Chaptet 27 Promises to keep: Part 2.

The children stood very close to the girl as Sora was captivated by her appearance.

She had a really beautiful figure with her large breast and a slim waist. She had long golden hair to go along with her complexion. Her eyes were blue, and she wore a green one-piece mini dress that seemed to compliment her beauty.

This girl looked rather beautiful, and from his perspective, she probably was around his age. She almost reminded him of Naminé because of the hair and eyes, but there was a feature of hers that made her stand out…

'She's got…pointy ears.' Sora commented on how her ears were unusually long but didn't say anything.

The girl gave him a warm smile.

"Thank goodness! You're finally awake. How do you feel?" She said, walking over to him.

"Huh. Oh, uh yeah. I feel okay." Sora rolled out of bed but found himself half-naked only having on his black boxers. He pulled the covers back over his body. "Gah! Where are my clothes!" The keyblade wielder panicked.

"They are hanging out to dry." The girl explained to Sora. "When we found you they were covered in dirt and blood. So we clean them up."

"Ella, can you go and retrieve his outfit?" She looked to the left as a girl with black hair and brown eyes nooded.

The blonde haired girl bent forward slightly. "Is there anything else we can do for you?" She asked Sora.

Sora met her face to face. She was beautiful even up close. His eyes soon trailed off as he was staring at her breast, he knew Kirche's were big but it looked like hers were slightly bigger.

Sora quickly turned away as he was blushing, not trying to stare at her chest. Or think anything perverted "Is something wrong?" She asked innocently.

"N-No. It's nothing." He faced her once again. "But uh, I am kinda hungry." Sora said as he was holding his stomach.

"Oh, right. You've been asleep for a long time, I forgot to ask if you want something to eat."

"And how long was I out for?" Sora asked.

"Roughly speaking, ten days." The blonde haired girl said.

"Ten days!?" Sora was out for almost two weeks.

"That's right." A boy stepped forward. He was about fourteen with black hair and yellow eyes. "We found you lying in the forest. We thought you were dead, so we brought you to our village."

Sora listened to the words the boy spoke as he was trying to piece it all together. The last thing he remembered was fighting the few remaining soldiers from Albion. But everything else was a blur after that…Although, why does he feel like something happened.

"Hang on, you said you found me? I was in the middle of a battlefield. How did you find me?" Sora asked.

"We were playing hide and seek at night, when two of our friends saw a huge light shining deep in the forest when they went to check it out. By the time they got there, they found you lying face down in the grass."

"Your friends? You mean those kids from earlier, Julius and Ella, right?"

"Not just them, but also one more, Claire." The boy said before getting to the more serious questions "But forget them. Who are you supposed to be? Are you a soldier from Tristain or Germania?"Sora shook his head, responding that he was not a soldier.

"Aaron. Don't be rude." The girl gently said.

The boy named Aaron turned to her. "But Tiffa, we don't know who this guy is."

The girl, named Tiffa said "He doesn't look like he's from either nation. I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm."

Tiffa said to Aaron "Krgh" Aaron growled. "Okay."

"I'm sorry. He means well, he's just cautious."

Sora shook his head and smiled "No, I understand. Just looking out for your friends, I know it well."

Aaron was surprised to see him understood. Make him feel like he was a jerk. "You said your name is Tiffa, right?"

"Yes. But that's what the children call me, my real name is Tiffania Westwood. But you're also welcome to call me Tiffa." Tiffania humbly said.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Tiffa. You too Aaron. My name is Sora, and thanks for helping me." Sora greeted

"Sora? Such a peculiar name?"

"What kind of name is Sora anyway?"

Tiffa and Aaron questioned him on his strange sounding name. "So I've been told." At this point Sora got used to having his name being called strange.

Just then Ella came into the room with Sora's clothes in a basket. "Here you go!" She dropped the basket by the bed. Sora thanked the girl for giving him his clothes.

"Not to be rude. But can I put on my clothes now?" The keyblade wielder said.

Tiffa was flustered, "Oh sorry, We'll be waiting outside." The children and Tiffa all left the room, giving Sora some privacy. As they left Sora stood up from the bed, he stared at his clothes in horror.

His entire outfit was all torn up with holes and tares, from his shirt to his pants and to his jacket. But his gauntlets were pretty much destroyed, no longer wearable. "Oh man, I really like this too." Sora said while putting on his clothes, soon noticed a mirror in the room and stopped to look at his appearance. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary but his hair was slightly longer and it also was a bit messy.

Sora gently pulled on the strands of his hair until he noticed something with his left hand. He grew curious as the runes on his hand were gone. 'What the-' Sora question. The sign of Gandálfr disappeared.

Sora decided to let it be. Maybe Louise or Delf would know about this. As he looked to the side and saw the card the Luxord gave him.

"A wild card. You've earned it. Hang on to it. Could turn the tables."

Sora picked up his phone and the wild card and stashed them into his pocket.

He opened the door and found his shoes in the hallway. After putting them on he made his way outside.

A tiny village existed in this forest. Just where exactly is this place.

"I had no idea there was a village out in the woods." Sora said.

He soon spotted Tiffa talking to the boy Sora met when he woke up, The keyblade wielder looked at him as he was still wearing his trademark crown necklace.

Sora began to approach him and Tiffa "Hey there." Sora greeted.

"Sora." Tiffa responded back. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked, concerned for his well being.

"Don't worry I'm okay." He said with a smile as he turned to the brown hair boy Sora kneeled in front of him, meeting him at eye level.

"Hi there! What's your name?" Sora asked as the boy hid behind Tiffania.

"Don't be afraid, Julius." She said to the boy the was behind her.

"...Julius…" The boy was introduced as Julius.

Sora looked at Julius. "Julius. I heard that you and your friends found me in the forest, thank you for that. I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. It's just that the necklace you're wearing is mine. My best friend. He gave it to me when we were little and it's really important to me, so can I please have it back?" Sora calmly said to Julius as he finished explaining the importance of that crown necklace.

Julius got the feeling that this person was really nice, and nothing at all what he was expecting when he met him before. He came from behind Tiffania and brought his hands to the back of his neck, taking off Sora's crown necklace and placing it in Sora's hand.

Sora smiled, relieved to have his treasure returned to him. "That's really important to you, isn't it?" Asked Julius

"It is." Sora replied putting his necklace back on "I don't feel right without it. By the way, Tiffa, I never knew there was one out here." Sora said seeing the log homes.

"That's right. This is the Westwood Village. It's located between South Gotha and the port of Rosyth in the southern region of South Gotha." Tiffania explained.

"I never knew. But I haven't seen that many adults. Is it just children?"

"That's right. Orphans. I take care of these children who lost their partner." Tiffania explained. She looked down at Julius."

Sora could see this girl was a gentle soul. His face brightened up "You're a very kind person, Tiffa."

"N-No I'm not kind." She said, all flustered. "I too lost my mother at a young age, so I know how it feels."

Sora started to see that she was a bit shy. But he was not wrong. She and the children in this small village were all so kind. Guess the problem was that they more than likely never had this much contact with strangers before.

That was when the keybearer remembered something Guiche said. About how someone came to his aid when he was dying from before, maybe Tiffa was the fairy he saw, she did fit the description. "Hey Tiffa. Have you ever heard about a fairy who lives in the forest?"

"Fairy?"

She didn't seem to know what Sora was talking about. Suddenly all three of them heard a scream. Tiffania panicked as Sora raced in the direction of the yelling. Tiffania took Julius by the hand following Sora.

Aaron was knocked down to the ground, and two other children, a boy with short blonde hair and a girl with long orange hair, ran towards him, trying to help. He glared as a small group of bandits came out of nowhere and took Ella and a girl that was the same age as him, hostage. She had red eyes with medium length red hair that was tied into a side ponytail.

"Monroe, Kathleen. Stay behind me!" Aaron said to the two children who he called hid behind him.

"Hah!" The bandit said sassing Aaron."What happened to all that big talk you had earlier."

"You bastard…Let go of Claire and Ella, now!" He yelled.

The second bandit that was holding the girl named Claire began talking. "Sure we will, Just bring out your village chief, and we can talk demands. And if everything goes smoothly, you get your friends back!"

"We don't have one, it's just us here." Aaron explained."

"We if that's true, whatever cash you got, fork it over, and we'll give you your buddies back. If not, then we sell all you anklebiters for a decent amount of gold!"

The bandit threatened Aaron and the rest of the children.

"Hey!" They all turned around. Both the bandits and the children saw Tiffania, Julius and Sora together. Tiffa and Julius were shocked to see Claire and Ella captured by these bandits as well as seeing Aaron on the ground. But for Sora he snarled at them for bullying a bunch of kids who can't fight back.

"Yeah you're a couple of real gentlemen, picking on a bunch of kids!" Sora taunted

"Who the hell is this idiot?"

"Nevermind him, look at her!" Another bandit said as they were turning their gaze over to Tiffania.

"No way. An elf, and she's beautiful!" Sora looked to Tiffania as she was hiding her ears before looking at the men in front of her

"Leave this place at once!" Tiffa demand. "There is nothing here for you!"

"Oh quite the contrary. Even if this place is a shoddy village, we could still get some value for these brats. And a beautiful woman like you would fetch us a high price." The bandit were so keen on taking everybody here, including Tiffania.

One of them approached her and pushed Julius away from her and forcibly grabbed her arm bringing her to eye level. She was afraid, that is until Sora shoved the brute off of Tiffania, and was in a protective stance.

"Stop." Sora said.

"Step aside you little brat. Unlike this elf girl, you won't be worth as much."

"I said back off. Don't touch Tiffa!" Sora said, staring down at the man without so much a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Well, well. Look who's acting tough." They brandished their weapons. Two had knives, one a sword and one a spear.

"Looks like someone should teach him to stay out of grown up business."

"Get ready kid! I hope you said your prayers!" Sora didn't flinch as he summoned his keyblade to his hand.

This action was shocking to everyone that was there.

"What is that?" Aaron asked as he picked himself up from the ground.

The bandit that was wielding a sword grew curious before treating it like a joke. "What is that supposed to be? A key?"

The rest of them were laughing as Sora looked at his keyblade with a surprise stare, this wasn't one of his usual keyblades. Though it resembles his kingdom key, he has never seen this one before…But, why did it look so familiar.

"If I were you, I would take this more seriously." The bandits immediately charge towards him as Sora put up a barrier protecting Tiffania and Julius. With a wave of his hand he pushed them off. The bandits started to be more concerned. "H-Hey, wasn't that magic?"

"This kids a mage?"

"Idiots come on, he's just one person." They found their nerves again as Sora held his keyblade and began to battle with the bandit. Tiffania and the rest of the children were watching Sora handle the ground all on his own.

They never knew that he was a mage but what was with that key that was in his hand, the way he was using it, almost made it seem like it was some kind of weapon. The bandits rolled across the dirt trying to pick themselves up as Sora casted his blizzard spell putting their hands and feet on ice.

Sora looked at the last two that had Ella and Claire, bound Sora walked towards them and with his keyblade still in his hand and fired small fireballs at them blasting them away from the two girls.

They were in a daze, they didn't know he was a lot stronger then he seemed to be. Sora made his way to the girl's. Tiffania followed him. "Ella! Claire!" Tiffa called out to the girls helping them up.

"Tiffa!" Claire and Ella clung to her.

"Thank goodness. You both are safe." Tiffa said relive to see them unharm.

Sora gave Aaron a hand, he was reluctant to accept his help but after a few seconds the dark haired boy took the keyblade wieldan's hand.

"You alright?" Sora asked, worried about him.

"Hm." Aaron nodded rubbing his sore cheek. The two bandit, started to wake up as they saw Sora again, Sora looked at them with the keyblade, Dusk till Dawn slung over his shoulder. "Go help your buddies and hit the road." Sora threatened with a glare as they nodded frantically and rushed to help them out of the ice.

The smaller children all ran towards Sora, excited!

"That was so cool!"

"What's up with your sword!"

"Are you a mage, I've never seen one with a sword like yours!" They bombarded questions at Sora.

Meanwhile Tiffa, Claire, and Aaron also came forward. "Sora. Thank you for what you've done."

"Hey no biggie. You guys saved me after all it's the least I can do." He replied.

Aaron then came up front "Hey. What's up with your sword? Why does it look like a key?"

"It's a keyblade, actually." Sora answered, Aaron could have guessed the name obviously.

"I have never seen anything like that before. It just appeared out of nowhere, what else does it do?" Aaron asked as they heard one of the bandits scream. They looked to see monsters appearing and attacking the robbers.

The children all huddled close to Tiffania and the other older teens as Sora was prepared for a second round. "Tiffa, stay back. I'll handle this."

"Are you sure?" She said, worried about his safety.

He reassured her and everyone else with his usual smile "Yeah don't worry. I can handle this."

Sora ran forward to the heartless. Sora assumed that there might have been some stragglers left from the battle as the robbers all turned into heartless. Sora was quick to work, dispatching the heartless that were in his way.

Tiffa, Claire and Aaron as well as the rest of the children watched Sora fight the heartless. He was making this look so easy, but he wasn't afraid either. Just who is he? As the numbers were quickly shortened Sora finished off one last heartless with a blizzard spell and shattered it.

Sora took a look, seeing that there were no more heartless left in the area. "Hey, I think it's safe." Sora said.

Julius was the first run up to Sora, overly excited to see him beating up those monsters and bad men too. Pretty soon the others ran up to him again. Claire and Aaron also approached Sora too, they had never seen anything like it, the only thing on their minds was how could he do all that.

Tiffania was also curious but was to see that everyone was safe and sound. Tiffania began to approach him when he soon noticed one straggler left. He shouted at her to look behind her. But it was too late, the heartless was already in the air, he gripped the keyblade tight and a long golden chain appeared from the keyblade it wrapped around the heartless. Sora pulled on the chain, slamming the heartless down to the ground and tugged it in his direction.

He pulled the heartless towards him. As he spun the Dawn till Dusk in a reverse grip performing a Zantetsuken. Destroying the heartless.

Sora rushed to the blonde haired girl. "You okay." He said. Helping her up from the dirt

Tiffania nodded. Taking his hand, "Yes. Thank you."

Sora looked at his keyblade with great curiosity. Two questions were on his mind, where did it come from and what was with that chain. Both things Sora had never used or seen before but gave him a strange feeling of deja vu. What exactly happened when he was in his ten day coma?

Meanwhile in the forest Young Xehanort and the other members of the organization watched Sora handle the situation as he normally would.

As Wardes, Matilda, and Wales were also watching, a noticeable feature change for the three of them; their eyes, all three of them had the same golden yellow eye as the other. "I can not believe it. He has gone against soldier upon soldier. We even sent monster upon monster on him too. He is supposed to be dead, yet he still breathes." Wardes replied.

"What did we tell you?" Xigbar said "He is not so easy to get rid of."

"And I hope that you all will no longer underestimate Sora as well." Ansem said mainly to Wardes and Matilda. They both said yes.

"Good. With our numbers slowly gaining again, we can't afford carelessness once more." Xemnas said as the three of them vanished leaving Xigbar and Vanitas behind to stay.

"I know what you're thinking pal, but now is not the right time. Don't worry, you'll get your chance to settle the score." Vanitas responded to Wardes as the viscount looked in his direction before looking back at Sora talking with Tiffa and the rest of the children.

"Well, it would be pointless if he died before I had the chance to even the score with him. After all, he defeated two armies on his own, a bit of my blood wants to have that challenge with him again." Wardes replied with a smirk. While he had his negativity to Sora , Wardes still couldn't help but admire his prowess.

Matilda on the other hand wasn't paying attention at all as she had her gaze towards the elf girl. "Yo, miss thief. Looking at something." Xigbar said. The green haired woman snapped back to her senses.

"It's nothing." She said as the rest of them disappear into the darkness.

(Night)

After today, everyone was tired. Almost everyone shared a cabin after this whole ordeal.

Tiffania had a small how to herself as she was sound asleep. In the shadows Matilda slowly approached the elf girl that was peacefully sleeping. She slowly got down on her knees and gently moved her finger across her face. A small smile appeared on her face, a feeling of relief washed over her.

'You're alright. That's good.' She thought. She then opened a dark corridor and vanished from Tiffania's room.

She then opened another one she was now in Sora's room as he was also sound asleep. She bent over hovering beside his bed. She watches him get beaten up over and over during his one man crusade. No matter how many times he was knocked down and struck with a blade or magic, he got up again and again, not wanting to give up.

Seeing him fight, she didn't know. But how he wouldn't give up even after being completely outmatched. He kept going, fighting for something he held dear to him. Thhonesty left an on her.

She slowly pointed her finger at his cheek and began poking it for fun. 'Guess when you're not being a pain, you have some rather impressive moments.' She thought to herself. As she stopped poking at Sora and moved away from him, turning her back before turning her head at him one more time. Yes, they are enemies, but she also felt something else for him…

'What am I even doing?' She wondered as she never felt this before. Before disappearing into the darkness.

(Land of the Departure)

Terra was resting on his bed staring blankly at the ceiling. Just then he heard the sound of knocking. "Huh, Yeah." He called out as the door opened and Aqua came in and greeted the brown haired keyblade wielder.

"Aqua, what are you doing here?" Asked Terra. "And what is Ven doing?"

"Where's Ven?" Asked Terra

"He left. With everything that's happened Ven went off to say hi to his old friends." Aqua explained.

"I see." Terra understood as the blue haired girl walked over and sat on the bed next to him.

"You didn't do the same?" Terra asked.

Aqua just shook her head "You seemed lonely. So I thought I would check on you."

Terra smiled. "Thanks. I enjoy your company."

"So were you just taking a breather?" Asked Aqua.

"I actually had a talk with Eraqus, told him that we're finally going to find Sora. After that I just came to think." Terra explained.

"I know, thinking about it, we all would be lost if not for Sora. And now Riku and Kairi are training hard." Terra smiled as Aqua said that "Those two really care about their friend.

"You know I can't help but think back to when I first met him." Terra continued reminiscing.

This peaked Aqua curiosity "When you first met him. Who?

"Oh yeah, I guess I never really told you how I met him. Riku, I mean. I was guided by a strong light, that's when I first met him and Sora, they were racing, and he came to me. He was a smart boy, knew then and there I was an outsider from a different world."

"He said that he was interested in the outside world, so I asked him why. And you know what he said he wanted to be strong, to have strength to protect what matters. I never met a kid like him. He had a strong will to protect his loved ones."

"Right. When I met those boys I could feel the power in Riku. Is that why you bequeathed the keyblade to him?" Aqua asked

Terra nodded "I felt like I was right to do so. And my decision was correct. Even though he has darkness within him, he uses it to protect the ones he treasures. That's a strength "

"You know when I first met those two, I thought about passing on the keyblade to Sora as well, but I didn't. I didn't want to see two good friends fight each other."

"Although at the end of the day, he still ended up with one regardless. And with that, he saved the whole universe so many times. Not to mention the people and worlds out there." Said Aqua.

"I know right, I'm surprised he isn't a keyblade master himself with all he accomplished." Terra replied.

"Well, I heard that he took the mark of mastery and was close to passing with Riku. He would have been a keyblade master himself if Xehanort hadn't intervened." Aqua replied back.

"I see."

"That's why… When those two bring him back. I'm gonna talk with Mickey and Master Yen Sid and see if they'll let him retake the mark of mastery exam."

Terra raised his eyes "Retake the mark of mastery?"

Aqua nodded "I think he deserves that much at least."

Terra sat up and sat next to Aqua "You're right about that, you got my support on this too."

"Thanks Terra." She said smiling at him "You know if you want, I could put in a good word and let you take yours again. I'm sure you'll…"

"... Don't waste your breath." He dropped his smile and leaned forward "After what happened back then, I don't think I have the right to become a keyblade master."

"Terra…" Aqua sympathizes.

"I know, I know. It's in the past, but, but I can't forget what I did. I was rude to you and to Ven, I was deceived and turned my blade against my teacher."

"Terra, what's done is done. I'm sure even the master wasn't angry at you."

"Even so, Eraqus, still gone because of me. Xehanort took advantage of my moment of weakness, If I wasn't so blind…" He curled his fist.

"Nothing can bring the dead back, you have to accept that and move on, I know I don't have a right to tell you this. You can either accept what you have done and learn from your past mistakes, or you can give up but if you still have the will to protect what matters to you, then choose to stand on your own two feet."

Terra listened to Aqua's words and he summoned his Earthshaker to his hand and stared intently at it. As he did, the final words of their late master rang in his head, telling him to look after Aqua and Ventus.

After that Terra came to the conclusion "You're right. I can't keep living with this guilt, I promise that I'll protect you and Ven with everything I have. That is the most civil thing I can do for the man that was in some way my father."

"Civil huh?"

"Thanks Aqua." Terra said

"Don't worry about it. You're strong so either way you wouldn't be beating yourself up forever." Said Aqua.

Terra shook his head "Maybe. But if we're talking about someone being strong, you're the stronger one. And I don't just mean in power, you've always had a strength that I didn't, and to tell the truth I admire that about you."

Aqua blush "Really…"

"Yeah." Said Terra

Aqua gave a blank stare as stared at the wall "Honestly the only reason why I didn't lose myself, was because I still had to see you and Ven again. But even so I still had a moment of weakness."

"I just don't want to lose you again."

Terra placed his hand on her shoulder "You won't lose me or Ven. Never again I promise."

Aqua looked at Terra as he looked at her, neither said a single word to each other but only embraced. They held onto each other tightly.

(Next morning)

In the castle, Henrietta was going over documents. A week had passed since the war, and the factions that were responsible for not only the death of the first prince Wales but also for Initiating the war between Tristain and Albion. Was no more.

The kingdom of Galia, sudden intervention helped turn things around, though they had been silent ever since this war began it was strange that they decided to act now of all times.

But they were thankful to them for Albion to surrender. And for a couple of days, the people partied on the streets. Victory was achieved at last…But not without its sacrifices, and she wasn't talking about just the soldiers who fought for Tristain, but also someone that who rises everyone to save the kingdom, someone who had many allies by his side, and someone that, helped Henrietta more than one both a physical or emotional.

She thought back to when Agnès and her Musketeers returned to Albion in search for Sora. The moment that Louise told her that Sora was left behind in her place it felt like her heart dropped into her stomach.

Yes. She was thinking About Sora.

Honestly even with Galia's aid. Sora made a great contribution to seeing that no soldiers reached the port. She recalled her having Agnès go to Albion to Investigate to see if Sora was alive or not… And what Agnès found took all the life out of her…

Flashback

What she and the rest of the musketeers saw when they returned to Albion, was indescribable. The entire area was like a complete war zone. Crack and slash marks in the ground, a huge portion of grass was missing, and weapons were either stuck in the dirt or were lying on the ground. And mages' staffs were broken in two.

She and the rest of the musketeer knights gazed at the battlefield with disbelief. Until on command on how much of a barren land this turned out to be.

No way one person could survive this…

The captain of the musketeers. Was trying to keep it together her nerves were solid as she and a few other knights went down to the scene to investigate. For the next couple of hours the were looking for some sorta proof that would confirm Sora's status.

The searching continued for some time until a knight said that she found something in the middle of this supposive graveyard. She ran all the way to the center as she was shocked.

There were two swords that were planted in the ground crossing over each other, Both were blades she immediately recognized. These were Sora's swords.

Flashback ends.

Almost immediately following that Agnès and her knight conducted a search that lasted for three days. But no one saw him anywhere, there was nobody anywhere. And following after that Agnès gave the order to return to Tristain. She stopped writing on the paper, as tears began to fall almost automatically.

Henrietta couldn't believe this happened… someone important died.. again. To lose someone she loved the first time and for him to become your foe, and now she fell in love for the second time and now another death had stolen him from her as well. No, not just Henrietta, but someone close to her.

'I'm sorry…I am so sorry…Louise…'

(Academy of magic)

It was a quiet day for everyone who was back in Tristain. Class had started and everything was listening to one of their teachers giving a lecture about the different ways people with different affinity work together and create powerful attacks as one. Montmorency, Guiche, Kirche and Tabitha, were all less interested in the lesson as they weren't focused. Something else was bothering them.

"Hey, hey, Zerbsts!" One of the guys sitting behind her was trying to get her attention.

"What do you want?" She said.

"Just wondering, you're free tonight." The guy hoped for a yes response.

"...No thanks, you're not interesting enough for me." Kirche shot him down coldly.

The guy was heartbroken as she looked with a sad expression on her face. This was the fifth time that someone asked her out this week. She would have gone out with the guy but no she just wasn't in the mood for that. Or to be more precise she wasn't in the mood to date anybody.

"I told you she wasn't going for it." One student whispered.

"Yeah, it's almost like she's not interested in guys anymore."

"You could say the same about Guiche. I haven't seen him flirting with any of the other girls either."

"Well, they were pretty close to Louise's familiar, so I can see why they feel so upset."

"Yeah. I kinda feel bad for them."

"I don't. Fight thousands upon thousands of soldiers by yourself is practically a suicide charge. Did he really think he could fight a whole army and not come out unscathed? Only a complete idiot would think that."

BAM*

Everyone stopped what they were doing as Guiche stood up disguised by what he was hearing.

"That's enough. Do you think he was an idiot for doing that!? He sacrificed himself to save us. We wouldn't even be here if not for Sora's actions!" Guiche yelled.

"Guiche, calm down!" Montmorency scolded.

"Well excuse me! Even if he knew who to use magic, he was still a commoner and a lowly familiar too. He didn't die with a nobleman's pride so why care?"

Kirche stood up. "My darling didn't care for pride. He gave his life for the people he cared about, more than things like honor or pride. So bad mouth him again-!"

"Alright, that's enough!" The teacher said. "Unless you all want detention, I suggest you all take your seats."

Everyone was eyeing the two, standing up as the. Guiche and Kirche took their seats as the teacher continued with the lesson.

Montmorency pulled on his shirt. "I understand how you feel. But you shouldn't lose your emotions like that."

"I just couldn't stand hearing them talk about Sora like that!"

"Yeah!" Kirche agreed "I mean really, if not for him we wouldn't be here."

"Rude." Tabitha chimed in.

"I know, I'm just as upset, too. They really shouldn't talk like that, but that's just their point of view." Montmorency answered.

"And besides, we aren't the only ones that miss him either. What about Louise? Did you forget her and the maid?" The female blonde whispered.

She was right. It wasn't just the three of them, Louise was also feeling the pain as much or maybe more than them. Then there was Siesta, who had been blaming herself for Sora's death. Even Sylphid was also strongly attached towards Sora. And she never likes anyone, so easily.

They realized this and were dejected. How could they forget that? The young mages let out a silent sigh as they were focusing on their lesson.

Meanwhile outside of the academy Siesta was outside hanging sheets to dry while Sylphid was taking a nap. She was thinking long and hard about what she had done. She was only trying to save for, but in the end that backfired on her horribly.

She declared her love for Sora and would follow him wherever he would go. But now she can no longer follow him.

"Hello." She turned around and noticed Julio coming up to her.

"Mr.Chesaré." Siesta greeted him in a low tone of voice.

"How have you been?" He asked.

"...I'm doing alright." She said focusing on her job.

"I notice that you haven't been practicing as much as usual." The priest said. But Siesta was silent; she wasn't exactly in a good mood.

"I…Just don't feel like it." She said in a heartbroken tone of voice.

Julio could see how heartbroken she was. After all, she was only trying to help keep Sora safe, not be responsible for his demise.

She finished hanging the sheets and was taking the basket back to the academy, but not before passing what looked to be a statue of Sora.

Flashback

After Agnès returned from Albion, she showed the swords to her majesty the queen. She held her hands over her mouth. She couldn't believe this.

She asked Agnès if there was a body that they brought back as well. Delf cut in saying that there was no body as he saw it all play out. Of course that would be something everyone should hear.

By order they took a carriage to the magic academy, where Henrietta asked all those that were affiliated with Sora. Meaning Louise, Siesta, Kirche, Guiche, and the rest of his friends showed up in the headmasters office. Inducing Louise's sisters Elèanor and Cattleya

Osman asked why the sudden meeting in his office, until he was shown Sora's kingdom key in Agnès hand.

The headmaster gasped as this was an unexpected moment.

Everyone also was shocked to see just the keyblade Sora used. Louise desperately came up to the sentinel sword and asked what happened out there. What happened to Sora.

Delf sigh. Explaining to everyone that Sora single handedly clashed with both armies and came out the victor. For Delf it was something both phenomenal and fearful. When push came to shove his partner put all his chips on the table, and played the hand he dealt best he could.

Using his sword play and magic, he completely decimated Albion and the monsters that they had as well. He was knocked down, battered and bruised all over but he never gave up. Even if the citizens left he swore to make sure that not one of them would make the pier.

…And he died honoring that promise.

Montmorency began to cry hearing this as Guiche began to offer her comfort. Kirche looked at the ground cussing. Tabitha looked at her with a bit of a sad expression as well. Siesta broke down immediately crying.

Louise slowly walked towards Agnès asking if she may hold the keyblade. The blonde haired knight gave it to her as she held onto it for dear life, Louise fell to her knees and started to shed tears for Sora. All she wanted was for him to acknowledge her, and for him to love her the same way she loved him. Now she'll never get that feeling.

Henrietta told them that the people of Tristain deserved to know the hero who gave up everything.

The headmaster understood and decided to hold an assembly to inform the students as well.

Agnès was the first to leave, but Henrietta stayed; she tried to reach out to Louise but left her be, thinking that she probably wouldn't want to see her for a while she also departed.

"C'mon lets-." Agnès said as they were in the hallway as Henrietta collapsed, holding herself and crying also. Agnès rested her hand on her shoulder.

"Sora…" Henrietta said as Agnès waited for her to calm down.

Flashback end.

After that, Guiche made a bronze statue in Sora's likeness with Delflinger on his back and his keyblade planted on the ground. Students who heard of his heroic deed all came out and placed flowers next to the statue.

On the plack of the statue, there was a sign that said 'Hero of Tristain.' Siesta eyed the statue thinking how this is all her fault...She should have never given the sleeping potion to Sora if she had known he would use it like this. She lowered her head, expressing guilt and depression.

"How long are you going to blame yourself for what happened?" Julio said as he stood next to the maid. "What happened wasn't your fault."

"But it was. I didn't think he would stay behind. The only reason I gave him that potion was to keep him and Miss Vallière away from harm, but I failed. I should've known better."

"But that should not mean you must neglect your responsibility. You said that you're learning how to use a keyblade, right. I think you still owe it to Sora to carry on what he was doing."

"Do I?"

"Yes. He had a responsibility and one you need to take up for him."

"But how, I don't even have half the talent or skill Sora did." Siesta began comparing herself to Sora as Julio had an idea.

"Well what if I were to teach you the art of swordsmanship." He said

Siesta looked towards him. "You would do that?"

"Yes." He said. "And in exchange, I wish for you to teach me a bit of the magic you and Sora are able to use."

"You wish to learn magic?"

"That's right. You don't have to get into specific details, but I would say it's a fair trade. Deal." Julio held out his hand as Siesta brought her hand to his.

They shook on it, sealing the deal. But at the same time, he was also right. Sora had a duty to protect worlds from the heartless, and now that he can no longer, she will have to carry in his place.

(Westwood forest)

As for the keyblade wielder. He was busy training, testing out that chain whip that he performed the previous day. This keyblade and this new technique were both unfamiliar to him, yet at the same time giving him a weird case of deja vu.

'Dawn till Dusk…and a chain…' The blue-eyed keyblade wielder, though. As he was trying to remember where they came from.

And of course there was still the mystery of how he ended up in this forest in the first place. He was sure that was the end of it but why and how is he still here?

He thought as he heard something in the trees behind him as he once again summoned his whip as the chain wrapped around whoever was behind him. "Ahhhh!"

That sounded like a girl screaming. Sora approached the sound of the scream as he got closer it turned out to be Tiffa. And she was wearing a hat. Sora looked confused. Why was she wearing a hat.

"What, Tiffa?" Sora was surprised to see her.

"I'm sorry!" She replied. "I-I wasn't trying to stare, I was just watching and um…" She said

'So she was just watching me?' Sora thought as the chain retracted, now freeing the young girl.

"Sorry about that. You just startled me." He made his keyblade disappear. As Claire also began to approach him.

"We just came to see where you were." Claire told Sora. "That sword of yours is pretty weird and also really cool too." She was admiring his keyblade.

"I've also never seen anything like this." Tiffania said "You called it a keyblade right?"

"Yeah, a special weapon that can open any locks and destroy the monsters you saw yesterday. They can only be defeated by the keyblade."

"So that's why you were training?" Tiffa asked.

"Yeah, it is." Sora said as he was pulling on his hair. "Course, I would be doing better if all this hair wasn't getting in my eyes."

Claire also noticed and was bothered by it too. "I agree. You wouldn't mind if I cut it for you, would you?"

"No. But why?" Asked Sora.

"It's hard on the eyes. If I see it any longer than I have to, I'm going to scream." Claire got straight to the point.

Sora looked at the young red haired "Okay. If you're that confident, knock yourself out."

She breathed out in relief as she took Sora by the hand and began dragging him back to their village and almost immediately began cutting his hair with some scissors she had.

For the next couple of hours Sora sat on a tree trunk as Claire was given him a good haircut, the only problem was he kept moving his head too much. "Will you hold still?" She said grabbing his face from behind and was having him face forward.

"Sorry. I never liked sitting still for a long time." Sora replied. "Where did you learn how to cut someone's hair?"

"I taught myself. You would be surprised by the things we find here." She said.

"I got ya." Sora responded. Just as a small rusle was made in some bushes. Turned out it was just Aaron.

"Oh Aaron." Claire said, pausing on the haircut. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to tell you lunch is ready. Are you giving him a haircut?" He asked.

"He gave me permission to do it." Claire replied.

Aaron looked at the keyblade wielder's hair, it was turning out pretty good. "Well, you're doing a good job."

"Thanks, I'm almost finished." She said, resuming. After a couple more minutes she was done. She began brushing his hair and combing out some of his locks as well.

"There. Here tell me what you think." She picked up a mirror and showed Sora his reflection. Sora looked at his new hairstyle, it was more flat than his usual wild and spiky hair (Sora's KH 4 hairstyle). But honestly Sora kinda liked it.

"It's great. Thanks Claire!"

"You really like it?"

"Yeah I do. For someone who's self taught you could make a living doing this." Sora said in honesty, making Claire embarrassed. Aaron decided to play with her in a teasing voice saying that she was blushing.

She growled at him, telling Aaron to shut up. Sora laughed seeing how well they and everyone else got along. "You guys get along really well."

"Well, we've been in this forest for years, so I guess we have." Aaron said.

"Oh yeah. Tiffa said that you all were…um."

"Orphans." There was no easy way to say it, just straight to the point. "It's okay. We know it's not an easy thing to say but you don't have to walk on eggshells." Aaron said. Sora asked them what happened to their parents.

Claire was the first to explain. Her father died some time when she was just a baby so for a few years it was just her and her mother. But one day she contracted an illness and died. After that she was just wandering around, not knowing where she was going, until she stumbled in the Westwood forest.

Aaron went next saying that his home was robbed by bandits, he wasn't home at the time but his parents got caught up in the robbery and were killed.

Sora listened to their stories and was apologetic. Saying that he shouldn't have asked. But they were fine with it.

Despite the bad stuff that happened to them, some good came out of it. Meeting Tiffania for start. She was the one who found them and cared for them. And pretty soon, they began to see her for an older sister. They soon found other children that had no parents and started to treat them the same way they treated her, and pretty soon, they all became something like a family.

"We are not trying to make you feel sympathy for us, we just wanted you to understand where we come from."

"No, I do understand. But what happens after that? I mean you all can't live in this forest forever, there is a whole world to see and explore. Don't you guys want to go and meet new people and make some friends?"

"It's not that we don't but it would be hard for us. Especially for Tiffa." Arron said.

"Why?"

"Well, she's an elf." Claire said

Sora's eyes widened "Wait. Do you mean she's a real elf? Awesome!"

The two younger teens were surprised. "Wait, awesome? You're not bothered by the fact that she's an elf?"

"Why would I be bothered?

"Because people aren't really that fond of elves. To be honest, it took me a while to get used to her."

"Yeah me too." Both the teenage boy and girl were ashamed at admitting it.

"Well it doesn't bother me at all. I go on all kinds of trips all the time so I have seen all sorts of things. But I've never seen an elf in my travels."

Sora answered as Aaron and Claire looked over at each other. Not sure what to say, meeting someone that wasn't afraid of an elf, it just seemed weird to them.

"Huh…well, since you're done, let's go and eat." Aaron said as he began leading Sora and Claire back to the village.

As they left. Tiffania was watching the whole thing. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't that. 'He knows I'm an elf…but he's not afraid of me...'

(Evening)

Sora stretched after a full meal. He sat on the bed looking up at the ceiling thinking about Louise and everyone else. He was wondering if they were doing alright. Of course though, they all probably think that he is dead, so he was expecting a few choice words from them.

Knock Knock*

Sora heard a knock. He opened the door and saw Tiffania standing in front of him.

"Tiffa?" Sora said "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry. I didn't bother you did I?"

Sora shook his head "No, is something wrong?"

"Not necessarily." She said, looking rather shy. "Can you come with me? I want to talk with you." She requested that Sora would come with her. He didn't know what she wanted, but he accepted.

They made it to Tiffania's cabin. There Sora and Tiffa sat on the bed. "You wanted to talk about something?"

She was a bit flustered and squirming a bit "I-I'm sorry." She suddenly apologized, "I was listening to your conversations."

"Oh you mean about earlier." Sora knew what she was talking about. But he was not bothered. "It's okay, I'm not mad."

The elf was twiddling her thumbs. "I-I know…But…" She slowly took off her hat, exposing her elf ears. "It-It doesn't bother you that I am an elf?" She asked, holding her hat up close to her face.

Sora shook his head as he gave her a warm smile. "No it doesn't. I've seen a lot. I've met some fairies and a pixie and even a talking snowman before. But you're the first elf I've ever seen."

Tiffania looked surprised. Normally when someone meets an elf, the first instinct they get is to run. But she never met anyone who was less afraid and more excited.

As weird as it was, she honestly felt happy. "Sora…to tell the truth, I'm not a full elf."

"What?"

"I am half elf and half human." She explained as Sora was taken back, so she is half elf and half human. "My mother was an elf, and my father was a grand duke."

"A grand duke…?" Sora said as he slowly put the pieces together. "Wait a second. Does that mean you're a noble?"

She shook her head. "I have noble blood, yes. But because of my mixed heritage, I wouldn't be considered pure blooded. But because of my father's blood I do possess magic." She explained returning to the story.

"My mother was rather cautious. Being an elf in Halkeginia, everyone looks at you with fear or contempt. She would rarely leave and she would hardly talk to others. I remember her always waiting for father to return. But because I also had an elven lineage, I never went outside much either."

Now, it was starting to make sense. Why did she seem so shy around Sora? She never had much contact with other people. And is that why she was wearing that hat? Because she was afraid of what he might say?

"But despite the unusual arrangements that my mother and father had, it wasn't too difficult. My mother taught me to read and write as well as play a harp. My father was kind and would stop by on occasions." She smiled during those peaceful times until her expression changed.

"...Until one day those times of peace didn't last long. Father said that it was no longer safe for my mother and me, so we went into hiding."

"If your dad was a noble, why was it so bad if someone found out about the two of you?"

"Because…My mother was really my father's mistress."

"Mistress?"

"A woman other than the wife?" Tiffania answered.

"I'm not sure how but they found out that my father was having an affair with an elf. But they knew, and they found us. I remember everything that day. It started around silver pentecost. Knights came to our home, my mother hid me in a closet and tried desperately to persuade them…But magic was their first response."

"...She died trying to save you…" Sora assumed.

Tiffa nodded "'I will not resist. We have no desire for conflict' My mother said that to the knights that found us…but they were useless to them. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin the mood.

Sora was sympathizing with her but asked another question "How did you not get caught?"

"Well…that's because I have a spell that saved me."

"A spell?"

"Aside from being a Grand Duke, my father was also the royal family's treasurer. In my home there were all sorts of treasures and valuable items. Out of all of them, there was one that I enjoyed the most, a music box."

"A music box?"

"That's right. However it couldn't be open without a key but I managed to find something similar to the keyhole. And when I opened it it was the most beautiful, yet nostalgic melody I ever heard. Once I played the tune, runes started to appear in my head."

"When they found me. I started to hum the melody from the box and with the wand my father gave me. I casted the spell."

"What kind of spell was it?"

"I'm not sure what you would call it. But it's a spell that erases memories."

'A spell that erases memories. How is that possible?' Sora thought to himself. He thought that Naminé was the only one with the power to alter memories. Could it be magic or something else…

"To summarize. I managed to escape thanks to this spell. And for the last four years, I've lived in this village with Aaron, Claire and everyone else." She looked up at the moons "For years we have been a family."

"I'm sorry if I have brought on such a depressing atmosphere."

"No you haven't. But what are you going to do when everyone gets older. I mean you can't live in this village for the rest of your lives." Sora said.

"You're right. To tell the truth, I always wanted to see the outside world. To roam around cities and meet different people has always been a dream of mine."

"But I'm scared. I don't know how to take that initiative. And even if I did, no one would accept me because of what I am... But I really do want to see what lies beyond this forest and take everyone with me too someday. "

Sora saw that same spark in her eyes. She also wanted to explore the world. He smiled thinking about how he and his friends wanted to leave Destiny Islands and search for other worlds.

He began to smile looking up at the stars. "I know how you feel."

"Um?"

"Believe it or not I went through the same thing you have. For a long time I wanted to get off my Islands and explore the outside world too. And the day I left my home behind has been filled with nothing but adventures both good and bad."

"But weren't you scared?"

"A little, yes. But I got to meet all sorts of people so it was worth it. You and I are pretty similar in more ways than you think. You're a half elf with a special type of magic. I'm just a guy from a far away land, and I also gain special powers." Sora repiled.

"A far away land?"

"I know how scary the outside world can get, but as long as you have friends, then it doesn't seem so scary. So let's be friends and I promise to show you this world." He stood up and held out his hand, gifting her with a generous smile.

"Y-You would really be friends with me?" Tiffania said.

Sora nodded, still smiling "Yes. It doesn't matter to me what you are; human, elf, or half elf. I accept you as you are."

Tiffania began weeping tears of joy. She couldn't believe it that Sora offered to be her friend. She leaped off the bed and hugged Sora almost instantly.

"Thank you, Sora! Yes I would be happy to be friends with you." She said holding onto him. While he was taken back by this sudden expression he wrapped his arm around her and hugged her back.

However…he soon realized something, or rather two somethings that were pressing up against his chest. Sora flinched and pushed Tiffania off of him.

"Uh yeah!...So I'm going to call it a night! Later!" He shuffled his feet returning to his cabin with his face brightened up like a tomato.

The elf pondered as to why he was acting strange. "Does he suddenly hate me?" She wondered innocently.

(Twilight town)

Roxas and Xion were sitting up top of the clock tower.

Just as Axel showed. "Hey. I was wondering where you two were."

"Hey Axel." Xion said as he took a seat next to Roxas. All three of them were watching the sun until Axel handed Roxas some sea-Salt Ice-cream to share.

"Thanks Axel."

"No problem."

Xion felt left out "Don't I get one?" She asked.

"Relax. I got more." He pulled out another ice cream bar and gave it to her.

"Thank you." The dark haired girl said. "So why did you bring the ice cream?" Xion asked.

"Call it a celebration. After half a year of searching for clues, we're finally going to bring Sora home."

"But Riku and Kairi still have to find Sora first before we should celebrate." Xion added

"I know, so how about we call this a pre-celebration before the post celebration?"

Roxas chuckled a little "Sure, whatever." He then took a bite out of his ice cream, it's been over six months since the search for Sora began and now their finally doing something, although he felt like he should also be going with them, but he decided to trust his instincts and leave it in the hands of Riku and Kairi.

As he continued to stare at the sun he was soon tapped by the black haired nobody. "Hey."

The blonde haired ex-Organization member came back to reality. "Yeah."

"You've been staring off into space for a second."

"You okay, Roxas?"

Both of his friends were concerned "It's nothing really. Hey, do you think that Riku would let one more person join?"

"Don't know, but I think we should let them handle it. Let's not forget even with the organization gone we still have things to deal with. Like some heartless and Maleficent." Axel said

"Oh yeah. I was just thinking out loud is all." Roxas replied

"Well, we don't have to worry about Xehanort or the organization anymore. So that's a good thing." Said Xion

"Maybe. But now I can't help but think about what to do next. I mean where do we go from here?" Roxas asked his friends

"What are you talking about?" Axel asked.

"What I mean is the organization was all I knew. We thought we were fighting to reclaim our lives, but it was just a fake. What we really were was just pawns at Xemnas and Xehanort hand. And because I could use the keyblade, all I was to them was just some puppet who had easy strings to pull. They just never cared. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to have you and Xion with me, but I don't know what comes next for us. Where do we even begin."

Xion wondered the same. "I suppose that makes two of us. I'm a literal puppet that was made by the organization. The only reason why I existed was to take Sora's memories and power from you, Roxas." She said, summoning and unsummoning the copy of the kingdom key. "Now that purpose is over. What should I do next."

Axel spoke to Roxas "So what. You don't need to think about that. You already have something better than the organization."

Both Xion and Roxas looked towards their fellow keyblade wielder "What do you mean?" The blonde haired nobody asked.

"I mean how you got me and Xion. Not to mention everyone else. So really there's no need to think about that stuff." Axel continued "You were the first person that made me feel like I had a heart, the person that made me remember what it felt like to be human again. Even though we thought we didn't have hearts. When you left the organization and said how no one would miss you. Well I did. And after you returned to Sora the only thing on my mind was how to get you back, I wanted my friend back."

Roxas looked at his ice cream as he wore a sad look on his face. "Sorry."

"It's cool. And Xion… I'm sorry for forgetting you. I couldn't explain it but for some reason, I felt like I was forgetting someone else important to me."

The girl in black shook her head "It's okay."

"No it wasn't! That fact you disappeared was one thing…but you disappearing along with our memories of you hurt even more."

"I'm sorry."

Xion apologized. Axel then took a long deep breath "Honestly, we thought the organization could help reclaim our past selves. You two were different."

"Neither of us had memories of our previous selves." Said Roxas.

"I know, no memories or anything, all you both had was your names and Organization XIII. But you know what really made you both special."

"What…"

Xion asked as she and Roxas awaited an answer.

"…How you both made your own identities." Axel said to them both as he finished his ice cream

"Our own…" Xion started

"…Identities." Roxas finished

"Yeah." Axel said.

"So what if you were born as a nobody. And it doesn't matter that Xion was made as a replica. What matters is the fact that the two of you exist and you both found your own identity that makes you both as real as anyone else. You live and breathe like a person, so as far as I'm aware, you guys are as real as it can get. Got it memorized."

"Axel…" Roxas called his name.

"Well I said what I needed to say. You both got clean slates so now is a good time to think about what you want to do. As for me, I'm gonna go get some more ice cream." He stood up. Roxas jokes saying to him he is going to get sick eating so much ice cream. Which led Axel to make a comeback as he was sounding like a parent.

As Axel left, His words began to resonate with her. He was right, so what if her existence was fabricated? Only one thing matters to her is that she exists. She was not just a replica, she was her own person… same as Roxas.

"You know what Roxas. He's right. Who cares how we were born. All that should matter is that we exist. I know I was made to be a copy but later I started to feel like my own person for a time."

"I know what you mean. In the sleeping worlds, Sora told me that we're not the same and that I have just as much right to exist as anyone else. My heart belongs to me, and your heart belongs to you. And now no one can take that from us…So in a way, Axel's right. We are our own people."

Roxas held his Popsicle stick to the side "So what I'm thinking…Here's to us, having our own identity." Xion looked at his stick and did the same thing as him.

"To our own identity." They tapped their ice cream sticks together as a kinda toast to each other. Soon Roxas stood up, he decided to follow Axel to get some more Sea-salt ice cream and asked Xion to come along. She also got up from the clock tower.

Just then Roxas remembered something important. "Hey Xion." He dug into his pants pocket.

The black haired girl tilted her head "Hm."

He told her to open her hand. "Here." Her eyes wide.

"This is…" This was the Thalassa seashell from when she disappeared. The only thing that was left behind.

"I…kept onto it. Aside from the memories I still had of you, well barely had. This was left behind, in a way that felt like a piece of you." He said as he ruffled his hair and looked the other way. He didn't know why but he was feeling embarrassed.

"Axel wasn't the only one who wanted his friend back. Even though you were forgotten, I never truly forgot about you. I made sure of that. And now that you're back, let's make some new memories together." Xion was touched by Roxas as she looked at the single seashell in her hand and brought it closer to her heart.

"Thank you, Roxas." She said as her heart began to swell up with emotions as did Roxas.

Just then the replica Kingdom key automatically summoned to a right hand. This surprised them both but not as much as to see it and the seashell glowing in a bright light. The light continued to grow to the point where they shielded their eyes. A few seconds later the light began to die down. As they slowly opened their eyes. Both Roxas and Xion were shocked to see what had happened to the keyblade copy.

The blade of the keyblade was a sword that had a pink and silver color to it. The guard of the keyblade was a yellowish-orange color with the inside also being pink, with curved red spikes on the rainguard nearly reaching the blade with a bit of silver on the end. The teeth of the blade was her red crown that she wore from her last fight with Roxas. The keychain was a long string with the thalassa seashell being the token.

"Xion…" Roxas was surprised. She began to admire her new keyblade as it disappeared from her hand.

She soon started to smile as she turned around. But Roxas didn't need to say anything he could already know what was on her heart. She soon began to leave the clock tower but not before taking Roxas by the hand and staring off into the sky

'Just you wait Sora…We're going to bring you back home soon…' He said as he left the clock tower with Xion.

(Westwood forest - a few days later)

Sora was standing outside of Tiffania cabin and the two stared at one another. It was time for Sora to leave Albion and return to his friends back in Tristain. He owed this girl a debt that can't be repaid but she doesn't seem to care about it, she honestly didn't do it for anything just doing something out of kindness, that was all.

Not to mention Aaron, Claire, and the four younger children were all there to say their goodbyes as well.

"Well. I guess this is it." Sora said to Tiffania. "Thanks again for what you did."

"Please, it was no trouble at all." The elf said "I'm just happy to have you as my very first friend. Though it's a shame we have to say goodbye to each other." Tiffania said a little bit sad.

But Sora said this to her "It's not a goodbye but a see you later, I'm sure I'll see you again."

"Really." She said as her ears wiggled a bit.

"Yeah I do. As long as hearts stay true to one another our bond won't be broken." Sora replied as he held out his pinkie, the blonde elf wondered why as she told her to do the same.

She stocked out her pinkey fingers as Sora explained to her that this was a pinkie promise, which this was a promise between them and that is promise to them to see each other again. This made Tiffania smile.

Sora then turned to the younger children.

"And I want to say it's been fun playing with you guys."

"It was fun too!" Julius said. "Those faces you made were so funny!" He said remembering Sora's 'funny face special'.

"Yeah!" Ella joined in as she and Julius were making silly faces in front of Kathleen and Monroe. The four of them were all laughing.

Aaron rolled his eyes, having a small smile on his face while Claire was giggling at the children.

"Aaron. Claire. You're like their big brother and sister. Make sure you guys take good care of your younger sibling."

"Don't worry, we will." Aaron replied, shaking Sora's hand.

"We really enjoyed having you around, Sora. Stop by and visit when you get the chance." Claire said.

"Thanks, I will."

Sora then began to leave the village as Tiffania, Aaron, Claire and all the rest of them began waving goodbye and wishing for him to stop by again.

Sora waved back promising that he will someday. As he moved farther and farther from the village.

Meanwhile Tiffania looked at her pinkie finger and smiled, she closed her eyes and rested her hands on her heart.

An unfamiliar warmth began to fill in her breast as she never experienced anything like this.

She decided to trust the words of her first friend, though he is gone for now, she believed that they will meet again someday soon.

Aaron looked at Tiffania, seeing her reaction made him jealous. Claire decided to poke at him "Aww~ Don't tell me that you're jealous.

"Shut up." The red haired girl giggled as the other decided to tease him.

Meanwhile as Sora went through the forest the keyblade wielder thought she was a really nice girl who's heart was so full of kindness, the light she had was something radiant. There was just something about her that was different about her yet also very familiar.

He pulled out his Gummiphone and was scrolling through the photos. He scrolled over to the picture of Siesta when she first saw his phone and he asked to take a picture of her, he then scrolled some more to the banquet. He took photos of Kirche and Tabitha too.

The next was of Guiche and Montmorency, though the photo made him laugh, as Guiche was flirting with a girl. And Montmorency chased him for hours.

Finally he swiped his phone and ended up with a picture of him and Louise taking a picture together. Back then it took some convincing but he got her to agree, she and him both had a genuine smile. Sora remembered how this photo was.

Flashback

"Come on, it's completely harmless." Sora said, holding his phone out about him with Louise standing next to him.

"I don't know that for sure. Who's to say it's not going to take my soul." Louise replied.

Sora gave her the thousand yard stare. "That's just superstition, just one picture and I'll stop bugging you about it. You really need to start trusting me."

The pink haired girl gave a long sigh. "Okay." She said as Sora scooched over to her and held his gummiphone up high. Louise asked what she should do. He just told her to just smile and that was it. Sora began to count to three, as he was about to finish, Louise looked at him briefly before facing his phone as a genuine smile spread across her face. And on the count of three took the photo.

Flashback end

Sora placed his phone back in his pocket and looked at the long strip of road, knowing he's a long way to go. "...See you soon, everyone." He said, going full steam ahead. promising to come back to his friends.

End.