Everyone seemed fairly pleased with the reunion and that Lea is doing better. I wouldn't say that he's completely over his issues, but he's improved.

I have also been doing more research for the next fic of this series. We still have a little bit before we get to it, but I do have some plans for it. I know everyone wants progress on the Sora-locating front. He's not in Quadratum since he disappeared in a slightly different way and for a different reason. And because I started planning this before "Re:Mind" was released, let alone "Melody of Memories" or the end of "Kingdom Hearts χ Unchained" and "Dark Road." You'll have to wait and see where Vanitas takes him. And which worlds that I decide to include in the story.

Until then, we still have some things happening in this story before we're ready for the next adventure that I'm planning. And we're starting with something rather familiar for this fic: a nightmare.

Lea ran. Over rough and broken terrain, slipping and stumbling as loose stones gave way underfoot. Clawed fingers grabbed at him. Forcing him to tear his way free. Lea ran as hard as he could through the shadows. Chasing the distant glimmer of light.

He kept running even as he chest burned with the effort and his pulse pounded in his ears. He couldn't stop. He couldn't slow down. He needed to reach them. They needed him. He needed to get back to them.

Sharp talons and yellow eyes chased after him. Grabbing and clawing and trying to drag him down. Heartless. Shadow Heartless, among other variations. They maintained their aggressive pursuit. Hungry and vicious.

He couldn't stop. Couldn't slow down. Couldn't give them a chance.

"Axel?"

Xion.

"Where are you?"

Roxas.

They were ahead. Lea kept running even as his lungs burned and the rough ground threatened to send him tumbling down. He had to reach them. He couldn't stop.

Not because the Heartless were after him. Not because they were trying to tear his heart out once more. Escape wasn't as important as reaching his friends. The Heartless were just as much a threat towards them as they were towards him. He needed to reach them so they could all get out of there.

"Lea?"

Isa.

That tiny speck of light didn't seem any closer, but he thought he could glimpse something in it. Several people. Roxas, Xion, Isa, Kairi, Ventus, and others. Ahead of him in that glimmer of light. Waiting. Lea just needed to reach them. He couldn't let them down.

But no matter how hard that he ran, they remained a distant collection of figures. Too far to reach them. Always beyond his grasp. He couldn't get back to them.

But Lea also couldn't escape the clawed hands and the pursuing Heartless. They tore through his clothes with their talons and left deep scratches along his arms, his legs, and his sides. They were slowing him down. And it was getting harder and harder to stay on his feet.

He needed to keep running. He had to get back to them. Lea needed to reach his friends. Everything would be all right if he could get to them.

And then talons grabbed at his ankles, digging deeply into the flesh before he could tear free. He shouted in pain as Lea fell forward, hands reaching uselessly for his friends despite them still being out of reach. The impact with the ground jolted through his entire body. His eyes never left the spark of light that held everyone that he cared about.

But a moment of weak vulnerability was all it took. The dark, vicious, and shadowy Heartless swarmed in. Clawing, tearing, ripping ravenously for his heart. He screamed, thrashing against them. Trying to call up some form of defense, but it was like he'd never fought a day in his life. No weapon or magic responded to his desperation and fear. There was only chaos, pain, and countless Heartless scratching and tearing at him.

Then something gave way. The chaos and the pain finally caused something deep inside him to shift, ripping it out. The horrible and terrifyingly familiar sensation made him gasp. Lea slumped, his vision going dark and the world fading around him—

Lea fought back the scream that tried to escape past his clenched teeth, his hand grabbing at his chest. He could feel the racing beat pounding behind his ribs as he struggled to catch his breath. He trembled with the anxious energy, an echoing remnant from the running in the nightmare.

A nightmare. Different than most of the ones that he'd suffered from recently, but still a nightmare. Lea let his head slump back onto the pillow as the worst of the emotional fallout washed over him. More fear and desperation rather than dread, grief, heartache, and loss. That didn't make it any easier. Just different.

He let one hand sprawl across his face. He was fine. Nothing would take him away from his friends.

He wouldn't lose his heart.

Lea shivered slightly. The way that he originally lost his heart might have been very different from the nightmare, but the end result was the same. Losing it to a Heartless tearing it out couldn't be better than what happened in that lab. But he wouldn't let that happen. Between his Fire magic and his Keyblade, he could protect himself and others from such a fate.

He should go back to sleep. It wasn't that bad of a nightmare. There was no reason to disturb anyone over the matter.

Except Lea promised that he would follow the rules. And that meant that he couldn't be alone after a nightmare. He had to tell someone. He couldn't break that promise after what he'd put them through.

With a tired groan, Lea sat up in bed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he pushed himself to his feet. By the time that he made it to the doorway, he was silently debating who he should wake up. Who did he really need at that moment?

Roxas and Xion would be to the left in their own respective bedrooms. After a brief hesitation, he turned right.

Isa's bedroom door was open, just like the rest of them. His window lay on the left wall instead of the far one, overlooking the front of the building. The bed and nightstand were on the opposite side of the room from the door. Not quite the same layout that the rest of them had for their space. The walls were dark blue that looked even darker after sunset. But plastic stars spread across the ceiling in chaotic patterns. Glowing a soft neon green in the darkness. Peaceful and soothing. And under the patchwork quilt that he'd bought at the Apple Fair, undoubtedly dressed in those blue plaid pajamas of his, was the rather large and bulky lump that was a sleeping Isa.

Lea tried to remember what phase of the moon that he was dealing with. Not a new moon, but thankfully not a full moon either. He wouldn't be completely distracted. If he decided to wake Isa up, that is.

He hesitated at the doorway, unable to bring himself to proceed. He was fine. The worst of the fear and anxiety had faded. He didn't need to wake up anyone. The nightmare wasn't that bad and Isa needed his sleep. The moon's hold could sometimes keep him up far too long. There was no reason to disturb him.

Except that he'd promised. And Lea was done breaking promises.

Taking a deep breath, Lea silently crossed the room. He was relatively certain that as long as he was careful, Isa wouldn't wake up fighting. They both had some fairly strong combative reactions if startled the wrong way. A decade in the Organization would do that to a person. But since Isa wasn't the one waking up from a nightmare, Lea wasn't likely to end up with a weapon to his throat.

"Isa," he called quietly, shaking his shoulder gently. "Isa."

Green eyes snapped open, but Isa didn't lash out. He sat up while blinking and trying to focus on Lea, brushing away the lingering effects of sleep.

"Lea? Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm…"

Lea stopped and looked away, scratching the back of his head. He had a feeling that claiming to be fine wouldn't go over well. Even if the worst of that terror and desperate panic had faded by now.

"Look," he tried again, "I'm only here because all of you would beat my skull in if I wasn't, so I'm sorry about this. It wasn't that bad, but…"

When Lea trailed off awkwardly, Isa asked, "Was it a nightmare?"

"Yeah… Just a small one. Barely worth mentioning."

"I'm afraid that I am not as practiced with the routine and reassurances that you and the Keybearers have developed," he said as he pushed off the blanket, "but I do believe that you are not allowed to apologize for nightmares. That was one of the rules, correct?"

Lea chuckled roughly and shook his head. He wasn't wrong. But it was hard. It was hard admitting this vulnerability, it was hard believing that he could ask and deserve help when it felt like his friends needed it far more, and it was hard not apologizing for needing them instead. But Lea was working on it.

"Do you wish to discuss your nightmare?" asked Isa calmly.

"No. Not yet," he admitted.

"Then what do you need?"

"I don't know. Not really. I would have just tried going back to sleep, but…"

He shrugged. Lea didn't know what else to say. He could have handled it himself, but his friends wanted him to reach out when something was wrong. And he was trying to take care of himself a little more. Or at least let them take care of him occasionally.

Isa studied him carefully. As if he half-expected Lea to burst into flames. An understandable reaction after everything that had happened, something that he deeply regretted putting his friends through.

"If you believe that you can go back to sleep, then how about some tea to help you with that?" suggested Isa.

Nodding, Lea said, "Sounds good to me."

Isa swung his legs around to get out of bed before the two of them shuffled their way towards the kitchen. Gina's gift of a teapot and teacups certainly earned their place in their household. And while Lea had more experience at preparing tea in general and even preparing it quietly in the dark specifically, Isa took over the task and stubbornly sent him to wait at the table. He was clearly intent on taking care of Lea that evening.

But despite less experience, the first warm sip proved that Isa was more than adequate.

Lea quietly held his tea, drinking it slowly. Savoring the warmth and flavor. Letting it ground him in the safe and solid reality of their apartment. No wonder it worked so well to sooth Roxas and Xion's nightmares.

"It wasn't… anything bad happening to you or the half-pints," he said quietly. "Not this time. But I couldn't reach you. I tried. As hard as I could. I couldn't get back to any of you." Lea stared down at the cup in his hands. "They tore me away from everyone. They tore me away from me."

That was why he'd gone to Isa. Roxas and Xion were born as Nobodies, growing into their hearts and emotions over time. They had never had their hearts ripped out of them while leaving numb and empty shells behind. They had their own painful issues to work their way through. This one was something that Isa could relate to far easier.

"It wasn't like what really happened to us," he continued softly. "Heartless, a whole swarm of them, instead of… Instead of how it actually happened."

"Do you truly recall what happened back then?" asked Isa.

The lab. The black coat. The restraints. The machine. The pain, pressure, and overwhelming darkness.

Looking up at him, he said, "More than I used to remember. More than I want to remember. You?"

"Only bits and pieces. Enough to know that you were there longer than I was."

"It was… bad. I can't imagine that losing your heart to a Heartless would be any better though," said Lea, shaking his head.

Isa watched him silently for a moment. Letting Lea take another sip of his tea as he apparently contemplated everything that was said so far. Weighing his response carefully before he continued. Then he crossed his arms and took a deep breath.

"You have spent most of your time fighting to bring your friends back," said Isa. "And we would fight for you in return. Without a single hesitation. And while you are certainly skilled enough to protect yourself from most Heartless, do you truly believe that you would face any threat alone? None of us would let you lose your heart a second time. If you were lost and could not find your way back to us, we would retrieve you regardless."

Lea smiled ruefully and whispered, "You'll always be there to bring me back."

"Something like that," he said. "And bringing you home after losing a heart would be easier than retrieving Xion and Roxas from Sora's heart or bringing me back from under Xehanort's thrall."

"Would have done it a thousand times over to save you all," muttered Lea.

"And we would do the same for you."

Bare feet rarely made much of a sound, but it was enough for both of them to turn. Rubbing her eyes blearily and her white t-shirt rumpled from sleep, Xion padded into the room. Lea couldn't help smiling at the way that her hair was sticking up in all directions.

"Hey there, half-pint," he said softly. "Did we wake you up? Didn't mean to."

"You okay, Axel?" she asked, concerned even in her barely conscious state.

"I'll be fine. Promise."

Still drowsy, Xion nodded before coming over to wrap him in a hug. Lea's arms automatically wrapped around her in response, tension that he hadn't realized was still there melting out of him. She buried her face into his shoulder and curled into him. Trying to go back to sleep even while standing up. Lea turned slightly in his chair in order to scoop her up and pull Xion into his lap, letting her curl against him.

"You're just volunteering to be a giant teddy bear, aren't you?" he said with a chuckle.

"Mmm… Warm," she mumbled.

Shaking his head, Isa said, "I think that we should head back to bed before you end up buried under a pile of Keybearers."

Roxas had never seen Hayner look like that. Eyes bloodshot, nose red, and alternating between coughing and sneezing from his blanket cocoon on the couch, mountains of tissues scattered around him. Hayner's mother had warned them when she opened the door that he wasn't feeling well and that they probably shouldn't be around him, but Roxas and Xion had insisted on seeing him. Even if she asked them not to stay long or get too close. But her warnings had not prepared them for what she meant.

He looked absolutely miserable. Hayner looked worse than when Xion dissolved away to return the stolen memories, when Axel faded away in Betwixt and Between, or when Sora vanished at the Keyblade Graveyard. The only reason that Roxas wasn't more worried about him, other than the lack of panic from his friend's mother, was that he didn't look as bad as Lea did in the aftermath of the fight in Radiant Garden.

"What happened to you?" asked Xion, clutching her hands in front of her chest.

Sniffling loudly, Hayner croaked, "Flu."

"What's a flu?" asked Roxas.

"The flu is—" Hayner collapsed into a coughing fit that sounded like he was being murdered by a pack of Neoshadows, needing a few moments before he could continue. "I'm just sick. I'll be better in a few days. People get sick sometimes. The flu's one of those sicknesses."

"It doesn't look fun," he said.

"Not really. Sorry, but you'll have to go without me."

Roxas frowned, a little reluctant to go through with it. That was why he and Xion came by that morning when he didn't show up at the Usual spot with Pence and Olette. They were all supposed to meet up. They had big plans for the day.

Plans that Roxas didn't want to miss. Because part of him that had been quiet for months had started whispering the night before that it wouldn't work, they wouldn't be able to go, it wasn't real. He didn't want those doubts to reclaim any ground. They had to go.

Everyone assumed that Hayner overslept. They knew he wouldn't want to miss out either. That was why Roxas and Xion agreed to go grab him and meet everyone at the train station. But apparently that wasn't going to happen.

He didn't want to miss it. But he also didn't want to leave Hayner behind.

But Hayner wanted them to go without him.

"Are you sure?" asked Xion. "I'm sure that everyone would be happy to wait until next weekend. You'll feel better by then, right?"

Waving vaguely from under the blanket, Hayner said, "It's fine, guys. I can miss one trip. You'll just make it up to me next time. I'll spend the day sleeping and drinking orange juice. You guys have fun."

"If you're sure…," said Roxas slowly.

"Go. Time for you to hit the beach."

The train ride took longer than a dark corridor would have taken. Not to mention the munny it cost for tickets for everyone. But Lea was carefully not suggesting Isa go through any dark corridors. Not to mention that Olette stated that the train ride itself was part of the experience, which Roxas and Xion seemed excited about. Even if there was a certain unease from Roxas as the time drew near.

Still, the kids were excited. So how could Lea resist? The travel time and the price for four teenagers and two adults was more than worth it.

They took up most of a single car and were lucky enough no one else tried to join them. That let them relax. They stared out the window as the scenery went by, rolling hills and beautiful forests. There were explanations about the flu, about how Cure worked better on injuries than illnesses, about how people get sick, and how to tell the difference between a fairly mild illness and something more serious. Lea didn't know if their replica bodies could catch the common cold, but he suspected that Even's attempts to make them as close to normal as possible meant that they could. He just hoped that Roxas and Xion wouldn't end up with Hayner's flu in a few days.

The beach on this world was nothing compared to the one on Destiny Island. Darker and coarser sand. Smaller and dull-colored seashells compared to those that Xion had collected with Kairi. No palm trees, but there were patches of beachgrass along the shore. While warm, it didn't have the same humidity as a tropical island. But there was a boardwalk with a few shops for snacks. That was something that Destiny Island didn't share.

Pence went after the watermelon almost immediately after arriving. Lea went to interrogate the ice cream shop on what flavors that were available.

The kids were excited when they arrived, though there seemed to be some oddly unexpected relief in Roxas's smile. They were quick to dump their towels on the sand and head towards the main reason for the trip.

He wasn't going in the water. Lea wasn't going to even attempt it. He could barely keep his head above water no matter how much effort that he put into it. He certainly didn't float like Olette when she hurried into the sea like a citizen of Atlantica. Lea was not a natural in the water and felt quite certain that he never would be.

But his eyes remained locked on the shallow water and the figures splashing in it. Isa and Olette were carefully supervising Roxas and Xion's clumsy attempts to practice swimming. Making certain that they were safe while teaching the pair the skills that they didn't learn from Sora. Lea tried to stay calm when their heads would briefly disappear beneath the waves. But he couldn't help feeling relieved whenever they reappeared. The memory of Isa dragging Roxas's limp body out of the ocean, pale and not breathing, was too strong.

"They look like they're going great," said Pence, the boy sitting on a towel beside him with his slice of watermelon.

"They've always been fast learners," he said absently.

Roxas and Xion were only about waist deep in the water, but they were still taking their practice seriously. Mostly it involved doggy-paddling rather than anything more complicated, though Olette kept showing off how to do a backstroke. He knew they would be fine. Isa was supervising them closely. Lea knew that Isa would never let anything happen to them, but Lea couldn't look away. Just in case.

He'd known that the visit to the beach would make him anxious. But it would be better for them to learn how to swim. Lea had been meaning to do something about it since their visit to Destiny Island. He just hadn't managed to work up the courage to do anything about it. But they needed to learn. They needed all the survival skills that he could give them. Or rather, that Isa could give them.

"Isa's good at teaching," said Pence. "He taught me some carpentry skills before you started working on the Old Mansion."

Nodding, he said, "When we were kids, he tried to teach me how to swim a few times. Not his fault that I have the buoyancy of a brick." Gesturing at them with an ice cream stick, Lea said, "Roxas and Xion clearly don't have that same problem."

Despite his anxiety still prickling as he watched, he had to admit that they had been improving the entire time that Lea had been watching. Enough that Roxas was starting to play around. He would duck his head under the water occasionally on purpose instead of accidentally sinking. Maybe Lea would be able to relax eventually and trust that they would be fine. Maybe he would be able to believe that they wouldn't drown.

"So you're really not going in the water at all," asked Pence, setting aside the watermelon rind.

Lea tugged at his t-shirt that he was wearing with his swim trunks and said, "I fry in the sun and I can barely swim. Isa is busy enough without having to drag my sunburnt hide out of the surf."

"Yeah, I guess it would be nice to have a day at the beach without anyone getting hurt."

"And what about you? Do you plan to go swimming today?"

"Maybe," said Pence with a shrug. "Or I can hang out with you for a while."

Lea watched as Olette tried to teach Xion how to float on her back.. It only lasted a few minutes until Roxas decided to splash them both. Sputtering and laughing, Xion surged to her feet to retaliate. The swimming lesson quickly devolved into chaos. Even Isa seemed amused by the antics.

"Smiling, Lea said, "Well, it is shallow water. Change of plans then." He climbed to his feet and dusted off some of the sand. "How about it, Pence? Want to try knocking Isa off his feet and dunk him?"

Terra knew that it wasn't a formal meeting. It never was. They hadn't summoned everyone to the Mysterious Tower. It was more of a casual update on progress. They'd done this several times in the previous months. Only a few of them had gathered there to discuss things.

Terra and Aqua had come rather than just one of them, but Ventus stayed back at the Land of Departure with Kiru and Naminé. King Mickey was there, taking a break from the constant searching rather than simply calling with an update for them. He'd sent Donald and Goofy back to Disney Castle since they hadn't been home in a while. Kairi and Riku refused to stay behind, but she'd told them that Lea, Isa, Roxas, and Xion already had enough to worry about and that she would tell them about everything later. And of course, Master Yen Sid was in his tower already.

Six of them trying to go over what progress that they'd made. Which wasn't much.

"Another five worlds," said Riku, a tight fist at his side while he refused to meet anyone's eyes. "Not even a single sign of him."

Reaching for his arm, Kairi said, "It's not your fault."

"I could have searched more already."

"Not without missing more school. Do you want to repeat another grade?" she said, giving him a sharp look. "We'll find him."

"Don't blame yourself, Riku. We've managed to visit another dozen worlds," said King Mickey, shaking his head, "but we didn't find anything either. I did get a small update from Chip and Dale though."

"Oh?" asked Aqua.

"They say that they should be able to track a Gummiphone to a limited extent."

"How limited?" asked Terra.

"They can track it to the last place that it was used to make a call."

Crossing his arms, Terra said, "I don't know how helpful that would be. If Sora called us, couldn't we just ask him where he is?"

"Chip and Dale did admit that it of very limited use," he said. "But maybe we'll get lucky."

"Lea says that he and Isa haven't found anything in the old files that they've been working on," said Kairi. "A lot of it is still corrupted data or disorganized, but they're working on it."

"So are Master Ansem and the others at Radiant Garden," added King Mickey.

Master Yen Sid nodded from behind his desk. Then he turned his attention towards Terra and Aqua. Terra tried to straighten further under his gaze, his arms dropping back to his sides and raising his head.

"And how does your research proceed, Master Aqua and Master Terra?" he asked.

Terra tried not to react to the title. It still startled him every time that he heard it, though not as much as Riku jumped whenever someone called him "Master." It was still a change that he was adapting to. Master Yen Sid had decided to honor Master Eraqus's final words on the matter. A parting reassurance and apology before his heart left to join Kingdom Hearts became an official declaration of mastery. Maybe someday it would feel real.

"Despite our search through the library," said Aqua, "we haven't found anything describing what happened to Sora or any way to retrieve him. At least, not yet. We aren't completely out of leads."

Terra frowned and looked away. One of the possibilities that they were all considering without directly admitting it was that Sora might be in the Realm of Darkness. It made sense on what Jiminy relayed about the brief conversation between Sora and the youngest version of Xehanort. Ominous warnings about Sora condemning his heart into the depths of a dark abyss. They'd hoped that he was being poetic with that description. But a more literal interpretation would point towards the boy being lost in the Realm of Darkness like how Aqua was. Or possibly in worse condition.

That would be infinitely more difficult to deal with than any other option. The Realm of Darkness was vast, difficult to navigate without being lost or corrupted, and dangerous. It took over a decade for Aqua to escape.

And Terra wanted nothing more than to keep her from returning there. She didn't deserve to be harmed like that again. But she would feel that it was her responsibility to take that risk since she was a Keyblade master and Sora helped rescue her. She wouldn't want anyone else to face that danger. And Terra knew how badly it would hurt her; she was still recovering from the last time she was there.

It wasn't just Aqua. Terra was still healing from his own past as well. But Master Eraqus asked him to look after her and Ventus. And keeping her out of the Realm of Darkness seemed like a decent way to start.

They hadn't exhausted all other options yet. They might be able to bring Sora home without having to set foot there. She didn't need to risk herself like that just yet.

Terra was learning how to accept, control, and use his darkness. He, Aqua, and Ventus were trying to unlearn certain lessons that Master Eraqus taught that were… rigid and extreme at times. They were all working to understand that light and darkness were not simple. That darkness was not inherently evil. But that didn't mean that she was ready to return to the place that she was lost for over a decade.

"My own research through the tomes have not yet yielded answers either," said Master Yen Sid solemnly. "I have a few avenues left to explore. We should not lose hope."

"Hercules is fairly certain that Sora is not in the Underworld," said King Mickey, trying to put some optimism into his words. "Contacting Will Turner was more difficult, but Donald and Goofy insisted that we try. And Sora isn't in the Locker either. We have no reason to believe that he's dead." He scanned the room, giving them all a look of determination. "There is still a chance to bring him home."

"We have to," said Riku quietly.

"Thanks for letting us know," said Lea, scratching the back of his head. "I appreciate you keeping us in the loop. You take care of yourself, Kairi. And smack Riku on the back of the head if he starts dwelling on things too much or blaming himself."

"Thanks, Axel. It's been… hard. For all of us. I think everyone feels worse after one of these updates."

"Makes sense. You've spent a lot of time waiting for Sora. Took over a year before you found him and Riku at the Castle That Never Was, right? Then all these months since the Keyblade War. Trust me, I get it. But we're not giving up. We'll figure something out."

"I know we will," said Kairi.

Isa tried to continue working on the banister of the Old Mansion as Lea finished up the conversation and put away the Gummiphone. But he couldn't completely ignore what Kairi was saying. Not a single scrap of progress on locating Sora. The search was feeling more and more like his efforts to find the girl from the cell. The only difference was that there were more people trying to help.

And more people being hurt by the continued failures.

"We are running out of leads on finding the Keybearer," said Isa evenly.

Shrugging, Lea said, "Yeah, but there's still a few possibilities that people are working on. And maybe we'll come up with some new ideas. You never know."

Isa frowned thoughtfully as the two of them worked on sanding away the splinters from the wood. He took his time, considering everything carefully. Weighing the potential reward against the risks. It had been a long time since he attempted such a thing. He knew better than to try that particular trick lightly. But as he and Lea worked on the replacement banister, Isa turned it over and over in his mind.

The others had worked hard at bringing Sora home. And the boy was responsible for his freedom from Xemnas and Xehanort, among other things. They all owed him a heavy debt. Should Isa not do more if he was able?

"I may have an idea on how to locate the boy," he said evenly.

Looking up, Lea asked, "Really?"

"There is a full moon in a couple of nights," said Isa, keeping his tone calm, neutral, and careful.

"No," he snapped, his expression immediately darkening.

"Lea, please be reasonable."

"Not happening."

"It might provide us with answers on how to find Sora or at least a new avenue of inquiry—"

"Not a chance, Isa."

"—and perhaps we'll also find a clue about her this time as well."

Tossing down the sandpaper and glaring at him sharply, Lea said, "And how did that work out the last few times that you tried it? Because I think we're remembering it differently."

Isa looked away. Lea wasn't wrong. There were risks to his proposal. And only limited success during his previous attempts with that aspect of his power. Otherwise, he would have found the girl years ago.

Becoming a Nobody had enhanced all of their magical potential, though it also had severely limited its versatility. Yet another way that Roxas and Xion broke the mold. Axel could use Fire magic in ways that almost no one could match, but he couldn't use the weakest Blizzard, Thunder, or Cure. Saïx relied more on strength than spells because his power was connected towards the moon rather than any direct elemental influence. But the gifts that the moon provided him could be volatile.

His Berserk form was the most obvious form of his power, but there was another side of it. Another way that the moon could hold sway over his mind. The two main abilities so close together that it would be easy to stray across the line from one to the other. And yet so different, like comparing a pale full moon with one bearing the reddish tint that it took on rare nights.

The reason why Saïx was also known as the Luna Diviner. A rarely employed gift. The power to see true visions of the past, present, and future.

There were limits. He couldn't control or direct what those visions showed him. He could almost push it more towards a particular time frame, but even that was unreliable. The subjects or events were random. They were also always true and could not be changed. Not merely the past and present, but even the glimpses of the future would come to pass. Once the future was seen, those events were set in stone and could not be altered regardless of what they might be. Possibly dooming them to a terrible outcome. And then there were the risks that came with inviting those visions.

"Looking into the past or the future never works out for you, Isa," he continued, frustration trying to hide the worry in his tone. "I remember the strain it puts on you, leaving you exhausted in the aftermath. And lets not forget what happens when you're actually scrying. You either get trapped in those visions until they decide to free you or you slip into your Berserk form if someone tries to keep you from slipping too deep. You nearly broke Xaldin's neck when he interrupted you once and had to try containing you. And even Xemnas ordered you not to use that power when it left you comatose for nearly a week last time."

Closing his eyes and shaking his head to banish the memory of seeing those visions for days before he managed to resurface, Isa said, "It took nearly another month to straighten out the mess that Xigbar made of the paperwork in my absence."

"Isa, I'm not kidding," said Lea. "We're not that desperate yet. Please don't try it. Don't risk harming yourself like that."

He looked back towards his friend. The desperate pleading and worry in his eyes impossible to hide. Maybe back then, he couldn't convey how much he hated it when Isa became lost in those visions, trying to find the girl while claiming to be furthering the Organization's agenda with his scrying. But Lea could make it clear now. Isa could read it in his expression. Lea was honestly scared that he would get hurt or perhaps get lost in those chaotic visions.

Letting the moon's power pull him like that might bring him knowledge, but it did not give him the answers that he'd sought for so long. And perhaps there was no real guarantee that it would ever let him go or that Isa would be able to surface again. He may simply drown in those visions that he let flood his mind.

Whether in his Berserk form or his scrying, Isa always risked losing himself when under the sway of the moon. One held more danger for others and the second held more danger for himself.

And his friend was scared of that danger towards Isa.

"Very well then," said Isa slowly. "I will put aside the matter for now. But I cannot promise that I won't offer my services in the future if we run out of safer methods of searching for Sora."

Breathing out a clear sigh of relief, Lea said, "That's all I ask. Is it so wrong that I want to keep you guys safe?"

"You are not going to lose us. I promise," he said. Pausing a moment, Isa commented dryly, "At most, you may have had to deal with working on repairs here alone while I recovered."

"Yeah, there's no way that's happening. You'd leave me with all the paperwork and old reports."

Pale moonlight and star beams streamed through the window. But the shadows of the night held no power there. Aqua's room was filled with a warm glow.

Ventus, Naminé, and Kiru had presented her a small gift a few weeks ago. The efforts of all three studying non-combative magic as a surprise. A small creation of crystal, copper wire, stained glass, and their magic. A unique and handmade lamp that the three of them designed and put together. It looked like a strange hodgepodge, but it glowed with a steady light. Casting patches of red, blue, green, orange, yellow, and white on the walls as light from the crystal shone through the pieces of glass.

A nightlight. They'd made her a nightlight.

It didn't always solve her insomnia. But Aqua could relax at night, the dread caused by lurking shadows and the need to keep moving silenced. Even that much relief was better than the constant tension. And she was sleeping more than she did before.

Lea's advice turned out to be more effective than she could have guessed. For all of them. Building a routine to calm down in the evening before bed with tea or warm milk. Leaving the doors open at night. Trying to talk about what was wrong. The last one was more difficult than the rest. But Lea also proved to be right that by opening up about her own struggles, they would be more willing to share their problems as well.

Ventus couldn't bring himself to sleep much anymore because he'd slept so long in Sora's heart. And Terra dreamed of Master Xehanort stealing his body, of causing Master Eraqus's demise indirectly, of being lost for so long until they finally brought him back. She couldn't solve their problems. But she could be there for them and listen. And that seemed to help ease their burdens a little.

Just like her beautiful and colorful nightlight helped sooth her rough nights.

But a nightlight could not protect her completely from what was coming. Aqua knew what they needed to do. It had been months of searching and researching for everyone. Months of trying and failing to bring Sora back. They needed to try something else.

They needed to look somewhere else.

Aqua shivered slightly, pulling a blanket tighter around her shoulders as she sat on her bed. She knew what she needed to do. And maybe it wasn't befitting a Keyblade master to feel that way, but she was scared of going back to the Realm of Darkness. Not merely of being lost and trapped there again. She was afraid of what she might become.

But… she couldn't simply suppress and deny that fear. That darkness within her. It wasn't inherently a bad thing. That was her darkness. She needed to accept it as a part of herself and use it towards the light.

It wasn't what Master Eraqus would have told her. He would have said that they shouldn't allow even a speck of darkness to take root and grown. That she was letting it control her by giving the darkness even that much power.

But while it could corrupt and could be very dangerous, darkness was not inherently evil. Riku used the darkness, using it while being a guardian of light. Terra was learning to harness it. Lea, Roxas, and Xion all traveled through darkness even though Master Yen Sid and King Mickey both occasionally scolded them for that recklessness. Even King Mickey wielded a Keyblade of Darkness. It was not as simple as Master Eraqus taught them.

Aqua could be afraid. She could acknowledge and accept that fear. But she couldn't let it dictate her actions. She knew in her heart what needed to be done.

"Aqua?"

She glanced towards the door where Ventus stepped inside. He studied her for a moment before carefully approaching. He clambered onto her bed, slipped behind her, and wrapped his arms around her middle as he buried his head into shoulder. Blinking in surprise, she hesitated a moment before placing her hands over his.

"Terra told me about the meeting," he said quietly.

"No new leads," said Aqua quietly.

"We know what you're thinking."

"Do you?" she asked.

Ventus hugged her tighter. As if he thought that she would try to leave that very second. She faintly wondered if he was awake because of his normal issues with sleep or because he was worried about her.

"I'll be fine," she said.

"We just got you back. We're finally together again. You can't go."

"Sora is still missing. What if this is the only way to bring him home? I can't leave him there if he's in the Realm of Darkness."

"You don't know that he's there."

"And we don't know that he is not."

"There are still other options that we can try," said Terra from the doorway, making them both jump in surprise.

He looked tired as he came to sit on the bed next to her. Sleep clearly eluded him this evening as well. Aqua hadn't even told them her plans and yet they'd figured out enough for their worry to cost them rest. She didn't mean to worry any of them.

"We still have time before we need to take drastic measures," continued Terra. "But if you decide that it the best way to bring Sora home, then we'll support your decision."

"Terra," said Ventus, letting go to climb around to sit on the edge of the bed with the rest of them.

"But," he continued, "you will not be going to the Realm of Darkness alone, Aqua. We have a better chance if we go together. All of us."

Shaking her head, she said, "I can't ask that of you."

"We're offering," said Ventus. "You're our friend. Please let us help you."

"Ven…"

"And Sora saved me. I owe him so much. We all do. Let me help bring Sora home."

"We don't have to make the decision to go right now. There's still time and other possible ways to find him," said Terra. "And we would have to talk with Kiru and Naminé before we go anywhere. But if we decide that the only way is to search the Realm of Darkness, then we go together or not at all."

"And if you try to go alone, we'll just chase after you," said Ventus firmly. "No running away from home. It'll be easier for everyone if you let us go with you from the start."

Somehow, their support and refusal to let her face the Realm of Darkness alone brought a smile to her face. She didn't want to put them in any danger. But they were Keyblade wielders and Terra was a master in his own right. Facing the darkness was what they were raised to do. And it was easier to face those fears if she wasn't alone.

She had to let them in. She had to accept their help when they reached out a hand to her like that.

"Very well," she said. "When it is time to search for him in the Realm of Darkness—"

"If," corrected Terra, firm and kind.

"—then I will not go alone. I promise."

"That's all that we ask," he said.

Wrapping his arms around her in another hug, Ventus said, "Thanks, Aqua."

I wanted to touch on the topic of Saïx's title in Organization XIII, the Luna Diviner. The moon connection was obvious, but the whole diviner part never came up. And since I do like the idea of powers with consequences, I decided to go with the idea that he can totally scry with his moon-based powers, but it has some serious drawbacks that make it a bad idea in most cases to explain why it never comes up.

And the search for Sora continues, but everyone is getting a bit more serious about it. He's been gone for a while and they are starting to consider more dangerous options. Of course, that's what the planned third fic for this series will be dealing with. We're getting closer to that point. I even have a title for that story: "Protective Instincts."

Thanks for everyone who continues to read and comment on my writing. I deeply appreciate every single one.