The morning forest chittered with the sounds of wildlife.

"Hey, Raven?"

Raven blinked, startled from her thoughts, and looked over at Ruby, a strange, wistful look in her eye for an instant before a cold mask of impassiveness slid over her features. "Yes?"

The pair were walking slightly ahead of the remainder of the group: Qrow, whose eyesight had recovered near completely the day before, Jaune, who still stared at Raven with suspicion, and Ren and Nora, who were themselves trepidatious towards the tribe leader who had forced her way into their group but ultimately respected Ruby's decision to allow Raven as, at the least, a guide to the Mistralian backcountry and someone else to help fight any Grimm that they encountered.

Raven tilted her head to indicate Ruby should continue.

"You knew my mom, right?" Ruby asked.

Raven's eyebrow lifted, and the ghost of a mocking smile appeared on her face. Ruby realized, at that moment, how much Yang looked like Raven. But where Yang would have made a wisecrack, Raven seemed content to let Ruby simmer in awareness of her own now painfully obvious statement.

"Okay, stupid question," Ruby said. "I mean, you were on the same team, so yeah, of course you knew her. I'm rambling. Sorry."

They passed over a tree that had fallen onto the trail; Raven vaulted it in a smooth motion, and Ruby climbed atop it and leapt down.

"We weren't just on the same team. We were partners."

"Did not know that," Ruby said. "Listen, it's just — Dad and Uncle Qrow don't talk about her very much, and I don't actually remember her very well. I just thought you might be able to tell me a little more about her."

Raven sighed. "Yes, I can tell you about Summer. We met during initiation, as most teams do. We didn't get along right from the start. When teams were formed, I felt I should have been our leader, as she seemed inexperienced and foolish to me. Once, she stopped to help a beggar, and he robbed her. I think I yelled at her about that after I'd tracked the asshole down and gotten her wallet back."

The same wistful expression from before crossed Raven's face as Ruby watched and listened.

"She was ruthless — pragmatic and practical when she wanted to be, but never selfishly. She was optimistic, but it never made her a fool. It was how she'd learned to cope with how harsh the world was: she saw the best in everyone and treated them with kindness. Even me. I think when I was with her, I was happy."

Raven stopped at the edge of the forest. Ruby looked up at her and looked back down as she saw the woman's eyes glisten with unshed tears. Raven exhaled as if she was expelling her own emotions and her usual cool expression fell into place. "Does that answer your question?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "I think it does, yeah."

Raven gave Ruby a strange look for a long moment. She looked away and said simply, "You look a lot like her."

Then she nodded out towards the distance, and Ruby's eyes slid over from the woman and over the forest and to the city that lay before them.

She gasped, realizing that they'd reached Mistral at long last.

It was a many-layered city stretching up the cliff sides of a mountain that had been split in two. From the ridge they were standing on, Ruby could see the smaller dwellings beneath, giving way to the commercial districts and the upper-class buildings further towards the peak.

"That's Haven Academy," Raven said, pointing to a sizable cluster of buildings on a plateau. She moved her finger down to one of the lower residential areas, filled with identical apartment blocks. "I have a safe house in that district, though. We're going there first."

"We should report to Headmaster Lionheart first," Qrow said, stepping up beside them.

"You should really listen to your older sister more," Raven said, stepping back down onto the path down the ridge and to Mistral.

"You—you're—" Qrow sputtered. "You're only six minutes older!"

"Still counts," Raven said, a slight singsong lilt to her voice.

Jaune stepped up beside Ruby and Qrow, with Ren and Nora filling in behind them. "We really made it," he said.

"Yeah. We made it," Ruby said, cracking a grin.


The liminal space holding the Final Keyhole was silent for a long moment, with only the distant churning of energies creating a noise.

Before Cloud, impaled through the disintegrating corpse of a Behemoth and embedded into the ground, was Masamune.

"Sephiroth," Cloud shouted. He looked around furiously; his grip on the Buster Sword tightened. "Get out here, Sephiroth!"

"Sora," Summer called out. She quickly ensured her rifle was loaded and whirled around, pressing her left hand into her stomach to staunch the blood oozing out of her reopening wound. "Get to the Keyhole! I'll cover you."

Sora ran for the Keyhole in the middle distance. Donald and Goofy followed, wary of attackers.

Summer's eyes flicked around worriedly, her hand trembling as she waited for anything to appear. She silently stepped over to stand besides Cloud.

"Watch out," Cloud said. Wordlessly, he cast a healing spell on Summer. Her wound began to knit itself together again.

"I figured," Summer quietly responded.

Sora raised the Keyblade and pointed it at the Keyhole. A beam of light shot from the tip of the Keyblade into the lock and as Sora turned the key, it clicked shut. The ground shook as he did so.

"Okay, mission complete. Let's get out of here," Summer said, glancing towards the exit. She backwards towards it, eyes flicking back and forth, watching Sora and companions running towards them. Cloud stepped backwards at the same pace, his grip tight around the hilt of the Buster Sword.

Sora passed them and climbed through the exit, Donald and Goofy following through a second later. Summer stepped through with Cloud entering the grand hall a moment later. As he passed through the threshold he exhaled sharply.

On the central platform that led up into the portal, Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie were waiting.

"We're clear, Keyhole sealed. Let's shut this thing down," Summer called out.

There was a gentle whine and the sounds of sparking and energy rushing through the copper pipes began to fade. The portal itself darkened until it was a plain black wall.

"It shut itself down," Leon commented.

"That's not disconcerting," Summer said sarcastically. "Where's the Beast?"

"With Belle," Aerith said. "He's all healed up."

"You did it, Sora," Leon said, resting his hand on Sora's shoulder. "I can never thank you enough for helping us get back here."

"So this was your home?" Sora asked.

"Yeah," Yuffie added.

Leon nodded. "It's worse than I thought it would be, but the foundations are solid. Once we get the castle cleared of Heartless we can use it as a base as we work on clearing out the town."

"We've still got a problem," Summer said. "The Keyhole is sealed—"

"—but Ansem still lurks in the darkness," the blonde Princess in the silver-white gown finished, ascending the steps with her skirts lifted. "We do thank you as well, Sora, and you, Summer, and the rest of you. But I'm afraid that the Keyhole and that vast tide of darkness wasn't the ending of things."

"We need to analyze his research," Aerith said. "If Ansem is out there, then we need to know where, and why."

Summer flipped open her bag and fished out the pages. "Here. He talks about — something about bringing the hearts of the world together." She handed them to Aerith, who passed some to the Princess.

"First," Leon said. "We need to clear out some rooms — I think we need a place to rest."

As the others continued chatting, Summer's gaze flicked over to Cloud. He was standing away from the others, looking out towards a corner of the room. As Summer stepped away from Leon and the others, she could see the tension in Cloud's shoulders, and as she stepped up beside him, she could see how impossibly faraway his gaze seemed. He was clearly shaken.

"Sephiroth will be waiting for us," Cloud said quietly after a long moment. "That's what he was trying to say."

Summer's breath hitched, and she looked at Cloud. The shock and hesitation coloring her expression faded into hard-set resolution.

She said simply, "Then we'll face him together."

She held out a hand; he took it. His thumb traced circles on the back of her hand as they stood together.


Summer's eyes snapped open suddenly. Her quick breathing evened out towards normalcy. She swallowed and wiped the sweat from her brow.

The room was silent. They'd co-opted what had once been the quarters for Ansem's research assistants, judging from the amount of lab coats hanging in the closets and the research materials littered on tables or discarded on the floor. There couldn't have been more than six or seven of them, based on the number of beds. Whatever sorrow she felt that they'd been displaced from their home if not killed by the Heartless was washed away with the understanding that they very well may have been complicit in bringing those Heartless here in conducting Ansem's dark research.

Summer emerged from the bed and silently passed over sleeping forms. In the corner, the Beast was curled up in a makeshift nest of blankets, Belle curled up into his fur. His servants, which had been retrieved from the Blackjack, slumbered on a nearby table. Sora slept on one of the cots Leon and company had brought up from the Shera.

Cloud's empty cot signified that he was the current watchman, waiting in the hall in case any Heartless emerged.

Summer stepped out onto the balcony and into the cool night air. She stepped up to the intricately carved stone railing. The town below looked positively lifeless from so high — although, aside from Heartless, it was literally lifeless, without any lights to signify human presence.

"Can't sleep?"

Summer turned around at the unfamiliar voice. It was one of the Princesses, the one with golden hair that fell down past her shoulders. She was dressed in Aerith's clothes — a too large sweater and leggings. Even dressed like that, even lit only by dim moonlight, Summer thought she was stunning.

Summer shook her head. "Nope."

"Me neither," the Princess said with a smile, stepping up to lean against the railing with Summer. "It's a problem of mine, unfortunately." She lifted an eyebrow. "I'm Aurora."

"Summer Rose."

Aurora smiled. "How strange. Rose is my name, too, in a way."

"Weird," Summer said, a soft smile gracing her face.

They stood there for a while in silence, looking out over the town together. "It's sad," Aurora said finally. "I imagine it was quite lovely, in its day."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Summer quietly agreed. "Do you mind if I ask — is it insomnia or nightmares?"

"Both," Aurora said.

Summer let out a morose huff. "It's nightmares for me."

"I was cursed when I was an infant," Aurora began. "Maleficent cast a spell such that, on my sixteenth birthday, I would prick my finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. Aunt Merry — Merryweather — used her magic so I would merely fall into a deep sleep when it happened. My Aunts and Phillip defeated Maleficent and freed me, but I've had trouble sleeping ever since."

Summer offered her a hand. Aurora took and gently squeezed it.

"I'm from a world filled with monsters called Grimm," Summer said. "The queen of the Grimm captured me and somehow I ended up in a world of darkness. I still have nightmares about it, the endless fighting and being unable to escape. I don't even understand how I escaped — I think it has something to do with my eyes — but then I wound up out here in the great cosmos, separated from everyone I've ever known. I want to go home, but — I can't just stand aside while the Heartless destroy everything."

"None of us can." Aurora tilted her head slightly. "You have magical eyes?"

"Yeah. See, my father was a member of a tribe of warriors, all with eyes that are this silver." Summer pointed at her eye. "When they trained them, really focused them, they could vaporize Grimm with, like, eye beams or whatever. I'm not very good with them. They're finicky, and I've only ever used them twice, both times accidentally." She sighed.

"You'll get there." Aurora squeezed Summer's hand again reassuringly. "We're learning about our powers too."

They spent a long moment in silence, looking up at the stars.

"It's really impossible, isn't it?" Summer asked. "All those worlds. If you'd asked me a year ago, I'd have said that other worlds couldn't exist. We — my people, and by my people I mean everyone where I'm from, not just my father's tribe — we've never gone into space. Not for lack of trying. We've tried and never made it. I used to dream about what other worlds were like, but now that I'm so far from home all I want to do is go back. I just want to see my family again."

Without realizing it, tears ran down the sides of her face. She began to sob.

Aurora gently pulled her by the hand into a hug.


The next morning began a flurry of activity.

Sora's group along with Leon and Cloud began systematically working their way through the castle, clearing it of Heartless as Summer, Aerith, and some of the Princesses — aided by Jiminy Cricket, the Royal Chronicler accompanying Donald and Goofy — set up in the library and began to read Ansem's compiled research.

"This is impenetrable," Summer griped. "So what is Kingdom Hearts?"

Aerith cleared her throat. "Kingdom Hearts — at least, the way he's talking about it — is the amalgamation of all the worlds' hearts, or at least a large number. All the hearts of the worlds destroyed by the Heartless have created Kingdom Hearts."

At the end of the table, Jiminy Cricket furiously took notes in a journal that probably wasn't even the size of Summer's palm.

"He believes it's a source of infinite knowledge," Belle said, rearranging some of the pages she was reading.

Summer cleared her throat. "So if it gets destroyed, where do all those world-hearts go?"

"Hopefully, back to recombine with their disparate parts," the Princess in the silver-white gown — whose name Summer had learned was Cinderella — said as she descended from the upper level of the library, a tray of tea balanced delicately with one hand as the other held up her skirt. Behind her, Kairi carried another, smaller tray bearing cookies. They strode to the table and began to pass the refreshments around. "If that happens, everything returns to how it was. All of our worlds come back, and the world order returns."

Summer nodded, rubbing her head.

"Hey," Princess Jasmine of Agrabah piped up from where she was seated, "Ansem's a Heartless, right?"

"He looked human," Summer said. "But he definitely didn't…feel right."

"Two seconds." Belle raised one of the reports. "In this one he talks about a Heartless that maintained its original form and intelligence through willpower. It could be about himself."

Summer cleared her throat. "So let me get this straight. Ansem, who is functionally the ruler of the world, finds this door under his castle along with a bunch of Heartless and he starts conducting experiments to make more," she said. "Thanks to…someone else, another King—"

"That might be King Mickey," Jiminy Cricket interjected. "He travels between worlds in a gummi ship."

"Right," Summer said. "Ansem finds out about the Keyblade, the Princesses, and maybe Kingdom Hearts, which ties them all together. He becomes a Heartless and begins destroying worlds to create Kingdom Hearts so he can use it to become all-knowing. So, what, we go to Kingdom Hearts and stop him, right?"

Around the room, the research team nodded.

"You need the Keyblade," Belle said, tapping her notes.

"Then we talk to Sora," Summer said.

Kairi cleared her throat. Everyone's heads turned to look over at her. Summer noted that she was flipping a large, palm-sized charm over and over in her hand. It was made of five seashells strung together in a star shape. "Let me talk to him," she said.

Summer nodded quietly and returned to her notes. She rifled through each page — one for each subject. The ones concerning Heartless were messy, bullet pointed noting down things she'd noticed including her own sixth sense for Heartless — or more broadly the darkness that permeated the air around them.

"I need to get a better way of organizing these," Summer said.

"Try a journal," Jiminy said, holding out his own.

"That one's too small," Summer said. "But I'll look into it."

There was a nearly-blank page. Summer turned it over to read the heading. Printed in blocky letters atop the page was the name "Sephiroth."

"And that's the other problem," Summer mumbled to herself.


When Summer found him, Cloud was sitting atop a large, circular table in the castle's dim chapel. His eyes were closed as if he were sleeping, but as Summer approached, he opened one to look at her before opening both.

"Hey," Summer said, hopping up to sit next to him. "How you doing? You've been quiet today."

"Bad," Cloud said.

"Is this about Sephiroth?"

Cloud responded with a slight nod. He was silent for a long moment.

"Listen, if we're going to fight this Sephiroth guy, I need to know what I'm dealing with," Summer said, breaking the silence. "I don't need to know your personal backstory with the guy, just who he is."

Cloud nodded again. He drew in a deep breath, exhaled, breathed in again, and began to speak. "Sephiroth was the product of a research project. He became a legendary swordsman, but when he found out about the terrible experiments that created him, he went insane. He was the only one skilled enough to use Masamune and his magical powers were just as dangerous."

"And Masamune is a seven foot long nodachi," Summer said.

"Right," Cloud said. "He's fast with it, and precise."

"The fight is going to be down to range," Summer mused. "I've got my guns, but I'll need to get in close to do any real damage."

"Exactly," Cloud said. "And there's two of us."

Summer stood abruptly. "I've got it." She began to pace. "Raven and I figured this out years ago, it'll totally work."

"Back up," Cloud said. "You mentioned her before. Who is Raven?"

Summer blinked. "Oh. Raven is my old combat school partner. We were on a four-man team together — STRQ. It was me, Taiyang, Raven, and Raven's brother Qrow." Summer flushed slightly. "Raven and I became, um, partners in the other sense."

Cloud raised his hands. "Just to be clear — romantic partners?"

"Uh, yes," Summer said, nodding. "After graduation we sort of mutually agreed to invite Tai in — which was its own mess, because he's not really, like, that into the romance part, he was more interested in the being-together and making-a-family part, which is why he and I got legally married and between the three of us we have two daughters — Ruby and Yang. Ruby's three, and Yang is five." Summer's face fell. "And then I said a lot of things I regret to Raven and she left and then I got captured by an evil witch and now I'm here."

Cloud shrugged. "You were going to talk about some strategy for defeating Sephiroth?"

Summer's eyes lit up. "Right! Raven and I were competing in this tournament called the Vytal Festival in our last year. It was the doubles round, so we separated the other pair in one of the cover-heavy sections of the arena. I would go in first, draw their attention, and then Raven would attack from their flank."

"Did it work?"

"Yes and no," Summer said. "First one yes, she took down his Aura, second one we ran into complications and I got knocked out."

"What sort of complications?"

"The man hid a rocket launcher in his titanium mace," Summer said, shrugging. "Blasted me right out of the arena."

"I don't think that's a problem we're going to have with Sephiroth's sword," Cloud said. "But you're sure you want to distract him while I take the flank?"

"Absolutely," Summer said. "You forget — my Semblance is speed. I can move as fast as my Aura will let me." She reached out her hand. "Is that a plan?"

Cloud took it and used it to help him get off the table. "I guess that's a plan."


All told, it took six days for them to prepare.

Chip and Dale repaired the Blackjack. The paint scuffs and patches remained, but the engines and warp drive had been given a clean bill of health.

Summer and Cloud tasked themselves with helping Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith clean out the castle of Heartless.

The Beast, meanwhile, had given himself the task of safeguarding the Princesses of Heart as they spent the days learning all they could of their own powers and what they could glean from Ansem's compiled research.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy gallivanted around, visiting places to gather resources for the final assault. When they returned on the evening of the fourth day, it was with a bounty — fresh fruits, candies, and breads. As they ate Sora told the tale of how they had won it all at the Olympus Coliseum in a grueling tournament placed before them by Hades.

Only his story of fighting a silver-haired man in a black coat soured Cloud and Summer's feast.


The morning they were set to embark, Summer ate very little breakfast. Mealtime passed quickly and soon enough they were all assembled in the castle's foyer.

"We may never see each other again," Leon declared. "But we'll never forget each other."

"No matter where we go, our hearts will always bring us together again," Aerith added, shooting Cloud a fond smile.

"Besides, I couldn't forget you, even if I wanted to," Yuffie added, flicking the back of Sora's head as she passed. She ruffled his hair with an ear-to-ear grin. He turned and glared at her.

"Leon," Summer said crisply. "Aerith, Yuffie. I'm not very good with goodbyes — so I guess I'll see you later."

"Then we'll greet you with a warm, 'welcome back,'" Aerith said. She offered Summer a hug and Summer gave her one.

Belle and Aurora stepped forward out of the group of princesses, most of whom were talking to Sora.

"Thank you," Belle said quietly to Summer, "for coming after me." She turned to Cloud. "Thank you both."

Cloud adjusted his hair coolly. "Not a problem."

Summer smiled fondly. "It's what I do."

"Remember," Aurora said, touching a hand to Summer's chest, "your greatest strength lies within yourself, in the strength and the light of your heart."

Summer flushed slightly at the touch. "Thank you. Best of luck to the both of you."

"And to you," Belle said. "You'll need it."

"May we meet again, in more peaceful times," Aurora said, with a slight curtsy.

Summer stretched slightly. She glanced at Cloud. "Ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

They began to walk out the door. It was a windy, almost overcast day outside, with a slight chill. Summer stopped to adjust her belt and strode forwards.

"Wait!"

Summer and Cloud turned around.

Kairi was running down the path towards them, waving with one arm. She stopped in front of Summer, clearly slightly out of breath. "You almost forgot this," Kairi said, holding out Summer's survival knife.

Summer regarded it for a long moment before reaching out and curling Kairi's fingers back around the sheath. "Keep it," Summer offered.

Kairi nodded slowly, and then rushed forward and hugged Summer. "Stay safe, okay? Keep Sora safe, too."

Summer rubbed the back of Kairi's head. "You got it, kiddo."

Kairi stepped back after a long moment. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Good luck!"

"We'll be back," Cloud said.

"Count on it," Summer added, with a crisp salute.

They made their way around the castle's exterior to the postern where the Blackjack had been parked. Summer opened the door and they stepped aboard.

Tools and spare parts had been left all around the lounge. Summer decided not to bother cleaning up; she simply dropped her bag on the couch and climbed up into the cockpit. She shook out her hands to get them warmed up as she sat down in the pilot's chair.

The Blackjack came to life as Summer fired on all the systems and performed the full list of pre-flight checks. "Antigrav operational. Main engines operational," she reported happily as the i fuship began to lift off. "Warp drive functional. We are set to rock-and-roll."

"Here we go again," Cloud said, sliding into the copilot's seat.

Summer pulled back on the throttle, launching them out into space.


They rendezvoused with the Highwind at the nearest warp marker to where they'd been able to detect the growing power of Kingdom Hearts. The two ships orbited the massive marker, which looked more like a great spinning top in space than anything.

Out there, in the distance, was a pinprick of light — distinctly not a star, but something else. The Blackjack's sensors had been unable to determine anything other than the immense power emanating from the distant light. Between them and the light was a great field of debris, primarily space junk and asteroids.

Summer slipped on her comms headset. "Highwind, do you copy? This is Blackjack."

The Highwind adjusted its speed and angle to pass directly overhead. "We read you," Donald Duck replied.

"We're all set," Summer said. "Follow directly behind but at a distance; if any Heartless ambush us you can pick them off with your primary guns."

"Got it," Donald replied.

Summer pressed a handful of switches. "Deflector shields are up, double front. You've got the guns?"

Cloud's fist wrapped around the handle of the guns' controls. "On it."

Summer delicately placed her hand atop thrust control and began pulling back. "Highwind's got us covered from the rear. We're going in at full throttle." She pulled back sharply on the throttle and the Blackjack weaved through space debris at breakneck speed, Heartless stirring in its wake.

"Here they come," Cloud said as a contingent of Heartless swerved around the Blackjack.

Behind them, the Highwind lanced out with fire and homing laser blasts, eradicating their pursuers.

Summer banked, narrowly avoiding a small asteroid. It careened off their deflector shields and spun out into open space.

"Watch out," Cloud shouted as Summer slid the Blackjack through a hole in a large asteroid. One of the wings scraped against the side of the tunnel. Behind them, pursuing Heartless smashed into the walls and perished.

Summer chuckled. "That was close."

Donald's voice sounded through her headset: "Smooth flying down there?"

"We're dandy," Summer said. "Looks all clear ahead."

Eventually, they reached the light. It was like a great whirlpool in space, drawing in light and matter. The center of it was almost too bright to look at directly.

"Get set for final approach," Summer said, slowing the ship. The Highwind pulled up alongside them.

The ships passed through a barrier of the light that was being drawn inexorably into the whirlpool. It faded and an infinite, perfectly still and clear sea stretched before them, reflecting a cloudy, purple sky. Impossibly tiny islands dotted the water, rock appearing to float.

"There," Summer said, pointing to a larger rock. "We can land there." She adjusted their speed down and flipped the switches to begin the landing sequence. They landed on the rock, the Highwind settling down beside their ship.

"Alright," Summer said, shutting down the ship. "We're here."

The pair descended down into the cockpit. Summer opened the boxes containing her spare ammo and filled her belt and satchel with rounds. She loaded her revolver and slid a magazine into her rifle.

Cloud stretched; Summer joined him after her other preparations were complete.

Summer's finger lingered over the switch to open the cargo door.

"Something wrong?" Cloud asked.

"We might not see the ship again," Summer replied. "And if we don't — I just wanted to thank it for all it's done for us. Thank you, Blackjack."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Alright, let's go," Summer said, opening the cargo door. Cold air rushed into the lounge; Summer involuntarily shivered slightly as she adjusted to the temperature.

On the rock, Sora and the others were standing, looking out over the sea.

"Gawrsh, is this all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" Goofy asked.

"And those worlds will be restored once we beat Ansem, right?" Sora responded.

"I hope so," Summer said as she approached. She saw that clutched in Sora's hand was Kairi's seashell charm. "You three ready?"

"About as ready as we can be," Sora said.

Summer clapped Sora on the shoulder. "You found your reason to fight."

Sora nodded. "Yeah."

"Say, where d'ya think that Ansem feller is?" Goofy asked.

Cloud looked around. He absently kicked the ground with his foot. "If I had to guess, the deepest, most dangerous place here — the core." He pointed at a bright light in the distance.

"Then let's get cracking," Summer said. She stepped up to the water and gingerly began to dip a toe in, only to find the surface solid. She stepped out onto the sea.

Almost immediately, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She dove to the side as a Heartless slammed down beside her. It was shaped like a man, with wings and great big horns erupting from its head, and a heart-shaped hole in its chest. Clutched in one of its hands was a sword.

Summer drew her revolver and fired. The bullet went straight through the hole in the Heartless's chest. It looked down and then back up at her.

She cracked a nervous grin despite the situation. "Okay. Not my best work."

Summer raised her aim and fired at its head. It recoiled slightly and she pounced, slicing across its chest with her sword. An instant later, Cloud was beside her, having leapt forward and sliced through the Heartless.

Summer turned towards the light in the distance. More and more Heartless were descending from the heavens. In the distance, another Behemoth roared.

Summer charged in, Cloud half a step behind her, and Sora and company shortly behind the pair. They fought and brawled and scrapped their way through the Heartless until they reached the end of the sea.

The group passed through the light and into a craggy, rocky descent. It was dark, and Summer could see gummi blocks emerging from the stone all around them.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Summer said, peering over the edge. Bright light shone from the bottom. Multitudinous arches and paths stretched between the two steep walls of the crevasse.

Sora took several steps back. He ran for the edge of the rock outcropping and leapt into a somersault before his arms shot out to his sides and he simply glided to one of the lower outcroppings. Donald and Goofy followed with their own glides.

Sora laughed as he leapt again and glided down, descending towards the light.

"Well I can't do that," Summer said, slightly miffed.

"Neither can I," Cloud said. "We'll improvise." He leapt for the wall with his gauntleted hand outstretched and caught himself on a gummi block. He dropped, sliding down the wall before leaping onto a rock arch. His acrobatics continued as he descended.

"Time for a classic landing strategy," Summer said, opening Thorn and slotting in one of her few Gravity Dust rounds. She slid the magazine of high pressure rounds into Halbmond. With one in each hand, she ran for the edge of the cliff and leapt.

She spun in midair, firing Halbmond to redirect her away from landing and towards the light. Once she was above it, she let herself fall nearly straight down. When she was about to land she pointed Thorn at the ground and fired. It halted her in midair for an instant and then she gently landed on both feet beside Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Cloud dropped down beside her an instant later.

"Everyone okay?" Summer asked. She pulled a small canteen from her bag and began to unscrew the top. "This spot looks pretty safe, I suggest we take a quick breather. Anyone need a drink?"

They passed the canteen around until it was dry.

"Okay," Summer said. "I suggest everyone prepare their landing strategies before we hop in."

"Landing strategy?" Donald asked.

"Yeah. Like what you do when you're falling from a great height. I have high pressure rounds from my rifle and Gravity Dust in my revolver — in a pinch, other Dust will do for just slowing my momentum, but Gravity Dust works a lot better." She shrugged. "Every good Huntsman or Huntress has a landing strategy. The first part of initiation at Beacon is being launched from the cliffs into the Emerald Forest."

"Are you serious? That sounds so fun," Sora said.

Cloud cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Donald said, which was matched with a nod from Goofy.

"Let's mosey," Cloud said.

Summer giggled. "Again?"

He shrugged and leapt into the light, the rest of them following a moment later. They didn't have far to fall; they were spat out near enough to make a landing strategy a moot point.

They were on a twisted, gnarled pathway that descended through dead trees and crumbling ruins of castles and cottages. Summer was struck with an intense feeling of having been here before, but she shoved it aside to concentrate on their descent. It was unstable, almost sandy ground they were on, and at a grade where a careless step would lead to a fall.

The others were silent, too, until the ground leveled out and they came upon a castle wall. The burning red crest of the Heartless was emblazoned upon the stone.

"What do we do?" Sora asked.

Cloud stepped forward. He touched the crest with his hand and then he touched the wall. "Step back," he said, pulling out the Buster Sword.

With a yell, he stabbed the sword into the crest, shattering it and revealing a room behind it. Summer and Sora peered in.

It was stone, with a sandy floor. A small spring had erupted from one wall, with water trickling down into a small rock basin. Most disconcertingly, there was an ornate door that led straight into the rock at the opposite end of the room.

"That door," Sora said. He stepped through the door, looking around as if trying to hear something. "Did you hear that?" he asked, looking back at the others.

"Nope," Donald said. "Maybe you need to take a rest."

"Nah," Sora said. "But there was something familiar about it. Maybe I'm just imagining things."

He touched a hand to the door's handle. It swung open on its own accord, and every hair on Summer's body stood on end. She turned, and Heartless were descending towards them. Possibly hundreds of them were pouring out, sliding to them in a great mass.

"They're coming out in full force," Summer said. "Sora, you go ahead. Cloud and I will catch up later."

"I'll fight too," Sora declared, summoning his Keyblade.

"It won't do any good to have all of us up here," Cloud said. "Go! We'll catch up later."

Sora nodded and stepped through the door, Donald and Goofy following. Cloud shut the door behind them and stepped out to stand beside Summer.

"It's been an honor, Cloud," Summer said, loading Fire Dust into Thorn.

"Relax, we've got this," Cloud said, fire building up in his gauntleted hand. "Just think of it as a practice run."

He launched the fire from his hand. It flared up and exploded outwards, tossing Heartless. He charged in with his sword, smashing through their ranks.

"When in Vacuo," Summer muttered, rushing in with weapons held high.

They fought for minutes, the tide of Heartless never ceasing to abate. There were all sorts — weak Shadow-types, their armored brothers the Soldiers, monkey-esque Heartless, ones that looked swathed in bandages, the mages and shield-bearers from Hollow Bastion, the sword-bearing ones that Summer had just fought, and even a Behemoth. Still, Summer and Cloud fought, at least until the ground cracked beneath their feet and fell out from under them, sending them into the inky darkness below.


Summer was falling through darkness. It stretched out as far as she could see.

She was descending head first. With a forward leaning motion that sparked familiarity in her muscle memory, she flipped herself in mid-fall so she was feet-first, and eventually her feet found purchase in the inky darkness.

She looked down as her feet found solid ground. Blossoming into visibility underneath her was white rock. She looked up as the light spread.

Before her were a pair of massive silver doors, with great stained glass windows set into the top. They were at least twice the height of a Goliath. Behind them, mist swirled and churned in the shape of a massive heart. Somewhere in her bones, she knew what she was looking at.

With a whisper, she voiced its name: "Kingdom Hearts." Her eyebrow lifted. "Now that is a big door."

After a moment, Cloud landed beside her in a crouch, sword in hand, his other hand bracing himself. He stood up, bringing his sword into a ready stance.

Another man descended sedately through the darkness, his long silver hair fluttering. His dark coat and single wing threw him into sharp relief against the backdrop of the silver door and white rock. In his left hand was clutched the hilt of the seven foot long nodachi, Masamune. Waves of sheer malice and lethality radiated off of him as his boots touched rock.

"I've been looking for you." Cloud called out.

"So you have," Sephiroth said, voice level. He turned, gesturing with his right arm towards the massive door. "I've been looking for this — Kingdom Hearts."

Summer drew her revolver and leveled it at Sephiroth. Under the cover of her cloak, her other hand wrapped around the hilt of her sword. "What do you want with Kingdom Hearts?"

"What else? Boundless energy and knowledge," Sephiroth said, spreading his arms. "By entering Kingdom Hearts, I will become everything, and everything shall become…me." He looked up. "That fool — he seeks it, too."

Summer's gaze flicked upwards. Above them, in the endless abyss, something like a great battleship composed entirely of discolored flesh soared. Tiny specks flickered and flitted around it. It was Ansem's doing, almost assuredly, and Sora and his friends were fighting it.

"Nobody's getting Kingdom Hearts," Summer declared, her gaze falling back down to Sephiroth. She cocked her revolver. "Not you. Not Ansem. Nobody." And with that she squeezed the trigger.

With blinding speed Sephiroth brought his sword up, the bullet deflecting off the flat of the blade. Summer ran forward, firing the remainder of the chambered rounds even as he deflected each one.

Sephiroth brought his sword back and slashed. Summer's Semblance engaged and she slid under the blade, leaping over his next attack as she pulled her sword out of its sheath, blade gleaming.

"You're fast," she said, "but I'm faster." Her legs shot her forward at blinding speed; Sephiroth narrowly dodged her swipe, turning his body and leaning back to evade the followup thrust.

"Such speed," he said coolly, as if commenting on the weather.

"You fell for it," Summer replied.

Sephiroth spun with a kick to knock Summer backwards, before barely whirling around to catch Cloud's Buster Sword with Masamune, sending a burst of sparks flying. Their blades locked for a moment before Cloud shoved his sword to the side, knocking Sephiroth off balance for an instant.

Summer leapt back into the fray with an overhead slash; Sephiroth deftly dodged as he countered Cloud's own attack with a harsh blow, throwing him backwards.

"You're moving at double speed," Sephiroth said as he caught Summer's sword in a blade lock. "I simply have to adjust my timing to compensate."

"Then it's a good thing I'm full of surprises," Summer growled, jamming the barrel of Thorn into his shoulder and pulling back hard on the second trigger.

A blast of Artificial Earth Dust enveloped his shoulder in a thick boulder. His neck craned to avoid his head being caught in the rock. Charging in from behind, Cloud raised his Buster Sword and slammed through the rock to cut open Sephiroth's back.

Sephiroth whirled and slammed a fist into the ground, causing an explosion which threw both Cloud and Summer back.

Sephiroth's coat had been torn apart in the fray; his right hand came around and tore the remainder off, leaving him shirtless. Blood oozed out of the open wounds around his left shoulder and crisscrossing his back.

"I underestimated you," he ground out slowly.

Summer slammed new rounds into Thorn before holstering it. She lifted Halbmond into a defensive stance, taking a deep breath.

Cloud was the first to move out of the three of them, closing in at blinding speed towards Sephiroth. Summer closed the difference with high-pressure rounds from Halbmond launching herself to cut into Sephiroth's back.

As he sliced into Cloud's arm and as Summer followed through on her own attack, Sephiroth whirled around, his empty right hand catching Summer's throat. He threw her backwards and waved his hand as if sweeping her away.

As he did so, hundreds of tiny skittering Heartless slid out from the darkness and slammed into Summer. She was dragged from the plateau, tumbling out into the dark amidst the Heartless.

"Just you and I, Cloud," Sephiroth said coolly.

Cloud got to his feet, grip on the Buster Sword tightening. He charged forward.


Summer was pulled deeper and deeper into darkness, the Heartless surrounding her until no light could be seen aside from the flickering yellow of their eyes.

The Heartless pulled her limbs taut until her sword fell from her hands. They wrapped around her throat and pulled until she was unable to breathe. Her eyes shut involuntarily.

If she died now, she would never return home.

She'd never see her husband or daughters again, and she'd never have a chance to make amends with Raven Branwen. Neither would she see any of the other friends she'd made: Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, cantankerous Cid. Hercules and Phil. Belle, the Beast, his cadre of servants. Captain James Hook. Kairi. Aurora.

Summer's eyes burned. They opened painfully and she somehow found enough breath to speak.

"No."

It was a tiny utterance, utterly lost in the cacophony of the Heartless.

Aurora's voice, now, was echoing in Summer's mind: "Remember, your greatest strength lies within yourself, in the strength and light of your heart."

The burning in Summer's eyes intensified and they began to pour light outwards, searing the Heartless around her and disintegrating them quickly. The ones holding her limbs in place dropped her and she plummeted through the hundreds of Heartless.

She landed on dark rock, the Heartless pooling around her and reforming, coiling to surround her like a massive constrictor. Moving through its core she saw a gleam of metal. Halbmond.

She calmly looked around, following her sword as it was passed from Heartless to Heartless.

"I need that," she declared, pointing at the sword. With her other hand she drew Thorn from its holster. She slotted a Fire Dust shell into its center. "And you're not gonna stop me."

She dove into the Heartless horde, her eyes lighting a pathway into darkness. Heartless disintegrated or fled before the light pouring out of her eyes. Some higher consciousness within the gathered Heartless had recognized Halbmond's value to Summer and had begun to squirrel it away.

She fired Thorn into the horde, immolating the Heartless around her sword. As more of them scurried towards it, she dove atop the sword.

She scrambled to her feet with the sword in hand, looking all around. The Heartless surged towards her.


Cloud and Sephiroth continued their duel before Kingdom Hearts. Near impossibly, it had only increased in intensity. The ground itself bore the marks of their fight, thin scars of Masamune's make and thick gashes from the Buster Sword.

Cloud himself was covered in wounds, his sweater practically cut into ribbons. Sephiroth, too, was visibly bloodied, his face looking like it had had a radical new skin treatment involving being covered in blood; a thick stream had poured out from his forehead and down into his eye, but it seemed to affect him very little.

Sephiroth and Cloud exchanged blows again, each earning a multitude of new gashes and scrapes.

The sparks flying from their blades lit the abyss like nothing ever had.

"Slowing down?" Sephiroth asked.

"Never," Cloud said.

His bravado wasn't fooling himself, however — as good as Cloud was, Sephiroth had been bred for bloodshed. He'd been trained in swordplay since he was a child.

Cloud stepped around a strike from Sephiroth, closing the distance. Sephiroth stepped back slightly, deflecting Cloud's blow. Cloud pressed the attack.

Sephiroth slid forward, his knee slamming into Cloud's stomach. With the back of his right hand he punched Cloud backwards. He rocketed forward, spearing Cloud with Masamune's tip and then lifted the writhing man in the air. With a flick of his wrist he slammed Cloud into the ground, and then he pulled back sharply to remove Masamune from his shoulder.

"This is the end," Sephiroth said as he loomed over Cloud. The tip of Masamune hovered over Cloud's chest, just about where his heart was. Sephiroth pulled his sword back and prepared the final attack.

A gunshot rang out; blood exploded out of Sephiroth's left shoulder.

He whirled around.

Summer stood, holding her rifle. Radiant light still poured from her eyes, completely obscuring them from view. She fired again and again until her magazine ran dry.

Cloud grunted as he slammed the Buster Sword with all his remaining might into Sephiroth's sword, knocking it out of his hand. Sephiroth's eyes widened, bringing his hands up into casting a shield spell.

Cloud smashed through the spell with the first hit. His fury carved through Sephiroth fourteen times over before he brought the Buster Sword down in an overhead blow.

Sephiroth staggered backwards. He was covered in open wounds oozing blood and Summer barely understood how he was still moving, but he still staggered back until he tumbled into the abyss.

Summer and Cloud stepped up to the edge. Sephiroth had already vanished into the darkness of the abyss. Silently, Cloud began to cast healing spells, both of their wounds sealing up.

"Your eyes," Cloud said.

"Don't worry about it," Summer replied, blinking rapidly. With every blink the light from her eyes faded until they were their normal, unlit silver. She looked up to witness the destruction of Ansem's massive battleship in a massive conflagration.

Tiny specks emerging from it drew closer to the massive door that led to Kingdom Hearts. Three of them, in a triangular formation, were most assuredly Sora, Donald and Goofy. The other, the tails of his white coat billowing as he fled towards the door, was Ansem.

"It is futile," Ansem said, his voice carrying through the dark down to them. "The Keyblade alone cannot seal the Door to Darkness." He turned towards the door and beckoned to it. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness — the supreme darkness!"

The door opened just a crack, black smoke pouring out of it.

"Not good," Summer said, moving for the door as fast as her wounds would allow her.

"You're wrong," Sora declared. "I know now — without a doubt — Kingdom Hearts is light!"

The door swung open more fully. Shining light poured out of it.

Summer flinched at the bright light, bringing her arm up to shield her eyes. When she had whirled around and looked back up, Ansem had vanished.

"Sora," she yelled up into the black sky. "Door!" She gestured sharply towards the still-open door before running for it.

The three of them descended and landed beside them as they reached the door.

Summer could taste the darkness on the other side of the door — she had tasted it in the air for a long while, months ago. It was the air of the Dark Place, the Realm of Darkness, spilling out of the door.

"We need to shut this door," she said. Summer put both hands on it, and the others lined up beside her or on the other door. "Ready — push!"

They threw all their might into it, but the door refused to move.

"This isn't working," Cloud said.

"I can't," Sora gasped out.

"New plan," Summer called out, "I'll go through the door and pull it closed."

"But you don't know where it leads," Sora protested.

Summer looked down at him. "No. I do." Her voice was desperate. "I'll go. I've gotten out of there before."

A hand wrapped around the door and a voice called out, "Don't give up!" Riku's face came into view as he peered around the side of the door.

"You!" Summer spat.

"Me," he said. "Come on, Sora! Together, we can do it."

The door, finally, began to inch closed.

Summer peered through it. Three giant Heartless — the ones which had nearly killed her — loomed in the distance. They approached the door with plodding but massive steps.

"Come on," she shouted, blinking rapidly and shaking her head. "Come on!"

A familiar burn began to form in her eyes, her skull itself beginning to hum. She narrowed her eyes and a beam of holy light burst from them and lanced through the Heartless — but as it did, the hum ceased and her eyes felt as normal as ever, the burn replaced with the incessant throb of a headache.

"Gah," Summer said, rubbing her eyes as she redoubled pushing the door closed.

"Just push," Donald yelled.

As Summer watched, the remaining giants strode closer — and then suddenly exploded, rapidly evaporating into nothing.

On a distant hill within the Realm of Darkness, a figure landed. He was short, even at such a distance Summer could tell, but he had massive ears atop his head, and practically radiated light in the darkness. He held aloft another Keyblade.

"Your Majesty," Donald and Goofy shouted.

"Now, Sora," his voice echoed. "Let's close this door for good!"

"Quick," Donald said. "Close it! Now!"

Sora hesitated. "But—"

"Hurry, there's more of them coming!" Riku called out.

"Don't worry," the King's voice echoed. "There will always be a door to the light. Donald, Goofy, thank you."

"Push," Summer shouted. They all redoubled their efforts.

"Take care of her," Riku said. Sora nodded with a slight sniffle.

The door slid shut finally. Sora stepped back, summoning his Keyblade. He held it aloft, gathering energy into it before aiming it at the door. A beam of light shot from the Keyblade and into the door. With a click, it locked.

"Sora," a tiny voice called out from the distance.

Sora turned and began running for it. "Kairi," he called out.

"Kairi," Summer said weakly, turning. She stumbled and Cloud narrowly caught her before she fell completely. "Shit—shoot," she said. "I think I overdid it."

"You don't like to curse," Cloud said, holding her. He gently set her down, her head in his lap, arms cradling her. "Why?"

"I'd set a bad example for my daughters," Summer said with a soft smile. The ground faintly rumbled beneath them. In the distance, she could see Sora and Kairi. As she watched, Kairi began to drift away. Sora wasn't with her.

"You're a good mother," Cloud said, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.

"No," Summer replied softly. She laughed, a small, pitiful sound. "I'm awful. I'm never home."

An immense diffusion of light erupted from where Kingdom Hearts had been. What seemed like hundreds, no, thousands of points of light erupted into stars, shooting and scattering across the sky.

It was beautiful.

Summer realized, watching its glory, that a new dawn had broken for thousands of worlds trapped in darkness by the Heartless. It wasn't a sunrise, but rather a galaxy-rise.

"This is nice," Summer said.

Cloud simply rubbed the back of her head in response.

"I think I can stand," Summer said. Cloud helped her up. "Let's figure out how the hell we're getting—"

Suddenly, the ground shook and split apart. Summer backed away from the edge of the widening gap that now separated them from Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"This place is falling apart," Cloud said flatly. "We need to get out of here."

There was a loud screech and the sound of scraping metal before the battered Blackjack slammed down beside them from above, a series of fresh scratches marring its sides.

"Convenient," Summer said.

They climbed aboard and up into the cockpit, sliding into their seats with well-practiced precision. Summer didn't bother with pre-flight checks; she fired the antigrav and main engines up immediately. The ship rumbled angrily as it fired to life.

Summer chuckled grimly to herself. "Here we go."

The ship bucked as it got underway, listing awkwardly.

"Come on," Summer growled. "We just got you back together, don't you quit on me now!"

The ship roared back at her as it leveled out, all engines firing perfectly.

"Over there," Cloud pointed at Sora and his group.

Summer could see them; she moved the ship in that direction.

"Steer," Summer ordered as she slid the comms headset on and engaged the external speakers. She used the controls to open the cargo doors. "Sora! Donald! Goofy! We're getting out of here!"

With overly dramatic gestures, they beckoned the Blackjack closer.

"Watch out," Cloud said, throwing the ship to the side as a light streaked past the cockpit. "Shit, that was a close one. We're going to have to circle around, make a long approach."

"Right," Summer said. "I'll take it from here." She gunned the throttle, swinging around the space where Kingdom Hearts had been and prepared the Blackjack for a sort-of-landing beside Sora's group.

Summer yelped in alarm as a bright light slammed into the ship. Not the now-familiar multi-colored kaleidoscope of warp travel but a singular bright light, pure white at every angle she could see through the windscreen.

The ship listed heavily — Summer could tell from the way she was bucked in her chair, and the pitch and roll indicators told her the same thing when she flicked her eyes to them. Summer pulled up sharply to course correct, squinting into the white void of light outside.

"Systems are going haywire; all the scopes are dead," Cloud reported, hands against the control console to brace himself. "Engine failure, one, two, three, antigrav—"

"Just hang on! I'm starting the landing sequence," Summer cut him off, flipping switches to extend the fins and landing gear. The light before the cockpit faded into a clear blue sky — and clear blue ocean, racing up to meet them, and an island just beyond.

Cloud put a hand over his mouth in an attempt to keep himself from throwing up.

They crashed into water, their momentum carrying the ship to a shallow cove — somehow, it was a remarkably gentle landing. Clear blue sea water splashed over the cockpit.

"It never fails. I just got everything fixed, and we crashed," Summer said, thumping her head against the dashboard. "Again!"


The Kuchinashi Highroad had gone from a dirt road into asphalt the closer Summer's group had gotten to civilization.

"So hold on," Yang said, from atop the motorcycle. "You went to space and saved the universe?"

"I wouldn't say I saved the universe," Summer said. "It was a team effort. Cloud helped. Sora helped. Donald and Goofy and their King. Riku, I guess."

"So where did Sora go?" Oscar asked. "I mean, he could help us, right?"

"He's, uh, indisposed," Summer said. "Listen, he's not going to be able to come here for about a year, okay? And the situation out there is complicated, too, so he might not exactly be free to help us right at the moment."

"Why not?" Yang asked. "And what do you mean it's complicated? And how did you get home?"

"Be quiet," Cloud said. "I hear something." He tensed, turning around.

A battered red pickup truck hauling various wooden crates in its bed was driving up the road. It slowed and pulled up beside the group. Summer stepped forward slightly, Oscar sliding over to stand partially obscured behind her poncho.

The man driving was older, with gray hair and a worn face under a trucker cap. He squinted at the group. "What're y'all doin' so far out here?"

"Walkin', mostly," Summer said.

"You a huntress, ain'tcha? You're too damn calm to be out here like this."

"Yeah, I'm a Huntress," Summer said.

The man beamed at her, revealing a missing tooth. He slapped the side of his truck. "Well, where ya headed? I'll give y'all a lift."

"Mistral," Summer said.

"Great, so'm I! Hop in back," he said, slapping the side of his truck. "And try not to smash any of them crates! That's good produce!"

Summer climbed aboard and found a place to sit, and everyone followed her. "Well, get comfortable, everyone. We're headed to Mistral."

Cloud sighed as he got onboard, turning back to shoot a glance at the road behind them. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Relax, it's fine," Summer said, absently waving.

The exhaust sputtered and let out a plume of black smoke as the engine fired. The pickup truck rumbled and trundled up the road toward Mistral. They all settled down in the truck's bed.

"I can explain exactly why Sora isn't going anywhere, and why the situation is complicated, and how I found Remnant," Summer said loudly over the engine's roar. "And it starts with that crash landing."