Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Some other guys do.

A/N: Well, I'm back...no, I wasn't dead. (or was I...?) I suppose I could blame Kingdom Hearts II for the late-ness of this chapter, but it's a little too late for that, huh? >->;; However, KHII has been giving me, er, complications...-sigh- Well, either way, remember that I started writing this before it came out, so if it goes a little against KHII logic (in future chapters), that's the way the wind blows.

Enough of my yammering...here's Chapter 3! Enjoy!

Chapter Three: Return

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Sora was no longer dreaming – this was reality.

He blinked several times, but the scene remained the same. He was staring up at the same deep, crystal-clear blue sky that he had known his entire life – the sky above his home. He was back on Destiny Islands. Sora jolted upright to survey his surroundings, and there was no doubt about it. Turning to look behind him, he saw that vibrant palm trees dotted the horizon, which was broken by the jagged border formed by the peaks of rooftops. This was one of the main islands, the one where he had actually lived. This was the one thing that had been different from his dream; Sora had been dreaming of the small islet where he, Riku, and Kairi often met.

"Sora!"

Sora's heart leapt hopefully the instant he heard his name, silently praying that the voice belonged Riku or Kairi. His heart fell when he turned to see that the source of the voice was Donald, although he was almost as relieved to discover that his companions were here, too. Goofy sat on the nearby sand, looking as confused as Sora felt.

"Hey, guys!" Sora called. "What's going on?" His voice seemed as if it was coming from far away, and everything felt surprisingly murky and disconnected, as if he wasn't fully awake yet. Could he still be dreaming?

"How are we supposed to know?" Donald replied grumpily. "Aren't you the one that lived here?"

Sora wondered for a moment how Donald knew this was Destiny Island, but he remembered that near the end of their adventure they had stumbled upon a twisted version of his home. Turning back, Sora stared at the water, tracing patterns in the damp beach sand. "The last thing I remember…" He rubbed his temples, searching through his foggy mind for answers. "We had just closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, and Riku and the King were on the other side. We were walking down a twisting road, and then we chased Pluto, who had a letter with the king's seal. But after that…" His voice trailed off. "Just…more running down the road?"

"Yeah, that's about all I remember, too," Goofy confirmed.

What had happened? It seemed as if there was a gap in Sora's memory, as if the road they had been following just faded away into nothingness. But how could a road lead here? This was an island, after all, and Sora didn't remember crossing any water at all (not that he remembered much of anything after closing the door), much less an ocean. Sora shook his head in frustration. What was wrong with him? "It just doesn't make any sense," he muttered to himself.

"Aw, stop thinking about it," Donald grumbled. "I guess no one knows what's happened. The point is we're here, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Sora glanced at his friend. He was glad that he wasn't alone, and he was back at Destiny Islands. This was the perfect opportunity to see Kairi again, to see how she was doing here alone. Maybe Donald was right – he should stop worrying about how he got here, and start figuring out a way to get back on track. He didn't think that this was where Riku had ended up, but even then…who knew? Kairi had come here after the door had been closed, and now Sora was here. Nothing was making much sense in the first place, so couldn't Riku have shown up at Destiny Islands, too?

Sora nodded to himself, a new goal now in sight. "Yeah, Donald, I guess you're right. Maybe we're here for a reason, after all!"

"It could be destiny!" Donald replied jokingly.

"Gawrsh, Sora, you're soaked!" Goofy suddenly chimed in, eyeing Sora.

"Yeah, we should probably move farther up the shore," he said, and glanced at his sopping clothing, which was dark with the water.

Then again…maybe it wasn't the water that made his clothes dark.

"What the --" Sora staggered up, examining his outfit. "I may not remember much, but I definitely was not wearing this! I've never seen these clothes in my life!"

Instead of the black and white hooded shirt, red shorts, and giant yellow shoes that he always wore, Sora was now clad in mostly black attire riddled with straps and zippers, with two large pouches strapped to the legs. Even his gloves and shoes were different. Sora had been so caught up in his sudden appearance on Destiny Islands, he hadn't even noticed that he was wearing different clothes. He wouldn't have really minded, but he was a little annoyed by all the unexpected occurrences that seemed to be popping up, along with the fact that he was perfectly fine with his old outfit.

As he was looking over the new clothes, a sudden realization came over Sora. All his items had been in his pockets! He hastily opened one of the new pockets, and breathed a sigh of relief when his fingers closed on one of his many keychains. He emptied out the contents of both pockets in the sand, taking inventory of all his items. In one pocket had been his various potions that were contained in small vials, and in the other, the keychains. Lining up the keychains in the sand before him, Sora looked over the sparkling trinkets to assure himself that they were all there. The only one that was missing was the Oblivion, which he assumed was attached to the Keyblade. Just then, Sora realized something else he hadn't noticed – the Keyblade wasn't with him!

Woah, I'm really not myself, he thought. C'mon, Sora! Focus!

Sora concentrated on the Keyblade with all his heart, picturing its sleek form and imagining its weight and feel in his hand, willing it to return to him. As soon as he did so, the weapon materialized in his grasp, the sun's rays dancing on the smooth black surface. His suspicions were confirmed – the Oblivion keychain dangled from the hilt. Sighing with relief, Sora unclipped the black crown and set it next to the other tokens, while the Keyblade returned to its original Kingdom Key form. His eyes immediately traveled to another object in the group, and he picked it up. It was a small cluster of Thalassa shells, tied together with great care in the form of a star. A small, painted-on face smiled up at Sora, and he smiled warmly back. It as the Oathkeeper that Kairi had given him in the secret waterway of Traverse Town – her lucky charm, which he had promised to one day return to her.

Maybe I'll be returning this to you sooner that I expected...

Maybe I'm finally home for good.

Just as Sora was about to clip the Oathkeeper to his Keyblade, he noticed that there was a small chip in it. "Not even…" Sora let out a sigh as he tried to polish the charm on the leg of his pants.

"What's wrong?" Goofy asked, as he and Donald made their way over to Sora.

"It's Kairi's good luck charm." He showed them the chip. "It must have happened when it was mixed in with all the other keychains, but I promised Kairi that I'd keep it safe. I can't believe I didn't take better care of it…"

"Gawrsh, do you suppose it could mean anything?" Goofy asked, with a concerned expression on his face.

"Of course not!" Donald snapped. "It's just a chip. The thing was clankin' around against all those other keychains in his pocket while Sora was jumping around and fighting. It's not surprising that it got cracked."

Sora blushed a little when it realized that he really had been pretty careless, but Goofy comforted him. "Don't worry, Kairi's your friend. I'm sure she'll understand."

Sora nodded, and fastened the sparkling Oathkeeper onto his Keyblade. With a blinding light, the Keyblade changed its form. It was now an icy, pale silver color, with beautiful, sharp snowflake-like points that had razor-sharp edges. He was relived to see that the nick in the keychain seemed to have no effect on the weapon itself, and gave it a powerful swing.

Maybe I won't have to fight anymore.

"Well, are we going to stand around all day, or what?"

"Gawrsh, Donald, we just got here. Besides, Sora has no idea what's happened."

Maybe all the answers are here.

"We'll never find anything out if we just stay here! C'mon, Sora, he doesn't know what he's talking about!"

Maybe my search is over…

"Donald…"

Maybe Kairi and I can be together again…

"Donald, Goofy…let's go."

Maybe…

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A/N: ...And there you have it. I'm sorry this chapter is a little short, I had to cut part of it out. I'm sorry to say that the next chapter probably won't come any sooner than this one did, due to Nami--I mean, -cough- complications. As always, thanks to everyone who reads this, and my friends who help me to keep it comin'! -hugs-

Questions, Comments, or Complaints? Call 813-OBLIVION...Or, for the sake of your phone bill, just leave a review.

Peace, love, and guitar picks!