A/N: Well everyone, with this chapter comes the closing of Arc 1 of The Angel's Keyblade. I thank you all for sticking with me through this, and hope to entertain you greatly come Arc 2, which is currently in the works. Enjoy and please, no flames.

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Hikari's POV

Master Aqua and I sat on the shore, watching the waves in silence. I couldn't tell how much time had passed; the empty atmosphere of the Dark Margin made it feel like hours had passed, yet it also felt it had been but a few short moments. The thought that Master Aqua had been stuck here for over a decade caused a sense of sorrow to wash over me, bringing me to the brink of crying.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see the blue-haired woman looking at me with a sympathetic smile.

"Everything will turn out all right in the end, Hikari," she stated. "So please, don't cry."

I managed to smile back and nodded, then dried my watering eyes and returned to watching the water. However, the silence didn't soothe my unease, and after summoning the courage, I looked to Master Aqua once more. "Can… can I ask you a question, Master Aqua?"

She looked at me with an interested expression. "What is it?"

It took me a few more moments to once again gather the right thoughts in my head, but when I did, the words came slow. "Could you… tell me more… about Terra… and that other boy?"

For a moment, Master Aqua seemed surprised, but she smiled a moment later and nodded before looking off into the distance. "Terra, Ventus, and I were all once training under our master, Master Eraquas, to become Keyblade Masters in our home world of The Land of Departure. Terra and Ven were like brothers to me; I guess you could say they were my whole world. Terra was always the tough guy; he wanted to be a Keyblade Master more than any of us and Master Eraquas loved him like a son. Ven was always a daydreamer, but he trained just as hard as Terra and I. The night before Terra and I were to take our Mark of Mastery exam, there was a meteor shower. We all ended up watching it together and I gave them both a good-luck charm." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a beautiful star-shaped charm that looked exactly like the one she had given my Keyblade, but this one was a sapphire-blue shade and had a strange, fleur-de-lis like shape in the center holding the other pieces together. She held the charm up to the sky and looked at it with a sad, yet hopeful expression. "I told Ven that even though they weren't made from seashells like the story says, I worked a little magic in them."

I smiled and looked up at the charm with her. "An unbreakable connection."

For several long moments, the shore was silent, neither one of us uttering a single word. At some point I must have dozed off, for I shot open my eyes at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Hikari!"

Master Aqua and I both looked out towards the sea to find a faint golden glow appear on the horizon, gaining brightness with each call.

"Hikari!" A figure began to form in the light, but I knew from the voice alone who it was.

And I couldn't help but smile in excitement. "Riku!" I jumped to my feet, my heart close to flying out of my chest.

The silverette floated over the water, surrounded by the golden light, an almost relieved look on his fate, but what surprised me were the spectacular wings the same color as his hair he flew on. They glistened in the light, appearing almost light blue.

I felt myself blush beat red when Riku was floating before me, smiling at me with those incredible aquamarine eyes. "How are you here?" I asked him.

"I'll explain once we get you out of here." He held out a hand for me. "Are you ready?"

I turned back to Master Aqua, but she just smiled.

"Go on. I'll get in touch when you come to," she stated.

I nodded, then faced Riku once more and took his hand, warmth washing over me as I started to lift off the ground.

The silver-haired teen smiled again and pulled me towards the golden light, tightening his grip as we entered it.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing on a familiar platform, instantly recognizing it as my heart. However, there was something different about it compared to the last time I had seen it, for an additional circle was displayed above the image of me next to Genji's circle, this one depicting iRiku/i.

Before I could turn to the silverette, however, a familiar, high-pithed voice cut me off.

"Oneesan!"

I was tackled to the ground by Chise, a giant grin on her face. I smiled back and hugged her tightly, sitting up as I did so. It took me a moment, though, before I noticed something and pulled away from the hug. "Wait; how are you here?"

"I brought her and Riku both here."

I turned to see who had spoken, but who I found caused my heart to skip a beat, and by that I mean the one in my chest. "You're the girl from that night five years ago."

The child nodded. "We never had the chance to formerly introduce ourselves. My name is Ayame."

I got to my feet and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ayame. Chise told me you helped her escape when our home was destroyed by the Darkness. Thank you for watching over her when I couldn't."

"Chise saved me from an eternity of loneliness, so it was the least I could do," Ayame stated.

"I have to ask though; howwere you able to bring Chise and Riku here? I thought you only had a connection with Chise."

Ayame looked down with a sad expression. "I had to break off our connection after what happened in Traverse Town. After that, I followed the link and hid away here." She was silent for a moment before she continued. "On that night, I placed a piece of my heart inside yours so it wouldn't collapse when you gave a piece of your heart to Chise. I then used the connection you have with Chise and Riku to bring them here."

I turned to Riku. "We only just met, yet I already a connection with him?"

"She told me that supposedly Kingdom Hearts set the whole thing up so that you and I would one day meet," Riku stated with a shrug.

This only made me blush once more. I was surprised my face hadn't permanently stayed that shade. "W-Well," I shook my head to clear it before continuing "I thank you, Riku."

This time, Riku's face turned red as he scratched his cheek in a bashful manner.

"It's time to go," Ayame stated, bringing all eyes back to her.

I bowed my head in gratitude. "Thank you, Ayame; for everything."

The blond smiled and nodded.

"See you later, Ayame." Chise hugged the spirit before she waved farewell and faded away.

"Hope to see you again," Riku said casually as he offered a small smile and faded as well.

"Can I ask you something before I leave?"

Ayame looked at me in confusion. "Yes?"

I had to think this over carefully. "How… how long have you been aware of my moments… on the outside?"

"Since your visit to Yen Sid's place. Why?"

"Well… the thing is… I've been hearing these voices, and Riku's heard one of them too. Do… do you know who they are?" I held my breath as I waited for her to reply.

However, I was disappointed when she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't. Although I do know of what you speak of, I'm afraid that I can't answer. They seem to communicate with you in some way besides your heart, so I have no way of knowing. Sorry."

I shook my head. "It's fine. No need to apologize." I placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her eyes up to me. "You've already done so much. Thank you again."

Ayame smiled. "You're welcome. I'll let you know if I found out anything, though."

"I appreciate that." With that, I closed my eyes and felt myself fade from the scene.