So, Dark Road is out, and the ending of the first chapter is doing the normal Nomura pain and suffering.

This is normal.

This is normal Nomura.

But enough about that!

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Dylan, Fitzroy, and my other OCs © to me!

Other OCs © to their respective owners!

Chapter 17: King's Son

"Honestly, I can't believe you've managed to stay away from the library for a week and a half."

"I can't believe it either." Kairi sighed.

Aegis smirked as they stepped into the castle elevator. "I must say, showing that much self-control might make one think you're not totally obsessed with this venture."

Ah, another "Aegis Complement".

They walked into the library, only to hear voices on the upper level. "Um, hello?"

"Hey!" Phinehas poked his head out from the level above them. "Get up here you three! Got someone you need to meet!"

"SHHH!"

"Oops…"

Kairi giggled as she and the other two climbed the stairs to the upper level. She saw the normal group of sofas there, on which sat Yozora, King Hayate, and Hoshiko. Two others sat with them.

A man with dark brown hair, dressed in a simple dress shirt and pants with a tie and sweater-vest sat with his arm around Hoshiko. His dark eyes, hidden behind glasses, seemed to smile warmly at the woman beside him.

A young man sat beside him with black hair pulled back into a ponytail; glasses also hid his dark eyes. He even dressed similar, with the dress pants and shirt, though he looked more casual with the sleeves rolled up. He even wore a necktie and a vest as well.

"Oh, is this the girl you spoke of darling?" The brown-haired man spoke with a smooth voice that had some sort of accent that made him sound very regal.

"Indeed, it is." Hoshiko stood up. "Kairi meet my husband, Dylan. Dylan, this is Kairi."

Kairi shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Nice to meet you too. This is our son, Fitzroy." He gestured to the young man who waved shyly.

"Hi. You can call me Fitz."

Hoshiko smiled happily. "They've been over in Britannia for a few months. Actually, Dylan is from Britannia."

"Actually," Dylan walked over and picked up a heavy satchel, "Phinehas said you needed some research materials. Here." He handed her the bag. "This sounds like quite an interesting research project. If you need my assistance, let me know."

Kairi smiled. "Sure!" She turned to Phinehas and giggled. He looked so pleased with himself, like a dog expecting a pat on the head and someone to tell him that he was a good boy. "Thank you, Phinehas."

Dylan smiled softly. "I'm a professor of Magical Literature at Oxford University. Those books are from my professional collection." His eyes glittered excitedly. "Now, may I see it? Your Keyblade?"

"Sure." Kairi summoned the weapon. "This isn't it's base form."

"Hm, so it can change forms? I'd read that was possible, but could you show me?"

Kairi nodded, pulling away the keychain for Hippocratic Oath and putting it into her pocket. She pulled out the keychain for Destiny's Embrace and clipped it on, allowing the weapon to change. "This is it's base form; it's called Destiny's Embrace."

Dylan smiled, gently touching the sword. "Amazing. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would see an ancient weapon like this one."

Kairi switched the keychain back to her newest Keyblade. "I work with a bunch of others who have Keyblades as well. Each weapon is different in power and ability, and they sometimes fit those who wield them."

"Please! Tell me, where are you from? Where are your friends?"

"Can't tell you. Rules."

"Of course, a mysterious group of people would have some sort of rules that makes things difficult. I'll respect that rule then. But that doesn't mean I won't ask you as many questions as possible and take notes on everything." He took out a notebook. "I'm going to write everything. Please join us for dinner tonight. I have so many questions."

"Sure."

Hayate chuckled slightly. "Before that, the other members of the triad and I need to have a discussion with Dylan. Why don't you young people go to the lounge?"

"Sure."

"Going down!" Magia threw his arm around Fitz's shoulders. "Let's go!" The boys, followed by Kairi, went down to the elevator, and down a few floors.

The lounge hadn't changed much from when Kairi had been there the last time. Actually, she hadn't been there since she first met Phinehas.

"Barkeep! How about some cold brew coffee for the group of us!"

"Scratch that. Cold brew for Magia." Aegis huffed. "Water for me, cold Red Viper energy drink for Kairi, seltzer water for Yozora, and lavender chamomile tea for Fitz."

"Aegis," Kairi laughed, "how do you remember all that?!"

"I count how many times each of your drinks a particular thing to determine your favorites." The five of them sat down on a sofa, Aegis adjusting his glasses as he did so. "You drink an average of eight Red Vipers a week, more than anything else but plain water, which you just drink to keep yourself hydrated. I drink nothing but water. Yozora drinks an average of seven seltzers a day. I don't need to tell you how much coffee Magia drinks. And I'm assuming you're the same as always, Fitz, drinking six cups of lavender chamomile tea a day."

"You scare me…"

Fitz breathed out a laugh. "You never change, do you?"

"No."

"Once an arithmomaniac, always an arithmomaniac(1)." Fitzroy smiled over at Kairi. "It's really nice to meet you. Father and I kept getting letters about you from Mother."

"Where have you been this whole time?"

"Britannia. I'm a student at Oxford University. I'm studying both ancient magic and technology. I hope to truly combine them one day. I was trying my hardest to find a way to… save my sister. But, now that she's gone, all I can do is stop it from happening again. I've been told that's what you're trying to do too."

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. I want to rescue someone from beyond the doors and then seal them forever. No more need for a maiden or champion."

Yozora nodded. "Looks like we have the same goal."

"Shut it." Fitz snapped. "I don't want to hear a word from you." The two glared at one another. "I can do this without your help, your highness."

"Look, I know you're mad, but we have the same goal."

"You killed my sister… she isn't coming back."

Yozora leapt to his feet. "You think I wanted to kill her!?"

"Hey!" Magia jumped between the two. "You're both heartbroken. Please… calm down. We all want the same thing."

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. And, I was thinking we could save her too. The maiden."

"Save her?"

"Do you think that's possible?"

"We have to try." Kairi balled her fists. But, for now, I think we should focus on you all remembering her."

Fitz scoffed. "I've tried. Her memory is gone."

Yozora shook his head. "I remembered something about her a few days ago. I remembered that she had brown hair, like your father."

Fitz looked at the prince, studying him for a moment before he blinked. "Wait… you're right." He shook his head. "She had brown hair that fell just past her shoulders." His face lit up. "We can remember her!? Maybe if we fully remember her, rescue is possible."

"That was my thought." Kairi smiled as the bartender brought her the energy drink. "Magia, Aegis, and I talked it over. We want to get this done by the time Yozora has to announce who he will marry. So, we have four months."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Fitz grinned.

Magia took a sip of his coffee. "We should have a team name or something. The 'rescue the dead friends and save the world gang' or something."

"That is a terrible name."

"And the name notion is particularly childish."

"That's a dumb name."

"No it's not!"

Kairi smiled, thinking back to when she, Riku, and Sora had to choose a team name for a festival activity.

"I think we should be called the waveriders. It sounds cool."

"Yeah it does… But I have a better idea, Riku! We should call our team the three stars!"

"That's a dumb name."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

Kairi laughed to herself. "You know, Sora would always come up with silly names for teams and such. So what if we named our team something like… Team Five Star(2)."

"You know," Fitz laughed, "I get the feeling that my sister used to do something similar."

Yozora smiled. "I get that feeling too."

"Fine." Aegis sighed. "Team Five Star it is…"

"Yeah." Yozora downed the rest of his seltzer. "Now, tell us all about Britannia and what happened there."

"Yeah, got a significant other waiting over there, or did you spend all your time in the library, as usual?"

"Well…"

Yozora stretched as he stood up. "Well, that was a riveting story. But I have dinner with a guest."

"You mean a date with some chick you don't know."

"Yes."

Aegis rolled his eyes. "Who is it this time?"

"Maeve Tomasson, princess of Ireland."

"Have fun."

"Maybe…"

The prince left, leaving the four alone. Kairi looked over at Fitz. "I have a question. You know Yozora didn't want to hurt your sister, but he d-"

"Didn't have a choice. I know."

"But you're still mad?"

"Wouldn't you be if someone killed your sister?" The young man adjusted his glasses. "Yozora and I were friends. I would play with him and my sister when we were kids. He was like a brother to me in many ways. But, how do I just forgive someone who…?"

Kairi looked at him and saw… a friend.

"You know, not long ago, my friend Riku did something that he regretted. Something terrible, and he tore himself up over it for a long time. But, my friend Sora and I did what we could to help him overcome those feelings." She hugged herself. "And what he did hurt both Sora and I too; actually, it probably hurt the two of us more than others. But we still forgave him, and then we worked to help him forgive himself."

"Forgive himself?"

"What Yozora needs now is not your anger and fear. If you ever want to be friends again, he needs your help and support. You're angry at him, but he's angry at himself too."

Fitz bit his lip. "Your friends, are they friends again?"

"I'd say they're closer. They've always been best friends, but now they're like brothers. Maybe you and Yozora can be close again."

Fitz sighed. "But Riku probably didn't kill someone close to you and Sora."

"No, but he did kidnap a couple of people, try and kill Sora multiple times, work with an evil fairy to destroy many places, and then allowed himself to be possessed by a madman who tried to destroy the universe."

Fitz blinked as Aegis and Magia smirked slightly at his surprised expression. "Oh… yeah…" He breathed out another laugh. "Well, maybe. If your friends could make up after… that, maybe Yozora and I could make up one day."

Kairi smiled to herself. Maybe.

Now she had a team to help get Sora back, and she could help them too.

And, she had these. Her hand opened the bag at her side and looked down at all the books.

All the exhaustion and anger… maybe she could find something here.

But first, as the four of them stood up and went back upstairs, dinner.

A single man stood atop a building, staring off at the moon.

"So… four months. Four months to make it or break it."

He held up his hands, creating a heart shape around the moon.

"Princess, oh princess what will you do? Will you fall, or will you stand tall? We will see, won't we."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Next chapter will… let's just say I'm looking forward to next chapter!

Footnotes:

(1) Arithmomania is an expression of obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. People with arithmomania have a strong need to count their actions or objects in their surroundings.

(2) This is a reference to an internet show… I won't say which one.

VAs:

Dylan- Adam Croasdell (Ignis Scientia, Eista, Alfred Pennyworth, MODUS)

Fitzroy- Ben Robson (Spiritus, Craig Cody, Kalf, Ray Young, Cole, Lucian, Nero)