Authors Note: Hey Everyone! Sorry it has been so long! I had summer classes that turned out to be more of a pain than I thought they would be! Thanks for being patient. I hope to have some time this weekend to maybe put up another chapter, but this semester is proving to be crazier than the last, but I will try my best.

Heads up: There may be some mini spoilers to 358/2 just to let you all know in case you are still playing it/don't want to be spoiled.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters. I just like to write.

Chapter 3: Hopes and Promises

Beyond the Path without you,

is a forgotten promise to keep,

We may have walked side by side,

But now we go back to back,

And though our paths may not cross,

all paths are connected somewhere,

When I arrive at where you are,

we may not appear to be as we were,

But we'll make another promise to keep,

Dream Sequence:

"On the beach stood a tall thin woman facing the ocean. Her shoulder-length blue hair swayed in the gentle breeze of the ocean. Her stern face was creased into a heavy frown as her fierce blue eyes stared out onto the sea. A child no more than four years of age rushed out onto the beach, shrieking in pure delight. His spiky hair bounced as he ran, his blue his shimmering in awe and happiness. The boy called her name, but it was drowned out by the sound of the ocean. The woman turned around, her frown now turning into a forced smile. She bent over and embraced the child, holding him tight. Tears started to leak from her eyes as she gripped tighter. She whispered something into his ear, and let go. Getting up and brushing herself off, the woman started to walk away. The boy stood there for a moment, looking confused and disoriented, then started to run after her. She put her arms out to block him as if to say no. Without saying another word, she jumped into her orange gummy ship and started the engine. Closing the hatch to the ship, she rode off. The child stood there, dumbfounded, pure sorrow was etched in his face, but he had his promise, they would see each other again.

That was the last time the boy ever saw her."

It was dark again, she felt nothing but warmth. She was home in her own bed, snuggled against a warm, comfy pillow. Tomorrow would be Saturday, and she had plans with Riku and Sora to go back to the island. She didn't want to wake up, for it she did, that would mean that her day would have to start. She groaned, not wanting to wake up, but then….

"Kairi! Open your eyes!"

THUD!

Kairi woke up with a start.

"So sorry m'dear," whispered the old wizard, "I was trying to move a chest but I seemed to have lost my grip and dropped in on the floor." Yawning slightly, Kairi tried to focus in on the direction of the old wizard's voice.

"No worries, how long have I been asleep?" asked Kairi sleepily, "I don't recall ever falling asleep."

"Only about an hour, but you needed it, you looked exhausted," said Merlin.

It was then that Kairi's focus came into better view that she noticed she was in a peculiar house. The room was very dark but was illuminated by candles and an old fireplace that was located across from the bed. There was old furniture aligned against the whole circumference of the circular house. Some of the furniture floated into the air, bouncing about as if it was held by strings. The whole house smelled burning cinders and cinnamon. Kairi tried to move to get up, but it was then that she noticed she was still holding Sora's hand subconsciously. Merlin smiled at this, "You never let go of his hand while you slept, and at one point I found your head resting on his stomach, a smile never left your face."

Kairi sat there dazed at what the old wizard had said. She of course always had feelings for Sora and also some slight feelings for Riku, but always held back for she was unsure if either of them felt the same way. But then, before she could say how she really felt, that fateful day with the storm hit, and everything had changed. She forgot and remembered Sora, but in remembering him, remembered how truly special he was to her. After the whirlwind adventure, when they had all settled back home, Riku had asked her out, and felt as if she could not refuse. But now, it was if all those old feelings for Sora were about to overflow. The bottom line was Kairi always felt safe with Sora.

"I will be back m'dear! I must go see what Leon and the others are up to. It is important that we all meet up and find the King." said Merlin. And with that a flash of light appeared from his wand, and he was gone.

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Axel woke up dazed; he sat up and rubbed his head where a bump had been planted as he collided with a tree during the wild escape from Sora's home. "Oh man, what a mess." Axel got up and brushed himself off, his eyes darting searching for Roxas. It was when his eyes shifted right that he saw a figure face down on the stone street.

"Roxas!" Axel exclaimed as he ran over to the spiky haired then shape that was his friend.. He pulled the hero's nobody over so he was facing up, and checked for vitals. Luckily Roxas was breathing, although it was somewhat shallow, it was still clear and distinct. "Roxas, Roxas wake up! Come on partner!" Axel cried. After a few more shakes, a light moan escaped Roxas's lips, his eyes fluttered open to reveal bright blue eyes that matched Sora's in hue.

"I must be dreaming," Roxas said groggily, "You are not here anymore. You disappeared long go when you were helping Sora."

"What if I told you, it wasn't a dream? That is really is me, in the flesh." said Axel gently. Roxas gripped onto Axel's arm, his eyes widen in shock.

"AXEL," cried Roxas and with that he shot up. "It's really you. But how..?"

"I don't know really," Axel replied, shaking his head, "I just heard a voice call out from the darkness and boom, I was back. I knew that the first thing I wanted to do if I ever found my way back was to see my best friend again.

"Axel..." cried Roxas.

"Oh come on Roxas, don't get all mushy on me." Axel teased. He stood up and looked around. "It looks as if we are back in Twilight Town, but, how did we get here?" He looked back down at Roxas, who had started to shaking. "Hey partner, what's wrong? You're are not now crying are you?"

"Axel, I can't feel Sora, something is wrong?" Roxas replied in distress.

"What do you mean you can't feel Sora?" asked Axel.

"Perhaps it is best that I explain things, for once again, I am the one that helped create this mess," came a voice from behind. Both Axel and Roxas turned around to see Namine staring at them, her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Namine, what did you do this time?" asked Axel, his voice tinged with annoyance. Namine hesitated and bowed her head in shame.

"Namine, it's okay, just tell us what happened," said Roxas, trying to make his voice sound as comforting as possible.

"I am sorry," Namine spoke in barely a whisper, "you see I went to go see Sora, I could sense the dark clouds in his heart. I was ran to the secret place as fast as I could, but before I got there, he spoke to my heart. He told me he was running out of time, and that he wanted me to shatter his heart. He told me he remembered everything, about the castle, about my powers, and our promise..." she paused, the tears now falling freely from her face."He begged me to do it. He told me that his heart contained a huge secret and that he must not get that secret."

"He..?" Questioned Axel.

Namine shook her head. "He didn't say who, but after a lot of begging, I did it. I shattered his heart and scattered it across all the hearts are connected to his heart," Namine exclaimed,"I didn't want to, really, I don't know if we can ever get it back the way it was.." With that Roxas got up, walked over, and hugged Namine.

"It's okay, you did what you were asked. You did the right thing. And he left us clues. Everything will be okay, I promise," Roxas said soothingly. Namine sniffed and looked up into Roxas's eyes.

"Good job lover boy," Axel teased, "way to be a ladies man." With that Namine smiled.

"Don't cry, please.....I really liked it when you used to smile.."

"Roxas, thank you. There is.... one more thing," said Namine as she pulled away, "When Sora's heart was scattered, something else came back into being, something that wasn't suppose to exist in the first place." Both Axel and Roxas stared at her puzzled, but puzzled turned into shock as a lone figure stepped out from behind a nearby building.

"Roxas, Axel, it's good to see you again, I missed you."

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Back at Merlin's house, Kairi waited, her hand never leaving Sora's.

"What is going on?" She wondered, "I hope Merlin and the others get back soon."

Kairi's thoughts were broken when she heard a bang outside. "Who's there?" She called out, hoping that it was Merlin.

"There you guys are, I was looking all over for you," came a voice.

"Riku!" Kairi exclaimed.

"In the flesh," Riku replied. With that he walked through the cloth door. "Man what a dump. Where the hell are we Kairi?"

"Rikku, this is Merlin's place. I found Sora, but.." Kairi said looking away sadly.

"He lost his heart huh?" Riku sighed, "Well more work for me then I guess. He won't be happy but it will have to do," Riku retored, a smirk started to creep onto his face.

"Riku what are you talking about?" asked Kairi now standing up, she let go of Sora's hand.

"You did a good job playing the role of the puppet, but your part in this is over. I just need one more thing from you. I need you to hand over Sora," said Riku evilly, now summoning the Souleater.

"No, I won't let you take him. What has gotten into you?" cried Kairi as she summoned her pink keyblade.

"You really are slow. I am not the real Riku, just a replica made long ago. My master fixed me, and made me stronger. Your Riku left awhile ago on some made up journey," explained Riku,"Now hand Sora over." With that, Riku pulled out a doll that looked very similar to Kairi. "You like this? It was a gift from Hades as a welcome back present. It lets me control the will of any person I want. It was all too easy." Riku held out the doll and squeezed it's ribs slightly, a dark aura surrounded the doll as it was being squeezed and Kairi winced over in pain. She felt her feet move as she backed away from Sora.

"Riku, please don't do this," Kairi pleaded.

"Like I said before, I am not the real thing. I never was," said Riku, now walking over to Sora, picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder. "It has been fun. Oh and here," said Riku throwing the doll at Kairi, "You are no longer useful. Thanks for handing him over." With that, Riku summoned a dark portal, and walked through, leaving behind a devastated Kairi.

Author's End Notes: DOM DOM DOM! (I just had to do that for fun, just once) I had so much fun writing this chapter! I am sorry if there are grammatical errors/it seemed very rushed, I was trying to get this out of my head as soon as possible and to you guys. I feel terrible for not updating. I will try to go back and fix any of the mistakes when I have a chance. Thanks for reading!

Oh and if anyone can guess who the mystery character is with Axel, Namine and Roxas, I will send you an excerpt from the next chapter (when I get the chance to write it) before it's posted! (And brownie points!) (Or who the person is from the memory at the beginning of the chapter)

Thanks guys!

Lady Dragoness~

P.S. So I was looking through