Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom Hearts

Part 95

Summary: Two warriors of Light, the Chosen King and Keyblade Master, face an unseen Darkness.

*One year later…*

*Land of Departure*

The summer breeze brushes against the leaves and branches of the tall trees, the clear air was calm and peaceful. The running water of the small waterfalls rushing nearby, tempered and steady while calming the nerves and putting a soul at ease.

Inhaling through her nose, on her knees as she meditates near a cliff overlooking the untouched lands of her homeworld, eyes closed as she rests her closed hands on her knees. Steady breathing, in tune with the world around her. Surrounding her are six towers of pebbles gathered around her, her heartbeat was calm and steady as a drum beating to a harmony. The towers of pebbles slowly levitated around her after tiny movement before they were slowly circling her shoulders.

Stability and tranquility in her meditation, she could feel the mana coursing through her veins like fire, the power to topple mountains resonates within her heart yet there is calm and control over it. She exhales through her nose, letting the pebbles slowly rotate around her one more time before as careful as a baker is with decorating their cakes, she levitates them gently back down to their towers in perfect stability.

Opening her blue eyes to witness the world around her, Aqua breathes gently as the mana within her calms and clears her mind. The sunbeams down on her unexplored world, a forest so luscious and large to see yet she has no mind for exploration today. There will be time to explore it one day, but not now. Looking at her opened palms, she clenched them gently when she felt the spark of magic within shock her slightly.

She smiles confidently and slowly rises to her feet and approached a single tall stone nearby, where a packed lunch and her GP laid for her. She checks and finds she was mediating here for about four hours straight. "Huh…guess I must have lost track", she mused quietly as she pockets it and opens her lunch. Nothing special, a simple sandwich with some meat at her request. Just a little snack in case she overexerts her magic again and assured her partner she'd have something of greater substance when she returned.

In the year that has passed since the disappearance of the hero and king, Aqua and Gladiolus had relocated to her homeworld to search for answers to the power of waking while she recovers her lost strength. Many days had passed, and she is sure she must have read every single book within the archives at least three times now, each one holding details she never knew about the keyblade and more about the history of worlds she couldn't imagine. But none carried the secrets of the power of waking.

She had feared such a powerful thing would be too risky to be documented for fear of those who'd steal it and use the powers for cruel intentions. Even so, she refused to give up. Her studies haven't yielded much in seeking the two missing hearts, but she discovered far more than she had ever dreamed, though she'd save these talks with the masters when the time came. When she wasn't breaking her record of how many books she reads in a year, her time of healing became a focus between her and Gladiolus.

She had been bedridden for a whole month at the start of the year, but she at least used this to study more. Days had gone by when she was too weak to stand for long let alone walk, and it took a great toll on her mind and heart whenever she felt that same weakness. As the month ended she and Gladiolus started to try physical training together, mostly her walking while he'd be by her side in case she fell or worse.

Over time she had begun to manage walking around the castle, then over the second month started to walk outside and even exert herself by climbing some cliffs and even some hiking too. Certainly, she was pushing herself, and more than not she was brought back home in Gladiolus' arms. But through sheer force of will power and a drive to help her friends come home, she persevered and eventually regained her physical strength again by the end of the third month.

Then came her magic, and that she was a trial only she could deal with.

She started by going back to the basics of magic, but they only managed to stress her and insult her skills, so they only provided nothing but a headache for her. So instead, after several books about magic and the many lessons and recordings of it, she started to relearn how to control it and how to use it again as her master taught her. Mediations and mental training helped her speed up the process greatly, creating astral projections within her mind that showed her how she managed to use them before.

Mediations teaching her how to sense the world around her and how nature in a sense played a part in her spells, like the wind and water. By the fifth month, she managed to cast third-tier spells again. As time went on though, she started to train with Gladiolus again with a wooden keyblade instead of her own. Refamiliarizing herself with the weapon and how she fought helped her get into the swings of it all, it was as if she had been reborn again when she got to fight as herself, as a master.

The remaining time she had between spending time with Gladiolus and researching for answers, she spent regaining her power. Should whatever come to pass, she was still needed to guard the worlds against the darkness, and she stubbornly refused to accept she would be the only master remaining. By the eleventh month, she knew deep in her heart she had recovered her strength at long last. And all she had to do to confirm her beliefs, was simply flicked her wrist and with a beautiful blue shine of magic, Queen of Storms reappeared in her hand.

Pristine condition as always and just holding it close to inspect, she could see herself within the blade. The master of the keyblade had finally regained her true self again. And leaning against the rock, she smiles wonderfully at the sky. With a hum, she dismissed her keyblade and jogged back home.

Entering the castle was still a bizarre thing for her, and yet it felt blissfully wonderful to just being able to walk into the castle grounds without the weight of past pain hold her down. Walking through the hall that showed signs of occupancy brought life to this once empty and deserted place, the smells of jasmine-scented air made her smile as well as just walking through the floors with just her socks instead. She enjoys it all, the fact this home was no longer filling her memories with loss and sorrow but instead it brings her peace.

Climbing the stairs, she spots her lover before the three seats, doing a few practiced swings with one of those over-sized iron rods with at least three rings weighing six tons each. With the sunlight beaming through the windows and shining down on his broad muscles that glistened with sweat, Aqua bits her lip and decided to not announce herself to him yet and instead leans against the railing near the stairs and watches the wonderful show.

Since coming here and after she was adjusted to this new temporary life, Gladiolus had been nothing but patient with her struggles with reclaiming her lost strength. Days spent with him outside of training, she wholeheartedly believed, helped her recover that power. Days of peace and enjoying one's company while talking about what they discovered about this world and more, days where they would have dinner outside and camp under the stairs and waking up every day in his arms were a bonus. It was fun to see him adapting to life outside of being a shield but here he could train all day, camp as much as he wanted to, and read to his heart's content.

He evening joked this was the best holiday he had in years.

A whole year.

It was still a concept she had a hard time believing sometimes, unlike the time in the forest where they had lost no time there yet here a year had passed since the war of the keyblades. She clutched her arm and frowns sadly when it dawns on her she had spent an entire year searching for a way to bring home two important people to so many, and yet all her work had been fruitless. She believed with all her heart Sora and Noctis were safe, missing but safe, and even though she believes they'll return one day it didn't mend the hurt in hers, and like the others, heart.

"Enjoying the show?", he called out during a swing. Aqua looked up at him with a smile, hiding her musings of failure when his brown eyes were fixed on her. "I was…but then you stopped…", she said with a lovely pout on her face, trying to look annoyed that her show was stopping so soon. He chuckled and laid the tool down gently, then rolled his shoulders and she could hear a few joints popping from the echo in the room. He gave her a confident smirk as she purposefully eyed his chest, trying to make a "suggestive" smile.

A whole year with this man and she has yet to master the art of looking seductive.

In the time spent here, Aqua's hair had finally recovered her natural blue thanks to her heart recovering from the pain, mended by her training and having Gladiolus' by her side. It had grown longer into reaching below her shoulders while it was still parted to the left, she has yet to get it cut. She loved Gladiolus dearly, but she strangely didn't like the idea of him cutting her hair. She dressed more casually here when she wasn't visiting her friends outside this world, wearing a navy tank-top with a pair of blue shorts and a pair of black boots that did wonders for hiking.

Gladiolus hadn't changed much since he came to live with her, the only real thing to change was his hair. The sides of his hair have grown back, his hair is longer, and he keeps it in a small ponytail these days, while his stubbled remained as a stubble. She remembers when he left it unshaved for a while and only when she felt his beard roughly rub into her neck so badly it made her ticklish, she requested he'd shave it. Even just looking at him, she could sense his strength had drastically grown, dare she even say probably more powerful than most of Xehanort's vessels.

Once he cleaned up, she had set dinner for them. They ate in harmony and once they finished, they'd go outside to the hill nearby and just stargaze in peace. Laying down on the grassy hill with her hands on her stomach, she watched the shooting stars graze past the cosmos and their sky, pointing at one here and there while Gladiolus had one arm wrapped around her form. Yet even in this tranquil moment between them, Aqua's thoughts of Sora and Noctis returned and as they came, her smile left her.

"You ok?", asked Gladiolus, looking at her. "A whole year has passed…", she muses looking at the stars, "And aside from regaining my strength…I've yet to find any clues to Sora and Noct's location". He could hear the failure within her voice, the same one that had plagued when during the early months of her recovery. Those dark days still hovered over their minds regularly, though they have become less and less frequent thanks to the master's power returning to her and he constantly comforting her, they were still persistent.

"Book after book…and I've no more knowledge of the power of waking than when I first heard of it", she says as she rubbed her hand against his tattooed arm, "And…maybe…I should just go look for them…". Gladiolus grunts as he subconsciously held her tighter, yet she doesn't ask him to loosen up. If nothing else, she wanted him to hold her even tighter. "Blue…you remember what Yen Sid said?", he stressed. "No keyblade masters are to attempt the power of waking", she parrots, even doing a terrible impression of the old man. "I know…but…". Gladiolus looks over at her and says: "I know Blue, it's a pain the ass to wait around, but you heard what that old geezer said. Anybody else disappears then a whole new set of problems picks up".

She couldn't fault his argument nor the logic in her senior master's words about the dangers of misuse of the power of waking. Especially when she was under direct orders, as well as Gladiolus, that she among all three remaining masters was to not use it no matter what. Considering it took nearly a year for her to recover her powers again, there would be no telling what could happen to her, and that alone was enough for Gladiolus to reject any proposal of her using it. No matter how hard it has gotten for him to live a life without his king.

Not a day goes by for these two that they aren't thinking of their lost friends and being utterly powerless to do anything about it. It was excruciatingly painful whenever something reminds them of the two, Aqua would often be looking at a wooden keyblade that reminded her of the training days she had with Sora and would often break down into sobs, while Gladiolus handled his with anger whenever he trained alone. This was harder on their hearts than either could have predicted and no shortage of days where they spent the entire day seeking comfort from each other.

She climbed onto his chest and laid her head on his chest, sighing and accepting her master's orders. "…hey, how about we go visit Insomnia?", she suggests, looking at him. Gladiolus returns her gaze and when he did, she smiled softly and sits up, saying: "I bet the others would appreciate seeing us again. Considering how long it's been". Gladiolus hummed in thought, then chuckled. "Yeah, been a while since I've teased Prompto anyways", he concurred, "And not gonna lie, I miss Iggy's cooking". Aqua gave him a raised brow with a mock look of insult.

"Aren't you happy with my cooking?", she accuses.

"Are you?", he asked with a smirk. She scoffed and made a loud "humph", turning away while crossing her arms. "Jerk, and after all these months of cooking this is the thanks I get? Well, suit yourself. You can do your dinners from here on out". "Cup-A-Noodles it is then", Gladiolus says casually. "Oh heck no! Not unless you open the windows on every floor! I, for one, will not live in a home stinking of noodles!", Aqua says firmly. Gladiolus rolled his eyes as Aqua suddenly tackled him. She pelts him with half-assed punches while he barely put any effort into stopping her.

Their play fighting ceased when she laid on top of him, a leg on each side of his hips and resting her hands on his chest while she sat on his stomach. His smirk disappears into a warm and loving smile that she was sure she was the only one who would ever get to see it. He reached up to her cheek and gently cupped her cheek, proud of the woman before him. She in response leaned down so that their noses brushed against each other, her eyes glowing.

"You know…I enjoyed our time together", she confessed, "It's…some of the best days of my life". Gladiolus nods, saying: "Same here Blue…". She slowly leaned down and captured his lips, and then he sits up and rests her between his legs while she wrapped her around his waist.

The heart of the master restored, and this bond between them even stronger than ever…

*Twilight Town*

With a small huff, Lea lazily throws the shopping bag full of groceries over his shoulders while listening to the conversation between the two younger former nobodies as they leave the market district. "You're so mean to that guy!", pouts Xion as she carries the two bags while Roxas had his two over the shoulders with an obvious frown on his face. "Not my fault he wasn't watching where he was walking", he mutters but Xion bumped his shoulder with hers a little more roughly than she should have, nearly causing him to stumble.

"You tripped him on purpose AND specifically made sure he was near the dessert table!", Xion reminds, and then huffs, "You're SUPER lucky Scrooge didn't see it!". Roxas rolls his eyes and their little bickering continues while Lea rolled his eyes at them, wondering if this the moment he'd have to act like a parent and put an end to their little squabble. But after seeing how their fighting dissolves into now childish name-calling with tongues sticking out and just calling each other names he decided he'd let them hash it out.

He just hoped they manage to reach the forest before they dish out their keyblades and their fight escalates to a full-blown battle between them. Call him selfish, but he didn't want to explain to Isa why Twilight Town lost twenty buildings in the span of one afternoon.

Waltzing through the forest as the two broke into the "silent treatment", namely both pouting and not looking at each other, Lea looks up through the leaves to the sky turning crimson and the rays of the sun basking the forest in warmth. Maybe it was him being sappy or sentimental, but these days that were becoming more and more frequent, not one had passed where he wasn't grateful. Sure it took a LONG time for them to adjust to this new life of peace, with the occasional heartless popping out nowhere and some baddies.

Once they came back to this world, surprisingly Isa was the one who offered them a place to stay when they caught up with each other. Granted Lea and Roxas were very apprehensive to trust him after everything he's done…but Xion just accepted his help with a bright smile and even asked if he could help them with finding Sora and Noctis for Kairi's sake. More impressively, he agreed. But unfortunately, the two adults underestimated their living conditions, and his two-room apartment didn't work out for any longer than three days before Lea decided they needed to move.

But sadly unlike their team, funds were low and chances of them paying the rent were impossible. That was until Roxas brought up the old mansion they were going to use to study his and Xion's memories to find the others, and then over the day of exploring the place they ultimately decided they could make it work. Walking to the newly polished and cared for gates with walls repainted sky orange, the weeded-out gardens, and fixed stone pillars, Lea smiled at their home while Xion and Roxas broke into a sprint, exclaiming the last ice cream was theirs.

"AFTER dinner", he yells to them as they touched the door. They both groaned in disappointment, but he promised Aqua as their guardian he'd at least make sure they'd have a balanced diet that didn't exclusively consist of ice cream. Entering their home, where the foyer had been refurbished with new furniture, new windows that lead into a more healthy and green garden. Even the gigantic chandelier was patched up, and even from down there, Lea could see the handprints on the ledges of the blasted thing.

Lea never understood why Xion thinks swinging on that thing was so fun…

Those days of refurbishing this place did not go without hurting their wallet and while Lunafreya was gracious with adding a bit of coin to help, Lea and Isa managed alone through a few hunts here and there, mercenary work does wonders for stable pay. But that didn't stop Xion and Roxas from getting jobs at the bistro and evening earning some heavy pay too. Though he was extremely apprehensive of letting the two work out his sight, he somewhat trusted Scrooge to look out for them in case things do go south.

The gang from Roxas' days in that virtual Twilight Town had been godsends to the newly formed family, in fact how they interacted with the two was as if they were just gone away for a little holiday. They quickly bonded and welcomed Xion into their gang, and while there was some hesitance with Lea and Isa (more so he was scarier), they patched things up quickly and soon enough they became regulars at the house.

He turned to the door leading to the living room (with the computer room below the floors) and enters after yelling at the two to get out of their work clothes and heads for the room. Inside, he sees Isa sitting down on a chair and much to Lea's delight, two old friends sitting on the couch listening to his report.

"Well aren't you two are sight for sore eyes", Lea greets with a smirk. Donald and Goofy turn to him, the latter smiling while Donald glared at him. "Aww phooey…that's the thanks we get for visiting ya?", Donald grunts in a grumpy mood. "Aww shucks Donald", Goofy chuckles while patting his friend's back, "Don't be a grump, we just got here". The duck huffed and kept his arms crossed as Lea sat on the couch opposite of the two members of the king's court. No longer in their old adventure clothes, Donald now wears his long navy jacket, which has a blue addition to the bottom that covers the lower half of his body. The sleeves are long and resemble those of a sweater, sporting vertical creases.

The jacket has two large, yellow buttons down the front, a gold-lined pattern of ovals, rather resembling Mickey's ears (for some reason), on the lower half, and a blue belt tie around the waist. His hat resembles a stereotypical witch's hat, as well as the hat on his old staff. It is dark blue, has a wide brim with gold lining, and the tip curls in a very angular fashion.

Goofy was wearing his knight captain's armor. There is armor all over his body, though most of it is on his left side, leaving his right side mostly exposed except for a metal armlet on his upper arm. His left arm sports the same armlet but includes several more pieces of armor, such as a pauldron over his left shoulder, a thick, cylindrical gauntlet covering most of the rest of his arm, and a metal glove overtop his normal white one. He dons a sleeveless, orange shirt with a high, yellow collar with an oblong, blue piece of clothing over his right half, held on by a black strap attached by yellow, star-shaped buttons.

He wears a thick, metal belt around his waist with two blue straps looping around the back of it. Goofy's pants are baggy and orange with a noticeable seam down the front of each leg. The bottom of the legs is black with a gold lining. Goofy's shoes are made of metal and the toes curl upward. Goofy sports a metal hat, which resembles a knight's helmet, and sports a curved blade on the top. Lea wonders if those two have any outfits that don't have hats.

Following the team going separate ways to find their lost friends or clues, Donald and Goofy had returned to the world searching for Sora while keeping an eye out for anything to find Noctis. Those two had spent eleven months searching worlds they had been to and even explored new worlds to find anything. But nothing had come from it, world after world they find only troubles that they helped and listed for keyblade wielders to seal the keyholes, a few encounters with Maleficent and Pete, some bad guys from other worlds and of course heartless.

In the end, Mickey had pleaded with them to come back to the castle and rest before they run themselves to the ground. But it didn't end there, even at the castle the two were searching through the royal library with Mickey for answers, and even with such an extensive library like theirs, all they discovered were family legacies and a few old laws and traditions within the castle. Though Donald did purposefully burn one of his memory albums, something about not wanting to remember his previous career choices.

Sadly, Lea's gang fared no better than they did. They tried using the computers to study Xion and Roxas' memories to find clues, but like Donald and Goofy, their search was fruitless. Three months in and nothing but their newly made memories or fragments of Sora's. Isa's knowledge of the princess of light didn't help either, much of it was surprisingly based on theories that Xehanort had conjured up during his lifespan or based on his old knowledge. Many of them were far from safe and after dark threats from everyone, Isa wisely keeps those theories to himself.

In the end, Aqua recommended to Lea to just live a normal life, for now, deciding to allow Roxas and Xion to enjoy the new peace the realm of light hadn't gotten in an exceptionally long time.

"So what brought you two here? Don't suppose you found anything?", Lea asked. They both gave forlorn looks and shake their heads, turning Axel's smirk into a frown as well while Isa sighed. "Unsurprising…but we had hoped for some good news", he says. Lea gave him a look before Goofy speaks up. "Well, we kinda didn't come here to talk about just Sora and Noct, but we're worried about Riku", he explained, though he sounded extremely apprehensive and hesitant to. This made the two look at him before Donald explains.

"We haven't heard anything from him in three months now, and Iris is the only one contacting us to keep everybody updated with what's going on with him and Kairi", Donald says, "And she doesn't sound very happy". Lea hummed and folded his arms while leaning against the couch, understanding. Tragically for the group, the one who had been enduring the worst of all this was none other than Riku. With Terra and Ventus, he returned to Radiant Garden to help keep the world safe along with watching for any updates with Kairi, but from what the gang gathered with Iris' report, he was not taking this well.

"How bad has he gotten?", Isa asked. "She wouldn't tell us everything, but she promised he was worrying her and even started to become elusive?", Goofy says, but Donald clarifies he had become "reclusive". "So, we were thinking of going to Radiant Garden with the king to catch up with him, and thought maybe you fellas wanna tag along", Goofy offers. Before Lea or Isa could respond to the nice gesture, the doors suddenly burst open.

Tumbling through the doors, Xion and Roxas rolling on the ground against each other, struggling and fighting over what seemed to be the last packet of the sea salt ice cream within Xion's hands. The girl was trying to keep it out of Roxas' hands while using her free one to push his face back and hopes he doesn't use his teeth on her fingers. Their legs tangled as they rolled around the living room to fight for the cold treat, completely oblivious to their audience watching with rapid interest.

"I CALLED DIBS ON THAT! GIMME!", Roxas commands as he rolled them to have Xion face down on her stomach while refusing to let the treat within reach. "NO! MINE!", argued Xion, elbowing him in the stomach and nearly scrambles away before Roxas tackles her to the ground again. "YOU HAD THE LAST ONE LAST TIME! ITS MY TURN FOR THE LAST ONE!", Roxas persists. "YOU ATE MINE! THIS IS PAYBACK!", replied Xion. Xion manages to peel the wrapper off the treat but Roxas manages to snatch it and got to his feet.

Xion tries to grab it but he pushed her back with his hand against her cheeks and holds the ice cream high from her, not risking any attempts to eat it just in case. "Victory is mine Xion!", bragged Roxas. Then the girl makes a wicked grin and grabbed his wrist and then licks his hand. Immediately Roxas screams in disgust and ripped his hand from her and jerked back, but this gave Xion the chance to rush in and grab the ice cream with a small leap.

"YOINK! ALL MINE!", she declared. Before she could eat it, Roxas wrapped his arms around her body and trapped her arms, forcing the treat to go low, and squeezed her. "Ha! Now what!?", he challenges. Xion struggles and yells "profanities" at him while kicking her legs furiously. Then she feels her hand was empty and panicked. "ROXAS! I DON'T HAVE IT ANYMORE!", she cries in dismay and horror. Roxas freezes and they both look around the floor in case she dropped the treat. But they see a pair of feet before them and heard soft munches…and then they looked up to see Lea snacking on their treat.

"MMM…that was a nice one", he said, finishing off the treat and pockets the stick. They both looked at him with eyes of horror and disbelief, jaws slammed to the floor while Lea smirked evilly at them. A usual tactic for the pyro to get those two to stop "fighting", taking away the reason why they went to war with each other and keep them quiet long enough to get their attention. He chuckles at their looks, noticing Xion had changed out of her work clothes and her boyfriend was back in his usual clothes.

Xion was wearing a sleeveless double buttoned, collared shirt and a black belt, a short white pleated skirt, and black boots that reach her mid-shin with beige color to the upper fifth, mirroring the clothing of Kairi and Naminé. She had asked this specifically from the three fairies as a show of respect for two people who mean so much to her. Lea thought she looked nice outside of her organization cloak, which was no longer among them due to how tattered it was after the battle.

Behind his smirk, he was happy to see their moods hadn't been greatly altered since the disappearances of their lost friends, and if nothing else, they were brighter and more cheerful. Sure Roxas still had a bit of a chip on his shoulder, if his short temper was anything indication at the bistro and only because he keeps the unsavory costumers out was one of the sole reasons he was kept on. Xion was still a little bit of concern, she was a naïve as a three-year-old, way too innocent for this world, and was a little helper in every sense of the word.

The biggest surprise to come for Lea was learning from Isa these two were "dating". Sure he knew they were inseparable but now that they started to date a few months ago, he swore there was a whole new side to them…well alright that's a lie, they were both extremely innocent. Xion didn't even know why people kissed and thought it was gross at one point, but when she kissed Roxas?

Lea could count on one finger how many days went by she didn't kiss him.

They were sweet and having Roxas around her nearly 24/7 assured Lea no one would try and take advantage of her. Though considering she could beat up almost everyone they know and still have enough energy to run through every street of this world, he had a feeling she'd be fine.

"GET HIM!", they both cried. Those words broke Lea's muse, and he finds himself being tackled by the two, proclaiming vengeance for their lost treat. Lea struggles against their punches and Xion tickling him while their guests and housemate watch. With a heavy sigh, while rubbing his temples, Isa says: "I think we'll take you up on that offer…".

*Eos, Insomnia*

Staring at the city that was slowly rebuilding to its glory days as the sun blesses the once war-torn land, many buildings still under reconstruction with large airships hovering above with small ones patrolling the Crown City. Power had been restored long ago thanks to the geniuses of Lestallum and with Cindy leading the engineers, traveling and commerce reinstated and revived in the first three months of the restoration of the city.

Many refugees who were displaced because of the attack were soon homed by the rebuilt glaives and newly trained Crownsguards soon filled the castle's security with unquestionable loyalties to their new queen. It was still too soon to proudly proclaim Insomnia was restored entirely because of so many more lives still trying to put it back together and many more troubles arose with each problem settled and taken care of. And of course, many more of the Nilfs who were still blindly loyal to their fallen empire would still try and claim this for their king of light.

Walking down the corridor with many stewards and other members of the newly reformed council, lady Lunafreya kept her pace steady and face unreadable as she answers the concerns these old men had for her. These petty questions were answered months ago yet they seem insistent that bringing them up again and trying to persuade her to see the strain of those problems was becoming bothersome to her and sooner or later she may disband this council if they have nothing to do but pester her and chip away at her patience.

This world was no longer under siege by the daemons, now that the blight had been fully sealed away by Noctis and Sora a year ago, and with the Usurper finally gone to the final world permanently, there would be no chance of it returning. The heartless however were a constant threat to their home, albeit on a lesser scale compared to their dark cousins, and like them, because of their powerful light infused with hers, they couldn't so much as a step within the city walls without burning alive. Cruel but necessary.

"My lady, surely we should discuss the issue regarding Scientia", one of them spoke with that usual condescending tone of his, but one glare from the woman silenced his complaints. "Master Scientia has been an indispensable asset to the rebuild of our city, are you certain he is unfit to serve as my advisor? The very same man who stood by the side of our king?", challenged the Oracle now stopping her march, and turned her body to face him. The cowardly man shrank under her gaze and whimpered an apology to her, as she expected.

"…we will continue these meetings another, but for now please concentrate on guiding the workers on repairing our home, and should any concerns arise about the monsters, please contact me, Master Scientia or Master Argentum", she ordered sternly but gently. There is no need to make herself out to be a tyrant to these fools yet, especially if she was still on thin ice with them as it were. They all bowed to her and wishes were given for her health and rule as she quietly headed down the hall to her office.

Keeping her stress from appearing on her face and even taming her anger in her body language, the former Oracle musters a small, aggravated sigh from her lips. When did restoring the once-proud city of the Lucians become a battle with the very people who resided here, let alone witnessed the destruction of their home? The day she and her companions returned to the city, it broke her heart to see how much desolation and chaos was birthed while they were gone and what was left in wake of the previous emperor's greed.

While it wasn't as bad as it was before she left, many parts of it were in better condition it still looked like a far cry from its original splendor. The first true trial of rebuilding came in establishing herself as the steward of the kingdom, but many of the population had declared her as queen instead. She tried for a few days to sway people's thoughts and accept her as no more than a steward for the king but eventually, Ignis convinced her that for now, she acted as a beacon of hope for those who had lost much in the war.

She loathed taking Noctis' throne but in a time of desperation and with his disappearance still hanging over their minds as well as the people, she reluctantly accepted the title of queen. And her disdain for it grew with each passing month as she fought to rebuild the home of her beloved. The reformed council only happened after Ignis and her managed to establish Insomnia as a ruling land and after getting in contact with Arccordo and even Galahd. The political side became more than what she could handle and reluctantly reformed them.

They were old and traditional but served their uses to negotiate with their soon neighboring kingdoms and kept the worst of it off her back. Sure she and Ignis knew they would try and scheme with information not presented to her since she rarely attends meetings like that and focused more on the humane situations. This was why she had to employ her shadow to keep an eye on them and report back to Lunafreya as if something valuable arose.

She enters her office/bedroom and closes the doors behind her with a gentle click and then exhales deeply, closing her eyes as a pounding headache made itself known to her and her eyes ached from it. These headaches had become the norm for her in recent months, and only thanks to her healing magic she hadn't resorted to downing pain killers every fifteen minutes. The princess of light sits down at her desk and immediately begins to read the reports Aranea and Ignis had prepared for her, most development in the city or concerns about parts infested by the darkness.

"So many reports…", she says to herself as she scans them and puts some aside. "Maybe if you pretend their early previews of your novels maybe it won't be so bad?". Lunafreya smiled softly as her "shadow" appeared sitting on her desk, still ethereal as ever. Naminé grants her parental figure a warm but concerning smile on her lips. "I could…but then as soon as I read something useless as more reports on the Niflheim empire, I'll be dropped back into this sad reality where I am a queen", Lunafreya sighed as she placed another report of the Nilfs aside. Naminé hummed in agreement when she takes a small glance at the report and as her lady says, it was another "suggestion" to reclaim land from them.

"You'd think those old jerks would be more focused on restoring the capital and breathing easier now that the empire is still dead in the water", Naminé remarks. "Many of them still bear the scars of war and the treachery and murder of their king has kept their wounds open as fresh as they were first cut", argued the queen with a resigned sigh, "Though I agree they should have their focus set on our home first and foremost". Naminé nodded in agreement as she hops off the table and hovers near the Oracle, occasionally peering over her shoulder what she was reading.

The queen's attire was a massive change compared to her usual virgin white dress, now she wore the black of the Lucians, but a magical set of clothes made for her by the three fairies Aqua delivered months ago.

A dark robe that showed her neck and necklace that Noctis had given back before he vanished, a silvery embroidered skull on her back to represent the Crownsguard, sleeves a mix of black and white with two silver etching on the cuffs to empower her magic much like Ignis'. A pair of black pants with white lines tracing from hip to her ankles, a pair of grey and black combat boots. Her hair was let down and no longer braided yet she keeps the hairpin, given by the man who managed to help her fulfill her king's final wish.

"I trust you have nothing to report? No conspirators? Or anyone who has grown weary of me on the throne?", inquired the queen. Naminé shakes her head and assured the woman people would probably revolt if they heard someone so much as called her a bad word. At least she had the people on her side. The nobody quietly returns to her spot on the desk and begins playing with her fingers and soon enough, she turned to the woman who came back from the dead and asked: "How are you holding up?".

Lunafreya stops her scribbling and paused before she leans back in her seat and says: "I could ask you the same, though I believe we share the same feeling". Naminé nodded and clasped her hands, frowning. "…I miss them", she confessed. Lunafreya softened her gaze as a flash of guilt shined in her eyes as she placed a hand on her dear's knee, gently squeezing it as a sign of comfort despite the ethereal form. "As do I…but there has been no sign of them, and our friends have done what they could for us", Lunafreya says with a tired sigh.

Naminé looks at her with guilt-ridden eyes, but before she could break down, a knock on the door startles them and she nearly vanished. "My apologies if I am disturbing you, your grace", a familiar voice calls out. Both blondes relaxed when they heard the voice and the queen kindly welcomes him to enter her room. Entering is none other than their advisor and probably the sole reason neither had lost the minds, Ignis. Carrying a folder and quietly while delicately closing the door behind him, he greeted the queen and Naminé with the usual courteous smile.

"Greetings, Naminé", he says warmly, "Been keeping us in the loop I hope". Naminé smiled gently at him and nodded to him. "Oh by the gods, please tell me you are carrying that folder for amusement", Lunafreya pleaded while mustering enough will power to not groan in horror. Ignis chuckles and pushes his glasses up, the old habit never died even after a year. Much like his queen, Ignis had practically lived within the castle and rarely left the building unless it was heartless related or if he had to escort the queen.

Without Gladiolus to shield the queen, he willingly took up that task along with everything else he had been doing for her. How he hadn't lost his mind yet is beyond the two, though Naminé teased it had something to do with a certain dragoon who might have become a housemate in recent months. His scars had been probably healed by the Oracle, his hair wasn't kept up like he normally kept it, but now down and more unkempt yet he still looked presentable. He was back in his old Crownsguard uniform but there were some changes to it, like keeping the etching on his arms while the violet shirt changed into a navy shirt with a silver belt.

He hadn't worn his Kingsglaive uniform for the year, at Lunafreya's request.

His smile doesn't change but he gently knocks on the door and says: "On the contrary your grace, I've found something far more amusing than carrying this folder of recipes". The door opens and to the Oracle's delight, two old faces enter the room. "Don't see what's so amusing about you carrying a folder of recipes", Gladiolus remarks, "Think I'd be more worried when the day comes you of all people forgot a recipe".

"At least he remembers to pick his socks up", Aqua teases with a smirk. Lunafreya's smile grows as Naminé hopped off the table and rushed to give the two ghost hugs. "Gladio, Aqua, it's such a delight to see you again", greeted the Oracle who joined the hugging. The smile widened when she takes in Aqua's form, her blue hair and back in her master's attire, while Gladiolus was in his Crownsguard uniform, minus the old armor Terra's will had given him a year ago. "My goodness, Aqua, you look amazing", she praised.

"It's good to be back to normal…though, I am going to miss Gladio carrying me everywhere", she says with a giggle. Gladiolus rolled his eyes and scoffed at her, insisting she was just getting lazy without any students to train. "How goes the restoration? Iggy says you've been having some issues with the council?", Gladiolus asks, turning to Lunafreya. She sighed and decided to inform them what's transpired since they were last here just as Ignis made them tea.

Settling down and after two hours of talking about nothing but restoration, the council being a thorn in her side and of course the number of questions she was bombarded with about Noctis' disappearance, while having Naminé acting like a spy, Prompto helping wherever he could with the citizens and Ignis being the sole reason why their queen hadn't had a mental break down. "As you can tell…it has been one battle after another with those fools", she says, "But we can at least say our home is closer to be fully restored and if the gods are willing, perhaps by the end of the year Insomnia will return to its full glory".

"At least you're halfway there…", Aqua says with a comforting smile, "And it'll be a wonderful surprise for Noct when he comes back". Lunafreya grants the master a grateful and hopeful smile at that. Even after a year of nothing, she still held onto that hope within her restored heart that one day he'll come back with the boy who changed their destiny. "Speaking of Noct, that's kinda why we're here", Gladiolus says, "Been a while since we got everyone together for a little meet up".

"Ahh, yes", Ignis hums, "Last time we did it was a month ago…". "All the more reason we should go and visit Riku and the others in Radiant Garden", Naminé chirped, "I…wanna see how Kairi's doing". The five frowned in silence at the mention of their friend before Lunafreya clapped her hands and says: "As do I. Perhaps a small reprieve from this kingdom will help". Ignis nodded and quickly began planning for a substitute for the queen while Naminé and Aqua go help her prepare for the travel.

With the girls gone, Gladiolus turned to Ignis with a broad grin and says: "So…you and Aranea?".

"…shut up", Ignis says firmly and stuttered a bit.

Once arrangements were made and after Ignis managed to assure Aranea he'd be back in a week (he originally swore a day before she threatened to pour all his ebony down the drain if he didn't take a week off), they were already in the foyer on their way to collect the two other blondes. But as soon as they exited the building and were atop of the stairs, they see the Regalia mark II parked ahead of them, and exiting is Prompto and Cindy.

The gunner closes the passenger door and stretched with a yawn then turned to the gang. His eyes widen as he smiles. "Aqua, Gladio! When'd you get here?", he asked with joy.

Immediately Gladiolus is tackled into a tight hug while Cindy gave one of her best friends a sisterly hug, praising how much better the master looked without the old grey hair. Even if Aqua insisted it was silver and not grey. Prompto may not have participated in the political side of the restoration of the kingdom but he oversaw other vital tasks. Taking pictures of the more run-down sections to help decide where Lunafreya could pour more resources in, helping with cleansing an area, traveling with Cindy for tools, or helping her repairing vehicles.

His robotic limb had been remodified by the mechanic to look more like Insomnia technology, sleek and black like a royal arm while he had gained more muscle and looked even more of a seasoned fighter compared to last year. He groaned that his goatee would've stayed if Cindy hadn't constantly said he looked like a wannabe biker. As for the mechanic, she's been as busy as she always had been but now she was experimenting with gummi blocks given to her by Cid.

She was still wearing the adventure clothes Lea had given her since they would constantly fit her and clean themselves whenever she worked, though Prompto promised them she does wear other clothes outside of them. Though when Gladiolus coyly asked why he knew that, his blush spoke for them and darkened when Cindy teased she liked to hear his opinion on what she wears and gives him previews. The poor man was close to having a heart attack.

"Where ya'll off to?", Cindy asked.

"Radiant Garden and you two will be escorting me", Lunafreya says as she walked past them with a smile. Cindy grinned madly and was already running back to the car, proclaiming she had the trunk full of blueprints she had been meaning to ask Cid about. The other three glanced at Prompto, who gave them all a shrug and told them she's been acting like a mad scientist with each new experimentation with the gummi, and even revealed his arm was being tested regularly.

Aqua questioned if it was a safe activity and he assured her Cindy only blew up sixteen sets of arms, and only set her garage on fire four times.

The master was starting to see why she operates at Hammerhead instead of within Insomnia…

*Radiant Garden Outskirts*

"And this is why we bring a map with us…for the eleventh time", growls Paine as she leads the party of four outside the crystal caves with a very sheepish Rikku doing her best to keep her distance. "I said sorry! And second, who carries a paper map anymore!?", she says exasperatedly, "Why didn't we just use our phones!?".

"Didn't Leon say there wouldn't be any service this far out from the city?", Terra asked as he carried the large boulder of crystal over his head, "Pretty sure he said that". Ventus nodded as he adjusted the sacks of ore on his shoulders, confirming Terra's question. Rikku turned to glare at him, while Paine shoots him a grateful but tired smile. "Glad at least one of you remembered…", she grunts, "But just as well we brought you two".

"Oh come on, not out fault they were the only ones who offered! What the heck is Irvine and the others doing?", Rikku complained. Paine makes a disgusted noise and grumbled something about an excuse the gunslinger threw at her as an excuse. This excursion was supposed to go a lot smoother than it had, but once more because of overreliance on technology, the Gullwings had gotten the party lost and while Rikku may have forgotten the map, neither boys dared to ask Paine why she didn't bring one.

Terra wisely informed Ventus he had seen that woman punch someone once and according to the grapevine, he was never the same again.

Having said that, both keyblade wielders had offered to go with them in case of the heartless or any other surprises, much to Rikku's delight as it was a perfect excuse to tease Ventus and act all cutesy with him. Sure the boy had grown more accustomed to Rikku's teasing nature and was even bold enough to respond to her in kind (while out of earshot of his brother) but this only made the girl step up her game some more.

It still took time for Terra to accept his little brother's dating partner, considering how much of an opposite she was to Ventus but as the year went on he warmed up to her. He just wished the girl would be more aware of her surroundings when he and Paine were around. If he had to see his brother make out again he was going to rip his eyes balls out. Paine on the other hand was more tolerable of them and didn't hesitate to get Rikku's butt moving when they were delayed.

The year living in Radiant Garden had been an interesting experience for them, when not slaying heartless, training, making visits to Aqua, or patrolling the city, they were mostly hanging around with Rikku and company or training. They both stopped wearing their usual armored clothing for the sake of fitting in this world more and kept them safely hidden within the armory of their shared home and stuck with the magic clothes the fairies had given them.

Ventus donned a greenish vest with a white and black jacket that stopped below his rib cage, wearing his checked wrist band with baggy pants cream-colored with big black and green shoes, hair more unruly and messy than ever since he was getting mistaken for Roxas too often for his liken. Terra wears a brown leather jacket with a black t-shirt with a behemoth's skull on his chest, a pair of black slacks with a brown belt and bullhead buckle, black biker gloves. Hair was long and tied into a samurai-style ponytail while he maintained his fringe.

"So what do you think Cid needs the ore for this time?", Ventus asked as they made their back to the city. "Ugh, probably trying to fix a hole one of his cannons made…again", Paine groaned, "And maybe fix a building he demolished". Terra chuckles. "You girls sure it was heartless that destroyed the old wall years ago? Seems like Cid is doing a good job giving them openings", he teased.

"It's a wonder how we weren't invaded in the year since Maleficent's attack", Paine says off handily. Rikku throws her hands behind her head and says: "Maybe it's because we've got four keyblade wielders this time, maybe she's too lame to try again". Terra and Ventus glanced at each other worriedly at her words, despite their hearts wanting to correct that number but withheld it. The boy's eyes dim and he casts his head down while Terra sighed quietly, following the girls in silence. As good as their time had been staying here, he couldn't say the same for the other keyblade wielder.

*Town*

Hands clasped together as he stares at the floor in brooding silence, the ticking clock overhead providing the only sound he could hear bar his steady heartbeat. The sun shining on his bed and himself while his room was so neat and tidy it looked like an exhibit, his phone left on the table completely devoid of power and there is a thin sheen of dust upon the screen.

Quietly thinking, Riku tries to motivate himself to just get out and do something, anything to just get out of this dark room. Yet every time he so much as stand from his bed, he could feel all his strength evaporate and suddenly his legs couldn't bear his weight, and back down he went. Disgust formed on his face and his teeth grit as a hiss escaped him, reduced to such a pathetic state. But his hate for this form changed to despair whenever he thinks why he's become like this, why every day was a battle to just get up and do anything.

A year…a whole year has passed…and nothing.

His two best friends were still gone, still so far away from him as they existed in entirely different planes of reality. The girl who kept them together with her bright smiles and unlimited love for them was still sleeping away while his closest friend, his brother, was still gone who knows where and every day when he discovered no one has any more clues than he does, he could feel his hope chipping away slowly but without a doubt.

Slowly the days became more of the same, one after the other. He would wake up, eat, do some training to hone his strength so that any heartless who dared come for Kairi would suffer his fury, and then sleep. But even that became hard to maintain, he could feel his power had lessened in the year apart from those two, he feels less like a master now, and even looking at himself in the mirror he couldn't believe it was him in that reflection.

His hair had grown so messily and unkempt it reminded him of the days fighting the nobodies, his eyes were heavy with sleep depravity and he looked thinner too. Not enough to say malnourished thankfully, but he lost a lot of his former strength. Enough to guarantee he wouldn't be able to use the power of waking without ripping his heart apart, that's for sure. He feels like a failure, and worthless to boot.

And the only reason he hadn't drowned in misery…?

"Ya know…glaring at the floor won't help".

He raised his head to see Iris approaching him with lunch on a tray. "Just saying maybe we could go do inventory and some shopping? I'm surprised you're not sick of this stuff", she says with a small smile. Sitting down with him, he sees she prepared her usual lunch, typical Ignis quality brunch with all the traditional food. His stomach growls and he could feel his mouth water, but he didn't have the strength to eat.

Sensing this, Iris placed the tray on the lamp table and cupped his cheek to get him to face her. "Riku…come on, you need to eat", she implored, gesturing to his weary face. Riku almost looked away, unable to face her but she holds him in place. "Come on…will you at least talk to me?", she pleads, "You've been acting like a robot for the past three days now". He almost frowns before he rethinks how long he had been self-quarantined and realized he had been silent for those days. "…sorry", he whispers, voice dry and hollow.

"See? You're starting to sound like Roxas when he's trying to imitate Aqua!", she teased playfully. He was kind enough to bless her with a small smile, but it was so fragile and weak she could flick his lip and it shatters like glass. She takes his larger hand in hers, gently rubbing it with hers. She stares at him with her bright brown eyes, speaking with them as Riku couldn't muster his strength to answer those questions. He loathed this, loathed how she had this much patience for him and all he does is nothing but hate himself.

"…you don't have to stay with me, you know that", he assured but Iris pecked his cheek. "Course I don't. But I want to. You're hurt", she reminds, "And…we're all worried about you". Riku didn't want to imagine how disappointed everyone must be if they could see him in this state, or how disgusted his fellow masters must be. Iris then cradled him into her arms, resting his head against her chest, and stroked his back as he weakly holds her close.

"Iris…", he starts but she shushed him. "It's ok…you're hurting more than any of us…and so long as you need me, I'm not going anywhere", promised the girl. Then she carefully laid them both on the bed and asked him to sleep with her, so that he could sleep in peace knowing someone was holding him…

And for the first time in a very long while…Riku finally slept in peace.

*Next Day*

Waking up with a small groan and a yawn, Riku sits up and looks at the sheets, then to the window where the sun was shining outside. Another beautiful day it seemed, then he managed to throw the sheets off himself and stand, walk towards the window, and opens it up. He was welcomed by the cool breeze and sees a flock of birds fly the skies, the bell tower ringing out loudly but not harming his eardrums. He leaned on the windowsill and looks to the castle, where waiting is his friend still sleeps.

"…I'm on the way", he whispered to himself.

Riku removes himself from the windowsill and headed for the bathroom.

After a shower and finally cutting his long hair back to what it was during the war, he ventured downstairs while saying "good morning" to Iris while yawning. He stops and froze when he sees their living room was occupied.

By the entire guardians of light.

"He finally graces us with his presence", Lea teased and gets a smack on the head by Xion. "Be nice! He just woke up!", she chastises, "Sleepy people get a pass!". Riku blinks at her, but one shake from Isa's head tells him not to question it and accept it as Xion being herself. Iris gave him a sheepish smile and says: "I gave Gladdy my house key and he let everyone in".

"…has anyone raided the fridge yet?", Riku asked, gesturing the fridge with his thumb. "Nope. Aqua threatened us not to touch it", Prompto assured with a smile, "Something about the OJ being yours exclusively?". Riku looks at her and she replied Iris had told her that was off-limits and knew SOMEONE would drink all of it.

And nobody was looking at Cindy knowingly at all…

Ignis gave him a sympathetic look when he takes a good glance at the boy, probably wondering how he let himself get so much different compared to his previous look. "How have you been?", he asks gently. "…been better…", he confesses, "Its…been rough, you know how it is". "And that's why you weren't answering your phone?", Gladiolus asked with a raised brow. "Battery died…", excused Riku. "There's a thing called a charger, ya heard of it?".

"Gladdy…", Iris hissed. This was the first time Riku had gotten out of his room in over a month and she didn't need her brother to put him back into that state. Riku just glared at him in response to his comment, despite knowing the man had him back into a corner with his lack of communication. Lunafreya however spoke up. "Riku…we understand among all of us…this has been the hardest on you", she says with a gentle tone. He turned to the woman who was looking at him with the most gentle look she had.

"We miss all of them, and while I can say for many of us, Noctis' disappearance has left a hole in our hearts…I…cannot imagine how Kairi and Sora's states are affecting you", she says. This made the shield's glare soften before he groaned and apologizes, while others show him sympathy and understanding through some still had the "why didn't you say anything" look on their faces. "We get it, this year hasn't given us the brightest outlook", Ventus says with genuine sorrow, "But…".

"That doesn't mean they're never coming back, and you know this", Mickey says wisely, "And we're still looking for clues about them". Riku sighed and understands them, a great weight is lifted from his heart. "I know that…that's why I'm going to see Kairi", he says, turning for the door, "I…don't remember when I last visited her". Others nod, some offer support before he leaves, promising he'd catch up with them as soon as he could.

As grateful and genuinely touched as he was that his friends were this worried about him, he needed to do this. Just so he could at least clear his mind and find some hope that she was still waiting. Still…there.

*Kairi's Room*

After greeting several members of the RC and checking himself in, he entered Kairi's new room.

Inside the room, which was closer to a normal bedroom instead of a hospital room. There was a window that oversees the giant city and the beautiful landscape with the horizon, a pink fuzzy carpet in front of the bed with a dresser, wardrobe, and a desk nearby. The room was painted in violet and green with a large clock hanging above the door, the smells of her favorite flowers lingered in the room and puts him in a far better mind.

He could see the other guardians had been visiting her, on the desk were several gifts and knickknacks from her friends. There is a small cup holding seven winner sticks courtesy of Lea and the gang, with a notebook titled "Xion's super awesome list of things to do with Kairi and Naminé", twos new Wayfinders, one made with pink crystals and another made from red while a wooden keyblade shaped like Destiny's Embrace leaning against the leg of the desk, made by Terra. A photo album made by Prompto titled "Team Eos' best moments", a recipe book from Ignis she had been wanting to learn from him.

A set of books from Gladiolus since they shared the same love for a series they read, little souvenirs from other worlds from Donald and Goofy, a folder of drawings made by Naminé with Lunafreya drawing for her. There was a book of poems Lunafreya had left for her they were both amateur poets in training it seemed. Flowers left by Iris that were cared for by Aerith likely, even a helmet decoration from Aranea of all people, a note written to her by Cindy to give her some driving lessons, and finally dozens of cards for her.

Riku's only gift to her was a picture of herself, himself, and Sora when they were kids on the islands, resting on the lamp table near her bed. In the bed lies the sleeping princess still, unmoving but he could sense she was still there. Her hair had grown to an exceptionally long length sadly and he could see she was still aging as she slept, furthering his worries about her being. Aerith and the other nurses have been keeping her clean and monitoring her, minus the haircut.

"Heh…you always wanted to have the typical "princess hair", long and elegant", he joked softly as he sat down near her, "And you always complained about me managing long hair. Pfft…jealous I can wear it better, I guess". He looks at her, and gently brushed a stray hair from her cheeks, and feels the warmth of her skin. "Sorry I hadn't visited you in a while…I, I guess I'm more of a wimp than I thought, huh?", he says with a weak smile, "Bet you a million munny Sora would have camped here if he was here…". Memories of their time together began to resurface in his heart, he lets out a small chuckle.

"You know…since this whole thing started, keyblades, darkness, and everything else? It just occurred to me…how we, well I know I had, but hear me out. I never knew how much we had taken our time in Eos and the forest for granted", he explains, "Like, we were always apart. Rarely together like it was destiny that we weren't allowed to be together, the three of us. Heh, in Eos, we got to live our dream of seeing another world together".

He couldn't believe how it was only recently he realized how much fun he had with them, how fun they all had together in Eos. A new world to explore, having fights with bad guys like those old stories they listened to, went camping together under the stars, and even having great food together. For those days there was no looming darkness, no war to be fought or anything. It was just three islanders with a bunch of friends on an adventure together for the first time.

The forest had been peaceful for them even when training, but that was made so much better. Training together, constantly trying one-up the other, trying to show how far they'll go, and even goading the other to be better. He'll never forget those fights with Sora, pushing him to beyond his limits and reviving their old rivalry with each other again. He'd always carry the memories of Kairi within his heart, seeing her so happy to be by their side, to be on equal footing as them, and even when she won they were so proud of her.

"It was…probably some of the happiest memories I'll ever have with you guys since this started", he confessed as his shoulders shook, and eyes water. "I wish…you guys were here with me again…I wish we did more together", he whimpered, "I wish…we could've all come home together". He gripped her unmoving hand and rested his forehead against her stomach and sobbed, crying into her for the first time since he broke down in front of Iris.

"I miss you two…I miss you both so damn much it hurts", he cried. Absorbed in his misery and relief of holding back his pain, Riku didn't see on the left side of Kairi's cheek, a single tear runs.

*Later…*

Comforted by Iris as the gang gathered up in the living room, each of them trying to clam their minds and hearts, coping with the sadness that still lingered in their hearts. Riku sat down within her arms as Aqua and a few others discussed what could be done about this.

Prompto was answering a phone call, though he did frown and say nobody should be calling him out here. "Maybe we could try the realm of darkness? There's probably a connection there", Aqua suggested. "I dunno…seems a bit too farfetched", Gladiolus says, "You think it'll help?". Aqua shakes her head and says she was just grasping at straws at that point, while Lunafreya suggests returning to the Keyblade Graveyard for something.

Then…Prompto dropped his phone. They all looked at him, his eyes widened, and he looked shocked. He looked at the phone and shakily reached for it, but Riku approached it and picks it up. His phone didn't show the number or the ID, so he answered.

"Hello?", says Riku.

"Riku?".

Riku's eyes widened as he shakes, and with a tremble in his hands, he shakily says the name of one of the people they had all be searching for.

"Sora?".

A/N:

…well this went on longer than I thought.

So a year has passed since KH3, and now as we see what happened to our beloved guardians, what's coming next?

You're gonna just must wait and see~

QUESTIONS:

Q1: Thoughts this chapter?

Q2: Whose fate did you enjoy?

Q3: Lunafreya's new look?

Q4: Terra and Paine?

Q5: How was Xion and Roxas as a couple?

Q6: Curious to see Donald and Goofy's adventures?

Q7: The team's gift to Kairi? Which one did you like the most?

Q8: Miss Sora, Kairi and Noctis?

Q9: Aqua with long hair?

As always everyone, thanks for reading! Stay awesome but more importantly, stay safe!