Nine people had gathered before Yen Sid in the Mysterious Tower.
"At last, we are all assembled. First: Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, I cannot thank you enough for what you have done."
The five bowed their heads.
Yen Sid's owlish eyes moved to two others. "And you, Aqua and Ventus: We are fortunate to have you back."
"Thanks. I only wish we could have returned to help sooner." Aqua turned to the others beside her and lowered her head in thanks. "We're grateful to all of you for rescuing us."
"Thank you," Ventus added.
"I feel bad for letting you guys down. We tried, but we still haven't found Terra," said Mickey, somewhat downcast.
"Don't. He studied with Master Eraqus, just like us. He's our responsibility." Aqua looked over at Ventus, and the two shared a reaffirming nod.
"Mickey told me that you saved me in the realm of darkness," Riku said. "I should have gone to help you right away. But I was too inexperienced. I'm sorry. I know that I let you down."
Aqua shook her head. "No, just the opposite."
"Did ya know Riku's a true Keyblade Master now?" Goofy interjected proudly from the side.
"That's wonderful," said Aqua with a smile.
"The king, too," Donald told her.
"Good for you!"
Mickey laughed bashfully at the compliment. Back when Aqua had been on her quest, Mickey had still been a Keyblade wielder in training.
"But Sora needs work," Donald added pointedly.
Sora was none too happy about the comment. "Yeah, rub it in…"
Everyone had a little chuckle.
Aqua turned to Sora. "I'm happy to see you haven't changed one bit."
"Huh?" Sora was confused.
How would she know if I've changed? Did I meet her somewhere before?
"Sora, you probably don't remember…"
"Um… Uhhhhhh…" Sora scratched his head, trying as hard as he could to remember.
"It's okay." Aqua's high spirits weren't dampened by his forgetfulness.
Lea, who had not been participating in this conversation at all, cleared his throat. Apparently everyone already knew each other, but he wasn't sure where he fit in. He still felt a little like an outsider among all of these reunions.
Yen Sid responded at once. "Ah yes. Let us not forget our new Keyblade wielders. Lea, Kairi, you have made tremendous strides."
"Hey there. And that's 'future Keyblade Master'—"
"Kairi?" Aqua reacted to the name, cutting off Lea mid-sentence. She ran over to Kairi and looked at the pendant on her chest. "Incredible! It is you."
"You know her?" asked Mickey.
"When you and I first met in Radiant Garden, the Unversed tried to attack a little girl. Do you remember?"
"Oh, gosh! That little girl was Kairi?"
Aqua and Mickey's discussion of these past events still didn't ring any bells for Kairi.
"I'm sorry that I don't remember meeting you. Those days are hazy for me."
"Please. You were really very little. Anyone would forget, hazy memory or not. But I guess it must have worked—the spell that I cast on you."
"Spell?"
"I just cast a magic spell on you. One day when you're in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another, someone to keep you safe."
Kairi looked a little bit shocked and was quiet for a moment after Aqua finished explaining.
Sora looked concerned. "What's wrong, Kairi?"
"Yeah, did you remember something?" asked Riku.
Kairi hesitated a moment, then responded, "After Saïx imprisoned me, Naminé was the one who helped me escape. At first I didn't know who she was. But then I realized. She was my other self. The girl I used to be, back in Radiant Garden. The part of me I couldn't accept until now."
"What do you mean?" said Sora.
"I was kidnapped by Xehanort when I was just a little girl. The next thing I remember is waking up inside a small dark prison cell deep below the castle."
"The Chamber of Repose," Riku murmured. "That's where the failed subjects were imprisoned before they turned into Heartless."
Mickey recalled the Ansem's Reports. One of the goals of the experiments was to 'cultivate darkness in a pure heart'. That must have been referring to Kairi. "But Kairi's heart couldn't produce a Heartless."
"You always said that you didn't remember anything about your home world," Sora said sadly.
Kairi looked away. "I just didn't want to remember."
So she was just keeping it to herself all this time, Sora thought. The same way Riku kept his meeting with Terra a secret. That's why she would always stare out at the sea.
"I was all alone in that prison for a long, long time. I remember feeling so helpless and...lonely. My only solace was the time I spent talking with two boys who would visit from time to time."
Lea's eyes widened. No... It can't be...
"This world will be engulfed in darkness—everything you care about and everyone you love. If you truly possess the power of a princess of heart, your heart will resonate with a Keyblade wielder's, and I believe you can lead me to that wielder's world."
"One day, I was taken from my prison cell and put inside of a machine. Xehanort told me that my world was about to be lost to darkness and that I would lead him to the Keyblade wielder. When I woke up next, all I could hear was the sound of the waves. I knew I was never going to see my home world, my grandma, or those two boys ever again. I...lost everything."
Sora was heartbroken for her. Kairi...
"I never knew why I made it to Destiny Islands. But now I do. It was because of you, Aqua. Thank you." Kairi bowed her head toward a smiling Aqua.
Ventus then walked over to Lea.
"Lea... You're Axel."
"You remember me?" asked Lea, pointing a finger at his temple the way he often did.
"Of course I remember you. I can't believe you became a Keyblade wielder, too."
Lea's expression softened into a warm smile.
For a long time, he had worried over whether Ventus would remember his life as Roxas. And now, that fear had been put to rest.
Ventus then turned to the other new wielder. "And Kairi..."
"Kairi… I know you. You're that girl he likes."
"...You're the girl from the dreams—from Sora's memories. You're Xion."
Kairi nodded, her gaze fixed on Ventus with a warm smile. Even now, he reminded her so much of Sora.
"I'm so sorry, Ventus. I never wanted to leave you behind."
Ventus felt a twinge in his chest as he recalled his time holding Xion in his arms as she disappeared, leaving behind only a single thalassa shell.
"You were trying to protect me from Xemnas. Even if it meant that you had to be forgotten."
Kairi's eyes were glistening as she remembered the last thing Xion told Roxas:
"Good-bye, Roxas. See you again. I'm glad...I got to meet you. Oh...and of course, Axel, too. You're both my best friends. Never forget. That's the truth."
I knew everyone would forget me. I was so sad. When you're forgotten, there's nothing left. You lose everything.
"But you didn't forget me. Thank you." She then looked up at Lea, too. "Both of you."
Lea looked down at the two kids smiling at him.
"Back when we were still friends, we used to sneak into the castle. And we made a friend there, a girl. We wanted to rescue her."
"Yeah, and we failed. One day she was just gone!"
The little girl had vanished without a trace, like the most fleeting of shadows. At times, Lea and Isa wondered if they simply imagined her. Perhaps she never even existed. Maybe she was just a ghost. A spirit whose existence lingered even after the body faded…
"Kairi, you were that girl me and Isa met in the castle and tried to rescue," said Lea.
Kairi was stunned silent.
"Way back when I was a kid, I met this other weird kid. Somehow we became fast friends. Never saw him again—nearly forgot about him, too."
"And Ventus, I met you when I was a kid, too."
"Yeah... we were friends even back then, weren't we?"
He met them both once again in Organization XIII, although in a different form. They were his best friends Roxas and Xion. He thought they were gone forever. But they didn't disappear. They were only...reborn.
His eyes no longer dry either, he reached out and embraced the two.
"These are hidden truths that Sora has been keeping locked away deep inside him. Remember, these memories aren't his."
After the battle with Xion inside of his heart, all of his sleeping memories returned. The ones from Castle Oblivion and the ones from his adventures in the Datascape, too. As Sora watched the happy reunion, he remembered the conversation Data-Sora had with Data-Naminé.
"Do you remember, Mickey? Inside the Datascape. Those memories sleeping inside of me that weren't really mine. They belonged to Xion and her friends."
Riku had encountered Xion before, back on Destiny Island.
"So, do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?"
"Nah. I guess...I'm just sad."
"I'm sorry, but...I can't go with you. It's my friends—they need me. And I need them, too."
"Inside of Castle Oblivion, your memories of Kairi were lost deep in the shadows of you heart. After that, they were absorbed by a puppet created by the Organization, who went by the name of Xion. A puppet replica of the shadows in your heart. Do you get it now? Xion was your shadow."
"My...shadow...? Ah—!"
Suddenly the realization hit Sora like a ton of bricks. Riku had pulled out his shadow in Neverland on their first journey. It was a doppelgänger who replicated his powers to a tee. The smile plastered on Anti-Sora's face was the very same one that Roxas saw on the day Xion joined as Number XIV. Xion's Keyblade was also the same one that the doppelgänger used.
"So that's why I needed to fight Xion inside of my heart. I needed to face my other self in order to put an end to her hurt."
"Right," said Riku.
There was just one thing that Sora didn't understand.
"But... if Xion was my Replica, why did she look like Kairi?"
Riku thought back to what Naminé told him:
"Did you know her face was blank at first? But now...there is a face that is clearly visible. I think that's proof that she has entered Sora's memories."
"Replicas don't actually look like anything. Their faces are completely blank. You only 'see' the person in your mind's eye. A Replica takes the form of the heart that's inside of it," explained Riku. "Even though she was a Replica of you, Xion took Kairi's form, because inside of her was Kairi's heart."
"Remember Ansem's Code?" Mickey added. "Memories have the power to awaken a heart."
"Right," said Riku. "And Xion was created out of your most precious memories. It's only natural that those would have awakened Kairi's heart."
"But still...how could Kairi's heart be in two places at once? During the one year that Xion was in the Organization with Roxas and Axel, Kairi was back home on the islands."
Sora had once turned the Keyblade on himself, freeing both Kairi's and Ventus's hearts simultaneously. It made sense that once Ventus's heart was liberated, it wound up inside of Roxas. But as far as Sora knew, Kairi's heart immediately returned to her body and she was waiting for him back home.
Sensing Sora's confusion, Riku reminded him, "Don't forget, when the heart leaves the body behind, it can move through time. My heart from the past, when Ansem possessed me, exists in this time, even though I'm still here. That's because it's using a Replica as a vessel."
Sora thought back to the Riku he met in San Fransokyo. "That Replica was exactly like being face-to-face with the you from one year ago."
Riku nodded. "Exactly. When I met Xion, it was exactly like being around the Kairi from one year ago, which was also when her heart was separated from her body."
"Oh..."
"I think my heart resonated with yours, Ventus," Kairi said. "For a time, you and I were both sleeping together in the shadows of Sora's heart. When I joined the Organization as Xion, it felt like I already knew you."
"Yeah...I felt the exact same way."
"My heart must have wanted to make sure I was there to watch over you while you were in Organization XIII. Of course, I wasn't alone with that."
Ventus smiled warmly at his dear friends, Kairi and Lea. They were there watching over him when Aqua and Terra weren't able to.
Everyone really was deeply connected all this time.
"Welp, we've got our seven guardians," said Mickey happily, but Sora still looked troubled.
He thought back to Naminé's words in the Datascape:
"But I do know a day will come when they must rise from their sleep. And then the only one who can save them...will be Sora."
Terra is the only one that I haven't saved yet.
"Yeah. But…I do wish that Terra could be here with us, too."
"Since when do you mope, Sora?" Riku nudged. "Come on. Terra's gotta be with the Organization. Which means we'll have a chance to save him."
"Leave it to Ven and I," said Aqua. "We'll bring him home."
Ventus was just as determined as she was. "Yeah, I made Terra a promise. I said I'd be there for him when he needs me."
And I'll figure Isa out, thought Lea. I'll get him back.
"They're right. We're all in this together, Sora," said Mickey in a gentle voice.
"And Donald and I are no Keyblade wielders, but we'll always be right there to help keep ya steady. We've got your back, not just now, but always," Goofy said to his friend.
All eyes in the room were on Sora now.
Yeah. Guess I'm really not alone, am I?
As a warm feeling grew in Sora's chest, Donald gave a little tug on the leg of his pants.
"Three half-pints make a whole!"
"That again?"
Everyone laughed at Sora's annoyed reaction.
Yen Sid soon brought everyone back to the task at hand. "It is a shame that not everyone could be here. But our seven guardians of light have united. Perhaps you might say that we have nine guardians, with Donald and Goofy. Given time, I know Terra will soon stand with us."
"Yeah."
Yen Sid smiled softly at Sora's response, then continued. "Today, you recuperate. On the morrow, you journey to the fated place."
"Right!" the heroes chorused.
Everyone had gone home before the final battle. It was just Ventus and Aqua now.
The two of them descended the steps of the tower together beneath a dark sky twinkling with distant lights.
"The stars here are so beautiful. I noticed it when we arrived."
"Yes," Aqua agreed, then joined him in looking upward. That starry expanse was the Ocean Between they had once traversed.
"We've gone without this for so long."
"I know."
Ventus seated himself on the steps next to Aqua and she sat down beside him.
"But—Did I dream that place up? It really felt like I'd been there before…looking up at the stars..."
"You know, I finally remember where I was from. Before I met you and Terra."
"Really?"
Aqua was taken aback. She always knew that Ven was from somewhere else, but neither she nor Terra knew where that place was. And Ven certainly didn't remember.
"Yeah. Scala ad Caelum. The 'City of Keyblade Wielders'."
It was a world lined with grand structures cascading down peaks like stairs. In Eraqus and Xehanort's youth, Keyblade wielders and the youth who aimed to become such gathered there.
"That's the world Master Eraqus and Xehanort grew up in."
Ven nodded. "That was how Master Xehanort and I first met. I remember sitting near the fountain looking up at the stars. We talked for a bit and then, he offered to take me on as his student. I couldn't believe it. Why would he choose me? I wasn't especially good at anything… And I was never at the top of the class."
Ven was quiet as his mind drifted to the past. He must have been about 12-years-old.
"You make everyone's lives so much brighter. People need that; they need your power."
"There was another girl in my class who was way more qualified than I was. She was so good at magic. If you wanna know the truth, I hated her. A part of me wished she would just... disappear. I felt so guilty about it later, because something awful really did happen to her."
The surprise was visible on Aqua's face. She never knew Ven was capable of viewing anyone like that.
"Why did you hate her?"
"I wished that I had the same power she had. I thought it was her skill at magic or her class ranking that made me feel that way. But looking back now, I realize that wasn't it."
"What was it then?"
"I was always on my own. I never had anyone I could call parents. The teachers gave me a bedroom at my school, but it wasn't much of a home. And I definitely didn't have any friends. One time, I saw that girl from my class sitting in a field of flowers with her older brother. The two of them were so close. I could tell that she...brightened his world. That's why I was really so jealous. I think Xehanort must have sensed that darkness within me. That's why he chose me as his student. Besides, it's not like anyone would have missed me."
Aqua was at a loss for words. "Ven..."
His tone sounding a tad cynical, Ven continued, "Wanna know why Master Xehanort told me he chose me? He said that I reminded him of a Dandelion."
Ventus. It was a name that meant 'wind'.
"If the worst happens, I'll be glad to leave the future to the kids who see the world in the way that you do. Let the wind carry you far, far away…my Dandelions."
"You know about the Dandelions?"
"Everyone in Scala ad Caelum knew about them." Ven craned his neck up again to gaze at the stars, remembering the statue of Master Ephemer above the fountain. "We learned in class that they were the light of the past. It made me so happy when he told me that. But now I know the real reason he chose me. He just wanted to turn me into his dark vessel."
Strelitzia was the true Dandelion, not me.
But before Ven could berate himself, Aqua spoke up.
"Terra also said you were like a Dandelion."
Huh? When was THAT?
"I don't remember that..."
"It was on the night before the Mark of Mastery exam, remember? When you asked about the stars."
"The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns."
"What? I don't get it."
"In other words, they're just like you, Ven."
"What does THAT mean?"
"You'll find out someday, I'm sure."
Ven was speechless. He had no idea what Terra meant by that comment. "Terra..."
Aqua hugged her knees to her chest, recalling the last night they all shared together. Terra and Ven were bickering, just like true brothers.
"Pretty soon...things'll be back to normal."
She sounded almost as if she was trying to convince herself that was true. Ven really didn't mean to make her sad, so he tried to change the subject.
"So, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey went back to Disney Castle. And Sora, Riku, and Kairi returned to the Destiny Islands, right?"
Aqua nodded. "That's right."
"What about Lea?"
"I'm not sure. He left by himself."
"Oh..."
Ven had to wonder if Lea had returned to Radiant Garden. Did he even have anyone waiting for him back there?
"You want to talk to him, don't you?"
"I do, but—"
"I'll be fine. You go and catch up with your friend before the battle."
Apparently, Aqua wasn't in the mood to reminisce just yet. Not without Terra. Actually, it seemed like she still hadn't recovered emotionally from her long ordeal in the realm of darkness.
Ven's reaction was to pull his Wayfinder out of his pocket and hold it up to the stars. The little charm was a symbol of their friendship, one Aqua had made for him back before they parted ways. Terra should still have his, too.
"Let's share stories when Terra's back," he said.
Aqua pulled out her own Wayfinder, held it to the sky, and nodded.
Above them, the stars filling the heavens glittered and shone.
Riku sat on one of the sandy beaches of the Destiny Islands, gazing at the sunset. It was the same spot he once stood with Terra, back when he bequeathed the Keyblade to him.
He wasn't alone today, either. Someone else was there by his side. His shadow. The person he was one year ago. The Riku beside him wasn't really there, but was in his heart.
"Today is no doubt the day we lose," said the real Riku as he glanced over at Sora and Kairi. "I think you know what I mean."
The other Riku responded, gazing out at sea, "Yeah..."
That was the night Riku opened the Door to Darkness. He couldn't stand seeing Sora and Kairi growing closer. Those two were in their own little world and he wanted to get as far away from it as possible.
"Back then, I wanted to be the one Kairi chose to share a paopu fruit with. I wonder why I felt that way. Was it because I had special feelings for her, too?"
The real Riku knew the answer to that.
"What I said back there...about thinking I was better at stuff than you... To tell you the truth, Sora... I was jealous of you. I wished I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart."
"I used to think so. But no. It was just that, if Kairi chose me over Sora, it would prove that I really was better than him. The way he'd effortlessly connect with other people's hearts...I envied him."
Sora had a certain childish charm that allowed him to make friends wherever he went. Riku, who was a year older and more mature, found it difficult to open his heart to others in that way. Even when he was a kid, he was always too precocious for his own good. He didn't believe in Santa Claus. Although, deep down, he really wanted to.
The other Riku nodded, recognizing the truth in that response. "That's how I felt about you."
Riku turned his head toward the reflection of himself.
"I was just an imitation. I was always jealous of you because you were the real one. But I guess I really do have something that you could never imitate."
Riku smiled. "That's right. You're okay the way you are."
"Yeah. But I'm not done yet. Got one last thing to see through." The other Riku looked out at the sunset.
"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend."
Ansem and the Riku Replica were both reflections of the darkness within Riku's heart. And they were both proof of how deeply connected he was to Terra.
"Take the time you need," said Riku, joining him in watching the horizon.
Terra, tomorrow is the day I find you. I want you to see that I'm still the same person you chose as your successor. That idealistic little boy who protects the things that matter.
Meanwhile, Sora had turned to look at Riku.
"Hey, why's Riku all alone?" he asked.
Kairi sat beside him on the branch of the paopu tree. Back before their adventure began, this was where they'd come to talk about all sorts of things.
"He said he needed time to himself. Let's let him be."
"Okay…" Sora replied, but he was clearly still worried about Riku. After all, his friend was sitting over there alone on the beach, but it really looked like he was having a conversation with someone…
Suddenly, something appeared in Sora's face.
"Here!"
"Huh?"
It was a star-shaped paopu fruit.
"Tomorrow's fight will be our toughest yet," Kairi said with an earnest expression. "I want to be a part of your life no matter what. That's all."
The legend of the paopu fruit—it said that if two people gave each other the fruit to eat, their lives would never be truly separate again. No matter how far apart they may go, they would always find their way back to each other.
Sora accepted the paopu fruit from Kairi. She held another of the fruits in her other hand.
"Kairi, I'll keep you safe."
Kairi shook her head and answered, "Let me keep you safe."
The two of them offered the paopu fruit to each other, took a bite, then shared a smile.
The setting sun shone down on the two of them—on those here in their world.
In Twilight Town at around the same time, Lea was taking a bite from a sea-salt ice cream bar and watching a sunset of his own. He had two more bars in his other hand that he planned to eat, too.
Technically, his home world was Radiant Garden. But Twilight Town definitely felt more like home now. And if there was one place he wanted to say goodbye to, it was his special spot—the clock tower which held so many memories for him.
Just then, he sensed someone behind him.
"I knew it."
"Ah—!"
Lea was genuinely surprised as the blonde-haired boy perched himself next to him.
"We first met back in Radiant Garden, but I had a feeling you'd be here instead."
Lea averted his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ventus. I knew who you were the whole time, but I kept it a secret from you."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ventus's tone was gentle and understanding, not the slightest bit accusatory.
"I just...didn't want you to leave," Lea said, then he took another bite.
Ventus recalled the last thing he said to Axel before leaving the Organization.
"No one would miss me."
"Lea, I'm so sorry."
"No. I'm the one who should be apologizing. The last time we met, I tried to eliminate you. I always knew I couldn't, but it's bad enough that I tried."
Even as he fought Roxas, all he could think about was the play fight he had with Ventus in Radiant Garden.
Ventus was quiet for a moment. "How about a sea-salt ice cream? Then we'll call it even. After all, I'm sure you can't eat all that."
Instead of giving him one of his bars, Lea pulled a white envelope from his pocket and took something out of it. "Here. Today's my treat."
Ventus was given a popsicle stick with the word 'Winner' written on it. "You mean...you kept it all this time?"
Lea nodded and smiled nostalgically. Once, in the past, Isa had given him a 'Winner' too.
"You know, when we were kids, Isa and I ate sea-salt ice cream all the time. When we first came to Twilight Town, this clock tower became our special spot."
"What's it like having a best friend, Axel?"
"Couldn't tell ya. I haven't got one."
This was all news to Ventus. Did Axel bring him and Xion to the clock tower for ice cream all the time because it reminded him of his best friend? Back then, he said he didn't even have one. Now that he thought about it, Axel had never told him anything about himself and was always evasive about the subject of his past.
"Lea...how did you become a part of the Organization?"
He took a deep breath and steeled himself. "After we tried to rescue Kairi, Isa and I were imprisoned. We were used as 'living samples' so Xehanort could study the Heartless. We had to fight tons of 'em, day after day after day. Isa really didn't know the first thing about fighting, so I always did most of it for him. Looking back, I think he hated feeling so dependent on me."
Ventus listened quietly as Lea continued.
"One day, we were guinea pigs, the next we were lab rats. The goal of the experiment was to amplify the darkness within my heart. And to do that, they targeted...my weakness."
Ventus recalled a certain conversation he had with Xion a long time ago.
"Is there anything you couldn't bear to lose? I met someone today who had something like that. This thing was so important to him he couldn't bear to lose it...and Xaldin said that was his weakness."
"Isa wound up being the one to go berserk instead. After that, they said he was...broken. They locked him up in the Chamber of Repose."
Lea...
"That experiment ended up awakening plenty of darkness in my heart, too. I found out I could use that power to open corridors of darkness. That's how I made it to this town after Ansem the Wise brought him here."
Lea then looked out at the sunset hovering in the sky.
"I'll never forget the first time I brought Isa up here to this clock tower for ice cream. His eyes were golden and his ears were pointy. Had a giant scar on his face. And he was a total zombie. Didn't even know his own name. But then, totally out of nowhere...he told me why the sunset was red." A hint of smile formed on Lea's face as his mind relived that day. "And he was himself again."
Ventus had no idea that Axel had been sharing one of his most precious memories with him that day. It was dawning on him just how little he knew about him, despite hanging out with him almost every day.
"We thought we could just run away together and live here in Twilight Town. Even had plans to go to the beach. But the guy in the brown robe found us. Isa didn't wanna become Xehanort's puppet, so...he made up his mind." Lea's gaze never shifted from the glowing sunset as he spoke. "He always was mature for his age. He told me that as long as I kept him in my thoughts, then we'd never have to be apart."
Ventus's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at Lea's profile. He spoke so softly, it was almost a whisper.
"I...wasn't like Isa. I couldn't bear to lose him."
Lea slowly stood up as Ventus craned his neck to watch him.
"Roxas... I'm out of time. Even if I'm not ready...I have to make this choice."
It felt eerily similar to the final time he sat on the clock tower with Xion.
"So, I decided I'd go with him," Lea said, as casually as if he were discussing the weather.
Go...with him?
Ventus watched as a drop from Lea's melting ice cream fell all the way to the ground.
"We promised me that we'd meet each other again...in the next life," Lea continued. "...I told him...I'd be waiting for him."
Ventus didn't even know what to say, especially since Lea was so calm.
"Wasn't a huge fan of that plan, obviously," he said with a dry laugh, and sat back down. "In the end, I wound up dragging him back home with me. When we joined the Organization, we came up with a new plan. We'd overthrow Xemnas, then, after we'd eliminated all his lackeys, we'd come back here to this town and eat ice cream together every day. Now that I look back, it wasn't much of a plan. More of a...childish dream."
After a pause, Lea spoke again.
"You probably don't remember when you got your new name, do you? When a Nobody joins the organization, the sigil is added to their old name."
"The sigil? No, wait... I do remember that letter. Master Xehanort told me it means 'death'..."
"Yeah. It's the mark Xemnas gave us. It represents...the renunciation of your old self. In other words, the death of the person you used to be as a human."
Lea brushed one of the spots under his eyes where he used to have his upside-down tear marks.
"I was more than happy to leave 'Lea' in the dust. He was nothing but a useless crybaby. Axel wasn't going to just sit around and wait. He was going to act. Even if he had to get his hands dirty."
Ventus recalled the stone-cold look Axel gave him on the day he knocked Xion unconscious and dragged her back to the castle. It was the first time he'd seen a side of Axel that truly scared him.
"After we became Nobodies...Isa changed. I never even realized until after I met you, but, he seemed more interested in the Organization's plan than our plan. But that made perfect sense, I guess. Isa had to die in order for him to become Saïx. No...to become Xehanort."
Lea spoke without any emotion, but Ventus could see the sadness on his face.
"I guess coming here to this clock tower with you was...my way of keeping him alive. Even...if it was only in my memories."
Ventus wore a pained expression after Lea concluded his story.
"Are you really okay?"
"This is getting weird."
"Huh?"
"Since when do you ever worry about me?"
"What do you mean 'weird'?"
"Usually, I do all the worrying over you. I don't think it's ever been the other way around before. Just feels strange, that's all."
Now that I look back, I was always worrying about Xion. And Axel was always worrying about us both. But there was no one there to worry about him.
"When I left the Organization, I was so furious with you. I never knew what you were going through, Lea. I'm so sorry."
Lea looked out at the cloudy sky. There was no discernible emotion on his face.
"Don't be. Whenever I was with you...I felt like I did back when I was a kid, hanging out with Isa. You made me feel like I had a heart. After I failed to eliminate you, I became a traitor to the Organization. I thought that as long as I got to see you again, well, maybe I really would go somewhere when I faded away."
"Let's meet again in the next life."
"Yeah. I'll be waiting."
"Silly. Just because you have a next life…"
"To be honest, I didn't think I had a next life, either." Ventus turned his head and made firm eye contact with Lea. "I'm glad we were both wrong."
"You made us a promise."
"I did?"
"That you'd always be there...to bring us back."
"You know, before I was reborn as a human, I had a dream."
"A dream?"
"Yeah, of you."
In that dream, Roxas used the word 'us'. Axel made that promise to more than just Roxas. Lea did not remember Xion back then, but he did remember making that promise to one other person.
"You're the reason I summoned my Keyblade, Ventus."
"Me? How am I the reason?"
"You made me remember the person I used to be, and the promise I made to Isa. It's because of you that I didn't give up on my dream."
What Lea said reminded Ventus of something.
"In your hand, take this blade. And as long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be made."
"Do you remember the day we first met in Radiant Garden? I dropped my practice Keyblade and you picked it up."
"Ohh, I never realized it, but that toy sword was a Keyblade, huh?"
Ventus nodded. "That was my most treasured keepsake."
"Being a Keyblade Master is all I've dreamed about."
"Well, you're not the only one."
"I know. You, me, and Ven all share the same dream."
"Terra gave it to me. It was proof that me, him, and Aqua all shared the same dream."
Lea had no idea the toy was so special to him.
"When I met you in Radiant Garden, Terra and Aqua had left me behind. Then I met you and Isa and I felt so jealous. The two of you seemed so close."
Lea was at a loss for words. He had no idea what Ventus had been going through back then.
"Back when I trained with him, Master Xehanort used me in an experiment to try and create the χ-Blade. He extracted the darkness from my heart, splitting me in half. And he nearly destroyed my heart in the process. I was...broken."
Lea listened silently.
"But when Terra gave me his old wooden Keyblade, my heart started remembering things again. Ever since that day, I loved him like he was my own brother."
"He's leaving you behind. And by the time you catch up…he'll be a different person."
Lea saw the sadness in his eyes. Terra was Xehanort's vessel, too.
Ventus stared down at the popsicle stick he had once left behind on Axel's bed. He wanted to give it to him so badly back then.
"When you took me out for ice cream that day, I started remembering things. That was when...I started to feel the same way about you, Lea."
"Ventus..." An embarrassed Lea wiped a few tears away with his sleeve.
"Call me Ven. After all, we're friends now. Got it memorized?"
The two sat side by side and laughed as they watched the setting sun.