Author's Note

I'm finally back with a new chapter! I know, I know, I'm terrible. But I had finals at university and a really hectic week afterward of moving back and going to the hospital because of my surgery and all sorts of stuff. But, life is settling down now, so expect some more frequent updates. I'm also writing another story on this site, but I'll get into that after the chapter is over. We also get a new style of section break starting in this very chapter, woo!

So, enough waiting. Go read this baby and leave me a review with all your thoughts. Your words are very helpful in the creation of this story! I will see you all very soon!

Enjoy!

Chapter III

Briefings and New Allies

Sora walked through the metallic hallways of the Highwind. It was massive on the inside because of gummi block magic. The metal of the floor was cold against his bare feet. They had been flying through space for a couple days now, mostly catching up and sharing stories. They should be arriving at Radiant Garden soon, and the thought of visiting his old friends made him smile. As he approached the common area, he smelled wafts of cooking food. His stomach growled in response, and he began to run, his feet thudding into the floor.

He slid into the kitchen abruptly, his plaid pajamas flapping. His friends were sitting around the table in the center of the kitchen, eating breakfast. He sat on the open stool next to King Mickey.

"Oho! Mornin' Sora," Mickey greeted happily. He cut some eggs, flooding his food with yellow. "Did you just wake up?"

Kairi snickered at Sora, pointing to his hair. It was a tangled mess of brown. "Hey! I haven't showered yet," Sora responded indignantly. Kairi laughed a bit more, covering her mouth.

"Here ya go, Sora," Goofy said, plodding over and sitting a plate of food in front of the boy. Sora's cerulean eyes lit up.

"Ah! My favorites!" Sora exclaimed, forgetting his embarrassment. French toast with peanut butter and side of scrambled eggs with hot sauce. "Goofy, I missed your cooking." The teen ravenously devoured his food, silverware clinking loudly, finishing it within a few minutes. He let out a burp—much to everyone's disgusted amusement—and stretched, then yawned in delight.

"Geez, Sora, maybe you should try cooking your own—"

"No!" Donald and Goofy shouted together. "Not again!"

"Wait, what happened?" Riku asked, drinking some coffee. Sora went to stop the two, tackling Goofy to the ground.

"He set the kitchen on fire with a Fira spell because the oven was 'too slow' for him," Donald explained angrily, ruffling his tail feathers.

"Hey, that totally wasn't my fault! Besides, your feathers were everywhere on this ship," Sora shouted back at the duck as he stood up. Donald just rolled his eyes. Kairi and Riku both smirked, trying to contain their laughter.

As people finished their breakfast—and Sora completed his seconds—Mickey magically animated the dishes, having them clean themselves. The broom in the corner and rags also came to life to begin cleaning. Bubbles sparkled and floated around. Everyone but Sora left, who was entranced by the magic. The broom angrily swatted at Sora, forcing him to leave so they could clean. He shuffled out quickly and into the warm common room.

Kairi and Riku were sitting on far ends of the couch. Sora plopped between them and laid his head in Riku's lap and threw his feet out over Kairi. They both just sighed, and didn't even try to fight it. He dug out the remote from within the bowels of the couch and wiped dirt off it, snapped it at the television, and turned it on. Some comedy about a young magician who turned people into cats was playing.

"Attention all passengers! You will be arriving to your destination within one hour." The automated voice cut in and out seamlessly.

"I can't wait to see my friends!" Sora shouted, thrusting his fists out. Riku barely dodged one. Sora blinked a few times and whipped his head back to look up at Riku. "Oh, I mean, my friends other than you guys."

"Go on, dork, go shower before they question who you are anymore," Riku said. Sora stuck his tongue out before rolling off his friends and running back to his bedroom. The door swooshed and he was already leaving his pajamas and underwear on the floor with his other clothes.

"You're a mess, you know that, right?" Roxas said, disgusted.

"So?"

"Try taking care of yourself for once. Clean something, do something."

"Why, though? It's just clothes," Sora responded. He turned the metal dials and water jetted out. The shower was hot and steaming. He stepped in and sang out loud like character out of Wonderland.

"Sora …"

"Hmm?" Sora wondered.

Silence answered him. He stopped for a moment, concerned, but let it go. He was too excited to worry right now. As the Highwind plummeted to the world like a heavy drop of rain, Sora finished his shower, dressed in his favorite adventuring clothes, and left his cozy bedroom. He half-jogged through the halls, his fingertips grazing the metallic walls. He fluidly slid on magic into the common room, where the rest of his friends were gather.

Kairi stood staring out of a window down at Radiant Garden. In the reflection, he saw her violet eyes grow with wonder. He bounded up behind her and took in the scene as well. The sprawling city of Radiant Garden had grown since he last saw it. Down the hills from the marketplace, a large residential district was forming.

"We've needed more room for people who've lost their worlds," Mickey said from behind him. He turned around.

"What else has changed?"

"The castle is being renovated, and we've built a large travel port. Maleficent's break on the world order has caused travel between the worlds to become more common, and much easier. So now we have a large hangar," Mickey explained. Sora scratched his head.

"So has everything become common knowledge?" Riku asked.

"Basically," Mickey replied. "But it's still hard for people to accept. Listen, there's more to discuss, but not right now. Take today to have some fun and catch up with your friends, guys."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi all nodded. The ship was landing, thrusters softening the impact. Amidst the shaking, Kairi stumbled, falling into Sora. He caught her, his hands wrapping around her. He blushed softly, helping her back upright and letting go.

"Thanks, Sora," Kairi said with a smile. He smiled and tried not to stare at her eyes.

"No prob, Kai."

The Highwind landed with a thud, jarring everyone on their feet. They walked into the boarding room as the ramp descended from the ship. Warm, fresh air rushed in, blasting Sora's damp hair back. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy led them out and into some cheerful shouting. The second Sora's foot had hit some pavement, a small, excitable body crashed into him, squeezing the breath out of him.

"Sora!" He nearly toppled over as Yuffie hugged him tightly. She smelled like gunpowder and steel, laced with vanilla. He hugged her in return, the two of them teeter-tottering in place, spinning slowly.

"I missed you, Yuffie!" he exclaimed. After another couple moments, Yuffie let go and immediately clamped onto Kairi. Sora laughed as Leon approached. He ran and hugged Leon.

"Hah, hey there, Sora," he said, returning the hug very briefly and letting go, fixing his bomber jacket. Aerith, Cid, and Merlin all walked out from the back of Merlin's house. It had grown in size, adding on a few stories. The back lot was conveniently large enough for the Highwind to stay where it was. Sora reunited with all of his friends. Yuffie was begging Riku to spar with her, Kairi and Aerith were talking about Radiant Garden, and Cid was arguing with Merlin about something Sora wasn't understanding. Cloud just stood in the doorway, silently watching them all.

"I swear, Cid, do not make me turn you into a p-p-penguin again, by my beard!" Merlin shouted. Cid gruffed and waved him off, heading back into the house. Merlin waved his wand a bolt of blue energy followed Cid. A loud squawk came from in the house. Sora gasped in surprise. Cloud rolled his eyes while Yuffie snickered. Sora chuckled, scratching his chest and looking around. He was happy to be back. Friends had become a necessary part of him, his power and happiness, and it was good to be surrounded by those exact things. Friends were powerful, and he felt as powerful as ever.

King Mickey cast a loud noisy magic to quiet everyone down, sparks of fire and metal fizzling out of existence. Yuffie jumped and clung onto Sora's back. He held her and listened to the mouse.

"Okay everyone! The plan is we'll have a meetin' tomorrow. I need to get back to the castle tonight and grab some things. Until then, just have fun and relax." Mickey's announcement was met with positive energy, Yuffie screaming—much to Sora's ear's demise—about a movie night. Sora argued that he wanted to practice fighting them to get ready for another adventure.

"But what about Kairi? She doesn't have much experience! She can't handle us," Yuffie said.

"Which is why we should traaaain," Sora mewled. He summoned his Keyblade and arced it in a throw at Cloud. He merely sidestepped it, letting it clang into the pavement in a shower of light. Sora summoned it back.

"C'mon Sora," Kairi said, brushing her hair back over her shoulder. "We should take one last night to relax." Sora looked at her, puffing his smooth cheeks and drooping his eyes into a pout. She smirked and shook her head in defiance.

"Aw geez, Kairi, fine," he said, dismissing his weapon.

"So, Yuffie, can you tell us about what all has changed?"

The trio of islanders were ushered into Merlin's house one by one after the others. Donald and Goofy followed in last. The Highwind's thrusters kicked the ship off the ground, blasting them all with hot air. It shuttled off into space. They gathered in the new, large living room, all taking different seats. Yuffie's small and soft frame landed in Sora's lap, and she leaned back into him. And for the next couple hours, they all caught up, chatted and exchanged stories, and explained all the changes to happen to Radiant Garden.

Sora was at his home away from home, and it felt so good in his heart of hearts, that he began to cry.

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About a week ago, in a world far away from Radiant Garden, a girl named Merideth sat very still in a wooden chair, watching a curtain flap in a weak wind seeping in through the shattered window of the old cottage she was in. Mindless, emotionless, she stared at the dark red velvet of the curtain. Next to the window was a table with a glass container, pristine, out of place in this wreck of a home. Inside was half of her heart, swirling in light slowly, dancing, twirling, emanating the things she could not feel anymore.

He walked out from behind her, heeled boots clocking into the aged wood of the floor. He knelt in front of her, looking into her blank, dark green eyes. He bit the inside of his cheek and smiled.

"Merideth, who am I?" he asked, his voice oily and smooth, deep and dark.

"Master," she responded simply.

"Good. You serve me. And who do I ally myself with?"

"Maleficent, and her other allies," she said.

"Yes. And who do I really serve, Merideth?" he asked, taking her hand. She felt his lineless hand smoothly graze over hers. His dark eyes penetrated her, and she felt ice sink through her, her breath catching sort. He brushed her soft blonde hair from her cheek, his skin lingering against her own.

"You serve the Crimson King."

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As Merideth's Master stroked her cheek, far away in the World That Never Was Alexia was getting ready to attend the grand meeting. She brushed her silver, shoulder-length hair in her small bedroom. The room was void of many belongings. She had some clothes in a corner, along with her naginata and black cloak. Her simple brown pants and dark, blue shirt were enough to keep her warm in this cold castle. She laced up some black, worn boots and rose from the bed. She walked to her stuff and readied the cloak around her neck. The long fabric draped and kissed the back of her heels.

Her hands shook from anxiety. She moved the hair from over her right eye, and felt the scar that ran down from her forehead to the middle of her cheek. Tears slowly filtered out of her, and then those tears became retching sobs, uncontrollable in their creation.

"Mom … why aren't you here?" she called out to the empty room. She smashed her fist into the wall and a flare of fire and energy charred the steel. She slumped to her knees and held her wet face in her hands.

"Why are you all gone?"

She knelt there for a while, ruminating on her past, feeling the phantom pains of her long-gone family. Minutes later, she grabbed her belongings and ascended the castle. Her outlined mission—which she had spent the last days going over and over in her rattled brain—was simple: gain the trust of Maleficent's enemies. Be one of them, and be Maleficent's spy. She thought back to the past few weeks she had spent here, when she had met Maleficent.

"I can bring them back, you know," she had said in her icy, shallow voice. Her cloaked arm cradled a broken, lonely Alexia.

"R-really?" she croaked in the desert. Mirages of her family danced before her, then they dissolved into watery silhouettes, fading forever away.

Fast forward to now, and she was fighting with new resolve. But how could this witch bring back the dead? How could she reverse years of failure and misery? How could she fix things that had always been broken, both inside Alexia's soul and memories?

She could fix it with Kingdom Hearts.
Partway through the meeting, she slashed a rift of darkness into being, and walked the lines between worlds, as lonely as she had always been. Fire burned passionately within her fractured heart.

"I'm coming mom … I promise I won't fail you this time."

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"Now, now, come here, m'boy," Merlin said to Sora the next day. Sora had just finished sparring in the back lot with Yuffie and Tifa. It had proven useful to fight both, one that uses close-range combat, and the other from afar. He wiped the sweat from his brow and happily followed Merlin up an uneven, winding staircase to the third floor. Kairi was already there, waiting for them. Merlin coughed, ruffling his long white beard. He knocked on the door in a syncopated manner and then oinked at it three times. A lock clicked on the other side and the door swung open.

Sora and Kairi followed him into a massive study, filled with huge piles of books, all pouring over each other as if heaps of dragon's hoard. Merlin hiked over them, slipping and flailing along the way. Sora and Kairi did the same, laughing as they slid down from the top of a particularly steep dune. They crashed into the foot of Merlin's desk.

"Watch it, watch it!" he snapped with a whistled voice. "Now, there's something I need to see."

Sora and Kairi glanced at each other, and then back to the elder wizard.

"I want to see your Nobodies," he said promptly. He raised his bushy eyebrows and crossed his thin arms over his chest.

"Well, Merlin, that's kinda up to them," Sora said. He scratched the side of his head and gave Kairi a sideways look.

"Yeah, we just can't make them appear," she added.

"Well, I assume they can hear me." Merlin waved a wand, and a lot of his books started shuffling along the corner of the room, cleaning themselves and filing away. Slowly, they revealed a large wardrobe, dusty and carved intricately.

"Roxas. Naminé. I need to see you, it's really important to my studies." The wardrobe waddled over to the three of them. Sora ran his fingers through his messy hair, studying the cabinet as if expecting a large Heartless to escape from it. Suddenly, the familiar auras of blue and gold erupted from the teens' chests. Then, a ghostly image of Roxas and Naminé appeared, standing in front of their Somebodies. Sora could glimpse Merlin through Roxas. As if Roxas could sense this, he turned and scowled at Sora, before Merlin's voice pulled everyone's attention.

"Hmm, interesting," he said moving a hand through Roxas. He glared at the old wizard, but held his tongue. "I-I-I do believe I have an idea."

The codgy wizard shuffled over to the wardrobe and chanted, releasing a magical lock off the handles. In a burst of billowing dust, the doors snapped open, and the twinkling of light appeared, like stars in a sky. All four of the teens peered in, and noticed hundreds of different keychains hanging or piled in the cabinet. Sora's eyes went wide with wonder.

"Merlin, are all those …"

"Yes, mhm, they are indeed Keychains for blades. I've been around a long time, sonny," he said, as he shifted through them. "And I have collected the remnants of the Great Keyblade War, and the splitting of the worlds. All of these have lost their masters, and yearn for a new one."

Kairi walked to the other side of Merlin and knelt down, studying each pinprick of light and metal. Then she looked to her other half, and her petite lips turned down in concern.

"But what does this have to do with Naminé and Roxas?"

"Why, it has a lot to do with them, Kairi. When they merged with you, they lost their ability to wield a Keyblade. Imagine, if you will, that their Keychains just merged into the hearts and souls of you and Sora," Merlin explained. He would rummage through the chains, hold one up uncomfortably close to his eyes, and then toss it back in. "However, if introduced to the right Keychain, there might be a chance for something truly remarkable to happen!"

Roxas crossed his arms in impatience, his face bent into frustration. Naminé put her ethereal hand on his shoulder and spoke to him quietly. He merely turned back to Merlin, his expression a touch softer than before. Sora felt the anger that Roxas felt through their shared heart. He felt a pang of worry and care for his Nobody.

"Merlin, just help them. I want Roxas happy," Sora said, feeling the guilt pulse through his body. "Naminé, too."

"Aha!" Merlin exclaimed. "These ought to do the trick." He straightened up and turned to the images of Roxas and Naminé. In his left hand he held a small Keychain, one swirling with dark and light, the two powers clashing back and forth. In front of Naminé he held a Keychain with a single black feather that was emanating a dark glow, and she could hear the soft whispers of faded memories coming from it.

"Go on, take them," Merlin encouraged. The two looked at each other, and then reached out in unison. When their hands clamped around the keychains, their bodies burst into light. Sora flinched away from the brightness of it, his retinas burning. When he looked back, the Nobodies were still standing there, but completely whole.

"Dude! Roxas!" Sora shouted in glee. He went to thrust a fist through him, but met muscled flesh.

"Hey! That hurt," Roxas snapped. He threw up an arm and smacked Sora.

"Hey! What was that for?" Sora said with a small smile. He chuckled a little bit, and Roxas smiled, too.

"I think you just needed one," he replied. Through the heart he shared with Sora, he could feel happiness, and it was something he hadn't felt in a long time. He glanced over to Naminé. She was examining her pale arms and hands. Roxas hugged her, and she returned it.

"I knew it!" Merlin shouted. "Now, you can only be whole by the power of the Keyblade. When those chains, or the blades themselves are touching you, you should be whole. Remember that."

Roxas nodded before letting go of Naminé and reaching an open hand out. In a brilliant flash, he summoned a powerful Keyblade he had seen before.

"Serendipitous Duo …" he whispered, gazing at the name etched into the hilt.

"Two Become One …" Sora muttered. They looked at the curve of the blade, notched by darkness and swirling with light. It glimmered and fluctuated as the two battled back and forth for control.

"The Artist's Memories," Naminé said to their side. Her Keyblade was a simple brown shaft that ran about three and half feet in length. At the end, there were no teeth, but instead, multitudes of flowing colors that poured from holes in the shaft. They spurted for about eight inches before becoming nonexistent. She gave the blade a wave, and a long paint-stroke of blue remained for a few moments, then a burst of ice shattered forward into Merlin's study.

"Whoa! Naminé, that's so cool!" Sora shouted, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Kairi hugged her as they continued to examine the blade.

"Merlin …" Roxas said, dismissing his Keyblade. He hooked the chain to his belt to keep him whole. "How can I become my own person?" Sora felt the guilt return, worried that his Nobody may never be who he wants to be.

"Well, m'boy, the answer is I just do not know," Merlin said. Roxas huffed and turned to leave, blasting Aero spells to carve a path through the books. Torn pages and binding freely blew away from him as he left the study.

"It's been killing him," Sora said glumly, watching as the flittering pages settled around the study. He picked at a loose stitch in his jacket, thinking over the last year of having Roxas dwell within him. His heart panged as he felt Roxas use a surge of Gravira against something outside.

"He's a fierce spirit full of yearning," Naminé said softly, painting hands with white gloves with her Keyblade. The hands animated and drifted around, cleaning the mess Roxas had created. "All he's ever known is being nothing and no one, incomplete, or unwanted." She walked away, leaving the Somebodies with Merlin.

"Those two are in a unique bind, I'm afraid. Able to feel yet do nothing. Able to live, yet not experience. Able to exist, but not with meaning." Merlin sat solemnly in his chair while the gloved hands faded into wisps of smoke.

"And we can't do anything to fix this?" Kairi asked.

"No."

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"I'm telling you guys," Sora said, then burped loudly, "that Cid is one of the best cooks ever." The entire group sat around the main room of Merlin's house. Sora sat snuggly in the corner of a bed, leaning against Yuffie while his feet prodded into Cloud. He shoveled traditional ramen into his mouth with little care. Yuffie gave his head a hard knock as if trying to rattle his brains into mush. He winced and slowed his eating.

"Well, His Majesty just landed in the main hangar we built up the mountain," Leon called out after turning a transmission off. He waltzed into the main room, holding his own bowl of ramen, steam filtering up into his thin face. He passed Riku, who was pacing back and forth by the window, the light trickled through its dirty pane to illuminate him. His knuckles cracked and flexed, red then white then back to red. Sora could tell he was impatient.

"Riku, come sit and eat with us," Kairi said. She laid lazily on the bed, having already finished only a small bit of food. Sora reached out and stabbed her with his foot. She punched his leg and he giggled while slurping on noodles.

"No, I'm fine," he replied, stopping to look out the window, hoping to see any sign of Mickey through its opaque face.

"C'mon, Riku, everything is going to be fine," Yuffie called out. "Now get some food. Sora's right, Cid is great."

"I said I'm fine."

Sora nudged Yuffie and gave her a look that said, "Just let it go." And she did. Sora understood what Riku was feeling. Right now, Maleficent was taking worlds one by one, forcing them into darkness while she kidnapped the Princesses. And if she was after them, she would surely be after Kairi, too. In that moment, amid the laughter from both himself and Kairi as they jabbed back and forth, he felt the presence of her pure heart, and knew he would do anything to protect it. He would not lose her, or Riku, again.

After finishing his second bowl, Sora poked Kairi again. "Hey, where are Roxas and Naminé? They should be here for this, right?" They shared a long look at each other then tried communicating to their Nobodies.

"Roxas, you should come here. King Mickey will be here soon."

There was a long pause, but then the glow of Roxas' voice filled Sora's mind and heart. "I know, I see him now. Naminé is also with me."

Sora gave Kairi a quick nod. Roxas sounded calmer than before, but his voice was tinted with sadness still, like stained fabric. Tifa, Aerith, and Leon sat around an old wooden table, while Merlin and Cid bickered over something at the main computer. Sora felt this hidden tension in the air. Everyone knew the gravity of the upcoming adventure, but it was like they all wanted to pretend it wasn't there, like they were smothering it with a blanket, hoping it would die on its own.

But of course, that wasn't the case. Nothing was ever easy.

The door swung open like an unfurling wing, and in walked the King of Disney Castle. Sora was confused, however, when two young women followed in behind him. The girl on his right was, as good as Sora could put it, stoic. She stood there without any trace of wonder or fear, or anything at all. Her blonde hair curled down past her shoulders, and her bangs hardly covered her deep, dark green eyes. She wore a red skirt over black pants and matching boots. A white scarf wrapped around her neck and mouth, draping down over the red of her top. She blankly stared ahead, as if peering at a world no one else could glimpse. Her strong hands gripped a duffel bag in one hand and a complex, mechanized bow in another.

The other young woman looked troubled. Her face—the right side having been hidden by her silver hair—looked sad, far away, as if her mind was floating off into another world. The rich amethyst of her eye darted back and forth between each person. A dark, battered cloak wrapped around her blue shirt and brown pants. Her boots were worn away as if she had hiked a thousand mountains. A large naginata was strapped to her back. And yet, hiding behind this timid looking girl, Sora could feel the heat of the sun, a fiery determination lurking somewhere deep inside of her.

Sora was broken from his trance when Mickey began to address them.

"Oh, you're all here already! Good," he stated. Roxas and Naminé walked in behind them. Naminé sat in an empty chair by the door, and Roxas followed her, standing behind her, as if a shield against the world.

"So, first I want to introduce to you all some people I came across back home. Like most of you, they just arrived at the loss of their worlds. But in these two I felt something worth noting, and they wanted to help fight back against the things they lost. I want to welcome Merideth and Alexia." The mouse motioned to them respectively. Merideth nodded slightly to them all while Alexia just gave them a thorough glance.

"Cid, the map, if you will," Mickey called out. The old man hollered something unintelligible back before the lights went out and a device in the ceiling buzzed to life. Suddenly, a large three-dimensional projection of hundreds and hundreds of stars came into being. Each dot of light a different world. One of them highlighted and then focused in. A tag with the name Radiant Garden appeared, showing the world zoomed in from all the others.

"Whoa …" Sora let out a long breath as he gazed in wonder at the technology. Yuffie slumped into him while they watched the world rotate slowly.

"As you all know, the Princesses of Hearts are starting to go missing. Not only that, but the worlds are disappearing, too, more and more by the day." King Mickey paced around the central table, then waved his hand. The projection zoomed out, then highlighted four worlds among the thousands.

"Radiant Garden, Twilight Town, my own Castle, and Destiny Islands have become the most frequent places for refugees to end up in. The World Order has been broken, and I believe it is time we all embrace this if we want to survive the oncoming storms."

"Wait, are you saying we forget the World Order?" Leon asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Mickey replied. He bowed his regal head and bent his face into concentration.

"But what about having kept it for so long?" Sora asked.

"Why should we protect something that is already being destroyed? We should embrace this one and simple fact: we need to work together, all people of all worlds, to fight Maleficent. She's out for war and Kingdom Hearts. And … and I'm afraid she might want total control."

The group all sat silently. Sora watched the worlds revolve slowly, and then focused his eyes on is home world, how refugees were spilling into it, just like Kairi did all those years ago. Conviction churned inside of him, ready to burst out like a tidal wave from the ocean of his heart.

"We need to protect the people, not some stupid rule," Sora said. He puffed his chest out and scrambled out of the bed, and he stood in front of them all, turning to each of them. "We need to stop Maleficent, for good this time! I'm tired of her ruining all the things I care about, I'm tired of her destroying everything I know. I want to end this!" Sora let a few tears slide down his face while his friends all looked at him with admiration. Even the two newcomers gazed at him with wonder.

"The kid's right," Cloud softly spoke. "It's time we end her tyranny."

"To bring hope to others again," Leon added.

"To heal all wounds she has wrought," said Aerith.

"To kick her butt and show her her place," Tifa said with a pumped fist.

"To free all beings from her dark magic," Merlin said gravely.

"To reconnect the worlds through all our gummi technology," Cid chimed in, busy at his computer.

"To stop the spread of darkness in the hearts of all," Riku said angrily, punching the wall.

"To restore our meaning," Naminé said, gripping Roxas' hand.

"To show people that they are worth something again," he answered back, squeezing her shoulder.

"For my sisters of light, for all the people who have not known the light, and those who need it most … we must do this." Kairi stood up next to Sora. He gazed at the determined and fierce faces of his loved ones, his friends. He flexed his hand, turning his knuckles white, and punched the air in a wild jump.

"For Kingdom Hearts!"

Post Author's Note

Okay! That chapter is done! A lot happened here, especially with some brief intros to new characters (old for you returning readers). If you noticed, there's a new significant difference to Merideth. So, whether you're new or old to this story, please tell me your thoughts about the new women to the cast!

It's great writing all of this again! Also, check out my other story I'm co-writing with Lucenthia. It's Kingdom Hearts crossed with Dark Souls, so go check that out! It's really awesome! Also, go read "Disciples of Darkness" by Lucenthia, because that's a kickass story that I got to help plan some of the major stuff to!

Anyway, I'm sorry again about the delay. Life hit me hard, but with the semester finally over, I'm going to try to update faster. Hopefully I'll see you all in a week or so. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's! Love you all!

~TorNathan