Sora was quick to befriend Aqua. He was glad to finally have someone other than DiZ to talk to. Sure, he liked talking to DiZ plenty, but he didn't have much of a sense of humor. And Aqua was a breath of fresh air or a refreshing glass of water. It felt easier with her around. She was a light in the darkness. A beacon through the gloom.

Maybe that's how DiZ saw the light and darkness in others? Nah.

Aqua had hope, too. She had been searching and trying to find her way out of the darkness, but always seemed to find herself back here. She knew what this place was. She called it a Keyblade Graveyard, the burial ground of an ancient war, back when Keyblades were common. The ghosts were all over the place, some from the side of light and others from the darkness, though neither could harm you.

Sora became incredibly intrigued by the Keyblade. He asked her about it, only wanting to know more. She was reluctant to answer his questions, but he dragged them out of her. Aqua explained how you got a Keyblade, where they came from, and how she knew so much about them.

"I'm a Keyblade master," she explained. "I trained my whole life and my own master deemed me worthy of the title."

"You have a Keyblade?!" Sora exclaimed. "Can I see it?!"

She held out her hand and there it was. A silver and red hilt with a black blade. A black keychain dangled from the end of the hilt baring the same symbol Aqua wore on her chest. She allowed Sora to hold it. It was heavier than he expected and almost as long as he was tall. She chortled at his struggle.

"That was my Master's."

"Why doesn't he have it?"

Her smile softened as she averted her eyes. "He gave it to me before he passed."

"Oh…" Sora frowned. "Sorry."

"It's fine," she said as she took the blade back. It clearly wasn't fine. But she certainly wasn't mad at him. "He was a good man. And I will miss him. But, he taught me well, and I hope to be able to pass on his knowledge someday."

"Maybe to me?" Sora sheepishly asked. He knew it was a longshot.

"Maybe," she humored him. "The Keyblade is very choosy about who wields it. It chooses it's wielder, not the other way around."

"So cool!" Sora bounced on his toes. "So, when do we do that inheritance ceremony?"

"Maybe when you're older."

Ugh. It was always when he was older. Why did he have to be so young? Why did he grow so slow? Why did time feel like it wasn't passing at all? He just wanted to be big and strong and get them out of this place. He wanted to be able to wield that powerful sword and be able to take care of himself.

As Aqua and DiZ spoke, Sora played with one of the dead Keyblades that were on the shorter side. He still had trouble lifting it, but he still wanted to get a good feel for it. If he was going to wield one someday and become a master, he should start practicing now.

Aqua and DiZ made no effort to keep Sora out of the conversation. It was all things Sora had heard before. How DiZ had found his way into the Realm of Darkness, why Sora was there, how awful it was a child had been thrown into this place. Blah blah blah.

"What about his parents?" Aqua asked.

"They are most likely still in their world." World? Huh. That didn't seem right.

"He probably misses them terribly."

"Ask him about it."

Sora frowned a bit. He wasn't exactly sure what they were talking about. Had to do with grown up stuff, he was sure. He would understand someday, it was just that today was not his day. He grunted as he swung the blade, crying out as the momentum swung him around.

"Sora, do you miss your parents?"

Sora huffed, turning to face them. "What are parents?"

Shock filled both of their faces. The adults turned to each other, looking for answers. Maybe parents were something he'd forgotten about? Like… maybe it was an animal that could be a pet or something. Sora didn't feel like he would miss his pets too much. Not when he had his friends to worry about.

"You know… your mother and father?" Aqua rephrased. Oh, way to confuse him more. Maybe she spoke another language and DiZ spoke it, too. Maybe he understood it and didn't realize Sora didn't. Sora shrugged and lifted the blade again, swinging downward.

"Sora, come here, my boy." Sora let out an exasperated sigh. That was usually the tone DiZ took when Sora was goofing off when he should have been serious. The boy shuffled his way over to the two of them, looking up at him and wondering if he was in trouble for something.

"Tell me about the people who are important to you." DiZ instructed like he did on a regular basis. DiZ wanted Sora to tell him, but never told Sora about his important people.

"My best friends, Riku and Kairi." Sora rattled off like he did a million times. "I've known Riku my entire life. He's like my brother. He likes to fight a lot. He has white hair and blue eyes and likes to wear a yellow. He's strong. And there's Kairi. I found her one night during a meteor shower, washed up on the beach. She's really pretty. She has red hair and blue eyes. She doesn't know where she came from or how she got to our beach, but the mayor adopted her. She's been with us for a year. She's the same age as me."

"Nobody else?" DiZ asked.

"Nope." Sora grinned, pounding his chest. "The darkness can't touch my memories of those two. The light in my heart is too strong."

"Of course…" DiZ frowned. "You may go back to playing now."

The glances DiZ and Aqua exchanged worried him, but he knew they would sort it out. That's what adults did. So, the boy went off to grab another blade. As he pulled one from the ground, a translucent figure rose from the ground. It caught Sora off guard, making him yell out and jump back. It did nothing but stare at him. Creepy, yes. Aqua said they were harmless, so Sora continued his search for the perfect Keyblade. Maybe he could get one like one of the ones in the graveyard.

He explored as they talked. Boring adult talk. He really wished he wouldn't get old enough to understand or get interested in boring adult talk. He supposed that was something he missed as well: children to play with. Playing by himself was sort of boring. But it was all he could do to keep himself occupied. If he just had to learn, he thought his head might explode from boredom.

Some things were interesting, yes. Like the monsters and hearts and the light and the darkness. And he really couldn't wait to learn about Keyblades. But photosynthesis?! What did he care about that? Where would he need to know that in his supposed lifetime in a realm where photosynthesis didn't occur?

Sora was curious about this war. He wanted to know more. It was something exciting, something worth learning about. It had to do with his surroundings now and there was magic involved. Actual magic! Magic was real! This woman was proof of it! These Keyblades, this dead land, that portal that he was thrown into, all of it was something he yearned to know more about.

And he did, alongside his normal studies. Aqua promised if he sat and paid attention to DiZ's lessons, she'd teach him what she knew. So, after his lessons, she taught him how to fight and the history behind the Keyblade and how the Keyblade wars started. But it seemed even DiZ was interested in the Keyblade studies. Aqua was an excellent teacher. She kept things interesting and pushed Sora to better himself.

The three of them spent a strangely long time in that Graveyard. Before they knew it, Sora reached DiZ's chest and was outgrowing his clothing.

Aqua was great with magic, though. She was able to take his clothes and stretch them to fit. It wasn't going to be a permanent solution, they would eventually have to find him clothing that would fit as he grew more, but it worked for now.

Sora still hadn't been given the right of passage. Aqua refused to pass him the Keyblade, and he had no idea why. Although he was fairly good at keeping his cool, it was starting to frustrate him. He thought he was a good student. He thought he was helpful. He thought he was doing well in both lessons, but it seemed he wasn't ready for it yet.

Sora didn't complain. The three of them together were all each other had. If Aqua and DiZ didn't think he was ready, then he probably wasn't. He respected them highly. There were times when one of the adults needed to be alone they would go off to be alone. They were still within eyesight. Sora didn't understand at first. Why would anyone want to be alone when they had been alone for so long? He certainly didn't.

Whenever DiZ tried to get some alone time before Aqua, he would have to wait until Sora went to sleep. Sora was terrified of being left alone. He freaked out beyond control. Why? He couldn't recall. DiZ had explained to him that it was because Sora had been alone in the Realm of Darkness at such a young age it scarred him. So, when left, that fear returned in full volume.

DiZ didn't explain why he needed to be alone. Sora figured it out eventually. He was wrestling with the anger and darkness and hatred for his apprentices. He didn't want the other to see the darkness trying to take his heart. Sora knew and believed in him. DiZ wouldn't let the darkness in. He was stronger than that.

Aqua would go off on her own, as well. Sora asked her why once. She explained she was sad for her friends. She had a friend who was sleeping in the remains of her home world. She was afraid she wouldn't be there when he woke up. And her other friend was taken by a man filled with darkness. She allowed herself to fall into the Realm of Darkness in his stead. She searched for a way out. She wanted to help her friends. She couldn't and it upset her sometimes, so she needed to be alone to control herself.

"Home world?" Sora asked.

"Yes. The world I came from. What about your world? Where did you come from?"

"Destiny Island." Aqua opened her mouth, as if she realized something. He interrupted her in his excitement. "You mean there's other worlds out there?!"

"Y-Yes. Many. Do you remember the stars?" Sora nodded, grinning. "The stars are the light that shines from the hearts of other worlds. Each star is a new world with people that have their own lives and stories."

"Where are you from?" Sora asked, still excited.

"The Land of Departure."

"Cool!" Sora turned to DiZ who had found a new scrap of paper to write on. "What about you, DiZ? Where are you from?"

Sora had always assumed DiZ was also from Destiny Island. It was a small island and as a child he knew a very limited number of people. He was sure there were a lot of people he didn't know, including DiZ. And he might have assumed that Aqua, too, was from Destiny Island. He should have known better. She was full of magic and there was no magic on Destiny Island.

"Radiant Garden."

"Oh! That sounds so pretty!"

"It was a beautiful world."

"I've been there," Aqua countered. "To both worlds." Sora's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She was at Destiny Island?

Aqua smiled as Sora asked for an elaboration. Aqua explained how she traveled the worlds in search of her friends, trying to bring them home. The search lead to Radiant Garden, where she spent a considerable amount of time searching. And as for Destiny Island….

"I was passing by. It was a world I had wanted to see for a long time. There was this legend that originated there and… well, Sora, I believe that's where we first met."

Sora blinked. Once. Twice. "Eh?!" He didn't understand. Aqua? On Destiny Island? They'd met before? He didn't remember. He was sure he'd remember if he saw her! She was so cool! How could he forget someone like her?

"You were younger. This small." She motioned to around her thigh. "I met you and Riku. Only once. I wouldn't be surprised if you had forgotten before you even came to this realm."

"Really? Really, really? What happened?" Sora urged. He wanted to try to remember her. He was trying so hard to recollect forgotten memories and maybe this was one he could dredge back to the surface.

"It wasn't anything special…" Aqua started as she went on to tell him. She was on the Island when she saw Sora and Riku racing. Riku won, which didn't surprise Sora. Aqua recalled how when she approached them, the two boys reminded her of her friends. Riku had sincere eyes, much like Terra. And Sora was the spitting image of Ventus (that much hadn't changed). She pondered if she should pass the Keyblade to either of them, but decided against it.

"Riku already had the mark." Aqua explained. "One Keyblade is more than enough for a friendship." She shook her head. "I didn't want your friendship to end up like mine."

Riku? Riku would be able to wield the Keyblade? When? How did this happen? Who passed it to him? Why him? Yes, Sora was happy for him. The boy had the power to expand his reach, farther than he ever thought possible. When Sora felt a twinge of jealousy, he quickly squashed it.

"Really? That's so cool!" Sora stretched his arms behind his head. "Yeah, it's probably for the best. Riku would be better suited for it, anyway. He's stronger."

"Do you remember what I told you, Sora?" Aqua asked, already knowing the answer. Sora shook his head. "I asked you to stay beside your friend and make sure he does not go down the path of darkness…"

"I know I can't be there for him physically. But… he's always in my heart. And I know I'm in his." Sora shrugged, kicking the dirt. "Besides, he's got Kairi to keep an eye on him."

"And I'm sure she will take up the mantle just fine." Aqua smiled.

Sora only became more curious. He wondered if Kairi was from another world, since she so clearly wasn't from his own. He wondered if eventually his friends would find themselves in other worlds. Especially with Riku's Keyblade. He wished he could join them. He wished he was with them more than anything at that moment.

When Aqua told him about his memory, he thought he was remembering it. DiZ reminded him that sometimes the mind created memories that did not exist. If told something happened, it would create and put together images to create a false memory and Sora should not be fooled by them.

Sora liked to pretend, though. He liked to lay on the ground as he fell asleep and imagine a life he could have had. He imagined playing with Riku and Kairi every day and eating chocolate and things that seemed mundane but were all Sora ever hoped for. He wanted to return home and have a normal life. He also wanted to explore the worlds with his friends. He came up with fantastic imaginary worlds the three of them would explore when they were big enough. A world made of candy with race cars made of the stuff. A frozen kingdom made of ice on top of a snowy mountain (he had never seen it, but he imagined what it was like with DiZ's help). Perhaps a world where they became animals and had to help a frog prince and a girl return to normal after they had some crazy mix up? In these places, there would be music. There would be life and bright colors.

Sora hoped that if he fooled himself into believing some fake memories, it was these. Ones of adventure and excitement and his two best friends in the whole world.