Genre: AU, fantasy

Pairings: Sora+Kairi

Warnings: Memory loss, peril, action violence

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words

A/N: Wow, I think that's the longest I've left this story. Sorry it's been so long, my grandmother went to the hospital (that was scary) and my sister got pretty sick. I got sick myself XP but it's all better now! So! Here we go!

It was strange. Even though everything had changed, it still felt the same. Even though Sora was not really a human with amnesia, and Riku and Kairi were not really human students looking to finish college, it still felt the same. Even though Sora was the Key of Heaven, Riku was half Angel, and Kairi was . . .

It still felt the same.

"So you have both sets of memories in your head now," Riku said presently.

Seldom apart these days, Riku sat with his back against an obliging tree. Sora lay with his head on Riku's lap, and Kairi lay on Riku's legs with her head on Sora's chest. The girl with lovely red-brown eyes nodded, heaving a little sigh.

"Yes. It's almost like being two people at once, but not. I mean . . . it's hard to describe. I'm clearly me, Kairi. I have all my memories, experiences, and feelings as Kairi. But I'm also clearly me, the point at which the Lifestream began. It courses through me, an integral part of me. I guess I haven't changed all that much, to tell you the truth. Being mortal has made me more Kairi than anything else. This very short mortal life has been the most precious expanse of time I've ever experienced."

"Wow," Riku said dryly, tapping her forehead. "Always knew you were nuts, girl, but I had no idea how bad it was."

Giggling, she slapped his hand away. "Shut up."

"You still sound the same," Sora mused. "Do you feel smarter now?"

"Actually, the only difference is now I feel really old," she confided.

Riku snorted. "Damn. In fifty years when you're this bent, rickety thing you'll be just terrible."

"Shut up," she said again, though without any real conviction.

"I wonder if the Darkness can find this place," Sora said, sounding only remotely curious.

"No," Kairi said at once. "This place is a . . . well, it's a gap in the fabric of reality. It doesn't really exist at all. Think of life as we know it as a tapestry with many layers. This place we're in right now is hidden between those layers. Time doesn't pass here. When we return to our plane, it will be exactly at the same moment we left."

"Oh," Riku said. "That makes a lot more sense than what Cloud said. Geez. The man is like a frickin' clam for explanations."

Sora smiled softly. "And Vincent's worse. I wonder how they found this place?"

"That, I can't answer," Kairi said, grinning, planting a light kiss in the hollow of Sora's throat. "There is something I should tell you, though. In your fight against Aravis and the Darkness, I won't be able to assist. I have enormous potential to create, but that is where my power ends. I am not a warrior, not by any stretch. On the other hand, I can lend you endless energy in your fight. To both of you."

"That really makes me feel great, Kairi," Riku said, quite chipper. "But I would like to know exactly how we're going to fight the Darkness. Any ideas, Sora?"

Sora closed his eyes, looking tired. "No. But I know someone who does. Two someones, actually. And both of them will be more than willing to help."

o0o

A rift was forming. In the fabric of life, the threads were beginning to unravel, rotting away from the places the Darkness touched. Its evil spread, discoloring the threads, weakening the tapestry. The Darkness, sensing eminent success, pushed harder, pressing its advantage. And the fabric gave way, allowing the Heartless to spill into Earth.

Their numbers were many. There had not been this many since the war in Heaven and Earth eons ago. Aravis sent many of his Angels on a desperate search for the Key of Heaven, and the remainder went to battle the Heartless.

But without Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and Vincent, the battle felt hopeless. The Angels, angry and hurt, could not fathom a reason for Cloud's betrayal. Sephiroth had been bad enough, but Cloud? They agreed amongst themselves that if any of the four were found, they would challenge them and bring them before God for punishment at all costs.

And Sora asked his brother to find Sephiroth before he descended into Hell for the first time in his life, ready to ask the Queen of Darkness for help in his quest to vanquish the Darkness and Aravis once and for all.