A/N: Ok, so, I think I've gotten most of my muse back :D! Yay! Now, I know that I've said thank you to most of you people countless times, saying thanks to every single one of you by mentioning you in authors notes, or by simply sending a message of gratitude to you all. Well, I really wanted to show my appreciation to every single one of you guys, so I had two options: A: Make a video with me personally thanking you guys, or B: Make something crafty…I went with the second option, and made a nice little drawing, though it's not all that great, and posted it up on Deviantart, that I hope is enough for you guys to realize how grateful I am to have such great reviewers! Ok, so go check it out if you want, but now, to get on with some stuff for the story: I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen from here on out at this point, but she is going to go with Sora and friends for awhile, and then we'll see where that goes from there, ok? Oh, and I've made another trailer for Beginnings of Hope, so go check it out on my youtube channel! Well, please enjoy!

Why? Is it that I'm such an important person? Why is that I have to keep running in order to stay alive? Why is that everyone keeps leaving me behind? Why is it that I fell so alone? Why is it that…that I have to be alone?

Why is it that I see Roxas instead of Sora, as Sora stands in front of me?

I closed my eyes and opened them again, seeing Sora this time instead of Roxas. "I…I'm sorry, it's just that you looked like someone else I know." I apologized, giving him a smile.

He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "It's cool! So, what's your name?

"Hope….My name is Hope." I said, standing up this time.

He grinned, "I'm Sora, and this is Donald, and Goofy." Sora said, gesturing to Donald and Goofy as they stood a ways off, the two waving at me. "So, what brings you to a place like this?"

"Huh? Oh…well…." Of all the times someone asks me that question, I have no made up story to give…great. "Well…I was practicing a new magic spell, but it kind of backfired on me, and I sort of ended up here!" Please believe it, please believe it…

"Wow, so that must mean you're pretty far away from home, huh?" Goofy asked.

I nodded my head. "Yeah…Yeah, I am."

"We can take you back home." Sora said, earning a surprise squawk out of Donald.

"SORA! We can't just offer someone we just met a ride! Wherever she lives could be out of our way!"

"Actually," I began, gaining their attention. "It's not too far from here, I think…It wouldn't take too long to get there."

"Where is it that you need to go?" Sora asked me.

"Hollow Bastion…"

As soon as they had boarded the Gummi ship, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all made sounds of surprise, while Hope only stared out the window.

"Huh?" Goofy mumbled.

"Hey, wait a minute…Is the ship moving all on its own?" Sora asked.

"Yup! Looks like we're headed toward Hollow Bastion." Goofy said, sitting back and relaxing, letting the ship fly on its own. Sora sighed, looking over at Hope with a grin.

"Looks like we don't have to do too much work since the ship seems to know where to go already.

Hope looked at him and smiled. "I don't know how I can thank you guys for giving me a ride."

Sora smiled sheepishly, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it!"

As soon as they were on the ground, Hope smiled a small smile, glancing around the town, before turning to look back at Sora and co. "I'd stick around with you guys for whatever you were summoned here for, but I'm afraid I have some things to do right now. Tell you what; whenever you get done with what you need to do, I'll meet you guys in the town square, ok?"

Sora nodded his head in agreement, he and Donald and Goofy taking off in a different direction, while Hope moved in the opposite direction, heading for the Bailey. Walking up the steps slowly at first, she quickened her pace when she heard someone moving around ahead and people talking.

"Ooh, stupid heartless! How many more times are we gonna have to go through with this rollercoaster of getting rid of them and them coming back?" Hope smiled slightly as she saw Yuffie and Leon in the Bailey, almost laughing at Yuffie's statement.

At that exact moment, Leon had turned to see her, his face keeping the passive expression before he glanced at Yuffie. "Go see how Cid and Aerith are doing with the search."

Yuffie nodded, running off towards the castle, not once even seeing Hope. "I'm surprised you didn't say something to point out that I was standing behind her." Hope said, moving over to stand closer to him, taking a place against the wall and leaning against.

He smirked, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. "Are you saying that you wanted me to tell her that you were right behind her?"

Hope glanced at him, shaking her head, a sad and small smile appearing. "She doesn't need to know that I'm still arou-"

"Why'd you come back here?" Leon asked, his tone bitter and his cobalt eyes shooting open, mixed emotions of anger and frustration hidden within the depths of them.

Hope frowned slightly. "This is my home too, you know…I have the right to come here if I want to."

Leon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, it's just…It's frustrating."

"What is?"

"That you're not here at all." Leon said, glancing over at her with a worried expression. "It's been almost five years since you accepted the duty to become the next ruler. It's your job as the Princess-"

Hope sighed, shaking her head and moving to stare out at the Great Maw. "In case you haven't noticed, no one has said anything about there not being a ruler around here anymore. Besides, the Restoration Committee seems to be doing a fine job without the help of some ruler telling them what to do."

"But it's your duty!" Leon protested.

Hope clenched her fist. "No, it's not!…Not anymore…it's not."

Leon frowned. "What would Ansem the Wise say if he could see you now and hear your words?"

Hope gasped quietly, sighing sadly when she realized how right he was. Her grandfather would probably be ashamed to have such a granddaughter as her. And he would probably be more ashamed of the things she had done the past year. "Leon…I…I can't be a ruler, because…I made a lot of mistakes, mistakes that I won't mention, but…I'm trying to fix everything that I messed up. That's why…that's why I can't stay and watch over everything that goes on around here. The things that I did…they bring shame to my place as a Princess…"

Leon's eyes were wide as he heard her explanation. Finally, he opened his mouth to say something, when someone else spoke before him. "SHE'S ALIVE!"

Hope turned around, her eyes widening when she saw the people that were running towards her, the following people being Aerith, Cid, Yuffie, and Ienzo. Ienzo was the first to beat the rest of them, jumping into Hope's open arms, allowing her to spin him around and hold him closely. She was then tackled and squeezed to death by Yuffie and Aerith, the two of them both hugging her tightly. Lastly, Cid was the one to show his happiness of seeing her, by rubbing her head playfully, earning a small smile from her. As all of this was happening, Leon stood off to the side, letting a small and rare smile grace his face.

'Just because you can't stay around, doesn't mean that you can't let your friends see you.'

A/N: Yeah, kind of boring, but yay for reunions! I'd like to ask you guys to please pray for my grandpa, because he's havng pacemaker replacement surgery tomorrow, and I'm a bit worried. Thanks! Haha, well, hope you guys enjoyed it, even though it was teensy bit boring :D! LATER TATERS!