The Remnants walked from a dark forest in Narnia into a bright meadow that stretched out as far as they could see. The air was vibrant and filled with both Light and Darkness. Vanitas' armour quickly healed, and Raphael took in a deep breath and relished in the comforting burn of Darkness circulating through his body again. He hadn't realized how much his body relied on Darkness for balance and strength.
"Don't rely on it too much, or it'll turn into a weakness." Riku said. Raphael would work on not relying as much on the Darkness when they didn't have gods to defeat.
Aslan now turned to the Remnants he had led and said, "Rest here for now until your other companions come."
"Max and the others are in Narnia too?" Aqua was turning slowly, trying to absorb the scenery around them. She saw flowers and sprouts with unfamiliar hues that were so deep they seemed saturated.
"Indeed," Aslan replied, "Even in its dying days, Narnia may give children the courage they need to do what is needed."
"But where are we?" Raphael asked, "What is this place?"
Aslan turned to him, and replied, "Kingdom Hearts."
Raphael was left staring at Aslan as the lion strode through the door they had come from before seeing the door disappear.
How could they be here? It had taken the combined efforts of him, Riku and Roxas to even touch Kingdom Hearts back in the Keyblade Graveyard. And they were standing here without even being affected.
"Don't question what happens with Aslan," Riku advised, "Just accept it and move on. He's incredibly powerful."
Raphael nodded and took in the trees off in the distance before Rayne nudged him. He quickly jerked his head in the direction she was pointing in and saw Ven slowly walking over to Vanitas. He moved to intercept Ven, but Rayne held him back. "I saw Aslan talking with them. Just step back and see what happens."
Vanitas looked over his shoulder at them and said, "I'm perfectly fine of taking care of myself. How about you guys go away for a bit."
"Are you sure?" Raphael asked.
"Of course. What can my dad do to me?"
Raphael rolled his eyes and allowed Rayne to drag him away several metres. He intently stared at the previous two wielders of the X-Blade, but Rayne grabbed his attention by saying, "I wanted to talk to you anyways."
Riku oooohed dramatically, and Raphael quickly pushed him away. He looked worryingly at Rayne as she said, "How exactly do you feel towards me?"
Raphael's mouth bobbed up and down as he stammered, "I don't- well, not like- I mean," The image of her eyes in his Station of Awakening rose to mind. How exactly had he been thinking of Rayne? How could he even-
"Oh, I thought you knew. I guess this complicate things a little." Rayne sighed and backed away. "Well, I sensed something when we were in your Station of Awakening and we partially merged, so you don't really have to say anything."
How much of his feelings had leaked through, and how much had Rayne understood? Definitely more than him. He remembered how his vision had blurred that day in the Crossroads when he had walked away from her, blurred from tears, and maybe something else. Did he actually like like her? Was that what she was implying? Why didn't she just say something direct? Things were going to fast, and it definitely didn't help that Rayne was two steps ahead of him.
She paused before continuing, "I'm not going to ask why you feel this way towards a suit of armour. I'm not going to question what exactly you feel about me-"
"It can wait," Raphael blurted, "I mean, I didn't even realize until you brought it up. It doesn't-" His heart was beating so fast he felt his heartbeat in his toes. His head was throbbing as he looked at Rayne. He hadn't even thought about this consciously and now Rayne was addressing this? Why-
"Have you considered that these feelings might not be your own?"
Raphael frowned in confusion. "Of course my feelings are my own, whose else would they be?" A sneaking suspicion started working its way into his chest.
"The X-Blade trying to get us together quicker." Rayne said. "It's been inside us for weeks now, it's entirely possible that they're just playing with your feelings."
It couldn't be. His feelings, whatever they were, had to be his. Just because he didn't understand them, just because they felt foreign, just because they were chaotic, just because they would bring him and Rayne closer, it didn't mean…
Rayne put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm really sorry, Raphael. I didn't want to do this to you, but I'm not going to consider anything other than friendship without knowing where your feelings come from, and I don't think you should either."
"What if even our friendship's fake?" Raphael muttered, "What if I might have ended up hating you if the X-Blade wasn't with us?"
"Is that what you want?" Rayne asked quietly. She had turned away and didn't look at Raphael. He was glad she didn't. He didn't want he to see his tears.
"Of course not," Raphael said, "But if you're going to doubt our feelings, then why stop there?"
"You didn't even know what you were feeling until I told you, and now you're acting like they're so important." Rayne hissed angrily. "Don't try to turn this on me."
"You're the one who started it." Raphael protested. His voice edged dangerously on yelling. He breathed heavily and backed down. "Alright, questioning our friendship was a low blow." He took in a ragged breath and said, "I wouldn't mind if we never actually, you know," he made a few hand gestures that Rayne couldn't see, since her back was to him. Maybe that was a good thing. "I just hate how you're saying our friendship might be the X-Blade subconsciously manipulating us or something."
"I think we would have ended up as friends anyways," Rayne said, "I'm not a stranger to friendship, and there isn't much doubt that we would have been friends, especially in these circumstances." She sighed and said, "But the feelings I sensed in you were deeper than that, and not something I really know of."
"So what do we do?" Raphael asked, "Do we avoid each other? We need the X-Blade to win this war."
"And one of us will have to die!" Rayne yelled. "Weren't you listening to Aqua? We don't need the X-Blade if we have the Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D on our side."
"I don't want to die, but I don't want the Realm of Light to fall because we're afraid of ourselves."
"You're willing to sacrifice yourself, but not willing to sacrifice me?" Rayne was trying to keep her voice even and failing, "I thought you wanted to do what's right, isn't me dying just as 'right' as you dying?"
"Then what do you suggest? That both of us die? Because that can happen if you want." Raphael's voice shook in anger and confusion. He hadn't felt this much emotion since he and Riku had defeated the rabid Heartless he had injected in himself at the start of his journey.
"I'm saying that you have to consider the fact that I could die just as easily as you could."
Raphael threw up his arms and spun around for a few seconds before turning to look at Rayne again. "You know, I'd be feeling a lot less confused if you hadn't brought up emotions I didn't know I was feeling. Are we supposed to act like this never happened, only I'm now your friend? How can things be simple like that?"
"I know. I wouldn't have brought it up if I knew you weren't aware of your feelings. I just thought you were." Rayne paused for several seconds, trying to gather her thoughts before saying slowly, "I don't know what our relationship's going to be like after this. If you want to try be friends, I'd like that. If you don't, I accept that as well. I just wanted- I just didn't want you to act on feelings that might not be your own."
They stood in painful silence for another minute until Vanitas bounded over out of nowhere. "Well, after years of trying to get Kingdom Hearts, Aslan finally brings me up here for nothing. Next time I try for world domination I'll remember to ally myself with a lion god or two."
"I'll go see how mom and dad are doing," Rayne said, and she left Raphael with Vanitas. "Don't worry, she's not going to tell Jack and Mist about this." Riku reassured Raphael, "Their habit of protecting Rayne never really faded."
Why did Rayne need to be protected from boys? If anything, boys should have been scared of Rayne.
"You're forgetting Rayne was born in a twelve year old body. Imagine a one year old going through puberty."
That would be difficult to deal with. Suddenly Jack and Mist's vehemence with regard to Rayne seemed more justified. It also explained why Rayne was so much more adept at friendship than at love.
"Like you're one to talk." Riku jabbed, "You didn't even knew how you felt until she dragged it out of you. She always was direct."
And how was Xion? Was she direct? Riku immediately shut up, and Raphael rejoiced at finally finding a way to keep Riku quiet. He felt a twinge of guilt at playing on Riku's memories, which needed to be addressed, but if Riku would willingly close himself off, Raphael wasn't above taking advantage of that. "So what did Ven want to tell you?"
"He wanted to apologize. Said it was wrong for him to judge, said all sorts of things I forgot." Vanitas laughed, and it irritated Raphael for some reason.
"He must've meant what he said, you could take it a little more seriously."
"I'm taking it as seriously as he is. You really think he's just forgiven me, forgotten everything I've done?"
"He hasn't forgotten but he's forgiven." Raphael said, "You're not irredeemable, you know. You're a good person, and people see that."
Vanitas shrugged and looked around him. Raphael wanted to push the subject, but unfortunately, Vanitas leaned in close to Raphael and said, "So, did you confess your love to Rayne in a slew of flowery metaphors and-"
Raphael shoved him violently, but Raphael's palm suffered more damage than Vanitas. "Kingdom Hearts! How in the name of all that's holy-"
"Oh, give this psychopath some credit. You tense up around Rayne, you steal quick glances, you talk more than you ever have with her, you get flustered when the three of us talk. When you talk with me you're forceful and adamant. With Rayne, you shut up, and what you do say is just agreeing with her." He sighed dramatically as Raphael looked at him in mortification. "Honestly, I preferred you when you were true to yourself, not just infatuated with the only girl available."
"That's not what's going on." Raphael said through gritted teeth. "And what do you know anyways?" He really didn't need this. Not now. And why was he constantly thinking of Rayne? It was distracting.
"What do I know?" Vanitas' voice had dropped to a lower pitch, and this was when he was actually dangerous. "I know you. I know that you want to use the X-Blade but you're too scared to actually do it. I know that you still try to do what's right, even though you don't know what that is. I know that you wanted to be my friend, but the minute you saw Rayne your hormones took over. I know-"
"It's not just hormones." Raphael's words seemed to grind over his tongue as they oozed out of his mouth, leaving a bad taste in its wake.
Vanitas sighed again, but this wasn't dramatic or fake. It was sorrowful, bitter, and genuine. "I know you better than she does, and I know what it's like to doubt your every move because some higher power's invaded your mind and soul. What does she know? I could be your-"
He then interrupted himself by tilting his head, and said in one of the falsest attempts at happiness that Raphael had ever heard, "Well, let's enjoy this wonderful stay in Kingdom Hearts." Raphael wanted to say something right for once, but Vanitas pranced away, leaving him to stand alone. He slumped down and lay on the sweet-smelling grass, staring up at the clear sky. He had been alone for months when he had first come to the Keyblade Graveyard. He had fought in brutal solitude while he tried to find his way to the source of the voices. He had thought he was alone and he embraced it, turned it into his pride. He had felt that he alone knew the truth, and he had clung to this self-martyrdom as he drew on Darkness that ate at his Heart.
He realized how shallow he had been back then, and sometimes he thought he had changed, but now he wasn't sure. Vanitas had been right. Raphael had abandoned Vanitas in his fascination with Rayne.
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Riku said, "It never ends well, trust me."
Raphael knew more about Riku's past life than he knew about the other Remnants, and he had an inkling of what he meant.
"No, you don't." Riku said with finality. There was a brief pause before he continued. "Sometimes you say or do things that you regret. You can think hard about what you did wrong and go around thinking of how it could have been avoided. But usually if you just apologize, things solve themselves a lot easier."
Raphael was guessing Riku usually stuck to the first option.
"Only when I was young."
And when he was a thousand years old. Just because Riku didn't say anything didn't mean his emotions were hidden. Sometimes it was the opposite. And by the sounds of things, Riku hadn't exactly been kind to himself.
"You've got a point. I was just thinking about Sora."
Raphael nodded in understanding. He didn't know how close Riku and Sora had been, but they must have been close.
"We were inseparable." Riku reminisced, "We did everything together until I plunged the Destiny Islands into Darkness."
Jason had told Raphael about that, but he had trouble connecting the Riku in his head to the Riku who had been tempted by Darkness because, well, Raphael actually didn't know.
"Because I was bored and selfish." Riku said, "I wanted to see more, I thought I was chained to the island. But I was only manipulated when I tried to 'free' myself."
How could Riku think that? Raphael wasn't going to give Riku the satisfaction of calling him wise anymore, but he had more common sense than that.
"We wouldn't have gotten along if we were both fourteen," Riku said, "Even at your most immature you had an ideal you worked for. I just wanted novelty." Raphael wondered why Riku was talking so much all of a sudden. Would he have done it for anyone else?
"No, probably not." Riku thought, "Maybe Xion. You have a habit of not judging, which helps."
As Riku was caught in his thoughts, Raphael caught images of him in various worlds. There was one of him talking with Sora in the multi-colored stomach of a huge beast. On the top of an old fashioned ship talking with Sora again, only this time there was Kairi, unconscious, behind him. There was a memory of him walking away from Sora, callously dropping off a wooden sword at his feet. And a last image of Sora in the Realm of Darkness before a door closed between them. "I thought that I wanted to see the worlds, but when I did, it meant nothing without Sora. He gave everything I did meaning."
Riku was ignoring his own advice. Brooding over what could have happened a thousand years ago did nothing. Talking with Sora would.
"Sora's possessed by Light if you haven't noticed," Riku said bitterly, "And Sora would never accept an apology from me because he never considered I'd done something wrong. He was always infuriating like that."
Raphael had said to talk, not to apologize. There wasn't any need to apologize over something that had happened a millennium ago. And Sora could still be saved from Light. That was why he was fighting, wasn't it?
Riku laughed slowly. "Since when did you start comforting me? It feels weird."
The disciple always surpassed the master someday. Raphael grinned flippantly as Riku snorted. "You, surpass me? Get down here into your Station and we'll see who's the master."
Raphael grinned. He'd look forward to it once this was all over. If he had the X-Blade on his side Riku wouldn't stand a chance.
"Vanitas wipes the floor with you, and we killed him four times over as a human, don't get cocky. I'll show you how people actually use Darkness."
Raphael was smiling now, and so was Riku. Riku tried to take over his body and punch him again, but Raphael was ready, and they struggled for a while, none of them giving ground. Raphael lay there as rigid as a stone as they grappled in his Heart playfully before Riku pulled away.
Was that all Riku had in him? Raphael had expected more.
"That's my line." Riku laughed, and suddenly it felt a lot better to be in Kingdom Hearts. He still had no clue what he felt about Rayne, he had no clue what Vanitas was feeling in general, but that didn't seem to bother him.
"What did you talk to Vanitas about?"
Aqua was sitting in the shade of a tree that subtly but elegantly curved tens of metres up into the sky. Next to her was Eraqus, who seemed more at peace than he had since Terra died.
"I just said sorry. It's weird, he started trying to make me think he was some kind of villain, but once I knew that he was pretending, I didn't mind."
Aqua nodded and looked at Eraqus. Terra's death had hit him the hardest. He had always felt responsible for his four apprentices, and while Terra had meant more to Aqua, only he blamed himself for it. "Master, you can't let Terra's death stop you."
"I know what is expected for me, but now I find it harder to rise to those expectations."
"You know what I said to Vanitas?" Ven interjected, "I said that the past didn't matter. What mattered was what he did from here on." He sat down in front of Eraqus and looked steadily at him. "It's not what happened in the past that counts, Master, it's what you do now."
Ven looked away for a moment before saying, "You were always there for us. You gave Terra, Aqua, Jack and I security and stability because you knew how important that was for us. Well, I think that stability was important for you as well, and now you've lost it and you don't know what to do."
Eraqus looked intently at Ven, then looked back into himself. Ven's words rang true in his Heart long before they resonated in his mind. "Ven's right," Aqua added, "We didn't realize that you needed stability just as much as us. But you do. We're not your apprentices anymore, so it's alright to lean on us until this is over."
"And if you die?" Eraqus didn't sound lethargic or apathetic, he sounded curious, as if he was assessing the responses of his apprentices.
"Life is Light and Darkness, stability and change," Aqua said, "Sometimes you have stability and sometimes you have chaos. But you'll always find both, even if it seems you're only surrounded by chaos."
Eraqus chuckled and embraced Aqua and Ven. "You are both far wiser than I could hope, far wiser than I am myself."
Ven laughed. "It's tiring, let's get this war over with and then we can just be normal. No need for these revelations or changes in personality."
"Yeah, I'd like that." Aqua said, "This is undermining what I've said, but I'd like things to go back to the way they were, when we just relaxed and lived around each other."
"Thank you." Eraqus said, "You are like children to me, and you have made me prouder than any parent alive."
They pulled out of the hug and Ven rubbed his helmet, slightly embarrassed. "Still, if Jack and the others need our help, then I'd be more than willing to help."
Eraqus nodded. "Indeed, although I'm not sure if Jack will want the responsibility he has now by the end of this."
"Wait, so if we all survive, what do you think will happen to us Remnants?" Aqua asked, trying to block out the memory of a similar conversation she'd had with Terra on the roof of a skyscraper in Baron.
Eraqus shrugged. "I cannot tell. If what Max says is right, the worlds will fall into chaos without the authority of the Grandmasters. We cannot leave the world to the likes of Max."
"So Max is our ally until he goes against us?"
"Max is a person that needs to be watched, much like Vanitas."
"I don't think we need to be that careful around Vanitas." Ven muttered, "I can't see him attacking Raphael or Rayne."
Eraqus was surprised, but continued, "Regardless, my conscience will not rest until I am sure the Realm of Light is appropriately governed, and I believe Jason will feel the same."
"I do." Jason had been walking towards them for some time, and his presence didn't come as a surprise. "I cannot speak for Jack and Mist, but I will try and organize the Realm of Light with you. We are Remnants, but we won't fade away just yet."
"We are thinking of the future when the present is so daunting," Eraqus said, "It is either a denial of the situation's severity or a testament to our spirit. I am willing to go with the latter."
"But I like talking about the future." Ven said, "It's a nice dream to have, and if we're lucky, it might come true."
"Alright then, talk about the future." Jack and Mist now came to join them, and Ven grinned up at him. Or at least he would have, if he had a face, but everyone could feel his happiness despite not having bodies. "I actually wouldn't mind reforming the LE."
"I think it will happen naturally." Jason said, "You said the Keyblade Wielders were annihilated, but that was only the ones in Radiant Garden. The Realm of Light needs a neutral party to settle disputes."
"And what if the Keyblade Wielders fight for their own worlds?" Aqua asked. "I don't want to fight another war after this one."
"No one will ask you to do something you don't want to." Jason said, "Besides, all this is speculation. We'll deal with it when we need to."
"For an organization, we're not really organized." Aqua remarked. It was true, and the Remnants spent some time telling stories about the LE and taking a brief trip into the past when things were simpler. The Remnants were all sitting down underneath a tree in Kingdom Hearts, and they savored a short respite from the stress and doubt as they sat in blissful silence.
