Author's Note:

Hi there, to everyone who decides to read my work! I put out a bit of a disclaimer in my biography about my writing, but I'll restate the main points here. I'm a huge Kingdom Hearts fan and the ending of KH3, ReMind, and MoM left me on a very miserable cliffhanger. Sora is my favorite character of all time across all franchises that I love, so the ending I got left with was pretty devastating. We all know that KH installments take a long time to release, so I decided to do some writing to keep myself from going crazy while I wait to figure out what's going on with Sora. The main disclaimer I wanted to make is that, if you find yourself reading this, I'm guessing you're a pretty big KH fan like me, so you probably know a lot of the lore of the KH universe as a whole. With that being said, this story takes place following ReMind and around where MoM left off, but I will be putting my own twist on things. I'm letting my creativity run wild and I'm just going with it and enjoying writing whatever comes to me. Because of this, I'm going to stray away from several of the original events that have happened in Kingdom Hearts, and some of the story line will contradict things that have already happened in the games. This will mostly be in line with the ending of KH3, but please bear in mind that I'm going to be manipulating and tailoring certain events and plot points that have happened throughout all the games. Regardless, I hope you enjoy reading it, and if you don't, that's okay, too! Lastly, I won't add this disclaimer again after the first chapter. I'll include author's notes preceding chapters whenever necessary.

This story will follow the point of view's of various characters; each will be listed at the start of the chapter. Of course, as you might expect, major KH3 spoilers ahead!

Chapter One: Water Under the Bridge

Riku

This room was the embodiment of warmth and comfort, even in all of its peculiar and eccentric glory. I had spent a great deal of time here, especially over the events of this past year. In fact, it was as if it had become my home. The familiar islands I once inhabited had become something of a faint memory; I hadn't visited a single time since my best friend disappeared. Day and night, I dedicated myself to researching and seeking out clues regarding his whereabouts, holding onto as much hope as I could that he would return safe and sound.

I had to admit something to myself, something that had become a difficult concept to accept. The amount of time since his disappearance was only growing longer and longer each day, and with each moment that passed, my optimism was steadily being challenged. On one hand, I could easily give credit to Sora for helping me maintain a positive attitude in the past, so maybe I could argue with myself that it was simply his absence that was affecting me to such a degree. But, I feared that this idea was entirely untrue. I was afraid of the reality that I might soon have to face. There was a great possibility that he was...just gone. Time and time again, he'd proven his endurance and strength to be tried and true; in the most grueling of circumstances, he'd always managed to pull through and find his way back. This time, he had been gone longer than ever before and because of this, I feared the worst.

It did, however, occur to me that there had been a change in him that I'd noticed when I was last with him. His buoyancy had temporarily wavered, albeit fleeting, but it had surely happened. His rose-colored glasses had seemingly cracked in that instant. In the wake of the ultimate battle against Xehanort and his many forms at the Keyblade Graveyard, it appeared that the guardians of light had succumbed to defeat. The war against darkness was lost. It was darkness that seemed to have triumphed. In that moment, Sora had fallen to his knees, accepting defeat, a look glossing over his eyes that I had never before seen in him. It was that day, for the first time, that it was my turn to encourage him to push forward and stand up tall, and in the end, he was the one to save all of us and ultimately take down Xehanort, our long-time adversary. Despite weakness finally bleeding through his shell of certainty and confidence, he still managed to pave the way toward victory for all of us.

Yet, following the hard-fought war, something about him had permanently changed and I knew I couldn't have been the only one to see it. A certain degree of seriousness had taken over his demeanor and attitude; while he remained seemingly optimistic and self-assured, he carried himself differently. His cerulean eyes had become deeper, less childish and innocent looking, and he smiled a little less. His cheerful disposition seemed to be nonexistent, even though he still remained levelheaded and collected. At the time, I completely brushed it off and paid no mind to it. It'd crossed my mind briefly and the observation left my head as fast as it had come.

But now, I had ample time to think and ponder the thought, and I could no longer keep it to myself. It seemed to be something insignificant and not worth considering, but I felt strongly that it could point to a clue about him. Or maybe, it was simply wishful thinking as I was losing hope every single day. Regardless, I knew that I needed to explore the idea. Sure, you could contribute his newfound temperament to the severity of the circumstances at the time and the fact that it may have been a humbling and terrifying event for him, thinking he had lost everyone that he loved and cared about. Especially her, the girl he'd spent so many years chasing and trying to protect. Rescuing her, in fact, was how we'd ended up in the situation. However, I couldn't simply accept that. There had to be more to it. There was no one that I knew better than him. I remember distinctly seeing that the look in his eyes, the way he held himself, had completely shifted, even if it was, at the same time, considerably discreet.

Deep in thought, I once again made myself aware of my surroundings and where I was. I looked around, noticing the warm, orange lighting that was cast across the room, the stone walls, and the mystical energy that this place carried itself with. All of these factors brought a certain charm to it, something that could not be replicated. Merlin's home was surely aligned with him and his characteristics. I would know, considering all the time I'd spent here. I was toying with the computer in front of me when I heard the door creak open behind me. I didn't turn around to see who it was. Merlin's magic cast a spell of protection over the place, disallowing any unwanted guests from entering. Because of that, I was confident that whoever it was would be no cause for concern. I continued what I was doing, waiting for them to eventually announce themselves.

"You're back at the computer?" they asked. It was a voice I could recognize without turning to see who it was. Leon. "You've put in hours on there and still haven't found anything."

I shifted myself in my seat, finally turning my body to face him. "You're right." I paused. "But maybe I'm just missing something. The one thing this data has showed me is that Sora was at the peak of his strength when he disappeared. That has to be a factor on his side. There must be something in his data to point us in the right direction."

He looked down and shook his head. Leon wasn't one to have the most positive outlook on things, but I could sense that he often held back with me; he didn't want to diminish what hope I had left. He retorted, "Hmph...maybe."

"Leon," I began. "Can I ask you something?"

He leaned his body back against the wall, crossing his arms. He looked forward, toward the dresser on the other side of the room, without turning to face me. "What's that?"

"Before he disappeared, did you notice that Sora was...different? I mean, it was like his attitude changed or something." I looked down. "But maybe I just imagined it."

He chuckled under his breath and shook his head. "No." He continued to look straight ahead. "You definitely didn't imagine it. I've already discussed it with Ansem."

This caught my attention and I sat straight up in my chair. "Really? And what did he say?"

"Well, we went over all of his reports and research. Sora's heart was always an anomaly and hard to understand. Almost one of a kind."

I half smiled, briefly reminiscing in the memories I held of Sora. His heart truly was unique and he brought a certain lightheartedness to every situation. "Right...but what does that mean then?" I stopped to find my next words. "It was like...he was more serious, right? Something shifted."

"That's exactly what me and Ansem thought. We wanted to know why, so we did some research. Not saying him acting a little more serious about things was anything substantial, but anything is worth considering at this point."

"Yeah...exactly." I was growing more and more curious now. "So, did you find anything?"

"Maybe." He briefly paused. I knew he had always been hesitant to share all of his thoughts with me, but he continued. "Do you remember how Sora had fragments of other people's hearts within his own?"

"I remember."

"That kid...Ventus. We think he had something to do with it."

"In what way?" I questioned.

"Well, he's a lot like Sora, isn't he? Always high-spirited."

"That's right. But why is that important?"

"Since childhood, Sora had a half of Ventus' heart residing within himself. That's why Ventus' dark side, Vanitas, took on Sora's appearance. Looking through his research, Ansem found notes on the effects Ventus' heart could have had on Sora. We never got to see much of him before he held a part of Ventus in his heart."

"Yeah. I think he was four when it happened. We were friends, but I really can't remember much of that time myself."

Leon nodded. "No one could expect you to."

"So Ventus' heart changed Sora?"

"Ventus had his darkness extracted by Xehanort, giving birth to Vanitas. That left Ventus with only a half of himself, a half that was made up of pure light. This half took refuge in Sora's heart. Even as a complete and whole person, Ventus maintains an ebullient disposition, much like the Sora we knew." He finally turned his head to face me. "Considering the piece of Ventus Sora held was purely light, we think that it had a great impact on Sora's personality."

"So he changed when he gave Ventus back the other half of his heart?"

Leon once again nodded. "That's exactly what we think." He continued to cross his arms, now propping one foot up and against the wall behind him. "But according to Ansem's research, a change like this wouldn't happen instantly. Sora's individual characteristics would gradually come through, which is why the changes in him were mostly subtle at the time."

"So…" I thought for a moment. "Maybe he's a little different than before. What does that mean exactly? Where do we go from here?"

"We aren't sure. That's why I hadn't mentioned it to you yet, but since you asked, we might as well put it out in the open. It's just something to consider."

"And what exactly should we be considering?" I asked.

"Well, like I said, it really could be nothing. But one thing that Ansem thinks is for sure, is that Sora would now be more susceptible to darkness. He lost a beacon of light that lived inside of him for all these years. I'm sure he's still a strong willed person, but he's probably a bit more vulnerable than before. But who knows? Maybe less naivety is the best thing for him."

"Yeah…he always was a little too forgiving and quick to trust. I guess that's why he had so many friends. Why there's so many people searching for him."

Leon quickly turned to look at me directly. "Let's not talk about him in the past tense until we're certain that we should be."

"R-right…" I stammered. It was definitely an odd scene, one where Leon was the one trying to comfort and motivate me. I went on, "So…what else then?"

"We did have a thought…" Leon's voice drifted off at the end, as if his statement was more of a question.

"Go on." Why did he always have to keep me in suspense?

"Roxas is Sora's Nobody. We know that for sure. We think he might be a factor in guiding us toward Sora."

"That might make sense. How so?" I wondered.

"Well, if Ventus was impacting Sora's personality traits, we both know that Roxas' personality has always been the opposite of those two. But Roxas came from Sora, and a Nobody always imitates and resembles their true self. So, if anything, maybe Sora's underlying traits are what we see in Roxas."

"Right…Roxas definitely isn't very cheerful…but he would do anything to protect his friends. That last part is definitely something that wouldn't change about Sora."

"Exactly," Leon agreed. "Which is where Roxas comes in to help. Or at least we think. If it's true that he's the most like minded with Sora now, we might be able to use him to trace Sora's steps. He would know exactly how Sora might think or react in a situation. Combined with yours and Kairi's dreams, maybe Roxas can lead us from there. He's more connected to Sora than anyone else."

"Right. Let's reach out to him."

Leon sighed, putting his hand in front of his face and shaking his head. "We tried. He's been difficult to reach. He was working closely with those kids in Twilight Town as well as Xion and Axel, trying to find leads on Sora. We're not sure where they've been or what they've been up to."

"Well how did you try to contact him then?"

"Well…Merlin tried a summoning spell…but he got Roxas and Ventus confused and it didn't quite work out…" He sighed. "Then I thought I would visit Twilight Town and look, so Merlin used his magic to send me there, but not even the local town folk were quite sure where they'd all gone."

I pulled my gummiphone out of my pocket and waved it in the air. "Would've been a lot easier to try this."

Leon looked at the phone, visibly embarrassed. I let out a small laugh under my breath. "Right…" he muttered. "Forgot you guys have those things now…"

By the time he could finish speaking, I already had the phone dialing. It only took a few rings before a familiar face appeared on the screen, the blue eyes, the blonde spiky hair. There was a time when I saw this very face as the enemy, unleashing the power of darkness within me to defeat him, and now, here I was, talking to him as equals and seeking out help.

"Hey." His voice was always naturally soft yet firm, distinct, even from Ventus, his unlikely twin of sorts.

"Roxas…" I began. "Where are you?" I could vaguely make out the tattered wallpaper behind him, considering the environment he was in was so very low lighting, making it hard to see. "Is that…the old mansion?"

"Yeah," Roxas stated. "Been coming here a lot to clear my head."

I looked over at Leon. "The old mansion? Really, Leon? I thought you said no one could find him! I could have just as easily checked there."

Roxas interjected. "I've been spending my time here lately. The rest of us…Hayner, Pence, Olette, Axel, Xion…" He stopped for a moment. "They've been hanging out at the usual spot and the clock tower. So I guess none of the locals really go there either." He chuckled a bit. "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch…honestly, I just needed a reprieve from everything. The search is really taking a toll on me. It's like I feel what he's feeling…if he's out there. I feel sad."

I smiled ear to ear. "Yes! That's exactly what I want to hear!"

Roxas' eyes grew big, he pulled his head back, looking shocked and even offended. "You're happy because I'm sad?" He shook his head. "I thought you were over what happened back at The World that Never Was…"

"Oh, no!" I brushed the back of my head, laughing nervously, a little embarrassed. "That's water under the bridge!" I sighed. "No, see, the thing is…me and Leon were having this idea…we need your help." I was hoping that he would allow me to temporarily spare him the details. The more I thought about all of this, there was a huge chance that it was all just a stretch, that we were running around in circles trying to find a lead, and that this might just be a move of desperation. Either way, I held onto the sliver of hope all of this presented me with.

Then, just like that, he didn't hesitate. There were no questions asked.

He nodded. "Meet me at the clock tower in Twilight Town tonight."

I smiled to myself. Right. I thought. Just like Sora. Always ready to help his friends.