Hello everyone. I've been gone for a long time once again. I got a little busy during my second semester, but now that it's summer, and I'm done with all my major summer activities, I'd like to dedicate more time to this fan fic (especially since game #3 is due to be released sometime in the near future)

Chapter 7

All that could be heard in the room was the ticking of the clock, the tapping of his fingers, and the sound of Pluto in a deep sleep next to him.

Mickey sat at his desk in the library, waiting for Donald and Goofy to arrive. He had summoned them not too long ago, so he hoped that they'd be there soon. Mickey put his fingers to his temples. He had hoped that the darkness would be suppressed for a time at least, never had he thought that it would rise up so soon.

Just then, the giant doors of the Library swung open, Donald entering through, followed by Goofy. Mickey sat up straight in his chair, gesturing for them to stand before him with his hand. He smiled, but it was weary. Goofy was the first to speak up.

"Gawrsh, your highness. What seems to be the trouble?"

Mickey heaved a sigh before he began, looking both in the eye, "Fellas, as you know, I returned from Master Yensid's not long ago," he looked down, "and I'm afraid I bring bad news."

"Well, your Majesty," said Donald, "we're more than happy to help you out, whatever it may be." With this said, both friends saluted to the King in unison.

Mickey's smile brightened a little, "I'm glad to hear it," he stood up and walked around to the front of this desk to face Donald and Goofy, "and I'm sure Sora will be, too."

Both dropped their hands as their faces lit up, followed by concern. "Sora?" Both said aloud.

"Oh no," Goofy said aloud, "I sure hope Sora hasn't run into any trouble?"

Donald tried to show that he wasn't worried, folding his arms and standing tall, "Sora will be fine…" he looked to Mickey, "Right, your Majesty?"

"Well, according to Master Yensid, perhaps not." Shock washed over Donald and Goofy's faces as Mickey looked to them, trying to keep himself neutral, "Xemnas went to Destiny Island and did something none of us anticipated," now he looked down, not meeting Donald and Goofy's anticipated faces. "He was able to separate Roxas and Namine from Sora and Kairi."

"What does this mean then?" Donald asked, sounding distraught.

Mickey looked back up, "Fellas, it means that you will have to once more accompany Sora on his journey." A stern look transpired on his face as he grinned, "Go forth and defeat the darkness once again, and this time," he brought his hand up and clenched it into a powerful fist, "let's seal it away for good."

Donald and Goofy both saluted once more in unison, then quickly took off out of the Library. Mickey watched his two friends as they left, the giant doors closing behind them. He looked up to the ceiling, "Please let them be safe," saying quietly to himself. He returned to his desk and sat down. Pluto by that point had woken up from his nap, looking up at Mickey. He patted the drowsy dogs head, and reached for a piece of parchment in a drawer. Taking the quill sitting on the top of the desk, he heaved a sigh and began to write.


Atop the rooftop of Merlin's, Yuffie could see the market of Radiant Garden a buzz, a soft smile on her face. "Good," she said aloud to herself, "so far, there's been no Heartless activity today."

Just then below her, she saw swirling dark matter, the size of a door, form near the front steps. Yuffie reached for her Scythe next to her, "Of course, I spoke too soon," saying aloud in a frustrated voice. She jumped off the roof, lading before the dark matter. She took her stance, readying herself for whatever was about the appear before her. Instead of the Heartless, to her surprise, a boy with flipped up blonde hair and blue eyes came through and stood before her. In a way, he looked oddly familiar, yet Yuffie knew that she'd never seen this boy before… and yet…

Just then, four more people came through, two of which were familiar faces. Yuffie heaved a sigh of relief, relaxing out of her stance, "Man, am I glad to see you, Sora. I thought you guys were another swarm of Heartless," then she turned her attention to the rest of the group, shining a big smile, "as for the rest of you, welcome to Radiant Garden."

As she scanned over the unfamiliar faces, she stopped on Kairi. Yuffie knew that she knew this girl from somewhere before, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. A look of pondering on her face,"Now, for sure I know you…" Just as Kairi was about to answer, a form of realization struck Yuffie, "Wait, I've got this," she stared more intensely now, "You're…," then like lightning, it hit her, "You're Kairi!"

A big smile of warmth grew on Kairi's face, "That's right," she looked over to Sora, "Sora brought me to Traverse Town to stay with your group before I was sent back to the island."

Yuffie nodded, her arms crossed, "Well, I'm glad to know you remained safe and sound. Only," a puzzled look spread on her face, "what are you doing here now, and not on your island?"

The group looked at one another, then Sora spoke up, "It's kind of a long story. We'd better go inside and discuss it."


As the group finished with their story, Yuffie, Aerith, and Leon sat there, letting it sink in.

"Well, that explains why the heartless have become active again in a short period of time," Leon said, standing with his arms crossed, looking down at the floor with a frustrated look on his face.

Aeirth was sitting down on a nearby chair, but instead of frustration like Leon, her face had a soft smile upon it. "I'm just glad that everyone is safe and sound," she looked towards where Roxas and Namine sat in the room, "and I'm glad that we were able to meet the two of you as well."

Both Namine and Roxas smiled back, but Roxas's felt a lot more forced. He had an uneasy feeling. Being in the room with everyone just didn't feel right, like he was invading something personal. While everyone got wrapped up in conversation, his eyes wandered towards Sora. He thought that he was alright with what he was. But now, seeing Sora amongst everyone… actually belonging. He had a history with these people, unlike himself and Namine. He wondered if they would be of any help to these people… or if they would end up bringing everyone down? Roxas knew that even now, Namine and himself were probably being hunted down by Xemnas. He still wondered what motive he had with them? He had hoped he would be able to come up with an alternative idea, but it seemed that there would probably be no other choice. Time was of the essence.

"Yo, Earth to Roxas!" Sora cried, snapping Roxas back from his thoughts, making him jump. Sora smirked at Roxas, and continued on sharing his idea to the group. "So like I was saying, I think that Roxas and Namine should patrol Twilight Town, while Kairi stays here to do some training with Riku and I. Maybe if she does that, she'll be able to wield her Keybalde in no time, and then we can try and get in contact with the King."

Leon nodded in agreement, "That might be the best plan of action. From what you guys have told us, more Nobodies are in Twilight Town than Heartless. Your best bet is to have Roxas fending off the Nobodies in the area, if there are any, and have Namine gather information to relay back here."

Riku elbowed Sora, "Since when did you get so smart?"

"Shut up, you," chuckled Sora, landing a punch on Riku's shoulder. He quickly regretted it, shaking his hand better.

All Roxas could do was stand there, bewildered. What he thought would be his only option had actually become his best option. Who would have thought that Sora would have come up with the same idea for himself and Namine as he had done? And better yet, everyone thought it was a good idea, and that it would be an asset to the team.

"Well, if Roxas and I are to take care of Twilight Town," said Naime, standing up, "we'd best be on our way." Roxas nodded in agreement, joining Namine's side. "Thank you all for everything," she gave a little bow of her head, and began her descent out the door, Roxas doing the same.

Just as Roxas walked through the doorway behind Namine, his felt his arm being grabbed, making him jerk back slightly. He looked back to see Sora's hand wrapped around his forearm, his eyes with a worried look in them. "Roxas, you're not planing on getting there the way I think you're planning on getting there, right?" Sora took a step forward, "We'll figure out a way to get you guys there. Just," his voice cracked slightly, "just don't go that way."

Suddenly, Sora could feel a small, gentle hand on his, loosening his grip on Roxas. It madevhim let go, looking up to see Namine now cupping Sora's hand within hers. She smiled a soft smile, looking down at Sora's hand, "I'm glad that you're worried for us," she then looks up into Sora's eyes, "but, you don't have to worry. I promise that the two of us will be okay, alright?"

Sora looks into the eyes of both Namine and Roxas, then heaves a sigh, putting on a brave face for his friends. "I supposed if I can't stop you," he gives a small smile, "I'll have to just see you off."

Namine smiles back and nods, "We'll see each other again soon." She lets go of Sora's hand and begins to walk back to Roxas. Dar, swirling matter the size of a door appears before them in front of the doorway.

Roxas turns his head towards Sora and smiles back, "Yeah, we'll be back together before you know it." The two of them give a little wave of their hand at Sora before entering the dark matter. Sora begins to wave back, but just as he begins to wave, Namine and Roxas are quickly sucked into the dark matter, and the matter dissolves into thin air as it disappears.

Sora stands on his own for a second, looking at where Namine and Roxas stood a moment before, slowly letting his hand drop. "I sure hope that we meet again soon." He looked down at his hand, clenching it into a fist, "I sure hope so."


He stood in the shadows, his hood drawn up to conceal his face. The sunset was quite beautiful, just like the many times he had seen it before. He gave a little chuckle to himself, then had another bite of his sea salt ice cream.

The whole thing had been quite strange since he woke up back in Twilight Town. Vivid images of his last battle with Sora against all the Nobodies that blocked their path. He still didn't understand exactly how he had been able to come back.

He most certainly died.

But somehow, he also hadn't.

The last thing that he remembered after disappearing from existence was a bright light, everything around him white. It had felt so warm, the light that surrounded him. He could see his true self, and everything that he had once imagined he felt had become real. It made him feel dejected though, because he knew that he would never be able to feel any of those emotions again.

Suddenly, a stain glassed floor appeared beneath him, an image of himself, Roxas, and Sora, all united. A voice within asked, "What do you truly desire?" That made him chuckle. What did he want? He looked towards the image of Roxas, and he suddenly felt a longing. "What I want," he said aloud, "is to be with the people I care for, and protect them." He looked up into the white abyss, "I want to be by the side of those I care about!" Then, the next thing he knew, he was on his back, looking up at the sky by the gates of the Old Mansion.

Just then, he heard laughter from a nearby group of teens, bringing him back out of his thoughts. Deciding to not question how he had got there, but to be thankful that he was still even alive, he finished off what remained of the now melting Sea Salt ice-cream in his hand. But, as the trio of teens walked by, dark matter the size of a door appeared, catching his eye. Pulling back his hood, revealing his fiery red hair, he steped out of the shadows, shock on his face.

"How in the hell…?" was all he could manage before Roxas and Namine looked in the direction of where Axel stood.