alright everyone. this was a little shorter than usual and really dialogue heavy. sorry if it's a quick read, but we're just about done. hope you enjoy it!

Sora

Sora headed back to daybreak town with a heavy heart. Not only had he not exacted any kind of revenge on Pete for what he had done (although to be fair, the concept of actually taking revenge was a new one for him.), but he had lost Zack to Vanitas of all people. What was he doing back here?

And now Zack was a princess of- no, hold on. Pure light. Yeah, he was a pure light. He wondered why he felt happier whenever Zack was nearby. Kairi did the same thing to him, although Sora knew it was for *different* reasons.

The town was looking a little better, although there was still a ton of rubble everywhere. People were all over the place, beginning to clean up. Sora began to help with clean up when he heard a strange noise behind him. He turned as quickly as he could to see Brain standing there.

"Brain, when did you get there?"

"Just a second ago. I'm still just a heart, so travel isn't exactly a problem for me." He smirked. "Can I talk to you?"

Sora nodded and they walked to the bell tower together. The top floors had a large chunk taken out of it, so Sora had to use flow motion to move about. Brain walked calmly, hopping cross large gaps easily, and watching as Sora leapt from wall to wall. Things had certainly changed since he had been back to the real world. He wondered what it was like. There were nights he wondered about his Celine and what happened to her.

When they arrived to the room with no name, Sora landed onto the carpet and stood before Brain. He nodded and began thumbing through the bookshelves until he found the particular book that he was expecting. It was black and worn, the pages slightly yellowed.

"Open it up to page 256. I think you'll find something in there that interests you."

Sora carefully flipped through the book, catching a few words here and there as he did so. When he reached the correct page, he began to read. His eyes opened wide as he realized what exactly his mind was processing.

"This is about Kairi! My Kairi! And this Luxu guy didn't stop her from being taken away!"

"On the contrary. She had been split into two, her darkness and light separated. They were never meant to be apart, and yet, they should not be brought back together. So in the meantime, Ava has been residing in your friend's heart while her darkness has been hard at work, defying the Master of Masters."

"The Master of...Masters?" Sora asked, putting the book down.

"Yeah. He was the guy who orchestrated all of this. Then one day, poof. Missing. No one has seen him since."

"Is that why you ended up here?"

"There's a bit more behind that, but I can't really say that right now. Isn't there someone else you'd rather be thinking about? Read on."

Sora's mind was drawn back to the day at the pier right before his adventure started.

Wherever you go, I'm always with you.

His heart reached out for Kairi's and for a moment, he thought he might have reached her. The sensation of connecting with her didn't last nearly long enough. He was already beginning to wonder if it had really happened at all or if it were in his head like every other time.

As he continued reading, he learned about how Kairi had been the right of Radiant Garden and with her gone, the planet fell to darkness so much easier. It was all according to Luxu's plan. From what Sora could see, even that conversation had been recorded.

The pawns are all falling into place, but I'm looking for a better treasure. I don't suppose you know of the old book of prophecies, do ya? Or of that big black chest I lost a long time ago thanks to you?

The dark form didn't speak. There was no way to know what happened next. The text jumped to another instance with this Luxu character. Sora was about to shut it when he saw the name Ansem. It looked like no name had been stolen from Ansem's hand by Luxu only to be put back in time for it to change 13 hearts into nobodies, Luxu included.

"Wait a minute….then this Luxu guy had to be one of the organization members. And there was only one member who could have survived the battle. Xigbar.

"You're kidding me! You mean there was another bad guy the whole time?! Can't they just all retire? I want to go home!" Sora yelled in anger.

Brain walked over and put his hand on Sora's shoulder. He had been like that for the first few years he was here, too. They would get Sora back to the real world so that he could get back to his Kairi. Brain flashed Sora a reassuring smile and reminded him that the terminal to get back was still just sitting in Maleficent's tower.

But Sora had traveled enough to Maleficent's tower. They hadn't seen the old witch the whole time they were there. If it hadn't been for his new friends in the datascape, he'd be perfectly content to seal her away in it. Realization struck Sora in that very moment. They would have to go back. This time, Maleficent would have to be ended for good. Then they could safely seal away the datascape to keep it out of her grasp.

"You're right. I need to go back there one more time. Maleficent has caused enough trouble. For everyone."

"I'll go with you."

"No. I need to do this by myself."

Brain chuckled. "Then I suppose you know how to use the keyboard to get home?"

"Wait, I'll have to use a computer to get home?"

"Yeah. How else do you think you get to the data scape?"

"Aww man. I'm doomed!"

Brain laughed again and looked Sora in the eyes. "Don't worry, I won't get in your way. Lead on, Sora."

The trail to Maleficent's castle was familiar now. Sora traversed it easily and utilized his flow motion to bounce off anything he could. He was getting stronger. Not to say he was back up to where he was originally, but his spells were more effective and he could remember some of his more impressive moves. Now if only he knew where Vanitas had taken Zack.

The castle rose in the distance, growing on the horizon. Had they really gotten there already? Sora had been moving on autopilot, which was a pretty quick speed on its own. Because he didn't have to worry about Brain keeping up with him or getting tired, he was able to simply go.

He pulled a potion from his pocket and chugged it down, restoring his energy. When they Finally got to the castle, the afternoon sun was moving down the sky, nearly to the tips of the far away mountains. Just as he had last time, Brain utilized the secret entry and the flow motion drove Sora up the stairs quickly. They entered the room where the computer was, and what did he see than an angel in pink with her back turned to him.

Kairi.

Whatever thoughts he had left his head and he leapt through the door. He pushed his way to the computer's edge to wrap her in his arms. Little did he expect for her to throw him over her shoulder, Namine doing her best to suppress a bout of laughter.

"Get off me, you creep!" Kairi yelled.

Kairi blinked as she noticed Namine's shoulders shaking slightly. Looking down, she saw Sora looking back up at her. Even though he had just been thrown, the smile on his face was enormous. He popped up quickly and wrapped his arms around her. It was hard for Kairi to process all of the emotions that welled up in her now.

Was this real? He was here?

"Kairi, I found you!" Sora's eyes began to tear up as he tightened her grip around her.

"Sora? Is it really you?" Kairi remained unmoving.

"Yes, it's really me! I missed you so much!" He held her at arm's length. "Are you okay? I thought you'd be happier to see me. Are you mad I went away again?"

Kairi looked at Sora with tender eyes. Namine quickly excused herself and walked out of the room to give them some privacy. She knew exactly how they were feeling and didn't want to intrude in any way. Brain met her out in the hallway and together they walked a short distance away, keeping an eye out for Maleficent, Pete or their goonies. Meanwhile, Sora stood in front of Kairi with a questioning look on his face.

"What is it?" kairi asked.

"I told you something before I disappeared. I want to know how you were going to reply."

A blush covered kairi's face, and she held her hands behind her back. She was nervous, Sora could tell. On her face was a coy smile. Her eyes never deviated from his. This had been the moment she had dreamed about several times since he disappeared. Of course in her dreams they were in a more romantic spot- say the beach, or the world of sea and sky or literally anywhere else besides an old, musty tower next to a giant computer monitor and set up. But beggars can't be choosers.

"I suppose you'd like me to say that I love you, too." Kairi smiled softly.

"Only if you mean it."

Kairi shook her head. There were no words that really needed to be said. She could say exactly what she meant without a single word. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly, returning to her position after just a few seconds. Now it was Sora's turn to be completely still. He had expected her to say something. He hadn't expected her to be so forward. When his brain finally was able to process what happened, he looked back at the girl he had dreamed about so much.

"I guess that's one way to put it." Sora laughed.

He began to rise in the air, by just a couple of inches. Kairi giggled when she tried to pull him back down but only ended rising to her tip toes instead. He joined in, forcing his body to land.

"Hey! I can glide again! You must have been my happy thought, Kairi."

There was an explosion just a short bit away, tearing the two from their conversation. Namine poked her head in the room. "Hate to interrupt you two, but we have a very unwelcome guest here."

"FOOLS! OUT OF MY CASTLE!"

"I was wondering when she'd make her appearance." Sora grimaced.

"Maleficent?" Kairi sighed.

"Unfortunately. But we can take care of her. We're together."

With a nod, Kairi called out design's embrace while Sora grabbed his trusty kingdom key. Outside the door Brain and Namine had already called out their weapons. Instead of a keyblade, Namine had a white staff with a trident on the end. She must have gotten magic and a new weapon somewhere along the way.

"It's time to end this, Maleficent!" Sora charged.

Maleficent raised her staff and cast a fire spell. She wasn't expecting to have to fight this runt and his friends, but perhaps it would be better to get him out of her horns for good. Soon she would have what she wanted. She fought ferociously, wanting to defend her castle. Heartless came to her aid, and soon, Pete did too.

"There's too many of them!" Namine held up a barrier.

"Namine, Brain, you guys take care of the heartless. Kairi, you have Pete. I'll deal with Maleficent!" Sora called out.

"No, that won't work. Kairi, Namine, you two keep the heartless off my back. I want to try something." Brain ran off to the computer room.

"Oh no you don't!" Pete charged.

He followed after Brain while the girls hurried to step in front of the door. There was a large amount of heartless to contend with, but with their light magic, they managed to fend them off.

A few minutes later, a light shone from the computer room and Pete could be heard screaming. All of a sudden, it was gone, Brain reemerging. He noted that he had sent Pete back to the real world and intended to do the same with the others once Maleficent was gone.

With Brain and Namine holding the heartless back, Sora and Kairi were free to attack Maleficent. They did so until she pushed them back with a ring of fire. It was too small here to battle in her true form, and there was no way she was going to risk breaking the computer. So, she shrunk into a small green orb of light and fluttered out the window. From there, she transformed into a giant dragon and took to the skies.

"Come on, Kairi! Grab my hands and I'll be your wings!" Held out his hand, already halfway out the window.

She grabbed his hand and after he wrapped his arm around her, he began to fly towards the dragon. Together they landed on the beast's back. The wind was strong here, but Sora managed to get a hold of one of her wings. It was hard to hold on, so Sora used a gravity spell on them so they could stay close on her back.

"I have to concentrate on the spell that's keeping us on the dragon. All you have to do is start attacking her wings. That ought to ground her!" Sora yelled.

Kairi nodded and began to hit Maleficent where she knew it had to hurt. The dragon faltered every so often, throwing her head back to shoot green fire at the two. When that happened, Kairi would use a barrier spell to surround herself and Sora. The more she hit at the witch, the more she kept using fire against them.

Soon Maleficent was forced to land atop the spire near where Brain and Namine were. Sora was exhausted from keeping the gravity spell going for so long, but he was still willing to keep fighting, as long as Kairi was at his side.

Maleficent was getting tired, too. Those sniveling brats had taken out one of her wings, and she'd been forced to make an emergency landing. She swore she'd roast them.

More barrier spells were created until the opening came. Sora looked at Kairi. "Now, let's go!"

As if she suddenly understood what Sora meant, she grabbed his hand and together they leapt at the dragon, keyblades at the ready. A light surrounded them and they slashed through the dragon in one easy slice. She withered away, until she was nothing more than a staff and a ring, which burned away in green fire.

They flopped onto the castle roof, leaning on each other for support. Kairi closed her eyes until they heard a voice calling for them.

"Hey you two, the heartless are gone! It's time to go home!"

Back in the room with the computer, Brain had a serious look on his face. "Sora, promise me that you'll seal away the datascape when you go home. Right now it's connected to a small glitch in the firewall of the Radiant garden security system."

"Wait, you aren't coming with us?"

"Yes and no."

"What?"

"Sora." Brain locked eyes with him. "My heart is backed up as data, so part of me can stay here. But if you were to go alone without my help, you'd disappear immediately. You overtaxed the power of waking, didn't you?"

"How did- "

"I've seen a lot of things in my time."

"So then what's going to happen?"

"I'll place my real heart inside yours. When you get back, I'll offer up myself in your place."

"You'd really do that?" Kairi whispered.

"But what about the people here?"

"Brain has a data version of himself already uploaded. It's not dissimilar to when we made the data version of you." Namine replied.

"That's right! You made Jiminy's journal in the datascape and it turned into Riku." Sora recalled.

Namine nodded and blushed slightly. She hoped he wouldn't see her heart in that decision. Riku had been so strong and determined. If she knew of anyone who could protect her message and keep the journal safe, it was him. Besides, Sora had a strong connection to Riku. She could only hope that would help in the future, which it turned out it had.

That's right.Those memories she found. They were Ven's. That's where she learned about the book of prophecies.

"I've got the system already warming up. It's time to go, guys. Sora, Thank you."

"Wait!"

But it was too late. Brain's body had dissolved, leaving only the hat with its feather sitting on the ground. At eye level was a heart, floating into Sora's chest. The beam shot out of the computer and captured the three of them. When they arrived back in the real world, Ansem was sitting beside a sleeping Pete who had come out of the datascape when Ansem arrived to check on things. He used a quick sleep spell, as everyone else was out fighting Luxu's forces.

"Brain…" Sora placed a hand on his heart. There was a small empty spit that had been filled just a moment prior.

"It is good to see you back, young Sora." Ansem smiled, putting down his book.

"Now's not the time for pleasantries. We gotta seal off the datascape!" Sora turned back toward the computer. "Where's that fire hall?"

"You mean the fire wall? Ienzo has been investigating one as of late…"

"Pull it up, please. We need to close it."

Sensing urgency, Ansem nodded and made a few keystrokes on the computer. The screen showed a bright green hole in a simulated wall. Holding his keyblade in front of him, Sora locked the computer, and the image of the green splotch went away. Now it was just a solid wall.

"At least they're safe now." Sora sighed.

"Is everything okay, Sora? I know you're going to miss them." Kairi took his hand.

"No, everything is not okay. Vanitas has Zack. He's a pure light." Sora shook his head.

"Guys, we have some visitors. You're going to want to come down." Ienzo huffed in the doorway. "Ah, welcome back, Sora. I'm glad you're safe."

Luxu

Earlier that afternoon, as Xigbar was preparing for his attack on Radiant Garden, unrest was being fostered by his companions. Ever since Luxu had summoned them back, Gula had been wary of the man. He clearly knew more than he was letting on. What's more is that he left the care of the princesses to Gula, figuring that he would be a good little minion.

But not anymore.

When the time was right, Gula and aced went in to check on the princesses. Instead of coming right back out, however, they summoned a light portal and hurried through, not realizing this was exactly what Luxu hoped they'd do.

That was why he put Gula in charge of the princesses. Gula always was fond of Ava. When she didn't show up to their meeting, he had been vocal about her. It made Luxu sick. They were supposed to be rivals. He didn't have room in his plans for friendship. After all, he only had a short time before the master of masters returned. He was just one princess short...

A dark portal appeared in the living room and out popped two people, that smarmy Vanitas kid and a guy he didn't recognize. The older guy had a large sword and seemed to be pretty disoriented.

"You, you're looking for pure lights, right?" Vanitas pushed Zack onto the couch.

"What's it to a kid like you?"

"Well, if you weren't interested in a pure light, I could always go see how desperate those guardians of light are "

"You mean to say this guy is a pure light? No kidding." Luxu put his hands on his hips. "What's your asking price?"

"Nothing much, just a box of books."

"Who are you?"

"I told Sora. I am darkness." Vanitas smirked. "And I remember you, Luxu."

Ventus

A light shone in the middle of battle as Ventus and the rest of his friends were locked into battle. He wasn't sure that Sora girl was going to be able to hold her own in a battle, but with Lourd keeping an eye on her back, she was doing pretty well. He was about to slash at a nobody that was doing Luxu's bidding when a red laser nearly shot him.

He looked over to where it had come from when he saw Riku. No, it wasn't Riku, it was someone else. He looked familiar...from the dreams he had in Sora's heart.

"Sora!" He called out, shooting a nobody that was going toward her blind spot.

"Yozora? Is that you?" Sora ran at him and softly took his hand. For a minute, everything went quiet and it was just those two in the whole wide world.

"Now might not be the right time, you guys!" Ven swatted away a heartless.

The group continued to fight the wave of heartless and nobodies until they were all gone. In the cleared air, Sora, Kairi and Namine were looking for enemies. It seemed Luxu had managed to get away without anyone noticing, although Ven noted that he had said something about the Keyblade Graveyard when he appeared.

"Sora? Is that you?" Roxas was the first to see their friend.

"Yeah. I'm back!" Sora beamed.

His friends gathered around him and hugged him, welcoming him back. Namine ran to merlin's house to fetch Riku. He was going to want to see his best friend come home. Sora's eyes had tears in them. He was so happy to see them all again. His hand found Kairi's, and his eyes locked onto the trio standing aside.

"No way! Yozora? You're real?" Sora gaped.

"What do you mean? Of course I'm real."

"Sorry, it's just that I thought you were a video game character."

"Well, I'm not. And we still have a job to do. Luxu got away from me and I wasn't able to kill him for Joshua."

As Kairi and Yozora began explaining everything, the shade of Ava moved out of Kairi's heart and appeared before them. No one knew what exactly had just happened, but she was there. Before anyone could question, another voice spoke up.

"Ava! Is that you?"

Seeing Gula and Aced with Moana and Anna, everyone called out their weapons. But they assured them they came in peace. They explained who they were. Ava smiled the whole time, looking over at Gula.

"The only thing I don't get is why you look like that, Ava." Gula turned to her.

"It was darkness. It took a version of my body and killed one of my union leaders, blaming Ventus here. I am so sorry for any trouble you went through because of this. Darkness will pay. He goes by the name Vanitas now."

Ventus stood still, frozen by the way Ava put it so blatantly. He had...been framed for murder? Terra and Aqua placed their hands on his shoulders as he grabbed his head. It hurt. His head felt like it was being torn apart. It looked like the same thing was happening to Lauriam, Elrena and Lourd as well.

"Ngh...my head! Why can't I remember?!" Ventus yelled.

Then just like that, the pain was gone. As if someone had blown up a dam, the entirety of a life he didn't know began rushing into his mind. The things Skuld said earlier were coming back to him. The dark room and the scream from a girl he didn't know. Confusion and a darkness he hadn't known in a long time. He was likely to explode at this rate.

"Ven? What's going on? Speak to us, Ven!" Aqua shook him.

"His memories are coming back in. I apologize. I had to seal them away for a while to protect him. If Xehanort knew the things he had seen and done, Ven would have been in danger much sooner than when you all met him. I'm sorry." Ava bowed. "He should rest."

"I'll take him. Lea and Isa should be in the same medical ward, right? I want to make sure they're alright." Sora volunteered.

Without another word, she got up on her tip toes and kissed Yozora's cheek before leaving with Lourd to escort Ven to the lab where Ienzo and Even did their work. Skuld looked after them as they left, worried about Ven's recovery. Still, she needed to stay and help with this battle against Luxu.

"Lady Ava, how did you appear to us as if you had a body?" Skuld asked.

"I had the last of my magic available. I hid inside pure lights ever since, keeping myself from Luxu."

"Oh, that's right! Luxu is Xigbar!" Sora piped up.

"Okay, but who is he?" Terra asked.

"He was an apprentice, just like us. But it looks like he had a different role to fill." Aced explained.

"Then it seems like the only course of action is to finish this once and for all." Sora decided.

The group parted to allow Riku and Namine to get closer to Sora. Riku looked at him in disbelief. All this time and he was so close. Didn't he know how much they all worried? That probably didn't matter now. Riku ran up and hugged his friend. When he let go, he rubbed his knuckles on Sora's head and showed a large smile on his face. His best friend was home.

"welcome back, lazy bum. You're just in time, like always."

finally.