Telary settles the Gummi ship into the Disney Castle hangar with ease, breathing a sigh of relief at having survived his first major test as a pilot.
No one is there to greet them yet, but Telary knows that even now Queen Minnie and Daisy are on their way.
Everyone else heads down the ladder while Telary does some last minute checks, and within seconds only he and Donald remain.
The Royal Magician turns to his apprentice, a big smile on his beak. "Telary, you did a real good job out there today. Plus, all your time spent keepin' Sora safe from harm, so…"
Telary cocks his head confusedly, watching Donald look at anything but him, his hands rubbing together somewhat nervously. It's an odd reversal of an old situation, he thinks.
"So," Donald says once he finally composes himself, looking the boy in the eye, quite a stretch for the little duck, "I'm afraid that your apprenticeship with me is over."
"What?" Telary blurts out, feeling happy and regretful and several other odd mixes of emotions. "You… You mean that I…?"
Donald nods. "Yep. Disney Castle has two Royal Wizards now! Congratulations, there's not much else I can teach you."
Telary bends down and scoops the little duck up, eliciting a surprised squawk. "Oh, thank you so much Master!"
"Hey now, hey!" Donald gets out in between laughs. He looks Telary square in the eye. "It's Donald Duck to you now, got it?"
Telary smiles hugely. "Yes, I think I do. Donald." He returns his former teacher to the ground, both of them still grinning like mad. "Wow, that's kinda weird to say… But fun!"
The pair join the rest of the party outside the ship, and by that time Queen Minnie and Daisy have arrived. Upon seeing his sweetheart, Donald makes a beeline for Daisy and picks her up to spin her around.
"Oh, Donny, I was starting to think I'd never see you again!" the lady exclaims, tears in her eyes. Everyone smiles at the happy couple.
After a few second appreciating her best friend's happiness, the queen turns to the rest of the group.
"Welcome, everyone, to Disney Castle," she says, directing this mostly at Kairi and Sora. "I'm just so glad you've all returned safe and sound. Why, if the king were here… Well, he'd be just as glad as I am, now wouldn't he?"
Donald and Goofy nod their agreement.
"I'm so glad to be here, your majesty," Kairi replies with her best skirtless curtsy, and Sora feels compelled to bow to the queen as well.
"Well, if ya don't mind, Your Majesty, I'm gonna go say hello to some pals," Goofy announces. "I'll see y'all real soon!"
"Yeah, I'm gonna go too," Donald agrees, giving Daisy one last peck on the cheek and moving to stand with Goofy. "We'll be here when it's time to go, okay?"
Telary and Azlyn nod, though the apprentice knight seems a bit apprehensive about something.
"Well, now that they're off, would you all mind accompanying me to the library?" Minnie asks politely once the captain and wizard are gone.
"Yes ma'am," Sora agrees, and they all follow along after her. Sora and Kairi hold hands as they depart, and Kairi reaches her hand out for Telary's too, but he just takes his hands in closer and backs up a few steps. Kairi frowns.
The quartet follow Minnie through Disney Castle's grand colonnade, all seemingly restored to its original state of perfection since the Fearsome Four's attack. Sora watches mop servants attending to various tasks, but in his mind's eye all he can see is mobs of them attacking evil plant monsters.
"What's so funny?" Kairi asks him with an upturned eyebrow.
He looks down at her and shakes his head. "Kairi, I promise that I will tell you later. I have so much I want to, really. All about other worlds and all the things I did."
They finally reach the library, and to everyone's surprise Merlin is waiting inside.
"Uh, hi there Merlin," Sora greets the great wizard with a wave.
"What are you doing here?" Telary asks, resisting the urge to show deference. After all, he's an official Royal Magician of Disney Castle now. "Not that it isn't great to see you, of course."
"Queen Minnie?" Azlyn asks after the old wizard doesn't say a single word.
The queen shakes her head sadly. "Oh, I'm sorry that this is so difficult," she says after a second composing herself. "I'm sorry that I let it get this far…"
"Get what far?" Azlyn demands, stepping up with a clenched fist. Telary remains where he is, but nods in agreement. "What is going on?"
Sora feels Kairi shift against his side, and squeezes her hand. She looks up at him, and he nods.
I know, he mouths silently, making sure his travelling companions can't see. Kairi nods back at him with a small smile.
"You know the story of how you came to be at the castle, correct? We've told you," the queen asks for clarification.
"Yeah, we were dropped off like orphans at the castle's doorstep," Azlyn recites as if by rote. She has heard this story several times. "King Mickey took pity on us and brought us… in…"
"But that's not the truth, is it?" Telary says, his voice an octave lower than usual, not threatening but with an undeniable heaviness. "We weren't dropped off, and we're not from this world at all, are we?"
Queen Minnie shakes her head, and Telary hears Azlyn gasp beside him. He purses his lips into a thin line, ready for a tale he's mostly already worked out himself.
"You two were born on the same world as Kairi," Minnie begins, pausing when Azlyn makes a wordless noise in confusion. "King Mickey… He took you from your home world and brought you here to the castle."
"I knew I must have been there before," Telary says with certainty. "It was like I knew where everything was without thinking, like some internal map. It's because I used to live there."
"I can't believe this…" Azlyn mutters quietly to herself, placing a hand on her forehead. It's little comfort as her life turns upside down. Part of Sora wants to go to her, but Kairi holds him back.
The redhead looks up at the Keybearer, who gives her an approving nod. After giving him one back, Kairi steps up closer to Azlyn and Telary, standing by Telary's side. The wizard gives her a quizzical look, and Queen Minnie smiles at her.
"I'm afraid the news doesn't get any less surprising," Minnie says, every word heavy with guilt and regret. "You see, Telary… Kairi is your sister."
The wizard nearly collapses, his legs suddenly feeling like they don't even exist, like they're only as solid as Genie's wispy tail. Sora steps up to steady him, and Kairi steps in front of the boy, grabbing his face and looking into his eyes. Azlyn just turns away, mouth agape.
"Telary," Kairi says simply, shaking her brother a bit to get him to focus. After a few seconds he does, looking down at the girl with pure shock written all over his face. "Telary, it's the truth. It… It shocked me too, when I first remembered it, but you have to know…"
"I can't…" Telary breathes out, losing his words before he can say them. An abandoned castle home, a secret adoption, a long-lost sister. It sounds like a fairy tale, too absurd and fantastical to be true.
But, at the same time, he knows it to be the truth. He can feel it in his heart, and looking into the eyes of the young girl in front of him, he knows he recognizes them. But it's all just instinct, and no memories accompany the certainty.
"So why did we come here?" Azlyn asks, mostly composed after her initial shock. "Did the king take us away because of the Heartless? And why us?"
"It started perhaps a week before Maleficent and the Heartless attacked Hollow Bastion," Minnie explains, her regal poise maintained despite her uncomfortableness with the situation, a very queenly quality. "You see, Kairi had gone missing, simply vanished from the world. Mickey was concerned, you see, and…"
"How did the king even know who we were?" Azlyn asks. "I mean, that's a pretty weird thing to do for some strangers."
"He knew you through Ansem, who was good friends with Kairi and Telary's grandmother, is what he told me," Minnie clarifies. "When Kairi went missing, they decided that it would be best for her brother to be taken away from the world, just in case he became a target as well."
Azlyn looks confused. "Why would that Ansem guy even care about some missing kid? I mean, he seemed like an evil freak to me. And why did I get taken away too? Me and Telary aren't related."
Minnie gives a little sigh and shrugs. "I don't know why Ansem agreed to let Telary be taken away. And as for you Azlyn… Well, it seems we didn't entirely lie to you, because you were an orphan, back in Hollow Bastion. But somehow you became very good friends with Telary and Kairi. Apparently there was some talk of adoption, but nothing came of it before you had to be taken away. You simply went along as a comfort to Telary."
"You were going to take us back, right?" Telary chimes in suddenly. Kairi is standing at his side now, holding his arm in hers. "The plan was for the king to find out what happened to Kairi, and then bring us back. But Maleficent attacked." The wizard turns to his sister. "Do you remember what happened to you? I mean, you obviously ended up on Destiny Islands, but…"
Kairi shakes her head. "No, I don't remember what happened. Really, I can't remember much of anything specific about childhood. After I lost my body, I knew where my home was, and I knew that you were my brother and Azlyn my best friend. Everything else…"
"This is probably where I should come in," Merlin says, the first thing he's said since the group arrived in the library. "After it became apparent that there would be no going back to Hollow Bastion for the foreseeable future, we began to worry about the psychological effects of bringing you from your home."
"You used to have terrible nightmares," Minnie adds, looking at Telary sadly. "You'd wake up crying and screaming, yelling your sister's name. It must have been dreadful."
"And so King Mickey called upon me," Merlin picks up. "He knew that if you remained haunted by your past, and missing your home, the adverse effects would be disastrous. And, so…"
"You wiped our memories?" Azlyn rages, stepping forward with fists clenched. "You just went into our heads and magiced away our childhood?"
"Well, you were only four and six years old!" Merlin says defensively. "And trust me, if you'd continued to live with that unpleasant business in your mind…"
"You still messed around in our heads without permission," Azlyn spits back angrily. She fixes the queen with the full force of her scowl, and Minnie can't recall a time she'd ever seen the girl direct her anger so fiercely.
Telary looks at Merlin pleadingly. "Do you think you could reverse the block?" he asks. "If we could get those years back, then maybe we could…"
"I can," Kairi says unexpectedly, drawing all eyes to her. Her face is set in determination. "Mr. Merlin, did you completely erase the memories, or just block them? Because if they're still in there, I could…"
Merlin looks at her sympathetically. "Yes, I'm sure you could child, and I didn't do anything that would permanently erase them, but… Well, spending all that time blocked off, I fear they may have atrophied, lost some of their clarity. In other words, what you'll get back most likely won't be all intact."
"But we'd know more, right?" Azlyn asks, looking hopeful now instead of angry. Merlin nods, and she decides then and there to go for it. She turns to look at Kairi. "Alright, I'm game. Tel?"
Telary takes a deep breath and steps up, reaching out a hand for Kairi's. "I want it too. If I could remember what it's like to have an actual family…"
Kairi nods, taking her brother's hand, then reaches for Azlyn's as well. Telary and Azlyn grab each other's free hand, forming a little circle in the middle of the library. Sora steps back to watch, and Merlin observes with his head tilted curiously.
Kairi takes a deep breath, trying to remember how she had used her power to free Sora from the Darkness. She finds it is easier this time, more instinctive, though operating in the physical realm rather than the more metaphysical space of a Heart is a bit more of a strain.
She reaches her heart out of to the pair's, finding that it is easy to connect to Telary's, like they're somehow magnetized together by the heart. Azlyn is a bit more difficult a task, but the Princess of Heart manages to latch on to her as well.
She searches the hearts of the pair, sifting through a lifetime of memories in a matter of moments, until she finds tiny places in each of their hearts, darkened and decayed by time but still accessible. Using her own heart, she reaches out for them, pouring light inside the darkened spaces until they glow just as brightly.
She opens her eyes and drops their hands, swaying a bit from the exertion. Luckily, Sora is there to keep her propped up.
Telary and Azlyn open their eyes as well, and find that they instantly, instinctively fix on Kairi.
They both gasp, marveling at the absolute certainty of their connection with the girl. Few specific memories come back, but it's like they've just been looking at a shadowy silhouette of Kairi all this time, and now they can see her fully.
Telary steps forward, tears openly falling down his face, and takes Kairi into his arms. Sora backs up and watches, smiling at the scene. His grin grows again when Azlyn steps up and joins in.
"I can't believe this is real," Telary whispers. "I remember missing you, coming here and worrying about you so badly I couldn't sleep, I wouldn't eat… I love you, Kairi. I'm so glad we're together again."
"Me too, Telary," Kairi agrees, also crying. "Me too."
After a minute the trio break away from each other. For another moment they stand together in a circle, just happy to be reunited once again.
"I knew things would work out, I just knew it!" Minnie says happily, giggling.
Azlyn turns to her queen, still wearing a frown. The anger in her eyes seems to have subsided though. "Obviously I'm still upset about you messing around in my head, but… Well, I guess I got a pretty great childhood to make up for it, eh?"
Telary looks at Sora. "If you had Kairi's heart inside you, that must be what made it so easy for us to connect, trust each other." The wizard tilts his head, suddenly thoughtful. "Did you know? When did you…"
Sora smiles. "It was when I was fighting Ansem, locking blades with him. Kairi's heart was working with me then, helping me resist the Darkness he was using. I saw you two come and, well, I just knew. That's why I knew I could trust you to get her out of that castle."
"And now, everyone is safe and sound," Minnie says, relief in her voice as she looks over the reunited family.
Sora and Kairi share a frown, thinking on a friend who definitely did not escape the affair at Hollow Bastion unscathed.
"Riku," they both say simultaneously.
KH-KH-KH
A road of white stone hangs in an endless abyss of black, and Riku stumbles down it, hoping and praying through his despair that it will lead somewhere, anywhere. The Darkness feels a part of him now, like an ice cube stuck in his chest, refusing to melt.
He misses his friends, regrets the choice he made that led him to this place, away from Sora and Kairi. All alone, with no relief in sight.
"I must be dead, then," he sighs, finally realizing the futility of even attempting to continue on. He drops to his butt on the stone path, feeling its utter coldness through the seat of his jeans. "This must be the afterlife. My punishment. Sora, Kairi… I'm so sorry. For everything."
"Riku? Riku are you there, can you hear me?"
The words seem to appear in Riku's head sans voice, like disembodied letters that just happen to line up to form a sentence. It's an odd experience like Riku has never known before.
"Riku, I'm on my way to you. I'm on my way and I'll reach you real soon!"
"Who are you?" Riku cries into the void, standing up and glancing around despite knowing in his heart how futile it is. "What do you mean? Am I…?"
"No, Riku, I can assure you that you are very much alive. You're just a little… A little scattered is all."
Riku runs his hands over his body, searching for any signs of what the voice could be talking about. He feels wispy and incomplete, like his entire body is nothing but mist. "I don't feel… I mean, there's kind of a hollow feeling, but…"
"You're just a heart now, Riku. That was all that remained after your battle with Ansem. He took your body and made it into his own, leaving you just a heart. The good news is, that's what saved you. It cleaned out the worst of the Darkness, which is was keeping me from reaching you."
"But where am I?" Riku begs, gazing around the abyss once more. "How did I get here if I'm just a heart? Why can I see myself?"
"This is the place where hearts gather, when the Darkness grabs a hold of them. Normally you'd be stuck here, but your last resistance against Ansem's control kept just enough Light for you to remain sentient, aware. Listen, Riku, you have to keep going. You have to get to the Door. I'm headed there too now, and I have the Keyblade from this side."
Talk of another Keyblade and "this side" confuses Riku to no end, but he pushes through it, realizing that he has a task at hand that needs doing.
"Like I said, you need to get to the Door. It shouldn't be far away, but it'll seem like it. Y'know, in a way I think we lucked out here. After all, to close the Door we need two keys and two hearts, one on each side."
"Sora is the other key, right?" Riku asks, already beginning a stumbling journey down the long dark road. "Is he okay? Are Sora and… Are Sora and Kairi okay?"
"I think you know the answer to that, Riku. I mean, you're all heart now, ain't ya?"
Riku nods. He can feel Sora and Kairi, reaching out to him like tiny ripples in a pond, echoes of their hearts. It's a nice feeling, and lends strength to the boy, makes him feel more solid and real, his steps along the road coming faster.
"It's kind of funny, thinking about it. You and me both ending up here on this side, right where we need to be. It's almost like fate, isn't it?"
Riku nods, a small smile stretching his lips. He feels another bit of strength returning, and his pace quickens. It feels like he doesn't have much time left.
"Yeah," he says, not sure whether he's speaking to himself or his mysterious benefactor. "Fate." /
KH-KH-KH
Sora, Azlyn, Telary, and Kairi give Minnie the full account of the events at Hollow Bastion, from Riku taking Sora's Keyblade to Maleficent's transformation and death, and everything that happened with the artificial Keyhole machine Ansem had created.
After they finish, the small library is quiet for a long moment, Queen Minnie looking worried from her seat at the room's lone desk. Telary and Kairi had taken the room's other plush seats, and Sora and Azlyn had elected to remain standing.
"It seems to me that the most immediate problem is that Darkness that spread out of Hollow Bastion's heart," she finally says after getting her head wrapped around the quartet's tale. She turns to Merlin. "With all that Darkness leaking out…"
"I fear that the Heartless will only grow stronger, bolder," the old wizard confirms, running his hand through his beard and shaking his head. "With that much Darkness left unchecked…"
"It isn't," Kairi interrupts, causing all eyes to move to the girl. She nods and touches her heart. "The other Princesses are using their powers, holding back the worst of the Darkness."
Minnie nods. "That's good news, but I fear it won't be enough." Fixing a determined look on her face, Minnie scoots her chair out and begins to move for the door to the colonnade. "But, I think I may know a way to make it even better. If you'll come with me, please?"
The group acquiesces, following Queen Minnie down the hall and into the throne room. Sora thinks it looks good like this, serene and perfectly kept, with no sign of Megavolt's attacks, not even a flash burn on the floor.
As Telary follows Minnie down the red carpet, he can't help but think of the morning he discovered the king gone, the fear that had almost sent him crawling under his bed for life. Looking beside him at his sister, then to his other side at Sora, he smiles, glad that he took the actions he did that led him here. Glad for Azlyn and her crazy scheme.
As for the apprentice knight, she does her best to avoid looking at the queen, a woman who had lied to her all her life. She knows that they only did what was necessary, but it still stings. Luckily, Telary had decided to support her in her quest to escape the castle's tedium, and everything had worked out for the best.
Minnie reaches the rightmost throne and places her hand underneath the chair's armrest, looking for the hidden switch she knows must be there. Finding it, she uses one white-gloved finger to flick it into open position.
With a loud rumble, the platform the thrones rest on begins to move to the side, much to the shock of everyone who isn't Disney Castle royalty. After a minute of moving, a long staircase down to a small archway stands revealed.
"How long has this been here?" Azlyn asks as she follows the queen down the grand stairs. "Or would you just tell me another lie?"
"Azlyn, calm down please," Telary advises his friend. She scoffs in response and rolls her eyes, not noticing Queen Minnie wince at the display of attitude.
They emerge into a large hall, at least the same size as the Audience Chamber above, if not bigger. In the center sits a white marble pedestal, and above that floats an odd green orb, a bright light shining in the center of it, rings of light surrounding it like electrons whirling around an atom.
"What is that?" Sora and Azlyn ask simultaneously. Kairi stares at the orb numbly, feeling something like an odd connection to it.
"This is the Cornerstone of Light," Minnie explains, approaching the pedestal with reverence on her face. She reaches out and rubs a hand across the marble base. "Our castle's greatest defensive resource. You see, this orb repels Darkness itself."
Telary nods in understanding, approaching the Cornerstone and looking it over with a scientific eye. "That's why Maleficent used the Fiendish Four to attack this place. She couldn't send her Heartless minions in to do it because this wouldn't let them in." Minnie nods.
"Where did you find it?" Azlyn asks. "Or, did you like make it somehow?"
"It was found when we began construction on the castle, years ago," Minnie explains, circling the orb as she talks. "We're not sure whether it's natural, or if some older civilization made it and left it for us to find. All we know is that it has held back the Darkness from our world ever since this castle was built. It may be the most powerful light artifact in the Realm, perhaps even greater than the Keyblade."
"Yeah, it's real impressive, but what does it have to do with anything?" Azlyn asks.
"I can use it," Kairi says, stepping up to the Cornerstone and running a hand along it. "Just like the others are holding back the darkness from its source, I can use this to increase my power enough to keep even the little bit of Darkness the others can't hold back out of the universe."
"Are you sure about this?" Sora asks, Telary nodding along behind him. "It seems like an awful lot of power to use, and you're not even sure how…"
Kairi fixes the boy with a look that says that she cannot be deterred, no matter how many well-intentioned methods he uses to dissuade her. It's enough for Sora to decide not to push the matter.
"With the other Princesses holding it back at the source, it shouldn't be hard at all for me to drive it back even further." Her face falls a little. "The bad thing is, I won't get to go with you guys to save Riku."
"Oh, I wasn't going to let you go anyway," Sora says plainly.
"No way, me either," Telary agrees.
Kairi, miffed, looks to Azlyn for a little girl-to-girl helping hand, but her childhood friend just shakes her head. "Yeah, that's a no from me too. Sorry."
The redhead huffs once and shakes her head. "Gee, with friends like these…"
Everyone has a bit of a laugh at that.
When it dies down, Kairi looks at the Disney Castle staff. "Um, can I have a moment alone with Sora before I, y'know, get started? I just want to…"
"Say no more," Minnie says, giving the girl a curtsy and heading back towards the stairs, Merlin in tow.
"Okay, fine," Telary says easily. He moves for the staircase too, stopping to grab Azlyn by the arm on the way. She protests briefly, but when the wizard whispers something in her ear, she nods eagerly instead. With a wave, the duo depart.
"Those two are something else, huh?" Sora notes with a laugh as soon as the pair is out of sight. "I can't imagine what they were like growing up."
Kairi smiles, but it's bittersweet. "Apart from a few general things, neither can I."
Sora winces, sorry that he'd accidentally brought that up, since he can tell it is obviously a sore spot for his friend. Remaining silent, he watches her place her hand on the Cornerstone and begin to circle around it.
"A powerful source of Light, safely hidden away," she says after a moment of examining the orb.
"Your grandma's story?" Sora asks, stepping several feet closer.
Kairi nods. "That's right, I showed you that. It's another one of the very few clear memories I still have." She pauses her walk, leaning against the marble pedestal. Sora can see her eyes are shining, and he steps even closer. "I loved her a lot, my grandma. That much I know, but I wish I could remember more, you know? But I also feel like, despite how much I want more, I've gotten enough, all I need for now. It's funny, how things get when all you are is a heart. It's like all the things that aren't important just fade away." She wipes away a free running tear, and Sora lightly removes another with his finger. "I guess you don't need to lose your body to feel that though. All you've got to do is listen to what your heart is saying."
Sora gingerly places a hand on her waist, pressing her a bit deeper into the pedestal. They smile at each other.
"So," he says, moving their faces closer together. He thinks he should be nervous, but all he feels is a profound rightness. "Is your heart telling you anything right now?"
She surges up to kiss him, full lip-to-lip contact. There's nothing hungry or dirty about it, just a simple kiss meant to convey trust, a hint of desire.
Love.
They hold it for several seconds, and then Sora pulls back, runs his hand through Kairi's red hair. She closes her eyes and smiles at the feel of it.
"It's funny," Sora says, his voice a low whisper that only the girl in front of him can hear.
"What?"
"I spent so much time searching for you, and you were actually with me the whole time. And I kept getting these messages, and I saw you…" He kisses her again, this one quicker. "But, I think that even without all that, I would've been able to tell. You leave an impression, Kairi."
She giggles, and he takes several steps back, his face growing determination. "And now that I know you're safe, it's time to get Riku back."
"Are you sure?" Kairi says, swallowing heavily. "His heart was lost to the deep Darkness, I felt it. It didn't have any place to go…"
"It doesn't matter," Sora interrupts, his expression firm as stone. "You saved me from Darkness, remember? Now I'm going to do the same for Riku. You know he'd do it for us."
Kairi nods fondly. "Oh, yeah. That boy would do anything for us." She winces. "I mean, look at all the bad things he did for me." She turns back to the Cornerstone, rubs her palm along it and takes in its powerful Light. "I still wish I could go with you. Whether you'd like it or not."
Sora shrugs. "Hey, you have a very important job to take care of here. Besides, you'd kind of be in my way." He isn't ready for Kairi to whirl around and give his chest a solid thump, and he takes a step back, laughing all the way.
She steps up and takes his hand, serious once again. "Even if we're not together," she says, "I'll always be a part of you. Just remember that we're connected."
"Us too, we're connected!" Telary's voice chimes in from the stairway. He steps out from behind the wall, where he'd been hiding during the pair's entire conversation. Sora and Kairi are both amazed that he hadn't burst out to break things up during any of the kissing, but then Azlyn steps out as well, and Sora realizes that the knight had his back. She's a real bro like that.
"Ugh, I cannot believe that you spied on me like that!" Kairi exclaims, sounding completely scandalized. "I mean, what part of 'a moment alone' did you not understand?"
Telary shrugs. "Sorry, I guess my Big Brother instincts just kicked in, and I can't resist those. It's science, trust me."
Sora rolls his eyes as Kairi laughs, stopping them to focus on Azlyn. "And what's your excuse?" he asks.
The knight shrugs. "Y'know, I just kinda like spying on people." They all share a good, long laugh at that.
"Oh, I just remembered!" Kairi says abruptly, breaking off her laugh and digging into her pocket. She withdraws the thalassa shell star charm she had made so long ago on the beach. She holds it up to Sora. "Do you remember what this means?"
Sora nods. "It means that we're together, no matter what. Whatever happens, we're still with each other."
Kairi nods and hands it to him. He accepts the tiny charm reverently, looking over it in his palm. He had thought it ugly when he'd first seen it, but now he can fully recognize its beauty.
"Uh, what about us?" Azlyn asks sternly, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Kairi a stink eye. "Do we get something too, or is the jewelry just for your boyfriend?"
Everyone laughs at that, but the fact that someone just used that word to describe him and Kairi, no matter how mockingly it was intended, just floors Sora.
Kairi reaches back into her pocket, grinning when she finds what she's been looking for. With a wide flourish, she pulls out the thalassa shell necklace she had also made.
"It's supposed to bring good luck on… Woah!" Kairi doesn't get to finish her explanation before Azlyn has snatched the token out of her hand.
The knight holds up the necklace to the Cornerstone's light, examining it carefully. After a thorough checkup, she ties the leather cord around her wrist, admiring the look of it.
Kairi and Telary share a look, the younger sibling looking guilty. "I, uh, well I'm sorry, but I don't have anything else."
Telary shakes his head and pulls her in for a hug, which she gladly returns.
"We'll talk more later, right?" he says to her, pulling her face up to look her in the eyes. She nods, tears of sorrow and joy all at once spilling past her eyelids. After they're done, she embraces Azlyn as well.
It's time for the trio to go.
Azlyn and Telary head for the stairs first, the knight pulling the wizard along so Sora and Kairi can have another moment alone. Sora is her bro, after all.
"I also promise to look after them," the Keybearer whispers to the Princess. "They can get into a lot of trouble sometimes."
Kairi nods. "I can imagine. And of course, it would be a real shame if they died before they realize they're in love with each other."
Sora nearly chokes on his own spit, looking flabbergasted at the redhead, utterly taken aback by the notion of Azlyn and Telary… Y'know, together.
Kairi laughs at his surprise. "Oh my goodness, sometimes you can be the most clueless person in the universe."
Sora shrugs, as debonair as he knows how to be. "There's one thing I'm not clueless about…"
He pulls her in for one last kiss, their smiles touching. For a moment, all is right in the world.
Until Azlyn begins making gagging noises at the foot of the stairs.
Sora breaks off the kiss to glare at her, but she just shrugs. He rolls his eyes back at her, and the way Telary seems to approve of her actions.
He looks at Kairi one more time, though he knows in his heart that it won't be the last. She looks back at him, nothing but love in her eyes.
"Promise?" Kairi says.
"Promise," Sora confirms.
KH-KH-KH
Donald, Goofy, Daisy, Minnie, and Chip and Dale all gather in the hangar to see the trio off too.
"Well, good luck on your mission, fellers!" Goofy says, reaching out to enfold the trio in hugs one at a time.
"I can't believe that you're not even trying to join in, Ducky," Azlyn notes amusedly to the short sorcerer while Telary is receiving his Goofy hug.
The magician shrugs, taking Daisy's hand in his. "Aw well, I guess I just figured I had something worth staying for. And besides, you've already got a Royal Wizard going along with you!"
Azlyn looks at Telary, who grins back at her sheepishly.
"You made wizard and you didn't tell me?" she says, shocked.
Telary shrugs. "Well, I was just waiting for, y'know, the right moment."
Sora furrows his brow at the tall redhead. "Does this mean Telary is in charge?"
Queen Minnie shrugs. "Well, I suppose he is the only one with official rank, and the oldest besides."
Telary gulps, then looks at Donald pleadingly. "Uh, it's not too late to take that promotion back, is it?"
Ah, the truth finally comes out! Fun fact, despite having had the idea for Azlyn and Telary like, ever since KHII came out, it was only just recently that I decided they had a connection with Kairi. Seriously, I was just sitting around, listening to music, when I had the thought "Hey, Telary and Kairi are both redheads. I wonder if I could somehow make them brother and sister!" And the rest, as they say, is history. I'm glad I had that thought too, because I was thinking as I was writing this chapter how fun the Sora/Azlyn/Telary/Kairi dynamic is to write.
Well, the next chapter should be fairly big, as it'll have everything leading up to and just after sealing Hollow Bastions Keyhole. Just a heads up in case I don't manage to finish it as abnormally fast as I have these last few chapters.
Please review if you have something to say guys, I really love it when you do. Well, until next time!