Time for another chapter. We're slowly getting closer to the final battles of the game. But these characters deserve a little time before that happens. A chance to relax and reflect.

Though a quick warning. One character is not currently in a good mental state. In some ways, he's in a bit of a downward spiral with very little regard for his own life. Proceed with caution if that type of thing bothers you.

"It is a shame that all of our friends could not be here. But our seven guardians of light have united. And then some."

"Axel said that we didn't have to join, but me and Xion aren't going to let him go without us."

"We are thankful for your assistance, young ones. And given time, I know the others will soon stand with us."

"Yeah. We'll find a way to bring back Naminé and Terra. I still have to thank her."

"But today, you recuperate. On the morrow, you journey to the fated place."

"Yes, Master Yen Sid."

"Wait. Does this mean… this is our day off?"

Aqua stared up at the bright stars, enjoying the calm and quiet. While she and Ventus could have gone back to the Land of Departure to spend this final day before the battle, it didn't seem right. They couldn't go home yet. Not without Terra.

So they'd stayed at the Mysterious Tower. It was beautiful outside. The stars broke up the endless darkness enough that it didn't feel oppressive. Aqua could sit on the stairs next to Ventus without feeling anxious.

He was safe. They were both safe. There was nothing lurking in the shadows, preparing to attack.

"We're going to get Terra back tomorrow, aren't we?" said Ventus quietly.

Aqua said, "Maybe. We'll try."

"But from what everyone said, he might not be… Terra anymore."

"I don't know."

There was a chance that their friend would be there. But it might also be Xehanort using Terra's body as a hollow shell. Aqua could remember when she fought Terra in Radiant Garden and didn't see her friend in his eyes. She remembered the utter wrongness of someone else staring back with his face.

"But," she continued, "no matter what's happened to Terra, we'll get him back. We'll find a way."

She pulled out her Wayfinder and held it up, letting the starlight stream through the colored glass. Aqua could still feel the charm that she cast over them, connecting the Wayfinders and their owners together. Somewhere out there was Terra and his Wayfinder. Maybe he no longer held the physical object, but that didn't matter. The feeling remained the same. They were still connected.

He was still their friend. And they would find a way to bring Terra back.

Movement out of the corner of her eye drew Aqua's attention back to Ventus. He held up his green Wayfinder, mirroring her pose. He smiled wistfully as he stared at it.

"I made Terra a promise once," he said. "To be there when he needed me. And I won't let him down. We'll save him together."

Aqua smiled and reached over to ruffle his hair. He laughed quietly at the gesture. She'd missed that sound and his bright smile. It warmed a part of her heart to have him back, happy and safe.

"Tomorrow," said Aqua firmly. "We'll find a way to get Terra back. And afterwards, we can go home. All three of us together under the same stars again."

Saïx didn't know what compelled him to go to Twilight Town. He held no particular fondness for the world and he possessed no reason to be there. But when Master Xehanort declared that they would give the guardians of light one more day to appear at the appointed place for the battle before they started targeting the New Seven Hearts to force their hand, he chose to spend that final day visiting Twilight Town.

The view from the clocktower of the town, the hills and forests beyond the walls, the winding train tracks, and the golden-orange sky of the early twilight looked faintly mesmerizing. Saïx could see why someone would seek out the location every day. Especially someone who enjoyed heights as much as Axel always did.

As much as Lea always did.

It didn't hurt as much now to consider now. Saïx felt like his head was filled with fog, leaving him dull and numb. Darkness swirled inside him, foreign emotions and impulses from that strange and foreign heart. He didn't resist, but he felt disconnected from himself. Like he was a passenger in his own body.

It was easier that way. And it didn't really matter anymore.

Lea was gone. He was dead and it was Saïx's fault. But that pain was buried beneath the darkness pouring from that twisted heart.

What brought him here? Why did he come to this place on what he expected to be his last day of existence? Because Saïx would not survive the final battle. He knew that. Why did he choose to visit Twilight Town?

Faint voices and the sounds of a departing train drifted up to him. The clocktower loomed over the plaza and the surrounding landscape, the highest point in the entire town. Perhaps a Nobody could survive from such a height if they managed to catch and slow themselves on the building's architecture. But a direct fall from where Saïx stood near the top would be just as deadly for him as it would be for a human.

He stepped up on the ledge, staring down at the cobblestone below. Why did he come to this world? He could have gone anywhere. He could have gone to Radiant Garden if nostalgia struck that hard. Was he even still capable of being nostalgic? Regardless, of all the places that he could have gone, what brought him to the highest point in Twilight Town?

Because this place meant something to Axel. To Lea.

Movement caught his eye, drawing Saïx out of his dull and listless thoughts. There was someone down there. Dressed in black and moving cautiously to avoid attracting attention, he knew a former Organization member when he saw one skulking around. And yet he didn't know her.

Even at this distance, Saïx could tell that she was a teenage girl. One with short black hair. He kept staring at her as a headache started pounding behind his eyes. He didn't recognize her. He didn't know anyone who looked like that and yet she was somehow familiar. Familiar, yet wrong. She was supposed to look different. Saïx stumbled back a step and off the ledge, rubbing at his forehead as he fought against the stabbing migraine. Who was she?

A pale featureless puppet, identical to the incomplete replica that Vexen showed him during a progress update, stood in the middle of the round room. It wore a black coat, as if the blank shell actually belonged in Organization XIII.

Realization and memories struck through the blinding headache.

Number XIV.

No. i.

Xion.

The teenage girl moving carefully across the Station Plaza was Xion. But not the blank mannequin-like entity that he always saw before. She was a person.

Was the black-haired girl what Axel saw back then? Was she what Roxas saw? Did they always see a teenage girl where he saw only a faceless puppet?

No wonder Axel and Roxas didn't understand his distain for their fourteenth member and he didn't understand their fascination with her.

It also cast all his past actions and remarks towards her in a different light. Treating a strange faceless puppet, as inhuman as a Dusk, the way that he did was one thing. But behaving that way to a girl, one who looked close to the same age as the prisoner that he and Lea met beneath the castle in Radiant Garden so long ago, was somehow… different…

Perhaps he would have still behaved the same way back then if he saw her face, but perhaps not. It might have changed things.

Something dark and twisted in him bubbled and boiled in his chest as he continued to stare down at her. Something that pushed down the earlier reaction to her new appearance. Jealousy and hatred filled his throat like bile, raw and burning.

Xion pulled his friend away. Her and Roxas. She and Roxas were the reason that Axel left him behind, abandoning their friendship for those children. They were the reason that Axel turned against the Organization and then destroyed himself. And the replica body now housing her heart cost Lea his life. He was gone permanently this time. There would be no second chance. Lea was dead. Because of her. Her and Roxas. Xion didn't deserve to exist. Not when she ruined everything.

He should destroy the girl. Saïx could feel the dark impulse scorching through the mental fog. His hands tightened at his sides. Xion deserved it. She deserved to suffer for the crimes that her existence had wrought. She deserved to be destroyed.

But something held him back. Saïx couldn't bring himself to attack, to lash out and strike her down, even as dark and vicious impulses tried to spur him forward. Impulses born only partially from the foreign heart. He wanted her to pay too. But he remained frozen in place. He couldn't bring himself to act on those violent thoughts. He simply stared as she disappeared through a dark corridor.

Once Xion was gone, Saïx turned away. Destroying her now would have threatened Master Xehanort's plan. He couldn't risk it. That must be what stilled his hand.

There was no other reason why he would let Xion leave unharmed.

None.

He should leave. There was no purpose in remaining in Twilight Town any longer. Saïx shouldn't have come in the first place. There was no point. There was nothing left for him here.

He had nothing left anywhere.

Saïx summoned up a corridor of darkness and stepped through.

The warm sand under him, the calm waves washing up the beach, and the bright sun slowly sliding towards the horizon all felt like home. The island didn't feel as small and suffocating as it once did, just as his parents no longer seemed as stifling and restricting as they did to a fifteen-year-old who desperately wanted to go beyond the limits of the shoreline. After traveling so far and seeing so many places, Riku could appreciate the comfort of coming home.

He'd visited his family for a little while, just as he knew Kairi and Sora did. But even if he no longer rolled his eyes at his mother wrapping a hug around his neck, he didn't linger long. He loved his family and he did enjoy their company, even if they had a harder time now relating to their nearly-grown son who had seen far more of the worlds than they ever would, but Riku needed a little privacy and had withdrawn back to the familiar beach where he used to play.

He'd wanted to be alone to have a heart-to-heart with his replica. Or rather, the heart of his replica.

Riku didn't know if his replica had joined him when he nearly drowned in the darkness after the swarming Demon Tower swallowed him or if that was merely the moment that the replica made himself known, waking up to help Riku as much as he could. Sora made it sound like he barely noticed the hearts that he'd once contained unless they stirred in their slumber. Perhaps the replica had been sleeping within for a long time. But now he was awake and Riku could feel that he wasn't alone.

His replica didn't want to fade away into darkness. Not alone. Not when he had another choice, to stay and help. And so his heart latched onto Riku's and he promised to stay with Riku to face what was coming.

"But I'm not done yet. Got one last thing to see through."

It was easy for Riku to figure out what his replica wanted to accomplish before he disappeared completely. He could practically feel it. They all had at least one person that they wanted to protect, someone that they cared about. Even the replica without a name of his own…

Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but Riku hoped that they could create a new vessel for his replica. A new body for him and one for Naminé. He deserved to have his own life, just like Naminé, Roxas, and Xion did. And he deserved a chance to see Naminé again. After tomorrow, Riku should talk to Ienzo and the others about the project.

"Are you going to stay here alone all evening?"

Riku glanced over his shoulder. Sora grinned at him, hands tucked casually behind his head. Kairi stepped around him and reached a hand out.

"We just finished visiting with our families," she said. Kairi smiled at him. "Do you want to come sit with us? Or was Sora right and you need some more time to yourself?"

Riku smiled and took the offered hand, letting her pull him to his feet. They didn't race to the sturdy hut, up the staircase, and across the bridge to the islet. When they were younger, he and Sora would have turned it into a race. Everything was a competition between them at one point or they managed to turn it into one. But now, Riku was happy to move at a more leisurely pace alongside his friends and reclaim the usual spot by the paopu tree.

After a few minutes passed in a comfortable silence and the sky began to change colors, Kairi said, "Tomorrow… I don't know what will happen. But the future doesn't scare me. For once, we'll all be there and ready. We'll face it together."

"Together," said Sora, nodding firmly.

Smiling and leaning back against the rough bark, Riku said, "Together."

He knew that tomorrow would be dangerous. Lea's injuries already demonstrated the risks of facing any of their opponents, let alone all of them at once. But they'd already faced impossible odds more times than he could count. And he wouldn't be alone. Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and all the rest of them would be there. And that was enough to make him believe that everything would turn out fine.

Sora's optimism was clearly infectious.

"A lot of things have changed over the years. We're stronger than we used to be," continued Riku. "Strong enough to protect each other."

"It'll be nice to protect you two for a change." Kairi smiled distantly as she stared at the horizon. "But let's be careful and not need to rescue each other. Getting kidnapped repeatedly isn't actually that fun."

Chuckling slightly, Riku said, "Sounds like a good plan."

As the two of them turned towards their third member, Sora gained an indignant expression and asked, "Why are you both looking at me like that?"

Crossing his arms, Riku said, "Because you have a history of taking huge risks to save people."

"Like stabbing yourself with a certain Keyblade of Heart?" added Kairi.

"Which is why," Riku continued, "we want you to be careful and not put yourself in that kind of danger. Even for us. I want all of us to make it out alive. And that means we have to be smart about this."

"They know that you'll do anything to help your friends." Kairi smiled sadly. "They've tried it before and they'll probably try it again. We can't let them manipulate us like that. We have to be careful and not step into whatever traps or tricks they come up with."

Shaking his head, Sora said, "I can try being careful, but I'm not going to stand by and do nothing if someone is in danger and I can help. Especially if they're my friends. If they try to take either of you, I am not holding back."

His answer didn't surprise Riku. He wouldn't be Sora if he said anything else. He and Kairi would just have to make sure that things didn't become that dire.

A corridor of darkness materialized in the middle of the islet, causing the trio to leap to their feet. But before they could summon their Keyblades or even decide if they needed them, a familiar black-haired girl stepped out and the portal vanished. Her hands buried in her pockets, Xion blinked in surprise before smiling.

Her resemblance to a younger version of Kairi was still a little uncanny. Almost like he'd stepped back in time to the day that they finished their raft, the three of them innocently dreaming of sailing away to explore beyond their familiar island and with no idea of the dangers that lurked in the darkness.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" she asked. "Sorry. We just wanted to go to the beach today and this was the first one that we thought of."

"We?" asked Riku.

She pulled one hand from her pocket to wordlessly point behind them. Riku turned. Two figures had claimed a section of beach not far from where Riku had been sitting earlier. He hadn't even noticed their arrival. Lea was sitting on the small stone wall on the edge of beach while Roxas poked at the sand with his foot, keeping close to where the waves washed up. Maybe he found a seashell or maybe he was just curious about the ocean.

"What are those?" she asked. "They seem familiar…"

Riku turned back to find Xion staring up at the bright yellow, star-shaped fruits in the tree above them. He hadn't realized that he'd been gone from home long enough for several of the fruits to be ripe. Then again, he already knew that time could be a little fuzzy in the Realm of Darkness and he didn't even stay home for long before the summons about the Mark of Mastery exam arrived.

His parents would probably prefer him to stay longer between dangerous journeys that they barely understood.

"Those are paopu fruit," said Sora. "I'm pretty sure they only grow on Destiny Islands. I haven't seen them on any other worlds yet."

Smiling at Xion, Kairi said, "You know, there's a legend about them. They say that if someone shares a paopu fruit with someone else, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. Our friend, Selphie, thinks it sounds romantic."

"Romantic?" Xion frowned in confusion. "Does that mean it's like that kissing thing?"

Crossing his arms and leaning back again, Riku said, "Not necessarily. I mean, yes, many people treat it that way. Half the married couples have stories about including a paopu fruit as part of their proposal. But it can be for other important people in your life. I think I remember one of the younger kids that you sometimes babysat for mentioning that his parents shared one with him when they adopted him, didn't they, Kairi? They wanted to show him that he was finally home."

As Kairi nodded in confirmation, Xion stared up at the tree with a thoughtful expression. Then it shifted towards determination, her eyes bright and animated by an idea. Without warning, she leapt at the tree trunk and started shimming up. Despite how awkward her black coat should have made the stunt, Xion managed to climb the tree quickly and effortlessly. She grabbed two of the largest fruits from the top. Then she slid down until Xion reached the section of the trunk that curved and she dropped to the ground.

"Here," she said as she handed one of the ripe paopu fruits to Sora. "I remember how important they both are to you and how much you hate it when they're gone. You want them to be part of your life forever, right?"

Oh, yeah. She was originally created from Sora's memoires of Kairi, but they were still Sora's memories. Apparently even after giving those memories back, Xion remembered some things about Sora.

Sora looked a little pink as he muttered his thanks. He probably couldn't quite forget the more romantic implications that some people attached to the story. He could get pretty flustered over things like that when they involved him personally. It was part of the reason that Riku used to tease Sora about his crush on Kairi when they were younger. It was funny.

And it still was a little funny now.

Clutching her own fruit close, Xion jogged over to the bridge. Then she dropped over the edge, rolling as she landed, and bounced back to her feet on the sand without losing or squashing the paopu fruit. Riku watched her hurry towards the rest of her friends.

She'd come a long way from how she was when Riku first encountered her. Xion seemed happier and increasingly more comfortable with herself.

Considering her tragic history and Riku's hand in even part of it, he was glad that she was getting this second chance.

"So," said Kairi, pulling his attention back, "do you want to try it?"

Blinking in surprise, Sora asked, "Try what?"

"Sharing a paopu fruit. The three of us." She stared at them, though Riku couldn't seem to decipher her expression. "No matter what happens, I want to be a part of your lives. And I hope that you feel the same way."

He'd promised to go to the beach with them. What felt like a lifetime ago, he promised that all three of them would go to the beach together on their next day off. He suggested the idea to distract and cheer them up after the brief scare where Xion nearly fell from the clocktower. Though at the time, none of them would admit to the fact that they could be scared or cheered up. And at the time none of them realized how much worse things would get. By the end, that quaint dream seemed as impossible as the idea of even seeing each other again.

But now, despite how long it took and how hard it was to reach that point, they could finally fulfill that promise.

Lea shifted his position slightly, only feeling the slightest tinge of pain that he could easily hide. Most of the bruises had healed enough that they didn't bother him too much. Lea still felt a little achy in general, but even that should fade by morning. The only injury that he might need to be careful of would be the bruising around the four deeper cuts, where the hopefully-no-longer-fractured ribs were still healing. It wasn't ideal for an upcoming fight. Lea knew it would hinder his maneuverability somewhat. But he'd tried to follow Ansem's advice to take it easy all day and he at least felt better.

Which was why Lea felt content to sit on the edge of the beach while Roxas poked at the sand with the toe of his boot. Not to mention that both of his now-overprotective friends had insisted that he rest as much as possible on their day off. A bit of a change from where they once teased him about wanting to sleep during his day off in the past.

Maybe someday he would show the kids how to properly enjoy an afternoon on the beach. There weren't really a lot of beaches where he grew up in Radiant Garden, but Lea knew the basics. Roxas and Xion had never built sandcastles, played in the waves, tossed around a frisbee, or… or did anything normal kids did growing up…

"Axel! Roxas!" called Xion, jogging over with something yellow in her arms.

Smiling at her, he said, "Hey. Get done with your errands?"

"Yep. I picked up plenty of potions and elixirs for all three of us. And a surprise."

"That thing you're carrying?" asked Roxas as he walked over.

She shook her head and said, "No. This is a paopu fruit. Riku, Kairi, and Sora were telling me a story about them."

Lea glanced towards the small islet. The trio were sitting on the curved tree. And while the distance and angle made it harder to tell, it looked like they were eating something.

"What kind of story?" he asked.

"They said that if someone shares it with someone else who is really important to them, then they'll always be connected. They'll be part of each other's lives forever." Xion glanced down, hugging the yellow fruit to her chest. "I kind of like the idea."

Of course she would. A superstition that would guarantee an unbreakable bond? A way to prevent their friendship from being ripped asunder? Something to ensure that nothing would keep them apart forever? Another way to ground her existence into reality, making certain she and Roxas wouldn't be swallowed up into another person since it would be harder to be a part of Lea's life if they disappeared again? He could see why she might want that.

And if he was honest, even if it was just a story, Lea liked the idea of having something extra to keep his half-pints together and safe.

"I'm guessing that means you want to try out the magic star fruit trick then?" he asked. Lea reached over and ruffled her hair. "You two won't get rid of me that easily. I told you. No matter what happens, you can always count on me to bring you back. But if you want us to try this paopu fruit thing, I have no problem with it."

Xion grinned before sitting on the edge of the stone wall next to him, Roxas squeezing in to take his place between them. She broke off one of the "points" on the star-shaped fruit before passing it down to Roxas. He mimicked her action, claiming his portion of the yellow fruit, before handing the remaining chunk to Lea.

With the first taste, Lea felt relatively certain that the people of Destiny Islands didn't serve paopu juice as a drink. Unlike some fruits, nothing started dripping down his face with the first bite. The outer skin was soft and the inside was moist, but there wasn't a lot liquid in the actual fruit compared to some types that he'd tried. But the flavor was actually delicious, the fruit pleasantly tangy and just sweet enough without crossing the line. Lea found himself taking a second and third bite before he even realized what he was doing. He worked his way through his larger portion of the fruit, avoiding the long and flat seed in the middle.

"That's not too bad," he said as he finished it off, Xion and Roxas already done with their smaller pieces. "Not as good as ice cream, but probably healthier."

Digging into her pocket, Xion said, "That reminds me of my surprise. I used a Blizzard spell on them earlier, so they should still be cold."

Three sea-salt ice creams were pulled out with a triumphant smile. The sight made Lea's throat tighten momentarily as she passed them out.

He'd always loved the sweet and salty flavor as a kid. They had been his favorite snack, one that he tried to reserve as a reward. When he first became a Nobody though, the taste had seemed dull and bland. He couldn't appreciate and enjoy them anymore. He'd only kept eating them out of habit, but even that indulgence grew rarer over the years until months might pass between them. He didn't start noticing the flavor again until he introduced Roxas to sea-salt ice cream. And that was the point he started eating them regularly again.

Because he finally had someone to eat them with again.

Tasting the familiar sweet and salty flavor sparked so many powerful memories and emotions, making him blink rapidly as his eyes burned. The sound of waves and the strong scent of ocean salt on the breeze didn't quite line up with the nostalgia hitting him, but watching the golden sky shift towards orange and red reminded Lea of all those sunsets spent together.

Eating ice cream with Roxas and Xion at sunset… He'd missed this.

"Axel?" asked Roxas.

"Hm?"

Reaching into his pocket, Roxas said quietly, "We found a couple things that fell out of your pocket yesterday. I thought you might want them back."

Frowning in confusion, Lea held out his hand. Both Roxas and Xion handed over the familiar trinkets. The worn "Winner" ice cream stick and the smooth seashell that once dwelled in his black coat. A parting gift from Roxas and a gift that he could now remember coming from Xion.

He still hated himself for forgetting her. How did that happen?

"Thanks," he said with a smile. Lea returned his small treasures to his pocket where they belonged. "There are a couple things too important to lose again."

Judging by their grins, Roxas and Xion seemed to suspect that he didn't meant the "Winner" stick and the seashell.

I hoped that everyone enjoyed the calm before the storm. We're heading towards the finale of the game now. Some things might change, but others will remain the same. Hopefully I can do a good job with it.