Chap. 34

The Return

"Yes." The Airbender said, looking back at the group as every one of them stared back at him. Even the Keyblade Bearers and their friends stared, since they knew that Aang had been dead for nearly twelve years. Some of those that looked were a mix of shock and happiness. Others simply had one of the two. But the one that stared with a mix of shock and what looked like a cold, frozen anger, was Zuko.

Aang took in the stares with barely an expression on his face, until Ozai's laughter filled the air. Then his face turned to anger as the former Fire Lord chuckled.

"You see? Isn't everything so much easier now?" Ozai said. "Now, there's no more need for secrecy and hiding yourself. Of course, there will be explanations of why you're here, after I supposedly killed you. But then again, I didn't, did I?"

"A part of you did." Aang replied, turning to face Ozai. "And it's time what's left of you paid for it."

"Perhaps. But before you attempt it, perhaps you could explain to me why it took you twelve years to attempt it. And you can explain to them how you've been alive for all this time, and left them alone."

Aang opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Zuko's voice called out.

"Aang?"

The Airbender stiffened and then turned to face his friend.

"Is that true?" Zuko asked, his voice as tight as a steel drum. "Have you been alive this whole time?"

Aang stood silent, then slowly, almost sadly, nodded. Zuko took a deep breath in reply, let it out, then looked at his old firmed, the man responsible for his ascension to Fire Lord and said five words

"You son of a bitch."

"Zuko!" Jin spat out in shock, but it made no difference. Osc motioned for Jin to hush, as Zuko continued, his voice growing louder and angrier with each word.

"How? How could you do this? Do you have any idea what your 'death' did to us? Do you know how hard it was to keep the world together without you? Weeks of planning, of mapping, of strategies, because there was no one else left to keep the world in balance? I spent twenty years doing your job, and you just sat on the goddamn sidelines!"

"But it wasn't just me you screwed over, was it? You did this to my sister too. She was never the same after you Aang. She barely spoke or laughed or anything for a month. If it hadn't been for Kyla, she would never have come out of it. But that didn't matter to you, did it? You just stayed hidden, while your wife and daughter lived without you, thinking you were gone. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad Katara's dead, so that she doesn't have to see the lie you spun her."

Aang stayed quiet through all of it, his only movement a tremble in his eyes when Zuko mentioned Katara's death. But even that faded quickly, as Aang said, "Zuko, it wasn't my choice. I was…."

"Oh, I don't think that matters right now." Ozai said suddenly, as he called the dark energy to his hands, the Heartless already appearing around him.

"But don't worry. When you get to the afterlife, I'm sure you can talk all about it."

"Don't bet on it." Oscuridad said, drawing his sword.

Ozai smiled slightly, and then gave a flick of his wrist. Immediately, the Heartless charged the group, even as Ozai himself vanished into the shadow.

"Fuck! He's going after the Keyhole again!" Desierto yelled, as he swung his staff at the Heartless. Some of them vanished, but more replaced within seconds. The rest of the group launched themselves at the Heartless, while Baku and Goofy moved to get Kyla out of the way.

"That's what he thinks." Osc replied, as he turned towards the pyramid and began to open a shadow portal to it. But the darkness had no sooner begun to form then it sputtered out and flickered away.

"He's blocking me! I can't transport us there." Osc yelled.

"Then start killing Heartless!" Luz yelled, as her Lightblade sliced through a pair of them. The fox then ducked down and began to spin around, a chain of light emerging from the blade that spread out and sliced the surrounding Heartless to bits.

As Luz came to a halt, she glanced back at the pyramid, just in time to see Ozai appear right at the top. The fox gritted her teeth, knowing that she had to get up there and stop this. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate on teleporting through the light. But just as with her husband, Ozai's darkness blocked her, forcing her to use more and more of her power to cut through it. But that also meant more of her concentration was thrown off, which became a problem when the Large Body approached from behind and wrapped it's hands around her head. Luz instantly snapped back to attention, as the vice began to tighten on her head. But the Body just kept pushing, even as Luz punched and kicked at its huge form.

But suddenly, the Body released its grip and began to bounce around, swinging its arms in a panic. Luz dropped to the ground, gasping for breath as the huge creature bounced. Looking over in between breaths, Luz saw two Heartless holding on to the Body's head, clawing and scratching at its eyes.

"Get off!" the fox yelled, bringing up her Lightblade. The two Heartless instantly complied, as the fox released a wave of light at the Large Body, which vanished in a puff of smoke. The two Heartless watched the creature vanish, then quickly shambled over to Luz, looking up at her questioningly.

"Thanks. Guess you guys are good for something after all." Luz said, as she got to her feet. "But I can't figure out why two dark mother…"

The fox stopped then, as realization flooded her brain. Looking around her, she called out for the closest friends around her.

"Baku! Sora! Zuko! Get your asses over here, now!"

The three of them quickly turned to the sound of Luz's voice, then dispatched their current Heartless and moved over.

"We're going after Ozai, and we're going now." The fox said, once they were all around her.

"You can teleport us?" Zuko asked.

"Why do you always assume the woman's gonna do it?" Luz asked, gesturing to the Heartless. "These two can travel the same corridors of darkness Ozai can. And even he can't block Heartless from it."

Looking over at her two dark allies, Luz asked, "Do you understand what I want you to do? Can you do it?"

The two Heartless nodded, then looked over Luz's shoulder. The fox turned to see Aang standing there, glancing at the Heartless in confusion.

"You want in?" Luz asked.

"What do you think?"

"Hey, more firepower the better. So get to work, Heartless."

The two creatures nodded, and then motioned for the group to link hands. They all carefully did so, with Luz and Aang laying their hands on the Heartless, as the black mist began to spread. For a moment, the group was covered in it, then it vanished, taking them with it.

Ozai walked towards the First Fire, glaring at with a look of frightening intensity. The former Fire Lord had waited so long for this day, to finally regain what had been taken from him. Years of waiting, of planning, of preparing himself. But now, the world was finally within his grasp, and once it was, he would be complete once again.

But as he approached, Ozai was still conscious enough to hear the sound of a dark portal being opened. Whirling around, he saw the forms of his enemies appear before him.

"Your persistence is no longer admirable." Ozai sneered, as the group moved to face him.

"Like we give a shit." Luz said, as she brought up the Lightblade and blasted Ozai with her power. But thought the light struck him, Ozai still stood there, unchanged.

"Did you forget? I exist outside of light and dark." Ozai sneered. "Your power has no effect on me."

With that, Ozai suddenly leapt up and began to fire dark energy at the group. Everyone scattered as the darkness exploded all around them. Still, some of them attempted to attack, as Zuko and Aang released bursts of fire at Ozai. But the former Fire Lord just created shields of darkness that the fire harmlessly impacted against. Ozai laughed as he released more dark energy at his foes. But as he laughed, something whirled out of the air and struck him on the side of the head, sending him crashing back to earth. Ozai shook his head, then snarled as he saw Baku catch his father's boomerang.

"Grandson or no, you will pay for that!" he snarled as he began to advance on the boy. But Ozai had barely gone a foot when he found himself bombarded by fireblasts. Ozai was forced to dodge and roll as Zuko continued to pour on the heat. Ozai managed to avoid that, but he wasn't as lucky when he came into contact with the giant light-fist that Luz had created. It slammed into him with the force of raging bull-rhino, knocking him one of the walls. Ozai slid down to the ground, but the moment he touched it, Aang trapped his legs in earth. Ozai started to free himself, but the Heartless grabbed his arms and held them in place long enough for Aang to trap them too.

"Guess I gotta tell Aire that that Green Lantern shit actually works." Luz said, as Ozai raged against his bonds.

"I will not be defeated! Not again! Not when I am so close!" Ozai howled.

"You know, for someone who has no emotions, he seems pretty pissed." Baku said.

"He's faking it." Sora said. "All good Nobodies know how to fake emotions. Some even make themselves believe it."

"He kept one emotion." Aang said. "He kept his anger. It was too much a part of him to go away totally. It made him cling to his old dreams, because he thought they'd bring him back."

"Back?" Zuko asked.

"I think I know." Luz said, looking at Ozai. "You thought that if you took over the world like you always wanted, you'd get your heart back didn't you? That was your biggest dream, and everyone finds their heart on the way to that, don't they?"
Ozai gave no answer, only brought his head down and glanced at the floor.

"Well, he won't get another chance." Sora said, as he brought up the Keyblade. Ozai glanced up as Sora held the weapon over his head, then actually smiled.

"At least I won't lose to you again." He said to his son, as Sora brought the weapon down. Zuko frowned, but said nothing more as the Keyblade did its work. Ozai grimaced as the darkness began to swallow his body, fading away as it did. Within seconds, Ozai's body was completely gone, leaving only empty earth. The group looked at it silently as below them, their friends took down the last of the Heartless, no longer drawn by Ozai's presence, or the hope of getting to the Keyhole. They this Keyblade Master too well for that.

Slowly, Sora raised up the Keyblade, pointing it towards the First Fire, as the group watched. The blade began to glow, as the fire seemed to burn brighter for a moment. Suddenly it spurted upwards, creating a huge gout of fire. It faded back a moment later, but when it did, a large Keyhole piece, made of orange flame hung in the air. A stream of light shot forth from the Keyblade, striking the Keyhole dead center. There was a flash of light, a clicking sound, and then the Keyhole vanished.

"It's done." Sora said, lowering the weapon. "The Heartless don't have any reason to come back to this world, ever again."

"Good. But then what's with these two?" Goofy asked, pointing towards the two Heartless that remained with them still.

"I'm not sure. But it's not the question I want answered right now." Zuko said, turning to face Aang. "What I want to know, is what happened to you? Why did you hide from your family Aang?"

"It wasn't by choice." Aang replied, looking down as he spoke. "What happened to me all those years ago wasn't a death, but a voyage."

"Explain."

"When Ozai, the real Ozai, attacked me, he hadn't learned all the powers of darkness yet. His attack didn't destroy me; instead it sent me into a different world."

"He sent you through the dark corridors." Riku said.

"Yes. And when I woke up, I didn't remember anything- not who I was, not you guys, nothing. I wondered around until I found this little village, a place called Twilight Town…."

"Hey, we've been there!" Donald yelled. "And we have friends there."

"I know. I met them." Aang said with a small smile. "I ran into Hayner, Pence, and Ollete during my first week in Twilight Town. They couldn't tell me anything about who I was, but they told me about where I was. I heard all the stories- tales of the Heartless, the Nobodies, Organization XIII, and the Keyblade Masters that had come to the town and saved it."

"Gawrsh, did they mention us?" Goofy asked, pointing to himself and Donald.

"Yeah. They told about a powerful mouse king, a brave dog, and a loud duck."

"HEY!!"

"After I heard the stories, they helped to set me up with a job in a candy store. They let me live in their clubhouse until I could find a place of my own. But I didn't need one. There was one part of their story that kept gnawing at me- the mansion in the woods. No one would take me to it, not even my friends. Everyone thought it was haunted. But I went into the woods on my own, and I found it. I climbed the gate and got inside. When I first got there, I thought I'd just found an old house in the woods. Until I got to the basement."

"DiZ's machines." Riku said,

"I found the wreckage in the basement. Most of it had been ruined, but there was one thing that still worked. It looked like a large pod, in a huge white room. I don't know why, but for some reason, I thought it could help me. I got inside, and then, before I could stop it, the doors automatically closed on me. I tried to get out, but then everything went black. But when I woke up, everything was clear. The pod had restored my memories; I knew exactly who I was."

"Sora, you said that's what happened to you, didn't you?" Jee asked.

"Exactly that." Sora said. "How long were you in there?"

"Only a week." Aang said. "My memory loss was more recent and easier to fix. But when I got out, I knew that I had to find a way back to this world. And I did. There was a small portal in DiZ's lab that led to another world, inhabited by Nobodies and Heartless. I found this robe there and they left me alone once I was disguised. I found the doorway to the Organization's old headquarters, and I used the information there to gain control of the dark passages, along with a few other things, and return. But something had happened that I didn't count on. Time moved differently in those worlds then here. My two months there had become twelve years here. I knew that I couldn't just go back home, not until I understood what had changed in my absence. But then I heard reports of Ozai and Heartless, and I knew he had to be stopped. So I used my knowledge of the passages to travel the world and help where I could. I used the Lotus tiles to keep you guessing, until things were better and I could explain myself."

"So you did save Appa? And you stopped Toph in Ba Sing Se?" Hierro asked.

"Yes."

"But you had Sokka's club…."

"Something I picked up after I heard about his death. I thought it would make it seem like there was a new Organization, instead of one man."

"But your voice, I could've sworn you were Iroh." Zuko said.

"Like Ozai said, it was a glamour, a magic spell for illusion." Aang replied. "I didn't want to use it, but it was too dangerous to let you know about me."

Zuko was quiet for a moment, then said "All right Aang. It's a crazy story, but there's been a lot of that going around lately. I'm sorry for what I said."

"Don't be." Aang said. "You didn't know."

"Thank you. Now, why don't we go home, and finish that world we started building?" Zuko asked, extending his hand to his friend.

But before Aang could take it, Riku suddenly stepped between them.

"What are you doing?" Zuko demanded.

"Something isn't right here." The white-haired youth said.

"And that is?"

"His story answers every question but one." Riku said, turning to face Aang.

"He's right." Baku added suddenly. "There is a problem."

"Your text say that the Avatar is a spirit that is reborn successively, right?" Riku asked Zuko.

"Yes."

"So if Aang didn't die, why is Kyla the new Avatar?" Baku finished.

Zuko's eyes went wide at that revelation. It was completely true, and it had taken a boy and an offworlder to realize it for him. But before Zuko could speak, Luz cried out, "Dammit, get off me!"

Zuko turned around then, to see the two Heartless pawing at Luz like cats for fish.

"What the hell are they doing?" Azula asked.

"I dunno. Never seen Heartless act like that before." Goofy replied.

"Well get them to stop! It's annoying!" Luz snapped, as she pushed their claws away.

"Perhaps they want something from you." Hierro said. "In fact…. Yes, I think that's it."

"What is?" Luz asked.

"We've seen that these Heartless are acting in Kyla's interest. So they may still have some light left in their hearts. And regardless of their position, they can still read other's hearts. Luz's is strong in light, so perhaps whatever light they have left is causing them to react to her."

"So what am I supposed to do with them?" the fox demanded.

"Read their hearts. Examine whatever light they have, and see if you can balance them. Perhaps then, we can get an explanation."

"Fine." Luz grumbled, as she held back the Heartless's hands. Leaning down, she looked into their eyes, as her own turned golden. The Heartless slowly stopped struggling, as Luz's gaze pierced into whatever remained of their hearts. As Luz looked deep into the dark creatures, she suddenly gasped aloud. True enough, the two creatures had light inside them, but this… this was amazing!

"What's she doing?" Sora asked, as the fox suddenly held her open palms over the Heartless's heads. As the Heartless looked up, golden light flowed down over them, spreading over their bodies, changing them from black to gold. But it didn't stop there. As Luz continued to pour on the light, the two Heartless suddenly began to quiver and shake, as their bodies began to change. Their shorts arms and legs stretched out as did their bodies, their antenna shrunk, and their claws withdrew. Luz stood back up and then shut off the light, as the creatures continued to change. And the more they changed, the brighter the light on them grew, until finally, it grew too bright for anyone to look at them.

The group shielded their eyes as the two Heartless continued their transformation. And then, just as sudden as it had flared up, the light vanished. The group opened their eyes again, only to blink them in utter astonishment as Katara and Sokka looked around, just as confused to be there as everyone else was to see them.