Hello, fellow readers! And welcome back to Shining Rainbows! Before diving in, what do we have this time:

johannvanguard: Makes sense as they were there briefly before. Though, I'm not sure if I want to do that now since it would be a very short visit. I want to keep it mainly on the EG side for now without going back and forward a lot, as that would get confusing.

Thanks for the feedback. Now, let's go!

EDIT: Sorry for the long wait, but when I heard about Melody of Memory, I wanted to avoid getting too deep into this story before seeing what new info we will learn about. What I did learn is that it's a recap game, most likely for the new players that KH3 brought in with the new stuff in the ending world. Music is excellent, though I hope they have DLC tracks that include more Disney or even Final Fantasy tracks into the mix.

The new info will be included in this chapter, but it's honestly not much that we don't know already. Still, just a heads up for those who want to avoid spoilers until they play it themselves.

With this said, now let's jump in!

Chapter 3: Memory Lanes

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Opening his eyes, Sora finds himself not inside Sunset's home, but on wet pavement once again and pushes himself up to his feet after realizing what this meant.

"This place again..." He looks at his surroundings to find himself in the town square of a city.

For some strange reason, this unfamiliar setting keeps looping in his mind. He's not sure if it's a connection he isn't aware of or what, but there's one way to find out as he runs off in a random direction.

"Huh, this feels like when we went to the dream realm..." He comments on his Mark of Mastery back then before remembering a better way to traverse, leaping up onto a building to activate Flowmotion and reach higher ground.

Unbeknownst to him, he wasn't alone in the city.

On the roof of a tower next to its twin, Yozora stood on the edge and looks solemnly upon his home world. Memories were starting to resurface before pushing them away, hoping that there's a reason he's here other than as a reminder.

"This place again..." He knows now that this keeps appearing too much for it to be a simple dream.

Silence fell as he takes in the empty view of the city for however long that lasted before hearing something very faint.

"...ey..."

Yeah, very faint. Though, it was enough to get his attention. Getting the feeling of something behind him, he turns around to see...

Nothing.

He was a bit confused by this before hearing it again, "...He..."

It was still faint, but it sounds like it came from the same general direction. Looking towards where it came from, a closer look has his eyes focused on one thing:

Wind. A disrupted wind that was beginning to form a figure of sorts.

Before Yozora could even question what it is, the surroundings were starting to get a similar effect as the dream came to an end.

Back in Reality, Morning

Yozora wakes up to find himself sitting on Sunset's couch, looking around to see Sora laying down next to him still asleep and Sunset upstairs also sleeping in her bed. The sun was just rising over the horizon, telling him how early he has woken up.

Getting up to his feet, Yozora takes a moment to stretch before he hears a phone ringing up where Sunset is. Likely her phone, he notices that she isn't even flinching at the ringtone and decides to see who's calling. Clearing the stairs in three leaps, he lands next to her nightstand and answers it:

"Hello?"

A familiar voice answers, "Yozora? I presume Sunset is still sleeping, yes?"

"Yes." He notices the humorous situation before continuing, "What is it?"

"I was gonna ask her if you two wanted to go get breakfast with us. If you don't mind, darling." Rarity's proposal had no reason to be denied.

"Sure. Where?"

"At the Sweet Shoppe. Don't worry, Sunset knows where it is. See you then!" The call ended soon after, Yozora putting the phone back where he got it.

He then hears a thump from downstairs, looking over to see Sora has fallen over onto the floor.

"Oww..." And woke himself up in the process.

It didn't take long before Sunset woke up, allowing Yozora to bring them up to speed. After getting ready for the day, the three left her house and were on their way as they held a conversation.

"You wanna see my keyblade?" Sora wasn't that surprised for hearing this.

"Yeah! Seriously, a giant sentient key!? Something like that isn't common, to say the least!" Sunset insists, "Plus, it's something that Princess Twilight would like to know about."

"She's right." Yozora casually agrees, not seeing something like that until meeting Sora.

"Then sure, I don't see why not." Sora then heard a small sound from his stomach, "After breakfast."

The trio then arrive at their destination, entering it to see the others sitting at a large table. Walking on over, Rarity was the first to greet them:

"Darlings!"

"Morning." Sunset responds back as the trio took their seats, "Sorry for not answering, by the way."

"It's quite all right. I just thought this will help us get to know you two better." Rarity explains.

"This way, you two won't have to tell your backstories in repetitive one-on-one conversations!" Pinkie makes a good point.

Yozora stays silent as Sora agrees with her, "Makes sense."

"So, who wants to go first?" Rainbow wonders out loud.

Sora jumps at this as he starts his backstory:

"I'll go! My world is known as Destiny Islands. It's a rather peaceful town that populates a group of islands, hence the name. I hang out with a lot of my friends there, mainly two of them named Riku and Kairi. We also had another trio that hung out with us from time to time who are named Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie."

"A lot of our memories we had was on a lone island off the shore of the main island that we practically had as a playground for us to play at. We did all kinds of stuff like racing, climbing, and even building stuff like boats and rafts. We even made toy swords out of wood and play fight against each other. Well, mostly me and Riku did as the others had their own toys."

Yozora made a mental note on Sora's 'self-taught' style as the latter continues his story:

"Anyways, we eventually got curious about if there was more out there, past our shores and even our own world. We made a big raft to ready ourselves for the journey, only for the night before to be... just that."

They notice his pause before he clarifies:

"That night, the darkness invaded our world after this mysterious door in our secret place was opened. I should have known it might have happened as I met a hooded man there who talked about... 'knowing nothing can understand nothing'? Something like that. Riku dived into the darkness and Kairi has disappeared along with everyone else before I had to face a massive heartless and got swept up along with it. Fortunately, I was lucky as I manage to land in Traverse Town, a safe haven for those who lost their worlds."

"And that's where my first journey began." Sora finishes, "I would go on, but trust me when I say... it gets VERY confusing."

"Confusing?" Sci-Twi dares to ask him out of curiosity.

"Or convoluted, more specifically." Sora chuckles a bit as he rubs the back of his head.

Yozora listened to his story and finds it interesting. From what he has gathered, fate wanted them to meet and the fact that it would be someone who is opposite of himself isn't just a coincidence. Before he went deeper into his thoughts, he hears his name:

"What about you, Yozora?" Sunset asks him as he was now the center of attention, "Where are you from?"

Unlike Sora, he doesn't want to give them a full-blown synopsis and just kept it to the point:

"Very well. My world is known as Quadratum. It's actually like your own world, just much more advanced in technology. I lived a comfortable life there... until someone I knew was taken away... and here I am."

He kept it short, which understandably surprised the others.

"Wait, that's it?" Sora wonders, "You never wondered about other worlds or something like that?"

"No. Never came to mind." Yozora answers, "And even then, I was content with it."

"I can get what ya mean." Applejack spoke up, "Born and raised at Sweet Apple Acres here in Canterlot, I'm pretty fine with where I am right now."

"Very true." Rarity agrees, "The city has enough to see to last a lifetime."

"Speaking of which, I just got an idea!" Pinkie calls out, "We show you the city! It's summer vacation, so we got the time!"

"Heck yeah!" Rainbow was on board with Fluttershy nodding in agreement.

Sora was all in with Yozora just shrugging, since the latter has nothing else to do.

After some time, the group exits the shop after refilling their energy and took a moment to pick their first destination when Sunset sees two familiar faces, "Aren't those the principals over there?"

Turns out, it is indeed Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna as the two were walking down the sidewalk towards them when the former sees them.

"Hello there, girls!"

Sora and Yozora were confused a bit as the girls turn to where the voice came from, seeing their principals walk up to them.

"Principal Celestia? And Vice Principal Luna?" Sci-Twi said out loud, "What brings you two here?"

"We're gathering supplies for the Camp Everfree trip tomorrow." The vice principal answers, "I'm sure you girls have done the same."

"Of course! I've been looking forward to roughing it out there in the woods." Applejack was very confident with her response.

"That's not-" Rainbow was then cut off as Sora shouts in excitement:

"You're going camping!?"

The girls were surprised at his enthusiasm as Yozora was just raising an eyebrow.

The principals notice the new faces as Celestia voices her curiosity, "Who are your new friends?"

"They are from another world like Princess Twilight, except WAY farther out!" Pinkie starts with before popping up next to Sora, "This is Sora!"

She then pops up next to Yozora, "And this is Yozora!"

"Nice to meet you!" Sora said with a smile before shifting the topic back, "So, what about this camping trip?"

"Our school is going to Camp Everfree. It's been a tradition for years, as the principals can attest to." Sunset gestures to the two with the last sentence.

"Our time there was quite the experience. And as such, we want to share that with future students." Celestia confirms.

Sora was now more excited for it, "Can we go!? Please!?"

"Uh, I think it's just for students." Rainbow reminds him, but then hears something unexpected:

"I don't see why not."

The girls and even Luna was surprised to hear that as the latter questions it, "Are you sure, sister?"

"Considering we allowed Princess Twilight to run for Fall Formal Princess, why not have two extra helpers for the camping trip?" Celestia makes a good point before looking back to Sora and Yozora, "Do you two want to join us?"

"YES!" Sora immediately answers, raising his arms straight up in the air.

"All right." Yozora simply said, mainly since he has no reason not to.

"Then we'll see you tomorrow." Celestia said before she and her sister took their leave.

"What was that about?" Fluttershy wonders out loud the same question that the others are thinking about Sora.

Sora rubs the back of his head as he said that, "Sorry, I used to go camping a lot back home."

"I thought you were an islander." Sci-Twi recalls from his story earlier.

"We have forests there, too." Sora clarifies for them, "Honestly if you like nature, you'll like my world."

"Fluttershy would." Rainbow casually points out, which she agrees. "...Yes I would."

Rarity then brings them back on track, "So, I know a couple of landmarks that I'll know you two would like!"

"Lead the way!" Sora was eager to see with Yozora just following along with the others towards downtown.

Meanwhile, back in the Realm of Light (Radiant Garden)

Riku is currently walking through the large halls of the main castle with the guard Aeleus leading the way to the hidden study where Kairi is, thinking over the new info he has recently learned.

Having been sent at the request of Master Yen Sid, the Fairy Godmother comes to Merlin's house where he was with the Radiant Garden crew to find clues within the computer data they found. Most likely from their Mark of Mastery exam in the Dream Realm, his time as Sora's Dream Eater holds water to finding Sora due to him having a connection to the dreams during that time. Not only that, but the recurring dream he's been having adds evidence to said theory.

Before he knew it, he has reached the study and goes through the entrance to the hidden one to find Kairi awake at last talking with the scientists.

"Kairi, you're awake!" He exclaims, honestly happy to see her back on her feet as Aeleus now took his leave back to his post.

"Riku!" She gets up from the examination chair to greet him, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how progress was going for you guys. That and I was told about a possible clue." He explains to her.

"Really? We found something too!" That just adds more to the table.

Before the two could continue talking, a blue light created from equally blue sparkles appears between them, surprising the others before it fades to reveal the Fairy Godmother.

"Oh, excuse me, dears. I certainly didn't mean to startle you." She reassures them, "If you're not expecting magic, it can be a surprise."

"No kidding." Riku simply said before muttering as she turns away, "Though, something tells me that's a habit of yours."

"Now then, I'm the Fairy Godmother. It's a pleasure to meet you all." She introduces herself to the scientists.

"She arrived here at Yen Sid's request as he believes she can help us find a clue to Sora's whereabouts." He briefly explains to them.

"Really!?" Kairi is ecstatic to hear that.

"That's right. To find him, we need three keys. First is Riku's dreams and the second is your memories." The Fairy Godmother explains to her, "Of course, I hope you found something during your slumber."

"We have." Ienzo spoke up at this point, "We found out that Sora's possible location is within a world that is not comprised of light or darkness."

"Neither light or dark... how odd." Riku was curious at that aspect before hearing Kairi's question, "What about you? What did you find out?"

"Oh. Well ever since Sora disappeared, I keep having this strange dream. I would be in a large city that has rather tall buildings." He answers, "And each time I was there, I felt like I was being watched. I'm not sure how, but it's possible that there's a connection."

"Do you know who is watching you?" Kairi was a little concerned upon hearing that.

"No. It would always end before I know it." He admits.

"A city..." Even notes out loud, which Ienzo follows up on. "Then, is it possible that may be the 'fictional world'?"

"There's a world like that?" Riku questions before it was answered by Ansem the Wise, "A likely possibility."

The latter then goes on to explain how their reality works:

"The three realms of Light, Darkness, and Between are all places we can travel to one way or another due to them being on 'our side'. This also includes the worlds of memories, data, and dreams. If I am correct, then this 'other side' of our reality from which voices cannot reach is simply known as 'fiction'."

"So... kinda like an alternate dimension?" Riku summarizes from what he just heard.

"Yes. But unfortunately, that's the extent of what we currently know." Ansem the Wise admits, much to the two scientists' disappointment.

"I was thinking of going to Mickey and Master Yen Sid to see what they knew." Kairi suggests.

The Fairy Godmother declines the idea though, "Mmm, I'm afraid they won't be of much help either, my dear."

"Then what now? We only have two of the three keys we need." Riku asks her.

"Simple. We find the third one." She answers right back, "One with a strong will and a very precious dream."

"And who would that be?" Kairi wonders and understandably so, though the answer is rather unexpected.

"You'll see! I'll introduce you!"

"Wait, what?" This is all Riku said before the Fairy Godmother teleports with him and Kairi in tow.

And done! I know, I know. Waited this long for just this much? Like I said, the first reason was that I wanted to wait until Melody of Memory released to see the new info. The second is actually some behind the scenes stuff, such as ironing out the plot points I wanted to do for this story.

That and at this point, I wanted to get into the main plot already since it's why I made this in the first place. Think of this as more of the transitional chapter into it.

With that said, Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you had a fantastic feast with your family and friends, with leftovers and all!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next chapter!