Shadows of Reality: Final Mix

Chapter Nine – Eternal Moments

It was still a nice, clear, sunny day by the time Kairi decided that she wanted to leave the confines of their shared room. She had no destination in mind, all she knew was that she wanted to get out of the castle, so they left the castle entirely and went into Disney Town.

Sora was just as amazed as she was at the town. He knew about all the places around Disney (Donald and Goofy had explained it all), but he never actually went to any of these places. Any time he had been to Disney, he stayed in the castle, only venturing into the courtyards. The town was full of life and colour with different anthropomorphic and human figures alike.

"I didn't know actual people lived here too," Kairi said when she saw someone who looked like a pirate yelling at a cow who stood on two legs.

"Minnie mentioned it before," Sora said, keep her hand held tightly in his so that they wouldn't get separated. "She told me that most places had a mix, but there are some cities out there where the creatures refuse to live with the humans and vice versa. They're not particularly mean to each other, they'd just rather stay clear of one another."

Kairi nodded and said, "This place is so beautiful and colourful."

Sora grinned at her and asked, "Anything in particular you'd like to see?"

"I'd like to get a few books or something, maybe. Just things to read. That little store over there looks cute too. The one with the jewelry?"

Sora sighed, smiling slightly and saying, "Lead the way."

She led him around to different stores, smiling the entire time. She bought a few books, slipping in one about pregnancy that the owner didn't seem to notice when he scanned it. Most of the books that she got though were silly romantic ones though, something Sora teased her about.

There was a small little store that sold magic stones. They weren't strong magic, but it was more to promote things like happiness and protection. Sora was quick to buy some, a little bag that he gave to Kairi. She thought it was both cute and funny that he wanted to cover all of their bases when it came to her. So she couldn't be surprised when he put together a bag of tiny stones that promoted protection, calming, relieving anger and fear, promoting good luck and so on. It was a little silly, but she ended up with a small velvet bag with a small agate, amazonite, aquamarine, diopside, emerald, garnet, jade, kyanite, lapis lazuli, opal, rose quartz and a topaz in it. She swore to keep it on her at all times.

They wandered around leisurely, Kairi's hand held in his own. It had been a long time since they had done something simple like that. Both had been so busy with the end of the school year and exams that they barely spent any time together. Instead, Sora was usually with Roxas and Kairi with Namine, or in a big group together.

Their argument from that morning seemed all but forgotten, as had the massive news that she threw at him. He wasn't going to bring it up again, because she was very happy right now.

"We should probably go back soon," Sora said to her. "We don't want anyone to worry."

"Okay I gu—what do those three little ducks have?"

He looked around, smiled and said, "Huey, Dewey and Louie. I swear, they're everywhere I go. Traverse Town, Radiant Garden, here…come on, lets go see what that weird thing is." Kairi made a sound of acknowledgement, glad that Sora felt the need to state their names, because while she recognized them, for the life of her, she couldn't remember their names.

They made their way through the crowds and finally reached what looked like a canon pointed at a stage. Huey looked over, smiled and said, "Sora! It's good ta see ya! And Kairi too!"

"Hey guys," Sora said with a grin. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, we decided to break out the ice cream cannon," Dewey explained.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we used it," Louie added.

"You shoot ice cream at people?" Kairi asked slowly. She really felt like it was a waste of ice cream, and now that she thought about it, she really wanted some.

"We shoot it into cones on the stage. It's a game. You do it to music," Huey said. "We used magic to make sure that, if it gets in the cones, it stays there, but if a person misses, it magically vanishes. It doesn't actually hit anyone."

"I still don't think I'd like ice cream shot at me," she insisted, moving so that she was holding on to Sora's arm, pressing herself close to him, making her eyes a little bit wider and more watery. "Though I would like some to eat."

Sora glanced down at her pleading eyes and smiled slightly, shaking his hand before saying, "Fine, we'll find a place to get ice cream."

"You can buy some from us!" Louie said happily.

"Is it the stuff that goes in the cannon?" Kairi asked warily.

The three ducklings found this question hilarious. "No!"

"Unca Scrooge owns a store here. That's why he wanted to open one in Radiant Garden," Dewey said.

"Yeah, we have way more kinds here, come on, I'll show you." Huey looked over at his two brothers and said, "You guys watch the canon, okay?"

They replied affirmatively and Huey led them over to a brightly decorated building.

"It's not actually opened yet," Huey said. "It used to be, but Unca Scrooge decided that the inside needed to be renovated. The 'grand re-opening' is tomorrow, but we can definitely give you guys some today. Aunt Daisy, Queen Minnie, and even Max and Goofy were here already."

Kairi looked up at the menu and read, "Volcano Curry? Snow Bear? Spark Lemon? Jewel Vanilla? Queen Berry? Rock Crunch? Honey Bear? Milky Way? Double Crunch? Hat Trick? Those are all interesting names."

"Yeah," Huey laughed. "We have more too, but those are the only ones we have in stock. Lets see, Volcano Curry has pepper and curry."

"Ew," she said, not bothering to hide her disgust.

"Snow Bear is made with sesame and soy milk."

"No thanks."

"Spark Lemon has candy, soda and lemon."

"Sounds like a better drink."

"Jewel Vanilla has jam, beans and sugar."

"What kind of beans?" Sora asked.

"Vanilla."

"Well, that doesn't sound bad," Kairi said. "What's in everything else?"

"Queen Berry was made specially for Queen Minnie. It has all her favorites in it including raspberry, jelly, birthday cake and honey."

"That one does sound good. Minnie has great taste. What's Rock Crunch?"

"Caramel and nuts. Honey Bear is honey and apples, Milky Way is fluffy cream, rainbow syrup and cotton candy."

"Oh my god all of those sound good Sora," she said, tugging at his arm. "What's Double Crunch?"

"Strawberry, romance milk, wedding cake and shooting star syrup. Hat Trick is melon, orange and peach."

Kairi giggled and said, "Double crunch sounds interesting, doesn't it Sora?"

Sora blushed deeply said, "Do you know what you want?"

"Everything," she said while leaning on him, looking up at the sign. "I think I want Milky Way for now Huey, if that's okay? A large one!"

"Gotcha. What about you Sora?"

"Rock Crunch, please." He nudged Kairi, stressing the word please. She ignored him.

The little duck went to work and Sora glanced down at Kairi, who seemed very happy and at ease right then. In fact, she looked positively excited.

Huey said that they didn't have to pay, but Sora insisted that he take some. Just seeing how happy Kairi was as she ate her brightly coloured ice cream was a good enough reason for him, considering how upset she was that morning.

"So, you ready to go back?" Sora asked her as he ate his ice cream. He loved caramel, so the ice cream was amazing. He had to raise his eyebrow at Kairi, who was simply ignoring him and focusing on her own sweet dessert, which was a fair bit bigger than his. He didn't get a reply, so he just took her by the arm and led her back to the castle.

VVVVVV

Riku looked up as the door to the huge lounge that they were in opened. His split second distraction gave Roxas the upper hand, bringing down the weapon onto his head.

"Yes!" Roxas cried out and jumped up and waved his hands around. "Finally!"

"I was distracted," Riku replied crossly, setting down the controller. On the wide-screen television in front of him, the words 'Player Two Wins' flashed, as if mocking him. He groaned angrily and turned around, his angry look fading as he saw Sora walk in, leading Kairi with his hand on her lower back. Riku instantly realized that it was a good idea on his part, because she seemed completely out of it.

"Did you drug her?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow. He eyed her brightly coloured ice cream skeptically, as if the very colours themselves were evidence of Sora lacing it with drugs.

"No," he looked almost offended at this, but his expression swiftly changed to an amused one. "She just loves that ice cream more than me."

"So where did you guys go?" Midori asked as she looked up from the book that she had been reading. "Or did you just sleep all day and go raid the kitchen now?"

"We went into town," Sora explained as he sat down on one of the huge, cushioned armchairs. Kairi sat on his lap instantly, even though there were more chairs all around.

"Are you okay Kairi?" Namine asked with a frown as she set down her sketchbook.

Kairi slowly looked at her and said, "I'm fine. This is just really good ice cream."

Riku stared at her for a moment before his eyes shifted to Sora. At first, he seemed fine, but when the brunet realized his friend was staring at him, a quick flash of fear went through his eyes, unable to hide it. Riku really couldn't blame him, knowing what he knew.

He had been in a situation not long ago when he went to break up with a girlfriend, and she blurted out that she thought she was pregnant in a last-ditch attempt to make him stay. He doubted it, but had to wait an agonizing week for the result. The entire time, he had been nervous and horrified, and he had never felt more relieved when the tests came out negative. The girl had been in a rage over it, and he quickly broke up with her. She had been his worst choice for a girlfriend ever. Riku could sympathize with Sora, but at the same time, if Sora hurt Kairi in any way, he would have to beat the living hell out of him. He would get Roxas to help too.

"Where did you get the ice cream?" Roxas asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. In reality though, everyone in the room knew that Roxas was restraining himself to not run out of the door in search of ice cream.

Sora had his arm around Kairi's shoulder as she ate, and a smirk appeared on his face. "Did you know that Huey, Dewey and Louie had an ice cream store? It was closed for renovations but it'll be opened tomorrow. They're giving their friends, and people from the castle some today though. That and they have an ice cream cannon."

"An ice…cream…cannon?" Roxas asked slowly, his eyes going wide as he stared at his twin.

"Yeah," Sora said with a nod. "He says that they basically made it into a game where they shoot ice cream into a person's cone to music or something like that. You get a free ice cream if you do good enough."

"Are you serious?" his tone of voice was rather airy voice, almost like Kairi's.

Kairi seemed to realize this too, and she seemed a little offended, though Sora didn't know why. She suddenly smirked the smirk he knew came with the more sly part of her personality. She took a huge bit of her ice cream and let out a small moan before saying, "Oh my god, this is the best thing I've ever eaten."

Roxas looked from Kairi, to her ice cream, to Sora, back to the ice cream, to Naminé, to the ice cream, to the door, and then he was gone.

"Roxas! Don't you dare spend all your munny on ice cream!" Naminé yelled after him, sounding more like his mother than his girlfriend. She sighed, shook her head and went after him.

Sora, Riku and Midori laughed and Sora said, "Nice."

"What? This is the best ice cream I've ever tasted," she replied with a grin, sounding very proud of herself.

"Well played," Midori said with a grin. "He's been slouching around and being lazy all day. That, added on to the sheer amount of junk he eats, is going to make him fat. You better watch out too Kairi, that's a lot of ice cream."

"Weren't you saying not too long ago that you wanted to watch what you eat? Just to be healthier?" Riku asked her.

"I can indulge sometimes," she replied, sounding a little annoyed.

"Yeah," Sora agreed slowly, "but in a little while when you start sho—"

Kairi's eyes went huge and the next thing anyone knew, her ice cream had ended up in Sora's face, smearing his skin with a variety of sticky, sweet colours.

Everyone went silent and Sora slowly blinked while staring at her. She dropped the remaining ice cream and the cone to the floor.

"Did you lose some brain cells while you were sick?" Midori blurted out, unable to comprehend what exactly was going on. As far as she knew, one minute they were having a good conversation, the next Kairi shoved ice cream in Sora's face.

Kairi suddenly leapt up from Sora's lap and rushed out of the room. Sora reached up and wiped his face off with his glove before standing up and silently following her, ignoring the ice cream on the floor.

Midori looked over at Riku with wide eyes and asked, "No really, what just happened?"

Riku was pretty sure that he knew why she was acting the way she was, but he just shrugged it off and said, "No idea." It wasn't his news to tell, and from Kairi's reaction when he was positive that Sora was about to say something about her being pregnant, she didn't want anyone else to know yet.

VVVVVV

"What the hell Kairi?" Sora asked when he caught up to her in their room, trying to repress how annoyed he actually felt. He felt like yelling at her, but he kept taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

She didn't answer, instead going to the bathroom. Sora followed her quickly, thinking that she was going to be sick. Instead, she ran a cloth under the water before turning the faucet off and moving to him, running the warm cloth over his skin to wipe off the ice cream that was on his face.

He stayed silent, observing her as she cleaned the mess that she made. He didn't lash out or say anything, because he could see the tears welding up in her eyes, though they didn't spill over yet.

She was trying to get the sticky residue that stuck his hair together off but she couldn't get the tangled stands apart. That was when she burst into tears.

"Hey," Sora said, pulling her close, "it's okay. It's okay."

"You were going to tell them," she said in a small voice.

It took him a minute to realize what she meant before he said, "Well they do need to know. It's going to effect everyone in some way."

"Not yet," she said, sounding like she was begging.

"Why?"

She suddenly jerked away from him, whipping around so that she was facing away from him, her arms wrapping around her stomach as if she was in pain, the cloth falling to the floor. He was about to ask if something was wrong and she said, "I just—feel like it would jinx it. The first three months are when miscarriages are most common and I—I don't want anything to—I just want to wait until after that. Please?" She sniffled loudly and Sora realized that she wasn't crying as much as she was whimpering. "Don't be mad."

He instantly felt horrible. He put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them gently and he said, "I'm not mad Iri. Not at all. Okay, maybe I was a bit annoyed, but you did shove ice cream into my face." He realized what he said and quickly kept talking, "I'm not mad though. I promise. It's okay. You don't want anyone to know yet? Well, we won't tell anyone…er…well…anyone else. Please don't cry."

Once again, she whipped around (he made a note that pregnant Kairi seemed to have a thing for dramatics), this time staring at him with hard eyes. "Who did you tell?"

"Riku," he admitted hesitantly.

Kairi stared at him blankly before her eyes softened and she nodded her head. "Riku won't tell anyone else. Maybe it's better if one other person knows. Just in case."

Sora nodded his head and asked, "Are you okay now?"

She groaned and said, "I can't believe I wasted my delicious ice cream."

Sora laughed a bit at this before leaning down and kissing her on the lips quickly. "I'll talk to Scrooge to see if we can get you an entire, personal tub of it, okay? Now how about—" Kairi cut him off by pulling him down into a deep kiss. He was a little surprised, but he responded after a moment.

They broke apart a few minutes later, panting slightly and said she said, "You tasted like my ice cream."

His laughter echoed around them and he hugged her to him, the argument forgotten.

VVVVVV

Kairi was extremely affectionate for the rest of the night, and it was very noticeable. Sora was very surprised, because he expected her to be a little angry with him, or annoyed or something, throughout the rest of the day.

It seemed that Riku's idea of him spending the entire day with her and waiting on her hand and foot was a good one. If he had to describe her in any way, it would be positively radiant and happy. Though her emotions were quick to shift if she thought he was a little angry with her. Then she would instantly tear up or get a little more annoyed. It wasn't too noticeable though.

If she was like this now, he could only imagine what it would be like four or five months down the road.

They were all in chairs sitting in Mickey's huge study. He had come to them earlier, explaining that there was something important that he had to discuss with them, something that had just come to light after a conversation with Master Yen Sid earlier that day. All they got out of him was that it would affect Sora and Roxas the most, something that just made the twins sigh. Everything seemed to affect them more than anyone else.

Mickey was sitting behind his desk, looking thoughtful as they all sat in the chairs that had been brought in. None of them urged him to speak, since he looked a little confused about what he wanted to say.

"Welp," Mickey started suddenly, "you remember how we established that Kairi being engaged to the Prince of another kingdom would get her away from Radiant Garden, and Naminé and Roxas volunteered to take up the throne, if only to guard the Door to Darkness?"

"Because I'm too much of a wimp to do it," Kairi grumbled, guilt lacing through her voice.

Naminé reached over and grabbed her cousin's hand. She smiled slightly and said, "It's okay Kairi. Radiant Garden needs someone, and I still have the option to make my own choices about who I marry where you wouldn't. It's okay. I want to do this."

Kairi smiled weakly at her, but at the same time, she was happy that Naminé seemed to be taking it so well. There was absolutely no way someone could talk her into going back and marrying some other man while being forced to abort her child. Though, in theory, she could marry Sora beforehand and he could go back with her to rule.

What Mickey said next completely took that idea away from her.

"You know basics of how Twilight's Destiny works. Usually the power is given to the new ruler during the coronation ceremony, that way the oldest in the family, if there's more than one sibling, has the choice of if they want to rule or not. A person cannot rule without this power. A power you already have, Sora."

"Yeah, you're the King of the broken pile of rocks," Riku joked.

Sora shot him a mocking glare and said, "Also Destiny Islands. You're my subject, bi—" Kairi elbowed him in the stomach.

"I wouldn't necessarily say it's just a broken pile of rocks," Mickey interjected. "Not anymore."

"What?" Midori summed up the question that they were all thinking.

"Master Yen Sid contacted me," Mickey explained. "He watches the stars, making sure that the worlds are alright. He discovered something amazing. Twilight's Destiny is rebuilding itself."

"Rebuil—it's not a bunch of lego! How does that work?" Sora asked with wide eyes.

"Burning Embers, Mysterious Abyss, Living Jungle, Crystal Shard and Keyblade Graveyard have all been drifting back to the core world where the castle is. They're moving back much more quickly than Twilight Town and Destiny Islands are, but everything is coming back together."

"How is that even possible?" Midori asked. "The worlds have been separate for years."

"Yes, when there was no one hosting the powers of Kingdom Hearts," Mickey said slowly. "Now there is. I'm willing to bet that makes all of the difference. From what I was told, your mother didn't have the power, Sora, and your grandfather died while splitting the worlds apart. It's all very confusing."

"So, basically Sora acts as a receptor or something," Naminé concluded. "The power is there, but it doesn't touch the world unless it goes through him first. So without the power touching the world, it couldn't come back together."

Roxas was silent the entire time, taking everything in. He looked up at Mickey and asked, "Isn't that dangerous for him?"

"I don't know," Mickey said while shaking his head. "Not much is known about Twilight's Destiny. I only know what Yen Sid, Aqua and Ven told me, and I think Aqua only knew what she did because of Ven."

There was a pause and Sora asked, "Who?" The image of the knight who showed him how to use portals of light (allowing him to save Kairi from Jorix) flashed through his mind quickly.

An odd look passed over the mouse's face and he said, "There are some things about the past, things that I know that no one else does. I'm the holder of some very important memories, memories that pertain to most of you. When have we ever had the chance to sit down a talk though? Especially in a safe place where no one can overhear us? Now is not the time, or place, to talk about these memories. It's just a feeling I've got. I think the first thing to do would be to go and see if Twilight's Destiny is coming back together ourselves."

Sora looked like he wanted to protest but Kairi put a hand on his shoulder and asked, "Then you'll tell us?"

"Yes, but only when it's safe to do so."

There was a heavy silence in the room before Sora said, "Well, lets go! The faster we get there, the faster we get answers!"

Kairi glanced at him for a second before looking at Mickey and asking, "Radiant Garden would never just let me and Sora be if we went there, would it?"

"On principal, no," Mickey answered with a shake of his head. "Besides, if Master Yen Sid is right, Sora's going to be needed in Twilight's Destiny when it all comes back together."

"It's okay Kairi," Naminé said again, her voice sounding more strong and sure than ever. "I can do this. I might not directly call the shots there, but maybe I can help make the world better so that no one else has to make these choices. I'll make sure no one touches that door again."

"And I'll be there to help her," Roxas pointed out.

Kairi nodded, and leaned back in her chair with a sigh, absentmindedly putting her hand on her stomach and rubbing it gently. She was feeling a little sore.

Mickey stared at her for a moment, an odd expression passing over his face. He looked at her suspiciously, but it vanished quickly enough. He then turned his attention to Sora, who was rapidly discussing travel plans with Roxas, Riku and Midori.

"Sorry fellas, we're going to have to at least wait until tomorrow," Mickey cut in when he heard Roxas suggesting they leave that night. "We need to get the ship stalked up on fuel, food and everything else we need."

They groaned a bit, but Sora didn't give any sound of protest beyond that. His eyes locked with Kairi's, and he suddenly felt a pit in his stomach. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, and it was going to happen soon.

VVVVVV

Heavy footsteps hit the ground, a bit of dust rising from the natural rock flooring that had been scraped and sculpted into a perfectly smooth floor. The walls and the ceiling were the same rock, and crudely made electrical wires were crisscrossing all over the floor, ceiling and walls. He moved slowly, with a bit of a hunch to his back, and many would have assumed that he would have been easy to subdue. That would have been a foolish, and risky, assumption though.

In truth, in his youth he had been much stronger than his older body permitted him to be, able to do things that he could only dream about now. He had given himself a second chance at youth, at power, but he had been foiled. His memories had been askew, unable to remember exactly who he was or just exact purpose. It ended up being his downfall. He had acted brashly and stupidly, and a young, untrained warrior had defeated him time and time again. He would not allow the same mistakes to happen though. Not this time. The third time's the charm, that's what they always said.

His burning yellow eyes turned to two large tanks. Unlike the room that was made of rock, these were intricately made with steel and glass, designed well to fulfill their purpose. In them was a glowing blue liquid, and in that liquid in each tank floated a figure.

In the first, a tall, well built figure with shaggy brown hair rested. He would have no idea of his purpose when he awoke. The same as before, but it would be much easier this time. It would take some time for him to reach his potential power and darkness again though, but the man was well prepared to deal with that. The second one though, he was shorter and skinnier, with oddly spiked blond hair. He could be controlled, that much had been proven, but the old man imagined that it would be a little more difficult this time around. His spirit would fight, the man knew it would, and with the heart still missing, there was no way to call the true warrior that he wanted. This time, he had no backup.

Turning to the third tank, which was empty, he frowned. There was supposed to be a third, a young woman with short blue hair and soft features. She had vanished long ago, and even though he had searched long and hard for her, in all of his forms, he had never been able to find her. She was supposed to be his back up, should the blond boy fail at his task. That just meant that there was no room for failure.

Suddenly, a small circle of darkness appeared, and a creature floated out of it. It was cloaked in darkness, hidden in the shadows, but it was obviously human.

"Any news?" the old man croaked out, his voice sounding rough, worn and old.

"Yes, Master," the figure said. "The Princess of Radiant Garden is engaged to the Prince of Twilight's Destiny, and they are expecting a child out of wedlock. As well, his brother, the second Prince of Twilight, is to be married to the Princess' cousin to rule Radiant Garden. I know you warned others not to bother with gossip, but this I knew you could use."

"You are correct," he agreed, a dark smirk appearing on his face. "This is excellent. It brings together many loose ends. This is exactly what we needed to happen. You are dismissed."

The figure nodded and vanished back into the portal.

Master Xehanort stood with a smirk on his face, staring at the two floating figures in the tank.

"Soon we will find the light at the end of the darkness. Soon."

VVVVVV

Author's Note

So, I'm rewriting one of the Disney Worlds for this fic, and I've come to a conclusion. You know how most authors, even if they say 'omg this chapter is so long' or 'this chapter is shorter than normal'? Usually they're only a few hundred, at most, a thousand words difference. I've come to the conclusion that there are some chapters that are going to be insanely longer than the norm. Lets take it page wise. In Microsoft Word, 12pt, Times New Roman, on average my chapters are 8-10 pages. The one I'm writing right now is borederline 20 pages (I'm not finished yet either), and I can't split it up, otherwise one chapter would be incredibly boring. So yeah, some chapters are going to be the size of two, while others are more normal.

Anyway, Roxas loves his ice cream. I always wondered what'd happen if he was introduced to that ice cream cannon.

I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much as before. To be honest, I'm kind of stuck right now. Yeah, stuck on a rewrite! I just…don't have any inspiration right now. Maybe because there's been absolutely no KH news in the longest time, and Harry Potter is stuck in my head right now? Who knows. That, and I've been incredibly busy lately. Bonus side: I definitely have an apartment for September. That's a load off my shoulders.

You guys are really awesome reviewers! You really are! Thank you to: Trainalf, Ash09, Jad826, EvilxLittlexNinja, Shifuni, Eddie Camp, Colonel Mycroft, Gibbons241, Q-A the Authoress, 16afoster, shadowwolf547, The 666th necrophiliac and Atem's Sister Atea!

I promise this time, I'll have the next chapter up quicker. What does the next chapter involve? Well, I can tell you something bad happens. Also, more Midori and Riku interaction! So stay tuned for that!

Remember, reviews make the world happy!

Krystal Lily Potter