Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 25

Kairi knocked on the door quietly, opening it when he called out. She saw Sora curled up on top of the bed, shoes off, still looking a bit groggy. He still lifted his head and smiled at her though. He held his hand out to her and she crossed the room to perch on the edge of the bed, taking his hand in hers. "Did I wake you?"

"Hmm?" he yawned but then shook his head. "S'okay?" he mumbled.

She assumed he was asking if everything was okay. She used her other hand to gently brush his hair back from his eyes. "Everyone is fine. Axel's still at the castle with Roxas but everyone else is here. I think Riku's hiding from Roxas," she teased, and Sora laughed, pushing himself to sit up. "Hey, there's no rush Sora. Get some sleep."

He shook his head and tugged her closer, wrapping both arms around her. She sighed, relaxing into his hold. "I'm still me," he whispered, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

She turned in his arms and then kissed him softly. His hold tightened, one hand sliding up her back to run through her hair. She shifted again, straddling his lap as Sora leant back against the wall, the kiss deepening. It felt different to their previous kisses, unhurried, explorative…and really, really good. They kissed for what felt like hours, but wasn't really that long, before she felt Sora flagging. He made a noise of disappointment as she pulled away but then he yawned again.

"Lay down," she urged, getting off him.

"I don't want you to go," he admitted, but let her help him lie down.

She swallowed but nodded. "I'll stay," she promised, curling with him on the bed, glad it was a bit wider than a normal one back home.

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Riku opened the door and then faltered, seeing Kairi lying with Sora on the bed. He hesitated but then carefully shut the door again, heading down the hall to knock on another door.

"Come in."

He opened the door to find Harry had changed into sleep clothes, the older teen looking over at the door.

"Riku?"

"Hey, uh…could I stay here?"

Harry blinked, confused. "Thought you were sharing with Sora?"

"Kairi's in there," he admitted, a little concerned how the other would take it. Every World seemed to have a different attitude towards things like that.

"Ah, yeah, make yourself comfortable," he waved at one of the beds, not seeming at all concerned about the two sharing a bed.

"Thanks." Riku accepted the offered clothing to sleep in since he'd left his things in the other room, slipping into the attached bathroom to change.

When he left Harry was already in bed, lying on his back. He got into the second bed, lying on his side. He was exhausted from the time in the Realm of Darkness, fighting, and then the stress of dealing with Roxas' revival. And yet despite that and the very comfortable bed…his mind wouldn't slow down. He shifted a few times, trying to settle, but nothing was working.

"Riku?" Harry rolled onto his side, and Riku winced.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Can't sleep?"

"No," he admitted.

He watched Harry get up, barely able to make him out in the darkness. He rummaged around and then returned. Riku sat up when Harry held something out to him…a vial. "Dreamless Sleep potion. That's a standard dose, drink it and you'll sleep the night through without dreams or nightmares," he explained, holding up another vial.

Riku'd never heard of a potion like that before. He glanced at Harry who downed his own before lying down again, within seconds his eyes were shut and his breathing deep and even…he was asleep that fast! He looked down at the one he was holding, taking in the dark liquid. He got re-settled, took a deep breath, opened the vial, and downed it. He grimaced at the taste but then felt really drowsy. He blinked slowly, body feeling heavy, he was so tired…he fell into a deep, dreamless, sleep within seconds.

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Roxas sat on the bed, staring down at his hands, flexing his fingers. He was dressed in the same clothing he'd worn in the simulation of Twilight Town rather than his coat and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. He didn't understand why he was back, why he'd been given a body. He vaguely remember seeing Sora now, of sharing his memories with him, Sora's promise that he was his own person. Was that why Sora had done it?

"Hey, you okay?"

He looked up to find Axel watching him, looking concerned. He was a Nobody, he couldn't feel concerned, that was Axel always told him.

"Roxas?" Axel called, and he looked back at his…friend? Were they friends? He'd thought they were and then everything… "Hey, it's going to be okay," a hand covered his, and he realised he'd been yanking at his clothes. "Just breath, alright?"

Roxas nodded, forcing himself to breath, to calm down. What was wrong with him? "Axel…you…" he blinked and then looked up in wary alarm, "you died…I saw…I couldn't…"

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"Easy," he murmured. Roxas had seen that? Had been that aware inside Sora? Which meant he had to explain now rather than wait till tomorrow after Roxas had a few meals and some sleep to help him adjust to the new body. "I didn't know you were aware then, I'm sorry you saw that. I…I did it for you," he admitted. "If Sora died then you would too, unless he died by becoming a Heartless again."

Roxas nodded slowly, staring at him with wide eyes. At least he'd calmed down, he'd never seen the kid like that. Then again, he'd been a zombie at first and even towards the end Axel didn't think he had a whole Heart. It seemed now he did, otherwise how could they have transferred a Heart to the Replica? That would explain why his emotions seemed stronger now, overwhelming to Roxas. He was just glad his best friend didn't seem to hate him for everything and that Riku was keeping his distance for now. With how easily worked up Roxas was at the moment, that could have gone very badly.

"How are you alive?" Roxas asked quietly. "Is it…really you?"

"It's all to do with Nobodies, Heartless, and whole people," he told him. "Turns out, if both the Heartless and Nobody are destroyed, the person they came from comes back. I woke up on the floor of the lab where we brought you back, the same place I became a Nobody."

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Roxas frowned; he'd only ever gotten a very basic overview of everything from the others. But… "Does that mean, you're not…" he couldn't say it.

"I was a teenager when I became a Nobody and Xemnas renamed us all. I've spent the last decade without a Heart, almost half my life. Ienzo was even younger when he became Zexion so you probably won't see much difference with us, other than the fact we can now truly feel. I'm still the same person beside that."

"If Zexion is Ienzo, then your name?"

"Lea, but I've still been using Axel. I, uh," he shifted slightly, "I didn't want to confuse you," he admitted.

"What's wrong with me?" Roxas asked quietly and Axel threw caution to the wind, doing something they'd never done before, he hugged the kid. He felt Roxas tense but then he went boneless in his grip, shaking slightly.

"You've got a whole Heart now Roxas," he murmured. "You've never had a full emotional range before, it's going to take a while for you to get used to it," he explained gently.

"I don't understand!" he suddenly snapped, pulling away, and Axel let him go.

"Don't understand what?" he asked carefully.

"Why? Why bring me back? Why would Sora agree?" he demanded angrily.

Axel kept calm; mood swings were probably to be expected considering everything Roxas had been through since his…creation.

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Mickey paused, hearing a raised voice through the door, and then another responding calmy, wincing as something shattered. When nothing else broke and the quiet voice…Lea, kept going, he decided to leave it to him. It wasn't surprising Roxas was struggling, he would need time to adjust. And if at all possible, Mickey hoped the boy could be left out of the upcoming fight. He wished all the younger wielders could but that wasn't possible, still Roxas was the youngest by far since he had none of Sora's memories, he was what, a year old?

He moved on to Sora and Riku's room, cracking the door open, blinking in surprise when he saw Sora and Kairi tangled together on one bed, the other empty. The next room was Harry's but Riku was in the second bed, both boys fast asleep. All four of them needed as much sleep as possible after everything that had happened the last few days. He moved on to his own room to get some sleep too. In the morning, they would be going to retrieve Ventus, and who knew what else they would find.

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Yen Sid put aside Mickey's missive. It was good that Aqua had been retrieved and that they would soon at least have Ventus' body. He was unsure if the process used to remove the Nobody would work on him as well, but it likely wouldn't hurt to allow them to try.

The report also included a glowing account of their newest members combat and magic abilities. It seemed Mickey had been right in taking him with them rather than sending him for training. He still was unsure about the young man and his connection to Vanitas…the Darkness in his Heart. Riku had been tempered, had become immune to outside Darkness, and held tight control over his own, had earned the rank of Master even with the missing theoretical and historical knowledge. He had hoped Sora too would pass and become a Master but he had fallen far too easily into Xehanort's trap and lost most of his power. The boy could fight but was far too naïve, despite everything he'd been through. And his Darkness was more worrying than Riku's, though perhaps with the Nobody removed it would be more controllable or far less.

Finding out Aqua had succumbed or been forced to, since the report said the Darkness within her hadn't felt natural (he assumed Riku had sensed that), was not good. Ventus' Darkness had been ripped from him years ago, Mickey had never touched it, and Kairi was a Princess of Heart, were they the only ones to not be touched by the Darkness now? what would it mean for the fight against Xehanort? Would any of them truly count as Guardians of Light beyond those three?

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Sora woke slowly, feeling totally comfortable and warm, a soft body against his chest. He pressed his nose into warm skin, inhaling the familiar scent, drifting back towards sleep. Kairi…he blinked, Kairi! He opened his eyes to find Kairi held securely to his chest, their legs were tangled together, one of her arms around his waist. It took a few seconds to remember her coming in and promising to stay. He watched her sleep, letting himself just enjoy being with her for once. Really, they'd barely seen each other since the Islands fell, and most of the time they did it was in the middle of a fight. He carefully moved a hand to run through her hair.

He loved her, he could never regret what he'd done in Hollow Bastion to ensure she woke up, even with everything it had caused. And if he hadn't, Roxas wouldn't exist. Without Roxas, would Axel have turned on the Organisation and helped them? Probably not. And without Lea, Sora would have become the Thirteenth Vessel, would he even still exist? Or would his Heart have eventually perished in the Darkness, unable to wake up?

"Mmmm," she shifted against him. He watched as her eyes fluttered open, Kairi smiling sleepily before blinking, waking up more. "Sora?"

"Morning," he smiled at her. He carefully leaned in for a kiss, they'd done that last night, right? His memory was a little foggy because he'd been so tired. okay, good morning kisses were wonderful. They kissed and kissed again, only stopping when someone knocked on the door, Leon's voice calling them down for breakfast.

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Harry stretched, it was nice to sleep in a comfortable bed and thanks to the potion he hadn't had any dreams, good or bad. He rolled over to see Riku was still asleep, looking younger than he did when awake. Why was it teenagers always ended up on the front lines of any kind of magical conflict? It wasn't right. He'd been at the mercy of prophecy but the others should have been spared. He guessed the Keyblades had other ideas.

He quietly got out of bed and went to shower and dress for the day. There was a pit of dread inside him, soon he would be meeting Ventus for the first time. He had longed to meet him ever since he had worked out Ventus was a separate person but he also feared it. What if Ventus wanted nothing to do with him?

By the time he left the bathroom, Riku was beginning to stir and he heard a voice calling that breakfast was ready.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked as Riku sat up.

Riku blinked and then looked at the empty vial on the bedside table. "Better than I have in years," he admitted softly.

"Good. It's not something that can be used every night, it's addictive. But on bad nights it's a big help," Harry told him.

"Thanks," Riku nodded, grabbing his clothes to get ready for the day.

Harry opened the door when someone knocked, finding Sora and Kairi on the other side.

"Hi Harry," Sora grinned at him, "did Riku stay with you last night?"

"Yeah, he's just getting ready," he stepped back to let them in. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine, I'm not sleepy anymore from whatever they gave me."

"Good," Harry smiled, discreetly running a few detection spells over the other teen, just to be extra safe, but everything came back normal.

Physically and magically, Sora was healthy, only time would tell on the emotional and mental fronts. Harry'd had a few adults he could talk to when things got bad, did Sora have that? And who else could really understand what Sora was going through? If he started struggling, he might have to take him back to Earth to see a mind healer, just not one in Britain. He'd speak with Merlin if it became necessary to get Sora help, there might be better methods than those he knew of after all. Sora had saved Ventus twice, as far as Harry was concerned they were family.

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Roxas tensed, staring at the person on the stairs with Sora…Kairi, and a stranger. Riku…he remembered that fight, knew it had been him in the virtual Twilight Town with that DiZ guy…who was actually Ansem the Wise or something. He shifted back, bumping into Axel who dropped a hand to his shoulder.

"Easy," he murmured, and Roxas forced himself to take a deep breath.

Their eyes met and Riku nodded at him, leaning in to whisper something to Sora before walking towards him. Roxas couldn't help tensing, fighting the urge to run as he remembered Riku removing his blindfold, the explosion of Darkness…pain. Riku held his hands out, showing they were empty. "I'm sorry Roxas."

He froze, staring at Riku in shock and confusion. What?

"What I did to you…I was desperate, you were on a suicide mission and if you died…but that doesn't excuse what I did or let DiZ do."

Riku was…apologising to him? He'd never expected that. He glanced up at Axel, was Riku serious? He wasn't very good at telling if someone was sincere.

"It's up to you Roxas, I can't tell you how to feel," Axel answered.

"Does he mean it?" Roxas asked. Part of him wanted to hate Riku but…he could remember glimpses of Riku, through Sora and that Riku was very different to the one he'd fought.

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He didn't react to Roxas' question outwardly even as it pained him. After how he'd been lied to and treated by the Organisation, it wasn't surprising he didn't trust himself to read others now. His hand was still on his shoulder and he squeezed gently. Riku had changed a lot since Sora had woken, even since the exam as far as he could tell. Honestly, they'd all changed a lot since then, that's what people did, they changed with time.

He could see that Riku felt really bad about how things had gone between them. Maybe if they'd been less desperate, if they could have talked rationally…would Roxas have willingly gone with him? would that have changed anything? And why had Roxas decided on a suicidal attack against the Organisation…he was missing something…forgetting?

So he nodded in answer to Roxas' question, Riku meant it.

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Aqua watched everything, itching to leave and find Ventus, but better whatever this was be dealt with now then to leave someone vulnerable in combat. Xehanort would have known she would hide Ven in the Land of Departure which meant he likely had some way of monitoring for her return. Who knew what he would throw at them to stop them reaching Ventus.

It was a relief when the two teens shook hands, Roxas relaxing some. It was shocking how much he looked like Ventus. They'd explained their theory behind that and it made as much sense as anything else she guessed.

Thankfully, breakfast was served and then they had to work out who was going with her.

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Ienzo started as his phone rang, surprised to see the callers number. He honestly hadn't expected him to ever call. "Hello?" he frowned when there was only silence…no, there was a noise in the background…waves? "Demyx? Can you hear me?" he asked, feeling alarmed when there was still no response.

Had they found him already? He didn't even need to think about it, he rushed from the lab, hoping to reach them before they left. He had no way off-World himself after all. He could have called but in case Demyx could hear him but was unable to answer, he kept speaking into the phone. He really hoped that Demyx had dropped the phone or accidentally dialled and didn't even realise the call had connected, something innocent.

He rushed through town, ignoring the way people stared before knocking on Merlin's door.

TBC…