When Kairi woke the next morning she was surprised to find Riku still at Sora's bedside. He had fallen asleep half on the bed, just like she had the other day, one hand on Sora's. She giggled at how sweet they looked. Despite knowing Riku would kill her if he found out, she couldn't resist taking a picture with her phone. Her smile faded as she looked at the photo though. It was possible this could be one of the last pictures she ever took of Sora... She pushed the thought out of her mind. She wouldn't let herself think like that.

The three of them were going to take thousands more pictures together to make up for so much lost time. She'd dreamt of travelling with them to other worlds for so long, she needed them to have that adventure. Despite joining them as a Keyblade wielder she had still seen so few worlds. Their raft was meant to have taken them to far-off places. After all this, didn't they deserve to finally have their own adventures together?

Baymax waddled through the door. "Good morning Kairi."

"Good morning" she smiled as he joined her beside the bed.

Baymax made his usual checks and then gave his usual report. "I am afraid there has been no change in his condition."

Kairi sighed, disappointed but not especially surprised. She had been hoping last night was a sign he was improving, but he looked just as pale and sick to her as he had all week. At least he hadn't gotten any worse...

After so many days of rest, she was more than ready to get away for a while to stretch her legs and Keyblade arm. She made her way to the training ground, leaving Riku to sleep.

His dreams were full of bright coloured glass, dotted across black skies. One was cracked and dark. He moved towards it, seeing just one spot of light. A small star shining at its core. He reached out a hand, touched it. The fractures beneath his fingers began to glow. He wouldn't remember the dream.

Kairi returned several hours later, thoroughly worn out. She found Riku very awake, doing push-ups to keep himself occupied. "You really can't sit still that long can you?" she said as she flopped onto the couch.

He sighed and sat back on his heels. "Nope, not at the moment at least."

"You can go train now if you want, although we might need Merlin to replace some of the targets soon..." After so many days of inactivity and pent-up emotions, she may have gone a little overboard with practice...

"Nah, I'll stay here."

He couldn't leave Sora's side right now, he wasn't sure if he would ever feel able to again. He got up and joined Kairi on the couch, leant forward with his forearms on his knees and hands clasped in front of him. "I thought he was going to wake up earlier, he was mumbling a little, just like yesterday."

Her heart leapt. "What! That's great!"

Riku shook his head. "Baymax came in a few hours ago and said he's still not getting better though, and he sounds like he's in pain. I don't know if it's a good sign or not..."

"Oh..." Her heart sank slightly. "Well... I'm taking it as another good sign!" She told him defiantly anyway, crossing her arms and looking stern. "And you should too."

He couldn't help smiling at her. "You know who you sound like?"

"Who?"

"Sora."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She returned his small smile, but then her face broke, and tears welled in her eyes yet again. She shuffled over so she could lean against him and he put an arm around her. They sat quietly for a while.

"How has training been going with Aqua?" Riku asked ten or so minutes later, breaking the silence. "Terra told me he wouldn't be surprised if you're the next one to join them as Keyblade Masters."

"Really?!" Her jaw dropped in shock. "What about Ven?"

Roxas, Axel, and Xion weren't really concerned with becoming masters. Right now they were more interested in having a chance to finally live their lives, though Xion had been pondering joining her in training under Aqua. But there was no way Terra could think she'd get there before Ventus. He had lost a lot of his strength while sleeping, but she was sure he was still far ahead of her.

"Well, he thinks it will be a close game between you two, so don't get cocky! He said you've still got a lot more training to do, but he's certain you'll be a master one day."

She was amazed. "I can't believe he said that... That's so great to hear he believes in me..."

"Well, we all do." He gave her shoulders a squeeze and she blushed happily.

"Thanks Riku." Hearing that people believed in her meant more to her than she thought anyone could ever know, except maybe Riku himself, or Sora.

Sora... She hesitated for a moment, guilt churning in her stomach. "That would be so unfair though..."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to be the next master. I shouldn't be. It should be Sora. He deserves it more than anyone."

She felt bitter, it was cruel he wasn't one. First he had it taken away from him when the Organisation kidnapped him and crushed his strength. Then, as soon as he recovered that, he'd been cast away from this world and lost another year of his life because of her. And now when, or if, he woke up, he would find his body crippled and his strength gone once again.

"Well... I can't argue with you there," Riku agreed, feeling just as bitter though unaware of her guilt. He hugged her a little tighter.

"He will be though, won't you Sora?" he called out, smiling and looking up at him.

They both jumped at the sound of shifting sheets, as Sora suddenly stirred and began mumbling again.

"Did he hear his name?" Kairi asked as they dashed over.

"Maybe?"

They both sat down beside him on the bed, Riku on his left and Kairi on his right.

"Sora? Can you hear me?" He scrunched his face up for a moment and groaned softly, turning towards Riku's voice. Was this it? Was he finally coming back?

Riku rubbed his shoulder, "Come on Sora, you've got to wake up... please wake up... "

And then it happened.

Two thin lines of blue appeared as his eyes opened a crack. And this time, they didn't immediately close.

It was the sight they had been desperately waiting for.

He slowly blinked up at them, eyes half closed, and looked from one to the other, a vacant expression on his face.

"You're awake..." Riku breathed, staring at him in disbelief.

He stared back at Riku and furrowed his brow slightly, before turning his head to slowly gaze around the room. They gave him a moment to take in his surroundings, though his eyes were so glassy they weren't sure if he was really seeing anything. He leant forward and tried sluggishly to sit up, but Riku placed his free hand on his chest and lightly pushed him back.

"Hey take it easy, don't try and move" he told him gently, and Sora leant back into the pillows without resistance.

"Sora?"

He turned back towards Kairi's voice, movements heavy and slow. They both smiled at him and Kairi let out a joyful laugh, thrilled he was conscious enough to react. She placed a hand on his cheek "It's OK, you're safe now".

He looked completely lost. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only an indistinct murmur came out. Riku massaged his shoulder with his thumb. "Can you hear me? It's us, it's Riku and Kairi."

He stared at Riku, frowning again as he tried to focus. Then the hint of a smile appeared on his face, and Riku thought his heart might burst. Sora smiled at him for a few more seconds, but then his eyelids flickered closed, and he was gone again.

"Sora?"

Riku gave his shoulder a tiny shake and they held their breath, waiting for him to open his eyes again. After a few moments they sighed and accepted it wasn't going to happen, but turned to each other with pure joy on their faces. He was coming back to them, he was really coming back.

Baymax proceeded to scan Sora, examine his broken arm, and checked his bruising and cuts to see how much they had healed. He turned to the two of them and said the words they had been waiting days to hear.

"Sora's condition is improving."

"What!?" Riku exclaimed. "You... you're sure?"

"Yes. The bruising in his lungs has mostly cleared and his blood pressure has increased. His other injuries do not seem to be healing, but he appears to be regaining strength."

Kairi leapt up and hugged Baymax tightly, burying her face in his squishy form as she sobbed. Riku took a deep breath and let it out slowly, dragging a shaking hand down his face, relieved beyond belief. He turned to Sora and gave him a small smile. "About time."

Kairi leant back and looked up at Baymax with red eyes. "So… does that mean he'll wake up properly soon?"

"Unfortunately I am still not able to determine the extent of his head injury. I therefore cannot estimate when he will fully regain consciousness. As he is now sleeping, and no longer in a comatose state, it would be wise for us to let him stay asleep until he wakes naturally."

"But that means you think he'll be OK, right?" Riku asked.

"It is still too soon to be certain, however I can confirm that he is no longer in immediate danger and will most likely continue to improve."

Even if he wasn't certain, Riku and Kairi were ecstatic. They weren't going to lose him. The waiting might almost be over. Finally, he would really be back.

Knowing they no longer had to worry about waking up and finding Sora lifeless, Riku and Kairi had both slept properly for the first time in days, curled up together on the couch.

Despite the good news Baymax had given them the night before, in the morning Riku was agitated. As the day went on he found he couldn't stay seated and took to pacing up and down the room. Usually, he would have left to do some training and let off some steam, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the room today. He couldn't leave until he knew Sora was alright.

His pacing was slowly driving Kairi mad though. By mid-morning she was desperate to find something to keep herself occupied, mainly to stop her snapping at Riku. She didn't want to leave the tower so training wasn't an option. She remembered the reason she had been looking at Sora's clothes when she found the charm. Maybe Yen Sid could contact the good fairies for her and get them fixed? She picked up the jacket and singlet and went to look for him, leaving Riku to his pacing and brooding.

You're alone Sora

The voice echoed around corners, shifting, always one turn ahead. The streets all looked the same. He'd been running for hours, days, weeks, trying to chase it down.

Hey, Sora!

Sora? Can you hear me?

Riku and Kairi's voices were so distant. He didn't know which sounds to follow anymore.

Did you really think you would ever see them again?

He heard the voice high above him now. He was back at that familiar crossing. He ran forward to scale the closest building.

Stay with me Sora, just stay with me.

Sora please… don't go…

He stopped and turned. Their voices sounded closer, right behind him.

Did you really think you could escape this place? This is where you belong.

A pool of darkness opened beneath his feet, dragging him down. A dark figure stood in the distance and laughed.

Just hold on, OK Sora?

Just a little longer Sora, please

Suddenly there they were, standing between that monster and him. Their backs were turned. He tried to cry out, run towards them, but his legs were trapped and his mouth made no sound. He tasted blood in his throat.

This is the end for them Sora

A wave of darkness was rolling forward, swallowing all in its path. The claws of a thousand Shadows were rolling towards them.

Sora, you've got to wake up... please wake up...

Please Sora… Don't leave again…

He was wrong. There were no Shadows. It was Rage. His chest was burning.

This is the end for you all

They had to run, he screamed at them to run but they didn't move. He couldn't reach them. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything.

Goodbye Sora

He was sinking into the darkness below, trapped and useless, his hands twisting into black claws. He screamed at them to run once more, but the darkness engulfed them, and he watched as Rage tore them apart.

"NO!"

Sora sat bolt upright in bed with a yell, then doubled over as pain shot through his body.

"Agh..."

"S- Sora?"

Riku had been staring out the window but now he wheeled around, stunned. Sora's head throbbed angrily. He clutched it with his uninjured hand, trying to stop it spinning and Riku dashed over.

"Hey take it easy!"

Sora's heart was racing and he was breathing hard, trying desperately to catch his breath.

"Sora it's all right, calm down!"

He dropped his hand from his head and twisted violently from side to side, looking wildly around. He felt sick, disorientated. He had no idea where he was or what was happening.

"Stop moving, you're hurt!"

Riku tried to put his hands gently on Sora's shoulders, but he jerked away. He was panicking, convinced they were still in that city with the robed man, that he had just watched his friends die.

"Hey! Sora look at me!"

Riku grasped his shoulders tightly now, forcing him to stop thrashing back and forth. Sora tried to pull away again but then stopped and stared at him. His vision was swimming but, as he struggled to focus, he recognised a pair of blue green eyes, and silvery hair.

"Ri...ku?"

Riku sighed with relief and beamed at him.

"Yeah it's me, now will you please stop moving before you hurt yourself?"

Sora just kept staring, trembling and breathing hard, terror on his face.

"Riku... what..."

"You're alright, you're safe, just take it easy all right?" Riku let go of his shoulders and sat down beside him, putting an arm around him to try and keep him steady. Sora looked slowly around the room, then back to Riku.

He was staring back, in disbelief and wonder. "I can't believe you're awake..."

Sora opened his mouth to try and respond, but only a breathless stutter came out.

Riku rubbed his back. "Just breathe, everything is OK."

He wanted Riku to be here more than anything, but he was afraid to believe this was real. He'd seen him so many times in his dreams. He raised a shaking hand and hesitantly touched Riku's shoulder, stunned when his fingertips made contact. "You're... here... how-"

"Riku? What's going- Oh!" They looked up to see Kairi standing in the doorway, frozen mid-sentence.

"K-Kairi?" Sora stammered.

For a few seconds she just stared, unable to move, both of them hardly daring to believe their eyes. She dropped the clothes in her arms and ran to the bed, taking his face in her hands. She stared at him, one hand on each of his cheeks, looking into the deep blue eyes that she'd missed so much. Then she burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck. Still disorientated and not knowing what to make of his situation, he put a shaking hand on her back.

"Woah, careful you don't hurt him!"

She drew back quickly at Riku's words and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. Sora looked back and forth between them blankly, Kairi beaming tearfully, and Riku looking happy but concerned.

"Where...are we?"

"Yen Sid's tower" Riku said. "We brought you back here after we found you."

Sora started around the room. Everything was so colourful, it stung his eyes a little. "The tower..." He frowned and turned back to them. "But how? We can't-" His eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait... are we... am I... back?"

They both smiled and nodded.

He swallowed hard. "This... this is real?"

"Yeah, it is" Kairi said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"It's not a dream this time?"

She shook her head.

"You're really here" Riku said.

Sora looked back and forth between them, then stared down into his lap, eyes unfocussed. "I'm back..."

They gave him some time to process the news. As it slowly set in he was overwhelmed. How was this happening? Could this actually be real? Or was it just another dream, about to become a nightmare? No. He could feel Kairi's hand on his shoulder, Riku's arm around him. They were really here. This time it had to be real.

It had to be real.

Tears started running down his cheeks and his shoulders shook. He slowly looked up at them and beamed, eyes streaming.

"I'm back!"

Kairi wrapped an arm around him too. "You're home"

Riku put his free hand on Kairi's shoulder and Sora placed a hand on top of his, the three of them holding on to each other desperately as Sora began sobbing.

"I missed you, I missed you so much..."

He leant forward and they all pressed their foreheads together, faces close, taking each other in. They sat and cried together. For the first time in so long they were truly together. Safe, and together. They clung on to each other, hoping they would never have to let go again.

He was with them again. He wasn't alone anymore. He was home.

Eventually Riku's worries got the better of him and he leant back, quickly drawing the back of his hand across his eyes. "Yeah, you're home, now will you please lie back down! You're still healing."

Sora was far too worked-up to do what Riku told him though. He tried to wipe his eyes and nose and looked back and forth between the two of them, still hardly daring to believe they were there with him.

"How did you find me? How did we get out?"

"It's… kind of a long story" Kairi replied, exchanging looks with Riku.

"But- but you guys are OK right?" He could barely remember it, but he knew that man in the black robe had attacked them as well.

"We're fine, don't worry about us!" Kairi chastised, putting a hand on her hip. "You really should lie down though, and Baymax should check you over."

"Bay...max?"

Now that his adrenaline had faded the pain and exhaustion were returning. He felt an intense jab in his chest and gasped sharply, wrapping his good arm around his middle. His energy evaporated and he slumped back. Riku took his weight against his arm and let his head rest against his shoulder, holding him up as he started coughing. Kairi looked around unsuccessfully for something to hold up to his mouth, but to their great relief he didn't bring up any blood this time. When the coughing ended Sora moaned loudly at the pain in his chest. Riku lowered him back carefully on to the pillows, Kairi supporting his head as he did so.

"Thanks…" he murmured.

As he moved his hand away from his chest Riku saw that the white bandage there was turning red again. "Dammit Sora, you must have ripped the stitches. I told you not to move so much!"

"What?" He looked down, noticing the blood for the first time. "Oh… sorry…"

"I'll get Baymax" Kairi dashed out of the room.

Sora slowly surveyed all the different bandages he was covered in, unsure how any of them had got there. "What happened to my arm?" he asked Riku.

"You broke it pretty badly, and your wrist. I don't know how though, it was like that when we found you."

"Oh… right." He vaguely remembered a chain, and a crack. He pushed the memory out of his mind.

"Is it still numb?"

"Huh?" Sora looked confused.

"On the Gummi- actually never mind, is it sore?"

"A little, but it… just feels… weird…" He felt his eyelids drooping.

"Hey!" Riku grabbed his uninjured hand and Sora dragged his eyes open as he gave it a small shake. "I know you're tired but you need to stay awake until Baymax checks you all right? You're losing blood again…"

"Oh, OK…" Sora's brain felt cloudy, but he registered Riku's fearful tone. He tried to smile and grip his hand back, doing his best to keep his eyes open. Riku put a hand on his shoulder, doing his best to smile as well.

Kairi returned with Baymax. "Hello Sora, I am glad to see you awake."

"Hi Baymax" Sora murmured, happy to see the friend he recognised and too tired to question why, or how he was here.

Riku reluctantly let go of Sora's hand and moved away from the bed, out of Baymax's way so he could tend to him. When the bandage was removed they saw Sora had indeed torn the stitches on his chest while he thrashed around, and the gash had reopened. The bleeding wasn't severe, but it was still a grisly sight. Baymax set to work removing the torn stitches and sanitising the wound.

Sora gritted his teeth and clenched his fist as the cleaning solution stung his chest, so Kairi sat down next to the bed and took his left hand in hers. As Baymax finished sanitising the cut Sora relaxed and opened his eyes again. Black and white dots were creeping into his vision.

"You OK?" Kairi asked.

He turned and nodded, trying to smile reassuringly, but the effect was rather ruined as he screwed up his face and gripped her hand tightly again. Baymax was running a strange black and silver instrument along his chest. It looked a little like a spider, deftly manipulating a set of threads. Baymax was not the most dextrous with a needle, and after several incidents of punctures Hiro had built this device for him.

"My apologies Sora, this will be over in a minute."

Sora didn't hear him though. The pain was mild in comparison to the original injury, but he could still feel himself drifting away. Every breath was making his chest ache and his head was spinning. Baymax was about halfway through the stitches when Kairi felt Sora's hand go limp.

"Sora?"

His head had lolled to the side and his eyes were closed.

"Hey Sora!" Riku yelled, grabbing on to his shoulder. Sora's eyes flickered open briefly, then closed again. The others looked anxiously at Baymax who was just finishing his stitching.

"What's wrong with him Baymax?" Kairi asked.

Baymax took the device away from Sora's chest, where it had left a neat line of stitches, and scanned him. "Please do not be alarmed. Sora's vital signs are at an acceptable level. However, as he is still very weak and in a large amount of pain, he will most likely only stay awake for brief periods of time for a while."

"But he's still OK? He's getting better?" Riku asked, needing confirmation.

"Yes. It will take some time, but with adequate rest he has a high chance of recovery. I cannot yet establish if there will be long term effects to his arm or from his head injury, but in all other ways he should make a full recovery."

The words 'long term effects' worried them, but mostly they just felt huge relief.

"Good..." Riku sighed deeply, leaning his head down and touching his forehead to Sora's for a moment.

Then he looked up at Kairi and they grinned at each other. He took out his Gummi phone. "I should let everyone know he's going to be alright." He glanced at the dark circles still present under Sora's eyes. "I might ask them to wait until tomorrow to visit though..."

"Yeah, good idea."

Riku left the room to make some calls and, after Kairi gave him another grateful hug, Baymax waddled out as well. She sat down on the bed next to Sora and held his hand in both of hers. She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. She was still afraid, but so, so happy as well.

Riku made his way through each of the groups waiting for news, and spent some time talking to Baymax. Baymax noted several symptoms he and Kairi should watch out for, and asked that they let him know immediately if they observed these. Overall though, he assured Riku that Sora was not in danger anymore, and just needed to rest as much as possible.

An hour or so after leaving, Riku rejoined Kairi in Sora's room. "Well no one is particularly happy about being asked not to visit yet" he reported. "I don't think I've ever seen Donald so furious."

Kairi laughed, enjoying being able to do it so genuinely again, and Riku joined in. After passing on everything Baymax had said, he sighed and crossed his arms, shaking his head in fake annoyance. "I guess it's back to waiting for this lazy idiot to wake up then isn't it?"

"Hey… I heard that…" Sora's eyes were open a crack.

Kairi beamed and put her hand on his, happy to see him awake again so soon.

"Well it's true" Riku grinned, sitting down next to the bed.

"Did I... fall asleep or something?"

"More like passed out" Riku told him. "How are you feeling?"

"Umm… I've been better." He glanced at each of his friends and smiled weakly. "I'm OK though."

"Well… you look like crap"

Sora let out a short laugh at Riku's jibe and then winced, clenching his eyes shut. Kairi gave Riku a disapproving kick and he immediately felt guilty. "Sorry! Guess I should lay off any jokes for a while…"

"Nah, it's fine." Sora was grinning now, eyes still closed but looking relaxed. "It's nice to laugh again" he said, echoing Kairi's same thought. It had been a long time. "Where did you say... we were again?"

"We're at Yen Sid's Tower."
Guess Baymax was right about the concussion... Riku thought as he told Sora where he was. "When you're feeling up to it Baymax wants to check out your head and your arm, but he said it's fine if you want to wait until tomorrow."

Sora nodded groggily, glad he didn't have to deal with that right now.

"Oh yeah how is your arm?" Kairi asked. "Can you still not feel it?"

He opened his eyes and looked down at the splint and bandages wrapped around his forearm and wrist. "I can kind of feel it, it's a bit sore but really it just feels sort of weird… kind of prickly…" He turned back to them, looking confused. "Why'd you ask me that though?"

"When we were on the Gummi ship you said you couldn't feel it" Kairi told him.

"Really?"

"Do you not remember?"

Riku held his breath, hoping desperately that he would say no. Sora tried to recall what had happened before he woke up.

"No, I don't even remember leaving that city."

"So, you don't remember any of the Gummi ship trip?" Riku asked hopefully.

"No… I don't think so."

Riku tried to hide his immense relief, but it must have shown on his face because Sora looked puzzled as he watched him. "Is that a good thing?"

Kairi stepped in before Riku had to reply, "it's just you were in a lot of pain, so it's good you don't remember it."

The guilt that had been burning a hole in Riku's stomach for days was still there, but knowing Sora didn't have to remember what he had put him through greatly lessened it.

"Oh… right…"

Sora wanted to ask them more. He wanted to know how they got out of there, how they had escaped that man, how long he had been gone and what had happened while he was away. There were so many things he wanted to talk to them about, to say to them... But his eyelids were drooping, and he could feel himself fading out again.

"We should probably let you to get some more rest" Kairi said.

"Yeah I guess… No, wait!" He opened his eyes abruptly, suddenly wide awake, and grabbed Kairi's hand as she started to move it away.

"Sorry but… would it be OK if you two stayed here a while?" He looked a little embarrassed as he glanced from one to the other. "It's just… I think I might freak out again if I wake up and you've disappeared.. I'm kind of still worried this is just a dream." He stared at Riku anxiously.

Riku was taken aback, surprised he thought there was even a chance of them leaving. Then he smiled and couldn't help but run a hand through Sora's hair. "Of course"

Kairi gave his hand a squeeze. "We aren't going anywhere."

He smiled, the fear in his face disappearing as quickly as it had come.
"Thanks…" Feeling immensely relieved, he let his eyes close, and soon fell asleep.