Chapter Six: Changes

He was drowning in darkness. Everything was numb. The only thing he held onto was the light. The smallest glimmer which had always been a constant in his existence. Something that he reached for when he could, despite his bindings. For the light called out for him, as she always had. Until there was PAIN.

...and then he could feel the ground again.

"You seek answers."

Answers...why was he here...what was he looking for...it was so important to him...

"You feel nothing. Nothing is real."

Nothing...was that why he didn't know? Because he felt nothing?

"I can give you purpose."

His purpose. No.

"I know what my purpose is."

"Oh? Then tell me."

It was simple. He needed to find...no, needed to stop...needed to save?

"I need to find...someone. But...I don't remember...who..."

"And you don't even remember who you are. Do you? Can you even find them, when you don't remember yourself?"

His name...what was his name?
"I can give you a name. Give you grounding for your purpose."

And with a wave of the figure's hand, the pieces of his name all came together. And things became clearer.

"Those you seek, lie beyond the darkness, on the edge of nothing." And with that, a dark portal opened. With no other plan, he followed the path laid before him.

And so the guardian was given new life by the Superior. And moments later, the Keybearer and his companions in Hollow Bastion were tested by the unknown.

Naminé watched the stars go by as held on to Ventus. When she first left Castle Oblivion, she had tempted to ask if they could stop and admire the view. That, and maybe sketch the myriad of stars and lights she wanted to see. Granted, she didn't realize the forgotten crayons and paper until much later. Right now, she had a pencil and a notepad, but the sights were the furthest thing from her mind. She could only think about how much things had changed.

She had new power yes, but even then, Axel seemed little worse for wear after the fight. He was toying with them. Still, he said that power was genuine, so it wasn't a total fluke. Besides, she had definitely been able to catch him off guard during the fight, and she was able to work pretty well with Ventus. Right?

Of course, seperate from the fight, there was Ventus himself. He had been floored at the news that he was apparently gone for ten years. As they had gathered their supplies he seemed tense, anxious. Even now, he seemed to be looking to and fro, searching, muttering, "It's got to be around here somewhere...either home or, Ah!" And with that exclamation, the glider swerved and began to head toward one of the many lights, though this was smaller than the rest. As they approached it, the reason was obvious. Rather than a complete world, this was a small speck of land floating in the stars. The only feature was an ancient tower, and even at a distance, Naminé had a sense that the building had many mysteries within.

Coming to the ground, the two disembarked the glider and approached the front door. Ventus began to knock. Slowly, the door opened, and a broom handle began to fall out, and then stopped. "Wait.. a broom? But that doesn't.." And then the broom shook...no wiggled, and then the door opened. With the doorway open, it was clear now the broom was practically a living being, it's brush split into two feet, with small wooden hands at the side of the handle. The tip of the handle itself moved like a head, one that was leaning forward with great interest. After a moment, it moved aside, gesturing toward the spiral staircase in welcome.

Ventus nodded, and began to run up the stairs. Naminé followed after him and asked. "Ven, where is this?"

"I'm not sure about the name, but if I remember right, this is home of one of the few keyblade masters, Yen Sid."

"A master? There's a lot of history behind keyblades."

Ventus nodded, "Yeah, there's another one I know...but I'm not sure it's a good idea to visit him right now." And with that, they soon reached the top of the stairs, and Ventus wasted no time in knocking. "Master Yen Sid, hello?"

A voice spoke from behind the door. "Though I was not expecting you. I am here, and ready to speak with you Ventus, come in." the boy opened the door, revealing a study with windows looking out toward the stars, and seated at the desk was a bearded man in a blue robe. Yen Sid leaned forward, "And who is your guest?"

"Master Yen Sid, this is Naminé. I rescued her, and we're travelling together."

Naminé nodded, "It's...an honor to meet you, sir."

The sorcerer raised an eyebrow, "I would have expected you to return with Master Aqua. Have you seen her in your travels?"

Ventus shook his head. "No...I just woke up." the boy gulped, "Master Yen Sid, has it really been ten years? I don't feel different, but..."

The master nodded, "Yes, though ten years have passed, you are still as young as you were when Master Aqua hid you away."

He was bewildered by the calmly delivered news. "But...how?"

"Before Aqua took you to shelter, she mentioned a spell to ensure that while you slumbered, time would have no effect on you until you recovered. You would not become hungry, your strength would not wane, and when you awoke, it would be as though you had slept for merely a moment. Granted, I anticipated an effective time of a few weeks, not a decade."

Ventus rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I got hurt pretty bad...I lost a lot in the fight anyway. What happened to Aqua and Terra?"

The sorcerer's face was grave, "Terra vanished after the battle in the graveyard, while Aqua disappeared shortly after she left with you."

Ventus frowned at that, "Nobody's seen them? You've told Master Eraqus about all this right? He's got to have some idea about where they are."

Yen sid's eyes widened, "You do not know?" Ventus slowly shook his head "Eraqus is dead." The boy's face paled.

"Ven?" Naminé reached out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No...I didn't...was I...How?"

"The details Aqua told me are scarce, but it seems that Xehanort deceived Terra into attacking your master. And once he was weakened finished him off."

Ventus was aghast, "Terra...he...he wouldn't!" but then…he remembered the last time he saw Eraqus. "No...he would, if it was to protect Aqua or me. Xehanort, he used me as bait to get them to fight." He sighed. "If...if I didn't leave…"

Naminé frowned, watching her friend become so despondent was a sharp contrast to his normal cheer. Watching it, something inside her...wanted to try and take the pain away. While she couldn't effect the memories causing them, she could try to remind him of other things. "If you didn't leave...we wouldn't have met." Ventus looked at her. "I'd still be trapped in the castle, and I'd be forced to hurt Sora. I realize it's selfish to be thankful for this...but if you never left, you'd never have saved me."

The sorcerer nodded, "Our decisions rarely play out as we expect them to. What might have seemed like an ideal solution once can come to bring about misery. And given time, what once was tragedy might be instrumental in saving lives. So long as you still live, you should not give up hope on helping to find Terra and Aqua."

"Hope…" Ventus murmured, and then he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small green trinket, in the shape of a star "Yeah...it's faint...but I can tell, they're still out there." Then his eyes widened in realization "Hey, how's King Mickey?"

"He has been doing as well as he can. There was hardly a day when he did not search for you Terra or Aqua." Yen Sid closed his eyes. "However, more recent events have demanded his attention. The heartless have begun to devour worlds en masse. He went out in search of a way to seal the door to darkness the heartless are using, while sending his retainers to search for the chosen keybearer." He turned and faced the window. "Though from what I can sense, the conflict between the chosen bearer and the horde of heartless is coming to a head."

"It is only a matter of time, as we speak, Sora faces the full might of the heartless forces at the end of the world. One story shall end, and another can finally begin." The Superior of Organization XIII addressed the gathered members. "Yes, for many reasons, today is a momentous day."

Roxas hoped that he could understand at least one of those reasons this meeting.

Xigbar grinned. "I'll say, though we kinda knew Sora was going to have his big showdown sooner or later. The real kicker is knowing there's a new keyblader on the block. Or rather, two of them."

Marluxia seemed unimpressed. "I am still skeptical of your story. A keyblade wielder in Roxas' likeness, as well as Naminé calling upon similar power."

Axel shook his head. "Not similar, identical. I got hit by both of their keyblades and I'll be the first to say that when you get hit by one you know. That power Naminé has isn't fake."

Larxene narrowed her eyes, "Are you sure you're not just covering for your friend?"
Axel shrugged, "Hey, he made it clear that things are over between us. Right now, he's just another kid with a keyblade."

Saïx nodded, "And as such, we will be shifting our plans for them toward observation, rather than retrieval. You are both being recalled from active duty on this, however, we will be expecting weekly updates on their progress."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, we'll keep an eye on things, and let you know if little Naminé and her friend aren't up to snuff."

Xemnas nodded, "There is one more matter." He motioned toward the entrance of the room.

"I am pleased to announce that a new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat."

From it, entered a young man wearing one of the the Organization's black coat.

"Number XIV. Erxart."

Slightly tanned, with blue eyes and brown hair. He began looking around at everyone, a slight frown on his face.

"Let us welcome one of the Keyblade's chosen."

Though when he looked at Roxas, he seemed to relax. Almost smile?

Roxas wasn't sure what to make of it, beyond there being a new name to remember.

She wasn't sure how many calls Cid made back to Hollow Bastion, but they eventually got a message through. The response was a bit less than heartening though. Sora had stopped by to deal with...something that had shown up. All he had said was that it was a man in a cloak. In any case, he was going to go and face Ansem back at the end of the world, which meant every world would be separated again. So Cid had decided to finally head back to Hollow Bastion, and Kairi would have another chance to see her old home. "Just need to get a few things set up on the ship."

She nodded, "Right." and went back to looking out the window toward the stars. She wondered, which one was Sora fighting on? Where was he making his stand for everyone's sake? She gave him her charm for the sake of luck. But strangely enough, she could swear there was something there she could feel. Deep in the darkness, she could see his light ever so faintly.

And then the door was sealed, and the darkness clouding the way vanished.

Cid looked up from his adjustments and closed his personal ship, "Alright, We're good to...what the hell?" Only to stare at the portal of light in front of Kairi. "Um...Kid?"

"Cid...I don't think I'll be going with you."
He scratched the back of his head. "You sure? Heck, do you even know where this goes?"

She nodded "Yes. It's wherever he is." and stepped through.

On the other side, was a small scrap of land, floating in the void. In the distance, she could see a massive door. And at it's foot, were Sora and his friends. When they caught sight of each other, they tried to run and meet together. But the worlds began to drift far apart and separate.

So they made a promise. That one day, they would be home on their islands together. No matter what.

And as they made it, they knew it would one day come true.

No matter how long it took.