Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing.

Chapter 2: Homestead

They were back, that is all that mattered. Riku and Sora had returned from the brink of nothingness back to their home. After nearly two years of travel. The Destiny Islands waited for them.

And so did Kairi.

After clambering out of the water, after the storm of hugs, after the welcome homes, Sora stood by Kairi, the person he had searched high and low for so long, was now in arms reach.

"Sora! Riku!" The King said from behind Sora. "What happened to you two?"

"Xemnas. He disrupted the portal and held us back to fight." Riku explained to the King, as well as his court wizard, Donald, the captain of his knights, Goofy, and Kairi.

"Xemnas! But I thought we stopped him!" Goofy shouted in shock.

"No, he was still kicking." Sora said. "But we stopped him again. The Organization is gone."

"Finally." Kairi said, almost a whisper, with a smile.

"What?" Sora looked confused, but what's new.

Riku butted in. "We can finally live normal lives. Y'know, worry about school, getting dates, graduation, all the things a normal teenager should worry about."

"Right, instead of…" Donald began.

"Fighting off cabals of evil villains." Said Goofy.

"Wielding artefacts of incredible power." Mickey said.

"Tackling the forces of darkness day after day." Riku added.

"And fighting a group of powerful non-beings." Kairi finished.

"A normal life." Sora milled the words through his mind for a while until he noticed the three warriors from Disney were slowly leaving. "Hey! Where are you three going?"

"We're going home Sora." The King explained. "We'd love to stick around but I have a kingdom to run."

"Goodbye Mickey." Riku waved off his long time travelling companion. Kairi and Sora echoed his farewell.

"Be good Sora." Donald said to his friend.

"We'll see you all real soon." Goofy added in.

Within seconds, a Gummi Ship flew down from the sky at the behest of Mickey and his little remote and the three returned home to their castle.

"And that leaves us." Riku said solemnly, nodding.

"Huh?" Sora scratched his head.

"We have some explaining to do." Riku told his friend. "Maybe not so much Kairi but I now you and I have to come up with a pretty good alibi to explain our year and a half absence."

"Well, I was going to tell my parents the truth. I think they'd believe me and I can trust them to keep a secret." By now the three were walking up a trail back from the beach into town.

"I guess that'll be easier than my idea." Riku paused for a second. "But I really don't want to worry my mom about the… less than savoury parts in my story" Riku was still sore about the time he spent as Maleficent's apprentice and the short time he was possessed by Xehanort's Heartless. Then there was that point when he was DiZ's tool and pretty much ruined the lives of Roxas and Namine.

"Well, I know I am telling mine about what happened. My parents, well I guess adoptive parents." Kairi was referencing the revelation of her being born as Princess of the Radiant Garden. "I don't know how much they know of this but I think know more than they let on."

"Anyways, I think the three of us should get together tonight." Sora said. "You know, a nice relaxing night, a little break considering what we just went through."

The three friends then left to tell their parents of what had been transpiring and revolving around their "sweet and innocent" children for the past 18 months.

Upon entering their homes, Sora and Riku's mothers broke down into tears at the sight of their sons. It took a while to explain the story to the parents of the Keyblade Warriors and it took a Keyblade summoning to actually convince them, but this wasn't really all too important. The important thing is that their children were home and safe after so much time of uncertainty.

Things were actually starting to look normal.

Four months later…

Sora and Riku were sitting on the beach following their last day of school for the year. Graduation was tomorrow. They were only in the Eleventh Grade but it was school tradition that all seniors attend the ceremony.

The last four months were hectic to say the least but they made it through the gauntlet known as school. Right now though, their minds were on the final battle they fought some time earlier.

"Nothing's changed huh?" Riku asked, leaning up against a tree.

"Nope, and nothing will." Sora paused and thought for a moment. "Hey Riku, what do you think it was? The Door to Light?"

Riku smirked and pointed to Sora's heart. "This."

Before Sora could reply he heard someone cry out. "Sora! Riku!" Kairi was running their way, out of breath, and holding a bottle. Inside it was a note containing the King's seal.

As she showed them Sora shouted: "The King!" He quickly unfurled the note and began to read the note.

Dear Sora, Kairi and Riku

I know it has been sometime since I contacted you but I have something important to tell you. Within a week or so a rendezvous party will arrive and you will go with them to the Radiant Garden were we will explain everything.

Sincerely, your friend, King Mickey

Sora read the letter over a few times before it sunk in. "So much for a normal life." He said with a small sigh.

"Hey, I don't now about you." Riku stated. "But I was getting bored. There's nothing to do on this island."

"I guess we should get our affairs in order." Kairi stood up to leave but Sora opened his mouth.

"Whoa, you're coming too?" He looked confused.

"Well he seems he's inviting all three of us." Sora was about to open his mouth again but Kairi cut him off. "I know this might be dangerous but I am not just sitting on the sidelines again, worrying about you two. I'm coming and that is final."

Sora, defeated, walked off with his friends as they discussed the coming days.

KHKHKH

While this was going on, two figures watched the three intently; the first figure, the male, stood about a head and a half higher than the other, who was a girl, who came up to his shoulder (about the same height as Kairi).

"And so the die is cast." The male said as he slowly walked away from their hiding spot in the clearing.

"Where are you going?" The woman asked and the man stopped.

"To cast the other die of course. There are others that we will need and I'm going to fetch them." He started to walk but stopped again. "Keep an eye on these three will you. I know how much trouble they can get into."

"Sure." She looked up at the friends walking away. "By the way, have you found him?"

The taller figure shook his head. "No, but one day we will. Farewell and stay safe." She nodded as the taller figure vanished into thin air.

To Be Continued

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SirAngelo