out with Invi. I'm sure the old codger's sweat has washed out by now". "As if!" cringed Xigbar, "… (*sigh) fine, I'll take the job. Just let me bring along a few of the others". Sora shrugged at this, "Sure, whatever floats your boat bud".
The master waved his baby sitter off, returning to his study of the heavens. The man once known as Luxu considered leaving at this point, but the opportunity to maintain a tactical lead was far too precious to ignore. "So what are you going to do while I handle all the work? Laze about as usual?" Sora feigned offense at this. "Oh Luxu, I would never. Besides, I have a full plate with encouraging our fresh-faced hero to embrace his destiny". Raising his hands to frame the moon he continued hinting at his intentions. "After-all, the kingdom won't build itself…" He then altered his simple window, shaping it into the form of a heart.
