Kingdom Hearts: Dual Destinies Book 1: Scattered Light

by WolfieRed23

Giana and Liana's world fell a decade ago. Since then, they have fallen under the tutelage of the new Keyblade Masters, training to use the Keyblade themselves all while searching for their own world. But the Heartless have been acting strange recently and so the two of them and the eight other apprentices are trusted to investigate this new, unknown threat. SYOC CLOSED

14. Chapter 12:End of the Road

Legacy: Hey guys! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I know we're a day late, but consider this your Christmas gift from us. I know Wolfie and I consider it a gift to ourselves because this is the final chapter of Book 1, concluding the Shattered Light arc of this story. This does not mean that we're done writing Dual Destinies, however, we're going to take a break for a while to recharge our batteries and plan ahead for the future of this series. That doesn't mean that you guys will be left without any content. I've been working on a little project of my own to supplement the Dual Destiny series of books, so if you aren't already following me, I recommend that you do so so that you don't miss when I post this upcoming story.

Wolfie: Hi everyone! I'm emotional, but I'm gonna hold it back for now! First off, I just want to say how PROUD I am that Legacy and I managed to do this, considering it was this plot exactly that I never finished in the original, so I'm so happy to see it finally done in all its deserved glory! Thanks to Time-Space lord Eon (I'm glad you enjoyed!), FallenFeather92 (Not done, yet! Please continue to stick around!), Antex-the Legendary Zoroark (Thank you for the support!), ShadowWolf223 (Wait until you see this one XD) and LegacyReturns (;)) for reviewing, all 9 followers, 8 favorites and 1,072 readers! I don't have much else to say here, so enjoy!

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Chapter 12: End of the Road

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Location: Treasure Planet - Tunnel

"Huh...this'll be fun." Loz smirked as he stared Tifa down. But Tifa didn't let him get to her and pushed herself forward using the balls of her feet.

Loz caught her right arm with his metal arm guard, but Tifa didn't hesitate as she slammed the ball of her leather gloved hand into his chin, causing his head to snap back and him to stumble.

Knowing that if she let this opening go she'd be pummeled, the brawler pressed her advantage, curling her hands into fists and punching Loz furiously, her strikes smooth and calculated for deadly accuracy. She swung her right leg out to nail him directly in the neck, in a move that would kill him had he hit the ground.

But Loz did not fall. Instead, he caught himself and charged Tifa instead. The monk barely managed to catch the metal arm guard Loz wore when it gave off an electric pulse and she was thrown back.

Quickly, Tifa flipped in midair and landed on the metal floor of the tunnel, staring Loz down.

He's strong...and that arm guard is very sophisticated. Tifa thought to herself as she wiped a drop of blood from her chin, having bit her tongue to stop herself from yelling out as she flew through the air. Loz grinned at her, as if he could read her thoughts.

The electricity still felt as if it were traveling through her body and Tifa felt her right hand twitch in response to it, as if she were having a seizure.

But she would not be stopped this easily.

With a cry, Tifa launched herself along the metal floor, intent on sliding the silver haired man's feet out from under him, only for Loz to leap into the air and backflip to land where Tifa had previously stood.

But she didn't give him a second to rest.

Tifa launched herself towards Loz and landed a solid punch at his jawline, causing him to fly into the walls of the tunnel. Using the many cylindrical levels to her advantage, Tifa jumped towards one and used it as leverage to leap towards her fleeing opponent, landing a kick right in his left cheek. He flew back more, and she landed on the ground, kicking out at him.

Loz ducked, neatly avoiding her kick, only for Tifa to backflip fast enough to land a solid kick on the man's chin, causing his head to snap back. As soon as she landed on her feet, Tifa pushed herself forward and locked her arms against Loz's.

But Tifa knew, in a contest of pure strength, her chances weren't nearly as good as when she kicked at him from a distance. Not with that arm guard of his.

And sure enough, Loz smirked before he sent out a burst of electricity, pushing Tifa back and giving him the opening he needed to kick her directly in the stomach. Tifa fell back on her knees and barely had a moment to dodge as Loz reached out to punch her.

Instead, the metal arm guard was buried in the metal pipe behind her, causing pieces of it to fall off.

Acting quickly, Tifa wrapped her hands around the man's collar and launched herself from the wall. In midair, she twisted her body so her feet pushed Loz's body into the floor and she used his body as a springboard, launching herself away from him...only for him to grasp her ankle and swing her through the air like a ragdoll before he released her to let her fly towards the wall.

Tifa twisted her body and, instead of smashing into the wall, landed so her left knee was bent, her right leg stretched out and her right hand balanced her against the wall. She looked up, seeing Loz staring at her with that twisted smile on his face.

Tifa launched herself towards him, barely dodging the metal arm guard, and grabbed tight onto his face with her gloved hand and dragged him across the metal floor with all her strength before she threw him into the air and rolled under him to land on her feet. As soon as she stood up, Tifa jumped into the air, grabbed onto Loz and threw him into the floor of the tunnel.

A cloud of dust and metal came up as Loz landed a few feet away from Tifa. Straightening up, the monk sighed in relief, even as she remained on guard for any counterattacks.

Everything was silent, as if she were standing in the church Aerith favored on Radiant Garden for flower growing, when it was suddenly broken by a sound, something akin to a video game victory track.

"Duhn-duhn-duhn-duhn, duhn duhn, duhn-da-duhn!"

Confused, Tifa glanced around, trying to find the source of the sound as it repeated, only for the rubble formed by Tifa's throwing of Loz to burst into the air as the man himself to stand up calmly and take out what looked like a Gummi phone.

He didn't say anything as he answered, only for his face to twist in anger as whoever was on the other line spoke.

"She did what?" The silver haired man growled.

Tifa was unsure of what Loz heard, but she kept her attention focused on him, ready to act at a moment's notice.

"I'm not crying, Yazoo!" Loz shouted. He turned back to face Tifa and said, "No, I got it. I'll just finish up with this lady." The phone disappeared back into a leather pocket as Loz prepared his arm guard for another fight. "Where were we?" he asked as he pointed the device toward Tifa.

As he finished his question, Loz swiveled in place and kicked a broken walkway at Tifa. It was damaged by their fight. Tifa swatted the walkway away with minimal effort, but she realized all too late the real reason it was flung at her. Loz appeared beside her with his smug grin. His arm guard clicked, ready to shock her, and he threw a powerful punch.

Instead of the sound of bones breaking from the impact, there was only a loud clang from metal hitting metal. By the time Tifa turned around to face Loz, she found herself standing directly behind a blonde man - one who she knew very well. The blonde held his giant segmented sword flat against the prongs on Loz's arm guard, holding the silver-haired man back.

"Cloud…" She whispered in shock as her eyes landed on her husband.

"Sorry, I'm late." Cloud apologized as he threw Loz back with his body weight, giving them a few feet to work with. "Let's get this done, then we can talk."

"Yeah." Tifa nodded in agreement, standing at Cloud's side, ready for the next round.

"Big Brother, why aren't you helping Mother? We've been searching for you." Loz gasped, looking almost genuinely heartbroken as he stared at Cloud.

"I'm not your brother." Cloud stated firmly before he launched himself forward, swinging his sword at Loz, causing the silver haired man to duck.

But he didn't even have a moment to breathe, as Tifa quickly followed up, using the man's movements against him, kicking him directly in the forehead and sending him flying into the wall.

Loz steadied himself, only to be forced to block Cloud with his arm guard, leaving him wide open for Tifa to cut his legs out under him with a swift kick, sending him to the hard, metal ground. The silver haired man barely managed to roll away from where he had been cornered, the slightest hint of fear entering his eyes as he stared at the husband and wife duo.

This fight would not be nearly so easy as he had imagined.

As Loz seemed to realize this, he pushed himself to his feet and held his hand out, causing a Dark Corridor to form.

"This isn't over yet, Big Brother! We'll find you and Mother will bring you home!" Loz yelled before he vanished into the darkness.

Cloud huffed quietly as he sheathed his sword and turned to Tifa. "You alright, Tifa?"

"I'm fine, but where have you been? I've been looking for you for weeks." Tifa placed her hands on her hips and raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"That's-" Cloud started to say, only for the ground to start shaking, hard enough that Tifa stumbled forward into Cloud, who managed to keep them both upright. "An earthquake?"

"That's impossible...this whole planet is metal." Tifa shook her head, but she was worried. "Unless…"

"We need to get out of here." Cloud stated firmly, changing his grasp from Tifa's arms to her hand, pulling her behind him as he ran towards where he parked his bike a distance away. "Get on."

"But we can't leave the atmosphere, I can't be in the Ocean Between." Tifa protested.

"Then we'll get you to whatever ship brought you here, but we can't stay." Cloud said as he slammed on his helmet and activated his armor that protected him from the Ocean Between. "Come on."

"...okay." Tifa nodded as she climbed on behind Cloud and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Cloud revved the engine and took off into the tunnels beneath Treasure Planet.

---

Location: Midnight City - Rose Castle - Guest Room

When Kairi opened her eyes to see the ceiling of her guest room in Rose Castle, she was surprised to feel the bed shaking. She thought nothing of it at first, still feeling a bit dazed, but after looking out the window, it was undeniable that Rose Castle was moving.

"We're leaving."

Kairi was startled by the voice, letting out a small yelp as she turned around and summoned Destiny's Embrace to defend herself. When she realized that it was just Xion, Kairi sighed with relief. "It's just...you…" At that moment, everything came back to Kairi. She remembered the argument that she had had with Xion. "Xion, I-"

"I'm sorry."

Kairi was surprised to hear her friend apologize first.

Xion continued, "You were right. We shouldn't have held off our search for Sora. It took Midnight City falling apart for me to realize that."

"It what?! Xion, I'm so sorry. Had I stayed and helped, maybe-"

"No. This world was dying and I was just being too stubborn to let it go."

"Because it was your old home world."

Xion shook her head. "Because it reminded me of myself. This world was never meant to exist and Lauriam and Elrena made it their mission to give it life. I was like that. Someone who everyone forgot about, but because of Roxas and Lea, I became a real person."

Tears began to form in Kairi's eyes. Her body moved on its own as she hugged Xion tightly. The raven-haired woman hugged back, unable to hold back tears of her own. As the two held each other, Kairi apologized. "I'm so sorry, Xion. I should've been more considerate of what you needed."

Xion shook her head again and said, "No, we promised to help you find Sora. Sora. The man who's given up everything for me and Roxas and everyone else. I was being selfish."

"I-It's okay, Xion." Kairi pulled away and looked her friend in the eyes. "It's okay."

Xion wiped her face with her sleeves and swallowed a big lump in her throat. "Nothing else is going to stop us from finding Sora, Kairi. I won't rest until we do."

Kairi smiled and nodded before going to hug Xion again.

"I'm sorry too, I was selfish for wanting to leave to find Sora. I'm glad we stayed and I'm so sorry it got to this point." The red head whispered. "But I promise, we'll help them, we'll make this right the first chance we get."

"Yeah, we will." Xion smiled slightly, returning Kairi's hug, believing her words with her whole heart. Eventually...eventually, everything would work out, she knew it.

---

Location: Treasure Planet - B.E.N's House

After Yazoo and his Mother escaped through a Dark Corridor, Lia and the others were left with Silver and his pirate crew - the map in the cyborg's clutches. He reveled in victory as his underlings cheered. They had everything they needed: the map, the Legacy, and no one left to stop them. Except, now that Silver had the map, he couldn't seem to open it. His mechanical hand transformed multiple times, pulling various tools out to rip the device open, but the golden sphere would not budge.

Unable to open the map like Jim can, Silver looked down at his former cabin boy. Silver pushed his mechanical hand forward, dropping the map into Jim's hands as the pirates released him. "Open it," he demanded.

Jim hesitated to do so until Silver transformed his arm into a gun and pointed it at the other hostages. "I'd get busy." Ryo, Captain Amelia, and Delbert were all gagged so all they could do was move their heads. The latter initially nodded his head, before realizing that Captain Amelia was shaking hers.

Lia yelled at Jim, "Don't do it!"

Silver was ready to explode with frustration as he snapped at one of his crew, "Would you shut 'er up?!"

"Ay Captain!" Said a small slug-like creature with six eyes before going to gag Lia.

Silver looked back at Jim who reluctantly activated the map, causing particles of cyan light to flush out of it. Those particles changed from cyan to green as they formed into a holographic diorama of Treasure Planet. Silver's breath had been taken away as he stared in awe. He whispered,

"All the powers that be, would you look?"

The diorama then morphed into a laser trail, one that undoubtedly led to the treasure. Silver chuckled to himself before ordering his crew to tie Jim up and leave him with the other hostages. The trail suddenly disappeared, causing Silver to whip his head back, his eyes barely able to keep up with the photon particles that retreated into the map.

Jim looked down at the device in his hand then up at Silver. "You want the map? You're taking me too."

Silver chuckled again, as he stared at the boy whom he had grown to admire in some ways. Jim was quite crafty, but his suggestion did change Silver's mind altogether. "We'll take 'em all."

Silver's pirates grabbed their hostages and piled them into the lone remaining longboat. The pirate captain stood at the bow of the boat with Jim beside him as they followed the laser trail across the wide plains of Treasure Planet. Eventually, they reached a dark thicket of tall fungi and began walking on foot, though Lia, Ryo, Delbert, and Captain Amelia stayed on the boat with a couple of pirates to keep an eye on them.

As Silver touched down on the ground, he looked up to Jim and Ryo and called up to them. "Come on, boys!"

Jim went down with B.E.N. and Morph, but Ryo was unsure if Silver had been talking to him until one of the remaining pirates lifted him up with a tentacle and dropped him over the edge of the longboat. Ryo fell and rolled on the ground, coughing up dust.

Jim stepped forward to help his friend, but was told to keep walking by one of the pirates who then went to forcefully pull Ryo up to his feet and push him in the direction they were going in.

Watching them mistreat Ryo made Lia's blood boil. Her teeth were clenched tightly as she tried to hold back her rage. It took everything she had from trying to throw herself at one of the three pirates that stayed behind with her.

Lia's frustration was nothing more than entertainment to the pirate, who laughed at her for it. Blue eyes flickered over to them, which only gave them more amusement.

"Something bothering you, wench?" It was Turnbuckle, the multi-armed pirate that Lia used to know as the helmsman of the Legacy.

Lia shook her head and aimed her attention elsewhere, anywhere else to keep her mind busy. Eventually, a beam of bright greenish light shot into the sky in the direction that Ryo and the others went in before parting at a sharp angle. From what Lia could see, the imagery changed within that small triangle she could see. She didn't know how to describe it or what it was. All she hoped for was the safety of her friends and allies, but she wanted to do more than just hope. Unable to restrain the rising urge to fight back, Lia made a risky play. She fell overboard and began sprinting in the direction that the others went in, moving like a black blur.

"Don't let her get away!"

She looked over her shoulder to see Turnbuckle and Blinko, a large one-eyed alien, chased after her, leaving Grewnge, the fat reptilian gunman to keep an eye on Delbert and Captain Amelia.

---

Location: Midnight City - Rose Castle - Alter

There was only one thing left for Kairi, Roxas, and Xion to do at Rose Castle. It was still within the airspace above Midnight City so the trio went up to the altar at the highest point of the castle with Lauriam leading them every step of the way. Elrena was with Zia, comforting the little girl who barely understood what was happening.

Without turning back to her, Lauriam said, "Kairi-"

The redhead had been lost in thought about the memory she was about to experience. In Radiant Garden, she felt like she had lost control of her own body, as if someone else was in the driver's seat. Despite feeling closer to Sora, Kairi would be lying if she said that she enjoyed that feeling. This caused her quite a bit of mixed emotions that swirled in her head, making her lose focus when Lauriam called her attention. The redhead's face brightened with surprise as she blinked.

"Yes?" she asked politely.

"I wish you would have told me about Sora and your purpose here sooner. Elrena and I didn't mean to keep you. In fact, I wish we could go with you to find Sora, but doing so would undo all that you've done for us."

Kairi smiled and nodded. "Yeah! There's no need to worry, Lauriam. You just leave Sora to us and we'll leave you to hold the fort here."

As they approached the summit, Lauriam moved his head slightly to look at her and offered a warm smile. "You can count on us. Well, here we are. Now then, what do you need from me."

Roxas shook his head and said, "From this point, it's all Kairi." He looked over at her, his eyes soft with concern. "You ready?"

A deep breath. That was all Kairi needed to do as she closed her eyes and mentally prepared herself. When she opened them, there was a look of unwavering determination inside them. She nodded and walked past the others onto the circular platform. Like in Ansem's grand hall, Kairi suddenly found herself in a memory not quite her own. This time, however, she did not feel the surge of adrenaline from Sora's fight with Riku. Everything was calmer and she felt content - accomplished. It must have been how Sora felt after defeating Xemnas...the first time.

From Kairi's point-of-view, she stood beside a younger version of herself. In front of them stood Naminé with a Dark Corridor behind her. From Kairi's perspective, Naminé spoke directly to her and said, "See? We meet again, like we promised."

Kairi could hear Roxas' voice as if coming from inside her. He responded, "You said we'd meet again. But when we did, we might not recognize each other." The voice began to separate from Kairi as it went on until she could see the back of him standing directly in front of her.

Naminé's sea blue eyes shut as she smiled and said, "I did, didn't I."

Roxas responded, "But I knew you."

Naminé nodded. "Mmm. It's strange."

"I think I understand. I see myself the way you remember me. And you see yourself the way I remember you."

"I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness."

Roxas agreed with her and said, "Yeah. But you and I didn't. We got to meet our original selves."

"So...we can be together again!"

Roxas pivoted around to face Kairi and her younger self. "Right. Anytime Sora and Kairi are together." Kairi's heart raced at the thought.

She then heard her younger self say, "We'll be together every day. Right Sora?"

It was strange seeing these things from Sora's point-of-view and even stranger responding with his voice. "Uh...yeah!"

The younger Kairi approached Naminé and shook hands. Naminé began glowing a bright yellow color before fading.

"Look sharp!" Kairi heard Roxas' voice and her head snapped forward. Unlike with Naminé, no contact was made as Roxas closed his eyes and disappeared with a blue light. Kairi was suddenly filled with a sense of bloatedness. Something about Roxas returning to Sora made her feel like she had just indulged herself in a buffet. It was similar to what she remembered feeling with Naminé.

When Kairi turned to look at her younger self, the teen was gone. She continued turning to find Roxas, Xion, and Lauriam standing at the entrance to the altar.

Xion took a step forward. "Kairi?"

"Were you able to see anything?" Roxas added.

Kairi took a deep breath and closed her eyes, holding onto the feeling that she experienced from the vision. When she opened them, she met Roxas' eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I saw the time you and Naminé returned to me and Sora. It reminded me of how good it felt to feel...whole. But it also reminded me that Sora and I could exist separately from you two. While we didn't feel whole, per say, before we reunited with you and Naminé, our hearts had mostly healed by then. All we ended up doing was hurting you two in the end." Her eyes fell as she processed what she had just said.

Roxas stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him. He shook his head and said, "Wrong. That feeling that you just described...that's how Naminé and I felt before reuniting with you and Sora. The reunion almost 'charged our batteries' in a way."

Kairi smiled because, as odd as the example Roxas provided was, it was pretty accurate.

"Alright, so that just proves it," Xion cut in. "Sora is calling out to you, Kairi. We just have to keep following his voice."

Kairi nodded. "Right!" She stepped past her companions and met face-to-face with the king of Rose Castle. "Lauriam, thank you so much for your help."

Lauriam waved his hand and shook his head. "The thanks are yours. The three of you helped keep my kingdom afloat for as long as it could last. For that, you have my appreciation...and my payment." He looked over at Xion with a sly smirk, to which she nodded approvingly. "Now I believe that Sora is waiting for you. Go forth and bring back the Hero of the World."

"Don't let Sora hear you calling him that," Roxas said. "It'd go to his head."

Lauriam chuckled. "But we all do owe our lives to him."

Kairi sighed as she thought to herself, Yeah, I'll say.

With their business finished at the altar, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, and Lauriam returned inside Rose Castle to say their farewells to its inhabitants and then went to the Gummi Ship to part ways with them.

---

Location: Treasure Planet - Mushroom Forest

The flashing trail of light began blinking faster as Silver reached a wall of mushroom stems. He told his crew, "We're getting close, lads! I smell treasure awaiting!" The other pirates cheered as he cut through the fungi with his arm, but those celebrations were cut abruptly as they came to the realization of where they were: a cliffside. The trail ended right at the edge, sending the crew into a fit of frustration as they complained about their voyage being naught.

Once again, the photon particles returned to the map, which closed itself on its own. Silver turned to Jim and asked, "What's going on, Jimbo?"

"I-I can't get it open!" he said as he struggled with the device.

This only brought more complaints.

Bird Brain Mary, the only female on Silver's crew, shouted, "We should've never followed this boy!" She leapt into the air and pushed Jim down with her prehensile feet.

"Hey!" he shouted as he fell to the floor. The ground felt cold and impenetrable like metal.

Jim slowly picked himself up to his knees. As he did so, he noticed a small indentation in the ground. It was round like a concave dome. He examined it closely, removing the moss around it while Silver urged him, "I suggest you get the gizmo going again and fast!"

Silver's pirates were not as kind with their words with some of them saying to rip Jim's gizzard out or even throw him over the cliff. Jim shut them out, though, focusing only on the round crevice. It had an odd pattern of circles connected by lines which made him think of the map itself and that's when it hit him. As the pirates grew more unruly, Jim inserted the map and green energy radiated outward through the ground beneath their feet. A holographic green dome appeared over the map and it slowly rose up from the ground as a full sphere.

Jim was about to touch it when a machine-like whir hummed through the planet. Several warm green lights stretched across the valley, all leading toward the base of the cliff. When they met, a singular lime green beam of light shot up and then spread out like a triangle, revealing the Ocean Between.

"Oh have mercy," Silver said in awe.

Jim recognized the exact location in the portal, calling it the Lagoon Nebula.

"But that's halfway across the Galaxy," Silver pointed out.

Ryo wouldn't know since this voyage was his first time in the Etherium, or out in the Ocean Between in general.

Jim looked down at the hologram and muttered to himself, "A big door..." He then pressed something on the surface of the projection and it beeped. The massive gateway before them began glowing yellow and green before revealing several floating structures with ships coming to and from them. "...opening and closing…" The location changed again, this time to a desert-like world.

Finally understanding the workings of Treasure Planet, Jim smiled as he said, "Let's see…" He named a location that Ryo did not exactly catch before pointing out one he did: Montressor. The brown-haired boy touched the satellite port and it suddenly appeared in the portal.

"So that's how Flint did it. He used this portal to roam the universe, stealing treasure."

While Jim played around with the map, captivated by its magnificence, Silver was growing impatient. He moved Jim out of the way and frantically began cycling through different locations with the map as he asked, "But where'd he stash it all?! Where's that blasted treasure?!"

"Treasure!" B.E.N. blurted out as he held his head. He struggled with a serious headache, shutting his eyes to try and concentrate. "Treasure is buried in the–!"

Jim understood and finished the robot's sentence. "–buried in the centroid of the mechanism." He rubbed his chin in thought and continued to say, "What if the whole planet is the mechanism? And the treasure is buried in the center of this planet!"

Hearing that, Silver's pirates excitedly reached for the shovels and pickaxes and they began clanging them against the metal surface.

Silver already knew that they would not be able to reach the core by digging, or at least he knew it wouldn't be very effective to do so. His patience had reached the end of its rope when he snarled out, "And how the blazes are we supposed to get there?!" Location after location, he opened and closed the portals, unable to find what he sought.

At one point, Silver even opened a gateway to a planet inhabited by a monstrously large insectoid creature. It noticed Silver and the others and opened its fanged mouth, letting loose a frightening roar that made Ryo and some of the pirates flinch. Luckily, Silver had been cycling through the locations so quickly that the door closed before the beast could make its way through.

In response to Silver's frustration, Jim gently brushed the cyborg's arm away as he explained, "Just open the right door." He touched on a symbol that resembled Treasure Planet which glowed brightly. The door flashed as well, this time opening to a very large room with large metal beams all facing the same direction.

Jim stepped forward hand first, allowing it to faze through the doorway. The rest of his body followed, showing the pirates that the entrance was safe. Silver followed close behind Jim and then the rest of his crew behind him along with B.E.N. Ryo, however, remained outside, the pirates completely oblivious to him. He wanted to see if any of them would notice, but they were too enthralled with the Treasure of a Thousand Worlds. Silver stood in complete awe as he gazed upon the large core of gold and jewels with both his organic and robotic eyes. His crew went completely wild with cheer as they rushed to indulge in their spoils.

Ryo watched as Jim slipped past Silver with B.E.N. and Morph, heading toward a ship that sat on a pile of gold. The spiky-haired boy kept an eye out as his hand slipped into his pocket for his Gummi Phone, which he used to send a message to Riku. Within seconds, several numbers appeared on his screen and he slowly took a few steps backward toward the map. Ryo fiddled with his phone until he found exactly what he was looking for. His finger touched down on the holographic map and the portal opened to reveal the Ocean Between with a small craft moving in the distance.

"Ryo!"

The boy turned to find Lia approaching him very quickly.

"M-Ms. Lia! Where are Delbert and the Captain?"

"Still back on the longboat. I know I shouldn't have left, but I couldn't let Silver have his way. Wait! Where did everyone else go?"

"Ms. Lia, t-the map! It's amaz–look out!"

Ryo pushed Lia down to the ground, saving her from an incoming blaster bolt. Turnbuckle and Blinko had caught up to Lia and now had their weapons aimed directly at her and Ryo.

"We've got you now, Missy," Turnbuckle said menacingly. He and Blinko chuckled maliciously, ready to end those two, but when the Highwind soared out from the portal, they dove out of the way. A thick cloud of dust rose behind the Gummi Ship, making the pirates cough. Turnbuckle stood up and called out for Blinko. "Ay! Blinko! Where are you–" When he stepped out of the dust cloud, he was met with several Keyblades aimed directly at him and Blinko was on his knees with his hands behind his eyeball.

Rickson shot the multi-armed alien a sharp glare as he strictly stated, "Try anything and I'll send 2,000 volts through your system." His Keyblade, Darkgnaw, surged with electricity through its cool purple blade, crackling between the sharp teeth.

"And if that doesn't do it, I'll set you ablaze," Jack added with Tempered Desire coated in a fiery aura.

"Good thinking using that gateway to teleport us here, Ryo," Riku complimented. He stood over Blinko with his own Keyblade aimed directly at him as well while Sari went to check on Ryo and Lia for wounds, but before the redhead could do so, the ninja was ambushed by her sister.

Lia blinked a couple times, completely lost as to how she ended up on the ground. Despite being so quick, Gia had completely caught her off guard, tackling her down with a massive hug. "Lia!" a muffled yelled came from right beside her as Gia squeezed her sister tightly. Lia smiled and before she knew it, her arms were around her sister as well.

Lia smiled. "Hey there Bahamut. Good to see you again."

Gia picked herself off her sister and sat down on her knees. "I'm so glad that you're okay, Lia," she said with a sniffle. "I...I sensed something was wrong and it had me worried sick the whole flight over here."

Lia nodded. "I-I felt the same. You had a Light Flare didn't you?"

Gia simply nodded. "It just...it just happened. Master Riku, Jack, and I were being held hostage and I couldn't stand the thought of not being able to see you again. What about yours?"

"It happened during a fight in the Ocean Between. My armor cracked and I was exposed to the darkness…" She reluctantly looked over to Riku, afraid of having disappointed him.

The Keyblade Master looked at his apprentice and offered an empathetic look. "That was out of your control Lia, it's not your fault. But on the way here, I think Gia experienced a severe headache twice. Did something else happen?"

Lia gripped her arm tightly, truly ashamed of relying on the power of darkness to defeat the Dark Howlers on the Legacy.

"Lia?"

It was Gia. She looked at Lia with a furrowed brow.

"I-I had to! I needed to use it or we would have been overwhelmed by the Heartless."

Gia yelled, "Lia! That's not okay! You can't give into your emotions like that!"

"And you can give in to yours?!" Gia's eyes widened from the sudden snap. Lia continued, "You were in a situation out of your control and you used the power of light to regain it."

Gia's face hardened as she retaliated, "We were trapped! And what's your excuse?"

Lia's fists balled up tightly as she shouted, "I couldn't let another ally down!"

Everyone remained quiet for a moment until Sari broke the silence.

"Then Marta really is…"

Lia and Ryo avoided all eyes, unwilling to answer that question. There was another period of deafening silence in which time seemed to stand perfectly still. Not a single life form moved even the tiniest of muscle until the tiniest one of them all let out a growl into an enraged yelled. The flames around Tempered Desire roared and crackled, increasing with intensity as Jack slammed his Keyblade down against the metal ground bursting a hole into it.

Everyone looked at him but said nothing. After a few deep breaths, he turned around to face Riku and asked, "Master. What should we do now?"

Riku understood Jack's frustration and left it alone. He answered by turning to Lia and saying, "We need an update on what's going on."

The ground beneath them began shaking violently, causing Riku and the apprentices to stagger.

"Jack!" Several complaints, mostly from the girls were thrown at Jack.

"Everyone calm down!" Riku called. "I don't think it was Jack."

"Jim!" Everyone looked over at Ryo as he scrambled for the map. "Something must be happening in the core of this planet." He touched the center of the Treasure Planet icon, opening the door to the core. Just as the gateway opened, B.E.N. and some of Silver's pirates burst through the permeable forcefield that separated the two spaces.

"Stop them!" Per Lia's urgent call, Gia, Sari, and Jack bolted forward to disarm and restrain the remnants of Silver's forces.

B.E.N. went straight for Ryo and clung to the boy's armor chest plate. "Ryo! Ryo! Oh, this is bad! Silver's triggered Captain Flint's booby trap and this planet is going to blow along with the treasure and everything else on it! Including us!"

"W-where's Jim?!"

"He's getting a ship ready, but he told me to go help Delbert and the Captain with the Legacy! Come on, buddy, we've got to go!"

Lia turned to Riku. "Master?"

Riku nodded. "The robot is right, we need to get to the RLS Legacy. Rickson, Sari, and Jack, take these thieves to the Legacy on your gliders." He spoke specifically to Lia when he asked, "How far away is the Legacy from this world's orbit?"

"It's within the atmosphere."

"Okay, then you go as well. You won't be at risk of the darkness from the Ocean Between."

"Yes, master."

"Gia, Ryo, robot, you're with me in the Highwind, let's go!"

Everyone acted quickly, getting to the Legacy which happened to be on its way to them, piloted by Delbert with Captain Amelia and Tifa's assistance. Cloud was flying beside the ship on his hover bike with his helmet on, but Riku recognized him immediately. The Keyblade wielders with gliders quickly boarded the ship and tied up Silver's pirates. Gia, Ryo, and B.E.N. warped down from the Highwind soon afterward.

With everyone together, they made their way back to the portal to pick up Jim, who brought Silver along with him onboard. Once the two were safely on the ship, Captain Amelia turned to B.E.N. and said, "Take us out of here, Metal Man!"

"Ay captain!" B.E.N. took a firm hold of a pair of levers and pushed them forward, activating the Legacy's thrusters.

As Jim and Silver rose up the stairs, the latter stopped to grovel to Captain Amelia. "Captain, you dropped from the heavens in the nick of…"

Amelia was having none of it, however. "Save your claptrap for the judge, Silver."

She turned her back to him as he laughed nervously.

Not long after that, a flying piece of metal crashed through the mizzen sail, causing a piece of the mast to fall and crush one of the thrusters.

B.E.N. reported, the damage to Captain Amelia. "Mizzen sail demobilized, Captain! Thrusters at only thirty percent capacity!"

"Thirty percent?!" Delbert repeated. "That means we're…" He turned to Captain Amelia and explained, "We'll never clear the planet's explosion in time."

The apprentices overheard the alarming news and turned to Lia. Sari asked, "What should we do?"

Lia stared back without blinking, processing Sari's question. "Why are you asking me?"

"This is your mission after all, isn't it?"

"It is, but Sari, you have the most experience as a team captain."

The redhead placed a hand on her fellow apprentice and offered reassurance with a warm smile and a gentle hand on her shoulder. "That may be true, but leaders aren't born with experience. They gain it."

"Yeah, sis. You can do this!"

Lia's eyes went back and forth between Gia and Sari for a moment. The two of them were pushing her to make decisions for everyone and it weighed heavy on her, but she knew that she needed to step up the plate.

The ninja was about to say something when Jim shouted, "We gotta turn around!"

"What?!" The captain shouted.

As Jim ran past the Keyblade Wielders, he called back to Captain Amelia, "There's a portal back there. It can get us out of there!"

Dr. Doppler responded, "Pardon me, Jim, but didn't that portal open onto a raging inferno?"

"Yeah," he said with a grunt as he ripped a wooden plank out of a pile of debris.

Lia looked at the gateway, then back to Jim and understood what he was thinking. She muttered, "He's going to change the destination."

"But I'm going to change that. I'm going to open a different door."

Delbert turned to Amelia and said, "Captain, really, I don't see how this is possible–"

Silver had realized what Jim was suggesting at that moment as well and he cut off the doctor. "Listen to the boy!"

B.E.N. chimed in, "One minute, twenty-nine seconds till planet's destruction!"

Silver went to Jim's side and offered a hand to help him. "What do you need, Jim?"

The boy grabbed hold of a piece of rope and slung it over a small engine. "Just some way to attach this."

Lia interjected, "That won't be necessary, Jim. One of us can go and open a new doorway. Just tell us–"

"No!" Jim snapped. "I'm the reason why we're even in this situation to begin with. I brought the map to the pirates so all of this is my fault and I'm the only one who knows how to make the map work."

"Jim, now's not a time to try to impress–"

"I have to do this, Lia." His eyes were steely with resolve.

"Trust in the lad," Silver urged. This earned him a look of admiration and gratitude from Jim.

Lia rolled her eyes, but conceded, accepting that they didn't have time to talk things over. "Fine." She looked at Sari, Rickson, and Jack and said, "You three go with him. Keep him safe."

"Right." They all nodded and activated their Keyblade armor before jumping overboard with their Keyblade gliders.

"All right, stand back," Silver said as his arm became a blowtorch which he used to weld together the engine with a metal plate. "There you go," he said as he, and now Ryo, helped Jim lift the makeshift solar surfer onto the edge of the deck.

Jim hopped up onto the board and turned his head to Silver. "Okay, now no matter what happens, keep the ship heading straight for that portal."

B.E.N. called out, "Fifty-eight seconds!"

Jim and Silver exchanged one last look before the boy stepped hard on a lever that sent him flying off the ship deck. Soon after, the Legacy turned around to follow him and so did Cloud on his hover bike and Riku in the Highwind.

Jim lost altitude quickly but continued going straight for the gateway. At one point, Sari offered him to hop onto her glider, but he refused and pressed forward, using every ounce of skill he had flying solar surfers to navigate through the crumbling mechanical planetoid.

All was going well until Jim's makeshift solar surfer jammed and he began falling into a magmatic chasm.

"Jim!" Sari shouted his name when she noticed him falling.

Ryo also called his name from where he was on the ship, frustrated by his own inability to help. He gripped the ship's wooden edge with all his might, cracking it with his metal gauntlets.

Silver was just as distressed as he watched his other former cabin boy plummet into the fissure, hoping for Sari or one of the others to make it in time before he dove straight into the river of lava. Jim thought quickly, though and slammed the back of his board against the wall, sending sparks flying as well as giving it the fire it needed to rocket him outside of the chasm. He shot up past the Keyblade wielders who were all quick to u-turn as well and kept close behind him as the RLS Legacy and the Highwind passed by them.

"Hey kid!"

Rickson flew by on his glider with his hand reached out. Jim took hold of it and allowed Rickson to fling him forward. Jim flipped over and hung onto his solar surfer as he stretched his hand out to touch the map.

The doorway opened to Montressor Spaceport and a small army of ships, gliders, and the like flew out with a fiery explosion flaring out behind them. Everyone cheered with joy from having made it safely off of Treasure Planet, including the pirates being held in the brig.

Jim howled victoriously with his hands raised. Silver was just excited, giving the boy a high five as he soared onto the ship with Sari, Rickson, and Jack right behind. Gia threw an arm over Lia and jumped excitedly, Delbert and Amelia embraced each other, and Morph went to lick Jim wildly.

Amelia approached Jim with Delbert and congratulated Jim. "Unorthodox, but ludicrously effective. I'd be proud to recommend you to the interstellar academy. They could use a man like you."

"Just wait until your mother hears about this!" Delbert said.

Ryo put a hand on Jim's shoulder and said, "Yeah, she'd be very proud of you. I know I am."

While Jim was being praised for his incredible feat, Silver watched from far with pride, but by the time Jim looked over to where the cyborg had been, he was gone. The boy knew where to look, though. He nudged Ryo on the shoulder and told him to follow him down to the hangar where Silver was preparing the last longboat to make his inconspicuous escape.

As the boys went around the corner, they could hear Morph's indistinguishable squeaks followed by Silver whispering, "Morphy, we gotta make tracks."

"You never quit, do you?" asked Jim.

Having been caught, Silver turned around to find his two former cabin boys. "Ah, Jimbo! Rybo! Ha ha! I was merely checking to make sure our last longboat was safe and secure." To make his point, Silver tied a knot, that he presumptuously undid in the first place.

Ryo and Jim shared a look, both smirking at each other, before turning back to the cyborg.

"Mmm." Jim touched his lip as he approached Silver. He then got down to a knee and secured the knot. "Well, that should do it."

Silver pushed himself up off the floor and laughed. "I taught you too well." Jim looked at him with narrowed eyes, skeptical of the cyborg's intentions. Those doubts were confirmed by what Silver said next. "If you don't mind, we'd just as soon avoid prison. Little Morphy here, he's a free spirit." The little blob creature whisked around his owner's hand until landing on Silver's metal hand. The cyborg wrapped his fingers around him and explained, "Being in a cage, it'd break his heart." He then opened his hand to pet Morph with his biological hand, while the little blob whined.

He looked at the boys, hopeful for their leniency. They shared another look before Jim told Ryo, "Let 'em go."

Ryo nodded and pulled a lever. When the humming of machinery moving tickled Silver's ears, he turned to find the floor opening. He then turned back to find Jim undoing the knot for him. It made Silver happy to see the boys so kind to him even after everything that had happened. It also made him hopeful of their response to what he would say next. "What say you ship out with us, lads? You and me. Hawkins, Grace, and Silver! Full of ourselves and no ties to anyone!"

Ryo was the first to speak. "I-I'm sorry Mr. Silver...but I have a duty to those who've given me a place in t-the larger world."

Silver smiled and nodded. "I assumed as much. What say you, Jimbo?"

"You know, when I got on this boat, I would've taken you up on that offer in a second." He looked at the rose-colored Ocean just beneath him. "But, uh, I met this old cyborg and he taught me that I could chart my own course. That's what I'm gonna do."

"And what do you see off that bow of yours?" Silver asked.

Jim turned and answered, "A future."

Silver chuckled. "Why, look at ya, glowing like a solar fire." He turned to Ryo. "Both of ya. You're something special. You're both going to rattle the stars, you are." He leaned in to hug both boys, knowing that it would be his last time with either of them. With a cough to clear his throat, Silver separated from them and said, "Got a bit of grease in this cyborg eye of mine." He then turned around to hide a sniffle that he was fighting.

Morph was much less able to contain himself as he burst into tears.

Jim tried to comfort him. "Oh hey, Morph. I'll see ya around, okay?"

"See ya around," he repeated, before going back to Silver. The cyborg looked at his pet longingly before resolving himself. "Morphy? I got a job for ya. I need you to keep an eye on this here pup." Jim's eyes widened as he started to understand what Silver was asking of Morph. "Will you do me that little favor?"

The little blob's expression uplifted as he straightened up and saluted to Silver. "Aye-aye, Captain." He then pressed himself against Silver's cheek to say goodbye to his owner of many years. The blob went to Jim and cuddled his face excitedly, happy to have found a new home.

As the longboat descended slowly, Silver exclaimed, "Oh! And one more thing!" He tossed up a handful of gold and jewels to Jim and a small trinket to Ryo. "This is for your dear mother to rebuild that inn of hers. And Ryo, if you ever need Morph, he'll come to your side too."

Ryo looked down at the charm Silver gave him. It was a necklace with a silver-framed pendant. The image was of a pink blob, just like Morph, but without eyes. Morph went over to rub up against Ryo's temple, getting lost in his spiked mess of hair before reforming in front of him. Ryo smiled and waved to the pirate. "T-thank you! Take care, Mr. Silver!"

Jim chimed in. "Stay out of trouble, ya old scallywag."

"Why, Jimbo, lad. When have I ever done otherwise?" Silver laughed as the longboat cleared out of the hangar and he took off with a long wave goodbye to both of them. The boys continued watching until he became a tiny dot and then disappeared out of sight.

Ryo placed a hand on Jim's shoulder and said, "He's gone. We should go back with the others. Master Riku must be wondering where I went off too."

"Yeah. That reminds me, I've got something to give you too."

Ryo shot him a confused look, which Jim responded to by smiling and patting his friend on the back. "Come on, I'll show you upstairs."

When the two arrived back on the main deck, Jim picked up the makeshift solar surfer and offered it to Ryo. "It's not the real deal, but I figured that you could practice with it until you get your own like the others."

Ryo was lost for a moment, but understood what Jim was talking about after giving it some thought. "Oh! You mean a Keyblade glider."

"Yeah, whatever you guys call it."

Ryo smiled. "Thanks, Jim. I appreciate it. I-I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you in return."

Jim raised an eyebrow and said, "You could always give me one of those cool weapons you guys all have."

Lia pulled Ryo back and flatly said, "Not happening."

"Oh! Um, Lia...I didn't see you there…" Jim had suddenly gotten very flustered as his head sank down. He could barely maintain eye contact and he swiveled the ball of his foot into the deck floor. "So, uh...ahem! So what did you think of me back there?"

Lia wore her usual stoic look, made much more aloof by her crossed arms, but it melted into a warm smile as she said, "You did good, Jim. I'm proud of you."

Jim smiled back and thanked her, though it took him a minute or two to do so because he kept fumbling his words.

Gia squealed, "Awww, does someone have a crush on my sis? So when's the wedding, you two?"

Lia's eyebrow twitched. "Gia that's not funny. I'm too old for Jim."

Unknown to Lia, Jim blanked from the outright rejection.

"Come on sis, you know what they say. Age is just a number."

Lia pulled up her cowl to hide her blush, not because of any feelings towards Jim but because the age difference between them was similar to that between herself and Ventus. She cleared her throat and responded, "Well what if I said you and Ryo would look good together?"

"Well why not?" Gia rebutted. She placed her hands on her hips and said, "I think Ryo is rather handsome."

Now Ryo was the one red in the cheeks, trying to crawl into the smallest space he could.

Rickson shook his head. "Would you two cut it out? You're making the boys uncomfortable." Sari giggled sweetly, causing him to turn and ask, "What?"

"Oh, nothing," she crooned as her eyes rolled.

Soon, Riku beamed himself down onto the Legacy and looked for Captain Amelia to thank her for everything. "I really appreciate you looking out for my apprentices throughout the journey."

Captain Amelia cleared her throat and nodded. "They were all terrific, Mr. Hinode. They pulled their weight around the ship and were absolutely daring in combat. I am thankful that I had them here, however, I regret to inform you that–"

"I know...Lia told me shortly after it happened. She also told me you lost someone as well. My condolences."

"Thank you, Mr. Hinode. Same to you."

"Well then, considering that Treasure Planet was destroyed, I suppose it's time for me to regroup with my apprentices and plan what happens next."

Amelia nodded. "Should you need anything from me, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you. I appreciate that. I truly do." Riku then turned to face his apprentices and said, "All right, team. I think it's time we all talk and get on the same page. Let's get back on the Highwind."

"Yes sir!"

---

Location: Radiant Garden - Ansem's Castle

Ventus sat in front of a computer alongside Isa and Dilan. The three of them had headsets on so that they could communicate with Mahir. They had prepared the boy for his first day in the underground fighting circuit and were hopeful that all went well.

"Geez, who's idea was it to have this thing in the sewers? It smells like one of Jack's socks if something crawled in there and died." The boy's voice was hushed, but they could hear him clearly even among the chatter in the background.

While this earned a slight chuckle from Ventus and Dilan, Isa was unamused.

"You'll have to endure it," he stated bluntly.

"I know, I know. It's just I know I'm going to need to take like three showers to get rid of this stink when I get back."

"That's a miracle because it's hard to get you to do just one," Ventus teased.

"Ha-ha, Master. When you grow up with the bare minimum to survive, you don't exactly get used to showering every day."

"I know, I've heard it befo-" Ventus cut himself short when he felt his Gummi Phone vibrating in his pocket. He checked the caller to find that it was Aqua. Had it been anyone else, he would have let it ring but considering the state of things, he excused himself from the room and answered.

To his surprise, it was a four-way call with Riku and Lea as well. "Aqua, Riku, Lea, everything okay?"

Riku shook his head, "Not everything. Let's start with the good news. We've successfully found and rescued Sari, Rickson, and Jack." Aqua was relieved to hear that and thanked Riku for going to find them. The silver-haired man continued, "We also followed the materia trail to a place called Treasure Planet. According to a boy that accompanied Lia, Ryo, and Marta on their journey, the center of the planet had mountains of materia and other treasures collected together. The planet exploded, which is both good and bad. Good because the materia thieves can no longer use it...if they were even planning on it."

"If?" Lea questioned.

"While I was separated from Lia, a group of people came for her. A woman and these men with silver hair."

Ventus' eyes hardened as his mind went back to a horrible memory. "Xehanort…"

With a headshake, Riku explained, "That's what I thought at first too, but no. Tifa says that these men are connected to a man named Sephiroth, someone from her and Cloud's past. They haven't seen Sephiroth in years, but they say that these men undoubtedly have something to do with him."

"And the woman?" Aqua asked.

"We don't know much about her except that the silver-haired men call her 'Mother,' and for some reason she's after the twins."

Ventus gripped his phone tightly.

"What?!"

Lea was also understandably upset by the news.

"Yeah. Lia said that she tried to grab hold of her, but something happened. She doesn't know what exactly but there was some flash of light and suddenly the woman was in pain and could barely stand. She and her 'son' retreated through a Dark Corridor and that was the end of that. However, while Lia was telling us about this, Gia brought up that the day she and Lea returned to the Land of Departure, she saw a woman that matched Lia's description in Agrabah. At first, she thought she was hallucinating due to the heat, but now she thinks otherwise. I'm starting to think that this whole ordeal may have been to get to the twins. I think we need to keep them somewhere safe. Gia can't travel alone with Lea anymore. He's strong, but he can't keep her safe all on his own, especially with so many people after her."

Lea didn't seem to appreciate that comment but held his tongue.

Aqua nodded. "I agree. Bring them back to the Land of Departure."

"Right. We'll have to handle them being together another way."

"So then the mission seems to have gone mostly unsuccessful if we couldn't get our hands on that materia. The silver lining there is that Ansem came up with a solution to supplement the materia shortage seeing as how we can't get it back. He's starting a program that will have Cid, Leon, and Yuffie traveling to uninhabited worlds rich with materia to basically terraform them specifically for mining materia. He's going to talk to Scrooge McDuck and the King about setting up safer routes for travel between those worlds and some of the major worlds in each system like the Land of Departure, Radiant Garden, Twilight Town."

"That sounds like a bit of a gamble," Riku responded. "Not to mention that if they do create a rich materia mine, it's at risk of being attacked by these new enemies. They'll need to be heavily guarded. I think we should deal with this threat before committing people and resources to this."

"I agree with Riku," Aqua stated. "However, how Ansem chooses to lead his people is none of our business. We need to worry about our own."

"Actually, Aqua…"

"What is it, Riku?"

"There's one more thing I need to mention." He let out a sigh, dreading what he was about to say. "Not everyone is returning home."

Aqua's brows furrowed with worry. "Riku, what are you talking about?"

"Marta didn't make it."

Silence.

Aqua didn't know what to say. She probably hadn't even processed what Riku said.

Ventus asked, "What? What do you mean she didn't make it? Did she…?"

"Yeah. According to Lia, she fell asleep while using her glider during a crisis with a black hole and was sucked in. Aqua, I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for her...I just...I just didn't know how else to handle the situation except by splitting up the party."

"I know. I don't blame you for your decision, but this means that we can no longer stay divided anymore. We need to stay together as a unit from now on."

Ventus offered a compassionate smile as he said, "I think that's a great idea, Aqua. Does that mean we'll be working together with Ansem and our other allies?"

Aqua's face hardened. "W-what? No. Ven, we need everyone to come back to the Land of Departure. We can't afford to spread ourselves so thin anymore. You and Mahir need to come home now. Lea, you too."

"Wait a minute, me too? But I'm hot on the trail."

Ventus fought the urge to make a hot joke, knowing now was not the time.

"I understand, but we need everyone back now."

"Actually, Aqua, I told Kairi I would help her with a mission she's doing right now. If it wasn't bad enough that we lost an apprentice, Kairi has no idea where Sora's gone off to."

"What?!" Ventus and Lea asked in unison.

"Aqua, you don't seem surprised," Riku noted.

"...Kairi told me. I'm sorry, Riku, but she promised me – begged me not to tell you. I couldn't tell her no and–"

Riku was clearly hurt. "Aqua, how could you? You say that you want us united but how? By keeping secrets from one another?"

Ventus and Lea stayed quiet, neither one knowing a way to remedy the issue.

"Riku, I know I should have told you from the beginning, but I agree with something Kairi said." She stopped and let out a deep breath. "Look, we can talk about it more when you come home."

"Aqua, I'm going home, but I'm not staying. I'm dropping the apprentices off and going to rendezvous with Kairi, Roxas, and Xion."

"Riku…"

"My best friend needs me."

"You won't even stay for Marta's funeral?"

Riku sighed with a nod. "Yes, I'll stay for that, but afterward I'm leaving."

"Fine. Riku, as Grand Master of the Land of Departure, I ask that if you cannot follow this order, you are resigning your position here."

Ventus felt that to be a little harsh. "Aqua…"

"No, Ventus," Riku intervened. "She's right. I understand that Lia and Rickson both need me. Sari will be fine without me, she's probably the closest to becoming a Keyblade Master, after all. But those Lia and Rickson are going to have a hard time and I can't take them with me. I'll tell them after Marta's funeral."

"Understood. Ven, Lea. Please come back."

Lea let out a sigh and scratched the back of his neck. "I can go back tomorrow. I just need one more world to check and I'll be right there."

"That's fine. Ven?"

"Aqua...I-I can't either…"

"Ven, without Riku, Lea and I can't handle safeguarding the Land of Departure and looking out for the apprentices. And don't forget about Silva."

"Aqua, let's make a deal. I go home, but Mahir stays. I'll bring him back for Marta's funeral but Lea sends him back to Radiant Garden. We need to keep good on our promise. You might need me more than Ansem does, but he needs Mahir more than we do."

He was twisting Aqua's arm, but she knew he had a point so she nodded. "I'll agree to it. I'll see you all soon."

One by one, faces disappeared from Ventus' Gummi Phone until it was just him staring at his reflection. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before tilting his head up. When his eyes opened, he stared at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. They flickered slightly, not enough to be apparent, but enough if you paid close attention. Ventus had no idea what was in store moving forward, nor how he felt at the moment. He had taken so much bad news: the recall, Marta, Sora...but the one good thing from it all…

Was that Lia was safe.

---

Location: The Ocean Between

Xion sat quietly in her cabin, nervously playing with her Gummi phone before she took a deep breath. Just this once...she could be a little selfish.

With a small smile, she clicked on a certain contact and the phone began to ring. Not even minutes later, the call was answered and her smile grew as she saw who was on the other end of the line.

"Xion, this is a surprise." Ienzo greeted her, his eyes glinting with happiness as he spoke. "How is the mission coming along?"

"I think we're getting somewhere, hopefully." Xion answered. "But that's not why I called."

"Oh? Then why did you call?" Ienzo questioned.

"I just...missed you." Xion admitted. "I wanted to see you and talk to you, before we got too much further."

She didn't want to admit that she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, one that reminded her of her days exploring Castle Oblivion, searching for her origins. She couldn't tell him that, burden him with that fear.

"I miss you too." Ienzo smiled softly, and Xion suddenly wished, with a visceral ache in her chest, to be back on Radiant Garden, to have Ienzo's arms surrounding her, keeping her safe, reminding her that she was real and not just a puppet (the nightmares of those last days, of being manipulated and used, never truly went away…). "Should I tell you about what is going on here to ease your mind?"

"That would be nice." Xion smiled as she laid back on the bed, waiting for her boyfriend to speak.

"Well, let's see...Ventus and Mahir have come to help us with our investigation, Mahir seems quite eager to get started as Aeleus' partner under cover." Ienzo chuckled. "Master Ansem, Even and I are looking into a possible solution to the current materia shortage, to hopefully offset the considerable loss of it so far. Namine and Leon have also been a great help as well."

"It sounds like you have your hands full." Xion teased.

"Of course, but I wouldn't have it any other way." Ienzo smiled. "As long as I'm kept busy, I don't have time to worry about how the other worlds are being affected or if you're in danger."

"I'm sorry…" The dark haired girl apologized.

"Don't. This job is something you love, something you are amazing at, and it's one of the reasons I love you, because you take these risks to help others so that the worlds are a safer place." Ienzo scolded her. "You don't need to apologize for who you are or what you love and I will never ask you to give this up until you are ready, just as you would never ask me to give up my research with Master Ansem."

"How could I? When you get going, I can't even drag you away from a research lab." Xion laughed, feeling tears of gratitude and love form in her eyes. (She missed him, she missed him so much, and all she wanted right now was to hug him, to kiss him, to hold his hand, anything, just to be near him.) "But thank you. I love you too."

Ienzo smiled at her, soft and sweet, and Xion's heart started to race in her chest. (When he looked at her like that...it made her think that he was trying to ask her something without words, something she had never imagined back during what she thought were her final days, offering her something she did not have, not yet. Something she knew now that she would only accept from him and nobody else in all the worlds. She wanted it, she wanted it more than any words could describe.)

Suddenly, Xion felt the Gummi Ship rock a bit, indicating that they had exited a lane between. Her eyes had drifted to the corner until she was sure of it. That's when she looked directly at Ienzo through her phone and smiled sadly. "I think we're close. I have to go. I'll call you later, though."

"Of course. And we'll see each other again soon." Ienzo smiled easily, nodding in agreement. "I love you."

"I love you too." Xion smiled before she hung up. She desperately ignored the pit in her stomach as she stood up and made her way to the cockpit.

When Xion entered the cockpit, she was greeted with an area of the Ocean dimly lit by a burning orange sun. There were asteroids scattered all around a titanic battleship that had been ravaged by time. "Wow…" she said in awe. "What happened here?"

Kairi stood up from her seat to get a better look at the scene in front of them. She placed her hand on the gummi ship's windshield and stared at the battleship in front of them, knowing well what lay beyond it. "It...can't be…" she choked out. Xion looked from Kairi to Roxas in confusion. Roxas simply shrugged. Her guess was as good as his. Finally, Kairi answered, "I remember this place from a decade ago. I don't think I'd ever forget a single moment of that day."

Xion cocked her head in confusion, but Roxas was beginning to catch on. He flew the ship very slowly around the battleship to avoid toppling Kairi, who stood like a statue in front of the windshield.

Kairi continued, "This is the first obstacle that we faced during the Keyblade War. Never had I seen Sora pilot a ship but that day, I couldn't believe my eyes because of how expertly he flew the Highwind through this thing." A soft smile formed on her lips as she said, "There were a few close calls that I gave him an earful for. I guess you get your reckless piloting from him," she told Roxas teasingly.

Roxas crossed his arms and playfully pouted, "Do not!"

"So then beyond this is the Keyblade Graveyard?" Xion asked. Her spine began to tingle as memories of that fateful day rushed through her like a tsunami. Just the memory of pointing her weapon at Lea made her shudder.

"But...why is my heart telling us to come here? Would Sora come back to this world? If something similar to ten years ago happened, he would've told us about it...right?" Kairi asked, her voice uncertain as she looked from Xion to Roxas.

"Only one way to find out." Roxas stated, his voice serious and showing none of his previous levity. "Buckle in, guys. We're going to the Keyblade Graveyard."

Kairi went to sit down to prepare herself for what came next. As Roxas neared the battlescarred world, she gripped the armrests with all her strength, hoping and praying that Sora was alright. Part of her was hoping that her heart had misguided them and that Sora did not really return to this wretched world. The same world where she…

Kairi bit her bottom lip, hard enough to break the skin. Not even the pain from her bleeding lip could break her from her thoughts. She just sat there as the ship descended onto the barren wasteland just outside the battleground.

The ship's ramp extended to the floor allowing Kairi, Roxas, and Xion to exit the ship and make their way into the cave before them. The trio was silent as they walked together, all tense with thought. The crunching sound beneath their feet was accompanied only by the howling wind that kicked the dust around, cleaning some of the lifeless keys and dirtying others. They entered the cave and reached the other exit soon after, noticing a lone figure standing in the center of the ring where the Light of the Past aided Sora against the colossal demon tide.

It was a man clad in nothing, but a simple blue tunic and matching pants, which were tucked into white boots, with a long white cape and the barest amount of white armor. He also wore a white hood, hiding his face from the three Keyblade wielders. All that could be made out was tufts of blonde hair under his hood and a single light blue eye. At his side was a sword, though he made no move to grasp it as the three approached.

The trio's advances slowed to a stop as they exercised caution around the knight, though he could hardly be described as such. They stood in silence, waiting for him to say or do something but he kept looking forward with a calm look on his face. It was almost serene. Roxas took a step forward to ask, "Who are you?"

A small smile formed on the knight's lips as he responded, "I could ask you three the same thing...but then that would be redundant of me."

"You know us?" he asked.

"I do," the knight said calmly. "And so does he for that matter." There was not even so much as an eye twitch as he continued looking at the trio, knowing of their impending doom. A figure fell down from the edge of the cliff above them with a corrupted version of the Kingdom Key in hand. The rattling keychain alerted Roxas and Xion of the incoming attack from above allowing them to react. Roxas summoned Two Become One and swung upward. The clash created a powerful shockwave that kicked up the sand around them, forcing the women to shield their eyes.

When the dust cleared, Kairi's eyes widened with horror at the sight of Sora with an aura of black mist shrouding his body. The skin around his fingers had darkened, except for the tips which were blood red and his once bright sapphire eyes had become golden yellow.

Roxas stared at his counterpart with bewilderment in his eyes. Sora noticed this and took advantage of Roxas' vulnerable state by pressing down hard against Two Become One, allowing him to flip over the blonde and then swing with a wide arc to strike him in the back. Roxas grunted from the impact as he stumbled forward. The blonde then swung with the same move that Sora had just done, but his blade only sliced through air. Sora was midleap and he came down onto Roxas with another swift downward slash.

Xion pressed the ball of her foot against the dry ground and kicked up some dust as she pushed herself forward. She managed to close the distance between herself and the others within the second. This allowed her to parry Sora's attack with Oathkeeper. Once she touched the ground, she propelled herself forward to follow up with more quick thrusts. Sora quickly countered with an explosion of dark energy, creating several spheres of darkness that forced Xion to guard, rather than attack.

"Xion!" Roxas shouted.

"Right!" Xion nodded, understanding the blonde's plan without any words being exchanged between them. Instead, she simply threw her whole body forward, ducking under Sora's counter strike and using her shoulder to ram her body into Sora's. Oathkeeper had vanished from her grasp.

A second later, Roxas charged at Sora with both Two Become One and Oathkeeper in his hands. With his balance thrown off, Sora was wide open and Roxas crossed his two keyblades, moving to attack.

The wielder of the Kingdom Key raised his polluted hand, stopping Roxas' dual attack mid-swing, both Keyblades caught in his grasp. Gritting his teeth, the former nobody swiftly kicked Sora directly in the chest, throwing both his Keyblades in the air as soon as they were free. Once the weapons left Roxas' grasp, they vanished only to reappear a second later, this time in Xion's hands. With silence and deadly accuracy, she locked both Keyblades around Sora's neck, the threat if he continued to struggle clear.

Kairi...felt like she couldn't breathe. Sora, Roxas, and Xion, they were friends, as close as any of the other Guardians of Light were! So why...why was Sora doing this, why did he look like that? She didn't have an answer, and that hurt more than even watching this battle ever could, because if she didn't have an answer to the "why," she couldn't stop whatever caused it. And being unable to help Sora...that was something she hated more than anything else, reminding her of the year she had been left alone, not able to help save the worlds or Riku and instead being left behind like the dead weight damsel in distress she had always been. She'd thought she'd left that behind, that she could fight alongside Sora and Riku as an equal. But now she knew, she'd never left that behind. She only went in circles and found herself back at the start.

Having locked Sora between the two Keyblades, Xion looked at Kairi, signaling her with a nod that it was safe to approach him. Kairi hesitated because she could barely recognize the man before her. Now that she had gotten a closer look at him, she could see that his hair was messier than usual and there were some patches, a sign that hair had been ripped from his head. It was difficult to see him like this. So difficult that a lump had grown inside Kairi's throat and threatened to choke her. Kairi jumped when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She whipped her head around to find that it was just Roxas with a look of concern plain on his face. He looked from her to Sora and then to the ever-looming threat of the knight who stood exactly where he had when they arrived.

Kairi followed Roxas' gaze to the knight and suddenly she swelled with anger and frustration. Whatever had happened to Sora was this man's doing: the way he looked, the way he acted, all of it. Without realizing it, Kairi had summoned Destiny's Embrace and aimed it directly at the knight. She gathered her strength and concentrated it on the tip of her blade before firing a ball of light energy from it.

"Flower Shoot!" she said as she cast the spell.

The concentrated ball of fiery light flew straight and true, and Kairi knew it should've combusted the knight. "Should've" being the key word there. What actually happened, however, was something the Princess of Heart had never anticipated. The knight raised his shield and batted the spell as if it were nothing more than a fly he wished to swat away.

Kairi was shocked, not even registering as her spell collided with the nearest cliff and caused a small rockslide to crash down to the ground. She couldn't believe it...it was as if...as if her magical ability meant nothing against his. But...how? She knew her magical ability was not as strong as Aqua's, but the two had trained together for years, so...how was this possible?

She turned to look at Roxas for an answer, but he, too, was slack in shock, his hand still resting on her shoulder, though now it was limp instead of squeezing in reassurance. Xion, too, appeared shocked, her eyes locked on the knight in disbelief. Of course, it was only then that Kairi noticed Xion's slacking grip on Two Become One and Oathkeeper.

By then, it was too late.

Sora used that moment of distraction to shove his elbow back into Xion's gut, the action causing the black haired woman to gasp as she fell backwards, banishing Two Become One and swinging Oathkeeper widely to avoid actually cutting Sora's throat.

A second later, Kairi felt herself being pulled back as Sora was suddenly looming over her. She hadn't even seen him move. How did he get there so fast? Most terrifying of all was that the Kingdom Key was barely blocked from striking her heart by Roxas' Keyblade.

"Wha-?!" She gasped, unable to believe what had happened.

Sora...was going...to kill her?

"I must say, it is so fascinating to watch just how easily bonds can fall apart." The knight said, his voice as casual as if he were talking about the weather, as Roxas kept Sora at bay and pushed Kairi behind him. "Take this young man, for example. He's always gone on and on about his friends being his power, and yet here he is, fighting that same source of power and he isn't affected by it at all!"

"Sora, stop!" Roxas shouted, trying to get through to his counterpart, his friend. He locked Keyblades with him, holding him in place long enough for Xion to attempt to knock him out with the back edge of Oathkeeper.

"In fact, he's stronger because he's fighting his source of power." The knight's lips curved slightly into a soft smile. "With each bond he fights, his power increases, his darkness increases."

Right before Oathkeeper could hit Sora, his red-tinged hand shot out and caught it, effortlessly throwing Xion aside with her Keyblade, as if she were nothing, but a doll. A second later, Roxas felt his feet being kicked out from under him and his face met the dirt.

"Darkness really is the true source of power. With the light he was strong, but he's even stronger now. He's gone beyond what he used to be, become something more than human."

Roxas looked up, only to see Sora raising the Kingdom Key above his head, ready to bring it down and kill the blonde.

"No! Stop! Sora!" Xion shouted, trying to push herself up, only to find a dark barrier holding her down, limiting her movement.

"It's only through fighting you all, who he claims his power comes from, that he becomes strong. And through your deaths, he will become even stronger, greater than he was before." The knight's face was twisted into a cruel smile, his kindly features distorted in a way that Kairi was sure would haunt her for some time. It was those features that broke her out of her trance.

"Waterga!" She shouted, holding her hand out as the water in the air reacted to her magic and hardened into streams of arrows, shooting out towards Sora in an instant.

The magical attack forced the brunette to jump back from Roxas, deflecting the arrows as easily as a knife cutting through butter. However, he didn't see Xion coming with Oathkeeper in its claymore form, intending to knock Sora to the ground in one attack under the cover of Kairi's magic, but-

Sora raised both arms in an 'x' shape...and the claymore stopped as it came into contact with his hardened skin.

"What?!" Kairi and Roxas gasped in unison.

Xion spoke her realization out loud. "That darkness...it's like it's armor protecting his body!"

"Exactly. Whereas light barely gave him any armor, the darkness allows him to fight against even you, Guardians of Light." The knight smiled serenely. "And if such armor cannot be broken, he cannot be defeated. And your bonds will break, as easily as glass."

Sora moved his arms to the side, causing Xion to stagger forward, which opened her up to a critical hit to her side with the Kingdom Key.

"No…" Kairi whispered. Was there...really nothing she could do…? That they could do…?

"Dammit, Sora, wake up! Are you really going to leave Kairi like this, after everything?! Are you going to abandon your friends, after everything you did to protect them?! You'd be a pretty shitty other then!" Roxas growled. "Wake up already, this isn't who you are and you know it! Damn it all!"

Sora, however, remained silent, his cloudy gaze simply staring at Roxas, as if he really wasn't seeing him at all. Roxas clicked his tongue and glared at his counterpart. All Sora did was raise the Kingdom Key, and-

Roxas charged once again, this time resolving himself not to hold back anymore. He knew he'd have to hurt Sora but hoped not to have to take things too far. Sora blitzed forward as well and the two clashed Keyblades, pushing against each other with all their might.

A pair of white and silver chakrams resembling the teeth of Oathkeeper surrounded by a curled wing flew at Sora. The corrupted guardian swiveled on his foot, allowing Roxas to take a cut on his shoulder as he batted the other chakram away.

"Shit! Roxas!" Xion gritted her teeth as she caught her boomeranging chakrams and reverted them into Oathkeeper.

Sora swung his Keyblade, aiming for Roxas' head but the raven-haired woman jumped in front, stealing Two Become One to guard with both Keyblades crossed. She locked eyes with the man who she owed her existence to and found nothing but hate in them. Unadulterated hate.

"Sora...who hurt you?" It was barely a whisper that escaped Xion's lips. So quiet that not even Sora could hear it right in front of her. With a heavy gulp, Xion came to a resolution. Her voice was calm and steady as she said, "Roxas, Kairi, go."

"What?" Roxas asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"I'll hold Sora off, you two escape and go to the Land of Departure. With the help of the others, we can save Sora, but we can't do that if we all die here." Xion argued. "So...I'll stay behind and you two go get our backup, so we can help Sora."

"But Xion, you'll-" Kairi began to protest.

"I'll be alright." Xion turned to look at the two of them with a peaceful smile.

That smile...it reminded Roxas of…

"No, you can't!" Roxas protested. "You know what could happen if you do that again, it's too risky-"

"It's our only chance." Xion stated, her voice firm and her eyes like steel. "Besides, I know you guys will come back, for both of us. So, run and...I'll see you later."

"But Xion-!" Kairi tried to argue, only to be cut off as Roxas grasped her arm.

"You better keep that promise." He stated, before he turned and began to run, dragging Kairi behind him.

Kairi only got one chance to look back and watch as Xion suddenly glowed with a bright white light and, when it cleared, in her place was an armored figure, wearing pink, yellow and white armor and two matching swords in her grasp.

"Be safe." She heard Roxas whisper.

Kairi had never felt as scared to leave that graveyard as she did at that moment, watching the armored Xion facing off against a dark Sora, all while the knight simply stood off to the side, smiling peacefully.

The knight...he unnerved her more than anything else about this situation, but there was nothing she could do now. All she could do was run and hope she and Roxas could get back to them in time to save them.

Before all was lost, forever.

Kairi could not fight the urge to look back, to see if Xion was okay. What she found was a swirling vortex of light and dark energy expanding out further and further by the passing moment.

"Roxas!"

The blonde turned toward it. They weren't going to make it to the Gummi Ship in time, so without thinking, he beckoned a Dark Corridor and ran through it with Kairi. The rift in space and time swallowed them up and faded away just as the exploding energy passed through the mountain crevice they were in.

Kairi felt cold in the darkness. Then she suddenly felt inexplicably hot, but she was too tired and too heartbroken to open her eyes so she just lay there on a sandy beach with the rising waves creeping up on her. The only other thing she felt was someone's hand clutching her own.

"Roxas…"

It was barely a mumble.

---

Wolfie: And there we are!

Couple quick notes before I send you off to the next chapter (surprise!): first, Legacy and I wrote the last section over a year ago. It was originally intended to be in chapter 2, with Kairi, Roxas and Xion never going to Radiant Garden or Midnight City and a completely different character being alongside Sora. We're both very glad we decided to hold it off, however, though about 80% is unchanged from what we originally wrote. Second, Legacy wanted me to mention this, but we SO CALLED Kairi training with Aqua, thank you for the validation, Nomura-san!

And now, to end off the longest chapter of this fic EVER, I invite all of you to continue on to the next chapter for an Afterword from both of your authors.