Shadows of Reality: Final Mix
Chapter Twenty-Four – Future Masters
Fire was an interesting thing. It was seen as the first invention that led to every other achievement that the worlds, a sign of hope, comfort, and warmth, a sign of good things to come. At the same time though, it was a destructive force that could destroy, burn, and cause despair. The cooler the colour, the hotter it burned.
Lea stared at the small flame that danced on the palm of his hand, his bright green eyes never once moving to anything else. Even before he was granted the ability to use fire as his main weapon, his strongest power, he was fascinated with it. Isa called him a pyromaniac from time to time when they were younger, since he almost always had a lighter with him, flicking the little flame on and off again and again. He never took it as an insult though, because he did love fire. He just knew how to use it so that no one got hurt. Unless he wanted them to, that is.
The sound of footsteps caught his attention, and he extinguished the flame, looking around to see where it was coming from. He was outside on one of the balconies so that he wouldn't catch anything on fire or set off the smoke detectors, so it took him a minute to realize that the sound was coming from below him. He looked down and saw King Mickey walking out into the center of the courtyard below, stopping to just stare out at the edge of the world that was slowly becoming filling in with blurry images, them Lea had no idea why.
Mickey summoned his Keyblade and looked at it before staring up at the sky. Lea could barely see the profile of his face, but he could tell that it was grim. For such a creature, who he learned was fairly happy, Mickey seemed very serious and sullen most of the time recently.
Lea watched as Mickey closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but the mouse still didn't do anything. He was going to question it, but decided not to. Lea understood the value of privacy, so whatever Mickey was thinking about was his business.
Donald and Goofy took Sora's order of keeping an eye on him and Ienzo seriously. They were almost never left alone. It wasn't like they did a whole lot anyway. There were some training rooms where Lea would use the fire and sais that he was still able to summon, but Ienzo spent most of his time combing through a huge library and researching. He snuck one of the books that the slightly younger man was writing in once, but it was all boring stuff about the history of the worlds, nothing particularly of interest.
That didn't stop the dynamic duo of Donald and Goofy from always keeping on eye on them, the duck being incredibly suspicious, while Goofy seemed fairly optimistic about their presence after observing them. Still, Lea valued his moments of quiet and isolation, to just sit with his flames and have some peace. Though he was eager for his friends to return; there was so much to catch up on still. He really missed hanging out with Roxas and—
His thoughts cut off quickly. She didn't matter anymore, because that part of her, the dark part, was gone, and there was no bringing it back. Not that he wanted to, who knows what kind of trouble could come up then, but she was still his friend back then too.
It wasn't like they could do anything even if they wanted to anyway, not with King Mickey and Master Yen Sid there. The powerful sorcerer, formerly a Keyblade Master, Lea was surprised to learn, always seemed to know what was going on. That's why Lea had a feeling that something was going on. Both of them seemed very pensive, smiling at times and concerned at others.
He shook off the thoughts as he decided to go inside. Lea hated being useless, but they were under house arrest until at least Sora (though, it seemed more like it was Kairi calling this shot) gave the okay for him and Ienzo to have more freedom. While the younger man studied, Lea took to working in the communications room. There wasn't really much to do in there, since the only thing that ever came up was Minnie wanting to get a hold of Mickey for something, or vice versa. It amused Lea to no end when Daisy called to yell at Donald for what seemed like hours on end. Still, he could monitor different airways, and it was definitely better than doing nothing.
At least the computers in the room had awesome games on them. Benefits of the creator of the castle being a young man.
Lea was so distracted by the game that he was playing (marathoning), that he almost didn't notice when a call did come through. He tried to figure out what the annoying sound distracting him was, but when he realized it was the massive screen used for audio and visual communications, he pushed his comfortable wheely chair across the room, and hit a few buttons to answer the call.
He raised an eyebrow at the stern-looking, middle aged man before him. The man seemed highly unimpressed with Lea's apparent tardiness at answering his call, and turned up his face a bit as he said, "I demand to speak to the King this instant."
Lea wasn't sure if he meant King Mickey, or Sora, but he didn't like this guy's tone as it was. "That depends on which king you're talking about. One is away on business, and the other isn't the king of this world."
"How rude of a simpleton. I will speak to the king who is present. I am sure that you wouldn't be able to understand the circumstances."
Lea clenched his teeth together, his hands forming tight fists with light flames on them. He managed to calm himself down enough to say, "I will go get him then. I'll just put you on hold." Before the man could say anything else, Lea hit a few buttons and went to find the most atrocious waiting music he could, settling on some horrible Beiber stuff that he assumed came from a beaver with a throat infection. Either way, it made him want to cut his ears off, so it was good enough.
With a bit more of a happy walk, Lea went to go find King Mickey. He didn't want to deal with that pompous ass of a man anyway.
VVVVV
Roxas was used to pain, he could handle quite a bit of it, but he was glad that the frost burn on his skin wasn't actually sore anymore, thanks to an abundance of Naminé's magic that left her feeling a little tired. She was back sleeping in the room that they continued to share, much to his glee. Riku was an okay roommate, he actually didn't talk all too much, and he was very silent, slipping in and out of the room, but he just like having Naminé close by. Hell, they were going to be married sooner rather than later.
He rubbed the slightly red marks that still marred his face, they would fade eventually, but he didn't mind, as long as the pain was gone. His mind wasn't really focused on that though, at least not now. He'd come to terms with the fact that he was going to have to marry Naminé way earlier than he ever anticipated that he would, but that didn't stop him from feeling nervous. He didn't regret agreeing to marry Naminé, he loved her, but at the same time, Roxas couldn't help but feel like something was off with the idea. Like there was someone else he wished could be there for that day. Maybe it was the longer for their mother, or even the long-deceased Ventus to be there, he didn't quite know, he just knew that the feeling wasn't going away.
He stretched out on his bed, rolling over to look across the room at Naminé, who was still silently sleeping. A smile crossed his features, and he wanted to get up and lay down beside her, but he didn't want to wake her up. He knew that she needed her rest, and even if she didn't, he wouldn't have had the heart to wake her when she looked so peaceful, so relaxed. It was something that none of them really experienced anymore.
The sound of someone's footsteps violently hitting the floor broke Roxas out of his thoughts, and he got up out of his bed, trying to make his way as quietly as he could do the door. Roxas opened it, peering out, only to see Midori's back to him. She was standing outside of Sora and Kairi's room, the door wide open, and he could hear some muttering inside.
There was a sudden, loud smack, followed by a distinctly male yelp. That caught Roxas' attention, and he came out of his room, his brows furrowed with confusion and curiosity. Midori glanced around at him and silently shrugged, not really sure what was going on herself.
"They're awake," Riku muttered as he came out of the room, holding his pink cheek. His green eyes narrowed at Roxas and he said, "Not one word."
"Did you really try to wake Kairi up?" Roxas asked, amusement lacing through his voice. "She tends to lash out first, ask questions later these days."
"I noticed," Riku replied dryly. "You might want to wake Naminé up too."
"Why?" the blond inquired, glancing from Riku to Midori and back. "It's really early."
"Which is why I'm confused about why you're awake," Midori said, nudging him gently. Her smile faded, and she said, "Lea just got in contact with us. Something's happening in Twilight's Destiny."
"Like what?" he asked, suddenly alarmed.
"Like the rest of it is being pieced together again," Midori informed him neutrally. She wasn't sure whether to consider this grim news or not. As far as she knew, Twilight's Destiny coming back together again didn't change her life any, but she also knew that it could very possibly mess up Sora's.
"It's all...coming back?" Roxas asked, his eyes glazing over as he seemed to gaze at an object far away, his voice airy and distracted.
"Is that a bad thing?" the raven-haired girl asked.
"I don't know," he admitted. "On one hand, you must have noticed that people are remembering Ven again. He's not...forgotten anymore. On the other hand though, this could be bad. Expectations, councils, and things like that. Both Destiny Islands and Twilight Town had city councils, so they'll probably be vying for control, and then there's Sora...it's going to be a mess. Did you tell him?"
"Yeah," Riku nodded his head. "Sora was awake when I went in, and we were talking until we startled Kairi and she slapped me. He seems a bit...fidgety about this whole thing."
"I think it has more to do with having a knocked up girlfriend, considering her mother is going to be there," Midori pointed out as she started to make her way back to the bridge, but quickly came to a stop. "Oh, and Roxy, as cute as the penguin boxers are, you might want to get some clothes on. Emiliana may take it as an invitation."
The blond boy blinked at her for a moment before saying, "There could be worse things."
Midori raised an eyebrow. "Does your fiance know about this?"
"That's not what I mean!" Roxas cried out, glaring at her. "I meant that her thinking it was an invitation was better than...say...falling out of the ship in my undies."
She rolled her eyes at him and said, "Between you and Sora, you think of excuses for everything."
He just shrugged and moved back into his room. He knelt beside Naminé's bed, carefully running his hand up and down her bare arm, and said, "Nam? It's time to get up."
She let out a small groan, her indigo eyes fluttering open, focusing on him with an indigent look. "What time is it?"
"Er..."
Naminé sighed and pushed herself up, looking over his shoulder at the clock. A blond eyebrow rose as she glared at him. "It's too early. I'm exhausted."
"I know," he nodded. "The pieces of Twilight's Destiny are coming back together. No one knows why, but I assume that we're going back. I don't really know though. I assume everyone is going to meet in the bridge to talk about it."
She yawned and nodded her head. "Okay. Get out so I can get changed."
"What? But I need clothes too."
Naminé just stared at him blankly, before he let out a sigh, pulling his clothes out of his dresser, and walked out of the room, going down to Riku and Midori's room to get dressed. He had a feeling that it was going to be a very long day.
VVVVV
Mickey stood on one of the tall balconies, his dark eyes staring out at what was, only that morning, an empty area just beyond the entrance of the castle was starting to be filled in. Almost out of nowhere, roads, sand, trees and grass started to appear, followed by the vast ocean and islands that Mickey knew made up Destiny Islands. Soon, the buildings, houses, and faint images of people began to appear. Everything still looked slightly transcluscent, but it was rapidly coming back. Mickey had no doubt that there was going to be a lot of confusion once the worlds came back together to form one.
In a way, he hoped that some people's memories of Twilight's Destiny came back to them. It would make explaining things a lot easier. He also hoped that Sora got back before the worlds came together completely. He would never force Sora to deal with all of this on his own, that would be highly irresponsible of him, but he needed to be there for his people, because in the end, that's what they were.
He heard some shifting behind him, and saw Lea approaching him. "Did you get a hold of them?"
"Yeah," Lea nodded his head, fiery locks falling into his face. "I think I woke everyone up, they all seem to be on a different world's time, but when Sora got back to me, he said that they'd make their way over here as soon as they could. They're actually pretty close, they were passing by here anyway, so they should be here by later tonight at the earliest."
Mickey sighed and said, "They probably broke the gummi ship. It seems to be a repetitive thing." He shook his head. "Welp, just stay by the communication system for now. You never know what unpleasant surprise is going to come our way again."
Lea snorted and said, "And you don't want me to inform them about Radiant Garden's...request?"
"No, I'll talk to them when they get here," the King told him, feeling a headache coming on. The universe just seemed to expect so much from all of them, and he wasn't sure how well that anyone, especially Sora, was going to be able to deal with it.
VVVVV
"How is it almost the end of October?" Kairi asked as she poked at her food, sitting at one of the chairs in the galley.
Sora blinked up at her, holding his bowl of cereal close to him like he was worried that someone was going to come and force it out of his arms, not saying a word, but just staring. It was obvious that he wasn't really awake yet. None of the adrenaline that came with being woken up from an attack was coursing through him, and though he was really curious about what was going on back at home, it wasn't enough to wake him up entirely. Instead, he just tilted his head slightly, regarding his girlfriend and her slightly extended stomach almost curiously.
"It's a rhetorical question," she said with a sigh. "I just mean, the time went by so fast. We haven't even been to that many worlds to get Keyblade Bearers yet."
"That's because we stop," Riku spoke up from where he was sitting, nursing a black cup of coffee. "Fighting Heartless, Nobodies and Endless in other worlds, and training." He saw her about to protest, and held up a hand. "I know what you mean though. You're four, almost five months pregnant while Naminé and Roxas need to get married pretty much as soon as possible."
"Better him than me," Sora mumbled, earning a glare from his girlfriend. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just glad that Radiant Garden can't dictate what we do anymore."
Kairi thought about this before shrugging and saying, "Fair enough. I'm actually a bit excited to get back home, to be honest. I don't like being stuck on the gummi ship for so long."
The two boys exchanged worried looks, and Riku said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe you should stay back in Twilight's Destiny when we get there."
Alarm passed over her features, and she sat up a bit. "What? Why?"
Riku was about to answer, but Sora just shook his head and said,"It's because you are four months pregnant. You're not going to run into fights anymore, and there's more danger up here. Twilight's Destiny is protected as long as both Kingdom Hearts and I are still around."
Kairi was still frowning, but she didn't protest, instead focusing on her food again. She mind wandered a bit, and she asked, "What would happen if something happened to Kingdom Hearts? Like it was broken or destroyed?"
"I don't think that's even possible," Riku said slowly.
"I don't know," Sora admitted, "Kingdom Hearts isn't...well, something created it, so it can be broken. If it was destroyed...who knows. I bet it wouldn't be good for me though." He shrugged a bit. "No point worrying about that though. It won't happen."
She pushed herself up to put her dishes away, taking Riku's empty cup from him, despite his protests. He didn't need anymore coffee. She wasn't about to try and take Sora's bowl though, since he was cradling it like the bowl was his child, not the baby growing in her. He would either get cranky or pouty if she tried. "Why do you think the worlds are coming back together now?"
"I think they've been drifting back together for a while," Sora admitted. "It's just a feeling. They've been shielded from each other though. I have a feeling that this isn't going to turn out all that good. If no one remembers, then no one will know what to do."
"I think that a few people have always remembered, in a way," Riku said thoughtfully. "It's only in retrospect, you know, but people really went out of their way to look out for you. More than normal. There was never any disrespect towards your mother either, at least from some people. I think...I think some people probably knew all along. Who would believe them though?"
"Not me, that's for sure," Sora admitted, finishing off the last of his cereal. "We'll probably get home before nightfall. Though I think we're a bit behind on time again. If it's too late, we can leave the ship in orbit and sleep." He frowned a bit. "Has Max had any sleep?" Goofy's son always liked being the one piloting the ship, wanting to be useful to them. In a way, Sora figured that was so he could come back out with them, even after they stopped at home. There was really no need for it though, because Sora enjoyed Max's company. It was like having a younger Goofy who was interested in video games.
"Yeah, Midori sent him off about an hour ago," Riku said with a nod of his head. "She's flying now. Roxas is already up, and I think Naminé might be too. Everyone else is still asleep down below."
"Who can blame them after the workout you guys put them through on the last world?" Kairi asked, though it was obvious that she didn't really want an answer for that question either. She stretched her tired limbs, and asked, "So, what are we going to do to pass the time?"
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to watch one of the DVDs in the lounge," Riku said. "I know I should be training, but I think we all deserve some down time before the shitstorm that's going to be waiting for us in Twilight's Destiny." At Kairi's annoyed look, he just shrugged. "What? No point in sugar-coating it."
Sora let out a groan, slumping forward and letting his forehead bash on the table. Kairi shook her head, swatting at Riku as he quickly vacated the room. She moved over to her boyfriend and put her hands on his shoulders. "Wanna just go back to sleep?"
His head shot up, his cerulean eyes wide as he said, "You are truly a goddness."
"I'll remember that when you get cranky again," she replied with a small smile on her face as he stood up. She was a bit startled when he suddenly pulled her to him, burying his face in her crimson hair. "Sora?"
He shook his head, moving back from her slightly with a small smile on his face. "I'm okay. I'm...I don't know...I just feel better than I have lately." He ran his hand through her hair, his grin getting bigger. "It kind of just hit me, and I have no idea why. Did you put happy pills in my cereal?"
Kairi laughed a bit, taking his hand and leading him out of the room. "No, Sora, I didn't. I'll keep that one away fore the future though."
It didn't take long to get to their room, it was only a small gummi ship, and Sora flopped back on the bed, exhaustion visible on his features. He looked up at Kairi with a soft smile and held out his arms to her. As she moved onto the bed, curling up in his arms, she felt almost like they were back in a time when life wasn't all that complicated.
As she felt a very light fluttering in her abdomen, she was reminded that nothing would be the same ever again.
VVVVV
Ice blue eyes slowly slipped open, focusing on a pure white wall with confusion. Her entire body felt stiff, like she couldn't move it no matter what she wanted to do. A small groan escaped her lips, and Master Aqua knew that she needed more time to heal herself. However long she'd been in the hidden chamber of Castle Oblivion, it was definitely far too long.
Aqua desperately wanted to get up to see what exactly was going on, to see how much of the world she missed in her obviously long slumber. She couldn't though. She still needed to heal her physical body, and it was much easier to do in a completely relaxed state.
She closed her eyes for a moment, and there was a sudden flash of colour where there was usually only darkness. Aqua frowned a bit, focusing on the colour for a moment. A scene was playing out before her, and a small smile appeared on her face.
A small, honest laugh escaped her lips, a smile staying permanently after that. She reached deep within her own heart, and whispered, "It's time, Mickey. Your days as the keeper of Ventus' secret is over. They need to know."
A Keyblade appeared on her hand, not her own Stormfall one, but the Master Keeper that once belonged to Eraqus, bright light shining from the tip. The light seemed to fill the entire room, and when it finally did dim, Aqua was once again slumped down on the pure white chair, her chest rising and falling with every breath as she slept.
VVVVV
Somehow, despite his worries, Mickey managed to fall asleep the night before, having got word that the gummi ship did arrive, but because it was the middle of the night and most people were asleep, they were staying in orbit. That was fine with him though, because Twilight's Destiny wasn't fully reformed, though it would be within the next few days, no doubt.
Hopefully, it would give them time to deal with Radiant Garden as well.
Mickey didn't need a lot of sleep, so when he was suddenly awoken from his slumber, he wasn't all that annoyed or exhausted. Maybe it was the reason that he was forced awake, but adrenaline and excitement rushed through him, as well as a bit of dread.
"It's time, Mickey."
The soft, feminine voice was first heard in his dreams, in his slumber, but even his unconscious mind knew that it wasn't just a random phrase for a dream. There was something important about those words. The voice, it sounded so familiar, like a distant memory, or a far-off dream. It was only the rest of the statement that allowed him to put all the pieces together.
"Your days as the keeper of Ventus' secret is over. They need to know."
Aqua. For the first time in over 15 years, he'd heard Master Aqua speaking to him. Mickey relished the thought, knowing that, somehow, his friend was still alive. She was out there somewhere, maybe not ready, or perhaps unable, to join them in their quest to stop Xehanort just yet, but she was still alive.
It was time for everyone to truly remember Ventus. Mickey knew that the memories were slowly seeping back to those closest to him, he felt it happening since he was the keeper of the memories, but now, they would all know.
He could still remember the original reason that Aqua came to her decision to remove all memories of Ventus' existence from the universe. A combination of the knowledge that a defenseless Sora would always be in danger, and the sheer heartbreak that she saw the then-young boy going through made up her mind for her. Those who would want to hurt him, those who knew of Sora's power and potential, only knew if it through Ventus, so if there was no Ventus, there were no memories.
Now though, Sora wasn't a little boy anymore. He was actually going to have his own child in a few months time, and that thought was enough to make Mickey feel old. He didn't age like humans did, so he was still considered very young, but it still did make him feel old. He knew that Sora could take care of himself, and even if he couldn't, there were so many others who could rise to help him. There was no need to protect him anymore.
Mickey summoned his Keyblade, staring at the Reverse Kingdom Key, or Kingdom Key D as some people called it. It took him a long time to accept the knowledge that he deserved such a Keyblade. He never saw himself as anything particularly special, in comparison to other Keyblade Bearers, but over time, he accepted the weapon and the responsibility that came with it.
King Mickey put his free hand over his heart as he held the Keybalde High, closing his eyes as he did. There were no words, not special spell or incantation. This was all about the heart and the mind, and the way that they connected with memories.
The shattered chains began to reform, and the memories began to link back together, a lost Prince finally remembered.
VVVVV
Sora's eyes snapped open, and he jerked up quickly, breathing in and out heavily as memories rushed across his vision. He could remember everything now. Everything that happened os long ago. The cruel children at preschool, running away, Terra trying to take him, Ventus and Aqua stopping him, being taken by that monstrous boy named Vanitas, being tortured, protecting Ventus with his own Keyblade, waking up to Kairi, going home, and finally, forgetting. He could remember all of them: Terra, Aqua and Ventus. He could even remember younger Naminé, before her original body was destroyed and her spirit took up residence in Kairi's body, causing the other girl to look more like her cousin rather than he original self. He remembered it all.
Judging by the way Kairi woke up just as quickly, tears in her eyes as she suddenly hugged him, her memories came rushing back as well.
"I remember him, Sora, I remember everything," she said as she hugged him. Kairi took a deep breath and forced herself to sit up, shifting their positions so that he was the one leaning on her, his head resting on his chest as she hugged him. As much as the memories overwhelmed her, she knew that they'd have to be crushing him. He needed her right now, not the other way around.
Sora could remember everything, but oddly enough, despite how much hurt came from the resurgence of the memories of his older brother, he didn't feel like crying. He didn't feel sad either. In fact, he felt elated, almost giddy. He could remember him, everything about him. Things that a person would normally forget from the time that they were four were as clear as day to him. He looked up at Kairi, and a huge smile on his face, and laughed.
She was completely bewildered by his reaction, especially when he jerked up and kissed her quickly, blue eyes wide with a happiness that she hadn't seen in a very long time.
"I remember him," Sora said, the words coming out as a breath of awe. "I know I should be sad, because so many of the memories are sad, but...but I remember him. My brother. I remember him playing race cars with me, I remember him teaching me to swim. I remember."
At that moment, Kairi understood. He wasn't sad or upset, because he finally had answers. He knew who Ventus was before, but the memories were so frayed and broken that not even Naminé could fix them. Now though, he had the certainty back. He knew who Ventus was, and by association, who Aqua and Terra were as well. A weight was lifted off of him, and now he was free and vast like the sky he was named after. It made warmth swell inside of Kairi. She missed her happy, care-free Sora.
He looked over at the clock, and saw that it was early in the morning, but decided to get up anyway. He ran a hand through her messy hair, and said, "I'm going to get ready and then land the ship."
"Isn't Max in the bridge?" she asked him curiously.
"No, I made him go to sleep since we didn't need someone to fly us. I'm sure anyone who knew Ven before is awake now anyway, so I'm going to take us home. You can get some more sleep."
"I don't think I can," she admitted as she stretched out and moved her body around, letting her legs dangle off the side of the bed. She felt a now familiar fluttering in her abdomen, which felt a little stronger than when she first felt it a little while ago. A grin appeared on her face and she put her hand on her distended stomach. She was almost instantly surprised when a hand rested on her stomach beside hers, and her indigo eyes snapped up to look at Sora's cerulean ones. He was still smiling brightly, like absolutely nothing could get him down. He pressed his lips to her forehead and then quickly moved to pull on his clothes, rushing out of the room without even bothering to try and fix his hair.
Kairi shook her head and smiled. She looked down at her stomach and said, "Daddy will come around eventually, you'll see."
VVVVV
Riku silently entered the bridge, not the least bit surprised to see that Sora was wide awake and manning the controls, preparing to go down to Twilight's Destiny. He silently moved towards him friend, flopping down the seat beside him. Riku wasn't really sure what to say or do, the vivid images of his memories involving Sora's older brother, Aqua and Terra dancing around in his mind. He wasn't really good with dealing with emotional stuff, but if his friend needed to talk to him, he'd be there for him.
"Hey Riku," Sora said, once he realized that his friend was there. His tone of voice took Riku completely off guard, and he leaned forward a bit to see that Sora was actually smiling.
"Are you...okay?" he asked, slightly weirded out by the fact that Sora was reacting the opposite of what he expected.
Sora looked around and said, "I'm...relieved, I guess. There's just one less thing to be confused about. Plus, I can actually remember him now. There's nothing I can do to bring Ven back, but at least now, I can remember him."
Riku slowly nodded his head, glad that Sora didn't seem to be upset over the whole thing. A happy, cheerful Sora was something that he could deal with any day of the week.
The two young men watched with interest as the world fully came into view. It was the oddest thing that either of them had ever seen. The castle that they associated with Twilight's Destiny still stood tall and proud, but now the familiar, stone streets of Twilight Town and the sandy beaches of Destiny Islands were both there as well, though they appeared a bit faint. Sora felt his body tense up when he saw how vast the ocean was, and how there was a huge jungle beyond the town and the castle. He knew what was on the opposite side of those, if someone kept going. There was a landscape with crystals cut into it, and a chain of volcanos somewhere, but those weren't the cause of his nervousness. Instead, all he could think about was the vast desert with hundreds of Keyblades in it.
"So, ready to play King yet?" Riku asked his friend, staring at the nearly complete world before them. "It's going to be a lot different with all of these people here."
"Don't I know it," Sora said with a sigh. He gave Riku a troubled look and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do, Riku. I might have been born into this, but it's not how I grew up. I don't have the first clue how to run an entire world."
"I know," he nodded his head and clapped Sora on the shoulder. The friendly gestured caused the smaller boy to let out a small gasp and lurch forward a bit from the force. "Don't worry, we'll all help as much as we can."
"Thanks," Sora said, his expression once again turning happy.
They both turned as they heard rushing footsteps, and Naminé almost hurled herself into the room. Her indigo eyes were wide, her blonde hair as mess as she stumbled into one of the other seats, and both boys stared at her as if she was the single oddest thing that they'd ever seen. To be fair, it was rare to see prim and proper Naminé looking like she'd just stumbled out of bed.
"I remember you!"
"Umm...I'm glad?" Sora asked, cocking an eyebrow. He glanced at Riku, who just shrugged slightly.
"No," Naminé shook her head. "I mean, from when we were little. From before I died. I had my memories of my family, of Kairi, but there was always a period just before I died when there was this great gaping hole. It drove me insane." That was understandable. Memories were her speciality, and having her own tampered with probably never sat well with her. "But now I remember. I met you. And Ven."
"I remember that too," Sora said with a nod. "I also remember knowing who you and Kairi were before even meeting you. I could even remember Roxas, though he died when we were infants." He looked at Naminé quickly, having turned his attention out the window. "What about Roxas? Does he remember anything?"
Her brow furrowed a bit. "That's the odd thing, he doesn't. It may be because he was so deeply integrated with you at the time, that his spirit didn't take in what was happening. There's a lot of your childhood he doesn't remember."
Sora nodded his head. "He looks just like him. Roxas and Ventus. They're almost identical." Sora chuckled a bit. "They even wear similar things. Funny how that works, isn't it?"
"I remember something else too," Naminé said slowly. "I remember hearing stories about...Vanitas."
Sora knew that name. It was a darkness within him, the one that he accidentally touched when he was forced into his anti-form. No, not really within him. It was hidden somewhere inside of him, but Vanitas wasn't his darkness. Before, he thought that the name was only associated with a dark being who was a mild annoyance, but not anymore. He could remember Vanitas just as clearly as he could remember Ventus. The thought of him actually made Sora shudder slightly. He met Vanitas after that, within the depths of his own heart, and even to that day, he could still clearly remember Vanitas stating that he took over Sora to torture Jorix just because he was bored. If Sora had to choose between fighting Vanitas and fighting Xehanort alone, he'd take Xehanort any day of the week. "Me too." His tone of voice made it quite clear that he was done talking about that.
She muttered something under her breath, the only words that either could make out were 'hair' and 'brush' as she left.
Sora gently landed the gummi ship, and let out a breath that he'd been holding. He looked over at Riku and said, "We're home.
"We're home," Riku agreed, nodding his head.
VVVVV
"They're back!"
If anyone was sleeping in the castle, at Donald's loud cries, there was no way that they still were. It didn't matter to Mickey, who was already wide awake. The mouse quickly moved down the gummi hanger, slightly surprised to see that nearly everyone else was already there; not that there were many people in the castle as it was. Goofy seemed surprisingly anxious, but Mickey quickly remembered that Max was with them. The only one who wasn't there was Ienzo, though he didn't really have a reason to be there.
Sora was the first one out of the gummi ship, and as he glanced at Mickey, a big smile appeared on his face. He knew where the memories of Ventus had suddenly come from, and he was thankful for it. There wasn't any hurt or pain, no accusations like Mickey expected, just acceptance and happiness. Sora turned suddenly, holding his hand out to Kairi, who took it and smiled at him. Mickey couldn't help but eye her stomach with a bit of surprise. Though not too big, it was still really noticeable.
Everyone else came out in a group, all staring at the world in awe. Mickey recognized Mulan, Hercules, Peter Pan, and Aladdin. He thought he recognized the little blue creature as a refugee in Radiant Garden, and thought that his name might have been Stitch, but he wasn't sure. The last girl, with brown hair and purple eyes was completely unfamiliar to him though.
Goofy let out a happy yell as he quickly rushed towards the ship as Max came down the ramp. The younger anthropomorphic dog was clobbered in a hug by his father, first hugging back before trying to shrug him off.
"Roxas!" Lea cried out happily as he stepped towards the blond.
In turn, he smiled back and said, "Sup, Le-ah?"
"It's Lea. Le-ee. Got it memorized?" Lea said, poking Roxas' own head.
"Has he been causing trouble?" Naminé asked, a teasing tone to her voice as she looked over at Donald.
"Not too much, but uh, Sora, you might need new curtains in the kitchen. There was an...incident," the duck said, his eyes shifted to Lea, who cleared his throat and looked away.
"So," Sora said slowly. "Any chance we can get some breakfast before you tell us all what's going on?" He looked around curiously. "Is Master Yen Sid still here?"
"Yes, I'm not sure why he's not here," Mickey admitted. He then smiled slightly and said, "As for breakfast...this is kind of your castle. If you want breakfast, there'll be ingredients for breakfast. Though, once everything starts coming back for good, I'd suggest actually arranging to buy your food from the locals so you can help with the economy, but we can get to that another time."
"I think you broke him, Mickey," Riku said with a small laugh, seeing Sora's perplexed face. His friend just shrugged off the comment, not the least bit insulted.
"Well," Sora said, after a moment. "You know almost everyone here, I think. This is Mulan, Hercules, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Stitch and Emiliana. We still have a few more Keyblade Bearers to find, but we figured that we should come back while all this is happening." He motioned to the still slightly transparent scenery behind them. "Plus, I was thinking that maybe you and Yen Sid could start training them, if you don't have to go home."
"I think I'm going to stop by home for a little while, just to catch up on everything, though Minnie runs it all better than I ever could," Mickey admitted. "Master Yen Sid will be here though. From what I was told, he's getting more worried about Xehanort lately, though he won't say why, exactly. Again though, food first."
"Good, I'm absolutely starved," Kairi noted absentmindedly.
VVVVV
On one hand, Roxas was a little leery that Radiant Garden had sent word for Naminé for obvious reason, but on another, he was almost glad, because it gave him a reason to speak to Mickey, who was accompanying him and Naminé to the communications room where Lea would get them in contact with the other world. Roxas knew that he could talk to Mickey whenever he wanted, but he still felt a bit awkward asking about this. "Mickey?"
"Hmm?"
He hesitated before asking, "You were the keeper of Ven's memory, right?"
"Yeah, I was," Mickey confirmed with a nod, looking over at him curiously. "Why? Do you have some confusing memories."
"Oh, no actually," he admitted. "I don't have any new memories really, at least nothing clear an concrete." He could feel Naminé squeeze his hand comfortingly as they walked. "It makes sense, because when Ven was still around Sora was still very young and I was tucked away pretty far in his heart. I was more curious about why. Why now?"
"It's hard to explain," the mouse said after a moment of thought. "Master Aqua took away the memories to protect Sora and, though she didn't know it, you. She didn't have it in her to make the memories go away forever though, so she hid them within my heart instead." Mickey placed his gloved hand over his heart. "Protecting them was the most important task I had. You must have noticed lately that the memories seem to have been slipping out, right?" Roxas nodded his head. "There's only so much we can do to stray away from destiny's plans, and something out there wanted Ventus to be remembered again. So Aqua decided that it was time to bring Ventus out from the shadows."
"Wait, Aqua decided?" Naminé repeated as they stopped outside of the communications room. "She's here? How? When?"
"No, she's not here," Mickey replied serenely. "She told me through a dream. I'm still not sure where she is, but I know she's okay now. Or she will be okay." He shook his head, his face turning into a much more serious one as he led them into the room. "Get everything hooked up, Lea?"
"Almost," he replied, punching at a few buttons. He leaned back, stretching out casually as he spun around in the chair fluidly, the picture of calm and relaxed. "It'll take a minute or two to connect. It's a long way from Radiant Garden."
"That's true," Mickey agreed before turning to Roxas and Naminé. "Welp, from what I know, they're pushing about when you're actually going to be in Radiant Garden. The officials are getting a bit antsy, to be honest."
"Didn't we tell them that my birthday was in December, just to give us a little leeway?" Naminé asked him curiously.
"We did, and that's what they think," Mickey confirmed. "But they're still all anxious about that. To be honest, there's no way that they could get here, but if something happened and you had to stop at Radiant Garden before you're married, then there might be a chance that they won't let you leave."
"I'd like to see them try that," Roxas said bluntly. "So we just have to get married sooner, in theory, right?"
"My little Roxie," Lea said dramatically, putting his hands to his face as if wiping tears away, "all grown up and getting shackled to scary Naminé." There was a pause. "Does this mean I can have an awesome bachelor's party?"
The blonde girl just shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face. "Well, isn't the best man supposed to plan that? And that's Sora."
Lea just shrugged. "He's going to be too busy once dramatically-slow-appearing-world finally shows up. Besides, I think he could use a break from Hormones anyway." They both knew that he was actually referring to Hormones as a nickname for Kairi. "Though maybe I should be calling her Porky, because my god, that girl ate a lot earlier."
"Please do it," Roxas said, eyes widening with amusement. "She'll flip and try to castrate you."
Mickey smiled at them all slightly before the computer before them starting making noises. He looked at the screen and said, "Alright, looks like we're ready to go. You guys ready?"
"As ready as we'll ever be," Naminé spoke up as Roxas nodded his head. She squeezed his hand tightly, suddenly nervous. She prayed that this was going to go well, but there was really no telling how the officials of Radiant Garden were going to react to anything.
VVVVV
The calls of extreme confusion were what awoke Sora from his very comfortable slumber early the next morning. The young man sat up slightly, looking around his room with confusion for a moment. His eyes slid to Kairi, who was also awake, staring at the open window as if she saw a flying pig outside of it. He slid out of the bed, rubbing his eyes as he stumbled across the room and to the window, hearing her shift a bit, but not get up behind him. He looked outside, blinking once and twice, before realizing what he was seeing. "I think the worlds are back together. Or, at least the islands and the town."
Kairi yawned, getting up with a relative ease that she knew would go away in a few months time. She came to his side, peering out the window, the familiar warm air and the scent of the ocean hitting her. Kairi breathed in deeply, closing her eyes for a moment before saying, "This place feels like Destiny Islands now."
Sora smiled slightly at her. "That's because it is." He looked outside again. "A lot of people are probably confused."
"Not as many as you'd think though," she pointed out.
Sora shrugged. "Maybe that has to do with Ven's memories, or something. I don't know. We should get ready and go see what's going on."
Though they got ready for the day in record timing, Sora was sure that he would never be as prepared as Mickey was. He was already up and waiting for them with Master Yen Sid, who looked somber as ever.
"Looks like everything's all connected again," Mickey said, though the words were really needless. Sora already came to that conclusion himself.
"Before your grandfather used his power to divide the world to save everyone, there was a council of people from the populated islands and the town. As powerful as your ancestors were, they and you are not omniscient, so they help bring up issues and act as representatives to the King or Queen," Yen Sid explained in his slow and steady tone. "Though I never met them, there does seem to be a group of people gathering just outside the gate."
"I noticed that too," Mickey agreed. "They seem to be calming everyone down."
"Well, I guess we should let them in if they are part of this council." His words seemed to echo in the stones of the magical castle itself, and the sound of the gates opening reached their ears. "I love this place."
"Me too," Kairi agreed. "Want to know what I'd love even more? Pancakes with strawberry pieces in it."
Sora was impressed that she wanted something so normal. While she didn't really have the option to be picky while traveling, but now that they were back home, she could have anything and everything that she wanted, which he quickly realized translated to very strange things.
"With relish," she added, causing him to sigh and shake his head, an amused smile appearing on his face. Mickey chuckled a bit at her words as well.
"Breakfast may have to wait," Yen Sid said seriously. "The people are approaching, and they do deserve answers."
Kairi pouted for only a moment before straightening her shoulders a bit. She started loosening the crossing straps on her sleeveless dress. At his curious glance, she said, "I'm making it loser so there's less of a chance that my stomach is the first thing that they'll notice. There's bound to be a few people that we know." She finished adjusting her dress, and Sora didn't have the heart to tell her that at four and a half months pregnant, with her naturally small features, it was still obvious.
She was prepared for judgement, she was honestly used to it now, and could handle the odd and judging looks from strangers. What she wasn't prepared for was for one of these council members to be her mother.
"Mom?"
"Kai—" She broke off mid-greeting, her eyes going wide as they almost instantly landed on the shape of her abdomen, her face going pale.
The others adults that were there just stared at them, and Sora knew that it was going to be a very long day.
VVVVV
Naminé knew that it was going to be a very long day. She didn't want to talk to Radiant Garden, but she knew that she had to. Their demands were simply
Naminé was already dressed up prim and properly, not in her normal casual clothes that she loved so much. While she was much more modest than her sister, even she found the long-sleeved, white turtle neck that she wore very uncomfortable. She fully intended on switching into something more appropriate as soon as possible. Twilight's Destiny appeared to have the same general climate as Destiny Islands had, rather than Twilight Town's slightly cooler climate, and the shirt she was wearing, along with the long, dress pants, was suffocating. She didn't even understand why she was wearing dress pants, it wasn't like the officials from Radiant Garden were going to see anything below her chest anyway.
Roxas grumbled beside her, picking at the button up shirt he had to wear. It was a plain blue shirt, which appeared odd on him since he didn't wear that much blue in general, but Donald scolded them about looking proper. Mickey was busy helping Sora and Kairi with their immediate issues of Twilight's Destiny finally fully materialized again. Roxas didn't say much of that situation, but she knew that Kairi's mother was apparently part of this council and her reaction to Kairi's pregnancy wasn't a hundred percent positive. That was all he got before he was ushered away.
Ienzo was in the room with them, and this surprised Naminé a bit, because she forgot that he was in the castle too. The young man was silent as he worked to set the system up, his grey hair falling into his eyes. She eyed him silently, a bit wary about him. While Zexion was never outwardly cruel to her, he definitely wasn't a nice guy. He was very intelligent, and because of that, he was very arrogant as well. He never had a care if he hurt someone in an experiment as long as he got results. She wasn't so sure about him now that he was whole. He seemed to still love research, and was quite happy being left alone.
"What do you do?" she blurted out, causing both him and Roxas to look at her. "Just read all day?"
"I do research about the worlds, especially this one. It's a curiosity amongst anything we've ever seen," he explained, and she was a bit surprised that he could talk at all. As a child, he apparently never spoke, and when he first appeared in Twilight's Destiny, he was silent as well. She wasn't really going to question it yet, but she kept it in her mind for later. "Sora asked me to do something for him, though."
"Like what?" Roxas asked. "And when?"
"Just last night, I think he was checking up on me," Ienzo said with a no nonsense voice. "He wants answers about the Endless. I've even been given a lab in the basement, though I imagine there's much more security than there appears to be."
"Riku doesn't trust you," Naminé informed him. "That makes him wary, because Sora trusts Riku probably more than anyone else, even Sora or Roxas. No offence." Roxas just shrugged. "I don't really trust you for that matter, not entirely. If Lea can still use his fire, you can still use your illusions."
"A very reasonable assumption," Ienzo agreed. "Though I have not found a reason to do so. Have you altered people's memories yet?"
She felt heat rising in her cheeks and quickly turned away, understanding what he was getting at. Just because someone had the ability to manipulate people, didn't mean that they were going to. She wasn't going to apologize though, just because she understood what he was saying didn't mean that she was going to forgive him for all the horrible things he had done in the past, or at least, that his Nobody had done.
"Alright," Ienzo said after fixing up the system that Donald managed to mess up while contacting Daisy the night before. "It should be good to go. Lea should be around somewhere and he knows quite a bit about this if the program has some glitches, though don't ask him to try and fix the hardware, he'll probably just burn it. I will be down in the lab if I'm needed." With that, he swiftly left the room.
Naminé barely had time to compose herself before the screen flickered on and the familiar faces of the Radiant Garden council appeared before her. For the millionth time, she wondered why they really needed a Queen as a figurehead, but was beyond questioning it out loud. It wasn't worth it.
"Princess Naminé," one man said, his voice already sounding disdainful, "so kind of you to contact us. Finally."
"Yes, well, trying to help save people and worlds is a bit time consuming," she replied evenly, deciding to not even bother with the innocent, naive act that she was originally going to put on. "It's not something that's quickly or easily done, as you must know, since Radiant Garden was in a very bad state before Sora saved it. Thank goodness he took the time to help our world, even though it had nothing to do with him." Her point was clear, she was going to continue helping the worlds and if they argued with her, saying that she needed to focus on Radiant Garden only, they'd all be labeled as hypocrites.
This seemed to occur to the men too, who did not seemed pleased at the teenaged princess one upping them. Another man cleared his throat. "Your eighteenth birthday his fast approaching, is it not, Princess?"
"Yes," now she was putting on a happy, bubbly exterior, "In three weeks. Roxas and I are getting married in two, and I'm so excited for it."
Roxas couldn't help but smile a bit. Whereas Sora was still freaking out about Kairi being pregnant and all the responsibility that was thrown so quickly onto him, Roxas accepted it and moved on. He was going to marry Naminé much earlier than he originally wanted to, but he did want to marry her eventually, so that was what mattered. He was going to be a figurehead King, or a Duke or something like that, he wasn't really sure, but the responsibility to act as role models and leaders was still going to be a huge one.
In a way, Roxas was always in Sora's shadow, and even though Sora was the King of Twilight's Destiny, this still differentiated him quite a bit, and he was a little glad for that.
"Prince Roxas of Twilight's Destiny," Roxas said, introducing himself, "we met before, right?"
"This ceremony, it's being held in your world?" an old man with a particularly big nose asked, almost grimacing at the thought.
"Why yes, it is," he nodded his head good-naturedly. "As you know, my brother, Princess Kairi's fiancé, is the King here. Princesses usually go with their husbands, but we agreed to go to Radiant Garden for you, so a compromise was to have a traditional isl…Twilight's Destiny wedding." His role was to seem easy-going and charming, something that he could effortlessly pull off when he wanted to. It was really a far cry from the random, but still relatively serious person (compared to his twin, at least) he actually was.
"We expect you to return here soon," the head of the council said. "The Prime Minister is looking forward to meeting you. Then we have to do the coronation. I assume that your…adventures with your rag-tag team will be finished soon? Perhaps a visit from our original Princess would be uplifting as well to the people here?"
That one stung, because while Kairi was first in-line for the throne because she was a few months older, she wasn't the 'original Princess'. Both girls knew that Kairi's mother, and then Naminé's mother, were in-line before them. If anything, Manami Kokoro, Kairi's mother, was the original Princess.
Roxas could tell that the comment bothered Naminé, and his eyes narrowed at the people before him. He lifted his head up a bit to give himself an air of indifference, and said, "I don't know if she'll be able to. She'll be in no condition to travel soon, and in a few months time she'll have a baby to look after, so I can't see any visits from her in the near future." He just wanted it to get through their heads that Naminé was their Princess and soon to be Queen now.
There was a heavy silence, and Naminé stared at Roxas with a horrified expression. IT wasn't until he thought back on what he said that he realized why. He just told them that Kairi was pregnant, and he made the fact that she was only engaged to his brother clear before that. He really wanted to put his foot in his mouth now.
"Princess Kairi is pregnant before her marriage?" Roxas slumped down in his chair, and Naminé sighed, knowing that she'd have to find a way to explain this. At least they were off the topic of her wedding so that she could finish planning it the way that she wanted.
Another thought came to her though. Why should she bother making up an excuse for Kairi? Sure, they already knew that there was a likely chance that outside interference that caused her to get pregnant, but it could have happened anyway. When they boiled down to it, the only ones to truly blame were Sora and Kairi themselves. To be honest, she was getting really sick of people focusing on Kairi and overly reacting to her. She wasn't the first teenager to get pregnant, and she was already half way through her pregnancy, as strange as that was to think. Naminé just really wanted to focus on something that wasn't her cousin. "Yes, she is, and no, she will not be getting married before the child's birth. However, that doesn't really effect you now, does it? It's the problem for the council of this world. I assume that you'll be planning the coronation?"
Roxas seemed a bit surprised at how straightforward she was being. It was a bit out of character for Naminé, who often skirted around the edges of things and kept quiet. She couldn't be quite and shy now, he knew that, otherwise they would walk all over both of them, but it was still slightly unnerving.
His mind flittered over to his brother, wondering how he was handle his own council.
VVVVV
Sora was having an absolutely miserable day. Kairi's mother, he could deal with her reaction. The woman was obviously shocked and a bit disappointed, but having so many other accusing or disgusted looks didn't help. For what it was worth, those who came from Twilight Town didn't seem to care all that much, it just meant that there was guaranteed to be an heir to the throne already, and because of the way that the crown was handed down the family lines, that was fine with them. It was the people from Destiny Islands that got him.
There were twelve people in total, two from each of the populated island in the chain – Destiny Island, Future Island, Hope Island and Faith Island. The people from Future and Hope didn't really seem to care either, Future being a busy city where teenage pregnancy was probably a little more common, and Hope where it was mostly a university island, so they knew full well what young adults and teenagers could be like. Those from Faith seemed completely disgusted, and those from Destiny just seemed disappointed. They really needed to get over it, in Sora's opinion. The baby wasn't going anywhere, and neither were they.
He felt like a bit of a hypocrite, to be honest.
The worst was probably the looks that he got from Ryuu Keimei, Riku's father, and Suzu. At least now, Sora knew why his mother was close to Riku and Kairi's families even before he really became friends with them.
Right now, people were talking and arguing, and he could barely keep up with what was happening. They already explained the how and the why the world came back together, and all of these people just accepted that explanation. Apparently weird things happening was perfectly acceptable for all of them. It was how to explain this to everyone else and to make sure that the world ran smoothly like it once had.
Mickey was there as Sora's mentor, while Yen Sid loomed silently at the opposite end of the table from Sora, his presence stopping anyone from lashing out too badly. Mickey already suggested that the castle set an example but doing business with markets from both areas instead of just generating its own food. A man from Twilight Town explained that, in the past, the castle only provided things like that when there wasn't any food or goods at all, so they'd have to do that, but the point was still valid.
Kairi was uncomfortable, he could see that. The person originally sitting closest to her was from Faith Island, and he promptly looked disgusted and switched seats with someone. She was bordering between tears and outright anger, but he didn't know which one he'd prefer. Sora was just glad that she kept it all in so far.
While everyone spoke back and fourth, he leaned back slightly, staring at Kairi with interest before he said, "So, we're suppose to be throwing Roxas and Naminé a wedding with all of this chaos going on?"
"I guess so," she agreed with a disheartened shrug.
"Roxas and Naminé are getting married?" They looked around at the voice of Kairi's mother, who seemed rather taken back by that fact.
Kairi nodded her head. "Yes. Radiant Garden originally wanted me to go back there and get married to some guy I don't know, but because I was with Sora, and because I have no doubt that they'd find a way to get rid of my baby, I said no and Naminé stepped up instead. She wasn't originally put together with someone else, so she has to marry Roxas before she turns 18 so they'll leave her alone."
"Why would…Radiant Garden do that?" Ryuu Keimei asked slowly.
"Oh, my uncle was the King of Radiant Garden," Kairi said with a wave of her hand. "Our mothers were his sisters, so they were the Princesses, as are we."
"I didn't know that," her mother said weakly.
"So, a born Prince gets a born Princess knocked up before marriage?" the man from Faith Island sneered.
Sora's eyes narrowed and he asked, "What's your name?"
"Ken Takaishi," he replied.
Sora smiled brightly at him. "Well, Ken Takaishi, I dare you to keep mouthing off to her. I dare you."
There was a heavy silence in the room. On one hand, it was obvious that this Ken Takaishi wanted nothing more than to lash out at Sora for being an arrogant teenager, but on the other, he was the King of Twilight's Destiny and there was nothing anyone could do about that. He wisely chose to stay silent.
"Maybe we could use this wedding." Everyone looked down at a small woman at the table, who suddenly seemed embarrassed. "It's just, it'll be a big celebration, and maybe we could have a festival, parties, dances, markets, things like that. You know, to bring everyone together."
"That's actually a really good idea," Kairi said, but then shrunk back when people looked at her, most obviously thinking that she couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong, but not daring to say it and risk Sora's wrath. "Well it is."
As everyone else began talking about this idea and expanding on it, Mickey took the chance to speak quietly to them. "Listen, you're doing okay Sora, these people won't cross you because they don't have a choice, but Kairi, despite the situation, you're going to have to ignore the looks they give you and stand your ground. These people are all, in different ways, politicians by nature. They'll notice your weakness and pounce on and make sure to remind them that you will be their Queen one day soon. Make sure they know that."
Kairi thought about this for a moment and nodded her head. Her eyes shifted to her mother, who was staring at her with a solemn expression. "I don't think I can with my mother."
Mickey chuckled. "You don't have to, not for that."
Sora peaked over at the woman as well, feeling a bit sick at the prospect of actually talking to her about Kairi's pregnancy. While people showed their disapproval and shock before, no one really growled or gave them grief about it before. He had a feeling that fact would change by the end of the night.
He wondered how Naminé was doing with Radiant Garden, hoping that she didn't share the same headache he had.
VVVVV
Midori was laying down on her own bed away from the madness. Not the bed in the castle, she'd long abandoned that place once she realized that she wasn't needed for all the stuff going on that day, but in the bed that she had in the house that she shared with Sora and Roxas only months ago. How things had changed since then.
She was a little sad that she would never have to fight for the washroom with them anymore, or worry about Roxas burning the place down. She would miss Roxas' snores from down the hall, and the sound of Sora and Kairi trying to sneak into the house late at night unnoticed, but she always did notice them before putting in her own headphones.
There was a light knock on her opened door, and she looked around with surprise, raising an eyebrow when she saw Riku standing there. She sat up, still staring at him curiously, but he ignored that, sitting on the end of the bed.
"Everything's different," Midori said suddenly before he could say why he was there. "Too different. I don't like it. I can't imagine how they're dealing with it."
"Roxas and Naminé seem to be handling it okay," Riku said, "And Kairi's doing the best that she can. Sora's the one that's been completely thrown for a loop today."
"I know," she nodded her head. "He never wanted this. Hell, he probably would be more open to the baby if he didn't have to worry about being the King of this place. In a way, I hate these worlds for that."
"What do you mean?"
"Arranged marriages? Or at least deadlines to get married? Being forced to rule? It's all crap, and you know it! We already go to war to defend the universe, why do they have to give up everything else?" Sometime during her rant, Midori jumped to her feet, pacing back and fourth. "It's not fair to them. These stupid worlds, they just keep on taking and taking from people."
"There's nothing we can do about that," Riku replied with a shake of his head. "I understand what you're getting at though. Just a few months ago, I was graduating from high school, laughing and trying to help Sora figure out what he wanted to do after he graduated. Now it's all just planned out for them."
She smiled bitterly. "Well, there is something we could do about it, but I think everyone would frown on it a lot."
Riku didn't ask exactly what that was, he had a good idea of what she was getting at. Once again, he shook his head, turning his gaze out the window and towards the ocean. "Want to go to the play island?"
Midori stopped her pacing, pulling at the fabric of the long, white shirt that she wore under her green one, before nodding her head. "Yeah. Some time even farther away from all of this would be great, especially before other little monsters start trying to take over that island."
"Yeah," he said faintly, leading the way out of the house. Midori never looked back as she closed the door, but she did lock it firmly with her Keyblade. It was the last time anyone would go in there for a long time.
VVVVV
Kingdom Hearts, though seen all day long in Twilight's Destiny, was much more noticeable when the sun went down, bathing the world below it in a soft blue glow. It was a peaceful night, with people still exploring their new surroundings (after getting a warning not to wander into the nearby jungle, since there were dangerous animals in there), while many were returning home to relax.
Such a thing was not going to come to Sora Hikari. He sat beside Kairi on a couch, slumped down slightly as her mother paced back and fourth in front of them, a cross look on her face. After dinner, and once they were all settled down from the day, she cornered the two of them, forcing them to sit and listen to her rant about being irresponsible. Neither of them tried to make excuses, neither tried to talk back, they both just sat there and took her rant.
Kairi kept a brave face throughout her adoptive mother scolding them, but now that the woman was silently pacing, Sora noticed that tears were starting to build up in her eyes. He was getting used to the roller-coaster that was her emotions, but they still perplexed him at times. One thing he wasn't confused about though, was the fact that he didn't like to see her in tears.
He reached out, taking her hand into his own. Kairi looked at him, and Sora smiled just slightly. That's when she broke. Kairi burst into tears, practically throwing herself at Sora, crying onto his shoulder.
Suzu was visibly startled by the outburst, looking over at them with wide eyes. Sora just shrugged silently as he hugged Kairi. The woman sighed and took a seat beside them, looking so much older than she actually was. "There's no taking this back, Kairi."
The redhead shifted so that she could look at her mother and said, "I'm not putting it up for adoption. This is my baby. I know I can't take it back, I know. I—I don't expect you to accept this or help or anything, I know it has to be me and I—"
"Not help?" she seemed utterly scandalized by this. "Why on earth wouldn't I help? I'm going to be a grandmother, of course I'll help." Suzu sighed. "I'll help because I know you won't try to pawn responsibilities off onto anyone else, and because I know so much was thrown at you all at once. Of course I'll help you. I might not have given birth to you like you will to this child, but you're still my daughter."
Kairi, who managed to calm herself split seconds before that, started crying again, this time grappling onto the woman. Sora couldn't help but smile a bit a he watched them together. Maybe this whole world coming back together thing wasn't going to be as bad as he previously thought.
VVVVV
Author's Note
Sorry about the wait guys, had to move back in, then I had to wait for my internet to be hooked back up, and then my friend came to hang out on the weekend. Oh, and I guess school started again. Can't forget about that.
I know this chapter and the next chapter aren't rife with excitement, but there's more coming after.
First off, thank you to everyone who reviewed. I meant to reply to them, but see all above mentions. Thanks go out to: Trainalf, Nytox, Q-A the Authoress, SilverPaopu, KHLostEmpress, dimidium draco and soushin5.
Secondly, there were a few good questions this time around. That included things like will the group be enough for the fight ahead. Well, I never really answered this in the original one, I just kind of had them there then mentioned that they got cramped in a gummi ship and trained. This time it's different. The ones that are there now are going to stay with Mickey and Yen Sid to train while the main six in this (Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Naminé and Midori) continue on to get the others. That way, they train off screen, but I don't have to remember them for the time being. I forgot about characters so much last time.
Another one was, if Ven comes back to life, does that mean Sora's dying again. This one was from KHLostEmpress, and I applaud her for remembering that from Sleep. I did think about that, and I will be addressed, but just not yet. I just wanted to share the question for everyone else to think about.
And lastly, yes, Roxas and Naminé are getting married in this, but Sora and Kairi aren't. Unless you were looking forward to it, I'm happy to say that the wedding itself isn't present in this. Sorry for spoilers. The next chapter is much more about character development, including Kairi giving Sora an ultimatum. I planned it out for a later chapter, but it just ended up appearing here. Funny how that happens.
I think that's all for now, but if you have any kind of questions, comments or concerns, don't hesitate to send them. I may not answer all questions directly, but you never know, I just might be in a spoiler-ish mood.
Krystal Lily Potter