Sora shook Aqua awake. They had to move. Sora could feel the darkness closing in and it wasn't any small fry. It would be best if they moved now. It was… a hoard. He could feel them. Their overbearing hunger shook him, the boy that could call upon several Keyblades in an instant to slay a thousand of them. He didn't know what they were, he only knew they had to move.

"Aqua, come on. Wake up," Sora insisted. Usually, he was fairly gentle about it. But there wasn't any time for that now.

She blearily opened her eyes, trying to focus on him. "Ven…?"

"No, Sora." He didn't have time for this. DiZ had already packed his makeshift back full of the papers he had begun scribbling. Sora pulled the girl (she no longer seemed like a woman to him now that he had grown so big) to her feet, pushing her disheveled hair from her face. "We have to go. Heartless."

"Sora… right." She rubbed her face before tying back her long hair into a ponytail. She didn't have time to braid it. It reached just below her backside, telling just how long they had all been trapped. "Are they here yet?"

"No, but we have to move now."

She slapped her own face awake and nodded. "Right. Let's go."

The three of them wandered back into the unknown. Sora directed them, sensing which way the darkness was approaching from. Since DiZ had taught him how to see into people's hearts, he had been able to become much more aware of his surroundings. He could see the light and dark all around them.

It was never too difficult to tell which way was safest anymore. Aqua usually did a good job before Sora, though they would occasionally fall into the hidden trap. The monsters were evolving beyond what DiZ had imagined and it made this realm more dangerous than ever for a Keyblade wielder or a heart of light. Sora and Aqua just happened to have both.

DiZ had light in his heart. It was not snuffed out, much to Sora's relief. He did not want his father figure to fall, otherwise he'd never be able to get over the loss of the man who raised him. There was still that underlying simmer of darkness that scared Sora.

A part of him hoped they would stay in this realm until DiZ let go of his need for revenge. Aqua was sure it would never happen.

Aqua's light was bright. There were patches of darkness, much like an infection. Unwanted, but not permanent. It made her heart ill, which also worried Sora. What if he lost her completely to the infection? She would only see him as her friend, Ven. Then what? Where would Sora go? Would she care if she didn't see Sora again as long as she had Ven?

The girl that raised him meant so much to him. She was his big sister. He wished Curaga would help ease her heart, but it would not be that simple.

They wandered until they reached a coast. It felt familiar and Sora wondered if this was the place DiZ found him. He didn't recall any boats being there, but he could have been wrong. Before them lay a dock. Sorry sailboats and a fisherman ship tied to the dock, the waves of the calm dark waters lapping at their haul.

Sora turned to them with a grin. "Shall we sail?"

"Sora, there's no wind." Aqua reminded him with a playful smile.

"Right. Well, they might have oars on them… or motors… Hm." Sora glided up to the dock ahead of them to get a good look into the smaller dinghies. They didn't need anything large for coasting along the shore. It would only help them get further from the Heartless faster.

He found one with a motor just as Aqua and DiZ stepped onto the dock. He jumped off the dock into the boat causing it to rock. Nostalgia washed over him, even though he could not recall even a moment of himself being on a boat. He was born on an island, right? That must have been it. He knew he had to have been on one at some point in his life.

Inspecting the motor, he found a tab. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Vroom! Plut-plut-plut. It started! Now, for how long it would last, time would tell. It was a small boat. There were oars under the seats. This was good enough. He called DiZ and Aqua to him. He helped them into the boat before releasing the knot that kept it tied to the dock. It felt so natural. He must have done it a million times in his previous life.

As the boat drifted, he leapt into it, rocking the boat dangerously. Aqua laughed, warning him not to capsize the boat.

"Do you know how to drive this thing?" she asked.

"Uh… no." he smirked. He proved it too, by almost crashing them back into the dock. DiZ insisted on taking the helm, but he hadn't any experience in a boat either. What good would that do them? Besides, DiZ would make himself look like a fool if he tried and that was far from what he wanted. DiZ was a noble man. Not a fool.

Eventually, Sora got the hang of it with DiZ and Aqua's assistance. Aqua told him how to steer and DiZ kept an eye on the engine to make sure it stayed steady.

"Should we go out into the waters?" Aqua asked.

Sora shook his head. "No. There's nothing out there. It's… empty." It was the only way to describe the nothingness that he felt coming from the horizon. If they went that way, there may be no coming back. They kept on along the shoreline, passing foggy islands and more debilitated docks. There was even an amusement park that jutted out above the waters on boardwalks.

As they slowed down, DiZ declared they were running out of fuel. Sora turned off the engine to switch places with Aqua in order to row.

"Haven't we gone far enough?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah," Sora laughed. "A long time ago, actually. I just… I dunno. I like this. Being on the water. It feels like home."

They let him go. They liked to keep him happy in fear his smile would fade. Sora knew he was spoiled. That it was just his smile that kept them all going. He felt like the idea should make him miserable, but it didn't. He felt like he had a purpose in this group. He had to keep everyone's chin up and their candle lit. He took on the mantle with pride.

As his shoulder began to feel sore, he decided a nice place to dock was an island right off shore. He could have swam to it, it was so close to the main land. Sora drove the boat into the sand and with Aqua's help, pulled it up onto shore to keep it from drifting.

As they turned to the island, Sora felt something swell within in. He didn't know how to put it. He felt a grin stretch across his face and his eyes stung. What was it?

"Sora?" Aqua said quietly once she had a good look at where they were standing.

"Yeah?" he replied feeling his hands shake. This wasn't right. Something about this was totally wrong and he didn't know what exactly it was.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked in the same hushed tones. He shook his head. He nodded. He shook his head. He'd been here before. Emotion began to overwhelm him.

"Where are we?" he asked, feeling his voice crack. He already knew the answer. The moment he set eyes on the palm trees that stretched over the waters with shriveled star-shaped fruit, he knew.

"This is Destiny Island." DiZ turned to her sharply. "This is where you're from."

"… Oh."

This was it. He had come full circle. All that was left was this fragmented island off the coast of the Realm of Darkness. This was his home. His island. He could see the remains of the platforms his father had been building into the cliff and that was when it clicked. His memories were buried, not forgotten.

Age was a bitch. It was easy to bury them and forget they were there. He almost remembered his father's smile. Soft, yet strong. He remembered calloused hands teaching him how to tie a sailor's knot.

Sora walked. He told them vaguely that he wasn't going far as he made straight for a cave past the dried up waterfall. They let him go. For the first time, they let him out of their sight so he could re-familiarize himself with his home.

No, this wasn't his home. This was part of it. Only a small piece. This was where he came to play. He remembered exploring this cave. It seemed so much bigger then. At the end, there was an opening. Drawings were etched into the walls, covered from top to bottom. He remembered he and Riku used to draw here often, using other stones to make the shapes. He took Kairi here.

And there she was.

Sora approached the image etched next to a dark opening. He didn't remember that being there. He struggled… wait. There used to be a door there. Now, it was just infinite blackness. But he wasn't concerned with that. He sat before a picture with himself and her. Curse his tiny self for his terrible drawing skills. He knew it was Kairi. She had short, messy hair. She had a round face. But there were no distinctive features unlike the one she drew of him and his spiky hair.

What color was her hair? How dark or light was her skin? Did she have brown or green eyes?

Sora looked around. There was none of Riku. What did Riku look like? Was he tall or short? Did he have light or dark hair? What kind of nose did he have?

As Sora was exploring the island, trying to drag up old memories, DiZ and Aqua kept their space. He knew they were talking about him, like they had a million times. They were worried. And rightly so.

This was what was left of his home. Even if he did find a way back, there was nowhere for him to go. What would he do? Follow Aqua? What happened to everyone on Destiny Island? Did they die when the darkness took their home? They weren't here, that's for sure.

Did that mean Riku and Kairi were gone? The two people who he kept alive in his memory for so long… all for nothing?

Even so… he couldn't cry. He couldn't bring himself to mourn this place. He didn't have any connection to it. He barely remembered the people his heart connected to. The darkness was very quick to shroud them, even as the memories were remembered. But, he was still very young last time he was here. Five years old. And Sora knew more than ten years had passed since that time.

He sat on the beach, letting the water lap over his bear feet. He tried to feel sad, but he just felt… disappointed. If his home had landed here then maybe… he just wasn't meant to see the light. What if the three of them were supposed to be the darkness? This was where they were brought. This is where they would stay for eternity.

Maybe he could accept that. He was okay with where he was. He had… family here. And maybe they would eventually accept it, too.

Something hit his foot. Curiously, he looked at the object that made to sink back into the ocean. It was pushed back against his foot. He quickly grabbed it before it was pulled away from him. A bottle? It was covered in rotted barnacles and algae. Kind of gross. It made it difficult to see what was inside.

Sora pulled open the cork and shook the bottle until a neatly tied scroll fell onto his lap. More paper for DiZ. He wondered what was written on it. Sora unfurled the scroll that fought to stay curled to read.

"Thinking of you, wherever you are.
We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.
Now I will step forward to realize this wish.
And who knows:
starting a new journey may not be so hard,
or maybe it has already begun.
There are many worlds, but they share the same sky —
one sky, one destiny."

-Kairi

Kairi. It was from Kairi. He laughed, feeling a tear prickle in his eye. Kairi! She remembered him! This had to be for him. Right? Who else?

Then, he couldn't see. His eyes burned as he flinched away from the bright light that opened up before him. What was that? He got to his feet, realizing it was a door. It was a door to the light! He didn't have time to question how. He had to get Aqua and DiZ before it closed.

He ran down the beach and saw they were running towards him to investigate. It was hard not to see that light. He grinned so wide, his face hurt. Clutching the letter, he grabbed them as he met them, dragging them towards the door.

"Sora, what's going on? What is that?" Aqua asked, wincing as they came closer.

"It's the Door to Light!" he exclaimed. "This is it! We're going home!"

Psst! This isn't the end!