Rewind

Rated: T for obvious reasons.

Pairings: SoKaiKu(Destiny OT3), VenQuaErra(Wayfinder OT3), AkuNami, RokuShiVan(Copy OT3)

Thoughts

'Roxas'

'Xion'

'Ven'

'Kairi'

'All'

Warning: Time Travel, so spoilers! That is all.

Dislcaimer: Not`a mine! Really, I don't own Kingdom Hearts…

AN: Previously, all of this meant either Roxas and Xion were talking at once or all three were exclaiming. Until Kairi gets her heart back…this'll mean she's talking. EDIT: Has been changed. Kairi is now 'Underlined and Slanted.'

Part 1

The First

Chapter 02

Traversing Stars


Don't even start spewing the word justice

~Lloyd Irving-Aurion, Tales of Symphonia


Sora stared out into the darkening skies. "Guess the paopu fruit just wasn't enough or was way too late."

'Apparently.'

The brunette rolled his eyes at the sound of his counterpart's snarky reply. Briefly glancing over his shoulder as the sound of his sister and mother's calls for dinner, Sora pushed the window open and slid out. Deftly dodging a few branches swinging at his head thanks to the wind, he landed on ground. He braced one knee to the ground and glanced up at the stormy sky.

He had to hurry and get to the play island…before it was too late.


Sora tied his boat as tightly to the dock as physically possible. When he was sure it tight enough, the brunette turned to face the seaside beach. He stepped forward and, almost like it was trigger, tiny Shadow Heartless appeared around him.

'Oh, come on.'

The brunette clutched a fist. He didn't have his keyblade nor any other weapon…he had forgotten his wooden play sword back at the house. With a deep breath, Sora dived between two of the heartless in a dodge roll and onto the sandy beach. Several more heartless appeared around him and with a desperate push, he broke into the shack.

Jamming the door shut, Sora let out his breathe. "Good, I'm safe for now." He frowned. Why was the Sea-side Shack safe anyway…? With a light shake of his head, he stepped up the staircase that would lead him to where he knew Riku was…

'Be careful!'

'What she said…'

'If you die, so do we.'

Sora bit his lip as he pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and felt wind blow into his face. Even from here, he could see the back of his silver-haired friend.

"Riku!" He called out, his feet automatically dashing to the elder. "This place…is really dangerous! We should go or…or something!" Riku made no move and with a feeling of dread, Sora knew what was coming next.

The elder raised his hands in a slightly Xehanort-esque style and it made his heart stop for a beat before skipping and beginning to drum. "There's no need to be afraid, Sora. We're going to be leaving now…! Finally…"

"Don't be stupid." Sora snapped. "What's going on is the islands are vanishing! Can't you see that?"

"Sora…don't be afraid of darkness."

He narrowed his eyes at the back of his friend's head. "I'm not. It's what is in the Darkness is what I'm afraid of." With a pleading hand, Sora grabbed Riku's shoulder. "C`mon, let's just get Kairi and find shelter!"

Riku pulled himself out of his grip. "She's coming too! I told you Sora, there's nothing to be afraid of!"

"That's what you think!" The brunette snarled. "But there are plenty of things to be scared of in the Darkness! Look, stop being stupid already! You're my best friend and I can't stand to lose you and Kairi, and from the looks of things, that's what's going to happen!"

His only reply was light sigh that sounded somewhat patronizing. Sora's eye twitched violently.

The silver haired boy brought his hand up again as dark vines wrapped around his legs. "Come on, Sora, stop being so silly…." To his torso, the brunette noted dimly. "Let's just go." Sora's hand moved on its own, as if to grab Riku's…

Black, black and more black. He couldn't see or hear. It was like everything had been ripped from him…Then, a warming light shuddered into existence in his right hand. With a desperate heave, Sora jerked away from where his friend had been and blinked in the moonlight.

Riku was gone.

"Damn." Sora cursed under his breath. Why did that have to happen again? He barely took note of the keyblade when he tore off. If he was going to stop anyone from disappearing here on, he might as well start with Kairi.

Unfortunately, whatever caused Kairi to lose her heart in the first place must have happened again as a brilliant white door had taken its place in front of the tunnel to the Secret Place. "Great." Sora snarled.

'You just have no luck, huh?'

You can say that again.

'You just have no luck.'

'Roxas, shush.'

Sora smiled slightly. The antics of his nobody, replica, and friend had calmed him down a bit. Perhaps, things would still be okay, even if Kairi herself was unconscious. He pulled the door open and entered the tunnel, boredly killing a few heartless that had come to close.

Inside was the dark haze that had been there earlier that day. However, it was bit more intense then that time. "It's almost pitch black." He murmured as he slid through the foggy tunnel. He could hear the heartless banging on the door to the world's heart and the quiet breathing of Kairi. Yup, he was too late to stop her.

"…Kairi?" Sora muttered desperately as the auburn haired girl slowly turned to him. Just as before, one of his only clear memories of the Islands before they were destroyed, Kairi whispered his name…and vanished in his arms as the wind pulled her away. It was only seconds before he too was torn up into the wind's grasp.

When he came to minutes later, Sora was nearly alone on the last fragment of the islands. The only other being there…was a resilient Dark Side. "You just don't know when to die, huh?" He drawled as Oblivion flashed into his left hand. "See, I'm not a push over. Haven't been for a couple of years. I couldn't afford it…" Oath-keeper appeared in his right. "So, sorry, but you're gonna have to leave."

The Dark Side gave a growl of defiance.

It was over in seconds.

'Oh come on. You moved so fast that I couldn't see anything!'

'So?

'…That was boring.'

'Shush.'

Yeah, listen to Ven. Shush.

Sora rolled his eyes when the island fragment gave a jerk.

"Oh, shit."

It crumbled beneath his feet and he was flung up into the orb of darkness that surrounded the last of the world's heart…


….

Where…

Am I?

….

It's…

Warm….


….

Kairi?

Sora jerked up as a tongue lolled across his face. A familiar yellow-furred dog barked at him. The brunette scowled. Pluto made to run away. He moved forward, fast, and grabbed the dog's collar. "Oh no, you don't! You're staying with me, got it, mister?" The dog whined but made no more efforts to escape.

Frowning, he glanced around. The teen was still slightly disoriented from getting up so fast. Pluto barked at his feet. "Alright, boy. Where are we?" The dog barked once, twice, before tearing off down the alley. Sora sighed and chased after the yellow-furred animal.

When he exited out to the square he saw Pluto happily running up the stairs before stopping in front of a door and whining. It was also then that Sora realized where he was. "Traverse Town…" He murmured slowly following the dog.

At the door, Pluto continued to whine and scrap his paws along the wood. Sora allowed an amused sound to pass his lips and he pushed the door open. Cid… An older man with blond hair cut into a simple military style stood at the counter. He was playing with what seemed to be a deck of cards.

"Um, excuse me?" His voice cracked slightly.

God dammit, if I have to go through puberty again, I'm gonna scream.

'But, you slept through your last puberty.'

Exactly!

"Wha` do ya want, brat?" 'Charming as always.' "I'm busy."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't look like you're that busy. I just need to know where I am and what happened to my home."

Cid looked up at him. "Great, another refugee. Look, your home is gone and ya're in Traverse Town…And why the hell are you so calm about yer home being destroyed?"

"Because." 'Breath, Sora, Breath.' "If I'm not calm, I can't look for my friends properly. Is there any way I could find them easily?"

"Not that I know of, kid." Cid drawled. He scratched his chin in thought. "You could ask Leon and his group to help ya. They've got contacts in all the different districts."

Sora frowned. "How many districts are there?"

"Hmm...Last check, there were about six or seven. The Seventh has a tendency to disappear on its own and then show up again later." The brunette blinked. Well, this was new. Before they had only made mention of Districts one, two, and three…

'Ask where Leon is!'

'Or Aerith. Either works…'

'Cid'll question how he knows Aerith if he asks about her!'

'That's not what I meant…'

It's okay. I get what you meant, Roxas.

Sora frowned. "So, where is this Leon guy then?"

"Should be at the Hotel in the Second District."

It was obvious that Cid had nothing more to say to him as the man went back to playing with his deck of cards.

Sora turned away and walked out to meet Pluto. He was rather surprised to see that the yellow furred dog was still there: Pluto had a tendency to run off at random times. The brunette patted the dog on the head. "We're going to the Second District. There's someone there who might be able to help me find my friends…"

The dog barked and followed the teenager as he headed up the stairs to the left. Once he had, Sora found the large door entrance to the district. It was only when he had passed the threshold that he remembered the heartless.

This was thanks to the fact that a nameless man ran past him with a Soldier Heartless chasing after him. Oh hell no, not this time! Sora stormed forward, Oblivion flashing into his hand without hesitation. He jabbed the black teeth of the keyblade into the tin hat that blue-red clad creature wore. It glared yellow eyes at him as it died.

The nameless man gave a weak shaky laugh of relief. "Oh, Worlds, I thought I was going to die…" Sora rubbed the back of his neck.

"A-are you okay?" He asked.

The elder jolted slightly. "Oh, y-yes. I am now. Ah, where are you headed?"

Sora gestured vaguely around him. "The Second District Hotel?"

The man laughed. "Why, I'm the Innkeeper there…But you may have some trouble. The Heartless invaded my halls…" He cringed slightly.

"Aahh…So, does that mean you know where Leon is?"

"Oh, Yes! Last I saw him, he was headed to the Third District to meet with the wizard, Merlin." Sora winced. Did he have to go there too…? "Though, he should be heading to the First District at this point…"

Sora beamed. "Thanks! Oh, and be careful on your way back to the Hotel, okay?" The man laughed tiredly before disappearing into the hazy shade of the district. Sora shot Pluto a look. "Looks like we need to head back then." Pluto barked at him.

"Yeah, yeah…"

'Leon is always really busy, huh?'

'Too often is he busy if you ask me.'

Stepping back into the light of the First District, a feeling of foreboding came over the brunette. There was no one else in the district that he could see. "…Crap."

'Leon is here, isn't he?'

Yup. Time to try and not seem too impressive...but not lose on purpose.

Sora muttered to Pluto to stand back. He didn't trust Leon at the current moment enough not to drag the dog into it.

"So, you're the one it has chosen…A little kid."

He spun around to see the elder brunette giving him a cold look from the top of the Square's main stairs. "…I'm not a little kid." Sora grumbled, his blue eyes flashing in irritation. Honestly, Leon of all people should know better than to underestimate people based on their age…

Leon snorted at his statement before brandishing his gun blade. "Prove it."

"Fine. I will." Sora hissed, brandishing Oathkeeper.

Gun Blade and Keyblade clashed, sparks flying into the air. Sora gritted his teeth and dodged a ball of fire. Damn, he couldn't feel his own magic yet. He was stuck with only his sword skills. The brunette jumped over a swing at his legs.

Jeez, if only his younger body was a little faster!

Leon's blade stabbed in the air just above his head. Okay, spin and kick…He's down!

'Go in for the kill!'

'No! Don't actually kill him!'

'Well, duh, Sora isn't that dumb.'

The brunette moved in to knock the older man out when something whizzed past his face. Sora turned his head to see a dagger in the ground. He spun around. Standing there was a familiar young ninja. Before he had a chance to properly react to the new threat, Leon shot forward and smacked the back of his neck.

Ah, shucks.


"You awake?"

Sora blinked. Huh?

"I'm guessing that's a yes."

His counterpart, Roxas, grinned down at him. Sora blinked again. "Haaa? What happened?"

"Leon knocked you out after Yuffie distracted you." Roxas seemed a bit too cheerful about this incident. Sora scowled at him.

"You seem to be enjoying this."

Roxas gave him a shameless grin. "A little bit, yeah." He frowned. "Ven and Xion ran off all of a sudden after you lost consciousness. Said something about Kairi…?" Sora frowned as well. What did that mean? A crash from near-by drew their attention.

"Speak of the Devil and the Devil shall appear." Roxas muttered.

Standing there was a ruffled looking Xion. She shot the blond a teasingly dry look and Sora gagged. "Please, don't be all lovey-dovey in front of me. I have to deal with it enough without seeing it…" He received a kick to the shin from the black haired girl.

"Serious, Sora, Be serious!" She snapped, crossing her arms. "We've got another newcomer that is a bit eager to know why there are two, that she knows of, other people in one of her two love interests` Heart." Roxas coughed into his hand to hide his amusement.

Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "You can't mean Kairi, do you?"

Xion gave him a half-lidded glare.

"Okay, you do." He waved his hands as if to ward off the angry replica from hurting him. "Is Ven explaining the entire situation…?"

She sighed. "As much as he feels safe to. Everything else, you'll have to tell her. Like, now."

What? "Why now?"

Xion jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. Roxas let out a soft whistle. "So that's why."

The brunette shot a look at his counterpart that clearly said he wasn't helping, but Roxas never saw it, for the next second Sora was mobbed by a hysterical Kairi. "SORA! What's going on?!"

Sora winced slightly as she squeezed her arms around his hurt ribs. "Uh, how much did Ven tell you, first, please?"

Kairi whipped away some tears. "Just some basics. What happened to our home, where Riku is, The Heartless, something about 'nobodies', and some things about the keyblade…Oh! And that you have memories from the future…"

"Some skills too, like Scan…But I'll have to train my body again if I want to use most of them." He mumbled. "Ah, well. So it sounded like Ven has covered most of the first half of the journey…Or the first journey, if you prefer." When he blinked, the brunette realized that his sight was beginning to blur. "Aw, crap."

Ven gave him a worried look. "What is it?"

"I'm waking up." Sora informed them. "Xion, Roxas, could you two fill Kairi in on what happened in the second half? And if she has any questions that Ven couldn't answer, can you answer them?"

"If we can." Xion said cautiously.

Roxas nodded. "We'll tell her as much as we can. And if there's anything about the first journey that Xion remembers but not Ven, she can tell Kairi about that." Kairi looks somewhat panicked.

"S-Sora, why are you…fading away?"

Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm waking up in the real world…But don't worry, you can still talk to me in the real world too! Just get the others to teach you, okay?" Roxas grumbled something about too much of a burden but Kairi gave the brunette a tearful and heartfelt smile.

"O-Okay...Be safe, you lazy bum!"

He laughed.

"Always."


Yuffie was leaning over him again. Hmmm…on second thought, the ninja looked far more like Xion then Kairi…But then, Xion's appearance did originally come from Kairi, so did that even count?

"Oh-ho! You woke up!" She cackled.

"And I now wanna go back to sleep. Seriously, I want to sleep naturally, not keep being knocked out by either those heartless guys or stalkers…" Sora grumbled. Yuffie looked scandalized.

She sniffed at him. "Squall! He's calling me a stalker!"

'…I thought that…was the whole…point of a ninja…'

Oh! Kairi, you need to speak up a bit. Your speech is breaking up a little.

'You make it sound like we're some sort of radio show.'

'That sounds kinda fun. Live! From Sora's Heart, your hosts, Xion, Roxas, and Ven, with our new co-host, Kairi!'

'Hahahaha, that does sound like fun.'

'Wouldn't it bother Sora though?'

Ah, I can hear you better now Kairi! And, well, it kind of is now. I need to concentrate on Leon and Yuffie…

The quartet murmured apologizes as Sora refocused on the elder brunette. If he remembered right, he was lecturing him on the keyblade. "That's great and all." Sora interrupted, earning him a glare. "But how in the stars does that help me find my friends? You know, the ones I'm pretty sure survived along with me."

Leon sighed. "There is no guarantee that they did, just because you did—"

"That's crap! If I survived, then so did Riku and Kairi! Heck, I bet Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie survived! Aiko too!"

Yuffie looked back and forth between the two as they glared fiercely at one another. The ninja waved her hands around. "H-hey, calm down you two! Uh, Sora, right?" At his angry nod, she continued. "Well, we need your help to save the worlds. But if helping you find your friends is the only way you'll do that, then fine. Fair Exchange, at the very least, I think!" She clapped her hands. "Besides, the group I'm a part of, Avalanche, are experts at finding lost people!"

Leon snorted. "So why haven't you found Cloud for Tifa or Zack for Aerith yet?" The ninja stomped her foot childishly.

"Cloud is way too good at hiding! And Zack…" Yuffie bit her lip. "All of the evidence points to him being…" She trailed off.

Zack? That was new. As was 'Avalanche'…

'Zack! I knew him; I met him on my own journey, at the Olympus Colisieum…'

'Interesting…That's where Cloud is right now, too. Is that a coincidence?'

'I don't think so.'

'Me either…'

Sora shook his head with a light sigh. "Alright, I'll help you guys out. Just help me find my friends, okay?" Yuffie cheered and instructed him to give a list of appearances and names of everyone that he thinks might have survived.

Of course, it was only after this that Sora remembered the intrusion. And, as per with the brunette's luck, as soon as he remembered, it happened.

In what felt like seconds, he found himself by the third district. Oddly enough, there wasn't a sign of any heartless what so ever…but that in itself was a bad sign. Sora bit his lip and gripped the handle of Bond of Flame. Any moment…that boss heartless would appear.

What he got first was a duck and a dog.

Then the heartless armor decided to say hello.

Donald and Goofy, oddly enough, took point after him. Perhaps they were used to fighting with a sword wielder of some kind, like the King? Sora decided it wasn't that important to know. He dodged under the swing of the armor.

Man, this heartless really enjoyed trying to kill him, didn't it?

He jabbed his keyblade between the plates of the leg and foot of the heartless, silently enjoying its scream of pained rage. Sora then had to dodge the main body's attempt to make a Sora Pancake. Eyeing the heartless, he noted with some surprise that the arms had already been dispatched by Goofy and Donald. One of the two feet had been destroyed by him…and it only needed one hit.

'Get it!'

Sora swing his keyblade around and through the leg. For a second, it seemed as if the heartless would collapse…but then the main body simply floated in place. "Annoying little…" Sora trailed off, dodged another body slam.

He spotted Goofy readying his next attack. "Er, hey wait!" The dog paused, a flash of surprise on his muzzle. "Can you boost me up to the Heartless' head?" Goofy blinked before saying that he could and readying his shield to act as a platform. Sora dashed forward and leapt onto the shield. Only a second later he was being propelled through the air and straight at the helmeted head of the Heartless. The brunette let out a cry of victory as his keyblade gave the final blow.

The trio watched the heart float away. Sora turned to the other two, ready to introduce himself when Leon and Yuffie sprinted over to them. "Ooooh, my gosh! Are you okay? We couldn't get through the First District doors into here!" Sora winced.

"Sorry?"

"Not your fault." Leon murmured. "Most likely, the heartless were preventing anyone from interfering….Are you alright?"

Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Oh! I forgot to tell you my name earlier didn't I…? I'm Sora." Yuffie giggled.

"We didn't exactly introduce ourselves properly either. I'm Yuffie! And that guy is Squall—"

"Leon." The elder brunette interrupted. He turned to the duck and dog. "You two are…?"

Goofy saluted. "I'm Captain Goofy Goof of the Disney Royal knights! It's nice ta meet cha." The white feathered duck gave a squawk.

"Goofy! The World Order!...Well, that's shot now." He sighed. "I'm the Disney Kingdom Court magician, Donald Duck."

Leon crossed his arms. "You do realize this is a refugee world, right? So everyone here already knows of other worlds." Donald blinked. Sora snickered under his breath at the poor duck.

The Knight shook Donald's shoulder. "What about the Keyblade, Donald?"

"Argh! That's right!" The white- feathered magician spun around to focus on the younger brunette. "We need you!...I think. Do you have the Key?"

Sora tipped his head to the side. "Do you mean Kingdom Key?"

'Oh! I haven't seen that one yet…'

'Here, I'll show you.'

'Oi, Watch it! You almost took my eye out, Xion!'

'Sorry?'

'Hahahaha! You don't sound sorry at all, Xion!'

And there they go. He'd been wondering where they went. Sora focused back on Donald.

"I guess?" The duck muttered. "Does that mean you have it?"

"Um, yeah?" Sora frowned and brought the Kingdom Key forward into his hand. "See?"

Donald blinked. "You weren't using that before." Leon and Yuffie murmured their agreements while Goofy looking vaguely confused. The dog never paid much attention to the different keyblades that Sora used…even in the old timeline.

Sora frowned again. "My…keyblade changes. Like, all the time. The one I first used was this one…then one called Oath-Keeper." The brunette faced the ninja and gun-swordsman. "The black one was Oblivion." He turned back to the Disney Duo. "And the last one I used was Bond of Flame."

The duck crossed his arms, a frown now on his face as well. "His Majesty never mentioned that part…" Sora tipped his head to the side, curious, while Goofy pulled Donald away, a look of determination on his face. The two then began to converse quietly while the brunette turned back to the other two…three, he realized, as Aerith had appeared sometime in the last couple minutes. She smiled at him.

"My name is Aerith. Yuffie said you wanted to find people…?"

He nodded sharply. "Yeah. Do you want that list?"

Aerith smiled again. "Here, a paper pad and pen." She handed him the items and Sora quickly wrote out the people who were missing.

It read as follows:

Tidus is blond and blue eyed. Probably will have a staff of some kind, held like a long sword. His hair flips out on the ends. Loud and cheerful all the time.

Selphie has brown hair that does a really weird curl at the ends. Green eye. Loves Romance. Uses a jump rope or maybe nun-chucks as a weapon. Wears a yellow dress. Might be with Tidus or Wakka. A Romantic and stubborn.

Wakka is a red-head with a blue band holding his hair straight up. Carries around a blitz ball (if you know what that is). Should be wearing mostly blues and yellows. Loud and has an accent.

Aiko is my older sister of three years and has a brown hair like mine. Spikes up where her hair is short and has grass-green eyes. Wears white and red. Really teasing, sarcastic, and head-strong. Sometimes, she can be serious…Though, not often.

Kairi is auburn haired with purple-blue eyes and is my best (girl) friend. Wears a white tank top and purple skirt-shirts. White slip on shoes and a yellow arm band. A silver pedant. Kind, gentle. If she isn't alone, she should be with Riku.

Riku has silver hair with green-blue eyes and is my best (guy) friend. Wears a yellow sleeveless shirt with a black back. Long blue pants tucked into his yellow-and-black shoes. Short black gloves. Stubborn and serious. May not trust you right off the bat…Please, tell him I'm looking for him, Kairi, Aiko, and the others, won't you, if you find him?

Sora handed the pad of paper with the writing back on it. Aerith glanced over it and nodded once. "This should be enough to find them if they did end up here in Traverse. Also…Those two…they have a Gummi Ship."

He opened his mouth to ask.

"A Gummi Ship lets you travel to other worlds!" Yuffie cheered.

Leon crossed his arms. "If your friends aren't here, they might have ended up on the outlying worlds around Traverse. If you ask them…Those two might let you come along." Sora shot him a grateful look before walking over to the Disney duo.

"Uh, hey?" The two turned to him. "I was…wondering. Leon and the others said that you have a Gummi Ship that can go to other worlds. Can I…come? To find my lost friends if they're out there instead of here." Goofy's eyes brightened and Donald scowled slightly.

Sora twiddles his thumbs as the duo began to mutter amongst themselves again. Finally, Donald turned to him. "Okay, fine. We'll let you come. So long as you help out on our mission too!" The brunette nodded in bemusement. Ah, so serious sometimes, that duck…

Then, realization hit him.

He'd be leaving Traverse Town.

Yes. Finally!


Chapter 02

Traversing Stars

End


Cid

A shop keeper and Gummi Ship mechanic. He has a bit of a cussing problem and is currently trying to swear off cigarettes via toothpicks.

Yuffie

The Great Ninja of Traverse Town! No, not really. This girl is trained in ninjutsu and the way of the assassin, so she isn't someone you want to be mad at you. YUFFIE is also a bit of a prankster.

Leon

A very serious gun blade user. He is the pseudo Leader of the group in Traverse Town since CLOUD had vanished. He's very stern and set in his ways.

Donald Duck

The Court Wizard of Disney Kingdom. The duck has a raging temper but thankfully doesn't have a mouth to match. He is currently looking for KING MICKEY.

Goofy Goof

The Captain of Knights in Disney Kingdom. This dog is a bit of a goof, hence the name, and is a bit oblivious. However, sometimes he has insights that others don't. He is currently looking KING MICKEY.

Aerith

The local healer. She is currently one of the two heads of the group 'Avalanche' which helps refugees reunite with other survivors from their home world. Very kind, soft and gentle.


WORLDs

Traverse Town

This is a Refugee World where those who have lost their homes to the darkness end up usually. This world is about nine years old as of now and has seven or eight (depending on who you ask) Districts.