AN: Once again: you ain't READY! xD Not for this, or the epilogue I'm gonna post up next! :D :D :D :D

Xemnas stood before them in the gleaming white hall, in front of those large doors.

His gaze roamed over them all - going from Kairi, to Sora, to Xion, to Mio, to Lauriam and Elrena, and then to Aeleus.

"The Superior..." Aeleus gasped, and he looked afraid.

"When word came to me of events transpiring within these halls..." Xemnas began, slow and deep - his voice carrying without any effort at all somehow. Kairi had to admit to being a little intimidated herself by this man (or a lot). "Never could I have dared imagine I would truly find enemies and traitors alike...all working together."

"So you're the big cult leader, huh?" Kairi spoke, stepping forward and summoning her Keyblade. She wished she hadn't had that stupid bout with Lauriam - or gone through anything she had gone through over the last few hours. She'd have been at full strength and freshness, then! "Ansem's Nobody? I can see the resemblance! I beat him, and I'm going to beat you now too, Xemnas!"

Xemnas gave a smirk of amusement, raising an eyebrow. "Ah, the delusions of the Heart. The same delusions, I presume...that gave rise to the notion that this wayward Replica is your 'sister?'" He spoke on, giving a deep look to Xion.

Xion's head fell, hands moving to her chest. She glanced sidelong at Kairi, uncertainty on her face. Despite everything, despite her own words of earlier to Mio...she still thought Kairi would change her mind or something...? She still had fears, doubts?

"She's still my sister!" Kairi said firmly. "It doesn't matter where she came from!" I'll give Xion as much positive reinforcement as it takes until she finally, really believes it! I'll smother her in positive reinforcement! And she'll freaking DROWN IN IT!

"If you truly refer to that thing beside you masquerading as a sibling, let alone a human being...no, she is not," Xemnas refuted simply. "It is my sincerest regret to inform you that that sister you hold so dear...is a mere...puppet. A construct. A creation of my Organization, in fact. She comes from our Replica program - right here in this very castle. Her body and her Heart are artificial in every way. I ordered her creation as a means to test your strength - nothing more, and nothing less. Her sole and ever-burning objective, programmed into her core - the only thought and feeling in that Heart of hers - is to see to your destruction."

"I'm sorry, was that drivel supposed to mean something?" Kairi said idly. Then she turned and yanked Xion into a fierce hug. She leveled a glare at Xemnas now, holding her sister to her. "All this means...is that you're a thousand times more disgusting and evil than even I thought you could be! Because instead of kidnapping and experimenting on and brainwashing a girl, you actually made a whole entire person from scratch, on a WHIM, just to be used! And to be destroyed, after you'd finished using her up! And you didn't even have the decency to give her REAL CLOTHES! You just slapped her into a cloak and some pants and called it a day! And you did it TWICE!" She turned and jabbed a shaking finger at Mio, her Heart aching.

Xemnas sneered at her in silence, but his eyes had narrowed.

"How could you really think that would change anything between me and her?!" Kairi said fiercely. "It just makes me want to hold her closer! Squeeze her till her head pops off! Cry for her more than ever! Because she's still my sister, no matter what! I love her, no matter what! And because the bond we've made, the time we've spent together, ever since the day we met - that was all real, and it's ours, and it's how we see each other!"

"I pity you for suffering the weakness of a deluded Heart. To cling to an illusion, a lie and a fabrication even in face of truth-"

"It's not weakness," Kairi said firmly. "It's strength, that our bond can't be torn apart by a few little words." She stopped, then carried on with, in the sweetest of tones, "Now, if that laughable little attempt to break us apart was really the best you had, you can go on and shoo now, because we really have better things to do than waste our time on you. We have lives to get back to. Of course, you wouldn't understand, seeing as your life only seems to consist of being an evil dick!"

Xemnas's face was etched with anger, and glowing red energy blades burst from his palms - from BOTH of his hands at once. He took a step forward-

And Aeleus strode to stand between him and the rest, bringing his own, mighty weapon to hand.

Xemnas regarded him with that anger still plain to see. "You would stand before me like this - inviting true oblivion?"

"With all my Heart," Aeleus said firmly. "I will protect-"

Xemnas flickered in and out of existence - and then a red, burning energy blade burst from Aeleus's backside. Aeleus froze, weapon falling from his hand. Sizzling smoke rose from the wound.

"NOOOOO!" Kairi screamed. "AELEUS!" NO, NO, NO - NOT AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN! She raised her Keyblade to hurl it out-

"Kairi, NO!" Aeleus growled out suddenly, his voice tight with pain. "My job...is to protect you..." His head dropped, his gaze falling to the blade buried in his torso. Then, he gritted his teeth, raising his hands to grasp the blade itself-

And then a second blade emerged from his backside, just below the first.

Aeleus went limp, breath leaving his body. His body itself beginning to...fade...into dark particles...breaking apart...until nothing was left but a scattering of dark ashes before the visage of Xemnas.

"Fuck..." Larxene gaped, looking disturbed. Her arms fell to her sides, and she took a step back.

"Now, who would prefer to go next?" Xemnas said simply. "Come now - the next enemy, the next traitor - step forward...and face your end with even a shred of dignity."

Kairi's Keyblade trembled in her hand, her gaze locked to the spot where Aeleus...had just been...just a moment ago...

Why...why, again...? Why, why, why...

Why had he told her not to even...try to save him...? She could have, couldn't she...? If she'd just-

'DIE!" Kairi screamed, throwing her Keyblade out at Xemnas! She reappeared before him and swung with all her might!

Xemnas took a step backwards, then a red energy blade slammed up under Kairi's guard, right into her stomach. It didn't pierce her - not like Aeleus - but it lifted her off her feet and it burned her. Lightning crackled, surging through her body as she screamed. Xemnas pulled his blade away, letting her fall to the floor before him.

Sora ran forward with a yell, and then so did Xion, and a hesitant Mio - and then Lauriam too, and then an even more hesitant Larxene.

But they all did: they all fought.

Xemnas raised a blade to block Sora effortlessly, then shoved him away with a similar lack of effort. He swung his other blade at Xion, knocking her Keyblade strike aside and slashing her across the chest, causing her to scream and fall. Mio thrust out palms of dark fires with a furious cry; Xemnas crossed his blades before himself, and swirling, glowing white tendrils of thorns swirled around him - blocking the dark energy blast. Lauriam teleported behind Xemnas, whirling and slashing a glowing pink staff for him faster than the blink of an eye. Xemnas teleported as well, reappearing behind Lauriam and making to stab him through the back - but Larxene was there, rushing past in a shroud of lightning, driving her knives into his blade and knocking it aside!

Xemnas turned as Larxene whirled back to face him; she hurled out a dozen swift knives of lightning, which scattered on the floor around him. They crackled and exploded with electricity. But when the smoke cleared, Xemnas was gone.

Suddenly a torrent of thorny tendrils wound their way past and around Sora, Xion, and Mio all - sweeping them up and yanking them all into the air. A checkerboard barrier of magic panels appeared up in the air, and it glowed red. When the three children were slammed right into it by the thorns ensnaring them, the barrier exploded with energy, scattering them all across the hall.

And then Xemnas flickered into existence behind Larxene and disappeared again in an instant - leaving behind a half dozen orbs of scarlet energy. All of which began firing off red laser beams at her rapidly! Larxene twisted and flipped around them, even as they moved to track her! She dove and rolled, and split into two versions of herself. Xemnas reappeared behind one of them and almost casually thrust a blade into her chest. The copy twisted and evaporated on the spot. The other Larxene, the real one, she lunged at Xemnas with slashing knives, leaving lightning trails in her weapons' wake!

Xemnas blocked her strikes, then ducked and twirled, lashing out with a spinning kick surrounded with thorny tendrils. Larxene pulled herself up short and backflipped a heartbeat before making contact, then threw out a dozen knives and vanished into thin air.

Lauriam came flying at Xemnas suddenly, spinning vertically like a fast-moving wheel, pink energy casting off him. He carved deep grooves of energy in the floor as he blew past Xemnas, then spun around and flew back for him! Xemnas dodged left, teleported out of the way of the next attack, and then he raised his blades to catch Lauriam on his third flyby. Stopping him dead in his tracks!

Lauriam hung there in the air, glaring with sheer hate down at Xemnas. Then he burst with power and flipped back from him, landing in his battle stance.

Xemnas regarded him coolly, weapons at his sides now.

Larxene suddenly appeared in the air overhead, slamming down on Xemnas with a body of wildly flaring lightning bolts: a massive wave of yellow lightning flew out in all directions, and several pillars of lightning erupted all around the hall as well!

But not a single bit of it actually had hit Xemnas; the man had vanished, and reappeared to hover in the air himself now, over their heads.

He slammed his hands together, forming a sphere of energy, and then he threw out his arms, casting out thorn tendrils around the edge of the hall...and plunging it into darkness.

Pitch black darkness.

Xemnas flew at Lauriam from behind in a flying kick, his boot shrouded in silver energy - then he flipped back and teleported away. He reappeared immediately, slashing several times over from the right. Then he vanished and came back again on the left, stabbing forth with a blade! And then he was gone again!

All around them, along the walls and the ceiling of pure darkness, red lights began to flash, to take form as...dozens, hundreds of red energy beams.

Xemnas reappeared near the ceiling, in the very center of the hall. Then, he thrust an arm down for them, and all those energy bolts came raining down on them all.

It was relentless and furious and...and it was over surprisingly quickly. The darkness faded, and the white hall was back again.

Everyone was laying on the floor, burned messes with smoke rising from their bodies.

Xemnas gently touched down again, standing in the middle of them all.

"Did you truly believe-" he began to say.

"That's ENOUGH!" a voice shouted out to interrupt him.

Kairi turned to see Sora climbing to his feet again, a dark glare fixed on his face - aimed at Xemnas.

"Sora..." she breathed, reaching for him desperately.

Sora was barely even standing! He looked ready to drop down again any moment now! But he raised a clenched fist before him, trembling. "What ARE YOU people?!" he shouted at Xemnas, swiping his arm before him. "How can you just ACT THIS WAY AND NOT EVEN BLINK?!"

Xemnas gave a smirk in response.

"HOW CAN YOU KEEP TAKING LIVES, USING LIVES, AND STILL EVEN LIVE WITH YOURSELVES?!" Sora yelled out, stumbling forward now, arm falling to his side. His fist quivering there. "HUH?! TELL ME!"

"Sora, stop-" Kairi begged.

"NO!" Sora whipped around, and that furious look was directed at her. "I've had enough of this, Kairi, all of this! It can't go on any more! Not for one more second! I...I-" He took in a harsh breath, letting it go again. Then another, and another. He was breathing faster now, harder. Out of control. His fist smacked to his chest, pressing there. Digging into it...and then Kairi noticed the tendrils of darkness rising from Sora's body. "I c-can't- let anything like this happen again...I won't let it!"

"SORA!" Kairi cried. "Please, you're kind of scaring me now-!"

"KEEP IT TO YOURSELF FOR ONCE, KAIRI!" Sora shouted at her.

Kairi stared. She blinked. Her lip quivered something awful. Had...Sora just...told her to shut up? In his own Sora way...? After she'd just...told him she was afraid for him?

"Such anger - but anger alone cannot-" Xemnas chuckled.

"And YOU TOO!" Sora exclaimed, whirling back to the man. "I CAN'T STAND HEARING ANOTHER WORD OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! I CAN'T STAND- EVEN SEEING YOU ANYMORE! AND I- I'M GOING TO ERASE YOU!"

Sora suddenly rose up into the air, a swirling sphere of magical energy and dark energy completely concealing him. Cocooning him! Then, as suddenly as it formed around him, it exploded, waves of darkness casting out in all directions. And then Sora was back, and he was landing on the floor, and he...

"Sora...?" Kairi whispered, horrified.

It was still recognizably Sora, but...he looked like a Heartless. He felt to her...in almost all ways...like a Heartless again. His whole body and outfit was jet black, except for his gloves and shoes, which were highlighted with neon blues. Pure darkness wafted from his entire body still. His eyes were big, and glowing yellow.

No, no, no! Had her powers failed somehow, did they have a- time limit? Had Sora gone back to being Heartless because she'd screwed up?! Would everyone turn out like this that she had turned back to normal...?

Xemnas had a look of...mere curiosity on his face. He tilted his head at Sora. Then, booming laughter rang out from him. "So even your Heart can be blackened by darkness, Sora? And here I thought you were as incorruptible as your Princess. I will have to be sure and remember this-"

Sora leapt at Xemnas in a flash of darkness! He was raging, wild, spinning and slashing and twirling all about, zipping back and forth across Xemnas's body! Streaks and blasts of darkness erupted all around the man! Xemnas stepped back, he dodged a slash, he raised a brief hand to summon a checkerboard barrier to block an explosion, then he shrouded himself in a dark orb himself and flew across the hall, reappearing away from Sora. There, he cast out a hand, sending several lightning orbs at Sora, which exploded around him.

Sora leapt up into the air and flew at Xemnas again, streaking past him and encircling him!

Xemnas surrounded himself in swirling, glowing thorny tendrils, which burst outward and sent Sora flying away again.

But Sora went right back at him.

And he kept doing it.

Sora attacked, and attacked, and attacked! Unrelenting, uncaring, a storm of rage and darkness and that was that!

But Xemnas countered it all, or evaded, and then-

Xemnas raised a hand, lightning bolts flashing out to strike Sora - and then to surround him in a sphere of power.

"I grow weary of this," Xemnas said emotionlessly. Then he squeezed his hand, and the sphere shrank down around Sora...and Sora went limp and fell from it.

Sora lay there on the floor, darkness bubbling and rising from his body...his yellow eyes closed.

As Kairi gazed at him, suddenly the darkness lifted, and he was back to being himself again! And then, she saw him stir, and his eyes opened. His normal, lovable eyes!

Not that that was anything more than a slight comfort at the moment. In this current situation.

Xemnas lowered his arm, his eyes sweeping over them all on the floor. Broken, burned, mangled messes of people.

"Now then, if we are finished with that last ditch surge of defiance..." He put a hand behind his back, while the other conjured a red blade. He began to saunter forward, between them all. "Which of you would like the honor of being destroyed first? No one? Hmm. Very well. I will choose for you: we will start with the more useless Replica."

"No...Please, don't-" Kairi begged weakly. trying to push herself up.

Xemnas ignored her, strode over to Mio, seized his hair and yanked him up - and then he stabbed him through the heart. Mio's eyes widened, a gasp escaped him...and then Xemnas let him fall flat on his face.

Darkness covered Mio, and then it cleared...revealing a faceless, androgynous white mannequin.

"How...c-could you just..." Kairi choked, her head hitting the floor as her arms gave out. "H=he was a kid, a person. He...he was going to live...We were going to..."

"It was nothing but a tool. A construct. You waste your feelings on it. There is nothing to mourn."

"I mourn...all the things he could have done..."

"It would have done nothing but its mission."

"Not...with us..."

"You were a child playing make believe with a toy." Xemnas shook his head at her. "Now, I believe I have two more traitors here to dispose of-"

Suddenly, the huge doors behind Xemnas swung open in a flash of light, and a very familiar figure in dark blue armor came stalking through out of that light, a long, rippling cape behind her. She had a Keyblade in her hand - not the one Kairi had seen her use at the Door To Darkness. This one was more in line with her armor. Dark blue and...familiar! Like from Kairi's memories of their meeting back in Radiant Garden?

Aqua stood there, framed impressively in that doorway of light as she faced Xemnas. She gazed straight at him, her face showing pure shock and horror - and then, it hardened. "XEHANORT!" her voice rang out sharply, echoing in the hall.

"I do not answer to that name," Xemnas said idly.

"Whatever name you've chosen for yourself - Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas - my name is the same as it's always been: My name...is Master Aqua - master of this castle! Now, I don't care what plans you have for this place - it ends now. This is my home, and I will not let it continue to be defiled by such darkness and evil aspirations! I will see you driven out of it, once and for all!"

Xemnas narrowed his eyes at her, his body tensed. Then, he relaxed, giving a smirk. His energy blade dissipated. "Our meeting is premature - but we will meet again...my friend." And then he vanished as darkness wrapped around him.

Everyone stared.

"Coward..." Aqua snorted, shaking her head. Her gaze roamed them all, sweeping across them. She strode up the length of the hall to stand before them all, up close and personal now. Her armor vanished, and so did her Keyblade. Then she raised a hand, flaring with green light, and she threw her arm out; a wave of green magical energy rushed out across the entire hall - and Kairi felt instant relief, and strength flooding back into her being! Sora's eyes fluttered open, and he was getting up too, a hand to his head as he let out a groan!

"All right...now that that problem's been dealt with - we should get introductions out of the way," Aqua addressed them all, giving a small smile as she watched them all rise.

A dark portal suddenly appeared, and out of it came a furtive Xikira!

Aqua turned to the girl with that smile still there. "There you are. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction! I didn't get your name at the entrance, unfortunately..."

"I'm Xikira - Kairi's Nobody."

"A...Nobody...?" Aqua said, deep in thought. "I've heard that term before, but...I can't quite recall..."

"A Nobody is what the leftover body can sometimes become when someone turns into a Heartless," Lauriam spoke softly, climbing to his feet easily now. "Or, rather, WHO it can sometimes become. All the leftover memories of life are siphoned from the sleeping Heart, and instead find a new home in the mind of the Nobody."

"But how could you have become a Heartless? You're a Princess of Heart!" Aqua said, rounding on Kairi, perplexed.

"Remember when I said Ansem took my Heart out of my body, and I was inside Sora briefly?" Kairi began, sighing as she stood, herself. "That was when it happened. Apparently I used Sora's darkness to make my Heartless...or something...and also his body to make my Nobody...or something. It's really confusing. Anyways, Xikira here is the result. So...Sora and I have a kid. I get to be a teen mom! I never thought I would be, but I'm going to be as good of one as I can be." Her gaze found Xikira, and she stalked forward and put her hands on her hips. "Speaking of which - where have you been?! We were looking all over for you - everyone was worried about you!"

Xikira flushed, ducking her head and grasping her arm. "I just...had some things to take care of. Sorry I couldn't be here for the big fight! And that I worried everyone."

"Well," Kairi sighed. "I guess I can let it slide this time. But don't ever do that again!"

"Right. Got it!" Xikira said earnestly, gazing up at her from underneath long blonde locks. "I promise!"

"Okaaaay..." Aqua said slowly, her eyes huge. She shook her head, turning to Lauriam and Elrena instead. "And who might the pair of you be?" she said politely to them.

"I am Lauriam, and this is Elrena. We were once...Keyblade wielders," Lauriam began quietly. "Though, we ran in quite a different circle than you, Master Aqua. A circle that no longer exists. Quite some time ago now, our...school, our world, all of our instructors and fellow wielders in training - we lost...all of them. In one fell swoop. To the darkness." Pure agony crossed his face as he finished with, "My little sister included. My Strelitzia. Though, I never had any memories of her, or any of this, until rather recently. I'd forgotten it all. My own past. It was Xikira who awoke my dormant memories - and woke me, myself, to my true self again."

Aqua stared, horrified. "I'm so sorry..."

Lauriam closed his eyes, nodding silently.

"I'm a fool," Lauriam spoke. "All this time, I never questioned what I was longing for." His eyes drifted to Kairi, to Aqua. To Xion. "It was never the keyblade of others I wanted to have; I wanted...my own back again. But more than that...I wanted to find my little sister. Myself and Elrena have survived it all, but where...are the others...? And where did you end up going...Ven?"

"VEN?!" Aqua gasped, shocked. "Wait, you KNOW Ventus?"

"Wait, you know him?" Elrena exclaimed as she jumped up immediately from the floor, her hair a disheveled mess.

Lauriam strode forward with pure joy on his face, seizing Aqua's arms. "You've seen Ven? Where is he, please, what happened to him?"

"Ventus is my best friend!" Aqua said, pulling out of his grasp, blinking rapidly. "We trained together, we...he was with Sora here after he was lost to me, his Heart had left his body. But you...your circle of wielders...? You're from before, aren't you? From the life Ventus could never remember? When he first came to us, our Master told us he couldn't remember his life before we took him in..."

Lauriam lowered his arms. He nodded. "I...yes. That's right. We knew each other. We fought darkness together, when it came to our world. But...we lost everything, and myself and a mere handful of others were...scattered, like petals on the wind. Like- dandelions. Ventus was one of the survivors, sent off to who knew where. Had I remembered him earlier, I would have been searching for him with everything I have! Just like my sister!"

"Then...we'll find him," Aqua said firmly. "He's lost again, but we will find him again. And this time, we'll make sure we don't lose him again!"

Lauriam gasped, hand going to his forehead. He smiled, and nodded. "Yes...I can't lose him again...I can't...Not after how I treated him, not after...I never had the chance to apologize. Not while he was conscious to hear it, at any rate..."

"So are you one of Ventus's friends as well?" Aqua spoke, turning to Elrena with a smile.

"Huh?" Elrena froze. She snorted lightly, waving a hand. "Oh, no, no! I was never really- nope! I was just...sort of along for the ride, honestly. It was pure luck and chance that I was one of the ones to escape the total collapse of our world. Right place, right time, and Lauriam and the others took me along with them without...even a question..." She flushed, looking away.

Aqua turned back toward the others, mingling with the children.

Meanwhile, Lauriam beckoned Xikira and Elrena, stepping away with them from the rest of their entourage.

"Well, this is goodbye for now, Xikira. We must hurry and take our leave - disappear into the worlds and all their vastness," Lauriam told her quietly.

"Wait, you're leaving me?" Xikira said, high. "Why?"

"It's nothing you've done," Lauriam assured her smoothly. "Elrena and I...we simply need to find our own path in life - a choice and chance we were given because of you, Xikira. Because you woke us up to it. To our very selves again. We must find our own way now, in these troubled worlds. And perhaps...we can learn to defend them again from darkness. We may even become worthy of our Keyblades again. Who can say? But the freedom to leave, to choose, to take that chance...we have that thanks to you."

"Then...I have my own path to walk, too," Xikira said resolutely. "I'm going back."

"WHAT?!" Elrena exclaimed, stalking forward to seize her collar roughly. "Like hell you are! They'll kill you, you little pervert-"

"No one knows I betrayed anyone - right?" Xikira cut across firmly, gazing up at her unflinching.

"While it is true you weren't present for anything overtly damning, Xemnas must surely suspect, at minimum-" Lauriam began.

"But even if he does, I can still go back and no one will think anything of it! I can convince him, I can lie my butt off. And it will be me and Vexen who survived this - and Axel, too, I guess. Xemnas will even be pleased I did. His precious Keyblade wielder. He won't refuse me, he needs me too badly, doesn't he? And...I have to go back. There's someone still trapped there...who I need to save."

Lauriam gave her a look of pity. "He will not leave for you, Xikira."

"Yes he will-"

"No, he won't," Lauriam insisted. "His rank is not as high as it is for no reason-"

"He will!" Xikira said loudly. "I just need- time with him. More time! And- the right- situation. Like with you guys! I know I can convince him...I just need the chance to. I can't leave him. If I do just up and leave now, who knows what Xemnas would do to him? It's not a secret we were spending so much time together! Xemnas might think he helped me with deserting, he might...I can't let that happen to him."

Lauriam nodded. "Very well. Elrena-"

"Fuck that!" Larxene hissed, yanking the girl closer - and then squeezing her into a painfully tight hug. "You're not going anywhere! You're getting out, and you're getting out with us - even if I have to knock your idiotic little ass out and carry you on my back! And you know I'm not bluffing!"

"Elrena," Lauriam said sternly. "Let her go."

"She's not even- fucking- fourteen, she's not even a year old! She's not even a month old! She's a little baby, and she can't be trusted to make these kinds of decisions in life!" Larxene ranted on. "I say we let him stay where he's clearly the happiest being-"

"But he's not!" Xikira shouted, squirming in her arms to look up at her under a messy mop of blonde hair. "He's not...happy. I haven't exactly...delved into his memories like I have with you two, but...I've been around him so much, I've seen so many different sides to him. And I know...that he isn't happy with any of this! He doesn't want to be there, to keep doing what he does! If I can just...get him to realize he can walk away too...Please...please let me go, let me try, Elrena...I'm appealing to you as co-founder of the skirt brigade! No, as its founder!"

Larxene scoffed down at her. "I'm sorry, you're trying to use an appeal to authority on me? The woman who just happily declared herself a full-blown traitor to her former boss's face? Idiot..."

"Please..." Xikira whispered, her eyes shimmering. "I c-can't leave him, I can't leave him..."

"Perhaps we can come to a compromise," Lauriam suggested. "We allow her to go back and...make her attempt to rescue her- dear friend - but only until she reaches a set deadline. Let us say...a month from now? Two months? And, as well, we could set up weekly check-ins with us. We can monitor her, she can inform us of goings-on at the castle. If we judge it to be...becoming too dangerous...we will remove her from that situation, consent or not. Friend...or not. Could you accept that, Elrena?"

"Two weeks," Larxene snapped out.

"A month," Lauriam countered.

"Two months!" Xikira insisted.

"Shut up, Xiki - you're going the wrong way," Larxene snarked. "I say one week, now!"

"Two months!" Xikira said firmly.

"A month and a half," Lauriam offered.

"Two. Months."

"One month, fine!" Larxene growled out.

"I want my two months!" Xikira said, glaring now.

"She seems quite set on two..." Lauriam spoke, amused. "We both know how stubborn she can be. We should simply let her have this. Or, you could continue attempting to pop her head off...but that would be a rather unfortunate denouement, wouldn't you say?"

Larxene swore and growled incoherently...then she released Xikira, shoving her away and whirling from her, crossing her arms tightly. "Stupid little shit..." she muttered furiously - and anxiously. Then her face lit up. She snapped her fingers and stalked up to Kairi and Sora. "HEY! Parents! Come here and parent!"

"Uhhh, what?" Sora said, nonplussed.

Larxene seized his and Kairi's arms and promptly dragged them over to Lauriam and Xikira. "Here. Your little blonde airhead of a spawn thinks it's a smart idea to go right back to the same Organization we just put so much time, effort, and blood and sweat into fighting to leave here today!"

"What?! Why?" Kairi demanded, staring at the girl with hands on her hips.

"It's my friend!" Xikira exclaimed. "He's still with them - at the main castle, the Organization's world - but...I know I can get him to leave too! I just know it! I just need the chance - I need the time! Please, you have to let me go! At least to try! Just for a month, maybe two! Just a few weeks!"

"Won't they just destroy you?" Sora said, frowning.

"NO! No one knows I betrayed anyone here!" Xikira said. "I can walk back in like nothing happened, as far as anybody knows. But if I leave now, I'll never get the chance to see him again...to try and convince him..."

Sora looked at Kairi. Kairi looked at her.

"If she's still got a friend back there-" Sora began.

"No way!" Kairi shouted. She seized the girl's hand and pulled her forward. "It's too dangerous!"

"Please!" Xikira begged, shaking her head and pulling free.

"Can we just knock her ass out already?!" Larxene threw up her hands.

"Now now, none of us here wants to resolve this situation with violence," Lauriam said evenly.

"I do!" Larxene snapped.

"I kind of do too," Kairi said. "If you really think of me as a mom, if you really did come from my body, then you're going to listen to me. Okay? That's the end of it! I don't want you going back there!"

"If it was Sora, would you really just walk away and say 'too bad, he can get out on his own?'" Xikira said fiercely.

Kairi froze. "That's-"

"No!" Xikira suddenly yelled, stepping back from them all. A Keyblade appeared in her hand, and she raised it to them. "I'm going back, and no one is stopping me! Even if you knock me out and drag me away, I'll just leave the first chance I get anyways!"

Kairi sighed. "Okay. Go."

"And the world's shittiest mom award goes to you!" Larxene erupted.

"Well, I am a teen mom, I'm still new," Kairi responded, glaring at her. "You wanted our input, and I gave it. She can go. But-"

"We can do check-ins at Traverse Town. Every week!" Xikira said quickly. "I'll have plenty of time to do that, at least."

"FINE!" Larxene snarled. "But if you miss even a single check-in, I'm pulling you out! Even if I have to storm that castle myself and murder every last person still inside it!"

"Thank you," Xikira said with a smile. She let her weapon vanish, gave them all one last look. Then, she turned and conjured a dark corridor, and began to walk toward it.

Just as she entered it, Lauriam called out: "Xikira!"

"Yes?"

"May your Heart...be your guiding key."

"Thanks?"

Kairi watched her...blonde, weird magical daughter girl disappear into darkness as the portal faded.

"There's a phrase no one's used in ages," Aqua spoke, coming up behind them.

"Mmm. Perhaps it's time we brought it back into fashion," Lauriam replied.

"Nah. I say we leave it buried with the skeletons," Larxene dismissed. "It's just so...tacky!"

"You two really are something..." Aqua said, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't ask the blueberry bitch's opinion, did I?" Larxene said sweetly.

Aqua's jaw dropped. "I was only trying to-"

"Please, don't take offense," Lauriam said smoothly. He smiled. "It means she likes you."

"That's...that- All right...?" Aqua murmured, flushing and looking away.

Larxene gave Lauriam the finger, then stalked off away from them, throwing out a hand to form a portal of her own. Which she promptly stepped through, disappearing into darkness.

Lauriam gave Aqua a bow of his head. "Until we meet again, then, Master Aqua."

"You don't want to stay with us until we find Ven?"

He shook his head, smiling again softly. "With so many good-hearted people looking out for him, I believe he'll be in...quite good hands. When next we meet, I'm sure it will be with Ven at your side. I have nothing to fear. And besides, I can't let Elrena wander the worlds alone; who knows what trouble she might cause?" he added humorously. Or was it seriously?

Aqua smiled back. "Well...all right. And... May your Heart be your guiding key, Lauriam."

"And yours as well, naturally." Lauriam strode away into Larxene's portal, and it vanished behind him.

Aqua sighed, turning back to Kairi, Sora and Xion.

Kairi crossed the hall wordlessly and dropped down beside Mio...Mio's body.

"Kairi - what is-" Aqua started, confused.

"Mio. We lost Aeleus...and Mio..." Kairi whispered. "Xemnas- Ansem- Xehanort, whatever he calls himself...he killed them before you showed up. And we couldn't- Aeleus said not to help, not to try...and I listened... And Mio, I wasn't even able to get up and save him..."

"I'm sure that this Aeleus was doing his best to protect you." Aqua came to kneel down before her, reaching out to grasp her arms. "No matter what his appearance, Xehanort...is an extremely powerful, dangerous enemy. Beyond imagining."

"I can imagine. Everything he did as Ansem, and now Xemnas. And before that...I know now." Kairi looked up into Aqua's face. "He took your friend's body - Terra's. The face of Ansem, from all my nightmares...it's his face."

Aqua gasped. "Kairi...how could you possibly know that?"

"Oh...because I talked to Terra...about half an hour ago now? Maybe a little more."

"You WHAT?!" Aqua was beaming at her, hugging her tight suddenly. "How? Where? Where is he, how did he- how did you-"

"I don't know how - he just said some girl connected his Heart to mine. Because we have that...shared history," Kairi whispered dully. "It let us talk for a bit. He said...Xehanort took his body, and then- became Ansem, or something, and then his Heart was with Ansem until...Alice and I destroyed him. But he didn't seem to know how he was still around if we did that. Or...where he was now. But I told him about you and Ven. And he was so happy, so glad. He said knowing you survived in that Dark Realm for so long, knowing you were out and fighting still now...he said it gave him strength to never give up either. That your light...never stopped shining."

Silent tears of joy fell down Aqua's face, and she hugged Kairi again. Closer, and softer. "Thank you..."

She pulled away, and her eyes found Mio's...body again. "This is...?"

"That's him," Kairi said softly. "Mio. He's- he was an- artificially born person, made right here, in a lab, by an evil creep scientist named Vexen. A member of Organization XIII - the black coat guys."

Aqua stared, horror on her face. "Wh-what...? But...how could someone...? And why does he look like...this?"

"That was pretty much our reaction too," Sora said solemnly.

Aqua shook her head, closing her mouth. "I don't fully understand. But I am sorry..."

Xion let out a breath, her hands clutching at her chest. "He was called a Replica. And I- I'm- a Replica too!" she announced, closing her eyes and screwing up her face. "I'm not Kairi's- blood sister. But she adopted me too! So we're adopted sisters."

Aqua gazed at Xion for a long moment. Then she nodded, and she smiled very carefully. "So you were...created here as well? That would make sense, then..."

"What makes sense?" Kairi asked.

"That you both, twin girls, have the exact same Keyblade. The odds of two twins having Keyblades would be...almost astronomical, in any normal scenario. And for them to have the exact same Keyblades...that in itself is a very rare occurrence," Aqua explained, still so carefully.

"Ven told me about this married couple who had the same Keyblades before!" Kairi said, a bit defensive.

"The story of Seris and Demitri? So he actually paid attention in some of his lessons, did he? There's a surprise for the ages," Aqua laughed behind her hand. "Well, he was right about that one, I'm pleased to say." She stood and walked over to Xion, and she grasped her shoulders. "Adoptive family is every bit as valid as any other kind of family. In fact, I myself have always considered my Master to be like a father, and my friends Ven and Terra to be almost like brothers to me. And this place...has always been my home."

"You said that before too, about this being your home. How can Castle Oblivion be the home of- well- people like you and Ven, and...Terra?" Kairi said. "Sorry, I hope that doesn't sound bad."

"It's alright, I understand that not everyone here will have...the fondest memories of this place in its current form." Aqua brushed at her hair. "But that's just it: Castle Oblivion isn't this world's true form. It's an iteration created to be a maze, a trap. To trick and confuse any who enter it. To hide away what's important...within it. Ten years ago, I used my Master's old Keyblade to trigger this transformation. It's been this way ever since, doing its job well, apparently."

"You transformed an entire world?" Kairi gaped.

"Well, it wasn't quite as impressive as you make it sound," Aqua laughed. "It wasn't all down to me - it was the Keyblade. The mechanism was already in place. All I did was activate it. And now...I can unlock it again, and let my home shine true again."

"Hey, so how'd you know to come here right now, today?" Sora asked Aqua, confused. "You showed up right in the nick of time - not that I'm complaining - buuuut...how'd you know?"

No she didn't, Kairi thought. If she had, Aeleus and Mio wouldn't be...gone...

Aqua smiled at Sora. "My Master's Keyblade is still deeply connected to this place, in more ways than one; it presented itself to me a short while ago to alert me of dangers back home, so I allowed it to guide me back here again - where I met Xikira at the entrance - and then...I opened a door from there straight to this hall."

"That's a handy Keyblade!" Sora grinned. "Can Kairi's do anything like that?"

"If it can, it doesn't really matter - we don't have a home again just yet," Kairi muttered.

Aqua shook her head. "As I said, my Master's Keyblade shares a deep connection to this world. It's rather...unique, in that sense."

"Awesome!" Sora beamed at her, hands behind his head.

Kairi frowned, looking again to Mio's...body.

Aqua followed her gaze. "Would you want to...give him some kind of burial?"

Kairi nodded silently. "I think I have an important question for you, too..."

"What's that?" Aqua said, attentive.

"How are all of us getting back to Traverse Town together?"

"Don't you still have Mickey's Star Shard?" Aqua asked.

"Yes - I'm not using it again," Kairi said flatly.

"Yeah, that's how we lost Riku," Sora said quietly.

Aqua stared, then smacked her forehead. "I was wondering who was missing!" she exclaimed, flushing. "What happened to him? What do you mean he-"

"He let go," Kairi said, still flat and emotionless. "He went off into the Ocean Between...somewhere."

"Well...then we have two people to find, don't we? As for getting ourselves to this Traverse Town, I think we can figure something out," Aqua assured. "Though, it might not be the most comfortable ride in the World..."