In retrospect, it's not just the Isa and Ludor in the Reaper's Game chapters that will be shorter. In retrospect, I'm just announcing that some chapters will be longer than others. And before anyone asks, the reason that the former Organization members from last chapter don't know what cell phones are is because as of the end of The Xehanort War, that technology has not been spread throughout Coalition member worlds, so the technology is completely new to them. If cell phones did exist in what is now Coalition space, don't you think the Organization would have issued one to each member to contact the Castle in the event that something went wrong on a mission? Anyway, back to the newest episode.
Episode 2: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust:
Never Land – Shore
August 2, 2015
'This place looks amazing," Kairi said as she and Sora hauled their raft up onto the shores of Never Land. After taking a day to pack food and other supplies like hiking gear, they'd said goodbye to their parents and set sail on their old raft across the ocean. Since they were actually sailing and rowing instead of drifting aimlessly, unlike the message in a bottle she'd send him a couple years ago, it would only take them a day or two of sailing to reach their next destination.
Their destination turned out to be Never Land, and now that they were here, Sora was eager to finally take Kairi flying like he'd always wanted to. After making sure the raft was secure, they threw the backpacks full or food and equipment over their shoulders and marched off into the jungle. After a short hike, they emerged from the jungle into an open clearling coated in sweat from an afternoon of hiking. In the middle of the clearing was a large tree with a tunnel leading underground at the base of the roots.
Curious and eager to explore, the two of them got down on their hands and knees and crawled through the hole until they emerged into a large chamber carved out beneath the tree. On the other side of the room sat a large group of boys. Most of them were toddlers and dressed in an assortment of animal-themed jumpsuits. But the one who stood out from the rest of the younger boys was the one wearing a green tunic and darker green tights. At the sound of the two Keyblade Wielders' entrance, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys turned around.
"Sora!" Peter Pan greeted cheerfully as he flew over to the two visitors. "It's great to see you and Kairi again."
"It's great to see you too, Peter," Sora replied before Kairi was properly introduced to Peter Pan the Lost Boys. Both knew who the other was, but she'd been comatose the last time Sora was in Never Land, so she and Peter Pan hadn't really met. Once all the introductions were out of the way, everyone sat down and started sharing stories. Sora and Kairi gave an edited account of their adventures, knowing that because of their youth and time in Never Land, Peter and the Lost Boys weren't likely to understand the complexities of the conflict with Xehanort, while the Lost Boys recounted their most recent adventures.
When one of the Lost Boys poked their head outside the hideout and announced that the sun was starting to set, Sora beamed and looked at Kairi before asking Peter where Tinkerbell was. The small fairy immediately flew over from where she'd been sitting up in the tree roots listening to everyone's stories. After introducing Kairi to Tinkerbell, Sora explained that he wanted to finally take Kairi flying. With a sprinkle of pixie dust, the young lovers walked outside with the Lost Boys right behind him.
"So how does this work exactly?" Kairi asked as Peter Pan and the Lost Boys took to the skies. She'd never flown before and while she remembered some of what was going on when her heart was in Sora's body all those years ago, she didn't exactly retain every last detail.
"It's easy," Sora replied reassuringly as he floated a few feet off the ground. "Just believe, and you can do it. All you've got to do is think happy thoughts." Well that's easy enough, Kairi thought to herself as she pictured her and Sora's first kiss in her mind. An instant later, and she was floating off the ground herself. With a delighted chuckle, she and Sora took off soaring across the night sky. Despite the recent changes in their lives, from Kairi being royalty to Sora's new dark powers, the two of them couldn't help but fell happy that right now they didn't have to worry about any of that. They held hands as they flew effortlessly through the clouds, catching up to Peter and the Lost Boys after only a few minutes of flying.
They spent the next several hours playing around in the clouds, creating a dazzling light show with a combination of Fire, Thunder, and Light-based spells in a mesmerizing display that lit up the night sky like a Christmas tree. Laughter and merriment filled the air as they let loose and had fun for the first time in over a month. With Xehanort gone and the Coalition mopping up the remnants of Maleficent's cabal, they were free to just kick back and actually enjoy themselves without having to run off and save the worlds every single day. It was nice to finally get some time off again.
When they were finally exhausted, they gently glided back down to the ground and unpacked their sleeping bags for the night. As they were unrolling their bags and blankets on the floor of the Lost Boy's hideout, Peter came over and to talk to them.
"It's great to see you guys again," the eternally young adventurer began nervously. "But, well... you guys have changed."
"Not really," Kairi replied. "Sora's still the same clueless dork he was three years ago." They all laughed despite Sora's protests. But as the laughter died down, Sora realized what Peter Pan was really trying to say. People didn't age in Never Land, so for Peter Pan, and despite his love of staying young, he clearly missed Wendy and her brothers, so seeing Sora and Kairi having aged so much was an uncomfortable reminder that while he and the Lost Boys stayed young, all the friends he made from outside of Never Land would continue to grow older.
"You're nervous about Wendy forgetting you, aren't you?" Sora asked, figuring that if his friend kept his fears bottled up, it'd just keep building up. Better to let it all out now. He looked over at Kairi and she nodded, confirming that she'd figured it out as well.
"It's not that," Peter admitted. "You never grow up in Never Land, and I like it here. But leaving just reminds me that it'll only work here. And if I stay out of Never Land too long, I'll grow up too, and then I won't ever be able to come back. I know you guys keep coming, but unless someone else brings you there, you can only reach Never Land by yourself if you believe."
"And you're scared that if you leave long enough to grow up you'll stop believing," Kairi finished as she understood what he was saying. "You're afraid that if you live a normal life, you'll forget all about this place. Don't worry. As long as you treasure your memories of Neverland, you'll never forget, and you'll always be able to come back whenever you want."
"Thanks," the Boy Who Never Grew Up replied with a chuckle. "You're really good at cheering people up, you know?"
"It's one of the greatest things about her," Sora said with a smile as he put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.
"I'm a Princess of Heart," she commented with a chuckle. "It comes with the territory."
"Wait," Peter Pan interrupted. "You're a princess!?"
"It's a long story," Kairi answered with a laugh.
Well that was a little more meatier than I intended. I was originally just going to do a short chapter focusing on Sora and Kairi but then I decided to throw in some scenes in Never Land at the end to make the chapter a little longer. I started thinking of ways to incorporate Never Land into my sequel plans, since aside from Peter Pan and the lost boys there's not much else it has to offer plot wise, which then led to me coming up with different ideas for interactions between Sora, Kairi, and Peter Pan, and the conversation at the end was the result. That conversation will have some ramifications in future stories.
Before anyone questions how Kairi and Sora were able to get to Never Land on a raft, remember that in KH2 Kairi was able to put a message in a bottle in the ocean at the beginning of KH2 and it made its way to the Dark Meridian by the end of the game. On top of that, Captian Hook and Monstro travel between worlds just fine, so traveling by raft is a perfectly acceptable way to travel the Lanes Between in the KH universe.
Anyway, coming up next: The now reformed Vanitas works on adapting to living with other people while Terra, Aqua, and Ven redecorate the Land of Departure.