I am so sorry for not uploading last night/this morning, we ended up losing power for twenty five hours... anyway! Back on schedule?

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters. It's probably a good thing, too.

Sora looked around. He tried to get a sense for what was going on. It seemed like astral projection, being in the mansion and all, but it felt… different. The mansion seemed far more lively. Bright. Beautiful. Glorious. Perhaps post-cognition was mixing with astral projection? He watched as people passed him by, not even noticing him.

"This must be what ghosts feel like at times, huh?" he asked himself before jumping, being walked through. "I never get used to that feeling." he mumbled.

"Ahem."

Sora looked to see a beautiful woman standing there, long black hair bound up; it looked to be partially braided. He observed the woman closely. Tall, or at least a little taller than the boy who was barely five feet and four inches. Slender. An incredibly large… beaded necklace.

"Hello, Sora." the woman said. "My name is Lulu."

"Lulu… you're Xehanort's wife who went missing." Sora said, going to the stairs where she stood.

"That's a kind way of putting it… but I suppose I did." she said, turning around and going up the stairs. "It was a horrible marriage… the only thing worth it was my beautiful daughter. It pains me to know I never got to meet her son; I was gone before he was born. It's a shame he looks so much like his grandfather, but that's not bad either; his grandfather was beautiful on the outside, too… in his youth."

"Daddy's hopeful he doesn't age as badly as Xehanort did." Sora said, making Lulu smirk. "Um, is this a link to another key?"

"And me just wishing to chat with you." Lulu said. "Since you came to the gate that day and saw the inside of the manor, we've been a bit more… powerful. We thankfully have been able to communicate with you. Though it helps that you're very powerful yourself."

"Well, someone managed to communicate with one of my friends instead." Sora admitted. "Not that I mind, that is."

"Vanitas. Yes, he said he sought out the girlfriend of his niece." Lulu said, walking into a bedroom. Sora followed her and looked around. Large. Spacious. But not quite the master bedroom. And filled with various toys, most being plush toys. Lulu chuckled a bit. "I hardly ever shared a room with my husband. It was a horrible and arranged marriage; I only stayed in his room when I was expected to fulfill my duty as his wife. Such horrible thinking."

"Duty as a wife?" Sora asked.

"Ah, yes, you have two fathers." Lulu smiled; it was subtle, but it was there. "In the era, as a wife, I was expected to have children for my husband. Sadly… most of my children passed away at young ages… dying in this cursed place." She sat down at the vanity table. "Only one survived… Xemnas' mother."

"Yes. I didn't get to meet grandma; she passed away before Daddy and Papa adopted me." Sora said. "So you're my great-grandmother."

"Not by blood, but by love." Lulu said, reaching up and touching the brunette's face. "Just look at you. So beautiful; you have so much love in you. So much Light."

"Light… Ventus said I was the Light." Sora responded. "Lulu, what does Ventus mean by that?"

"You're… you're special, Sora. So very special… the keys will help… but they alone cannot save us. They alone cannot free us." Lulu informed the boy. "We long for the Light… though it scares us, too. We've been in the Dark for too long..."

"I don't understand..." Sora mumbled.

"You will. Just remember, your friends are your power… and you've got friends on both sides of the threshold." Lulu assured. "Just… don't give in to the Darkness. No matter how tempting it is. Now matter how strained you feel. Even if it's down to a flicker, keep your Light going. As long as it's there, you can't be hurt."

"Who would hurt me?" Sora inquired.

"Xehanort." Lulu sighed.

"Xehanort? How? Why?" Sora asked.

"He needs a strong source of power… a power he can get from you." Lulu explained. She then looked around when the room grew dark. "Damn… my time with you is nearly up."

"Lulu?"

"Remember this, Sora." Lulu pulled one of the sticks from her hair bun and put it in the top drawer of her table. "This is the sixth key. One more key… and you'll get it in an unlikely way. When you do, you'll know what to do with them after you've collected them all." She moved and gently took Sora's hands. "Be brave, my little Sora. You're not alone. And you're so much stronger than even you know."

"Thank you, Lulu." Sora leaned forward and gently touched his head to Lulu's, their foreheads pressed. "Thank you so much. I'll be sure to do what I can."

"I know you will."

"Lulu Heart? Whoa, talk about a babe." Axel said, leaning over Sora's shoulder as the younger teen researched his great grandmother. "Was an outfit like that even allowed in that time?" he inquired, seeing that her top was a bit revealing.

"Eh, something tells me she didn't care." Sora said.

"So, why are you looking up Lulu Heart?" Axel inquired.

"She came to me in my dream last night, told me where to find the sixth key." Sora explained.

"Really? We already know where six are?" Axel asked, looking amazed as he sat down.

"And she said the seventh will be different when I get it… I'll get it in an unlikely way." Sora mused over the thought. "I don't know what she meant by that."

"So… what are they so far?" Axel asked before going through the notebook Sora handed him. "By the way, Dem and Zexion are off doing something… dunno what. Roxas is using this time to makeup a test he missed due to being in the nurse's office last week. Bad nosebleed from dodgeball."

"Ouch." Sora winced. "And Riku?"

"Oh, curious?" Axel asked, smirking and making Sora blush. "I know he's got a crush on you; I'm his best friend, I know this stuff." He chuckled a bit. "He should be here soon. And Marluxia?"

"He wanted to stay home with Papa." Sora responded. He then squeaked when hands covered his eyes.

"It'd be immature of me to make you guess who, huh?" Riku said.

"Hmm… almost, but amusing." Sora said. He chuckled when Riku moved his hands and went to sit across from the teen.

"Any other signs?" Riku inquired as he sat down.

"One more for the sixth key." Sora responded. "No clue about the seventh other than it'd be in an unlikely way."

"Well, hopefully it'll come to you soon." Riku said. "Until then, close your eyes and hold out your hands." Sora giggled and did as instructed. He felt something soft be placed there. "Okay, now open them."

Sora did and in his hands he saw a small, plush, and brightly coloured bat of sorts. "Oh, it's a Komory Bat from that show, Dream Drop Distance!" Sora chirped, excited to see it.

"Mm-hmm! I know we're not dating yet, and don't say a word, Axel-"

"I would never!" Axel feigned innocence.

"-but I wanted to still get you a gift." Riku said.

"It's so pretty." Sora said. "It's..." He then felt his mind flash.

He was walking down a set of stairs. The basement. It scared him so much. He didn't want to go down there! Don't make him go! It was so dark. Please! He was scared of the dark! But… he found a light.

He held the light close. Then he came to see a door. A simple, black door. On it were six shelves. Small but simple. And a noticeable keyhole.

"Sora? Sora!" Riku hissed, trying to get Sora's attention. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. Just… Just a quick vision…" Sora mumbled. "I… I think this… this is the seventh key..."

"Huh? This thing?" Axel asked.

"Lulu did say I would find it in an unlikely way." Sora said. He smiled at Riku. "And I think I know what caused it." He chuckled when the silver haired teen blushed deeply, his blush showing far more than any of Sora's due to his pale complexion. "I'll be sure to get it back when this is all done, it's too adorable and a gift from you, but I'm certain it is the seventh and final key."

"Well, I'm glad I did something right." Riku said, trying to not look at Sora and control his blush. Sora only made it worse, though, when he got up some and leaned over the table, gently kissing the other teen on the cheek. "Um… uh… er..." Riku stammered before getting up and running off.

"Huh?" Sora looked stunned. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, looking to Axel.

"Eh, something tells me you just made little Riku happy." Axel chuckled, acting like he never stopped looking at the notebook. He snickered more when Sora blushed.

Meanwhile, Zexion and Demyx were just finishing up with a heated make-out session in an empty and dark classroom. They did their best to make themselves presentable before going to leave the classroom, ducking back inside when someone ran past them.

"Wait… was that… Riku?" Zexion asked, leaning back out of the classroom once Riku came and gone.

"Whoa, I've not seen him run so fast except for in time trials in P.E. or that time in middle school when a girl wanting to give him horribly made homemade chocolate for Valentine's day." Demyx pointed out. "What do you think happened?"

"Hell if I knew." Zexion admitted, seeming a little stunned. "Think he saw us?"

"I think he was too preoccupied in running away." Demyx responded.

Heyo, lovelies!

Yeah, I know. I made Lulu Xehanort's wife. She hated the marriage, though. Hey, not all marriages are perfect. And look! More knowledge on keys! And a very happy little Riku, too. As for when Sora was with Lulu and it said "beaded necklace" instead, I wanted to make it seem like Sora wasn't looking, make it a little more amusing. And Riku running from a girl in middle school was added as I reread this just for more humour. I like throwing in a little humour when I can.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next. Until next time!

~chibi