Chapter 79

The Radical Plan

The day following the battle passed by like a dream for Sora, as did the next. It was as though he were back on the islands again with not a single worry occupying his thoughts. Surprisingly, he had found himself on the first day spending quite a bit of time in the kitchen with Colette, Stephanie, Luna and Yeul, helping to make Sea Salt Ice Cream. When they were finally done, Sora made sure that Yeul was the first to try it.

"Mmm! It's lovely!" Yeul announced, having taken her first bite.

"I thought you'd miss that. I bet Kingdom Hearts didn't treat you that good," Sora said, grinning.

"It really didn't," Yeul said. As she bit into her ice cream again, she suddenly winced and rubbed at her jaw, eliciting a laugh from the group. After the laughter died down, she pointed at him. "Um, Sora, what's that on your shoulder?"

"Huh? Oh!" Sora had completely forgotten that Morph had been hiding inside his hood. He scooped the pink blob up from his shoulder and held it out to Yeul. "His name's Morph. Morph, Yeul. Play nice with each other."

He tilted his hands and Morph slid down into Yeul's as fluidly as liquid. Her eyes seemed in wonder as she held it in front of her and Morph began wiggling around in her palm as if he were just recovering from a nice nap.

In general, Sora tried to spend as much time with Yeul as possible. It was as though every waking moment was precious and that if, for even a second, he took his eyes off her, she might disappear. So maybe not quite every worry eradicated from his mind, but the fact that she was here at all brought him a comfort that could not possibly be measured.

He had also spent a good amount of time with Riku and Kairi, catching up with them. It wasn't the paopu tree, but near the bridge to the town looking over the lake to be a good alternative.

"Gee, I think I could live here. It would be so nice, don't you think?" Kairi asked, looking over the lake.

"I could live just about anywhere," Sora said. Corona certainly had its charm, but that was true of every other place he had been to.

"Oh, really? So the pride lands?"

"Sure. Simba's great to hang out with. Kovu and Kiara too," Sora said.

"But you do realize you'd have to hunt. You'd need to bring in your fair share and knowing you that's not going to happen," Riku said.

"Okay, yeah! When you put the details in there, maybe. But I can try. Maybe I was a lion in a past life. Would certainly make it easier. Evolutionary biology and… stuff," Sora said.

"I know what I was in a past life. And a life before that. And one before that…" Kairi said, playing with her hair.

"I'd ask how you know that but you seem as secretive as ever, Kairi, so I know I'm not getting anything," Sora said.

"What happens in the past, stays in the past," Kairi said, winking at him.

"Well, the Keyblade War would suggest otherwise but-"

"Oh, shut up," Kairi said, playfully hitting Riku on the arm.

Riku feigned a silent 'ow' but ended up giving away a smile. "By the way, I had a talk with the Blue Fairy and…"

He reached for his eyepatch and lifted it over his eye socket. Sora was fully prepared to scream but stopped short when he saw an actual eye in its place.

"Woah! She grew your eye back for you?" Sora asked.

"It's a fake eye, Sora. I'm never getting that eye back. Still, if it keeps people from asking why I'm wearing an eye patch, I'll take it," Riku said.

"Aw, but I was growing used to the eyepatch. It makes you look cool, Riku," Kairi said.

"Are you saying I'm not cool without it?" Riku asked, folding his arms.

Kairi narrowed her eyes and gave a hum as though she were deliberating. Unable to keep a straight face upon seeing Riku's own, she burst out laughing. Sora placed his own hands in front of his mouth and looked to the lake as he struggled to hide his own laughter.

The best part was that it did genuinely seem like they were picking up right where they had left off. There was no awkwardness between them. Sora could tell that things had changed through their experiences, but if that change wasn't enough to separate them then he wasn't concerned. Change was an inevitable constant in life. Maybe even the only one.

But like all dreams, they eventually came to an end whether the dreamer wanted them to or not. It was on the third day of peace when Sora was visited in his room by Neuge, who looked as if she had barely gotten any sleep.

"It's Yen Sid. He needs to see you," Neuge said, giving away very little.

Sora raised a brow. "Why?"

"Just… come. Please," Neuge said. That was all she said. After that, she turned to leave promptly, leaving Sora to wonder what had even just happened.

Putting on his shoes, he followed Neuge down the corridor and towards the other side of the castle. Neither spoke the entire way there, creating an uneasy silence that Sora could only remedy by suddenly interest in the decor of the castle. He wasn't even sure if Neuge remembered that he was there.

Eventually they arrived in one of the chambers catered to guests. Neuge stood to the side and finally turned to look at him. She was inviting him to go in first. Tired of the suspense, he didn't hesitate in pushing open the door. It was only then that images of Yen Sid's frail body entered his mind right before he set eyes on the man himself, bedridden.

Of course, at the time, he and Luna had had no idea. They had simply passed it off as an old magician overexerting himself. That's what he had wanted to believe anyway. Seeing him now, a sense of dread arose in the pit of his stomach.

"Master… Yen Sid," Sora said, walking over to his bed. He could hear deep breaths coming from the wizard. Beads of sweat lined his face and his eyes seemed anything but alert as they usually were. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Luna, Riku and Kairi were also in the room, all equally sharing a similar look.

"Just on time. And here I thought you were still furious with me," Yen Sid said weakly.

"What happened? How-" Sora cut himself off, at a loss for words.

"Remember the Keyblade Graveyard? When Xanatos set that trap for you and Luna?" Mickey asked. Sora nodded. "Then Master arrived there to save you. It… looks like he ended up using more of his power than he'd intended."

"What does that even mean?" Sora asked. He could feel the blood rushing through his ears. For whatever reason, nothing right now seemed to make sense to him.

"Even sorcerers have their limits," Yen Sid said. "It just so happened that I crossed mine. Not to the fault of you or Luna, of that I must make clear. My actions were of my own doing and I cannot deny that I would do them again if needed."

He looked over to Sora and forced a smile. "You all have the power to shape the world as you see fit. I could not think of anyone better I'd entrust this task to. Now seeing as I've already spoken to the others before you arrived, it's only fair that you receive words of your own."

Sora said nothing but moved closer, intent on giving his full attention.

"I have made many mistakes, both in the distant past and the nearest. I don't profess to be perfect despite the image you may have of me. Time and again, you've done more than any of us could have ever asked for. Because of this, I took you for granted—as a constant that would always be there for this world. But you're not that. You're not invincible. Forgetting this, I placed too much on your shoulders too hastily, Sora, too preoccupied in thinking ahead. Because of this, I failed to anticipate your reaction. I was taken by surprise when you lashed out at me. It's not easy to admit this but I've never been as good at connecting with others as you have."

"Maybe too much time cooped up in that tower," Sora said with a wobbly smile.

Yen Sid attempted a laugh but what came out was more of a painful cough. "I won't deny that. In any case, in spite of everything, I still believe that you are still capable of great many endeavours. Amidst the illusory veil that drapes the world, you may even be the one to dispel it and reveal the truth to the world."

Sora nodded hesitantly. "But how will I know when I find it? The truth?"

Yen Sid simply smiled at him. That was when Sora realized that he already knew the answer to that question. It was the same answer that had guided him through his other journeys. That had opened the door to light once.

"All I have left to say is this—stay kind, Sora. Laugh. Love. Have the patience for others as you have had for me. It is easy to be left behind and even easier to leave others behind, which is why I know you'll make the right choice. Because to you, leaving others behind isn't an option. It's not in your nature to be cruel to stranger or friend. They say a magician never reveals their secrets. I can say that yours still remain a mystery to me."

Sora gave a silent laugh. "You could have just asked."

"I doubt the answer would have satisfied me," Yen Sid concluded. He looked up towards the ceiling. "Now, I hate to make it seem like I'm throwing all of you out, but could I speak to Neuge and Mickey alone?"

Despite his words, Sora wanted to make sure that he burned the image of Yen Sid into his mind for as long as possible. Not as the frail man lying before him, but as the wise owl-eyed sorcerer he had come to know and respect.

After leaving the room, Terra, Ven and Aqua were waiting outside. Throwing them a sad smile and receiving one in kind, Sora walked over to the window and took to looking outside. How much time had passed, he had no idea. Silence had permeated the hallway in such a way that he wasn't even sure if anyone else was even there.

Then the door opened once again and Sora looked over to see Neuge and Mickey coming out. They didn't need to say anything. Their faces, sullen and unwilling to look into anyone's eyes told the entire story. Master Yen Sid had passed.

Sora soon returned to his room and there until evening he stayed. Lethargy had set in. On more than one occasion, he tried to force himself up to do something. Anything. And then he just gave up in the end. He simply couldn't be bothered to do anything for the rest of the day. After a while, someone did pop in to check on him. Sora scooted over for Luna to join him and there they stayed in each other's arms. Eventually, Sora had mustered enough will to talk that he tried asking her what Yen Sid had told her, but by then she had fallen asleep. Sora watched as her chest slowly rose and fell before closing his eyes.

"We're home!" Salome announced with her usual abundance of glee. She looked over to Alfonso who stood and examined in his usual ruminative manner. The facility on Akuma Island didn't exactly have the makings of a home—at least not one they were used to—but it would have to do until they could find a worthy replacement.

"It's our home until we get a new one. Get used to it," Vyce said, slapping Alfonso on the back. With his connection to the Keyblade cut off, Alfonso couldn't do any field work like he used to, but that didn't mean he was completely useless. His brain more than made up for it.

"On the contrary, I can work with this. And this is where you've been holding the children?" Alfonso asked, referring to the Wraith-turned children that Xanatos had been experimenting on. He had been caught up on what the rest of Moira's Crescent had been up to while he had been held captive.

"Well, they were already here when we found them. Maybe with you back, our efforts to heal them will improve ten-fold," Desiree said, before adding, "Though personally, I would not count on it."

"You wouldn't count on much of anything," Jill remarked.

"I'm being realistic," Desiree replied, slightly irritated by the blonde's interjection. "And you agreed with me to use them to beat Horus, no?"

"And we did, but I fail to see the connection between that and the chance that these kids might have a future," Jill said. "You'd have to explain to me how that one works."

"Oh? Is it possible then that little Jill has finally found something worth caring about other than herself?" Desiree asked.

"Dessie, stop. She may have a hard time showing it, but obviously she does care if she has a Keyblade," Salome said.

"No comment. Hey, here's a revolutionary idea. I propose that instead of standing here until our butts freeze off, we actually enter the building. You know, what we came here to do in the first place?"

But as Jill entered the compound, she froze on the spot. Jack, who had been on her shoulder, suddenly began squawking, filling their ears with a loud, harsh noise.

"You felt it too." Jill said, seemingly unaffected by her brother-turned-parrot's shrieking. She turned around to look at the others. She summoned her Keyblade, prompting the others to do the same.

They ran through the facility, splitting up into pairs to cover the base more quickly.

"Ray-ray, are you here?" Salome called out into the empty hallway.

"So someone else unwanted might be here and your first instinct is to call out so that they know we're here?" Alfonso asked with a blank stare.

"Well… when you put it that way, now I just feel stupid," Salome whispered, giving herself a conk on the head.

"Yeah… just let that feeling linger for the moment," Alfonso said while peering into one of the rooms. "You didn't do much to clean the place, did you?"

"Too many rooms we don't need. And given that we won't be staying here for long, it's not like we need to worry about it too much. Actually, Hiro and the others have been trying to convince the principal to allow us to stay at the college dorms for a while so we'll see how that goes. Better than this miserable mess, right?"

As they took a few more steps forward, they heard the clanging of metal reverberating from up ahead.

"That came from the kids' room," Salome told him. Despite the sudden noise, they took their time in making their way down the corridor. If Salome's previous cry hadn't alerted them to their presence, there was still a chance they could catch it off guard, although that it felt the need to suddenly make a noise kept their expectations in check.

Salome entered the room first, aiming her Keyblade inwards as the door swung open. The room was certainly not the most charming, with its dirty gray walls and out of place cages that kept the experimented children from roaming around the facility. The temperature was also on a regulated variation between two extremities in this room so as to induce a state of mild hypothermia. This helped to increase the children's fatigue so that they were more likely to fall asleep when Moira's Crescent wanted. It was a necessary evil to prevent them from causing harm to themselves or others. At least that was what Moira's Crescent had told themselves.

"There's no one here," Salome said, lowering her Keyblade after a while. "Strange. I thought for sure that-"

"Salome, move!"

Salome barely had time to respond to Alfonso's outburst before she felt herself being shoved off to the side. She looked up from the floor to see that the ceiling had caved in, blocking off the entrance. More importantly…

"Alfonso!" she scurried over to pile of rocks and Alfonso lying halfway underneath with his lower half devoured by the debris. "Fonny, you okay?"

"Well that's a bit of a silly question. How would you like me to answer that?" Alfonso hissed, trying to push away the rocks, unsurprisingly to no avail.

"This really isn't your year, is it?" Salome stated, biting her lower lip. A chill suddenly ran through her body and she looked up, towards the tiny spaces in between the rocks. On the other side, she managed to catch a glimpse of a human shape moving past the room.

A few corridors down from Salome and Alfonso in Rhea's bedroom, Lysander and Desiree spun around upon hearing the heavy crash as a result of the ceiling caving in.

"Finally, something at last," Desiree said, heading out of the room with a grin on her face.

"Something at last? Great. So you want there to be trouble," Lysander said.

"Are you coming or should I make the wiser choice and leave you behind?"

"Coming, ma'am!" Lysander blurted out in a panicky tone. Their quickened paces transitioned into a light jog as the urgency of the situation became more apparent. As she turned the corner, Desiree felt the tip of a Keyblade graze against her cheek as it flew past her. She drew back around the corner, dragging Lysander back with her. Placing her hand on her cheek, she withdrew it to find a red smear spread across her fingers.

Lysander glanced at her quickly before looking back in front of him. "I'm going for it," he whispered.

As he pulled round the corner quickly, he suddenly froze. Desiree frowned and pulled herself away from the wall, revealing herself to their opponent as well.

"Rhea?" she asked, with the same look of astonishment that mirrored her partner's. No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't just Rhea. Her irides were a cloudy haze, glossed over like glass. The gentle smile she usually possessed had completely disappeared, instead to be replaced by a blank slate.

But perhaps even stranger was the boy in white pajamas standing behind her, marking him as one of the experimented children. He extended his hand forward for a moment, as did Rhea in perfect sync. Then he vanished into thin air, leaving them little time to process what had happened before Rhea bounded forward like a bullet.

Neuge's pen lingered on the page as the door to the study opened, creating a huge blotch of ink to pile up on the paper. She looked down and let out a frustrated sigh, placing her pen on the table before looking up to Sora.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Better. I can't exactly spend time moping, especially when he wouldn't want me to," Sora said.

Neuge folded her arms on the desk and leaned forward. "Good. We need to get our minds off the unimportant crap and move on with our lives. So let's get to work."

Of course, 'unimportant crap' was just Neuge's way of dealing with the situation. She seemed to be trying her hardest to convince herself more than Sora right now.

"I've been talking with Scrooge McDuck the past few days and he wants to move ahead with establishing communications to other parts of the world. Now, we've been to communicate with each other on our PHS's thanks to Merlin's magic, but we want to take that a step further. We're talking about a web of interconnecting links that as a whole will really unite our world under a single sky. People won't have to wonder about what's out there anymore. They'll know. A free world."

"That's been your dream for a while now, right?" Sora asked.

"Well the old way certainly wasn't working. It's time we try something new. Something radical. So, I need you and the others to set up the devices Scrooge has for us across the world. He calls them 'satty lights' or something, the name doesn't matter. It was cooked up from pre-existing tech that have been used only in Gummi Ships until now, that is.

"It's a relatively simple task. Apparently, all you need do is set them up and then the device will do the rest of the work. Only problem is that to get the best coverage, you should work to have them somewhere high up. If there's only flat land nearby, that's not necessarily a problem, the signal just won't be as good, but that's okay. We plan on sending simple messages at first. In time, the tech will improve and we'll be able to boost the signal strength."

"This… is something big, huh," Sora said. Big was an understatement if anything. It was as Neuge had said—a radical change. If only Yen Sid could have been there to witness it. "I want people to feel the same way I feel when I meet someone new. If more people get a chance like that—to forge new bonds they wouldn't have been able to… then…"

"Then we might be able to defeat the darkness. Is that what you'd like to say? Well, I won't say no, but let's take this one step at a time. I'm not willing to look so far into the future that I crash and burn this project before it's even begun to get off the ground." Neuge stood up and walked around her desk. "Anyway, I think if we split the task up into, let's say pairs, then we'll be able to get it done faster. So, you and Luna?"

"Hmm, actually, I have someone else in mind," Sora said.

It was his heart that led him directly to Roxas. Maybe their previous connection had even made it easier. In any case, Sora stepped out of the corridor of light to find him in Twilight Town with Xion and Lea, sitting on the clocktower's ledge. He made his way up but stood standing. It was Xion who first noticed his presence.

"Come for the ice cream? We only have three unfortunately, unless you don't mind sharing with Lea," Xion said. Roxas, his face unmasked revealing the various burn scars and frayed hair for anyone to see, flashed Sora a quick look before looking back to the sunset. However, in the instant their eyes had met, his fear was clear to see.

"Why mine again, exactly?" Lea asked her.

Sora laughed. "It's all yours. Anyway, is it working?"

"Is what working?" Xion asked.

"I mean… you did come here to try and help Roxas remember the feelings he felt when you guys were together, didn't you?"

Xion and Lea glanced at each other before the latter replied. "I mean, we just haven't done this together in a while so I thought it might be a good idea. But, yeah, we'll go with that too."

"You don't get it, Sora," Roxas suddenly spoke out. He stood up and turned to look at the brunette. "The problem isn't with them. It's with you."

"No, I get it, which is why I'm here," Sora said. He quickly laid down Neuge's plan to install the 'satty lights' and the need to split into pairs. "Which is why I want you to help me on my side of things."

Roxas seemed at a loss for words. "W-what? Why?"

"I'm not going to give up on making this work between us. I don't know what Xanatos did to change your view of me but I want to help you see the truth from the lies. I know it's a risk. You could very well kill me easily if we're alone, but if being alone with you is first step to rebuilding your trust, then I'll take the gamble."

"Sora…" Roxas looked away from him and towards the sunset. His mouth slowly closed around the ice cream, as if he were deliberating something. Finally, he took it out and stared at it. "It's funny. When you're near, everything suddenly turns bitter. I know I should enjoy this, but I just can't. I want to feel warmth but I'm trapped inside the cold."

"I mean, I can't force you to go, but if you're serious about wanting to feel like you again, then you have to make the effort to meet me halfway on this," Sora said.

But he still didn't seem entirely sure. Sora felt that had less to do with his lack of belief that he could find his old self and more of what he could do to Sora if he was anywhere near him. That's what Sora wanted to believe anyway.

Roxas looked over to his friends for guidance and Lea gave a toothy grin. "Come on, man. It's not that hard. Look, none of us ever really understand ourselves. We look to others to help us do that. I would still have been stuck under Xemnas' thumb if it hadn't been for you and her. Now it's your turn to do some reflecting. You might find yourself as you remember it, you might find something different, but whatever it is, you need to embrace it."

Xion kicked her feet back and forth with a look of amusement. "Thanks, Lea. I actually needed that too."

"Well, of course you did. I think I'm just about the only one out of the three of us not facing an identity crisis at the moment," Lea said. He looked back at Roxas. "So you going or am I going to have to kick your butt into gear?"

"And what? Send me falling to my death?" Roxas asked.

"Well that's just cruel, even for me," Lea said.

Roxas let out a voiceless chuckle and then looked back at Sora. "Alright then, Sora. I'm willing to put myself in your hopefully capable hands."

"Just had to add the hopefully in there, didn't you? And you were so close," Sora murmured, sucking in air through his teeth. But at least the first part was over. He had feared that Roxas would have shunned his proposal, which he almost had. It had been a good thing that Lea and Xion had been with them when they had spoken, otherwise he probably would not have gotten anywhere.

The quiet air was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Sora's phone going off. Accepting the call, he was surprised when it was Salome's face that had popped up on the screen.

"Salome? This is sudden," Sora said.

"Sora… it's… it's Rhea. Something's gone wrong. Horribly wrong," she said. She seemed to be looking off to the side every now and then as if she were searching for something.

"What happened?" Sora asked, leaning against the clocktower.

"Something's happened to her. I think she's being possessed by- by one of the children from the experiments. She's gone now, and she took the other children with her," he heard several sniffles from Salome's side.

"What? But how?" Sora asked.

"I- I don't know. I guess- I mean, there was… she did try to reach out to one of the children—their heart, I mean. Rey-rey's always been good at that, but somehow, she must have dived too deep and that somehow gave her her eyesight back. Maybe… it didn't give it back so much as she borrowed it from the child. It became a window that gave the child access to her heart."

"Okay… let's assume that's possible. Do you have any idea where she is?" Sora asked.

"No… but we'll look. We'll look as long as we need to. You don't have to do anything just yet but I just thought you should know. She was the first of us to give you a chance so… When we find her, we'll let you know too. I just… can't hurt Rhea."

And I can? Sora wanted to ask if that was where she was heading with this. Instead, he looked down towards Xion, Roxas and Lea, who were all looking up at him.

"I appreciate it. Thanks for letting me know, Salome. You sure there's not anything I can do from my side?"

"Well, if you find some clue as to where she is, just let us know. All I know is that she isn't in San Fransokyo anymore, although someone named Eleftheria is asking around the city if anyone's seen anything strange. We're working with her. It's a pretty big city though," Salome told him.

Sora smiled. Even without any powers and as sceptical as she had been when they had first met, it seemed that Eleftheria was taking a liking to helping wherever she could.

"Alright, better get on the move then. I'll keep a lookout for her and the children," Sora said.

"Thanks, Sora. See you in a bit," Salome said. The phone screen went dark but Sora remained clutching it tightly. Thinking back on it, those three days of rest had gone by so quickly, although one of them he had spent doing almost nothing. He could certainly have used a bit more.

A/N: RIP Yen Sid and his magnificent beard. So the next chapter is a world tour, though you could also say encore. We'll be revisiting a few worlds from over the trilogy and getting a bit more story along the way. If you remember when Sora was inside Riku in Re:Coded (you know what I mean), it's kind of similar to that, but with Sora and Roxas and not Sora inside Roxa- anyway, see you then!