She was free.
Namine took a moment to take in her surroundings. She knew of this place, her Somebody lived here. Sora and Riku were from here.
Destiny Islands.
After messing with Sora's memories, inserting, and removing herself from the narrative of this place, she was finally here. It was more beautiful in person. The way the sun made the surface of the water glisten, the sound of the waves gently brushing up against shore. Seagulls flew above in the endless blue sky, a small crab made its way across the soft sand.
"Is it what you expected it to be?" Riku asked behind her.
She smiled, Riku had come so far. "It beautiful… thank you." For a while, she hid in the shadows of Twilight Town. Not to long after there was an influx of Nobodies, they agreed the safest thing was to move worlds to avoid the Organization.
Namine kicked off her sandals and ran towards the shoreline. The feeling of the sand and water beneath her feet made her feel so free and at peace. And yet… "Riku… why here?"
Riku shuffled the sand with his shoes. He had to admit, he still had doubts about this plan. However, should worse come to worst, he wanted to give everyone the best possible chance. He let Axel take Roxas and Xion to run, he's keeping Kairi safe by keeping her out of the battles, Sora's being protected by Donald and Goofy and Namine… Ever since her "birth" she had been kept captive by someone. And all she ever wanted was a place to belong, a place where she could be free. His other, his replica, laid down his life for Namine. The least he could do was let his Replica know his sacrifice wasn't in vain.
"I know I said we'll go to Yen Sid's tower, but I figured you deserve a break after working non-stop for a year."
Seeing Namine happy, if only his replica could see this.
Kairi feel anxious ever since that strange dream with the blond-haired kid, Roxas. He reminded her so much of Sora.
Speaking of which, to her knowledge no one seemed to remember the boy. Did she make him up?
'It's my lucky charm, be sure to bring it back to me.'
No, he was real. And he was out there risking his life for the worlds while she sat in math class. There had to be more she could do. Then there was the issue of Riku. Like Sora, he too disappeared but to where she had no idea. Was he facing the same perils Sora was? People still remembered Riku, so maybe he was still alright.
Her mind wandered to the island where they all played as children. The last place she saw them.
The clock hand moved over ever so slightly.
Kairi made up her mind. She'll go back to that island, and she find out what happened to Sora and Riku. She'll cross the ocean if need be. She'll find a way to bring them back.
Saix looked over the mission reports. From he could tell, it seemed that the traitors have been spotted trailing Sora and his friends.
He sighed, as far as he was aware, only he and Xigbar knew about Xion and Roxas's continued existence. Xaldin reported a run in with Axel but that was the scope of it. It was frustrating, he had no idea whether Sora knew about his Nobody or Replica. He didn't know what Axel or Roxas would do if they were cornered. He couldn't predict Axel's next move and it bothered him.
Despite him giving himself up to the Nothingness, there was still a small part of him that wanted Sora and Roxas to win.
'The only reason Axel is alive and safe is because Roxas and that girl you force your hatred on. You know as much as you wish they would disappear, you're thankful they saved Lea.' Said the small boy in his reflection.
"You no longer exist" He stated out loud.
His younger self huffed and frowned. 'Why are you making yourself the villain. Lea's out there with the kids, you can still go to them, we can still join them!' His younger self pleaded.
Amber eyes met navy blue. "You know why."
His younger self's face turned red. 'LIAR! Just because you're a nobody doesn't mean you have to act so heartless! I'm still here! If we were truly a lost cause, then why haven't you reported Lea and the other children to Xemnas!'
The room grew cold, neither he nor Xigbar have reported their findings to Xemnas. The young boy in window was gone now leaving Saix alone with his thoughts.
'Not even my own memories stay with me.' His thought to himself as he covered one his eyes amber eyes.
Amber. Gold, yellow, the name didn't matter. The fact that he had them meant it was too late for himself. Maybe the ghost of the person the kid he once was right, maybe he was withholding information from Xemnas for a reason. Maybe he wasn't completely gone.
Still, he already set his cards. Now he had to play his part.
There was a bitter smile that crept it's way on his face. He spent a year berating the girl for being a puppet, yet he here was letting Xemnas control his every move.
"I wonder… who's the puppet now?"
Mickey watched as Yen Sid studied the stars. For all his time studying under the mage, he never figured out how to read the stars.
"How are they doing?" Mickey asked.
Yen Sid stroked his beard, "At the moment, it seems the young Nobodies are growing in strength, it won't be long before they can stand alone without Sora. However, it's Sora who I'm worried about. While the young Nobodies are on their way to reclaim their identity, Sora is still in the dark. It is true that Sora will likely do everything in his power to protect his Nobody and Replica should he discover their predicament. However, I fear our methods maybe counterproductive. We're underestimating him."
Mickey didn't like the sound of that, the whole point of keeping the two groups separate was to keep them safe. "Master, are you suggesting we're putting Sora in danger instead?"
"Roxas and Xion's light are on the cusp of shining on their own, perhaps it's time Sora met the results of his heart and memories. Afterall, he trusts us, we too should place our trust in him. A bond without trust is more akin to puppet strings."
Something inside Mickey knew it was the best option, yet with the stakes all he wanted to do was grab everyone involved and bubble wrap them. In his mind all he could remember was his absolute failure that was his previous battle with Xehanort. He lost everyone; he didn't want to the run the same risk with this newer generation. "Should we tell Riku and Namine when they get here?"
Yen Sid finally looked away from the stars and went back to this desk. There was trouble brewing, however Yen Sid was still unclear as to what exactly was on its way. The first step was getting Sora and his others to grow in strength and defeat Xemnas and the rest of the Organization. His mind wandered to the lost students of Eraqus.
Terra…
Aqua…
Ventus…
The events that transpired all those years ago still haunted him.
Yen Sid let out a deep breath, should they play their cards right, then maybe after all this ended. Yen Sid hoped with Sora, Roxas, Xion, and Riku, they'll be able to find the Wayward Trio and bring them home.