Aqua, with Natsumi and Overseer Ravamar behind her, strode through the halls of the palace until she came to the door to the queen's private chambers.

"Your Highness-"

Aqua stopped, turning to gaze at Overseer Ravamar. "Yes?"

The woman took a moment to gather her thoughts, clearly taken aback by such a prompt response. "I agree with most of the things you said back in the meeting room - and I even agree that the only way we're going to make any progress with this is to take a hard stance - but...if I could speak freely?"

"Of course," Aqua said simply. "Do you have some kind of concern?"

"I don't think the idea of a dueling ceremony will get the results you're hoping for."

"The results I'm hoping for are to dissuade anyone from trying to assassinate me," Aqua said shortly.

Ravamar gave a nod. "I'd suspected that, Princess. But a public combat ceremony is only going to invite challenge by default. Worse, still: if you're overestimating yourself - or underestimating Zitol's finest - your performance is just going to embolden the sort of people who are going to want to take a shot at you. Whether you do well or not...I'd request that you reconsider." She paused, going on quickly with, "The idea of a march or parade was a good one, for what you're trying to do - but I think you should cancel the duel."

"I'm willing to consider it," Aqua said. "But wouldn't cancelling make me look weak? The council members are bound to spread rumors. That would probably embolden people more than anything. I can't let people think I'm some defenseless, helpless woman like that; I want it made clear exactly what I can do if I have to!"

"Understandable, Princess Aqua. But, coming right out of the gates with a show of strength like that-" Ravamar said patiently, gazing at her with reproach.

"I've already said I'll consider it," Aqua stated firmly. "Whether I act on your advice or not, however, is still for me to decide."

"OF course, Princess." Ravamar bowed her head. "I only ask you to think it over. Will you be needing anything for the night?" she asked, changing topics.

"No. Thank you," Aqua said, softening her tone now. "I'll see you in the morning, Overseer Ravamar. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of things I'll need your help with."

Aqua watched the woman leave, then turned and pushed the door to the queen's chambers open, stepping inside.

It was so spacious and extravagant. Green carpet, a curtained bed big enough for four adults, a writing desk, dresser, makeup table and full length mirror. Floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the doorway out onto the balcony, that overlooked the city. Multiple wardrobes and walk-in closet that was more like an entire dressing room. Paintings of scenery on the walls - flower fields, a sheer cliff with multiple waterfalls...

Aqua shook her head and twisted around to look at Natsumi. She gave a small smile and said, "Well, there's more than enough bed for us to share this time."

The woman laughed, nodding. Then she yawned, patting at her lips. "It has been an exhausting time lately, hasn't it? A nice, long nap would be lovely right about now..."

"Yes," Aqua agreed, whole-heartedly. "It really would."

She hesitated, then just crawled onto the bed, clothes and all. She lay down on it. Rolled onto one side - then the other. She sighed, trying to figure out how to even get all these new- parts of herself in order! Would these horns end up puncturing a pillow? What if she woke up stuck to the headboard?! What was she supposed to do with her- tail? Try and curl it around her middle, or just...sort of let it hang off the bed...? And these wings...great, big, leathery wings! She tried to work her back muscles, hoping to put the one not trapped under her own body more...behind her actual back instead of hanging over her shoulder...

As she struggled with herself, Natsumi followed her lead and got onto the ridiculously large bed with her. She inched closer to Aqua, until their forms were touching.

Aqua blinked, gazing into the woman's eyes. Her gaze flickered to Natsumi's lips, shining and red and close now - she flushed and mentally kicked herself. This- probably wasn't the time for anything like that. Was it? She needed a nice, full rest if she was going to get things done tomorrow...and in the days to come. But, she had, in fact, slept very well after that one, special night with Natsumi before...even as awkward and- nerve-wracking as it had all been at the time, the following morning had seen her feeling more...relaxed and comfortable with herself than she had in...well, perhaps ever.

But could she even just - ask for something like that again now? Had it been a one time thing, or...? And what would Natsumi think of her, after what she'd said to the council? Would she think that Aqua only saw her as a- a source of sex? This woman was- definitely more than that to Aqua by this point! She was...a friend. She was...

Natsumi's hand touched her arm.

Aqua startled. She trembled. Her face burned even harder.

"Can I ask what you're thinking about right now?" Natsumi said quietly.

"Erm- just- things..." Aqua stammered, letting out a quivering breath. "Probably- stupid things..."

"Well, my ears are wide open for you," Natsumi said with a smile. She raised her arm to point at her kitsune ears, and they wriggled atop her head.

Aqua wasn't really one to think of something as being- well, cute or some such...but she thought that had been really cute.

"Would you want to- d-do what we did...before? Together? But - here...? Or is that too...?" Aqua trailed off, stammering again. Flustered beyond belief now!

Natsumi's fingers caressed Aqua's arm as she tilted her head at her. Her lips curved into an incredibly amused smirk now. "My, my...sex in your hated mother's own bed? Someone has a much wilder side than even I could have imagined...not that I'm complaining."

"W-what? No, no! No, I didn't- that wasn't why I-!" Aqua started furiously, rolling away from the woman, her hands going to her face!

Why had she even tried opening her mouth? This was just- a stupid, giant mistake, it was- she was-!

An intense smell suddenly filled her nose - burning?

Aqua dropped her hands and rolled out of the bed, jumping to her feet, her eyes sweeping the room, her body tensed and shaking! Her eyes found the bed, where a flame was growing in the sheets, eating at them! She swirled a hand and tossed out a large stream of water magic, dousing it with a hiss of smoke. "Where did that come from? Did you see any-" she started to Natsumi.

"Relax, Miss Aqua - it's just you," Natsumi's voice came, as she slowly, casually just...sat upright on the bed.

Aqua paused, staring. "W-what? Me...?" She was just confused. She hadn't had any kind of...incidents of uncontrolled or misfired magicks since she was a child! And- and it had really only happened once or twice!

Natsumi pointed a finger, a small smile on her lips again.

Aqua turned, twisting at the hip. Then she frowned, focusing...

Her tail came swinging out in front of her; the heart-shaped blade on the end of it was shrouded in a large, burning bush of dark blue flames!

"Why am I on fire?!" Aqua yelped, swinging a hand to hurl a sphere of water at the fires. They enveloped the flames, diminishing them to a flickering candle...but not extinguishing them! "Why won't this go away, why can't I-"

"Aqua: RELAX!" Natsumi insisted, raising her voice now. Aqua thought it was probably the first time she ever had actually raised her voice - it gave Aqua pause. "It's normal for demons - or so I hear."

Aqua eyed the flames still, her hand raised and swirling with more water magic. "Normal? How is this normal? My- tail is on fire...!"

Had it been on fire that night as a child? She couldn't remember - she'd been too focused on so many other things at the time! Although, now that she did think about it, she probably had been on fire when she'd first revealed her true form to Natsumi, that night in her self-fashioned hot springs. She did recall the noise of- sizzling water. Burning rain. And it hadn't been from her self-made hot springs...

"As I understand it, it's an automatic, natural biological reaction to - well, passions," Natsumi was saying - explaining.

Aqua did her best to focus and somewhat calm herself. "Passions...? As in...?"

"Well, anything that gets the heart racing too fast, I suppose," Natsumi continued. "Lust, arousal, anger, rage - intense moments of stress in general. Anything that results in high levels of adrenaline coursing through your body. It's just fight or flight, you see? Your body preparing itself for one hell of a fight...though it can get itself mixed up with incredibly exciting nights. Biology and evolution are strange that way, aren't they?"

"I...yes, but..." Aqua said slowly, looking away. She crossed her arms, then glared at her flaming tail end. "But this is ridiculous! How does anyone of my- my people even...sleep together if every time they do, they end up with- with flaming butts that could set the whole bed on fire?! Never mind - just - how do I make it stop?"

"I don't have the answer to your first question - but the second one should be obvious to someone like you," Natsumi said lightly. "Breathe - calm yourself down. Meditate. It's a part of your body, isn't it? You're the one in control of it. So control it..."

Aqua nodded, sitting in the middle of the spacious floor and crossing her legs. Closing her eyes, and breathing. Her Keyblade meditation training coming back to her. Mindfulness, attunement...control of herself and her body...

"You know, Miss Aqua, I enjoyed what I heard back in that meeting room from you...especially the part about us being lovers. The looks on those people's faces was a sight I won't soon forget!" Natsumi's voice spoke on, in the silence, rich with humor and delight.

"Oh - really? I actually was going to apologize to you about that - I thought I might have gone too far with it..." Aqua murmured out. "That was- kind of what I was worrying about a minute ago, honestly..."

"Oh, no - you didn't go too far at all. Though, that is an interesting question," Natsumi said thoughtfully. "Does one night of passion a lover make...?"

Aqua focused on her breathing even more intensely. "I wouldn't know. Does it?"

Natsumi's soft laugh came to her ears. "I'd say it does, yes." She paused. "Something else you said that caught my interest was what you said about your mother. From my prior understanding, you didn't have such a positive view of her. And yet you painted such a rosy picture back there..."

Aqua took in a sharp, quick breath. She opened her eyes, her lips curving into a tiny smirk. "I don't. We never had a good relationship, and after...on the night I left this world, when I learned about this-" She gestured down at herself awkwardly. "-she showed me the truth of her Heart. She was rotten and vile inside. The world is better off without her! My Master might think it was all some mistake, but I think-" She stopped. She breathed. "Whatever her reasons really were for having me, for keeping this a secret...I seriously doubt they were benevolent ones. But, now that she's gone, and there's no one to contest it, I figured I could at least put her to good use. Her memory can serve people better than she ever did in life; she can be remembered for something good, instead of something terrible - which is more than she deserves. But it's not for her: it's for everyone else."

"I see. I'm sure she'd be really pleased about that."

"Not a chance," Aqua laughed. "But I hope that, wherever she is now, she can see me here." She paused, looking to Natsumi up on the bed. "I wanted her room because, well, for one thing, it's going to end up being my room soon enough as it is, and for another...I really wanted the chance to get to search it for anything about myself. About why she did have me - why she kept it such a secret. She might have been a terrible person at Heart, but she must have kept journals, or letters, or something, as the queen. I hope she did, anyway..."

"I see. Well, we'll have to conduct a thorough search in the morning," Natsumi nodded. She lay herself back down onto the bed with a fresh yawn, drawing her legs in to curl into a ball. "Are you going to join me up here, Miss Aqua?"

Aqua breathed deeply - and released it. She focused her mind and body...and twisted her long, whip of a tail in front of herself. The blade on the end was now just simple...simple bone. No blue flames anymore. She breathed in again, then out again. Once more. She shook her head slowly. "I think I'd still be better off sleeping here on the floor. At least, until I figure this all out."

"Alright. Well then - goodnight, Aqua. I hope you sleep well down there."

"Goodnight, Natsumi."

Aqua looked around her, then lay down on her side, resting her head on her hands and drawing her legs in.

In all honesty, she...probably was not going to sleep well at all. But she had to do the best with what she had!

Xion woke up in her new room in Radiant Garden's castle.

She dressed and combed at her hair, and then walked out to the suite's big, wide open living room area.

It was quiet. Nice quiet.

Xion walked into the dining room, and then into the large kitchen. She opened up the cabinets and found something she thought she could eat safely (without risking just throwing it up again).

It had been a few days here now in Radiant Garden.

The feelings from Kairi's Heart and memories were still there...but she thought she was learning how to ignore them now. At least, she hoped so. She had been making her own memories here now, after all...newer and stronger ones. Well, that was what Even had said...

Even was probably sleeping still...or he was somewhere else already. He never spent much time here in the suite - not even now that he had finished making the new Replicas and helping everyone who needed helping.

But neither did Kana (Xion was kind of glad about that...).

Xion startled as she heard loud, fast footsteps. She turned and saw Kana rushing into the kitchen!

Kana stopped, wobbling on her feet. Her long purple hair swayed behind her. Then she smiled widely and came closer to Xion. "Hey," she said as she started to open the cabinets herself.

"Hi..." Xion said cautiously.

Kana pulled out a box of cookies, dug out a bunch of them in her hand, then stuffed them in her mouth. She bit and chewed and then threw her head back and swallowed hard. Then she turned and held the box out to Xion. "Want some? They're tasty!"

"No...no thanks," Xion said, backing away now.

Kana shrugged, then took out two more cookies and ate them both at the same time. She then jumped up on the spot and sat on the top of the counter, her legs swinging off the floor. "I'm so bored here!" she said loudly. She rolled her neck and looked over at Xion. "What did you say everyone was doing out there? You said you went out and got into some crazy fights, and you destroyed soldiers and robots, and some new monsters that aren't Heartless?!"

"Um...yes?" Xion said. "We're- they're...trying to stop all the Nightmares from...attacking people and putting them to sleep. And...looking for an old Keyblade called the Ultima Weapon. And a Darkness girl who took Kairi's body..."

"That's what I need to be doing, too!" Kana exclaimed, jumping down from the counter and throwing the cookie box aside (it slid across the counter and fell to the floor). "I'm not like you; I can't just sit around staring at words in books, or looking at computers like Even does! I need to fight! I need to be out there! I need to save the world! Oh, yeah: I'll be the hero of the entire World!" Kana raised her arm, and Aqua's Keyblade appeared in her hand - well, a replica Keyblade, like Xion's was of Kairi's - and she used it to make a swirling, big portal of light in the middle of the kitchen. "You can stay here if you want - I'm out!"

Kana walked forward quickly - then she stopped.

"What...?" Xion asked hesitantly.

"I need my motorcycle first!"

"I- I don't think you should go..." Xion started. "I don't think Even would...want you to go."

Kana looked at her, frowning. "So? Screw him. He's not going to be able to complain when I come back to him as the hero who saved every world in existence."

"I...I guess?"

Kana kept frowning at Xion. Then she approached her quickly - and hugged her, lifting her off her feet and squeezing her. She dropped Xion with a thump on the hard floor. "Right - I'm going to get my bike. See you around, little Replica sister!"

"B-bye..." Xion gasped, holding a hand to her chest!

Even was going to be so mad...

Xehanort sat on edge of the forest, upon a boulder, gazing into the firelight.

Smoke rose to the night sky.

A familiar scene, to be sure. Yet other things about this were also now...the same. In ways that...bothered him.

He sighed, leaning back and looking upward.

"What is on your mind, child?"

Xehanort let his head fall, his gaze finding the woman sitting on the ground nearby, her legs drawn close to herself. He looked at her for a long moment - then away again. "Nothing worth mentioning."

"If something is worrying you, you should talk about it," Amaya replied quietly. "Opening your Heart to others isn't only something that refers to your empathic abilities. You have so many people here for you now - you always did."

Xehanort frowned, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. Then he opened them once more, looking back at the woman. "Hmph. It really is nothing. I was just- thinking about the others..." he responded, halting.

"Eraqus and the likes?"

"Him - Vor...Urd and Hermod. Yes. And...mo-" Xehanort stopped. "Mother."

"Are you worried about her?"

Xehanort gazed at Amaya. He turned his head, his cheeks growing warm. "Of course I am...she's my mother..." he murmured out. His mind flashed with the face of his future Heartless - ringing with those words, and the waves of pure hatred and disgust, malice, that he had felt from the man in his own Heart. From his own Heart...

Amaya suddenly stood. Her Keyblade appeared in a flash of gold.

"What are you-" Xehanort began, confused more than wary.

"If you wish to see her again, we can go back," Amaya stated. Her expression in that moment was...and the emotions he felt drifting off of her Heart... "I couldn't take you to see her before - I can now. Whenever you want."

Xehanort's lips parted, as he blinked at the woman. He shut his mouth, shook his head. He spread his palms to her. "My feelings are not so drastic as that..." He hesitated, looking down now. He swallowed. "Well...perhaps they are," he amended, in a whisper.

"Xehanort-"

"He threatened her. My future self's Heartless," Xehanort said, quick and flat. "He threatened all of you. Eraqus, Vor, Urd, Hermod...even you. And - mother, too. And given that that Riku boy was allowed to just walk away, with that Darkness- girl in his Heart, no less, as well as my Heartless...forgive me for taking those threats to Heart. I'm sure he's capable of making very good on them, isn't he?" He frowned deeply, dropping his head. "Aren't I...?"

"Do you trust Eraqus to protect her?"

"Do I trust my best friend with the life of my mother? I'd like to - but I'm rather keenly aware of the fact that sometimes there is nothing you can do!" Xehanort responded fiercely, lifting his head up sharply. "And I'm also rather keenly aware of the fact that Eraqus and the others were all useless the last time they were confronted with my Heartless! No one else is simply going to cut the boy Riku down to protect everyone else that matters, so...yes, I'm worried!"

"Riku is not your enemy. He's a victim, and what he needs is help, not execution simply because it would be more convenient for all of us..or just for you. You made the wrong choice with Baldr before - you made the right one when you chose to go into Riku's Heart and help him there. Don't doubt that now."

"Isn't that so easy for you to say - you have no one you care for on the line!" Xehanort snapped.

"I have a lot of people I care for on the line," Amaya refuted firmly. "I have you, and Moreth. And Skuld is out there risking her life as we speak - one of the first, best friends I ever had, reunited across the impossibilities of time and space...just as you and your mother were, and your friends. We all have people we love, and fear to lose, Xehanort. That's life. But what you do in response to that fear is what matters."

"What would you suggest I do, then? Hm?"

"Well, if you're so worried about her, and if you don't feel like you can trust her to stay safe in Eraqus's hands - then we could ask her to stay with us here instead," Amaya said. "If she was willing to be closer at hand, she would be easier to protect...with your own hands. We could even suggest having her brush up on her Keyblade training, so she can better defend herself."

"She would never be ready!" Xehanort protested. "Against my Heartless? My future self? Against these Nightmares? Against this renegade Darkness? Never."

"No, she wouldn't - but she would be better off than she was, would she not?"

"And what use is that?"

"Every bit helps, Xehanort. Every inch, every second, every swing of a blade. Every moment. It. Matters. Moments in which either of us can be able to intervene, and shield her, and save her!"

"Yes, you were such a help before, weren't you? Bound in chains by a boy of fifteen, who barely-"

"Even the greatest Masters, the most powerful mages, can be caught off guard - taken by surprise," Amaya said, in a calmer tone. "Even me, and even you - your present self. You know this. This led to his defeat ten years ago, and the ruination and halting of all of his plans for the World. The fortitude and bonds of three young people, in the face of his almighty powers. Terra's powerful emotions and strength of will, that lingered in his very armor. Master Aqua's willingness to fight and sacrifice to save her friend's Heart. Even Ventus's willingness to destroy his own Heart to save them from Vanitas. And of course, there were the actions of Kairi and her friends in recent months that stopped your Heartless and Nobody alike in their tracks. It should serve as a lesson not to consider yourself invincible or untouchable, no matter how old or powerful you become."

"Well then...that's even more of a reason to-"

"To what? Xehanort, I know that it's difficult, but I think you need to stop spending so much time on the negatives, on fears and doubts, and instead look at things more positively. Stop seeing the darkness, and start seeing the light. Don't obsess over what you can't do - think and plan for what you can do. And learn to be content with that. To accept that there are in fact limitations to yourself and your abilities. I told your future self this, but you need to hear it as well: the worlds - and people - are not perfect. You aren't perfect. And they will never be. You will never be. And you must accept that. You can look around and see darkness, and threats, and all the negativity of the World...but if all you do is that, you miss out on experiencing all the good - on living well."

Xehanort stood, clenching his fists. "Do you think I'm not trying? I did in fact take even my future self's wisdom by experience to Heart, to not waste this chance I've been given! To not wind up as the raving, obsessive, pathetic shell of a man he did, alone and empty, so incurious, so devoid of all that even this me at this point in my life still values! The man that he is, and that my Heartless is as well, apparently! Seeing my future selves, fractured and broken as they all are - do you think I-" He stopped. He breathed. He whirled away, stalking off. "I don't take it for granted...having everyone and everything I lost back in my life again now," he said tightly. "Eraqus, Vor and Urd and Hermod, and even you...and of course, the chance to meet the mother I didn't get the chance to, in another life and time..."

Xehanort closed his eyes, raising a hand before himself. A shaking fist. "That is why I am so worried for them all - for her especially. Because I know so well how quickly and easily you can just...lose everything. And then you're nothing - you're shattered. A remnant of the person you once were, to whom nothing even matters anymore...apparently even including the chance to get them all back again, seeing as you so correctly pointed out that my future self could have done this himself ages ago..."

"I understand how you're feeling. Let's go and see her, then. You can ease those worries, at least. Or request her help in doing so - as I suggested. But simply getting lost in it all is going to do no one any good." The woman paused, briefly. Then- "I am glad, proud, that you did decide to tell me any of this. To open up to me about your feelings and thoughts. That is good - that's healthy."

Xehanort took in a deep breath, and let it go again with...no small amount of relief in his Heart. He turned back to his mentor, gazing on her. "Let's just focus on what we're all out here for. The sooner we can end this, the sooner I'll have nothing to worry about at all. Or at least...comparatively little to worry about," he muttered.

Amaya watched him, her eyes scrutinizing his face. Then she nodded. Her Keyblade vanished. "Alright. I just hope you do realize...how powerful this is. How much of a miracle it is. The chance to say the things you never got to say, or always wanted to say...I know, because I speak from experience, Xehanort."

Silently, Xehanort returned to his rock of a seat; Amaya sat beside him on the ground, now. Close. He looked down at her for a moment, in the fire's light. He hesitated. "I won't become my future self - any version of him. Seeing my human self, and now my Heartless, I... No matter how negative I get, I'm not going to risk throwing this all away. Losing them all again. Even the few years I've lived without them, my Heart's emptiness, and loneliness... I wouldn't want to go back to that again. Not when I know...when he knows what it's like to live a long, lonely life without them. Not when I know...where that road leads. To go from someone who- cares about you all, to someone who could threaten you all like that..." He flushed, turning away and crossing his arms. "I- suppose what I'm really trying to say here is...thank you."

"For what?" came Amaya's soft, surprised tones. Honest surprise.

"For all of this," Xehanort said quietly, staring off into the dark distance now. "For making this all possible - for coming back to me, yourself, I suppose - and for keeping the promise to let me see my mother someday. Even if it was after a fashion, and through a twisting, doubling back path across time...I still finally got to meet her because of you. This version of me that I am, here and now, got to meet her - and to have all of my friends back again. So: thank you."

"I can't take all the credit - or even most of it - but...you're welcome," Amaya said warmly.

He didn't need his abilities to know what the woman was feeling in that moment.

He turned to look at the flames again. Into the burning light...

And he let his lips curve into a small smile, embracing the feelings in his own Heart that matched with hers.