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(Play - "Treasured Memories")

It was a good day for the keyblade wielder.

He had his first successful contract, learned perhaps the best news he heard lately from Azazel, watched his friends deal with a stray devil, and teamed up with Kiba to defeat a giant Heartless. There were no fallen angels who tried to ambush him the whole time too, which is what led to this moment.

Sora was sitting on a chair facing the wooden desk in his room, while writing on a piece of paper. Writing stuff was never an enjoyable hobby for him, since that was more of Kairi's thing. However, he had a lot of things he wanted to say that he couldn't just blurt out, unless he wanted to look weird in front of other people.

He remembered how Kairi loved to write down her feelings on paper, which was shown when he got her letter while him and Riku were stranded in the Realm of Darkness. It was because of that letter she wrote that they were able to return to the Realm of Light and reunite with Kairi in the Destiny Islands.

Maybe he could do what Kairi did instead of monologuing and so far, he surprisingly found himself enjoying it. Writing down his feelings made him feel like a massive weight was off his shoulders. Plus, with this day being a lot better than what he had expected [or hoped], Sora felt motivated to finish this.

"Sora! Dinner's ready, come on down!" Came the voice of Rias from downstairs. As much as he wanted to cut his writing short and join the two girls for dinner, he couldn't let himself get distracted. He needed to get this over with before eating, otherwise he might lose his motivation if he gets distracted. Unfortunately, his silence caused the redhead to speak up again from downstairs. "Sora?" (Couldn't resist writing this reference)

"I'll be there in a bit! I'm just finishing this up!" Sora exclaimed loud enough so that Rias could hear his voice. He was nearly finished with his letter and just a few more words, and he'll be done.

A few moments later, Sora set down the pen he was using and let out a massive sigh of relief while leaning back on his chair. "Finally done!" he said to himself happily, looking proud of himself for accomplishing something he wouldn't normally do.

"Sora, what's going on here? You're usually the first to come down to the table when food's ready…" Rias asked as she walked inside the bedroom, wearing a pink apron over her clothes. She then saw her pawn facing the wooden desk, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. Sora never did his homework there, since he would rather do it on his bed or on the floor. "What are you doing over there?"

"Oh, I was just writing something!" said Sora, turning his chair around to face the crimson-haired beauty. "I'm all done now, so I was just about to head downstairs, Rias."

"Writing something?" she asked, an amused smirk appearing on her face. "Okay, now I know something's going on here. You never write unless it's homework, which you hate on doing in the first place. What were you doing before I went here?"

Sora grinned in embarrassment, his hate for homework clearly exposed. Despite that, he knew that he had to explain things to his leader. Shaking his head, he then adopted a stern expression so he could get his point across. "No, I'm serious! I was writing a letter earlier, and I finished it just now."

Now that got Rias' attention. "A letter? For who?" she asked curiously.

"Well… the weird thing is that… it's a letter for my friends back home." Sora admitted, which caused Rias' eyebrows to raise in surprise. He quickly took notice of it and waved his hands in front of him frantically so he could explain himself. "I-I-I know that I'm in a completely d-d-different world, but hear me out! One of my friends usually writes what she feels on paper when, so… I thought I should do the same."

"Ah," Rias perked up, understanding what the boy was trying to say. "You wrote about how you miss your friends and made it into a letter?"

"Y-Yeah…" Sora said sheepishly, a bit embarrassed that Rias figured it out so quickly. He then stood up and stretched his limbs for a bit. "I never thought that writing down my feelings can take a weight off my shoulders. I honestly feel a lot better now."

"That's certainly true. Writing down what you feel instead of saying it out loud works wonders for some people," Rias clarified. She then saw the sheet of paper on the desk, and she couldn't help but be curious about what Sora wrote. Approaching the wooden desk, she turned towards the keyblade wielder for his permission. "May I see it?"

"Sure!" Sora beamed.

Rias smiled at him in gratitude, before picking up the letter and holding it close as she began to read its contents:

I know you guys must be worried sick about me ever since I disappeared all of a sudden and I'm not sure how this letter will even reach you, but I just want to let you all know that I'm safe. I'm in another worldline in a town called Kuoh, and I've made some good friends here who took me in. This place is honestly amazing, and I wish you guys were here to see it. This world has many different creatures like devils, angels, fallen angels and more! It turns out that the friends I made here were devils all along, but they're not bad people, trust me. The only bad devils are strays, but you don't want to know about those things.

I'm actually a devil now like them, but don't freak out. It's not like I turned into a Heartless again. I chose to turn into a devil because I realized that there's darkness in this world, and I have to do my job to protect it. I turned into a devil to blend in, but also because I want to fight with the friends I made here. Being a devil's not so bad, there's a ton of cool new stuff that I can do actually.

You guys are not gonna believe this, but there's actually a member of the Organization that's still alive and he's controlling the darkness here. Heartless have been showing up recently, and I can't go back home without dealing with them. I hope you understand. Once I kick that Organization member's butt, I'll be ready to go home!

I'm sure all of you are trying to find me right now but please don't do anything rash like using the power of waking like I did. Just take of yourselves, because I don't want to go home to see all of you driving yourselves exhausted to find me. I'll always keep you in my thoughts and I know you guys will do the same.

Kairi… I'm sorry that I vanished so suddenly back at the beach. I guess it was the price of using the power of waking too many times, but I don't regret it because you're safe. When I get back, let's spend some time together again, if you'll have me.

-Sora

Rias' eye twitched at the last paragraph, as she looked at Sora with a deadly serious expression. The spiky boy paled and instinctively took a step back, remembering just how scary Rias can be when angry.

"W-W-Why are you looking at me like that, Rias…?" he asked slowly while sweating heavily in nervousness.

"Who is Kairi to you? I know that you value all of your friends but somehow I can see that she is more important to you than all of them." Rias asked, narrowing her eyes. A look of jealousy washed upon her face, but of course the boy wasn't able to notice it. "Tell me the truth, Sora."

"K-K-Kairi is one of my friends f-from when I was a kid… w-w-we've been through many t-things together, that's all…" Sora explained, raising his hands in defeat just in case.

"By that logic, it would mean you see your friend Riku in the same way." Rias narrowed her eyes further, and Sora could have sworn that there was fire in her seafoam orbs. "Tell me, do you like Kairi?"

"O-O-Of course, I like her…! S-She's one of my best friends…!"

"Sora, sometimes you can be too dense for your own good. I wasn't asking if you liked her as a friend." The redhead pressed on, causing Sora to shrink in fear from her serious look. "I'm asking you if you like Kairi in that certain way. Even you should know what I'm talking about."

The young brunette quickly pondered over it for a moment, before looking quite conflicted upon thinking about Kairi in… that way. There was a part of him that said yes, while another one was saying otherwise. "Uhm… h-honestly…" he said, his voice becoming more quiet by the second. "Uhm… I don't really know. I… I never p-paid attention to things like these before, so… I don't know. M-Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

The life of a keyblade wielder was honestly hard.

Or is it the romantic life?

Anyway, his answer seemed like it was enough for Rias as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I see. Thank you for telling me about this, Sora." she said, calming down from her serious demeanor.

"W-Why were you asking me that, anyway…?" he asked the redhead, looking terribly confused and embarrassed.

"No particular reason." she said, flashing an innocent smile which caused Sora to pout. He could already tell that she was hiding something from him, but he didn't bother asking any further. It would be pointless since women liked to keep secrets. Rias hid an amused smile from her pawn, feeling a large wave of relief flow through her.

Why would she even get jealous? She'll just have to work harder to get Sora's attention, then. She had never met Kairi before, but she's most likely as dense as her pawn.

"Anyway, I see that you're telling your friends about your true nature as a devil here…" Rias noted with a suspicious look, changing the subject of their conversation.

"Uh… is that a bad thing?" Sora asked nervously. He figured that it was, but he didn't really take it into account since he was in a completely different worldline that it wouldn't really matter in the long run.

"Normally, yes. However, given the fact that you're originally from a different universe, I'll allow it. Just make sure to keep it a secret from people here, got it? The supernatural world doesn't exist in the eyes of normal people here." Rias explained, before raising her finger as though she was giving Sora a warning.

"Don't worry, I won't!" Sora reassured her with a smile. It shouldn't be hard to keep a secret, since him and the two other half-pints keep the nature of their work a secret all the time from the people who live in other worlds.

"Good." Rias looked satisfied, setting down the sheet of paper on the desk. "Now let's head downstairs, Koneko must be getting hungry waiting for us, since I told her not to eat until we get there."

"W-Wait, I still have one more thing to do! It'll only take a moment, I promise!" Sora exclaimed, quickly opening the window next to his desk. He then summoned his keyblade and held his arm out of the window, while his free hand gripped the letter tight.

"What are you trying to do?" Rias raised an eyebrow, curious about what he was planning.

"Aeroga." Sora casted his spell outside of the window, before he let his handwritten letter get sucked in it. "I'm sending my letter to my friends." he said calmly, just as the wind vortex blew the sheet of paper into the night sky, disappearing out of sight.

"You do know that your friends are in another worldline, right? What if a normal person sees your letter instead? Do you know how dangerous that would be? I'd have to erase the memories of whoever sees it, which is something I am not fond of doing." Rias deadpanned, while the spiky brunette grinned sheepishly.

"Well… I believe that all worlds, no matter where they are, even if they're separated by different worldlines… I believe that they are all connected by one sky. No matter how far away my friends are, my letter will reach them because there is only one sky, one destiny."

"Sometimes, you can be childish and other times, you can be quite philosophical. I don't know what to expect from you, Sora…" Rias crossed her arms and rolled her eyes playfully before frowning. "Get moving already, or you're not having any dinner for tonight."

Sora's eyes immediately widened at the threat of having no food to eat for dinner, as he quickly scrambled to fix himself and saluted. "YES, MA'AM!" he shouted, rushing out of his room and making a break for the dinner table before he ends up making Rias angrier than before.

Rias giggled to herself as Sora ran off, while she looked towards the window. Her pawn's words actually left her intrigued, which is why she didn't bother scolding him for recklessly allowing that letter to fly off into the night sky, even though someone could find it and read the part about the keyblade wielder being a devil. The girl's frown returned as she finally walked out of the room, with Sora's words leaving a mark on her mind.

"One sky, one destiny. I wonder what that means…?" she murmured to herself.

(Stop playing - "Treasured Memories")

(The Mysterious Tower)

"What?!" Riku shouted in utter shock, while also feeling a pang of guilt hit him.

"No way!" Donald said, feeling the same as Riku but soon looked terribly sad for some reason.

"Gwarsh, I sure hope Sora's okay…" Goofy said, holding on to his hat tightly out of worry.

"This is ridiculous!" Roxas said, clearly infuriated as he slammed his hands on the desk. Xion was right beside him, patting him on the shoulder to calm him down.

"You can't be serious, Master… there must be a mistake." Ventus said as he shook his head, refusing to accept Yen Sid's words. It wasn't just him because, in fact, everyone inside the room didn't want to believe it.

The remaining Guardians of Light, Isa, Namine, and the Twilight Town gang were all gathered inside Yen Sid's room in the Mysterious Tower. The retired master carefully explained Sora's sudden disappearance not so long ago to them and none of them took the news well, most especially the ones who were closest to him.

"I'm afraid that is exactly the case." Yen Sid as he too didn't want to accept the reality of the situation, but had to keep himself composed as the voice of reason for everyone else. "As I said, Sora has been expelled from our worldline into another for misusing the Power of Waking too many times. As of now, he is in a different universe altogether. This situation is unprecedented and as such, we don't have the knowledge to react properly. I'm afraid that it might take a long time before we figure out a way to rescue Sora."

"At the very least, he is fine and well, right?" Isa asked, crossing his arms and simply frowning to hide his frustration.

"Sadly, since Sora is now in a different worldline, he is out of my reach and thus I cannot figure out anything about his current condition." Yen Sid said gravely, closing his eyes. "The only thing I know for certain is that Sora is on his own wherever he is."

"N-No… that can't be…" Kairi paled, feeling her legs about to give in and about to collapse if it weren't for Olette and Namine supporting her. She was definitely the one who took it the worst out of everyone, knowing that the reason why Sora used the power of waking again and subsequently disappearing, was because of her.

"Come on, everyone." Axel piped up, getting everyone's attention. "This is Sora we're talking about. That guy literally walks into danger with a smile and always comes out fine in the end, I'm sure he's okay." He said, trying his best to lighten the mood since this gloomy atmosphere made him uncomfortable.

"You don't think we already know that, Axel?" Roxas turned around and frowned at his best friend, sounding really serious. "This is different from all the stuff Sora has been through here. You can throw the largest Heartless at him and he can deal with it, but this is something else entirely. He's alone in another realm, with no one to help him. Sora may be a Guardian of Light, but don't forget that he's also a human with emotions."

Axel looked like he wanted to say something but bit back his tongue at the last moment. Starting an argument wouldn't help Sora's current predicament and honestly, Roxas had a point.

"There must be something we can do to help him. Anything." Aqua said, deeply worried for Sora. As a keyblade master, she felt ashamed to let something like this happen to a young keybearer. "Some master I am." she thought, suddenly feeling undeserving of such a title.

"Yes, we can't just sit by and leave it like this." Terra said, believing there was a way to bring back Sora. Hey, that boy did the near-impossible and returned him to his original body, so there must be a way to bring Sora back home, right?

"Please, Master! There has to be a way!" Ventus exclaimed, agreeing with his best friends. Sora was the one who kept his heart safe for many years, and he wanted to return the favor.

"Right now, I am collaborating with the wizard Merlin and the Three Fairies to figure out where he is. We cannot bring Sora back without knowing his whereabouts, hence that will be our goal for now. However, as I said, this situation has never happen before and as such, it will not be easy and might even take a long time to figure something out. This could be resolved if only travel between worldlines is as simple between worlds in ours."

"But Sora needs us now!" Donald said desperately.

"Donald, please calm down." Mickey told his friend, while also looking sad. "I want to bring Sora back as well, but this isn't the time to act rash."

"Mickey's right." Riku said in a depressed tone. "We can't let ourselves be desperate and act recklessly, that would only ruin our chances of finding Sora and bringing him back."

The sound of someone sobbing then caught everyone's attention, as Kairi finally collapsed on the floor with her hands covering her tear-streaked face.

"I-I'm sorry everyone…" she sobbed out, her tears flowing out of her eyes like a river. She felt there was something ache in her chest, like there was a void in her heart. The void could only be filled by one person, but he was gone. "It's all my fault! I'm the reason why Sora is gone!" Olette, Namine, Donald, and Goofy tried to console her, but it didn't stop Kairi from weeping into her hands.

Riku quickly approached her and knelt down so that they were on the same level. "Kairi, look at me." he said, but the girl made no move to do so. The silver-haired master forcefully removed her hands from her face as he made her look into his eyes. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were stained with tears. "It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself. Sora wouldn't want you to do that."

"No, Riku…" she shook her head in denial. "It's my fault. I was too weak, and I let myself get kidnapped again… I told Sora I would keep him safe this time, but all I did was the opposite… I always cause everyone problems…!" she said in between sobs, but Riku put his hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"That's not true, Kairi. You did what you could do, and I'm honestly proud of you that you've reached this far." he said with a gentle smile before adopting a defeated expression. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I could've gone with Sora to rescue you, you're also my best friend."

"No, Riku." Axel frowned, stepping forward. "I was the one with Kairi through all of that, but I couldn't do anything. If there's somebody who failed, it's me. I'm sorry, Kairi." he said, apologizing to the girl with a sad tone.

"But Axel, you were injured, remember?" Roxas spoke, stepping forth as well. He felt angry with himself for being useless. "You couldn't have done anything even if you wanted to. I could have done something to stop Xemnas from taking Kairi, but I just stood there and did nothing."

"I could have helped too, but I did nothing." Xion stood beside Roxas, looking at the ground sadly. "I'm sorry, Kairi."

"I am also partly to be blamed for this outcome." Isa said with his stern expression, but inside he felt guilty as well. He clenched his fists tightly and continued to speak. "I'll carry this burden, because no amount of apology would make up for what I've done."

"Isa…" Lea turned towards his friend with sadness in his eyes.

"No. I'm the one to blame." Aqua said, surprising everyone else inside the room. Terra and Ven looked flabbergasted, while the blue-haired girl placed a hand on her chest. "I'm supposed to be a keyblade master, a person who guides other keyblade wielders into the path of light, but I let my selfishness get in the way. I wanted to save my friend above all else, and at one point I almost forgot about the war, just to save him."

Terra gritted his teeth and looked down at the floor. He would never forgive himself for hurting his friends as Xehanort's vessel, and he couldn't handle Aqua taking the blame for him. "Aqua, it's not your fault —" he tried to speak up, knowing she was talking about him, only to get interrupted.

"In the end, me and Ven did get back our friend, but lost someone in return and we might never see him again. I should've helped Sora when I had the chance. I didn't even warn him of the dangers of using the power of waking again. If there's anyone who failed, it's me. I failed as a human, as a friend, as a keyblade master, and as a Guardian of Light. I don't think I even want to be called a master anymore…" Aqua trailed off, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Aqua…" Ven said in concern, holding the girl's hand tightly. Terra hugged the girl close to him and that was it. The supposedly-powerful master began to cry into her friend's chest, while Ven and Terra did their best to console her.

Yen Sid looked at everyone inside the room and sighed. It would be irrational to continue discussing the possibilities of how they could find Sora if everyone was in a state of despair.

"Take this time to accept reality, everyone." the old master said, rubbing his beard. Everyone except for Kairi and Aqua looked at him. "It is indeed saddening that Sora is out of our reach at this very moment, but we cannot let ourselves lose faith so easily. I will continue working with Merlin and the Good Fairies but in the meantime, all of you need to rest and recuperate."

(Play - "Radiant Garden")

A few days after Sora's sudden disappearance, everyone was already busy looking for clues on where he could possibly be. All of the Guardians of Light decided to stay at Radiant Garden for the time being while the search was happening. Ansem the Wise and the other scientists at the palace were quick to offer their help in searching for the young boy, as well as Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid.

Upon orders from Yen Sid, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were venturing to the worlds that Sora has been through, in search of possible clues and traces that he might have left behind. The Twilight Town gang were investigating Roxas and Xion's memories, since they were a part of Sora before they gained their own human bodies.

Aqua was walking through the Town Square, looking wary of her surroundings. She wouldn't normally be like this, as she was capable of staying calm and composed even at the most dangerous situations, but she couldn't do so at the moment.

Not when she was trying to avoid two certain people whom she cared about.

"Terra… Ven… forgive me for this." she said to herself, making a turn towards the marketplace. She was supposed to venture with Terra and Ventus into the Realm of Darkness today to try and see if Sora was there, but Aqua wasn't stupid. It would be impossible for Sora to end up there since he wasn't swallowed by darkness or anything.

A few days ago, he just faded away into the wind as if he wasn't even there.

Indeed, there was only one way to possibly reach Sora without waiting for a long time. It would be risky, but worth it. All of them, including her, didn't have the strength to wait for that long just to gain a small clue on his whereabouts. This would be her way of making up for her failure, and her mind was already set on what she wanted to do.

However, she wouldn't be going on this 'rescue mission' alone.

Fortunately, there weren't many people around today, and Aqua was able to quickly notice a familiar red-haired girl standing in front of a stall that sold various souvenirs. The keyblade master quickly ran towards the girl, who looked strangely worried despite her state in the Mysterious Tower a few days ago.

Kairi spent a whole day crying over the loss of her 'dearly beloved', going as far as to lock herself inside her room and not coming out other than to go to the bathroom or eat. It was only when she received a call from Aqua about 'saving Sora as soon as possible' that she finally decided to leave her room and meet with the keyblade master at the marketplace.

Standing before the young red-haired girl, Aqua gave her a sad look. "Kairi, how are you feeling? I-I'm sorry for what you had to go through these past few days. I know how it feels, losing someone really close to your heart."

Kairi didn't want to talk about that while they were out in the open. "I'm… somehow feeling better, but… why did you want to meet me here? Have you figured out how to bring Sora back…?" she asked, almost looking hopeful in spite of her downtrodden state.

"N-No, not exactly." Aqua shook her head in sadness.

"...I… I see…" Kairi mumbled, the hopeful expression she had immediately shattering into pieces as she felt tears welling up in her eyes again. Why did she even think there was a way to find Sora? He's already gone forever…

"B-But I think I have a way to possibly reach Sora, even in a different worldline!" The blue-haired girl quickly followed up, causing Kairi to look at her in slight confusion. "It's risky, but… I believe it's the only shot we have of finding him."

"W-What is it…?" Kairi asked, furrowing her eyebrows. The redhead looked more wary, thinking that this was yet another way of bringing Sora back which would only translate to false hope in the end.

Aqua looked around for a few moments, checking to see if there were any eavesdroppers. Once she was sure the coast was clear, the keyblade master leaned towards Kairi's ear and began to whisper her plan to the younger girl. Within a few seconds, Kairi's eyes began to widen slowly in shock as Aqua moved away to let her speak.

"A-Are you sure about that…?" Kairi's voice was filled with worry while she stared at the blue-haired master. Now she looked guilty. The last thing Kairi needed was pity and she didn't want someone like Aqua risking her life to rescue Sora just because she was too weak to watch over herself. "I know you want to bring Sora back, but… there's no need to use that power to get to him. You'll be doing the same thing he did. What about Ven and Terra…?"

"You don't have to worry. It's my decision to make, Kairi. I'm sure Ven and Terra will also understand why I'm doing this, I just hope they can forgive me." Aqua said, flashing the girl before her a reassuring smile. "Truth be told, I have no idea if this is gonna work… but it's the best thing I could think of. Besides, I still need to make up for my failure… I'm supposed to be a keyblade master, but I don't think I deserve that title."

"Then why are you telling me this?" Kairi was confused because if Aqua wanted to use her power of waking to try and follow Sora wherever he was, then there was no stopping her. It's not like she could…

Aqua sighed. She didn't really want to do this, but she hated to see Kairi sobbing all day and night thinking of Sora. If she wasn't a keyblade master who was supposed to stay strong even in times of crisis, she would've likely did the same thing for her friends. Plus, she wouldn't be alone in case things go south. "I wanted to ask you if… if you wanted to come with me."

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Kairi's eyes widened in shock upon hearing Aqua's words. "What…? M-Me… going with you?"

"Frankly, I'm not supposed to be asking you this for your own safety." The blue-haired master frowned, before she sighed and looked at her hand. "But I can't take it anymore, seeing you cry day and night. You remind me too much of myself, Kairi. When I got separated from Terra and Ven, the only thing I wanted to do was cry my eyes out. If there's the slightest chance that I can find Sora after I do this, then I want you to be there with me. We'll see him together and come back here in one piece. Even if we end up someplace else from where Sora is, we can figure things out together there. But let me ask you this…" she placed her hands on Kairi's shoulders. "...are you prepared to take that risk just to see him?"

Aqua's words rang inside Kairi's ears as if she shouted it. Was she prepared to take the same risk Sora did? He used the same power that Aqua had in mind, and it resulted in him being exiled from their universe. Was Kairi even fit to take that risk, when she was just a weakling who couldn't defend herself? That wasn't what Kairi had in mind, though. Because the only thing she was thinking about was the chance to see Sora again, no matter how small it was. Maybe when she sees him again, the void in her heart could be filled.

Unable to give a verbal response, Kairi only found herself nodding.

"Alright." Aqua nodded in return. "We better take this somewhere out of —"

"Don't think you're leaving without us," a deep voice interrupted the keyblade master.

The two girls turned to the source of the voice, and they saw Roxas and Xion walking towards them. Needless to say, they were both shocked to see the two former Organization members here, since they were both presumably helping to search for Sora by checking their memories.

"R-Roxas… Xion… what are you guys doing here…?" Kairi asked, blinking slowly in confusion.

"Well… we were taking a break from all the memory diving we've been doing and we saw Master Aqua walking around…" Xion muttered, clasping her hands in front of her. She looked terribly embarrassed for some reason. "We decided to see where she was going, and… w-we kind of heard what you two were planning to do…"

Roxas didn't look embarrassed at all, but he did have a nervous grin at being caught red-handed. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but now that we know what you plan on doing, take us with you. We want to help."

"No." Aqua answered almost immediately, shaking her head. "I can't let you risk your lives when I'm trying to make up for my failure. I'm already taking a big risk bringing Kairi along, and there's not even a guarantee that we'll get to where Sora is. Stay here and keep on checking your memories, you might get a clue on his whereabouts."

Xion looked down, since she was already expecting the blue-haired master to turn them down. She really wanted to help Sora and Aqua's idea might be the best possible way, but the taller girl wouldn't let them. Kairi noticed this and was about to try and appeal to Aqua about letting Roxas and Xion come along, but the Nobody of Sora beat her to it.

"I'm afraid you'll have to reconsider, Master Aqua." Roxas's grin turned into a frown. "It's our decision to come along, and we can take care of ourselves. As long as there's a chance that we can reach Sora, no matter how small it is, we'll take it. Everyone is trying their hardest to find him, not just you."

"I said no!" Aqua heightened her voice and narrowed her eyes at the blonde boy who reminded her of Ven. "You may say that you can take of yourself, but in the end, you'll end up being lost in another worldline. I can't let that happen again. I was supposed to do this alone, but I chose to bring along Kairi because I don't want to see her crying anymore."

"You're not wrong." Roxas said, averting his gaze to the side. "There's no guarantee that we might even follow to the same worldline where he is." He then turned back towards Aqua. "But it doesn't matter. You may be a keyblade master, but that won't stop us. Did you already forget? Master Yen Sid told Sora not to go to the Realm of Darkness, but he still did. You know why? To rescue you."

Aqua's eyes widened. "H-How did you know…?"

"My heart was inside Sora the whole time, did you think I wouldn't know?" Roxas spoke in an uncaring tone. "Anyways, me and Xion didn't come here to argue back and forth. We came here to help Sora, so take us with you. Besides, with four of us out looking for him? Our chances of success are gonna be bigger."

The blue-haired master was conflicted for a few moments before gritting her teeth in frustration. With how stubborn both her and Roxas could be, they'll be discovered before they even come to a decision. It didn't help that she felt like she was talking to Ven instead.

"Tsk, fine." Aqua looked around once again, keeping wary of anyone else who could be listening to them. She pointed towards each of them like a teacher scolding her students. "But the three of you stick to me, got it? No splitting up or anything like that. We'll do this somewhere no one can see us."

The three keyblade wielders only nodded as they followed after Aqua, who ran off in search of an alley where they could execute the plan without being interrupted. Thankfully, after passing the marketplace, there was one beside the Library where it wasn't too narrow nor wide. Within a minute, the four were going deeper down the alley to ensure that nobody could see them.

"This should be far enough." Aqua said, causing the three keyblade behind her to stop walking. Taking one last look around, she took a deep breath and summoned her keyblade. "This is gonna be complicated, since this is honestly the first time I'll use the power of waking and I don't have any idea if this will work, but I have a theory that this will lead us exactly to where Sora is."

Kairi and Xion widened their eyes in surprise. Could there really be hope for them, after all? Meanwhile, Roxas seemed skeptical. Yeah, he wanted to tag along on this 'rescue mission' but better be sure that they're not gonna kill themselves in the process.

"Which is?"

"I believe our connections to Sora would lead us to him, especially you three." Aqua elaborated, looking at each of them. "Xion, from what I heard, you were created from Sora's memories. That alone already makes you deeply connected to him. Roxas, you were his Nobody but became a part of him again until the war. Kairi, you share the deepest connection with Sora among all of us. That's the same connection that Sora relied on when he used the power of waking to bring you back. Are you all getting me so far?"

The three slowly nodded.

Aqua then outstretched her hand for Kairi to take. "Alright, now let's all hold hands. The connection should be strong if we are all —"

"And where do you all think you're going?"

All four of them snapped their eyes wide open upon hearing a foreign voice, indicating that they were already caught in the act. Turning their attention to the source of that voice, a familiar spiky-haired man with tear marks under his eyes stood before them, his hands planted on his hips while he had a suspicious look on his face.

"What are you all planning with all this talk about connections and stuff?" Axel said, raising an eyebrow at all of them.

"Axel… w-why are you here…?" Xion asked slowly, shock overtaking her entire being.

"Huh? What are you talking about, I was sent to look for the two of you." The man sneered, looking towards her and Roxas. "The people at the palace were wondering why you two haven't returned yet, so they told me to come fetch ya."

"Forget it, Axel!" Roxas exclaimed, shaking his head. He didn't want to go back and let his memories be investigated again, not when there was a more likely way of reaching their lost friend. "We're going to look for Sora, and we're not waiting around —"

"You have to understand, Lea." Aqua spoke, cutting Roxas off with a pleading look on her face. "We all want to bring Sora back, and face it, most of us don't have the patience that Yen Sid or Mickey have." She looked at Roxas and Xion, and this scenario reminded her of herself when she lost her friends. "I know your friends are important to you and they just came back a few days ago… but they'll also be back once we reach another friend that we've been searching for. I won't repeat the same mistake I did when we lost Sora. Roxas, Kairi, and Xion will return with Sora. Please understand my intentions."

Axel looked at her suspiciously for a few moments before rolling his eyes. "Pfft, whatever. Do whatever you need to do." he said, waving his hand as though he didn't care.

Now that was something that caught Aqua off guard, as well as the three keyblade wielders with her. "W-What? You aren't gonna try and stop us…?"

"Look, I already got it memorized that Sora's in another universe, or whatever…" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "If you think this plan of yours is gonna work, then go for it. Better that than sitting here and wait for something to happen. I'm getting bored too, ya know?"

"Y-You're really okay with this? But what about the scientists at the palace? They're looking for us, aren't they?" Roxas asked, genuinely surprised with his best friend. Knowing Axel, they'd likely have to fight him before he lets them go, but that wasn't the case this time.

"Heh, you won't get it out of me the second time." Axel grinned, before taking a deep breath to recompose himself. He didn't want to look emotional right now, but the fact that his best friends were leaving again bothered him. "Don't worry about those idiots, I'll make up something to cover for ya. Just… Just go and… make sure to come back safe."

What happened next shocked the spiky-haired man as Xion lunged forward to hug him tightly. Roxas immediately followed after her and made it a three-way hug. This would likely be the last time they would be like this for a while, so Roxas and Xion savored this moment with their best friend. Lea's expression softened as he patted them on their backs, while also preventing himself from giving in to his own emotions.

Kairi walked up towards him and Axel looked conflicted. He still felt guilty for letting Kairi down and he was about to apologize again when the girl also hugged him, while muttering a soft "thank you" that finally got his inner damn to break.

A tear fell out of his eye while he patted Kairi on the top of her head, alleviating some of the guilt he had. There was a sad look forming on his face, as Axel turned towards Aqua with pleading eyes.

"Take care of them. Got it memorized?"

Aqua nodded, letting the little group have their moment of goodbye. It made her wish that she could have said that to Terra and Ven right now, but it was too late for that.

The four friends spent a full minute hugging before Axel willingly pulled away, telling them to get moving before someone gets suspicious of him taking too long just to find his friends. Roxas and Xion smiled at him before walking back towards Aqua, while Kairi thanked him one more time before following them.

"Everyone ready?" Aqua asked her companions with a serious look. Kairi was holding her hand, followed by Xion and Roxas as the group formed a straight line. The three nodded back in return, as Aqua summoned her keyblade and pointed it to the ground, causing a large star to appear before them that glowed with various colors. "Focus on your connection with Sora!"

"Stay safe… you idiots." Axel muttered, another tear falling down his face as he watched the small group of keyblade wielders disappear before his eyes.

(Stop playing - "Radiant Garden")

And there we go. Sora sends a little letter to his friends, while we also checked on the world of Kingdom Hearts for a bit. That should probably be the first and last time that I'll be focusing on the KH world, I just wanted to set a few things in motion. Anyway, the Sora Rescue Team has been formed and Roxas and Xion are the two other people who came with Aqua and Kairi to look for Sora. A lot of people already guessed it right, so good job.

They won't be appearing in the DxD world right away, I just wanted to show that those four have finally set off to find Sora. Next chapter should be interesting, since we finally get to introduce a certain blonde-haired nun whom Sora would love to meet.

Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*

-Lance