The Resolve of All

Chapter 12: Lost and Found

-Roxas's POV-

Play Roxas Theme regular or Final Mix on a second tab.

I was wandering... just walking through the darkness...

Who am I... was my first thought. I honestly don't really remember anything before I woke up here...

It was just so dark in this place... I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. Wait a second, I think I'm wearing black gloves...

What a joke! Why is it so freaking dark in here?!

Suddenly images and pictures began to flash in my mind... My memories maybe...?

A tall young man with spiky red hair, an older teen with brown hair and brown eyes, and a girl with black hair and blue eyes... who were they?

I certainly had no clue, maybe I'll just focus at the matter at hand and just start on figuring myself out first...

"Oh?" I noticed a dim light in the distance... "Some light... that's a chance of pace..."

As soon as I made my way to the beacon of light, I also began to hear... water? waves? At least that's what I think the sound they would make.

And I was right! It looked like I had arrived at a beach in a night setting, but oddly enough there was a weakly-shining sun off towards the far horizon.

"End of the line, huh..." I shrugged.

This place felt far more welcoming than the deep blackness behind me though. Maybe I could make a raft or swim for it? No... it looks like there's an entire ocean between me and anything else.

"...Heh... So now what?" I wondered.

"Why hello there, it's not often we get visitors..."

I nearly yelped at the presence of the other voice. I turned to the right and noticed a man in a black coat sitting on a rock like it was a chair, and he was staring out at sea. Hold on, I looked at his outfit then finally my own... we had the same kind of coat on which was weird... But this guy also sounded old and wise and meant no harm to me. Maybe he could answer some of my questions...

"Hi." I simply said. "Who are you?"

"...I apologize dear boy, but I fear that most of my own memories have been washed away by these shores. I simply have no recollection to who am I or where I came from..." The older man replied.

"Well that makes two of us." I smiled in comfort knowing I wasn't the only one lost here.

"Really? ...Hmm. No... I don't believe so..." He pondered.

"What? What is it?" My curiosity had gotten the better of me.

"If you're still here. That means that you still possess your own heart." He revealed.

"My heart?" I placed one hand over my chest.

"It took me so long to realize that hearts are beyond scientific understanding. Everywhere we look, they're always around..." He gave a small grin under his hood. "A heart is never lost for good... So don't you worry, I have confidence that eventually we'll have ourselves a new beginning..."

"Our birth by sleep..." A woman with blue hair finished his statement as she just woke up from her nap from around a rock. Her eyes widened and her expression looked like she just witnessed a miracle. "VEN!"

I could only get out saying 'what?' before this woman ran towards me and gave the tightest hug I could ever imagine! ...But to be honest, the human contact was refreshing.

"Ven! I'm so happy to see you." She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "How did you wake up? What are you wearing?!"

"Aqua, give the boy some space so he can breath. He has confided in me that he has lost his memories as well." The older man informed.

"Ven... you... you don't remember me? It's me, Aqua... your friend?" She introduced herself to me.

"...I... I have no clue. I don't think I've ever met you before. I'm sorry Aqua." I apologized.

Aqua shook her head and denied my excuse. "You look just like him. You are him, there's no mistaking it, Ventus."

"Ventus? That's my name?" I asked.

"Yeah. Ven for short." She clarified.

"I want to believe you Aqua, but it... it just doesn't sound right." I retorted.

"Trust me, you're exactly how I remember him... I'm just so glad that you're safe..." She consoled with a motherly tone.

"Okay..." I accepted, finally returning the hug.

"Aqua, what were you doing before you met our new friend here?" The old man inquired.

"I was tired of waiting... I decided to throw my master's Keyblade into the ocean, and I put a spell on it to seek out Sora." She informed him.

"Whether that is a foolish or a wise tactic, I commend you on taking the initiative nevertheless. Perhaps the boy will find it and become our savior..." The old man wished.

Sora... That name struck the deepest depths of my heart. Sora sounded really important and he looked like he was our only hope of getting out of this realm of despair and darkness.

I piped up. "How long until this Sora guy saves us?"

Suddenly, I noticed that Aqua had pulled out some sort of star-shaped glass-blue charm. I could tell just from the look on her face that she held that talisman near and dear to her heart. "Not long Ven... hopefully very soon..."

-No one's POV, (3rd person)-

Drex had hauled Mona from the Heartless Manufactory to the Computer Room, a pretty simply task until she started squirming.

"What are you doing?! Put me down!" Mona whined.

Admittedly, Drex had her slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but he merely chuckled at the humor of her complaint and he responded by swinging her into a bridal-style position.

"Better?" He asked.

Mona blushed. "I can walk you know."

"Can you?" Drex placed her down on her feet, and she shouted in pain once she placed some weight on her left ankle and she just collapsed. "Okay, guess you can't."

They both made it up to the Computer Room, which was an odd place to rest, but since Riku went through the trouble, they didn't mind. Drex propped up Mona against the nearby wall and went to work to heal her injuries.

"How did you know I was her?" Mona questioned.

"I guessed." Drex grinned.

"You're lucky then." Mona commented.

"Actually, I think you're the lucky one. I think I arrived just in the nick of time." Drex replied.

"Well, thank you my knight in shining armor." She smiled.

"Anytime." He responded as he completed healing her. "So, you want to rest a bit or do you want to head to Master Yen Sid's now?" Drex inquired.

"I'd rather pick door number three~" She smirked as she leaned in.

Drex kissed her again, and for a while, everything thing else just melted away and it was just the two of them having another moment to themselves... but unfortunately that lovely bliss was shattered into a million pieces...

They broke apart as a dark corridor appeared in front of them, right next to the console's keyboard, and a very familiar yet unwelcoming man walked out of the darkness and revealed himself...

"My my... What a heart-wrenching scene. Both reborn through the darkness and on the path to redemption only to ensure your painful fates and create more woe and despair..."

"Xemnas, what are you doing here?!" Drex growled as he summoned his Keyblade.

"...I came here of my own volition to retrieve a certain... memento, but from what I can surmise, the replica has failed his mission and now I find myself in the position to achieve what he did not." Xemnas calmly responded.

"You're not taking Mona!" Drex declared. "You'll have to get through me!"

"The heart wants what the heart wants, I make no mistake of that. But, ever since the beginning the heart has remained an enigma to us all. Those who have attempted to research and map out this profound part that makes us who we are, have had results which remained inconclusive or inadequate." Xemnas continued. "Over the years as Superior of Organization XIII, I have searched countless worlds in our great sky... looking for answers... And then I found your world..."

"What...?" They both were at a loss for words...

"A very curious world at that. One worth investigating and exploring in particular. In that world... I found six hearts worthy of a greater purpose. And so I connected that world to darkness and placed an inevitable curse to trigger its obliteration... and here you are..." Xemnas revealed.

"It... it was you...?" Drex questioned. "It was you who did this to us?!"

"Indeed..." Xemnas confirmed with a slight smirk.

"W-why...?" Mona asked.

"...Your futures are all that matter now... and I will have to make sure you do not stray from your destines again..." Xemnas proclaimed with a motion of his hand.

Suddenly, the floor beneath Drex and Mona had turned to blackness and they both began to sink like it was quicksand!

"Argh! No! I can't get free!" Drex struggled as he continued to sink.

"Neither can I!" She yelled as she grasped Drex's hand.

Xemnas remained stoic as the two of them were completely enveloped by the darkness and they will eventually go to where they belonged... He then turned his attention to the computer console and pulled out a disk from his pocket and inserted it into the machine. Xemnas then typed in the six passwords like he always did before... The disk popped back out and he continued his errand by descending down back to the Heartless Manufacturary.

And down below, another secret entrance revealed itself, and almost automatically, Xemnas made his way to finally take what he wanted to retrieve...

He entered the white chamber and approached the special mementos of his goal...

"It's been a long time... my friend..."

Sora had finally exited from the Realm of Sleep, and he gave a goofy yet confidant grin at the progress he had made in his training, giving himself a pat on the back.

"I hope everybody isn't too mad that I've been gone for so long." Sora thought out loud. "But I'm sure Riku and Kairi will understand, same with the others."

Oddly enough, Sora chose to come out into the Destiny Islands first before he went back to Master Yen Sid's. This might have been the last time he could visit his home anyway so who could blame him?

Then surprisingly, out of the corner of his eye... there was something metal sparkling in the sand.

"Huh...?" Sora said confused as to what it was.

The brunette scuffled through most of the length of the beach until he was able to pick up the curious... wait a second, this looks like a Keyblade!

The Keyblade had a smooth, cylindrical, grey shaft that tapers outward at both ends. It had a boxy guard, made up of two small, light grey boxes and copper rod. The base of the guard connects to the grip, and both sport several small indentations lining them. The teeth are in the shape of an "E". Its keychain is made of several simple chain links and its token is the Mark of Mastery symbol.

"What is this doing here?" Sora thought as he peered out towards the ocean...

A/N- I tried writing in the first person for the first time, what did you guys think? I also incorporated the KH3 teaser trailer in this too. Take a simple guess what Xemnas took... And what happened to Drex and Mona, where did they go? Stay tuned and find out what happens next!

Until next chapter :)