A/N: Okay so as promised, here is the Epilogue! I would've uploaded earlier, but work got crazy and I also ended up starting on the first chapter of the sequel, so that's coming soon!

Epilogue

The shock had still not settled in. They never thought they'd see it happen, and yet, there he was. Luxu had returned back to the real world not only unconscious, but completely comatose. His heart continued to beat and he wasn't drawing a breath. What could have caused this? This could not have been the work of a fellow Keyblade wielder. Luxu was one of the strongest, being the Master's second in command. It was a wake-up call for all of the Foretellers. Each one of them had to be on their guard more than ever in this time.

The least any of them could do was carry their fellow apprentice over to his chamber. Luxu was laid down into his bed with the blankets surrounding him. When the time for him to wake up came, Ira would explain everything should he need the reminder. In the meantime, the Foretellers would have to go on without Luxu.

"I can't believe it…" Gula shook his head. "Luxu is…"

"He's comatose, but he should surely recover." Ira assured his fellow comrades.

Aced huffed as he turned his back and folded his arms. "Luxu had it coming. He was messing everything up and you know it!"

"Aced!" Ira chastised him. "He was one of us!"

"And Heartless were one of us at one point too, in case you forgot!" The enraged Foreteller spat back.

"Stop it!" Invi growled as she got between the two of them. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything!"

"Oh sure, you're one to talk, 'Little Miss Spy'!" Aced yelled as he got in her face.

Gula gasped as he hopped off the table. "Aced! Stop it! It's like you're angry that Luxu is in a coma and you're taking it out on everyone!"

The sounds of heated arguments echoed throughout the room. Even the less confrontational Foretellers found themselves fighting for their voices and opinions. Although they were prepared to defend themselves and each other, nothing could compare them to the visitor they'd have that very day. The cloaked visitor entered the room and gasped upon the harsh confrontational behavior he saw among his apprentices.

"Whoa! Whoa Whoa! I come to visit my apprentices for the first time in who knows how long and I walk in on a fight? What kinda greeting is that?"

Ira and Aced froze in place, followed by Gula and Invi. One by one, each Foreteller turned their head in the direction of the voice. The sharp expressions on their faces swiftly changed to a mix of shock and relief all at once. In the time that one of their fellow apprentices had fallen, when they seemed to be at a crossroads, he returned. He returned when they needed him the most.

"M-Master!" Ira gasped, stepping back.

"You're back!" Invi said with a hint of a shock in her voice.

"I am back and boy, you have no idea what I've been up to, do you?" The Master said while clapping his hands.

Aced sighed, holding his head low. "Unfortunately, we don't."

"Hey, don't feel bad. I didn't tell anyone." He chuckled as he walked past the Foretellers and over to the window. "But… SOMEBODY FOUND OUT AND DECIDED TO INTERVENE AND RUIN IT!" He shouted, going off the deep end.

"Master…" Gula leapt back, taken back by his master's sudden outburst. "What exactly happened?"

"Now come on, Gula! If I were to try and explain that right now, we'd be here for hours on end. Instead, maybe I'll just show you what I've got going on. But spoiler alert, I'm gonna have a special mission for all of you."

"Special mission?" Invi asked softly.

Ira stood beside his master, filling in his shoes as his second in command. "Master, what exactly is this mission you're talking about?"

"Oh don't worry, it's not gonna be a big deal. It's just gonna involve a lot of light, so I hope you've got your sunglasses ready!" The Master said joyfully, only for nobody to respond to that. "Come on guys, it's a joke. Work with me here! Gah, it's like you guys were stuck in the dark abyss for centuries or something!"

"Well, this world hasn't exactly been the most peaceful." Gula mentioned. "There's been a lot of Heartless appearing in the worlds again."

The Master scoffed and shrugged his shoulders. "Not surprised. I saw this coming. Good thing I have all of you to back me up on this! Speaking of which, where is that other apprentice of mine...oh yeah! Luxu? Where the heck is Luxu?"

Ira and Aced shared a look of uncertainty with each other. Wasn't the Master already aware of Luxu's condition? They figured that would be a reason for him to return in the first place. Without saying a word, Gula opened the door to Luxu's chamber and held an arm out. The Master tilted his head and followed Invi out, who showed their master the unconscious Luxu. He hadn't moved an inch. He still hadn't taken a single breath. That was no longer a surprise to any of the Foretellers. If anything was unsettling about the situation, it was The Master's reaction to Luxu's comatose.

While they expected The Master–or anyone for that matter–to react out of concern for a fallen apprentice, the real reaction was far from that. For Gula, he especially found it incredibly unsettling that The Master seemed completely unphased by Luxu's coma. It was almost as if he knew this was going to happen. Aced may have had a poor attitude towards it, but he was always known to have anger issues and recently hadn't been getting along that well with Luxu to begin with. The Master was a different story.

"Oh man, that's a bummer…" The Master shook his head. "But I already told him not to let his feelings get in the way. I guess this is what happens when you trust your own brother."

"Brother?" All the Foretellers asked in unison.

The Master gasped and chuckled. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I know, sucks to be me. But hey, it happens. Now, so long as little Luxu here has a good night's sleep, I'll be good to carry everything out. But first, if you four don't mind, I'd like a moment alone in this lovely chamber."

"No, of course not." Ira bowed his head.

The Master waited for The Foretellers to depart, who only stood there, trying to process the bombshell of information that was just dropped on them. When they didn't leave, he did the 'courteous' thing of waving his hands to shoo them out. Aced hesitated at first before finally going along with the others. Even he felt like something was incredibly off about The Master, especially taking into consideration how much he preached the message of light over all. What was going through his mind?

With the Foretellers finally leaving him alone, The Master slowly walked over to Luxu. While a normal brother would feel some sense of pain or concern, all he could do was grin. With a snakey grin, The Master gently stroked his hand along Luxu's face, removing the injured's eye patch that covered his damaged right eye.

"Don't you worry, little brother." The Master chuckled. "Soon enough, you'll be out of your misery…"

Luxu wasn't the only one The Master needed to speak with, however. He held out his hand and anxiously waited for the person he summoned to come forth. From what appeared to be a tunnel that was made up of an unknown element, Yozora stepped into Luxu's chamber. Although he was being summoned by The Master–his master–his face illustrated his distaste for being there. Yet, Yozora's face softened, knowing exactly why he was being summoned there. He was prepared for the consequences of his actions. His heterochromia eyes looked off to the side as he tried to avoid eye contact with what was inevitably an aggravated master.

"You called?" Yozora greeted The Master.

"Yeah, so I just made a little discovery." The Master said with a sigh. After a moment of silence, he curled his hand into a fist and slammed it on the table. "I leave Quadratum for FIVE MINUTES and I come back to find out that not only is Sora not where he is supposed to be, but YOU LET HIM GET AWAY!"

"It was pointless to keep him there and you know it. That's why you wanted him in the first place. You wanted him for your 'master plan', right?" Yozora folded his arms and shook his head. "His heart is strong, but there is such a thing as having a heart that's too strong. You do realize that, right?"

The Master grumbled as he paced back and forth. "When I summoned you to this world from Quadratum, I didn't do it to get your lousy opinion."

"It's not an opinion. It's the harsh reality." He huffed. "Your plan has a fatal flaw in it and it's gonna cost the lives of many including your own brother's if it hasn't already."

"Look, Luxu was always in my shadow and he always will be. It was only a matter of time before it caught up to him." The Master chuckled. "It's all part of the deal. I give him my Keyblade, he carries out my plan." He paused as he took one more look at his brother before slowly turning back to Yozora, a smirk growing on his face. "Speaking of a deal, I believe we had one." The Master reminded Yozora. "You remember it, don't you?"

"Of course I do. And I carried out my end of the deal." Yozora said in a deadpan tone.

"Oh really?" He asked before laughing maniacally. "Because if I remember correctly, your world was falling apart. A great war had broken out and you were on the verge of death. When I found you, I saw potential! Your heart was the strongest I had seen in years! Of course, you were useless if you were dead, so I did the nicest thing anyone could've done in that situation." He paused as he began twirling a key in his hand. "I cast aside my physical form and gave it to you so that you'd have a chance to make everything right and in return, if you run into anyone named Sora, you save him for my master plan!"

Yozora sighed, looking away from the Master. "That was the deal, but I did save him. And I saved you from disappointment. I saved both of you, so I've done my duty. Now, I need you to uphold your end and help me save someone I'm missing. You also promised to grant me the ability to use the Power of Waking even if I don't wield a Keyblade."

"Yeah, I did promise you that, but you breached your contract." The Master said with a shrug. "Which means…"

The Master suddenly wrapped his hand tightly around Yozora's throat and lifted him up until his feet were no longer touching the ground. Being unable to breathe, he began to feel his life force drain from him as The Master began to separate his body from his heart.

"I get my payment refunded!" The Master laughed as Yozora's physical torture pressed on. "Long live the king!"

Yozora's eyes began to droop as the last of his energy left him. He had done all that he could to uphold his end of the bargain so he could reunite with the people that meant the most to him. At the end of the day, he couldn't go through with allowing Sora to fall for The Master's plan. He had hoped all of this wouldn't be done in vain as Yozora took his last breath, inwardly saying goodbye to his world and Sora's world as his heart passed on.

With the ritual finally done, The Master flipped his hood back and got a good look at his (not so) new face. It was just as it was when he gave up his physical form to Yozora. He still had the pale skin, the dark silver hair, as well as his red eye from when he placed one of his blue eyes into his own Keyblade. Now in flesh and all, the Master was finally back.

"Phew!" The Master sighed as he tossed some hair behind him. "It feels good to have these devastatingly handsome good looks again!" He rubbed his hands together as he began patting the different areas of his body. "I've got biceps, abs, and a great booty again!" He chuckled before stroking his chin, something crossing his mind that he nearly forgot. "Now, I can't forget to check on my black box."

Remembering when he told Luxu exactly how to hide the box should he ever stay somewhere long term, The Master went to the back of the room and found what looked like an indent in the wall. Unbeknownst to any normal person, this was a hidden door that would slide to the side and reveal the black box.

"Okay, now let's...wait. Where...where's the box?" The Master gasped as he saw the spot where the box should've been was empty. "No! No!" He scrambled around the chamber, searching for the box. "There's no way! No! This can't be! My box! My precious box!"

After seeing the box was missing, The Master scrambled about in Luxu's chamber searching for the box. He checked behind every nook, cranny, and any spot he could, even if there was no way the box could fit anywhere else. He checked closets, he checked behind curtains, he checked under Luxu's adult magazine collection. There was no sign of the black box, and with the pile of dust in the original hiding spot shaped in the exact same dimensions as the box, there was no denying it.

Someone had stolen the black box.

"Nooooooooooooo!" The Master shouted into the heavens.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Deep in the Keyblade Graveyard, two individuals trekked along the desolate wasteland without a single care. On each of their faces was a satisfying grin as the tall chubby fellow–who was as nasty of a cat as they came–dragged a large black box behind him. It wasn't any ordinary box, but the black box. One that he, as well as the witch that he accompanied, had been searching for almost two years for. The box was finally in their possession. Yet, there was still a question that lingered in his mind.

"Tell me again, Maleficent, what took so long to nab this here box, eh? I betcha good ol' Pete coulda thrown a punch or two at 'em!"

"It's as I told you. Timing was of the essence." Maleficent answered. "Surely, the fools would have followed to the ends of the abyss if we were discovered. But look before you…"

Maleficent held up her staff while circling her hand around the green emerald that sat atop it. Acting like a window to the outside world, she and Pete peered into it and saw the chamber where the Master of Masters had once left the box. With Luxu still in a coma, all that was in the scene was an unhooded master, whose face was pale as snow thanks to the horrible reality that the black box had been stolen after all these years of keeping it under Luxu's protection.

"The Master has returned and is in turmoil over the loss of his precious box." Maleficent chuckled.

Pete snickered as he rested his hands on the top of the black box. "What even is in this box? Let's find out, shall we?"

"No! You imbecile! That box is to never be opened." She chastised him.

"Then what was the point of taking it? Woulda saved us a lot of trouble!" Pete huffed.

"Patience, my friend. All good things come to those that wait."

"Wait a darn second! You know what's in that box, don't you?" He grumbled while jabbing a finger in the witch's face.

Maleficent's eyes narrowed as a smirk grew upon her face. "A little bird might have shared a thing or two."

"And just what might that hint be?"

"Nothing concerning you." Maleficent answered while circling her hand over her staff. "However, it does concern a particular princess."

Gazing into her staff once more, Maleficent laughed as she saw none other than Kairi, who was simply walking along, seeming to be enjoying herself in the moment. She had remembered Kairi from when she tried to use her heart to reveal the final keyhole in Hollow Bastion, and it wouldn't be the last time she'd place a target on the redhead.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

One Year Later

As the light from the hot summer sun shone down on the towering birches in Radiant Garden, Kairi peacefully walked along what appeared to be an endless river with Koko right beside her. She had seen this river a number of times during her visit to Radiant Garden, but she never questioned it. At least, she didn't have a reason to question it. This time, something felt strange as she moved closer to the massive body of water.

Kairi gave Koko a pat, nonverbally telling her to stay put. She went ahead and knelt beside the edge of the river, whose current was reminiscent of the steady currents back home on the island. If the movement wasn't hypnotic enough, then the soft voices that appeared to be coming from the river were. They sounded like the voices of children, all speaking to her. What they were saying, she couldn't understand, but the tone of their voices sounded like they had been searching for and had finally found her.

Who were they?

The feeling of something tapping against Kairi's hand caused her eyes to shoot back open. There wasn't anything different in front of her except a large glass bottle. This all felt too familiar, especially after seeing that there was a letter inside the bottle. Kairi remembered sending a letter off to Sora a couple of years ago and to this day, still had no idea how the letter reached him. The same question lingered in her mind as she looked ahead and could see nothing but fog in the distance the river traveled.

"Hey, what's that?" Kairi furrowed her brows and picked up the bottle.

Curious about who the letter was for, Kairi emptied the letter out and opened it to read it. Her immediate reaction was whoever wrote it had excellent penmanship. It almost looked…ancient. Still, she was able to read it. There was a lot about the letter that she didn't understand, but what she did recognize was what stuck out to her. There were names of people she knew. Kairi's eyes widened as she read on. This was a lot to take in by herself. She had to show this to Sora and Riku!

Kairi rolled the letter back up and hopped back onto Koko before trotting off toward the central square in the town. Sora and Riku were waiting at the fountain while their Keyblades were getting fine-tuned at Stitzkin's. Naturally, Sora's lack of patience was causing him to pace back and forth while Riku was more than happy enjoying the time away from home. However, their off-time was about to be interrupted when Koko burst into town carrying Kairi.

"Sora! Riku! You're not gonna believe what I found!" Kairi said as she ran over to the two boys.

Sora rushed over to meet Kairi, who looked panicked. "Kairi, what's going on? Everything alright?"

"What'd you find?" Riku asked.

Kairi held out the letter so they could read it themselves. "It's a letter, but it's not from King Mickey."

Sora exchanged a confused look with Riku before he took the letter and held it out for the two boys to read to themselves. Their reactions were relatively similar to Kairi's. Unlike her, Sora and Riku only recognized Luxu's name in the letter. It only made them further question what Luxu had to do with these people referenced in the letter.

"It's addressed to someone named Ava…" Sora muttered as he held the letter down. "From someone named Gula."

"There are a lot of names in there, but the only one that sounds familiar is Luxu." Riku said with a nod. "I'm not familiar with any of the others though."

"I don't know anyone named Ava." Sora said with a shrug. When they noticed how quiet Kairi had gotten, he and Riku both turned back to look at her. "Kairi? Do you know who they're talking about?"

Kairi bit down on her lip, staring down at the ground. This was going to take a lot of explaining, especially since she didn't know everything either, only what her grandmother had shared with her. With Luxu having a connection to the people in the letter, it looked like Kairi, Sora, and Riku would be going on their next request sooner than later.

"I do."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. There seemed to be no hope of him ever waking up again. The cause had remained a mystery to the Foretellers aside from the possibility of his abusive usage of the Power of Waking. Despite not knowing of Luxu's fate, the Foretellers continued to keep their fellow apprentice safe in their care until the hopeful day that he would awaken once again.

The only one who knew of Luxu's fate was the very being that manipulated the apprentice down the path of his dark demise. His role of assuring that his brother's prophecy came true had grown into something even he was incapable of controlling. The very being invited itself into Luxu's chamber and hovered over his bed, almost like a nightmare, a nightmare called Darkness.

"A pathetic shell of a weak soul…" Darkness hissed. "Yet, his potential remains unfound. Perhaps…he could use a little…help."

Darkness suddenly extended itself out toward Luxu, aiming directly at his chest. His torso began to engulf itself in darkness as the entity of darkness itself began to work its way inside. Luxu remaining unconscious only made the process easier. After Darkness was in completely, the dark energy had faded away, leaving Luxu completely normal except his skin was now a more pale shade and his dark hair with silver highlights was pure black. When in the moment, all seemed normal, it would all change.

Luxu's eyes opened, his irises now a deep bloodshot red.

TO BE CONTINUED…

IN OATHKEEPER'S RECONNECTION

A/N: And now this fic is finally done! Once again, thanks to everyone who's kept up with this fic for the past three years and I can't wait to start uploading the sequel!