The Fateful XIII

Epilogue

Final Goodbyes

Disclaimer: For the last and final time, I don't own Kingdom Hearts...so sad.

I won't say much up here, but I've got a final A/N down at the bottom, so please take the time to read it. Just go ahead and read the Epilogue to my longest story so far.

(By the by, I apologize for any spelling mistakes and such, it was pretty late when I finished it. Still, I fixed as many as I could find, so enjoy.)

Opening his eyes, Roxas felt a huge wave of disorientation wash over him. For a few moments, he couldn't even remember where he was or what his name was, but after a second or two it came rushing back to him. He remembered everything; Kysrel and Xelskyr were both dead, and they had won. He shook his head to shake off the last bit of grogginess and looked over to his side.

Hikari was still on the ground unconscious. He scooted over to her and grasped her shoulder, lightly shaking her awake while calling her name. A few moments later he got a response and the girl began to stir, groaning and reaching to rub her forehead.

"Ow…Roxas, are we finally done now?" she asked, still groaning.

Roxas looked around; the building they had been in was all but rubble now, and everything had a dusted over, musky feeling and sent to it. The town square was completely gone, engulfed in a gigantic crater, and the rest of the town, save the city limits and outlying farmlands was badly damaged. The trees that remained standing were either burnt to a crisp, or were burning with small fires on their leaves.

"Yeah," he said weakly, "I think it's finally over with. Come on, let's go find our parents."

She nodded slowly and got up slowly with Roxas' aid. The two supported each others weight as they escaped the destroyed shop, and walked down the damaged streets. All was silent until the two heard another groan from underneath a collapsed brick wall, then watched as it was shattered open, and out emerged Riku.

"Oh…I'm definitely gonna feel that in the morning," he said, clutching the back of his head.

"Dad!" exclaimed Hikari.

Riku looked up to see his daughter standing a few feet away, being supported by Roxas.

"Hey you two," he said, dusting off his clothes, "not that I wasn't impressed by the presentation, but next time to take down an evil overlord, could you do without the giant city sized explosion?"

"Complain all you want Riku, but the fact is that explosion could have been way bigger," said a new voice.

The three looked over and saw Sora standing a little ways away, using Kingdom Key as a cane to support his weight. Roxas smiled and was about to greet his father before he was tackled backward and almost fell over. It took him a moment to realize he was being squeezed to a pancake by his mother.

"Mom…can't breath…would like…to continue living," he wheezed.

Kairi pulled back with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry dear," she said, sniffling, "I'm just so glad to see you're okay. I was scared to death when you and your sister went missing."

Roxas smiled at her, and pulled his mom into another hug. Hikari was having a similar moment with her father. (A/N: say what you want, but Hikari is daddies little girl at heart.)

When Roxas was finally freed from his mother, Sora came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, a proud smile on his face.

"Roxas, I'm very proud of you. You and your friends were able to handle this faster and better than Riku and I. I know now, without a single doubt, that you'll be a better keyblade master than I ever was."

Roxas beamed; his old dream, to finally make a story and a legacy of his own, to not be overshadowed by his fathers every move, now seemed so close he could taste it. He'd created bonds over his own journey that he would hold onto for the rest of his life, and his skills were now at least triple what they were when he'd left. He had matured; he learned the value of hard work and the pain of loss, and he through everything, even in the face of darkness, he had stuck to his ideals; to protect his home and everyone he loved.

These facts were recognized by not only Sora and Roxas himself, but also by his mother, Hikari, and Riku. They could just tell by looking at him, that he was a new and better person than when this had begun.

Roxas sighed in relief as the fact that everything was finally over, but also in sadness at what a price it had cost. He looked past his parents and Hikari, over at the crater where the explosion that had nearly destroyed the town had take place. He could see his some of his friends and the Fateful in the distance as well.

He saw Naruto lugging Ichigo, who was having a little trouble walking, a few fragments of his mask still clinging to his face. Aang came into view as well, using his staff as a cane. Rhys and Julia were seen near the edge of the crater now as well, they seemed to be okay, but still worn out and weak. Matt was near them, his sword still burning brightly with its white flames, though his wings had receded.

Roxas decided to go meet up with his friends, and approached the quickly regrouping mass of people. As he closed in, the king, Donald, and Goofy, as well as the Radiant Garden crew made their way over as well; they were in similar states as everyone else.

As the brunette walked though, he noticed the distraught faces on many of them. It started with the Fateful, who instantly knew that someone was missing from their reformation, then slowly, Naruto, Ichigo, Matt, and Aang realized it as well; Rhys and Julia quickly followed suit. Roxas suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, like he'd seen this picture somewhere before.

Then it hit him; his dream.

Just before they'd met Rhys and boarded the Boeotia, Roxas had been asleep in his room, and had a dream where he was back on Destiny Island, and everything was destroyed. He had seen everyone who would eventually take part in the battle, even those he hadn't at that point in time, met, like Ichigo and Aang.

He remembered seeing a lot of them looking sad, and other shocked, as they looked down at the crater. Everything had finally fallen into place; that dream had been a dream about the end of his journey, and Xelskyr's death.

Roxas looked around at everyone. Leon and the others had a saddened expression on their faces when they had been told what happened. Julia was holding Rhys, who was letting a few tears fall down his face; Roxas knew the two had been somewhat close friends.

Ichigo, Naruto, Matt, and Aang all looked depressed as well, but held it in with varying degrees of success. The king, Donald, and Goofy, who were now standing with Sora, Kairi, and Riku, looked sorrowfully at the crater, then at Roxas.

The Fateful had mixed reactions.

Xealx didn't even seem to want to think about the fact that his best friend was now gone from existence, and stood with a shocked and confused expression, something he'd never seen on the regularly stoic nobody. Aehxcilm was cussing his brains out, and Nevax looked on silently with a quiet look of sorrow. Ranxao was joining Aehxcilm in his cuss-fest, Hyrxs was sitting down and leaning against some rubble, quietly holding his head with both his hands, but Elkxyse was easily taking it the hardest.

She was on her hands and knees, her whole body shaking. Roxas swore she was crying, but wasn't even sure if that was possible for a nobody. Then again, the bonds of siblings were strong; maybe there were some emotions even nobodies couldn't escape from. Venxdi was having a similar reaction as Hyrxs, simply sitting and holding her head, and finally Rhcxis drove his staff into the ground and leaned his head against it, staring down at the ground.

Roxas couldn't help but feel depressed as he looked around; even in death, Kysrel managed to bring pain. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, looked back, and saw Hikari. She laid her head against his back and held him tightly; he put his hands over hers and sighed.

That was when he remembered something else about his dream, and quickly broke away from the embrace. He mumbled an apology to Hikari as he hobbled as fast as he could over to the edge of the crater. Just as in his dream, he could feel all eyes on him as he made it down the expanse of the crater, almost tumbling a few times due to his injuries.

Also just as in his dream, he saw that one glimmer of light, leading him down to a glowing object he knew to be a heart. With one last 'almost' tumble, be regained his footing right in front of the small, fragile, object.

For a moment he simply stared at it. This was all that was left. At first he thought it might be Kysrel's, but quickly dismissed it; he remembered feeling sadness when the heart disappeared. Kysrel would never and could never invoke such a reaction in him.

Looking closer though, he found that it was in fact Kysrel's, but it made no sense; this heart radiated with light, pure light. It confused him to no end; how could the most evil man in existence have a heart that radiated with Light?

It took him a moment, but eventually he realized, this wasn't Kysrel's heart anymore. He'd felt that light somewhere before, it was weak and fleeting, but there was only one person who had that distinct feel. This was the light that Xelskyr had within him, and after all this time, after all these years, it had finally found its way home.

What he held in his hands was something to behold; the last legacy of his friend, the one who gave his life so everyone and everything could continue to live. So with a heavy heart, he watched as the last piece of Xelskyr that would ever touch the earth, slowly faded out of existence.

After only a few seconds, it was gone. Just like that...it was gone. That was it, his friend was gone forever, and even though he was a nobody, he couldn't think of anyone who could replace him; despite what he said about himself, Xelskyr was just as unique as any human he'd ever met. Roxas wasn't exactly sure what fell over him at that moment, all he knew was that he was expecting it, but at that moment, he couldn't help but feel sad. He'd lost the only other person on the universe other than Hikari who he dared call a best friend...a brother.

Tears slowly leaked out of his eyes and to the ground as he fell to his knees and stared down at the ground. He felt a slight breeze kiss the side of his face, which the made the area just under his eyes run cold. He watched a bit of dirt be blown to the soft winds.

He was brought out of his stupor though, when he heard a sharp snap of the fingers, and the dirt that had just a moment ago been rolling, stood still.

"So, since when is crying your style?" said a familiar voice.

Roxas whipped his head up at lightning speed, and sure enough, he saw the one whom he thought dead, Xelskyr, standing right in front of him. His wounds were gone, his Fateful cloak was restored, and he had his same old sarcastic smirk on his face. There were a few things different though, one being he was slightly transparent, and the other being he had an odd green aura all around him.

"Before ya start bombarding me with questions, let me get a few things out of the way to save some time. First, yes, I'm still dead; sorry kid, but that's the rules of nature and all. Second, yes, everything with Kingdom Hearts is fine, after Kysrel's keyblade was destroyed, all the energy went back where it was belonged and his influence was removed; it's back to being locked up tight. Finally, no, no one else can see me, I stopped time for a bit so we could talk for a sec," he said, crossing his arms.

"Wha-what do you need?" asked Roxas, still not quite sure what he was seeing.

"It's not what I need, I'm just here to say a final farewell so to speak. First though, I need you to stand up."

Roxas raised a curious eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Just stand up, call them going away presents," he said, an honest grin on his face this time.

Roxas did as instructed and stood up straight, now only shorter than the nobody by an inch or two. Xelskyr backed up a bit and dug his feet into the ground, looking like he was getting into a fighting stance. Roxas got a little nervous when he pulled his right hand back and it began to glow in a bright light.

"What are you...?"

Roxas never got to finish his sentence, because while he was busy asking questions, Xelskyr thrust his hand forward, and flicked his index finger into Roxas' forehead at high speed. Roxas saw a large amount of dark energy fly off of him as he was knocked backwards a number of feet, just from that little flick. With that, Xelskyr stood straight again as Roxas regained his balance.

"So, how do you feel now?" the nobody asked.

Roxas rubbed the area where he'd been flicked, and tried to see if anything felt different. One thing he did notice was that he was now much lighter than before, like some invisible weight had been lifted.

"Xelskyr...did you suppress my darkness?" asked Roxas in wonder.

"Heh, just a little trick I picked up, becoming one with Kingdom Hearts has its perks ya know."

Roxas couldn't help but smile, he felt better than he had in what seemed like an eternity.

"There's a small catch to this though," said Xelskyr in a more serious tone.

"I couldn't do anything about Oathbreaker, it's still technically a dark keyblade, and since I've locked away all that dark energy, you won't be able to summon it anymore."

Roxas' expression changed from joyous to crestfallen in a mere second, but Xelskyr just put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"Hey, don't worry about it; I found a little loophole."

Now his expression brightened considerably, waiting to hear his "loophole". Xelskyr held out his hand, and after a bright flash, his golden keyblade was in his grasp, completely reformed and in perfect condition once more. Roxas looked at him in confusion until the nobody flipped the blade around, holding it by its blade, and putting the hilt in front of Roxas.

"I won't be needing it where I'm going, so take it."

For what seemed like the hundredth time today, Roxas stared down speechless.

"A-are you sure, I mean, it's your keyblade!?"

He seemed unfazed by his protests.

"Don't worry, I told you, I don't need it and you do, so shut up and take it already."

Roxas stared down at the blade, the it shined in the suns light. He looked back up at Xelskyr and smiled.

"I'll take it...on one condition."

Now it was Xelskyr's turn to be confused.

"What is it?"

"I want to know its name, it's true name. In all the time we've know each other, you never mentioned its name, and I'd like to know if I'm going to wield it."

The nobody sighed, but nodded.

"Back when it was just me and Xealx against Kysrel, I wanted my keyblade to contrast his in as many ways as possible, including its name. His was obviously named the Dark Corruption, so I chose to call mine by the opposite of that. That keyblades name is The Purifying Light," he said, something along the lines of pride seeping into his voice.

Roxas smiled again and then grabbed the keyblades hilt, holding it in his hand. He marveled at how similar it felt so Oathkeeper, yet so different at the same time. Once he was satisfied, he dispelled it, and looked back at Xelskyr.

"Thank you so much Xelskyr, for everything."

Again, the nobody seemed unfazed, but still smiled.

"Yeah well, somebody had to do it, might as well have been me. Anyway, I think I've overspent my welcome in this existence, and from the looks of things, you've got some busy days ahead of you, so I'll be goin'," he said as he turned and walked away.

"Don't think that just because I'm gone, I won't be watching you. I'll keep track of every screw up you make, so when you finally get over here to the other side, I'll have some ammo. 'Till then though, get stronger and do your best; I can't babysit you anymore, so everything from here on out...is your show now."

With that, Xelskyr gave him a quick wave before fading away, back to Kingdom Hearts, leaving Roxas alone in the crater. The teen was about to turn to leave when he heard Xelskyr's disembodied voice give him one last message.

"Oh yeah, and Roxas, if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like one little favor from ya. When you and Hikari finally have a little brat of your own, would ya mind naming it after me if it's a boy? Heh, just a thought, had a nice ring in my head. Seein' as you're named after a nobody, I didn't think you'd mind. Just don't go havin' one for a while yet, cuz remember, I'll be watchin' ya," he said, finishing with a laugh before his voice faded as well.

Roxas smirked and looked up at the sky as time started moving again, the sun was shining much brighter, and things didn't seem quite as bad as they had a few minutes ago.

"Man, death can't even stop him from getting on my nerves," Roxas muttered as he climbed out of the crater, and back up to everyone.

One he finished his climb and dusted himself off, he was met by his parents, Riku, and Hikari. Sora spoke up first.

"Are you going to be alright son?"

Roxas looked back up at the sky for a moment, then heard another familiar voice ring out from his right.

"ROXAS!"

He looked over and saw a little auburn haired rocket pounce on him and completely knock him over. When he regained his sense, he looked down and saw Namine latched onto him like a vice, and smiled. Iroh, Kisuke, Jiraiya, Axel, and Tevesix had finally returned from the off shore island that Axel had taken Namine to so she'd stay out of the fighting. Iroh joined Aang, Kisuke with Ichigo and Matt, Jiraiya with Naruto, Axel with his parents, and Tevesix with the Fateful, obviously already fully aware of what had already occurred.

Roxas took a deep breath and sighed contently, looking around at his family and his friends. They still seemed upset, and that was understandable, but tomorrow would be a new day, and they would have a lot of work to do to repair all the damages. For now, things were finally peaceful again, and for that, Roxas was glad.

"Yeah dad...I think I'll be fine."

5 months later

It had now been a complete year since Roxas had first left on his insane journey with Xelskyr. Now, five months after their final confrontation with Kysrel, things had returned to relative normalcy.

Thanks to help from the crew of the Boeotia, the Fateful, the Radiant Garden committee, and all Roxas' friends, the repairs moved much faster than anyone predicted. Much of the town was rebuilt, but signs of the battle were still obvious and noticeable. Parts of the town still laid in relative ruin, and the crater that had been created Kysrel's explosion was still not completely repaired. The crater itself had been filled with concrete but the square was now under construction, and wouldn't be finished any time soon.

All his friends had already gone back to their respective homes. Axel had been recalled by Tevesix soon after the battle, but was allowed to stay long enough to converse with Sora and Kairi for a little while, just to catch up with his old "friends". His stay was short, but Roxas enjoyed it, he'd always thought Axel was a cool guy, and their sparring matches had always been fun and helpful.

Naruto and Jiraiya were the first to actually leave the island, something about being late as it was to get back home. Roxas understood and saw them off, though the silver haired hermit didn't escape their fair island without his share of bruises, mostly dealt by Riku when he accidentally stumbled across Hikari's new collection of books. The high pitched screams of the great toad sage could be heard through to the late hours of that night.

Ichigo, Kisuke, and Matt left soon after, saying they had to get back to school and work. Ichigo thanked him for stopping his one-time friend, and welcomed him to Karakura town any time. Matt had challenged him to a spar with him and his friend Nathan if he ever had the chance to drop by, and Kisuke also bid him farewell, taking a few samples of his personal stash of Potions and Elixirs out of scientific curiosity.

Iroh and Aang both had duties to tend to as well, but thanked them for their hospitality while they were there. Roxas apologized for the circumstances under which they first met, which the bald monk quickly accepted and told him it was the most fun he'd had in a while. Roxas and Hikari both thanked Iroh for the advice he'd given them. He told them it was nothing, and that he was glad to help, also that he was glad that the two of them had decided to give each other a go, to which the two teens blushed profusely.

Later on, the Radiant Garden crew left. They all said their goodbyes as familiar family friends. Roxas personally thanked Cloud for revealing the secret behind the Omni-slash, telling him that it had served him well on multiple occasions, and even saved his life once. The blond smirked and patted Roxas' shoulder before leaving with the rest of his group.

Finally, the Fateful and the crew of the Boeotia were the last to leave. The Fateful would travel with Rhys and Julia for a while until they found a world that suited them so they could set up another base. Rhys and Julia would continue their efforts to find an uninhabited world for all of the left-over refugees to finally call home. Roxas' stated that his offer to help still stood to which they both smiled, but declined, telling him to worry about himself for now, he deserved some peace and quiet for a while.

Before they left, Xealx gave him a hand held long-range communicator beacon, saying that if they ever need his help, or if he ever need their help again, they could contact each other through use of that. Roxas nodded and waved as the ship departed into the clouds before zooming into hyperspace, out of sight.

So now Roxas sat on the deformed palm tree of Paupu Island, Namine in his lap, and Hikari leaning near the base, as they always used to. Roxas was so happy when he saw that their favorite childhood hang-out hadn't been damaged. He felt another sense of deja vu wash over him, remembering that this was how everything started to begin with.

"Kind of feels weird being back here, huh," said Roxas.

"Yeah, after fighting for so long, the quiet is...odd," she agreed.

Roxas hugged Namine closer and sighed contently.

"Oh well, at least we're back right? Kysrel is gone, and everyone is off doing their own thing again, so I guess we can kick back for a while."

Hikari nodded.

"Yeah, but schools gonna be weird. Everyone going to be asking questions, and based on the gossip and rumors I've been overhearing, we've got ourselves quite a fan-club," she mused.

Roxas smirked.

"Jealous are we? Worried I might run off and sweep some other girl completely off her feet like I did to a certain sliver haired keyblade master I know?" he said slyly.

Hikari scoffed and looked away with an annoyed expression on her face.

"You did not 'sweep me off my feet', don't flatter yourself Roxas."

"Really now?"

"Yes really."

Roxas smirked again.

"Well then, I think a competition is in order. I propose a race, if I win, you admit that you were drawn to me thanks to my natural charm and good looks," he said, his smirk growing into a goofy smile.

Hikari smirked as well and went along with it.

"Fine, but if I win, I get to choose the next movie we go see, and the restaurant we eat at. I'm tired of us seeing nothing but action movies and then hitting a burger joint. We've done things ten times more exciting than in those movies, and those burgers suck," she said crossing her arms.

Roxas nodded.

"Fine then, I accept your terms."

With that, the two lined up at the bridge, Namine now on Roxas' back.

"Nami, countdown if you please!" said Roxas excitedly.

She obliged happily.

"3...2...1...GO!"

With that, the race began, and the two teens darted across the beach, each hoping to best each other, and laughing along the way, glad to finally,after all their work, have some peace.

And that's all folks.

Let it be known that Fateful XIII is now officially done and over with, and I'll probably not be making a sequel...at all...I mean it.

On a different note though, I'd just like to take the time to thank all you wonderful readers out there who read this story. A lot of you who are reading this have been with me for quite a while, some of you even as far back as the beginning, seeing as this is the first story I ever wrote. I just wanted to thank you all for taking a chance with this story and I hope, despite some kinks and setbacks, you enjoyed the experience.

Without you guys, I wouldn't be half as motivated as I am, (which I know doesn't sound like a lot considering my track record for updates, but still), so truly and honestly you guys, I just want to say that I appreciate each an every one of you. Whether you reviewed or favorited doesn't really matter to me, you simply reading the story was enough thanks.

The Fateful XIII, Roxas, Hikari, they were all great characters in my opinion, and it was a pleasure writing about them, and an adventure in itself coming up with the plot, which believe it or not, was not even pre-planned, I made it all up as I went along. Even this ending was completley a, "spur of the moment", thing. As for the Fateful XIII, this is goodbye for now, but who knows what the future holds, I may someday dig it back up and come up with something new and fresh for all you old fans, but for now, say your final farewells.

For the last and final installment of Fateful XIII, this is Xelskyr, thanking you for your time, and wishing you all happy reading.