I'm sure that everyone is eager to see what I have planned for this chapter after the bit of a cliffhanger with the last one. It'll also be a bit of a longer chapter. It was either that or break it into two smaller than normal chapters due to the logical stopping points. So yeah, this is a long chapter with lots of stuff happening in it. Starting with the issue of Isa's parents.

Because most of the names of the original characters in the games are carefully chosen to be meaningful in some way, I actually put in a lot of thought about the names for Lea and Isa's sets of parents. They needed names that would fit in with the other names of Radiant Garden citizens (Ansem, Dilan, Aeleus, Braig, Even, Ienzo, Isa, Lea, Aerith, Cid, Yuffie, Squall, and even Kairi since she lived there originally), but I also wanted their names to symbolically connect to their respective sons. Because I like that kind of detail occasionally.

The house wasn't exactly the same as Isa remembered. It was close. Close enough that a casual glance might miss the changes. They were all small details. The cracked stone in front of the entrance was gone. The door was a slightly different shade of brown. The pattern of stones that constructed the door frame were different than the ones that he memorized before he was old enough to wander the town alone. But even with these minor changes, Isa felt like he'd stepped back in time to his childhood.

Part of him wished that he could simply step inside like he was a teenager again. He wished that he could go into the family kitchen, smelling his mother's cooking. Maybe help set the table for dinner. Or climb the stairs to his old bedroom. As if he might still find the bookshelves filled with astronomy, botany, and all manner of science books mixed in with a few adventure novels and the bunkbeds against the wall that his father added when it became clear how often Lea slept over.

But that was impossible. He couldn't go back to those innocent days. He couldn't pretend that the last several years never happened. He couldn't return to who he used to be before he lost his heart.

Isa stared at the wooden door, ignoring Lea and the children waiting patiently behind him and willing to support his decision. A door shouldn't be that intimidating. Stepping over to knock on it should be easy. Far easier than anything else that he'd done in the last twelve years. And yet Isa couldn't bring himself to approach it.

This was a bad idea. He knew that he shouldn't have come there.

Turning around, he muttered, "We should go. This was a mistake."

"Isa?"

He stiffened as he recognized that voice instantly. He would always know her voice. He'd heard it through his entire childhood. Giving loving encouragements, singing soft lullabies, scolding him gently, and saying thousands of little things from the moment that he was born until he left for the castle one morning and never came home. Isa never thought that he would hear that voice again.

Isa saw her further down the street. She was holding a tan cloth bag filled with groceries and looked exactly as she did years ago. Taller than Larxene by a couple of inches and with a sturdy build with actual muscles, she was more than capable of wrestling around heavy loads even in her butter-yellow dress with the white trim. Her hair was still the same dark blue shade, verging on indigo, without any white hairs mixed into the long braid that draped over her left shoulder. She must have been lost to the darkness when Radiant Garden fell rather than spending the intervening years somewhere like Traverse Town; that realization made Isa's heart ache. But her hazel eyes were wide as she stared at him in shock, taking a hesitant step towards him.

"Isa, that is you… isn't it?" she asked hesitantly.

Smiling weakly, he said, "Hello, Mother."

The bag of groceries hit the ground as she broke into a run. Her arms wrapped around him as the impact knocked him back a step. Embracing him tightly as her fact buried into his dark jacket. His own arms came up more slowly, but they eventually curled around her back timidly. Trying to return her hug despite all those doubts still lurking within him.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, his voice a little strained.

"We didn't know what happened to you. No one knew anything about what was happening back then. You just didn't come home one day and we didn't know why. I didn't want you working in the castle, I know that you heard the same rumors that I had, but I never thought you'd not come home," she said, speaking quickly and shakily. "We tried to find out where you were. I swear that we looked for you, Isa. But everything started going wrong not long after that. The Heartless, people disappearing, and—"

"And the world fell to darkness," said Isa, unable to speak above a whisper.

She reluctantly broke off the hug enough to look at him. Her hands reached up to cup his face. There were tears in her eyes, but she was smiling. A bright and relieved smile that both warmed his heart and made it ache. He didn't deserve this. After a moment, her brow furrowed as she studied his face. Isa could guess what had caught her attention.

"It's an old scar," he assured her. "An accident. I fell into something. It's long since healed."

"Doesn't stop a mother from worrying," she said. "But look how much you've grown. You've gotten so tall and handsome."

Closing his eyes, Isa said, "I… I have not been… The last several years, I was…"

"Isa," she said, her thumb brushing against his cheek. "We all know what happened in the castle by now. Everyone in town knows the truth. The secret experiments, what became of the apprentices in that place, what happened after… If that happened to you as well, then you don't have to explain any further. I can't begin to imagine what it might be like to live without a heart or how someone might behave without one. But all that matters right now is that my son is alive and safe. Anything else can wait and be forgiven with time."

Just like that. As if it was all that simple. As if his past actions didn't matter. She wanted to forgive him the same way that she did his more innocent childhood mischief. Isa couldn't speak; a lump had formed in his throat and his eyes burned.

"See?" said Lea. He stood behind them with the others, Roxas holding the abandoned groceries. "I told you that it would be fine."

Her eyes lit up in recognition. He would undoubtedly be pleased to be remembered that easily. She stepped away from Isa as she looked over the tall redhead. And her smile was just as bright as when she saw her son.

"I should have known that, no matter what happened over the last several years, the two of you would end up together," she said. "You've grown like a weed, Lea. And your hair is so tall now."

She reached up to ruffle his hair. Lea groaned in quiet complaint, but he was grinning and he actually bent down to make it easier to reach.

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Celena," he said. Gesturing towards the children, Lea said, "These are my friends, Roxas and Xion."

Nodding in greeting, she said, "I am pleased to meet you both. Would you like to join up for dinner? I'm certain that Koray would be thrilled with the company. We have cause to celebrate. In fact…" Isa's mother turned towards the house and called, "Koray, could you come out here?"

"Unfortunately, Roxas and Xion are expected up at the castle later," said Lea carefully.

Isa knew what he was doing. He was providing Isa with a way to end the encounter and escape if it was too much. But he was also giving him the option to visit with his parents alone and talk about things without an audience. Lea was giving him the choice of how to proceed while keeping it subtle. Supporting whatever he might want or need.

He knew that he shouldn't, but part of Isa wanted that. To spend time with his family, who knew at least some of what transpired and yet still wanted him back regardless. And still seemed to love him. Isa could spend a few hours with his family and perhaps turn back the clock for a little while.

Perhaps it was foolish. But Isa would be the fool if that meant he could return to his family, even if only briefly.

"Perhaps I could meet up with you afterwards," said Isa slowly. "I might like to visit with my family for a little while."

"Sound good to me." Then, scratching the back of his head and looking away, Lea said, "I guess I should ask, Mrs. Celena. Do you know if my…"

He trailed off, but Isa knew what his friend was asking. As did his mother. She looked away as well with a dark expression. A familiar expression that Isa had seen often enough. Like she wished that she could strike out at the source of that quiet anger.

Isa believed that she would have wielded his claymore quite well if given the opportunity.

"Kasai and Homura are alive and well," she said slowly.

If she intended to elaborate further, the door opening to the house interrupted. And a tall and broad-chested man, one built along the same lines as Aeleus and strong from his work in construction, stepped out and immediately froze when he saw Isa.

Dressed in a white shirt, a brown vest with several buckles, navy pants with a black belt, and sturdy brown boots, he also didn't look that different than the man that Isa last saw on his final morning that he left for his apprenticeship in the castle with his heart intact. His father hadn't aged a day. Mostly clean-shaven except for a few strands on his chin, his pale-blond hair tied back in a short ponytail, and the same blue-green eyes as Isa, he was just as painfully familiar in every detail as the man's wife.

"Isa?"

"Father," he said with a faint smile.


"So," said Xion slowly, taking Lea's hand as the three of them walked in the direction of the castle, "those were Isa's parents? They seemed nice."

"They are," he said, nodding briefly. "Nicest people that you'll ever meet. Right up there with Sora. And they're the reason that Isa can make the best pancakes. I swear that Mrs. Celena could make anything taste delicious. And Mr. Koray might not always be able to help with homework, but he would listen to whatever you were excited to learn about that day."

Not to mention Celena singing lullabies and rubbing his back when he was small and crying. Or Koray building those bunkbeds so that Lea would stop camping out on the floor. Or the way that the teachers eventually started calling them instead when Lea got into trouble.

"They seemed happy to see Isa again," said Roxas.

"Of course. They didn't know that we ended up as Nobodies. At least, apparently not until recently. All they knew was that Isa and I disappeared one day and never came back. They were worried about him and didn't know if they would ever see him again."

And that was worse than what happened with Roxas. At least Lea knew what happened to his friend when he returned to Sora's heart. Isa's parents had no clue about their son's fate until years later.

Squeezing his hand, Xion asked, "What about your parents? What are they like?"

Lea stumbled briefly before he kept going. He should have expected that. With the trip down memory lane and meeting Isa's family, they were bound to grow curious. He just didn't expect to discuss that aspect of his past that day. But they were asking. They wanted to know.

Slowly and carefully, Lea said, "My mother's name is Homura—"

Straight, copper-bright hair that went a little bit past her shoulders. Emerald eyes. Thin and willowy with delicate hands. Her favorite dark lavender blouse and long olive-green skirt. Graceful movements like she was constantly dancing to music that only she could hear

"—and my father's name is Kasai—"

Shorter dark red hair with a fuller beard than Ansem the Wise, but much shorter than Merlin's. Blue eyes. Normally dressed in a maroon shirt, dark brown pants, sturdy black boots, and black belts at his hips. A deep voice that rumbled in his chest

"—and… Well, they were very different from Isa's parents," he concluded quietly.

Looking up at him with an uncertain frown, Roxas asked, "Do… Do you want to find them and let them know that you're okay too, Axel?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm sure that Isa's family will pass along the news eventually if they want to know."

"But why wouldn't they want to know?" asked Xion. "Wouldn't they be worried about you too?"

Lea stopped walking this time. He scratched the back of his head before looking around, choosing a short wall to sit on. Roxas and Xion followed to sit down next to him with worried expressions. Silently asking him what was wrong.

"Do you remember when I was explaining what families and parents were?" he asked.

Nodding, Roxas said, "Parents are the people who raise you. Parents are adults who raise kids. Parents take care of them, teach them, keep them safe, and love them."

"Like you do for us," said Xion, which still hit him hard when he thought about it.

"Right," said Lea quietly. "But do you remember when I told you that some people are better parents than others? And that sometimes the people that you're related to don't act like family?"

"Yeah?" asked Roxas suspiciously.

Sighing tiredly, he said, "My parents… were not some of the better ones. I mean, there were certainly worse ones out there, but…" He shrugged vaguely. "I couldn't exactly depend on them to remember or prioritize me when I was growing up. They didn't seem to notice when I wasn't around or care that much about it. They just seemed to forget about me most of the time. And no matter what they might promise me that they would do or promise to show up or promise to actually remember this time since it was important… they would forget the moment that I was out of sight. Honestly… Honestly, I don't know how long it would have taken for them to even realize that I was gone when I lost my heart. I don't know if they even tried to find me. Or if they would have wanted me back."

Even after all these years, it hurt to put it into words. He'd known and understood that he couldn't depend on them for anything beyond the basics: food, clothes, and shelter. He'd known that he wasn't worth remembering to them. That he wasn't important to them. He'd known it, Isa knew it, Celena and Koray knew it, and even his teachers had known it. But flat out saying it, laying it out directly like that, still hurt. An old hurt and one that he could bear, but he didn't enjoy poking at it.

But he promised no more secrets. And they wanted to know.

Arms wrapped around him. Roxas and Xion squeezing him from both sides in a tight hug. Lea chuckled softly before letting his own arms coil around them.

"Family is complicted," he said. "And sometimes you have to build a new one when the one that you're born into fails you. My parents didn't act like my family. But I had Isa and his parents even back then. And now I have you two." Lea smiled and squeezed a little tighter. "That's all that I need. I don't regret what I have. Got it memorized?"

"Completely memorized," said Roxas.

Quietly, Xion said, "We're still sorry. We won't forget you, Axel."

"I know you won't," he said.

"Do you want us to go beat them up?" asked Roxas, a faint scowl on his face.

Laughing softly, Lea shook his head and said, "No, they aren't worth the effort. Now come on or else Even will spend twenty minutes lecturing us on punctuality."


"How did the visit go?" asked Lea, sitting outside the Gummi Ship patiently.

Smiling faintly, Isa said, "Better than I could have hoped. It was… good to see my parents again."

He sat down next to his friend, setting the container beside them. His mother refused to let Isa leave without taking something with him. She gave him a rather large amount of the vegetable stew that she'd made for dinner with clear instructions to share it with his friends, "especially those two children that were with you because growing boys and girls need to eat." And it was true that Roxas and Xion could probably use some more vegetables in their diet to balance out the ice cream.

"So you were all right after we left?" asked Lea, sounding a little uncertain. "I figured that if the conversation got too tense, you wouldn't want an audience. Or the half-pints asking questions in the middle of that."

"You're right. It was easier to talk about… what happened… without other people around. That does not mean that it was completely easy. I could not describe my full transgressions as Saïx, but I confessed some of the worst."

"And?"

Isa turned his eyes towards the sky. Night had already fallen, stars glittering across the dark sky and the moon reduced to a silver sliver of light. Not enough to overly distract him, but enough to sooth him a little. It was a beautiful night.

"And they forgave me," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "They even asked if I would come see them again sometime."

Nudging him slightly, Lea said, "See? Told you so. They love you too much for anything else."

"And Roxas and Xion?" he asked, shifting the topic.

"After complaining about us being late and fully blaming me for it, Even ran his tests and declared them to be in perfect health. Not a single thing wrong."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah, it really is. I figured that they were fine, but it is reassuring to have some confirmation. But I think that we've had a long enough day already. The half-pints are on the Gummi Ship, playing games on their Gummiphones. Do you want to join them and head home?"

Isa glanced around their surroundings slowly. They'd landed away from most of the town to avoid people bothering the Gummi Ship or drawing attention but he could still make out the distant lights of the buildings. Radiant Garden still held a special place in his heart and probably always would. And now that he'd taken that first step towards rebuilding his relationship with his parents, he expected that he would be returning regularly.

But Lea was right. When he thought about home, he didn't imagine Radiant Garden. Not fully. All the nostalgia and warm memories couldn't change that. He knew where he belonged.

"Yes. Let's go home."


The warm sea breeze stirred Riku's hair as he stared out at the ocean, waves quietly washing up the beach. The water never reached him. Only at high tide would it have a chance of reaching his position. The sun set a while ago, but the sand was still warm. Only the stars and the moon reflecting off the sea broke the complete darkness of the night.

Riku wasn't afraid of the dark. Not his own or anyone else's darkness. He respected the dangers of the darkness and its power, but he didn't fear it.

What did scare him was that they might never find Sora. After months of searching on multiple fronts for any hint of how to bring him home, they were not closer than they were when he first disappeared. They'd failed him.

Riku had failed.

His fist tightened briefly before he let go. But his eyes never left the horizon. Almost glaring at it. No matter how far that he explored beyond those borders, it wasn't far enough to find his friend. It was never enough.

He was wasting his time returning so often for school and other unnecessary reasons. Searching only on the weekends wasn't enough. Riku knew that his family and Kairi would want him to have a life outside of searching. And he knew that he'd fallen so far behind with his classes over the last few years. And he knew that they all cared about him. But dividing his time like that hadn't accomplished a thing. He needed to focus. He needed to find what mattered.

Riku took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Kairi wouldn't be happy with him. Not even slightly.

But he couldn't come back to Destiny Island this time. Not unless he was bringing Sora home with him. Riku would go out there and put all of his time, effort, and heart into a single purpose: finding his friend.

No more dividing his attention. No more being distracted.

Riku wouldn't be coming back without Sora.

He opened his eyes and stared back towards where the dark sea met the night sky on the horizon. It might be a long time before he saw his home again. That thought hurt more than it did a few years ago when they built their raft, intending to sail away and never look back. He wasn't the same person as he was back then. He knew that he would miss everyone. But it was the right decision.

His adventure would begin in the dead of night. His road wouldn't be easy, but a rising sun awaited his journey's end.


Xion had essentially taken over a large part of the apartment. Paper carefully arranged across the couch, wires and bits of machinery scattered over the floor, and cardboard panels arranged in the corner. Neat letters written in markers, creating a colorful display to go with her bright charts. Her device slowly came together to the point that she could start attaching clamps to people, showing them pictures of different things, and recording the results. She worked hard on the incomprehensible mass of chaos with a serious expression. Completely focused and excited by the project, but keeping quiet about the details because she wanted to surprise them.

During the last month before summer vacation, there was a science fair that students could participate in. And Xion had joined with her mystery project.

Olette apparently had entered the competition as well. But Lea was less concerned about her because she wasn't the one covering their home with their project. Xion was the one that was excited and eager about the upcoming fair, counting down the days on the calendar stuck to the fridge. She didn't even care about the school dance the day before, focused solely on preparing her work.

Granted, Roxas didn't seem that interested in the dance either. Probably because neither of them had a firm handle on the concept of romance, crushes, dating, or attraction despite their physical ages. Something that Lea was extremely grateful for because they had enough complications already. All the Keyblade wielders did.

Olette had resigned herself to the idea that school dances needed to wait until next year.

Lea couldn't help much with Xion's science fair project. Not with the way that she wanted it to be a surprise. But he let her hook him up to the creation and record the mysterious results after showing him pictures of puppies, rainbows, and miserable-looking cats that had a bucket of water dumped on them. Just like she did with Roxas, Isa, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and even Gina, talking about needing a proper sample size. And he provided her with snacks when she needed to write up the report. Supporting her as best that he could.

And eventually the big day arrived. Xion practically bounced in her seat throughout breakfast, vibrating with nervous energy. She was distracted and kept missing questions from everyone at the table. She was excited, but Lea was also afraid she would get too anxious about it and forget to breathe at some point.

Everyone pitched in to help carry everything down to the school. They were directed towards a large room with long lines of tables where other students were already putting up their displays and experiments. Xion's project went up in no time with all four of them helping. Maybe Lea was biased, but Xion's machine looked more impressive than someone testing which paper towels worked best or what music made plants grow taller.

"Olette should be here soon," said Roxas as Xion gave everything a final inspection.

"Any idea what she's working on?" asked Lea.

Crossing his arms, Isa said, "According to Pence, she was doing a study to determine if there is any correlation between when a child is born and the phases of the moon."

"And do they?"

"Pence didn't say. I suppose we shall need to view her display to find out."

Lea watched Xion straightening her cardboard display, shifting around the stack of papers for her report, and repositioning her machine multiple times. The girl wasn't hiding her nerves very well. Not fear, but a mixture of excitement and worry. She was hoping that it would go well and not knowing how to ensure that. Comparing her work to other people while authority figures judged her results? That could be unnerving for any kid, but he knew how long it took for Xion's self-esteem to improve after Organization XIII. It was a big step for her, volunteering to do this. And now that the big day had arrived, so had a little stage fright. Or whatever the science fair equivalent might be.

"Hey," he said, reaching out to take Xion's hand and causing her to pause, "you'll do great. You've worked hard and everyone will see that. So don't stress out. No matter how this goes or what the judges might think, we're proud of you. Nothing will change that. Got it memorized?"

Nodding firmly, Roxas said, "You've got this, Xion."

She smiled slightly and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Letting some of the tension melt out of her body as determination burned in her eyes. Ready to face the challenge like she always did.

"Perhaps you would feel less nervous if you could practice what you plan to say before the judges arrive," suggested Isa calmly. "Why don't you explain it to us? What is your experiment?"

"She is demonstrating that emotional states can produce measurable forms of energy," said a definitely-not-Xion voice from behind them. "Mostly because of a lack of available resources and this world's lack of study regarding the effects of light and darkness upon the heart limiting her to such rudimentary testing."

Lea turned to find two people wearing lab coats, looking out of place among the teenagers. Ienzo might have been able to blend in if he tried, but Even was his normal haughty self as his eyes briefly raked across the other exhibits before turning his attention back towards Xion's project.

"You came?" said Xion, sounding surprised and happy.

"Of course," he said, "After investing all that time and effort, why would I not wish to see the results? A great deal of work was put into your project and it is time for you to share your findings with your peers. A vital part of any study, yes."

Holding up a hand, Lea said, "Wait, why is Even here? Did he— Did you help Xion with this?"

"She requested my expertise in the field of science. Merely as a direction to start from and suggestions on how to build the necessary equipment to take measurements."

"Since when do you talk to Xion?"

"We've been in contact for months. We started communicating about horticulture, but now we've expanded our range of conversational topics. I wanted to connect with Xion and get to know my creation properly since I was denied the opportunity previously. It only seemed appropriate considering my vital part in her existence. And she deserves a suitable role model when it comes to the pursuit of scientific endeavors since she clearly takes after me intellectually."

Something about his words raised Lea's hackles. Or maybe it was merely Even's unexpected presence that did it. Despite the two of them settling into a truce and trying to move past their uncomfortable history, the man still rubbed him the wrong way.

"Don't think that you can show up and play mad scientist parent. You may have created the Replica Program," he said, quiet and tense, "but you have nothing to do with who she's become. You weren't there when she and Roxas were developing personalities."

"Mostly because I was destroyed during that time frame," hissed Even darkly.

"You had Kiru. Considering what happened to him even before anything happened to you, it was probably best that you were uninvolved with any of the others."

Isa's hand settled on Lea's shoulder. Silently warning him to rein it in, but also offering his support. Xion and Roxas were looking at them uneasily. Lea had told them about what he'd done in Castle Oblivion, but this was the first time that they had seen the tension still lingering between the former Nobodies. He also didn't tell them about Vexen's role in him losing his heart.

When Even opened his mouth to retaliate, Ienzo grabbed his elbow. Startling him into silence.

"We are all here to support Xion," said Ienzo calmly. "Though I do hope to see Pence while I'm here."

"Pence and the others should be here soon," said Roxas, inserting himself between Even and Lea. "Olette is competing too."

Still holding the scientist's arm and trying to pull him away, he said, "Perhaps we should go find him and come back when the fair is truly underway."

And it would give Lea and Even time to withdraw to their respective corners and calm down before they were around each other again. Maybe they would handle it better then. When it wasn't such an unexpected surprise. Lea knew that he needed to get better at dealing with Even now. Ignoring him or snapping at each other and immediately needing to apologize was not a sustainable strategy. But it would hopefully get better with time.

He should have kept quiet today. It was Xion's big day.

"Sorry, Axel," she said quietly.

Turning towards her, he said, "You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. You're allowed to be friends with Even, even if the two of us don't get along the best." When she didn't look completely certain, Lea added, "We just have a complicated past and our personalities clash a bit."

"Like fire and ice?" suggested Roxas.

"Exactly," he said. "You can talk to Even and get help with school stuff. That's not a problem, Xion. I promise." Lea ruffled her hair slightly, keeping it light enough not to muss it too much since she would be talking to judges later. "And I will try to get along with Even as you impress everyone with your hard work."


They had all gathered in the courtyard outside. It felt like the ideal place to say their farewells and set off on their new journey. Aqua wasn't looking forward to it. None of them were eager to step foot back into the Realm of Darkness, but they would be together.

They could do anything if they stayed together.

"We will try not to be gone very long," she said, keeping her voice even. "But time does not flow at the same rate in the Realm of Darkness. It could take longer than we expect."

Smiling encouragingly at Naminé and Kiru, Terra said, "We are entrusting the care of the Land of Departure to both of you in our absence. It is home to all of us and I know you will keep it safe."

"Of course, if anything happens, you can use your Gummiphones and call for help," reminded Ventus. "There's enough of us now that someone would be able to get here fast. But nothing is going to happen."

Naminé nodded shyly, but Kiru drew himself up to his full height, back straight, and head up. Preparing to accept the responsibility and guard their home with his life. He was a great kid, but Aqua had noticed that he had a tendency to take everything very seriously. She tended to be similar, but it felt different coming from someone younger.

Much younger. Aqua had to remind herself that several of her new friends were much younger than they appeared. Kiru and Naminé weren't even three years old yet.

"Keep up your training while we're gone," she said gently. "Both with the Keyblade and with magic. And I left some books out for both of you to study."

Because teaching Kiru meant more than combat training. Both he and Naminé could learn some magic, the history and traditions of Keyblade wielders, about numerous worlds, and more general knowledge. Especially since they did not attend school like the others. They still needed a well-rounded education.

"We will," said Naminé.

Aqua smiled at the pair. Then, exchanging looks with Terra and Ventus, they activated their armor. Magic and metal wrapped around her body. Shielding her from the darkness and hiding her face enough that she could let some of her dread leak through in her expression. But they didn't need to see her face to know. Terra and Ventus took small steps closer to her as if trying to protect her from the memories and what they were about to face.

She appreciated their support. But she could handle it.

They could handle it.

Stormfall materialized in her hand. Terra held our his hand for Ends of the Earth and Ventus summoned Wayward Wind. Their Keyblades ready for whatever they might face. Only when they were armed and properly shielded did Aqua open up passage to the Lanes Between. Not connected to any world within the Realm of Light, but somewhere much darker and more difficult to reach. And to escape.

Hesitating a moment longer, Aqua led her friends into the Realm of Darkness.


"I would like to thank everyone for coming out today," said the announcer, a stout dark-hair man with a small mustache. "And I want to thank all of the students for their hard work on all of these amazing projects."

Some polite applause from the audience followed his words. While Lea had noticed that Xion relaxed after she finished speaking with the trio of judges, she started getting tense again. Anxious over finding out how she did. But she had the support of a large chunk of the crowd. The local trio of friends, Lea, Roxas, and Isa. She even had the support of Even and Ienzo, the two of them wandering back after they took a break to explore and returned with strong opinions on the other exhibits. Xion would have plenty of people with her regardless of how it went.

Lea had already made a few inquiries. Other than the first, second, and third place awards, there were also a handful of honorable mention ribbons that would be given to projects that were creative or impressive even if they didn't win. And watching Xion excitedly explain her experiment made him hope that she earned one of those small yellow ribbons.

"First place or dead last," said Lea quietly, pitching his voice low for only Xion to hear, "we're all proud of you. Even coming this far is impressive. I couldn't build anything like that when I was your age. No matter how well anyone else does today, you're amazing. Got it memorized?"

Smiling faintly, she whispered, "Thanks, Axel."

"Our judges have considered all of these wonderful projects," continued the announcer. "And they have made their decisions. Our honorable mentions go to… Hagan… Olette… and Lona!"

Cheers and clapping followed the names. Hayner nearly knocked Olette over as he hurried to sling an arm over her shoulder, thought she needed to shrug him off in order to go up to accept her ribbon. There was a brief flash as Pence snapped her picture with his camera. All her friends were excited for her. Even Xion seemed happy for Olette, as if she was the one who won honorable mention instead.

"In third place, we have… Zacarias!"

More applause as a brown-haired boy went up to the announcer with a bright smile. His apparent family waved as he was handed the white ribbon. A couple of other teenagers yelled his name loudly, clearly his friends and thrilled for him.

"Our second-place winner is… Xion!"

Lea wasn't prepared for the explosion of cheers and shouts from his corner of the crowd. All of her friends practically tackled her as Xion stared in shock. All of them laughing and hugging the girl to the point that Lea forced himself to hang back. She was already having trouble moving forward to receive the red ribbon proving her victory. Pence continued to be the capable photographer and captured the moment.

But one voice cut through the rest and made it impossible for Lea to hear the next announcement about the science fair winner.

"How dare you?" shrieked Even. "Can none of you lesser minds recognize true scientific excellence when you witness it? I collaborated with her and can confirm that there is nothing here that compares. What half-brained idiotic criteria did you use to come to this preposterous conclusion? Because I'm seriously questioning the effectiveness of this educational facility and—"

"Come on," interrupted Ienzo, doing his best to drag the scientist away. He called back over his shoulder, "Congratulations, Xion. We'll talk later when he calms down again."

"This entire competition is a sham," he snarled before being pushed out the door.

Rubbing his eyes, Lea muttered, "Should have known Even and a school science fair would be a bad combination."

"It could have gone better," said Isa. Then he turned his attention towards the girl as she returned with her swarm of friends. "Congratulations on winning second-place, Xion. And well done on your honorable mention, Olette."

"Thank you," said Olette before glancing over her shoulder. "I've got to go let my family celebrate a little. I'll see you guys later."

After she hurried off, Hayner and Pence following after waving at Xion a final time, Lea finally managed to get closer to his half-pint. Even with the ribbon in her hands, she didn't look like she believed that she'd earned it. Roxas slung an arm around her shoulders.

"See? I told you that you were smart," said Roxas. "All the science and math stuff if what you're good at."

"You have indeed earned that second-place ribbon," said Isa. "And you did it after nine months of school. You should be very proud of yourself."

Ducking her head, she said, "Thank you, everyone."

Lea reached out. But he didn't ruffle her hair this time. Instead, he clapped Xion on the shoulder, smiling at her.

"I'd say that you've more than earned the icing on the cake," he said. "How does this plan sound? We'll take everything home and put it away. Then we'll head to the clocktower."

Lea's suggestion was met with twin grins. They didn't always go up there for ice cream like they used to. Sometimes they ate on the roof of their apartment surrounded by Xion's garden. Or they sprawled on the sofa watching old movies or cartoons. Or they played board games while nibbling on popcorn. They'd adopted dozens of new tiny ways to spend time together. But that didn't mean that the clocktower and sea-salt ice cream wasn't important to them.

He noticed Isa nod and start to turn away. Except that Xion dashed forward to grab his hand. Stopping him. She exchanged a brief glance with Roxas. The two of them were too good at silent conversations because that look and a small nod from Roxas was all that they needed.

"You don't have to help carry my project home, Isa," she said. "You can just pick up four sea-salt ice creams and meet us at the clocktower."

He stiffened and blinked in surprise at her words. Not that Lea had been prepared for it either. The clocktower had always been their place, even more so than the apartment. They kept taking small steps towards welcoming Isa further and further into their lives. And yet, this particular step somehow felt like the biggest one of all. And it was all their idea.

"Are you certain?" asked Isa quietly.

Offering a half-smile, Roxas said, "I mean, you can buy yourself another flavor if you want. It's your munny."

A quiet and breathless laugh slipped out and Isa shook his head, closing his eyes briefly before he seemed to regain his composure. A faint smile returned to his face.

"No, sea-salt ice cream is perfectly fine," he said. "And thank you for inviting me to join you."

"Of course," said Xion as they started heading back towards her project.

"Friends are the people that you eat ice cream with," said Roxas.

Lea's parents have names that reflect his affinity to fire. They weren't too difficult. His mother's name, Homura, means "flame" in Japanese. And his father's name, Kasai, means "fire" in the same language, but with the connotations of an out of control and destructive fire. (Another close possibility was the name "Kazan," which translates into "volcano.")

Isa's parents were more difficult because of his connection to the moon. Most of the options didn't seem to fit very well with the other names of Radiant Garden and there are a limited number of male names that have anything to do with the moon. His mother's name, Celena, is a variation of the name "Selena," which is a reference to the Greek moon goddess. (The secondary option for her was "Aruna," which is Japanese for "moon love.") As for his father, I debated longer before deciding on Koray, which is Turkish for "ember moon." (The alternate possibility was Mayar, which is Arabic for "moonglow," but is more popular for girls than it is for boys.)

The purpose of this entire fic, in addition to giving the characters a break from the action in order to try dealing with their various issues and to have a chance at a normal life, was to get everyone to the point where it made sense for Isa to join them on the clocktower. And after all these chapters of character development, we've reached that point. There's only one chapter left for this fic before the sequel begins.