Alrighty then, I'm back from vacation! Surprisingly, I was able to get this finished while I was in Germany. Now that I'm finally done with Star Wars (thank God) future chapters will come at probably a slower pace, especially since I plan to find another job now that I'm back. Also, they'll be a bit shorter, I'll try to keep them a good length, but for the chapters that don't take place in movies, they'll be shorter than what I had during the Clone Wars.

Now before I give you the story and disclaimer, I have a message for all those who have been hurt and are feeling the pain of the tragic events that have transpired all over the world this past month. If you ever feel like today is just filled with nothing but misery and pain, look up at the sky and remember this: you only have to deal with today once. Look up at the sky and remember, a new day will come. It's only 24 hours. You've had the strength to face thousands of them over the years, I know you have the strength to face a thousand more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, anything Disney, Marvel or Lucasfilms, only my own characters and locations.

As the darkness from the corridor vanished, the two friends with heavy hearts walked along the path that would lead to Radiant Garden's castle; though, neither of them were eager enough to hurry along inside. Even though Natasha was finally home, she felt no happiness, all she could think of was the countless dead Jedi she knew, Anakin's betrayal, and Wall-E and Padme's deaths.

They said nothing to each other as they made their way to the massive palace, only the sound of the town's water fountain system and chirping birds filled their ears. "Feels strange to be back, don't you think?" Natasha asked finally breaking the silence.

"Hmm." Nairbix hummed, "You think there's any chance you can repair Wall-E?" he asked.

"I don't know." she hopelessly replied, "I mean, I can't even get replacement parts here so I'm gonna have to build them myself."

"Oh." said Nairbix.

"What are you gonna do after you leave?" she asked.

"Well, I had hoped that whenever we came back after winning the war we'd get everyone together to celebrate. But now…"

"Yeah." Natasha nodded, he didn't need to finish for her to understand.

"I don't know." he sighed, "I'll eventually go see Mickey and Jumba along with my master and mother. You?"

"Finally do the job I've been neglecting for two years." she replied dryly, "Sigh, I don't want to do this."

"What?"

"Face my family after everything that's happened. I don't…I don't feel like dealing with their smothering right now."

"Nat," Nairbix said gently, "It's been two years. They miss you. Hell, they don't even know you're here. Besides, being with people that care about you is good for things like this. Believe me, it'll help ease the pain more than just shutting yourself away as you try to fix Wall-E."

"…Yeah, you're right." she agreed sadly, "Well, time to face the music, I guess." She said as they approached the rose gardens. As they walked past the many tall bushes, Natasha spotted her mother tending to her roses. She called out to her and watched as her mother ran towards her and pulled her into an embrace they had both longed for for two years. Ansem and Lea, having heard Rebecca's sobbing, rushed outside and quickly ran over to embrace Natasha as well; the whole time, Natasha choked back a few sobs of her own.

Nairbix looked at the reunion before him and smiled for the woman he loved, he was glad that she was finally with her family; seeing this made him long for a similar reunion with his own family as well. As the day went on, Nairbix and Natasha told the three royals about what went on during the war. Needless to say, they were left speechless.

Thankfully, being able to talk about everything that happened with her family managed to cheer Natasha up a bit as well as hearing everything they had done over the years. It wasn't until they all had lunch that she was finally able to tell more of the fonder stories than the painful ones; she even managed to smile more as they all talked. After they ate, Natasha seemed to return to her normal attitude and spent a lot of time smiling at Nairbix; more so than usual.

"Well," Natasha said as she rose from her chair, "As much as I've enjoyed this, I am in desperate need of a long shower." As she walked over to give her mother, brother and uncle a hug from behind their chairs, she made her hug for Nairbix much longer and tender. Nairbix couldn't help but blush at the gesture, and to make matters even more embarrassing for him, Natasha even gave a light kiss to his right temple.

"So, Nairbix," Rebecca asked the red faced Narnian, "How are you feeling?"

"What?" he asked through his love-struck daze, "Oh, um, I'm doing much better, thank you."

"That's good to hear." Ansem nodded in relief, "If you need a checkup or anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask. The last thing we would want is to let you go around unwell."

"Thank you, Ansem, I appreciate that."

"So when do plan on telling your family that you've returned?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh, I'll go and see them after I leave. But first I just want to help Natasha get situated and readjusted to being back home."

"Of course." she nodded. Not long after he left the dining hall, Nairbix took a shower of his own in one of the castle's many guest rooms. After he got out and dried himself off, he took a good long look at himself in the steam covered mirror in front of him. He could see the toll the past two years left on him finally take effect. He looked sickly pale, his body riddled with scars, especially the eight he received on Cadonia. But most of all, his eyes showed the most change.

No longer vibrant and full of life and wonder as they used to be, they were sullen. He didn't see the eyes that usually stared back at him; to him, they were the eyes of many things. They eyes of someone in mourning, the eyes of sorrow filled warrior wishing to be with his fallen comrades; and most of all, the eyes of a killer. True, he had killed before, but he had never regretted any of those acts, but in this case he did. He regretted those two years' worth of killing because they were all pointless.

The past two years of his life were utterly pointless and he hated that. He didn't know why exactly, but he had his hand pressed against the reflection of his face; a moment later, the mirror cracked from the pressure he had on it.

After getting dressed, Nairbix made his way through the halls, he was alerted by the sound of a sharp whistle. He turned around and saw that it came from Natasha standing in a bath robe from her door frame. She looked much happier than earlier and curled her finger at him seductively as she slowly entered her room.

Nairbix gulped loudly as his face flushed while he entered the room. As he did, he saw Natasha sitting on her bed smiling at him as she patted a spot next to her for him to sit. Nairbix did so, though he walked over slowly from being so nervous. After he sat down, Natasha gently pulled him into a warm and loving hug as they took in each other's scents.

"What are you doing?" Nairbix asked.

"Giving you a hug." she replied.

"Why?"

"We're friends, aren't we? You're sad so I'm giving you a hug to make you feel better." Natasha smiled as she said the same words she said to him the day they met. "You remember the day we met?"

"How could I forget?" Nairbix asked with a small grin as she stroked his hair, "You almost blew my bloody head off."

"Okay, in my defense, I was a little jumpy back then and you kinda surprised me."

"Whatever, Nat, you still nearly killed me." Nairbix playfully retorted causing them both to laugh and Natasha to smack him upside the head. "How is it that you're already like this?" he asked softly.

"Because I have you." she replied, "You were the one who kept me going the whole time these past two years. You're strength was my strength in the toughest times."

"I'm not that strong." he denied as the depression from earlier began to return.

"Says the True Keyblade Master-"

"Who couldn't even protect his men or friends."

Silence filled the room that was just filled with laughter only a few moments prior.

"…Don't blame yourself for what happened to them, Nairbix." Natasha pleaded softly.

"I don't," he replied as he rose from Natasha's embrace, "I blame them."

"…Oh." Natasha replied, "Sidious and Vader managed to get the drop on us, nothing more we can do about it now."

"You misunderstand." Nairbix informed flatly, "When I said 'them', I wasn't referring to Sidious and Vader. I was referring to Anakin and Padme."

Hearing Nairbix mention Anakin wasn't much of a surprise to Natasha, but to hear him use Padme's name, she was utterly shocked. "What do you mean?"

"They were idiots." he replied flatly while rubbing his hands and looking at the walls around him. "They thought that they could have it all; the life of a happy, forbidden married couple on one hand and their careers as another life entirely on the other? Stupid."

"Love makes people do crazy things." Natasha reasoned even though she could understand his point of view.

"The crazy thing would've been to leave everything behind and choose love. But they got greedy; or at least Anakin did and Padme went along for the ride."

"And as he flew too close to the sun, the wax that held together Icarus's wings melted in its heat, and he plummeted into the sea." Natasha recited, "We should've left him on that rock to burn in the suns' heat. Do you think…if you had gotten to him first before Qui-Gon and he became a wielder of the Keyblade, Anakin would have turned out different?" she asked.

"Sigh…I don't know." Nairbix replied, "I think the main reason was because he didn't want to let go of his emotions. But with as obsessed as he was with Padme after only a short time with her as a child and how much he missed his mother, there's no telling how he would've reacted once he learned that he couldn't go back to them. He probably would've joined up with the Inquisition if they offered him a way back."

"It's hard to believe that little boy grew up to become such a monster." Natasha said in disbelief, "Speaking of the Inquisition, how long until you're gonna go back to dealing with them?"

"…I just spent the past two years of my life fighting a war that cost me people I carried about." Nairbix stated, "I'm done with fighting wars. Sigurd and the others can deal with them for all I care."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really." he nodded, "From now on, I'm just going to focus on being with my brothers, my mother, and helping people in need. Just not with the Inquisition."

"Good. To be honest, if you would've said that you were gonna go back out there and fight, I'd clock you in the face."

"I'd hold you to it." he nodded as Natasha rested her head on his shoulder. It was at that moment Natasha took the initiative and pulled herself up by grabbing the collar of Nairbix's coat and captured his lips with her own. Nairbix didn't waste any time in kissing her back, he had been waiting years for this moment and he was going to make it memorable.

True it was his first kiss, but nevertheless, Natasha's toes were curling from the passion she was receiving; she couldn't help herself but moan as she kissed the man she loved. Neither knew how long they were kissing, but both were out of breath by the time they separated. They soon began to laugh at what they just did before they once again embraced each other.

"I love you, Nairbix VanSull." Natasha said softly against his chest. His heart soared with joy upon hearing those words and just as he was about to say the very same words, Natasha cut him off. "Now get out."

"…What?" he asked.

"Get out." she repeated through her giggling as she pushed him up, "I got get dressed into one of those godforsaken royal dresses. I have to make a big speech in front of the town to let them know we're back. So even though I know how much you'd like to see me undress and get squeezed into a corset, I need you to get out."

"Come on, what do you take me for some kind of pervert?" he asked as she shoved him out the door.

"No, I just know what I look like naked. Stick around long enough and you might too." she teased with a wink before slamming the door in his face.

"I love that woman." he muttered.

While Natasha went through the long procedure of getting into her new clothes, Nairbix decided to take a stroll through the town thinking the fresh, familiar air would do him some good. Now before he and Natasha went off to fight in the Clone Wars, most of the townsfolk usually offered him kind smiles and warm greetings; that, however, wasn't what he received. From most of the adult residents, Nairbix noticed they were sending glares towards him as they went about on their daily business. As for the children, some waved and smiled at him while others either avoided him, sneered at him or tried to imitate the glares they saw the adults give him.

"Well, this is a first." Nairbix thought bluntly to himself.

"Come here to steal away another member of the royal family, VanSull?" a young woman asked hotly behind her garden's gate.

"What?" he asked in confusion. Before he could question the woman, the sound of one of the royal guards shouting filled the square.

"Make way!" he shouted, "Make way for Her Majesty, Queen Rebecca Romanoff!" As the square made room for Rebecca standing underneath a canopy held by her servants, she looked directly at Nairbix.

"Walk with me, Nairbix." she said to him, he could tell it wasn't an offer. Once he joined her, they continued to walk through the streets; though he still received glares. "You're probably wondering why the townsfolk aren't exactly giving you the warm welcome you were expecting, yes?" she asked.

"More or less." Nairbix mumbled bluntly in reply as he looked at the people.

"I'm afraid they didn't quite understand the reason why you and Natasha left two years ago, dear." Rebecca informed as they both looked ahead.

"How so?"

"One of the newer servants at the time witnessed the two of you leave. She thought that you had abducted her and planned to do who knows what. Needless to say, when we heard about this after she told to people, we tried to put a stop to it by telling them the truth. Unfortunately, they still didn't quite understand. They believed that you had taken her with you to fight in that war of yours because you wanted to use her powers for your own."

"Typical humans. Always quick to jump to the first conclusion they come up with and stick with that despite the lack of any sort of evidence." he spat in his mind, "Talk about ye of little faith." he said to the queen.

"One of the reasons why they think this way is undoubtedly because of the fear and paranoia created after Chernabog's attack all those years ago." Rebecca contemplated.

"Even though I helped fight him and single handedly stopped that swarm of demons of his from killing everyone so Natasha could get to him?" Nairbix asked bluntly.

"Try to understand, Nairbix. This is a world of light. Most people in worlds like this have a narrow view of light and darkness."

"By seeing light as good and darkness as evil?" he asked already knowing the answer, "I've been dealing with people and worlds like that my entire life, Rebecca. I understand, but I don't at the same time. I can understand how some people are brought up to have those views, but I don't understand how so many of them don't even try to discover their own views on the matter."

"They're only human." Rebecca reasoned.

"And it was a human like that who handicapped my mother and another who started the very war Natasha and I just returned from." he retorted.

"Even so, that's not the only thing I wanted to discuss with you." she informed, "I know about you and Natasha, Nairbix."

Nairbix stayed silent for a moment before he gave his reply, "There's not really much to say on that matter."

"Aside from her telling you that she loves you and the kiss you two shared just before you came out here?" Rebecca asked, "I have eyes and ears everywhere, Nairbix, especially in my own castle."

Nairbix remained silent.

"I know how she feels about you; and I know how you feel about her."

"Would you mind getting to the point? I'd rather appreciate it if you didn't beat around the bush."

"While Ansem, Lea and I would support the two of you, the townspeople would not. All they would see is their beloved princess being deceived by the darkness." Rebecca said not even looking Nairbix in the eye.

"…You know that neither of us would care about that. I love Natasha, Rebecca. I'm not about to let the prejudice of cynical humans get in the way that." Nairbix replied.

"I know. But these people have gone two years without their Princess of Heart, Nairbix. The people of this kingdom, like the other six, look to their princess for hope, stability, and reassurance. A Princess of Heart is the light of the world which they rule. As a wielder of the Keyblade, you know this better than anyone outside the families of the seven princesses. I know how much you want to be with her, but you know that it can never be."

"…But I love her." he whispered as they stopped.

"Which is why you know that you need to put her before yourself. You know what you have to do."

As his heart began to break even further than before, Nairbix said two words before vanishing in a wisp of darkness, "Goodbye, Rebecca."

Back at the castle, Nairbix searched for Natasha and found her tending to her roses in the garden. "You know, you can find even the simplest things like watering flowers to be an enjoyable way to pass the time, even when you like fighting as much as I do." she said happily wearing a dress as red as wine with a pink sash around her waist.

"Yeah…" Nairbix replied quietly.

"Everything alright?" she asked as she noticed his expression.

"No." he replied, "Natasha…we need to talk."

"About what? Babe, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Please don't call me babe." he pleaded even though he really wanted to hear her call him that. "Natasha, we can't be together."

"What?" Natasha asked thinking it was a joke, "Nairbix, what are you talking about?"

"Your people see me as a monster trying to corrupt you. If we start anything, they'll start an uprising."

"And do you think I care about that?" she asked hotly before cupping his face and looking at him with pleading eyes. "I love you. From the day I met you, I've loved you with all my heart."

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say those words." he said covering her hands with his, "I love you too. From the moment I saw you, I've loved you. But you have your responsibilities as a Princess of Heart and I can't put myself before you-"

"Who told you that?" Natasha asked a dread covered her face, "Who put those words in your head?"

"It doesn't matter-"

"Who told you?!" she cried.

"It doesn't matter!" he shouted back. They both stood in silence as tears began to build up.

"So this is it?" Natasha asked choking on her words, "After everything we just went through, we finally tell ourselves that we love each and you want walk away from it just because someone got inside your head?"

"You have no idea how much it hurts me to do this."

"…Then don't." she begged softly, but Nairbix created a corridor behind her. As she felt it appear, Natasha closed her eyes knowing that he made up his mind. He walked up to her and pulled her into hug and held her as she cried into his chest.

"I will always love you, Natasha Romanoff." Nairbix said before kissing the top of her head. With a heavy and broken heart, Nairbix eventually let go of the woman he loved and walked to the corridor; as he did, a single tear rolled down his face as Natasha dropped to her knees behind him.

A few moments later, Nairbix found himself in a place he hadn't been to in years, his old master's study. As he saw Yen Sid stare out his window, Nairbix kneeled before him in front of his desk. "I have returned, Master." he said to the old sorcerer.

"So it would seem." Yen Sid commented still gazing out the window, "Though from the tone of your voice and despair in your heart, you have not returned victoriously."

"I neither won nor lost that war, Master. But I did loose many people I cared about." Nairbix replied.

"Such is to be expected in war." Yen Sid reminded.

"It was more genocide than war." Nairbix remarked as his old teacher finally turned to face him. With a wave of his hand, a chair, a kettle filled with hot tea, and two tea cups appeared.

"Perhaps an old friend willing to listen and pot of tea will help do you some good." Yen Sid offered.

"Thank you." Nairbix choked as he took his seat. Neither of them kept track of how long it took Nairbix to explain everything that happened; Yen Sid was especially shocked when he heard of what Nairbix did for Ahsoka.

"It seems that you have gone through more than you expected." Yen Sid finally said once Nairbix was finished.

"Yes." he replied.

"What will you do now?"

"Go home and be with my family. I need time to grieve and settle things." Nairbix replied.

"I understand." Yen Sid nodded, "Shall I inform Mickey and Jumba of your arrival?"

"No. I'll see them when I'm ready. Right now, I just need to be alone for a while."

"Of course. Take as much time as you need." Yen Sid said as Nairbix summoned another corridor, "Nairbix," he called out as his student was about to leave, "Welcome home."

As the darkness cleared from his vision, Nairbix found himself standing in his mansion main entrance. Everything was covered in two years' worth of dust and cobwebs. Without so much as a word, Nairbix walked over to his broom closet and pulled out a broom in order to start cleaning. True, he could easily clean the place in a matter of seconds with magic, but he needed to keep himself busy for a while. About two hours later everything was as clean as when he left. He then summoned all thirteen of his Clones' helmets in his study and set each of them in multiple spaces on his massive bookshelves with Spades' being right next to his desk.

With nothing left to do inside, Nairbix went out to his backyard and used his magic to create a large black marble mural; the names of all of his friends and comrades who died in the war were etched in white. Having that settled, Nairbix went back inside and made his way up to his room laid on his bed. At this point he couldn't even bring himself to cry, all he felt was heartbreak and sorrow.