So I'm once again at a crossroads of: Do I separate this story into another one, deviating Sora's journey becoming MoM focused here, and creating a new story (Foretellers to Union to Misfits is the… idea I came up with for a title) for following everyone else, OR just keep both Sora-past, and everyone else-present all in one story here?

I'd appreciate opinions because I'm not entirely sure of what to do. X,D,X I don't want things to be weird like it was when I started DtS and DtV, because it's going to feel episodic to me again, but in post-posting that doesn't work.

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Sora stared at the Paopu Fruit, knowing he didn't have long to eat it before it went bad. Still, it was the last piece of the Home he hadn't been to in so long, that he couldn't help but want to preserve and hold onto it for as long as possible. He pulled out his Gummi phone and flicked the screen on. It seemed like usual, but when he opened the Camera app, he realized that the image space had been massively upgraded from only one hundred pictures to twenty thousand. He blinked at that, grateful, but wondering how his future self had managed such a massive upgrade in so little time.

He shrugged, knowing it wasn't worth dwelling on further as he held the Paopu in his left hand, and did his best to take as decent of a picture he could at his present angle with his right. He looked the image over, making sure it was clear when he noticed something.

He blinked, squinted at the screen, and then looked at his hand.

There, on his thumb, was a strange bug-like creature. He didn't know how else to explain it, because even though it was there, he didn't feel it. He stared at it for a long moment, noticing that it seemed particularly interested in both him and the fruit. It made pleading gestures at him, as if to ask if it could have a taste.

He smiled awkwardly, as the back of his mind noted its tiny red eyes and strange antenna.

If he were honest, it almost looked like an insanely tiny Flood, but… black.

"Uh… you want a piece..?" He put his Gummi phone away.

It waved its arms happily as it nodded. Awkwardly, Sora picked out a tiny piece of the fruit and handed it to the creature as it snatched it and immediately began to eat it. He smiled, strangely happy for the odd company as he started to eat the Paopu with his right hand again, keeping his left still so as to not disturb it while it ate.

It was strange to be eating a Paopu Fruit again, after having shared one with Kairi a little over a year ago. Islanders rarely had it more than a few times in their lifetimes, and here he was eating one all by himself, in some unknown World, in the far and distant past.

If he were honest, he found the fruit almost nauseating, but it was a piece of Home, so he stomached it despite the lonely tears in his eyes.

One day, he hoped to share one with Riku and Kairi both.

He sighed as he came upon one of its seeds. They were strangely large, but easy to miss due to being a similar shade in color as its flesh.

Sora looked at the tiny creature on his thumb, as it observed him silently. He carefully put it on his pant leg as it hopped off. He then went about cleaning the seed to put away for safekeeping into his inventory.

Sora used a Water spell to wash his hands and wipe his face of the Paopu's juices and rubbed his stomach as he leaned back on one of his hands to look up at the sky.

He could definitely go a few lifetimes of never eating that fruit again.

He wiped his eyes of his tears as he sighed, "What am I supposed to do now..?"

He looked down at the Flood-like thing, and watched it melt away silently without answer.

He was alone again.

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It had taken hours for the chaos to calm down, the threat of the Gigas finally subdued for the time being in the late afternoon.

It was one of the few times Skuld could say it was sunny out in Quadratum. Ephemer was peppy despite the ten or so hours straight of running around and fighting, but he'd always had a decent amount of stamina and pep.

She wanted to sleep.

Ephemer ruffled his hair as he followed her awkwardly, "So Master Ava's here, with Sora?"

Skuld nodded, "Yup."

"And he's sixteen?"

"Yeah."

Ephemer frowned for a moment, his arms crossed before shrugging with a large smile, "I can't wait to see him again!"

Skuld looked to him, "You've met?"

Ephemer waved a hand, "You could say that. It's kinda complicated… and I'm also not entirely sure the second time happened?" He knew he'd helped Sora in his fight, but it felt… ephemeral.

He could've laughed at his own joke, but he felt an odd foreboding.

He mentally prodded his Heartmate as he wondered if the feeling was from the replica, 'How paranoid are you?'

Tochi gave him the mental equivalent of a shrug, 'Very.'

Ephemer sighed lightly as he looked around the various levels of damage around the city. Somehow, he couldn't fault the other.

Ephemer also had an oddly bad feeling, he just didn't want to be right.

Skuld brought him to a fancy condo, decently spared of any damage. There was some level of scuffle, but there wasn't any structural damage. It was a good sign.

"Hey!"

They paused to see Riku running up to them out of breath. He took a moment to slow down and breathe, "I- sorry. I don't have a key. I'm glad I caught up to you, Skuld." Clearly he forgot his Keyblade could've opened the door for him.

Skuld giggled as Ephemer realized just who he was looking at and brightened, "Riku!"

The silver haired teen blinked in confusion, "W-huh?"

Ephemer grinned as he put his hands on his hips, "Name's Ephemer! We've met once, but you were a toddler at the time, so you wouldn't remember… and I was only around for like, ten minutes." He laughed brightly.

Riku blinked owlishly, looking to Skuld for confirmation as she shrugged before Riku looked back at the other teen, nodding, "N-nice to meet you?"

Skuld smiled, "Ephemer and I used to be teammates in the same Union. Then…" She rubbed her temple, "Something else?"

Ephemer blinked as he observed Skuld in confusion before realizing, "Oh… did you forget stuff like the others?"

Skuld tilted her head as she slowly nodded, "Y-yeah, I did." It was starting to come back, but it was all too soon.

Ephemer smiled sadly as he nodded, "I guess that's not surprising. When I ended up running into Ven, his Heart was severely damaged and he was pretty much a zombie. It was… scary, honestly."

Riku blinked, "You know Ven?"

Ephemer glanced back to Riku as he nodded, "If it's who we're both thinking of, yup."

Skuld sighed softly as she felt weak on her feet, "Let's continue inside." The two boys nodded and followed her lead.

After getting into the condo, Skuld almost collapsed into the first chair she saw, but first she called out, "Ava? Sora?"

Riku went around her and looked through each room.

Nothing was out of place, but he could tell it was empty. He could feel it.

Riku glanced at the Nursery and noted it was empty, then Ava's room and found the same. Looping back around he checked into Sora's room and also found it empty.

He paused as he realized the bed was made, unlike Ava's. Cautiously, Riku entered further and looked around, noting Sora's Gummi phone was gone, but his cell phone had been left behind.

Everything was still there, except the Gummi phone.

Except for Sora.

A glint of silver caught his attention and his heart dropped. There, laid purposely on the neatly arranged pillows, was his crown necklace.

Sora would have never taken off his crown necklace.

He turned and left the room as controlled panic set it, pulling out his own Gummi phone and dialing Sora's. It didn't even ring before disconnecting.

Sora wasn't in range.

Riku's chest tightened. He gripped his phone, worried, as he slowly made his way to the couch and sat down heavily into it.

Maybe he'd turned it off?

Hah. Gummi phones didn't have traditional on/off switches or charge ports. They were self-sustaining, and their power source was the same as the Gummi ships depending on who they were calibrated to.

He had to hope he was with Ava, wherever she was.

Riku sighed heavily and leaned back as his eyes closed. His left wrist was throbbing. He wasn't supposed to fight, and certainly not a long haul as he had, but it couldn'tve been helped. There was simply too much danger. So not only did his left wrist hurt, still in its cast, but his right wrist and arm were severely overworked.

The physician was totally gonna ream him out, he knew it.

After some time in thought he must have dozed off, because Skuld startled him when she tapped him with a warm cup of tea, "Riku."

He looked at her blearily before taking the cup with shaky hands. He was worse off than he thought.

She smiled at him, "I'll get you some of your pain pills, I know you don't like them, but I think it would be best so that your muscles don't get inflamed."

He nodded, "Yeah… thanks." Riku was feeling it already.

She nodded and went off. Ephemer came over and sat beside him, munching on a sandwich before shoving a quartered piece into his mouth. Riku started and choked at the action, but managed to stuff the piece into his mouth while glaring at the smirking teen as he stated, "You really are bad at taking care of yourself."

Riku looked at Ephemer suspiciously as he swallowed, "What's that supposed to mean? We've barely known each other."

The scarved teen just gave him a knowing look, a cat-like smirk on his face as he continued to eat his own sandwich, "Insider info."

Riku gave him a particularly odd look as he then shook his head with a roll of his eyes. Ephemer handed him another quarter piece, and Riku mechanically ate it, the tea in his bum hand resting on his thigh.

Skuld came over with the medicine and waited for Riku's hand to be free before handing over the prescribed dosage. "Ava should be back soon with Brain."

Riku nodded as Ephemer's eyes widened, "Master Ava and Brain are here too?!"

Skuld smiled awkwardly, "Brain goes by Ludorr at the moment and he looks very different. Master Ava has been taking care of me since I was handed over to her."

Ephemer nodded, filing away that information as he handed over another sandwich quarter to Riku, who by now was giving him an annoyed look, but keeping quiet.

Skuld watched Riku for a moment, "Is Sora alright?"

Riku paused mid-chew before swallowing, shaking his head, "He's not here."

Skuld blinked, "He's.. he's not?"

Riku shook his head in the negative as Ephemer handed him the final piece of the sandwich, Riku simply taking it as he continued, "His Gummi phone's gone too."

Skuld clasped her hands in immediate concern as she started pacing. That wasn't good at all.

Ephemer watched her pace for some time before pulling himself up, lightly grasping her by her elbow and gently coaxing her into the couch, "Rest, Skuld."

The Dandelion shook her head, trying to get back up before Ephemer lightly placed his hand on her shoulder and made her settle, "You're dead on your feet. Sleep."

She gasped lightly before her eyes closed. Ephemer carefully settled her to her right, making sure her head wasn't at an odd angle before looking over to Riku. The taller teen had a grim look on his face, "You probably shouldn't do that again."

Ephemer blinked, glancing between the two before blushing lightly and rubbing the back of his head, "I- yeah. You're right. I'll apologize to her later."

Riku nodded as he did his best to rest, sipping at the tea he'd been given.

It was hard.

It wasn't until the front door opened that Riku started awake, belatedly realizing he'd fallen asleep again. He glanced at his left hand and noticed the teacup was gone. He glanced at Ephemer who was still awake as he smiled at him, tilting his head as Riku noticed the half empty cup in front of him on the table.

He was more tired than he thought.

Ava sighed heavily as she practically limped over to them, noting Ephemer and gasping, "You're here!"

Ephemer stood, "It's good to see you again Master Ava!" He blinked as he noticed the baby harness strapped to her chest, "Another one?"

Ava pouted at him as she carefully took Rota out of the harness, "It was-" She huffed, "Well, she's here."

Ephemer smirked as he took the infant from her, motioning for her to rest as she flopped down into the open chair. Ludorr closed the door behind him as he looked around in concern, "Where's Sora?"

The scarved teen tilted his head, "Brain?"

Ludorr noted him with slight shock, "Ephemer. It has been some time."

The teen smirked, "You're different."

Ludorr shrugged as he motioned Ephemer to follow, "Rota's Nursery is this way, if you don't want to stand there lost."

Ephemer chuckled as he followed his friend, the two of them speaking lowly.

It took only a few minutes to settle the infant into her bed before they came out. Ludorr frowned at his unanswered question, "Well?"

Riku grit his teeth, "He's not here."

Ludorr frowned deeply, going into the room and quickly noting everything Riku had. He came back to the living room, "He's unreachable?"

Riku nodded silently as he cautiously looked to Ava.

She looked… resigned.

Everyone was silent as a number of expressions suddenly flashed over Ava's face before she suddenly started laughing. At first it was light, before it became loud and intermingled with sobbing as she covered her face and leaned forward.

This of course freaked the other three boys out as Skuld slowly woke up to her racket. She blinked, confused as she glanced at Riku and noted his stricken face.

She sighed, standing up slowly to stand in front of Ava before slowly pulling her up from her hunched over position, only to slap her.

The boys held their breath as Ava's hysterical laughing stopped, tears streaming down her face as she held her cheek, looking lost and confused as she looked up into Skuld's frustrated gaze. The Dandelion was not only livid, but tears sprung in her eyes as well. "Why are you laughing?! What is wrong with you!?"

Ava bowed her head and closed her eyes. "There's no point in staying here."

The three teens were left lost at her admission as Ludorr contemplated that, "...I had begun to feel the same, but what makes you say that?"

Ava clasped her hands, "Sora isn't here anymore. He won't be here. He's… he's somewhere we can't reach. I don't know when.. Or if we'll ever see him again."

Ludorr frowned deeply, "Master Ava."

She sighed, "I... " She wiped away her tears with shaking hands, "I don't know if I could explain it right now. I'm… I'm so tired."

Ludorr sighed heavily in understanding. He had sent his teammate to bring the woman down to the bunker alongside the rest of the citizenry, instead, he had placed her on guard as a frontliner, her infant strapped to her chest and stiff as a board in anxiety.

He had punched his teammate for his actions, for forcing her into a fighter's role and for making her abandon her son.

They now had an even larger problem because of his teammate's callousness.

Ludorr nodded, "Let's all rest for now, it's been a long day. I will be putting in some calls, so you all had best sleep and recover."

The teens nodded as Skuld helped Ava out of her seat, assisting her to her room to finally rest in peace.

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The Master hummed as he stood on an adjacent rooftop to the Condo his mother and the others were staying, his hands clasped behind his back.

A Flood slithered up his arm before forming on his shoulder, making motions as it told him what had happened, having hidden itself in the shadow of a bookcase.

He wasn't surprised by Ava's reaction. He had checked in on all of the present players after he'd sent his present-past self away, and had been mildly concerned by Ava's condition.

Ludorr was right to be furious.

He sighed lightly as he gingerly placed a hand on his chest, a wry smirk on his lips, "I'm going to have to give them an incentive."

The Flood drooped in response to his words.

He chuckled as he began to pet it, "I know, right? I have to look like the ultimate bad guy to my friends and family. Is my life a joke, or what?"

The Flood tapped him on the head as if to console him.

"Yeah, I know. They need to understand the threat that's always been there, that I've struggled with all of this time…"

"The threat of not only the Malevolent Darkness, but the absolute Indifference of Kingdom Hearts."

Because that was the crux of everything. Darkness was a force of action, while Kingdom Hearts was a powerful force of inaction. It was apathetic to humanity, and simply was.

It was something to be protected at all cost, yet was more than happy to fulfill evil desires so long as the ꭙ-blade was held in someone's hand.

Kingdom Hearts didn't listen to the please and cries of the helpless- only the victors.

Even the Darkness listened to the weak and strong alike.

He sighed, turning as he began to walk away.

Yozora's story could be continued another time, for now, he needed the others to return home.

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It was late in the evening when he opened a Dark Corridor directly into her room.

Not his brightest move, probably, but he liked his theatrics.

The Master stood silently in the dim cast of Ava's room, watching her for a moment near her door as he went to take a step forward to wake her.

Abruptly she awoke, having sensed a foreign entity nearby with eyes wide and shining gold as she grabbed the pillow beside her and threw it with all of her strength at the shadow she could barely see, her vision hazy from sleep.

He was not prepared and barely caught the pillow with a grunt, grabbing it.

There goes the suspense.

Ava was already on her knees, defensive as she bared her teeth and growled, "Master!"

He slumped, dropping the pillow as he made a pleading motion, "Did you have to ruin my quiet entry already?" Ava moved to throw the other pillow as the coated man immediately raised his arms in a sign of peace, "Woah, woah, woah! Lemme talk a minute!"

Her voice was deep from bitter exhaustion, "No."

He sighed, "But- I was just gonna explain-!"

A knock on the door, Riku's muffled voice calling, "Ava?!"

The Master stiffened, immediately panicking before throwing open another Dark Corridor and throwing himself through it just as Riku threw the door open, Braveheart in hand.

The teen just barely saw the flickering of the Corridor closing as he stared at the spot hard, his knuckles white while gripping his Keyblade.

Ava immediately slumped forward over her knees on her bed, breathing harshly as she tried to regain her bearings and hold back her fear.

Riku looked around further, carefully scenting the room before he picked up the tossed pillow and set it on the end on her bed. He asked softly, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Ava didn't know how to answer him. With a soft sigh he gently pushed the door nearly shut before dismissing Braveheart. He then carefully sat down on the bed near his friend's mother, debating on what he should do.

Gently, he touched her shoulder, causing her to flinch. He immediately pulled back, but she snatched his hand with the opposite one, squeezing it tightly, "I-I'm sorry. I don't- I'm not okay."

Riku nodded as he carefully held her hand back, allowing her to take what little comfort she could from him.

It was weird to think she was 21 or so, but still Sora's mother.

He supposed it was just as odd for Terra, but in a different way.

After a few awkward minutes she sat on her knees properly before looking at him. He stiffened at the lingering gold that pierced the darkness around them, yet in a blink it was gone.

Ava slowly released his hand and turned on her side lamp, allowing light into the room.

Riku watched her quietly, seeing that she wanted to speak but was simply too overwhelmed to do so. Eventually she turned to him, eyes teary as she hesitantly asked, "Could you hold me?"

Riku stiffened, but she immediately raised her hands, "I- I'm not asking for anything weird, it's just, I'm scared and I don't know how to explain all of this."

He mulled it over for a moment before slowly nodding. Awkwardly he opened his good arm to her as she settled opposite next to him, hugging him desperately as she buried her face into his chest as tears soaked into his shirt. He was still stiff, and again, it was still really weird, but he realized just how much she was barely keeping it together.

She and Sora were way too similar.

Gently he rubbed her back, an odd look on his face as he wondered how he'd managed to put himself into this position.

It didn't help that he had exceptionally good senses. He'd woken immediately at the first Corridor's opening, and had hopped out of bed, Ephemer sharing with him dead to the world with a smile on his face. Skuld was also probably dead tired, and Ludorr was on the couch asleep, too far away.

He'd crept to the door, barely able to hear the two voices when he'd intruded.

Riku was stuck solo in consoling this woman, who seemed to know everyone else in the condo more intimately, though having been here for the time he had, they weren't entirely strangers.

Ava sniffled, "I miss Ruki and Vale and Aeros… especially Aeros. I'm so tired of being alone!"

Riku frowned, not sure how to answer her laments.

"...I miss Gula."

Riku tilted his head, "Gula?

Ava nodded slightly, "He was like me… a student of The Master of Masters…" She sighed lightly as she finally pulled away from him, turning away to make herself a little more presentable. After a moment she shifted herself to properly settle at the side of her bed beside him, "Sorry about that, Riku."

The teen shrugged, "Someone was in your room, it's understandable."

She was silent for a long moment, "It was The Master."

Riku blinked, "Huh?"

Ava looked up to him, eyes still glassy and red from her stress, "The Master of Masters. That was him. Here."

His eyes widened, "Oh." What else could he say?

Ava sighed as she looked away as she bowed her head, "I still don't really know what the Master wants with us, but I do believe we should return. We need to update the others… and while I hope we can one day help Yozora, there are now too many of us here. We're disrupting this World's Order."

Riku absently nodded as he couldn't help but agree.

Too many Keyblade Wielders in one undesignated spot was nothing but trouble.

It was one of the few things he had read in passing while in the Land of Departure, but he was seeing things spiral out of control in real time pretty quickly to back it up.

Which meant that they wouldn't be able to easily live on Destiny Islands ever again.

His heart ached at the thought.

Ava sighed lightly, "I'm sorry that after all of your searching, this is how things ended up."

Riku frowned, "It's not your fault, though."

Ava was silent for a long moment before quietly speaking, "Sora's The Master."

That was when his Heart stilled as he took in the implication with a dawning dread.

No wonder she'd been hysterical.

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Sora began to dig in the large clearing he'd found himself in after a few days of contemplation and rest.

Well, digging might not have been the exact word he was going for, but he was pulling out the grass and weeds to make an open and flat plain.

He figured out ways to hunt, to fend for himself in this ancient past. Vague ideas and Memories Guiding him as he began to create the smallest of foundations for the Town he would build. The strange ant-like-Flood occasionally granting him company.

It would take a long, long time, but-

He had all the time in the World.

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The physician examined Riku's left wrist with a deep frown on his face, followed by a good examination of his right arm, "Those fools certainly worked you to the bone." He prodded Riku's shoulder joint, "You're gonna have to take at least a solid week off. No lifting, minimal raising of your arms. I'm disappointed."

Riku grimaced, "S-sorry."

The physician huffed, "It's not your fault the Government threatened you to do their bidding. It made sense of course, since the people were in danger, but I am well aware of what they did to Miss Ava. I'm well acquainted with their methods."

Riku frowned, realizing the man wasn't overly mad at him.

He felt a little better, despite how useless he was going to feel for the next week.

Ava was still blatantly depressed, but the thought of returning to the other side, to finally meet Sora's friends and reunite with Aeros and the others…

A little shine had returned to her eyes, despite the way she had begun to clutch the crown necklace that'd been left behind.

The Doctor straightened and turned to Ava, "Well, seeing as our primary patient is now missing, I have something I must report about the last bit of blood work I had done." Riku and Ava gave him their full attention, as the other three also listened in, "Normally, privacy law wouldn't allow me to speak such things, but to be frank, I tell you all as a bargaining piece."

Ludorr frowned as he straightened, "Oh?" There was a threat there.

The Doctor smiled good naturally, "I have heard the stories of this poor girl's treatment, how she nearly died from giving birth. Childbirth! A normal everyday occurrence, deadly on its own, but not a care for such a splendid Magic user's wellbeing? How could I allow such barbaric standards to persist on your side?"

Ludorr gave him a new appreciative look after a long tense moment before waving him on, "Continue."

The Doctor smiled, "I would like to help your side, and prevent any further loss of talent, if I may."

Ludorr nodded, "Your knowledge would be invaluable. There are only a handful of Wielders left, and most female Magic users either resign themselves to their loss, or stay single for their entire lives to protect themselves. Both have always been met with scorn."

The Doctor hummed as he finally returned to the original subject, "Sora's telomeres were broken down."

The others in the room were left lost on the meaning, though Ava's studies gave her some idea, "That.. has something to do with DNA molecular structure, right?"

The Doctor nodded, "The way they have broken down, I cannot say for sure if it means his life has been tremendously shortened, or indefinitely lengthened. It is, unfortunately, not something we have enough information on to discern at this time."

Ludorr became grim as Ava rested back. She knew The Master had done something to himself, which had caused him to disappear. Whatever it was, had also affected their Hearts, but honestly, she wasn't sure of any of the logistics, and had no desire to add such absurd postulation to the subject at hand.

He'd gained a long life, if nothing else. His voice, hair, and height had changed and grown over time, but he barely had looked a year older than Sora had before he'd disappeared.

She hoped things would make sense one day. "I understand, thank you."

The Doctor nodded as he turned to Ludorr once more, "I have Prince Yozora's blessings to aid your side. However, he does request that you allow him to see you off."

The Gambler nodded, "Of course, I in the very least plan to return to help the Prince regain what he has lost."

The man nodded, "I am glad to hear it. How much longer do you plan to stay here, in Quadratum?"

Ludorr contemplated a moment, "Two days. We can produce a few more high end products as a sign of goodwill in the meantime."

The Doctor nodded as he packed up his tools, "I will be ready. Simply tell me the meeting place, and I will be there."

Soon, they'd be Home.