Roxas stepped through the shadow and into a blinding light; he blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. The girls were besides him and the three of them looked around them, they were in, well honestly he didn't know where they were. It was featureless light; there were what seemed like waves of mist moving around them in swirling patterns but other than that there was nothing, no sky, no ground, no horizon; nothing. A man knelt besides Sora, he wore a heavy ret coat and he had dark brown hair, there was a sword slung over one shoulder. He was whispering something to Sora who was staring at the man in shock.

Roxas looked at Namine and Kairi, and realized they were staring at the man as well. "Who is he?"

"I think…he's Sora's father, but he's…dead…I think?"

Namine nodded agreement; she looked just as baffled as Kairi sounded. Sora suddenly threw his arms around the man's neck and began sobbing. For a moment the man paused, then put his arms around Sora and held him close, he stood, taking Sora up with him in his arms and turned to face them. He eyed Roxas for a moment, and Roxas saw the same blue eyes as Sora's staring at him from a much older face. Was this Sora's father? He'd never met his uncle, and he didn't really remember the photos of him around the house well enough to be certain.

"You're Tara's boy, Roxas." Roxas nodded, the man considered. "Then the blonde with Leon was Cloud. I'm glad the boys found family."

"You are Sora's father!" Kairi exclaimed.

He blinked and smiled, it was Leon's smile. "Yes, I doubt you remember me Kairi, the last time I saw you I think you were seven."

"I remember you," Namine said quietly. "You used to throw Leon out into the waves and then go chase him down with Sora on your shoulders."

"Impressive memory," Sora's father said with a smile, he looked down at Sora. "Sora's not all back yet, he's recovering."

"Recovering?" Kairi said worriedly, Roxas was worried too but he was just going to wait.

Auron shrugged. "He was shadow lost for a moment, he nearly killed Leon and now he's coming out of it. Think of it like the crash after pulling an all night on nothing but caffeine."

"Wait he nearly killed Leon?"

Auron blinked, scowling at the question. "Don't make me repeat myself boy."

Roxas looked at Sora, no wonder he was acting like a vegetable. Riku had died in front of him apparently, and now he'd also tried to kill Leon when…what on earth was shadow lost?

His uncle seemed to see the question. "Shadow lost is when your heart loses hope and is overwhelmed by your emotions. It can happen to anyone, but especially to those with a close affinity with the world's heart. Like you bearers. When it happens you begin to become a Heartless, and if you're not brought back it can become permanent. Sora was lucky that Leon was there."

"Where are we now?" Namine asked.

Auron smiled. "Can't you feel it?"

Kairi's eyes brightened in comprehension. "We're inside the world's heart?"

"Close, but not quite," Auron said. "Think of this like an artery or vein, we're safe here from the Heartless and Xehanort, and we can even get to the world's heart from here, which is what we'll be doing shortly."

"Wait, you're taking us directly to the heart?" Roxas said, "just like that?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes there is, this seems too easy."

Auron snorted. "That's because it is, Xehanort will realize what we're doing as soon as we arrive and will try to kill you. That's why I'm going with you, he won't be expecting me."

"Why not, haven't you been here all along?" Namine asked.

"Because he's already killed me," Auron said deadpan.

"What?" Sora finally spoke, looking up at his father in confusion.

Auron's face softened. "Welcome back," he suddenly looked very pained as he let Sora down. "Remember when I left you and your mother?"

Sora nodded. "She was crying when you walked out the door, I remember Leon yelling how much he hated you."

Auron nodded his expression saddening. "Yes, I was doing a favor for the King; we'd known each other as boys when we'd studied together. He asked me to keep an eye on Xehanort, I'm sorry to say I didn't realize what was happening until after he'd already trapped me. When I tried to resist, he killed me."

"But," Sora reached out a hand, touching his father's face lightly. "You're right here."

"Yes, let me finish." Auron sounded so gentle when he was talking to Sora, it was almost like an entirely different person. "This world's heart showed me something when I died, outcomes for Xehanort's plans. If I stayed in limbo, trapped inside the world's heart like I have been, then I would have a chance to redeem myself and improve the chances that you would succeed in resealing the heart. So I chose to wait here, all these years, for you to come to me, and now that you're here we're going to stop Xehanort."

"But, Dad, you're alive talking to us, you can't be dead." Sora almost sounded desperate. Roxas couldn't really fault him, he tried to imagine if it were his father talking to him like this and knew he'd be just as pained.

"It's too hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it, and we don't have the time either. Come on, all of you."

Auron reached out his hand and another pillar of shadows appeared, he gestured for them to move through it. "This will take us where we need to go, hurry before Xehanort feels it."

They all moved through without question, and came out in a large chamber with a raised dais before them that had a glowing portal sitting atop it, flashing every color conceivable. The same piping that they had seen before ran all around them, hissing with pressurized steam. Auron strode quickly up the dais and stood before the portal, raising his hand to it. Tendrils of light shot from his fingers and pierced the portal.

"Quickly," then he turned, closing his fist and the portal with it. "We're not alone."

Roxas turned with Sora and the girls to see Heartless coming towards them, these looked like much more dangerous Heartless somehow, they were not just black shadows, they had white streaks in them and they seemed almost human in their movements, there was hardly a trace of the animalistic nature that most Heartless displayed.

Auron stepped past them, throwing his coat off and drawing his sword with a grim smile. "You lot again, you beat me last time, but I'm a little different now."

He didn't break his gaze with the Heartless as he spoke to them, "you four, use your keyblades, open that portal and go through. I'll make sure you are not followed."

"What about the fifth bearer?" Roxas asked, edging towards the portal, keeping one eye on the approaching Heartless.

"Trust your heart boy; it will take care of everything."

Sora was already pointing his keyblade at the portal, Namine and Kairi joined him, Roxas snapped his two blades up and the same light that had come from Auron's fingertips shot from the tips of their weapons and into the portal. It began to shimmer, the colors solidifying, behind him he heard the Heartless screech and heard the sound of metal grating on metal but didn't look as the portal stopped flashing its rainbow of colors and turned into a doorway of pure light. Namine and Kairi went through first, Roxas turned to grab Sora.

"Come on."

"But Dad's—"

"Sora he said you had to do this, come on!"

Roxas pulled Sora through with him, the girls were already standing the white room, there was no exit it seemed, the portal was not behind them, and above them there was a keyhole, a giant keyhole outlined in shimmering gold light.

"I think," Namine said, pointing at the ground. "We have to stand on these pads."

She and Kairi both stood on one, drawing their keyblades, Sora and Roxas each took another; they pointed their keys up at the keyhole. Nothing happened, what was going on?

"Roxas, your other keyblade, put it on the last pad." Sora said suddenly.

Roxas nodded, moving over to the last pad and placing his keyblade down on it gently before returning to his own pad.

"Okay," Sora said, he sounded very confident suddenly, he was staring at the last pad expectantly; "again."

They all pointed upwards again, there was a rumbling and Roxas nearly fell as his pad rose up from the floor. The others were all doing the same.

"Riku!"

Roxas head snapped around at Kairi's cry, Riku was standing there holding Roxas' second blade, smiling confidently.

"I told you there was a reason he had two." He said smugly.

Sora nodded, and looked up at the keyhole; light was shining through it now as the five of them continued to rise up towards it, Roxas smiled. It was going to work, he could feel it.

"No! Damn you bearers, you will not steal this from me!"

"Sora!"

Xehanort stood there atop Sora's pillar holding him up by the throat, slowly squeezing the life out of him.

Sora reached out a hand. "Don—don't move—it wi—will ruin everything." He gasped.

Roxas couldn't just stand there though, he had to move.

"Don't!" Shouted another voice, a flash of red and black tore across the white room and Xehanort howled in agony as his arm was severed from his shoulder; the flash of red and black came back and Xehanort went flying, Sora grabbed his keyblade hurriedly and pointed it back towards the keyhole. Roxas stole a look and saw Xehanort floating in the air, with Auron standing between him and the rising pedestals.

"You, I killed you." Xehanort said his voice shocked and angry.

"Keep your hands off my son." Auron growled, he was floating too but at this point Roxas didn't think anything would shock him.

"Die phantom!" Xehanort screamed, shadowy tendril shot from his good arm and engulfed Auron, Roxas was certain that his uncle had just died again, but then something passed through Xehanort's back. He looked stunned, the shadow's dissipated and revealed Auron floating directly in front of Xehanort, a cold smile on his face as his sword rested between his opponent's shoulder blades.

"You killed me once, you're a fool if you think I'd let it happen again, especially with my son at stake."

Xehanort tried to grab Auron but he spun, delivering a shattering kick to Xehanort's jaw, sending him falling to the ground that Roxas only now realized was so far beneath them. Had they really been raised that far?

Auron looked up at the five of them. "Seal the damned thing, and let's go home."

Roxas felt a wind picking up around them, he closed his eyes against the sudden gust, and he felt the keyblade shuddering in his grasp. He opened his eyes to see a light fire from its tip that was joined in the center of the pillars by the other four beams from Sora, Namine, Riku, and Kairi. The beams combined and shot straight upwards into the keyhole. The room began to shudder, then there was an impossibly loud click, the wind began to die down. Then the room was plunged into darkness, Roxas cried out but no sound came out, then there was another click, and a pillar of light engulfed him, four more snaps revealed the others. There was a pause, and a sixth light illuminated Auron, he was smiling.

"Well, hang on everyone."

Roxas wasn't sure what they were supposed to hang onto, but a moment later he felt his body begin to rise, the others were doing the same. Then there was a blinding flash and he lost consciousness.

"Where are we?"

"You're outside, and the heart is sealed." Auron answered Sora's question.

"We did it?" Roxas asked disbelievingly.

"Of course we did it." Riku said with a grin, Roxas blinked and looked at him uncertainly.

"Are you—"

"Alive and well, thanks for keeping me in your hearts."

Auron snorted. "You took a big risk kid."

Riku smiled and shrugged. "I didn't know if it would work or not, but if one of us had to die I didn't want it to be Sora."

Auron nodded, "well it worked out. Leon and the others should be here shortly I—"

He stopped suddenly and looked down, a sad smile appearing on his face. Roxas followed his gaze and his eyes widened, holes of light were appearing in Auron's body, and they were growing larger.

"Dad," Sora cried desperately, running to his father and wrapping his arms around him. Auron patted his head gently.

"Now don't start crying, I suspected this was going to happen when the heart was sealed."

"But, Leon—"

"Will understand, besides I don't think he ever forgave me for leaving your mother."

Auron knelt in front of Sora, there were tears in his eyes but he looked proud as he continued to fade away.

"I'm very proud of you Sora, and Leon, make sure he knows that. I'll tell your mother how much you've grown kiddo, I lov—"

He didn't get to finish as the last of his face faded away into nothingness and he vanished entirely, leaving Sora clutching an empty red coat.

Kairi went to him and wrapped her arms around him, he began crying and held her tightly, Riku too went to Sora's side as well and tried to comfort him. Namine and Roxas stood together; she was looking at Riku with a smile. He looked at her suspiciously. When they spoke it was in a whisper.

"Did you know he wouldn't die?"

"I knew he'd save Sora's life."

"You let me think that he was going to die." Roxas said accusingly.

She smiled at him fondly. "What would you have done if I'd told you everything?"

"I—I…." He trailed off, he didn't have an answer.

She leaned over and kissed him, smiling as she whispered. "Exactly."