Chapter 29 – Restoration

"Okay Xion," Mickey said, "on the count of 3! 1, 2, 3!"

Xion leapt into the air and transformed into her armor form. Circles of light swirled around her, going further and further outwards as she maneuvered her hulking body into a spin, Keyblade held high in the air. The light swept across the grass as it covered a huge perimeter, finally bursting into a million specs.

"That's it! That's it!" Mickey cried, clasping his hands together.

She flipped and landed on her feet in a crouch, the armor disappearing to reveal her human form again. Mickey was applauding so hard she thought his hands might fall off.

"That was great!" he said. "You've improved a lot since the last battle!"

Xion's cheeks flushed pink. It was nice to hear praise from her teacher. She straightened and brushed the grass off her pants, leaving behind a few green stains.

"It's all thanks to your help, Mickey. I couldn't ask for a better teacher."

"Well gosh," he said, smiling up at her and rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know about that."

She grinned and poked his big round nose. "I mean it."

He opened his mouth to reply when something caught his eye. "Riku!"

Sure enough, Riku was waiting there. So he and Terra were finally here. What a relief it was to see him safe. She smiled and waved. The night they'd danced together seemed so far away now. So much had happened since then.

"Did you see that?" Mickey asked him.

"Yeah." He smiled, his eyes softening. "You've made good progress, Xion."

Riku had a warmth all of his own. It wasn't eager or overbearing, and it only shone through when he really, truly meant it, but that made it all the more special. Xion had caught a glimpse of it now, and something about that warmed her heart.

"How's Sora doin'?" Mickey asked.

"Much better. He's got a lot more darkness in him now, and a lot of anger too, but we had a breakthrough several days ago. He's in control of himself now." Riku grinned and rubbed a bruise on his arm. "Well, for the most part."

"Will he be ready?" she asked.

"Yes," Riku said. "He's determined to fight Xehanort with us, so he's been doing everything he can to prepare." He sighed and shook his head. "Once he gets it in his head that he's going to do something, not much can convince him otherwise."

Xion smiled at that. "I know it gets him in trouble, but it's also one of the best things about him."

It was what had driven him to save her, after all. The girl no one could remember. The girl whose entire existence was an impossibility. He'd seen her, grieving in the depths of his heart, and he'd refused to rest until she had been restored to life. If it weren't for his stubborn determination, she wouldn't be standing here right now.

Mickey told her to take a short break while he went and grabbed something, and she and Riku strolled through the woods together. She didn't think she'd ever tire of hearing the wind rustle through the grass, or seeing the dappled sunlight pour through the trees. The pine trees smelled amazing too, their heady scent carried over the breeze.

"So, um, how's training going?" Riku asked. He picked a pinecone off the ground, tossing it in the air and catching it over and over.

"Pretty good. How about you?"

"Yeah, it's good." He tossed the pinecone at a nearby branch, and it cleared it with ease and landed on the ground on the other side. "I mean, Sora and I have been sparring. And Terra, uh, I'm training him now, too."

"I bet you're a great teacher." She took a moment to enjoy his flustered reaction, then switched to the question that was really on her mind. "Riku, how are you, really?"

He was always helping other people, always providing them with support. But who was helping him?

Riku stopped in his tracks. He didn't seem to know what to say to her question.

"Don't tell me I'm the first person who's asked you that since the big fight," she said, unable to keep the sadness out of her voice. But his expression just confirmed what she suspected, and she reached for his hand. "Riku—"

He cleared his throat and looked away. "Thanks, Xion. You're right, you are the first person who's asked. Not because the others don't care, but—"

"Because they depend on you to be their strength," Xion said. Courage and power. Riku really was like edelweiss. "You've changed a lot since I first met you. You were really lonely then. I'm glad you're happier now. I'm glad you have so many friends."

"I'm glad you have friends too, Xion," he said, and she let her hand fall back to her side. "I'm sorry about what happened to Lea, and…"

He trailed off, and Xion clasped her hands behind her back. "I was afraid something might happen to him. But it's strange. Now that it has, all I can think about is saving him. I know I can't help feeling sad, but I want to find a way to be happy again, you know? And right now, that means helping you guys fight Xehanort. That's my best chance of getting Axel back, and if my friends are with me, I know I can find happiness for good."

Riku nodded. "I understand. For the longest time, I beat myself up over what I'd done. I wouldn't even let myself see Sora or Kairi. I was too ashamed to face them. But they wouldn't give up on me, and I was tired of wallowing in my guilt. So I stopped. From that point on, I knew I had to find my own path. And somewhere along the way, I found the courage to smile again."

Xion looked at him. A gentle breeze blew past them, and she put a hand to her ear to tuck her hair behind it. He smiled, the light dancing off his aquamarine eyes. The same warm feeling from before returned and settled inside her heart.

"Thank you, Riku."

His eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head. "For what?"

"For understanding."

She left him to ponder the meaning behind her words as she strolled back to the Courtyard where Mickey was waiting.

"How was the walk?" Mickey asked.

She smiled. "It was great. Just what I needed."

Mickey smiled back. "Good. I hope you're ready to put all we've practiced into use. Now that Riku and Terra are here, we think there's somethin' you can help us with to bring back you-know-who."


"Roxas? Roxas, are you awake?"

Naminé's soothing voice called to him through the door, but Roxas didn't answer. He burrowed even further beneath the covers instead. Surely it was too early for this.

"There's someone here to see you," she continued.

"Roxas."

Roxas bolted upright, the fluffy blankets dropping into a pile back on the bed.

"Sora? Is that really you? But I thought… I thought you weren't supposed to be here." That bumped them up to seven Keyblade wielders, not even counting Master Eraqus once he came back into existence. Surely that was too high a risk. "I know Naminé can hide us, but..."

"What, you don't want to see me?" came Sora's amused voice through the door.

Are you kidding? This is exactly what Roxas had wanted – to see Sora again. Even just hearing his voice was great.

"No, I do, I was just—"

"Can we come in?"

Roxas stumbled to the door, realizing at the last second that he was still wearing the same outfit he'd worn yesterday. He glanced at the dusty mirror hanging on the wall. His clothes were a mess, and so was his hair. The thought of Naminé seeing him like this made the heat rise in his cheeks, and he knew he couldn't open that door just yet.

"Can you guys gimme a minute?"

"Sure," Sora said. "We'll go hang out in the library or something."

They came back a little while later, leaving him enough time to shower and change.

"You can come in," Roxas called. The door opened, and Sora came into the room with Naminé close behind. There was a sad, haunted look in his eyes. He knew things, had experienced things, that he never should have.

But then he smiled at Roxas, and something of his old self shone through.

"Hey," he simply said. As if he hadn't been through hell. As if he hadn't been traumatized so deeply he might not ever fully recover.

Roxas envied his emotional resilience.

"Hey," Roxas said back. He didn't know what else to say, really.

Sora settled on the old lumpy couch in the corner and fidgeted for a moment before speaking again. "Roxas, I'm sorry about what happened. It's my fault Xehanort has Lea—"

Roxas wanted to groan. Would Sora blame himself for everything? He sank onto the couch next to Sora and sighed.

"No, it isn't. Stop blaming yourself. He knew the risks. He wanted to stay. He wanted to help Saïx."

Sora put a hand on his shoulder. "But that doesn't make what Xehanort did okay." His grip on Roxas tightened, and he gave him a wry smile. "Trust me, I know that better than most."

"Yeah."

"Do you want to talk to him?" Sora asked softly.

"You can do that?"

Sora nodded. "Gimme a second." He closed his eyes, and before long Roxas felt their hearts connect. Then Sora's heart searched for Axel's, linking it to Roxas's. It was clouded in darkness, and the gut-wrenching turmoil Roxas felt wasn't his own.

Sora was struggling to go through with this, and yet he was determined to make it happen anyway.

All for my sake. A lump built in Roxas's throat at the thought. He was about to tell Sora to stop when Axel spoke.

"Roxas?" came his voice, faint and far away and a little strained. "Is that really you, buddy?"

"Y-yeah."

There was a brief pause. "It's good to hear from you. Listen, the next time we see each other, I might not be myself."

"I know."

"Good. Just wanted to make sure. What… what are you doing now?"

"Moping in his room," Sora cut in.

"You cut that out. You should be enjoying the last few days you have left with everyone. Get some ice cream with Xion. Meet up with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Take Naminé to the beach."

Roxas stiffened. It didn't feel right to have fun, to enjoy himself. Not when Axel was trapped like this. But he also didn't want to spend his last days with his friends locked in his room. That was no way to live.

"Lea, there's someone else who wants to talk to you too," Sora said.

Xion's voice came in. "Axel? Is that really you? Are you okay?"

"Xi! Good to hear your voice. It is me, but I've been better. What are you up to?"

"Training with Mickey. It helps… get my mind off things."

"Good. Make sure you get a break every now and then, alright?"

"I will."

Axel addressed Sora again. "Listen, Sora, Xehanort has been moving around a lot lately. I'm not sure what all he's been doing, but he's searching for the Princesses of Heart, including Kairi. He knows they're strengthening the barriers of light between the worlds, and he isn't happy about it."

Good, Roxas thought. Anyone who could make Xehanort angry was doing a great job in his book.

"Anyway," Axel continued, "we'll all be waiting for you at the Keyblade Graveyard. Whatever you guys do, don't engage all of the Seekers at once. If you can avoid fighting one of them while you take on everyone else, do it."

"Right. I'll pass it on."

"Vanitas is the mostly likely person to turn against him. Have Kairi or Ven talk to him, and it could turn the whole tide of the battle."

"Got it."

"And I'll keep working on Isa. I hope you guys are almost ready. Xehanort's getting impatient."

Sora's fists clenched at his sides. "I know. Give him a message for me, will you? Tell him he'd better be ready for us."

A new voice entered the conversation. "Message received, Sora. We're looking forward to seeing you aga—"

The connection abruptly shut off. Sora's eyes were filled with fury, and a faint dark aura oozed off of him. His breathing was labored, and Roxas wondered if this whole thing had been such a good idea after all.

"Sora?" Naminé asked, sitting down next to him and touching his arm. His attention snapped to her, and just like that, the strange aura disappeared.

He smiled softly at her. "I'm okay, I promise." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "I wanted Kairi to talk to Lea too, but I can't connect with her right now. Xehanort might find out where she is if I do."

"Have you guys gotten to talk since everything happened?" Roxas asked. He sure hoped so.

"Yeah," Sora said, and Roxas relaxed. "And we've been writing each other letters. It's just not the same as having her here, you know?"

That Roxas understood. He and Naminé exchanged glances, and Sora's eyes softened. "To answer your question from earlier, Roxas, I'm here to be a distraction from whatever it is Riku and Terra are doing."

So he still didn't know the plan. Well, better to keep it that way, Roxas supposed.

"I've been told to take you guys with me," Sora clarified. "Can't have seven potential Guardians in the same place at the same time and all."

"Like… off world?" Roxas asked. He wasn't sure how he felt about up and leaving right now. But then again, maybe now was his chance to look for Ax—

"Just for a day or so. Somewhere we shouldn't run into any trouble."

Oh. So much for that.

Sora dug around in his pockets for something, then pulled out three brightly colored tickets. "The King gave these to me. They're passes to Disney Town. There's a race track and a giant machine that lets you shoot scoop after scoop of ice cream into a huge cone. Oh, and there's a sport kinda like volleyball but with fruit." He grinned and held the tickets out to them. "You guys have never been to a place like that before, right? What do you say we go?"


Naminé smiled as Sora and Roxas sped around on the Rumble Racing track. She was watching them from the grandstands with Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy, a colorful parasol providing them all with shelter from the bright sun.

Roxas hadn't smiled this much since before they'd lost Axel. Sora knew how to cheer him up like no one else, getting him involved in silly competitions and ridiculous contests until he'd lost sight of himself and could just relax and have fun.

Sora poked his head out of his bright red go-kart as he sped past. "Naminé, you gotta try driving one of these things! They're a blast!"

Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy also urged her to try, and she set her sketchbook down and chewed her lip. "But I've never driven anything before."

Roxas pulled over near the grandstands. "Neither had I before today. C'mon, I'll teach you."

He held his hand out to her, and she relented. She'd been sketching a picture of him as he drove, but actually joining him and making new memories together sounded nice.

"Okay, hang on."

She grabbed a helmet and was about to get a vehicle of her own when Roxas called, "This one can fit two people. Join me."

She climbed inside and settled in in front of him. Now that she was actually inside, she wondered how she was supposed to drive this thing. But Roxas was one step ahead of her.

"This is the gas," he said, nudging her foot with his to one of the pedals, "and this is the brake," he continued, guiding her foot to the other one. Reaching around her, he lifted her hands to the steering wheel. "Turn the steering wheel right to go right, and left to go left."

"O-okay." She wasn't sure how well she'd be able to drive, distracted as she was right now by how close he was. She turned her head, and his smiling face was right there. She wouldn't have minded at all if they'd just sat in the kart like this for a while instead of driving.

"Well, that's about it. Don't start or stop or turn too suddenly, and you'll figure out the rest as you go." He wrapped his arms around her waist, and slowly, haltingly, she put her foot on the gas. The kart sputtered to life, the engine making a loud VROOM as they shot forward.

"I'm doing it! I'm actually doing it!" She giggled, because the kart was actually moving and she was driving it. Roxas laughed and kissed her cheek.

She took her foot off the gas and the kart skittered to a halt. That was the first time Roxas had been so bold as to kiss her, even if it was just on the cheek, and she wasn't about to let driving get in the way of such a significant moment.

"R-Roxas—"

He nuzzled her cheek, then traced a slow, sensuous path to her ear, the straps of her helmet only proving to be a minor roadblock. "You're doing great," he whispered.

She blushed, basking in his affection and praise. "All thanks to you." Maybe he really had taken Lea's advice to heart, to enjoy the last of their time together before the final battle.

The next ten minutes or so were filled with a lot of jerky starts and stops, but after a little while she was getting the hang of it. Once they'd made an entire lap around the racetrack, she pulled over to the side by the grandstands. When she looked at Roxas again, he was grinning, and she couldn't help but return the smile.

"Wanna race?" Sora asked, pulling up beside them.

"Sure," Naminé said. Might as well, right?

They weren't the only ones here anymore, though. A mysterious helmeted figure had joined them. It drove up to the starting line in a green go-kart and parked next to them. Sora took this in stride, his competitive streak kicking in at the prospect of having another opponent.

"Queen Minnie, will you do the honors?" he asked.

"On your mark," Queen Minnie called out. "Get set, GO!"

Lady Daisy dropped a flag, and Naminé put her foot to the pedal. She and Roxas rushed forward in a thrilling burst of speed.

"There you go, Nami, ease into the turn," Roxas instructed. Naminé flushed at the affectionate nickname. Another first. She managed the turn just fine, kicking up a cloud of dirt that caught Sora in the face (which he was sure to let them know, and loudly).

By the time the finish line was within view, they'd long left their mysterious opponent behind, and they had a slight advantage over Sora. All until the green go-kart crashed onto the ground in front of them and sped to the finish line, finishing just in front of them.

"Hey, no fair!" Sora said, shooting daggers at the helmeted figure as they all pulled over and got out of their go-karts. "You cheated."

"Did not," came the figure's voice. "Just took a shortcut up the hilly path. Try it next time, it's a lot faster."

He took his helmet off, and he looked much like the other residents of Disney Town. He had long black ears and messy hair, and his snout was long and his teeth were big. He wore a loose red shirt with black pants and boots, and he looked strangely familiar.

Lady Daisy gasped. "Max? Is that really you?"

Queen Minnie's eyes went wide. "It is!" She ran over to him and grabbed his hand. "Oh, Goofy's been so worried about you! Where have you been? It's been ages since you've been home!"

Max shrugged. "Yeah, well, stuff happened and life got busy. It's not like he's been home much either. Don't give me that look, I've heard the stories." He paused and raised his eyebrow. "Whatever happened to protecting the world order?"

"Hold on, you're Goofy's son?" Sora said, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. "Goofy has a son?!"

Max sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's hard to believe, right? But he really is my dad."

Sora looked as if someone had just told him the world was ending, and Roxas looked only slightly less confused, the way his mouth hung open. But really, Naminé didn't think it was so hard to believe. The family resemblance was definitely there. From the sound of it though, Max hadn't been home in a long time.

Max narrowed his eyes. "Hang on, you're him, aren't you? You're that Sora kid."

Sora crossed his arms. "Yeah? And?"

"I've heard about you," Max clarified, then shook his head and grinned. "I finally come home after all these years to see my dad, only to hear he's off on some grand adventure with Donald and some random kid."

"I'm not a kid," Sora said, just a tad defensively, and Naminé giggled. Roxas had gotten over his surprise and cracked a grin.

Max raised his eyebrows again. "Could've fooled me. Don't worry, we all go through that phase."

Sora pouted, and it struck Naminé that that was the first time she'd seen him do that since his possession. Max grinned and held out his hand, and Sora finally relented and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Max," he said. "Thanks for letting me borrow your dad for so long."

"Sure. Any idea when he'll be home?"

Sora was silent for a moment. "Soon. We have one last battle to fight, and after that, you'll get to see him again. I promise."

Naminé turned to Roxas, and his eyes were wide. Because for the first time in ages, Sora was making promises, talking as if he knew for a fact they were going to win. At the sight of the determined glint in his eye, Naminé had to swallow the lump in her throat. She hadn't realized how much she missed the old Sora until she saw him emerging again.

She nestled up to Roxas and rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her. They watched as Sora continued his conversation with Max and Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy. Neither of them said anything, but they didn't have to.

Calling attention to it would only spoil the magic, after all.


Later on, she and Roxas and Sora had finally made it to the front of the line of the newly opened Ferris wheel when Sora said he wanted to grab some ice cream instead.

"You guys come on over when you're ready." He pointed to where the giant ice cream machine was. "I'll be waiting for you there."

The view from the top of the Ferris wheel was fantastic, as the sun was just setting over the horizon. The houses of Disney Town spread out below them, colorful and full of life and energy. Naminé sighed in contentment, holding tight to Roxas's hand. It was the perfect end to their date.

Thank you, Sora. Thank you for doing this for us.

They were lucky, really, to have him for a friend. Even while his own heart needed healing, he was still looking out for them. But then again, maybe this really was his way of recovering. Sora had never been one to mope or dwell in his sadness. Even in this state, he was still trying to bring the people around him happiness, still trying to give them a reason to smile.

When they got off the Ferris wheel and went to the ice cream machine, Sora wasn't there.

"Where is he?" Roxas asked. "I thought he was gonna meet us here."

"He was," Naminé said. She looked around. There was no sign of him. There was no sign of anyone, in fact. The music had stopped and everything was quiet, too quiet. The only noise was a nearby festival banner flapping in the breeze. The sky was getting darker and darker by the moment, and a cold wind had picked up.

"We should go back to the Gummi Ship," Roxas said, grabbing her hand.

"Roxas, Naminé, RUN!" came Sora's panicked voice inside their minds.

As they tried to do just that, weaving their way amongst Disney Town's streets as the world sank further and further into the twilight, Naminé detected a faint presence somewhere nearby, the unmistakable signature of a heart that was somehow connected to Sora's.

"Roxas, the Seekers are here," she whispered. "Xemnas... and Ansem?"

Roxas's eyes went wide. "Xemnas? Xemnas and Ansem are here?"

"We have to get back to the ship!" She searched through their most recent memories. Sure enough, she and Roxas were in them. Not good, not good at all. She had to rewrite those memories before—

"Roxas," Xemnas said, blocking their path to the Gummi Ship. His silver hair glistened in the moonlight, and the smile he gave them was downright sinister. "It has been far too long. Don't you think it's time you came home?"

Roxas summoned his Samurai Nobodies and then his Keyblade, and Naminé got to work scrambling their memories. But then Ansem's Guardian appeared and scooped her up into its merciless grip. That didn't have any effect on her powers, but it did make it hard to get back to the Gummi Ship.

"Naminé!" Roxas called forth even more Nobodies and sicced them on the guardian. Too many at once. His face was pale and he wobbled on his feet and Naminé was panicking now, she and Roxas couldn't get captured, they just couldn't.

They'd been careless and stupid and now they were paying the price. I can't do it. I can't change their memories in time—

A streak of black and yellow came flying towards her and landed right on the guardian's face. It let out a guttural growl as it hacked and slashed away at its opponent. Taken off guard by such an onslaught, the guardian released Naminé. Its shadowy attacker swooped Naminé into its arms and carried her to the Gummi Ship so quickly she felt sick. A few moments later, and it had hauled Roxas inside too.

"What the—" Roxas put a hand on his head, and his eyes went wide as he put together who their mysterious rescuer was. "Sora? Is that really you?"

Sora didn't answer. He was already in the pilot's seat and taking off, and all that remained of where he'd been standing before were wisps of inky black smoke. It wasn't until they were well away from the world and he'd transformed back into himself that he finally said something.

"You're safe." He was gripping the controls so hard his knuckles had turned white and his hands were shaking. "I had to get everyone else to safety, and I thought – I thought I wasn't gonna make it in time."

Naminé felt a sharp pang at seeing him so worried. "We're sorry. If only we'd been more careful—"

He shook his head and steered the ship past a giant asteroid. "No, I never should have left you alone. It's my job to keep you safe, and I-I almost lost you."

Naminé sat down and chewed her lip as Iggy waddled over and hopped onto her lap. Sora had always been protective of them, but this… this was something else.

She remembered his heart's cry when he thought he'd lost Riku and Kairi, and the anguish in his voice now made a lot more sense. He couldn't bear to lose any of them, and despite all his smiles today, his grief was still weighing heavily on him.

"You didn't lose us," she said, stroking Iggy's head. "You protected us back there. Thank you, Sora."

He took his eyes off his driving for a moment to look at her. "Just this once, at least. Just this once I was able to stop Xehanort from hurting you."

Roxas finally made his way over to his seat and strapped himself in. "Speaking of which, since when have you been able—"

Sora raised his eyebrow. "Turn into that form? When do you think?"

Roxas winced. "No, I meant… since when have you been able to control it?"

"That's a more recent development," Sora said softly. He lifted his right hand off the controls, and a black wisp of smoke appeared in it. Roxas and Naminé watched as it turned into floating specks of light.

That was definitely new.

"Only problem is, now Xehanort knows I can do it." He raked his hand through his hair and sighed before returning it to the controls. "So much for the element of surprise."

Naminé felt even worse. "You were waiting till the final battle to use it against him, weren't you?"

His grip on the controls tightened. "Don't worry about it. Keeping you safe was worth the cost."

They fell silent for a while after that, the only sound the usual noises of the ship and Iggy's occasional squawks, till Roxas asked where they were going next.

"Radiant Garden," Sora said, his voice grim. "The others are supposed to meet us there eventually anyway. I helped Max and Daisy and Queen Minnie evacuate everyone in Disney Town to the castle. They should be safe now that we're gone. We can send word to the King from Radiant Garden about what happened."

Naminé stared out the window and sighed. She could only hope Master Eraqus's rescue had gone more smoothly than this trip had.


A/N: I always thought it would be fun for Max and Sora to meet, so I enjoyed writing that part of this chapter especially. A big thank you to the two guests who left reviews for me last week, and as always, thank you for reading!