AN: Sorry if this chapter seem a little messy...but that's how it is with so many characters talking, lol. I hope you enjoy! Thank you for the Reviews/Kudos! Please R&R!

from unknown books
come printed discoveries
enlightenment, recoveries
after the words have been read
from memory
the secrets start assembling
-Joy Electric, (The Timbre Of) The Timber Colony
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Once everyone had settled down around the firepit, Ruki started passing out various campfire treats, leaving everyone to their own devices on what they wanted.

No one was particularly sure where to start in terms of conversation, and it almost seemed like no one wanted to be the first one to speak, but something was bothering Pence as he looked at Aeros. "Uhm… Sora's dad…?"

Aeros blinked and looked across the fire as he nodded, "Aeros."

Pence nodded with a smile, "Right. Mister Aeros, I can't help but think I've seen you around Town before. Oh right! My name's Pence."

Olette almost rolled her eyes as the brunette blinked, "Around Town…? What World are you three from?"

Axel leaned forward, "Why single out those three? How can you tell that they're from one singular World?"

Aeros glanced at Axel, looking him over a moment before returning his gaze to the Twilight trio, "Every World has its own… Feel to it I guess? While I haven't been to many other Worlds, comparing the few I have been on… they all have a very distinct feeling or atmosphere attached to them. Due to this, so do the people that live there. They live off of and absorb that World's aura. Pence, what World are you from?"

Pence grinned, "Hayner, Olette, and I are from Twilight Town!"

Aeros nodded, "Ah… that's probably why then. When Destiny Islands fell, Ruki, Vale, and I ended up there and ended up staying in the Old Mansion in the backwoods working for a man who called himself DiZ until the Worlds recompleted themselves."

Pence blinked before he slapped his knee, "I knew it! You were the guy who'd talk to the Moogle shopkeeper a lot!"

Olette looked at Pence for a moment as she got a contemplative look on her face as she looked Aeros over again, "Oh… you're right! I think I kinda remember wondering who would talk to a Moogle that long…"

Ruki stared at Aeros a moment before laughing, "Aeros, why were you chatting up the Moogles?!"

Aeros almost pouted but gave Vale a longsuffering look before Aeros scratched his head, "Where do you think I got those recipes and supplies from to make those Mega Potions and whatnot for synthesizing?"

Ruki choked as she grimaced, "W-oh. Right, not like half those ingredients grow out in the wild. My bad."

Riku looked between the three adults before his eyes widened, "Wait.. you met DiZ? At the Old Mansion?!" He rubbed his forehead, "So that's what all that leftover stuff was from..." He glanced at his parents, "Is he the one who got you those weapons?"

Ruki smirked while Vale nodded his head, "Our fishing gear was a little out of place, so he re-tooled them into weapons we could call at will. Similar to your friends, Donald and Goofy here."

Mickey frowned, "But, I wonder why you three ended up there? At the time, people who were displaced from their Worlds ended up in Traverse Town."

Aeros thumbed his necklace from Ava, while Ruki hummed, "I dunno about Aeros… but I remember Ava praying a Blessing on Vale and I during our wedding. Said it wasn't much and that it was all she could give, but she did say something about… Even if the Worlds Fade to Nothing, that we'd find a safe haven…?"

Vale nodded, "Something along those lines, yeah. There was a glow too."

Aqua gasped, "You knew someone who could Cast a Protective Spell that can traverse Worlds? That's incredible! I Cast the same sort of Spell on Kairi when we'd met in Radiant Garden, and it worked. It's an incredibly high level of Magic that takes a lot of study to pull off and apply."

Ruki smiled sadly as she looked down at the flames in front of her, "Ava… she was an incredible person. There was so much that we never got to really understand about her."

Aqua gasped as she slumped, "Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up-"

Aeros cut her off, "Ava's not dead. She just… she disappeared about half a year after Sora was born."

Ventus felt a headache come on every time that name was mentioned, but didn't really want to butt in so he rubbed his temple as he squinted silently, while trying to will the pain away and not cause a scene.

Axel cleared his throat, "Well, let's get back to a more direct topic. You mentioned Worlds having a feeling to them, can you guess how many of us belong to different Worlds?"

Aeros looked at him tiredly before sighing, "Sure, if we're going to make this a game for entertainment. Obviously Mickey, Donald, and Goofy come from the same World- Disney Town if I recall correctly." He turned his gaze to the Wayfinder Trio to his right, "Now you three… You all come from different Worlds, but have otherwise spent time together on a specific World for several years… or at least, you had at one point. That World… there was a man named Master Eraqus who appeared here one day to look into something that felt like that World as well."

Terra shifted forward as Aqua gasped, Ventus looking up at Aeros in surprise. Terra spoke first, "You met Master Eraqus?"

Aeros nodded along with Ruki and Vale, "It was weird, but he had been sent by Master Yen Sid to check in on something. The one they ended up looking for was Ava."

Aqua frowned in confusion, "...Was this Ava a Keyblade Wielder…?"

Aeros nodded, "She was a Master."

Ventus clutched his head and bent over into his knees, groaning abruptly. Aqua gasped as the others sat in confusion, lightly placing her hand on the Wielder's back, "What's wrong Ven?"

He grit his teeth, clenching his eyes shut, "It's just... that name. It hurts everytime you say it."

Terra leaned forward before glancing at Aqua, "Do you think it has something to do with his past?"

Aqua frowned as Aeros looked at the ailing Wielder. He frowned, trying to decide if it was smart to bring up, but he decided to plow through it, "When I said you three were from different Worlds… I know that it's true. However, Ventus… I think he came from a different time altogether."

Ven curled up into himself further and cried desperately, "S-stop it! It hurts!"

Aeros sat silently with a solemn expression, "I apologize… it's just. She felt the same… Sora's mother."

Suddenly, Ventus's Chirithy appeared, shocking everyone, but morseo Aeros, Ruki, and Vale. Ruki stood, "It's! It's one of those Spirit things!"

Chirithy waffled slightly under the group scrutiny, barely able to deal with the Wayfinder Trio before carefully walking up to the dumbstruck Aeros, "You said Sora's mother feels the same as Ventus?"

Aeros snapped himself out of it and carefully lifted the small creature as it failed at being handled, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Aeros gently set it on his lap, looking it over in shock, "So you're… Ah, from.. What I understand, back in the Age of Fairy Tales… Wielders were given Chirithy to Guide them on their Journey's… Are you Ventus's?"

Chirithy bowed its head, not wanting to cause its Wielder anymore pain, but, it needed to find a way to get them to stop talking about the subject. It took a deep breath before placing a paw on its chest as it looked up at Aeros, "Correct. But… a lot of really, really bad things happened to Ven back then, and… when he ended up here, Master Xehanort found him and did something even worse to him. He split his Heart into Pure Light, and Pure Darkness… and in doing so, broke my connection to him. I'm not able to fully protect him the way a true Dream Eater should… so if we could leave talking about that sorta thing until another time, when Ventus can't be hurt by it… I'd really greatly appreciate it."

Aeros frowned before nodding, "A lot of things started because of Sora's mother… but, I'll refrain from saying her name if it hurts him." He looked at the young Wielder, "I'm sorry Ventus. I didn't mean to cause you any pain."

Ventus shook his head before slowly sitting up, still nursing a headache, but no longer experiencing shooting pain, "I… It's alright. I've lost so many of my memories… I don't know until I'm in pain that it's related to my past."

Aeros nodded while setting Chirithy down, "Still. Earlier you said you thought of me a little like your own father, and I don't want to cause you pain unnecessarily."

Ven blinked as he looked up to the older brunette for a long moment before he smiled toothily and blushed lightly as he rubbed his head, "Ah, well, I feel better now, so thanks."

Aeros smiled before looking at Axel, "You, Kairi, DiZ, and the blue haired guy over there are from the same World."

Axel stared for a long moment as he caught up to what Aeros had said before he smirked, "You're pretty sharp, but who was DiZ again?"

Mickey piped up at that question, "Oh! That was the name Ansem the Wise took after he was thrown out of Radiant Garden!"

Axel gaped. "Wha- really!?"

Isa hummed, "Ah, yes. I do recall him going missing… But now he's returned to Radiant Garden along with the other ex-Organization members who were recompleted."

Aeros furrowed his brow, "...Are you talking about Organization Xlll?"

Isa looked at the brunette and nodded, "Yes. There was the Original Organization Xlll, whom Sora and Riku defeated a few months ago. However, some of us became Nobodies once again, whether by choice can be debated, and became part of the New Organization Xlll. The Guardians of Light sitting around you took them down along with Sora."

Aeros narrowed his eyes as Naminé cleared her throat, "Uhm… maybe we should explain a little more than that?"

Axel rubbed his neck awkwardly, "Uh, well… I guess you have a point there."

Roxas looked up at Aeros on his right, "Uhm… I was once part of Organization Xlll."

Xion shifted forward, "Me too! Though… I wasn't exactly like the others…"

Roxas turned and frowned at her before Isa spoke up, "Lea here, Myself, Xion, and Roxas are all former members of the Original Organization Xlll. However, I and Xion were also part of the New Organization. The primary difference however, was that Xion was reconstructed using a mish mash of leftover data, and didn't truly regain her Heart until she came into contact with Sora. After that, she turned sides, joining with the Guardians of Light and destroyed my Nobody."

Ruki rubbed her head, "...You know, DiZ explained to us that Nobodies were the leftover Body and Soul of an individual with a Strong Heart… But this is kinda getting confusing."

Isa sighed lightly, "I apologize. To be honest, if there was anyone here who shouldn't be-"

Axel turned and hissed, "Now don't you start up again with that, Isa!"

Terra cleared his throat, "Well, if we're doing some sort of confessional, technically my body was stolen from me as one of Master Xehanort's vessels, made into part of the New Organization… and was also how the Original Organization's leader, Xemnas came into being, as he was part of both."

Aqua looked at him sadly as Aeros loudly sighed, leaning back as he stared up at the sky, "Who am I to judge any of you? I only know you all as you are now. You're all here today because you were planning to celebrate your Victory with Sora… right?"

Everyone glanced at each other before they deflated with a nod of agreement. Goofy and Donald seemed the most distressed as they sighed in unison, "Yeah…"

Suddenly Donald shot up, "Waitaminute! I asked Sora several times and never got a good enough answer! He was always way too good at Magic and Synthesizing, where did he learn all that from!? And why is it so easy for all of you to cast without a conduit!?" Goofy sighed, tired of Donald being stuck on the subject but keeping it to himself.

Ruki blinked as Vale rubbed his head in response, "Oh wow, that brings back memories…"

Aeros pursed his lips in concentration before Ruki stood up, "You mean my amazing skills to just flippantly Cast?"

Donald shot to his feet, "Yeah!"

Ruki had an evil grin on her face as she planted her hands on her hips, "Sorry Duck-boy, but it just so happens that that's just how we do Magic around here."

Vale sighed loudly as he rolled his eyes. He looked at Donald with a bored expression on his face as he cupped his cheek, resting his elbow on his knee, "It's not that simple. There are a lot of books in the Library pertaining to several kinds and levels of Magic. The reason we have those books is because in the past almost everyone on the Islands specialized in at least one singular Spell family." He took a breath as Ruki flopped down with a pout as Vale continued, "But suddenly a strange event happened, some kind of Eclipse, and everyone lost the ability to cast Magic of any kind. Ruki, Aeros, and I were the first to regain the ability to Cast in decades… it was just, we learned various kinds instead of just one."

Donald frowned, "But that doesn't explain why you can Cast the way you do!"

Ruki raised her eyebrow, "Sure it does. We're a World built completely on the fishing trade as its primary food and monetary source. Our World sits close to the Realm of Darkness.. what good would it do us to be out at sea, only to capsize and lose a Magic Tool and become helpless, instead of being pragmatic and blasting whatever's out to kill us in the face directly?"

Donald shuffled, slowly deflating, "So… what you're saying is… is it's Destiny Islands, the World itself that grants you your Magic?!"

Aeros nodded, "Yeah… at least, that's how it was always understood. When Granny told us about it, it seemed to feel right."

Donald sighed heavily before continuing, "And Synthesizing?"

Ruki rubbed her head, "Well, Sora's mom kinda taught us a lot about that… but… I'm not sure what Aeros himself did on his own."

Aeros blinked, "Oh, uh… I have a special archive… There are very specific rules about who is allowed to go in there, but… It has very ancient recipes for protective equipment and various Magic Tools." He scratched his head, "I might have handed some to Sora to read, but… he never seemed to make any sense of any of the Magic or Synthesizing books I handed off to him. Honestly, I almost started thinking he'd never be able to Cast even a simple Scan spell."

Donald hopped back onto his seat and slouched, grumbling loudly, "Oh, he figured it out eventually."

Goofy gave his companion a bit of a look before snickering to himself, "Donald here would get into all sorts of fights with Sora about how he figured out Magic in the middle of fights all the time! I didn't realize how much it bothered ya that he could so easily chat with the Moogles and Craft recipes though."

Donald sniffed haughtily, "Well it did. It looked like he was makin' stuff up half the time."

Roxas rubbed his head in slight confusion, "But… isn't that just how Synthesizing goes?"

Donald glared at the blond across from him, "No, that's not how that works. Collecting the materials is hard enough, let alone understanding what to do with them!"

Goofy shook his head, tiring from the conversation as Roxas crossed his arms, "Well, that's how it always seemed to work for me. Hand off materials to the Moogles, and then they'd hand you various items, and thank you for your business."

Donald slumped into himself with his arms folded, squawking and grumbling under his breath in dissatisfaction.

Aeros shifted forward and looked over who he hadn't brought up, and stared at Naminé and Xion, "I know Roxas came from Twilight Town and all…"

Roxas gasped and turned, "Wait, huh?!"

Axel and Isa both found this intriguing as Aeros continued, "Well, I don't know exactly when or how you ended up there… But a little bit before the Worlds were recompleted and we were sent back here, I had just so happened to see you standing in a daze in front of the Old Mansion. Some guy in a black coat spoke to you, and you ended up following him into a Dark Portal… Honestly, It was extremely weird, because even though I knew you weren't Sora, for some reason all of my instincts were screaming that you were my son."

Roxas sat in shock, "I didn't notice you at all…"

Axel gave him a shove on the shoulder from behind Xion, "Of course you didn't, you were a complete zombie! You kept forgetting your own name!"

Roxas bowed his head as he blushed, "Oh… right."

Aeros cleared his throat, "Anyway… Naminé and Xion… they feel like they came from… or at least stayed in a very strange place for some time. It's incredibly confusing though, because it almost feels a little like wherever these three came from." He was using his thumb to point back to the Wayfinder trio.

Aqua blinked, "They feel like they came from the Land of Departure…?" She gasped, "Oh! You must mean… they came from what the Castle became after I changed it?"

Axel balked, "Wait, you're the one who made Castle Oblivion?!"

Aqua raised an eyebrow, "Is that what it ended up being called..?"

Axel slumped back with a loud groan as Isa shook his head.

Roxas and Xion looked at one another before he spoke, "I wonder why I reacted so badly to that place…"

Axel sighed heavily, "Well, for one, that's where Sora lost his Memories."

Naminé fumbled with her fingers, "It's also where I initially was trying to reconstruct them…"

Aqua frowned, thinking for a long moment as she looked between Roxas and Ventus. "...I wonder… if it might also be because that's where I'd hidden Ven while he Slept. I'd kept him safe in a room only I could enter by using the Master's Defender Keyblade."

Isa hummed, "No wonder you couldn't find that room the Superior was looking for."

Axel grimaced and glared at him, "I hated that Castle."

Roxas just shrugged while Xion curled up slightly, "Castle Oblivion… it's where I was created. I was supposed to be a copy of Sora… but it wasn't until the end, when I made Roxas destroy me, that I even looked remotely like him…"

The two young Nobodies looked miserable as Naminé bowed her head in guilt.

Riku breathed, "Well, that's all behind us now. We're all here, and we're all better than we were before."

Kairi finally took a deep breath, "Just… without Sora."

Riku cringed as he immediately sobered, everyone deflating into sadness as they thought of their faded friend.

Aeros looked up towards the sky and took a deep breath before exhaling, "You all owe a lot to Sora, huh."

Mickey's ears were low, "I'm pretty sure… if it hadn't been for him, none of us would be here right now. I have the weirdest feelin'...we all kinda died."

The Twilight Trio were shocked and confused by this news as Isa closed his eyes. "Yes… There is the distinct feeling that you all fell in the Keyblade Graveyard… possibly more than once."

Some of them jolted, not entirely sure how to take that, but somehow feeling it was correct.

Kairi curled into herself, "Sora… he went after everyone's Hearts after putting his own back together… He saved you all, and then joined me… But then Master Xehanort shattered my Heart… And that's why he's… gone."

Mickey began to feel miserable, "I tried to warn Sora, that he was using the Power of Waking wrong… but…"

Riku clenched his fist, "I was the one who let him go, Mickey."

Chirithy noticed Aeros beginning to get angry beside it and Ventus and spoke up, "When he came to The Final World the first time, he really didn't seem to understand what it was he needed to do to help you all. I told him to give what he thought was best a shot… But by the time he returned a second time, I'd realized too late just how terrible my advice was. For someone to Wield a Keyblade at his calibur, I'm shocked at how little he knew. Beside's, I warned him he'd lose his Powers if he used the method I suggested for saving Kairi."

Chirithy sadly shook its head, "Why didn't anyone teach him properly? He was a Master, wasn't he?"

Riku stared at the Dream Eater blankly after mentally checking out while Mickey cringed, "No, he failed… and Sora and Riku never really got formal training…"

Chirithy just stared at the Mouse King, "Are… are you SERIOUS?!" Chirithy grabbed it's head as it slumped forward, "Then no wonder this is the result we ended up with! Why in the World would you not have given him the title of Master? Or better yet, taught him anything!? You sent him into the Second Keyblade War with nothing but gut instincts and his force of will alone!?"

Mickey was about ready to slink off, "Well it… seemed to work for him before..?!"

Chirithy flopped back onto Ventus as Aeros stood, his rage back in full force as he solely focused on the Mouse King, "That punch wasn't enough. You have much to answer for, Rat."

Ruki stood abruptly, "That's right!" She turned her full attention onto Mickey, "You didn't even give Sora or Riku enough time to tell us they were leaving after being gone for a year for some… Test! I get dibs on the Mouse, Aeros!"

Mickey had known he had problems with being impulsive, as well as not always making the wisest of decisions, but he'd never thought he'd get himself a mob of angry parents sicked on him. He scrambled in reverse as he bolted with a wail, running off to a different section of the Island as Ruki immediately took off after him roaring.

Donald and Goofy immediately got up and followed after the two, having their duty to at least protect their King from being murdered.

They'd dealt with Ruki just enough to know she'd literally roast him over a fire for revenge.

Aeros clenched and unclenched his fists for several minutes before finally forcing himself to sit down as he stared off towards the play ship. "Riku. Kairi. Sora would have done anything to save you two, even at the cost of his own life. He just was that sort of person. It's how he was raised… to be kind, loving, and sacrificial. If anyone's to blame for the root of his teaching, it's me as his father."

Vale took a deep breath before he sighed, "Don't do that to yourself, Aeros."

The brunette bowed his head, "Aren't parents the ones who initially mold their children?"

Vale closed his eyes as everyone else tried to figure out anything to say before the sandy blond spoke up again, "Then he must also be like his mother. She disappeared without a trace as well."

"...At least we knew she would one day be taken away."

Vale glanced at his friend, "Then at least Sora wasn't alone when he disappeared."

Aeros slumped a little as the last of his anger fell away into a cold regret. Without even thinking about it, he spoke, "His mother wouldn't have allowed for anything to happen to him before meeting him again."

Aeros closed his eyes as the image of the crown necklace Sora wore appeared in his mind. He took in a deep breath and sat up again, "The necklace Sora wore. It was crafted by his mother for his protection. I'm sure… even if it's just the absolute slightest chance…

Sora's alive somewhere."