AN: Kicking it off with the first little vignette scene thingy. xD Though this is gonna be a slice of life type fic, that doesn't necessarily mean it's all "fluff and wholesome." :D Juuust a warning there lol. This is about LIFE, and life has ups and downs and emotional stuff as much as good happy fun times. :D There might also be some action still! Buuut yeah...for the MOST PART it'll be good and happy fun times. xD Cause these characters deserve a break lol!

The first few chapters/scenes are gonna be the immediate aftermath of the end of WP3. And this first one is for the characters not included in the epilogue! :)

These vignettes are all gonna be kinda short so they'll pretty much go up whenever lol. But sometimes they might be two or three parters, and so on, so yeah! :D Time to mostly just chill and have fun! Weeeeeeeee!


The conundrum of where, exactly, people like him would end up had been one that worried Lauriam's Heart up until the very moment it happened.

The worlds were restored, and in a flash of light, Lauriam had been...sent somewhere else.

When the light faded, Lauriam found himself standing on the pristine docks of a...city.

A massive, vertical city. Wider at base, thinnest at the top, with a grand tower overseeing all...

There was grass, and trees, here and there.

Windmills and clock towers dotted the cityscape.

Surrounding it all was an ocean. An ocean of crystal blue.

And beyond that ocean, in all directions, there were other, similar cities. Some smaller, some larger, some with different configurations. All of them seemed to be connected to one another by a network of cables, with aerial trams in motion...

"What the hell?" came the sharp, caustic tones he knew well (and secretly felt a great deal of affection for).

Lauriam turned to see Elrena tumbling over, grasping the railing of the dock for support.

His eyes moved to the figures next to Elrena: Strelitzia, and Skuld. The former of whom looked immediately enamored with the city, and the latter who...well, she fell immediately to sit on the grass, her hand falling into her lap. Her eyes simply...not seeing.

"It's so beautiful..." Strelitzia breathed, her face split by a wide smile. Her eyes simply...shining.

Lauriam allowed himself a smile, as well, nodding to her. It warmed his Heart, to see hers so lovely and bright again. To have her back again. "It is. Though, I do have to wonder why, exactly, we were sent here by the forces of the worlds." He paused, glancing around once more, frowning. "It's nowhere familiar to me..."

And yet...

Something within his Heart...

"Do either of you two recognize this place?" Lauriam added, looking to his sister and Elrena.

"Not a clue," Elrena shrugged, eyeing her surroundings with...appreciation. "But, you know, it's not bad."

"I've never been here before," Strelitzia murmured, after a moment's thought.

"Hmm..." Lauriam hummed in thought, himself. "Well, regardless...I'm happy to report that we succeeded: the worlds have been restored, and so has their peace. Now, in lieu of any other, better option on where to go now - I think we should head to the Land of Departure. That would be Masters Aqua, Terra, and Ven's home," he said, for his sister's benefit.

"What an awesome idea - except you forgot one thing," Elrena spoke up.

"And what's that?" Lauriam asked curiously.

Elrena threw out a hand, jabbing a finger at Strelitzia and Skuld. "These two aren't wearing black coats! You want to portal on over to Ven's place? They're not going to have a fun time of it. Really...who knows what it would do to Skuld's Heart? It's already a mess..." she finished quietly, with real concern flashing over her features.

"Excellent point. I hadn't considered..." Lauriam's frown deepened.

Were they to be stranded here, then?

Or could the risk be taken?

Could he risk his own sister's Heart like that?

No.

Nor could he risk Skuld's delicate, damaged one...

Lauriam's arms moved before his mind caught up, moving inward toward his chest. He unzipped his coat and pulled it off, holding it in his arms. He stepped forward, offering it to his sister. "Here. It will protect you."

Strelitzia stared, wide-eyed. "B-but- but- but-"

"No buts. Please. Let me keep you safe."

"Y-you're always keeping me safe," Strelitzia replied.

"Only as of late," Lauriam murmured shamefully. "If I'd been a better brother before, you never would have-"

"No! You can't blame yourself!" Strelitzia burst out.

"It isn't blame: it's fact. The fact is that I failed to protect my little sister, and she lost her life because of it. So let me protect you now. Take the coat!" Lauriam hadn't meant to sound so rough and unkind, but the emotion in his Heart...it found its way out, and his sister saw it.

Strelitzia flushed, slack-jawed, staring up at him. Then she reached out and took the black coat from him, and began struggling with putting it on. As she did, it shrank and morphed to her proportions, so that it fit her perfectly once she'd donned it.

"Thank you..." Lauriam whispered.

"Fuck it..." Elrena muttered, as she suddenly began pulling off her own coat as well. She tossed it down to Skuld, then paused. She blushed, lips forming a frown. "Right...Okay..." She quickly knelt down, pulled the other woman to her feet, and began the arduous task of forcing her into the black coat.

"You look like the brother I've always remembered, now," Strelitzia spoke, staring at Lauriam with a smile.

"Hm? Oh..." Lauriam looked down at himself, inspecting his own clothes. Yes, the outfit he'd worn beneath the coat...the same outfit from Daybreak Town. Magical garb, that changed size and shape as he'd grown. Most all of them had had similar outfits. A basic functionality, for child wielders living on their own like that... "I suppose you're right," he said, smiling back at her.

Lauriam turned to watch Elrena as she finished wrangling Skuld into her coat. Elrena finished it off by pulling the hood up over Skuld's head. She stepped away with a huff, brushing at her hair. She glanced at Lauriam. Then at Strelitzia. She put a hand on her hip.

"What?" Elrena said, raising her eyebrows.

Lauriam's smile grew. "Nothing - you just seem to wear that outfit well."

"What?" Elrena repeated, confused now. She looked down at herself, gasping. Then, her face turned bright red as she crossed her arms down over her body. "T-that's not- I don't- don't look at me like that...when I'm like this! This isn't even...come on...!"

Without her coat, Elrena was wearing stylish blue boots, a black skirt, and a long white dress shirt and tie, with a blue jacket over top.

"You look so pretty, though," Strelitzia remarked, blushing.

"W-well, I'm not going to look so pretty after I take a dive through a Dark Corridor without a black coat..." Elrena stammered out, flushed, herself.

"Don't worry - we're going to be fine," Lauriam said quickly to his sister.

"Fine, my ass..." Elrena refuted. "We're still Nobodies - we'll be lucky if we don't just-"

"Would that be so terrible, now, I wonder?" Lauriam cut across mildly. "We would in fact see a benefit, wouldn't we? We would return as complete people again..."

"Only if luck's on our side," Elrena retorted, snorting. "If our Heartlesses were destroyed out there at some point, and if we survive the transition. I wouldn't bet on those odds! And- even still- it's not like I'm itching to go commit suicide! Are you?"

"Of course not," Lauriam said firmly, glancing at Strelitzia. "But at some point I think we should consider the idea of restoring our bodies and Hearts to a stable, full existence again."

"Whatever - I'm fine how I am," Elrena said, waving a hand.

I wonder...

All the same, Lauriam turned away, raising a hand and conjuring a Dark Corridor. "Strelitzia, Skuld - you two should go first. Elrena and I will be right behind you," he spoke. He hesitated, then stepped in to pull the hood up over his sister's head.

His sister stared at him from inside the hood, for a long moment, anxious and fearful. Then she nodded, turning and grabbing hold of Skuld's limp hand, and began to inch her way toward the swirling dark portal, her face full of determination.

"Just run - you'll be out the other side before you know it," Elrena advised Strelitzia, embarrassed but earnest. Or, embarrassed by the earnestness.

Even so, Lauriam appreciated the woman's genuine attempt at helping his sister. Just the same as she always had, from the very beginning, when she had offered to help search for her...and even gone above and beyond in said search of her own initiative...

Strelitzia nodded to Elrena, and then she ducked her head and ran into the portal, dragging Skuld along with her.

Lauriam looked to Elrena as his sister disappeared. "After you," he told her.

Elrena snorted, waving a hand and stepping back. She made a grandiose gesture toward the portal, raising her eyebrows at him. "Because I'm a woman? I don't think so - chivalry doesn't suit you. Why don't you go first, since it's so important to you? And, you're closer to being a woman than I am, anyways!"

Lauriam chuckled, shaking his head and striding for the portal. "Whatever you like," he said humorously.

Passing through the Dark Corridor was...an ordeal, he admitted. It clawed and burned at his non-existent body, it sought to seep through and encase his Heart - such weak defenses, a thin sheet of protection that surrounded it. But he kept his eyes ahead, on his Strelitzia - his guiding light and strength. As she always had been.

As she would always be.

Soon enough he emerged out of the portal, into sun and warmth and a familiar world again. Into the grass on a high mountain clearing, overlooking a great castle of gold and white.

He drew in a gasping breath, his legs trembling.

Strelitzia had cast off her hood, and she turned back to look at him with immediate concern. "Are you okay? Lauriam...?"

Lauriam raised his hand to her, shaking his head. He steadied himself and straightened up again, smiling at her. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"I'm f-fine...too...thanks for- asking...!" came the halting, scathing tones of Elrena as she emerged from the darkness. She staggered forward, immediately tumbling right into Lauriam.

Lauriam grabbed hold of her as she fell against him. She was clinging to his arm, he realized. In the next moment, her legs gave out, and she dropped. He dropped to his knees with her, a deep fear and worry racing in his Heart. "Elrena-"

"Damn...darkness..." Elrena spoke, breathless and dazed. Her head fell back, lolling in his arms. Her eyes gazed up at him, locked to his face. "Always hated that crap..." Her lips formed a small smile, and then she laughed softly. "Funny, right? That I- gave into it - and then started to use it all the time now, as a Nobody..."

"Elrena..." Lauriam gasped, shaking his head and raising a hand to cast a Healing spell on her. He put all of his magical power into it, a bright green light emanating from her body - and from his own.

"W-What's happening to her...?" Strelitzia said, in a high voice, her eyes wide.

Elrena scoffed, turning her head away. That smile grew on her face, lighting up her eyes. "Okay, no. Can we not be all...dramatic? Didn't you just say- that it wasn't so bad? Yaaaay, I'll be a weak, stupid, mortal human woman again...right?"

"Assuming the odds are in your favor..." Lauriam whispered her words back to her, shaking.

Elrena laughed again, even as dark particles began to rise from her body. As the air around her swirled and rippled...

"Shit - you're right - I've never been a glass half full kind of girl..." Elrena said weakly. "But...you know what...? Right about now...I wish I was..."

"You'll be back - you'll be back to normal - soon," Lauriam said, firm as he could. "Believe in that."

"Well...if I'm not..." Elrena struggled, her eyes closing, her hands slipping from off of his arm. "Give...Xehanort...one from...me...p-partner..."

"I-"

Lauriam choked on his words, as Elrena completely vanished from his arms.

He fell forward onto hands and knees, in her absence, his hair hanging. His trembling hands formed fists on the ground.

Partner?

She had called him..."partner"?

It was a far cry from "friend", in the average person's book...

But, coming from Elrena...

Lauriam found himself smiling again, despite the tears brimming in his eyes.

I will see you again...Elrena. We all will. We didn't all come this far, survive against so much...only to lose someone like this. This separation...it's only temporary. However long it lasts.

And I...I'll be waiting for you...partner...on the other side.