The more Sora saw of Radiant Garden, the more awed he was by how much it had grown. It turned out that Yuffie was the actual guide of their "tour," since Donald and Goofy knew as much about the area as he did, but he was glad they came along nonetheless. "Don't worry," Yuffie said with a wink as they walked down the sidewalk. "I know all the greatest places here!"

They did a mixture of seeing new things and visiting old friends. First they visited Cid, who'd set up a new Gummi garage. Sora was astounded by the sheer number of Gummi ships, all of different sizes and shapes, that Cid was currently working on. Gummi technology really had spread. Yuffie showed them the new open-air market, where she treated them to fruit crisps. Kairi spotted a lacquered hair clip and squeaked excitedly, "Ooh, that's so pretty!"

The vendor, a squat blue creature with bulbous eyes, said something in an accent so thick that Sora couldn't understand him. "What!" Yuffie squawked. "That's a total rip-off!"

"What'd he say?" Donald asked.

"Five hundred munny?" Yuffie said, more to the vendor than to Donald. "That thing's worth a hundred, tops! It doesn't even have any charms!"

Whatever the little blue man said in response, he was obviously offended. While he and Yuffie argued over the price, Kairi dug into her pockets and pulled out a handful of munny. She quickly counted it, then her face fell. "Only three hundred." Resigned, she shrugged and wandered off to the next stand.

Sora and Riku glanced at each other and simultaneously rifled through their pockets. Their heads together conspiratorially, they added up their respective amounts and found they were just shy of five hundred. All hope seemed lost when Goofy spotted a five-munny piece on the ground and gave it to them. They pushed Yuffie aside and paid the indignant little shopkeeper, then jogged over to Kairi, who was cooing over some caged birds for sale. Riku snuck up behind her and covered her eyes, whispering, "Boo!" in her ear.

Kairi put her hands on her hips, but made no move to turn around. "Riku, I'm not going to fall for that anymore," she sighed, a smile flickering across her face.

"Me and Sora have a surprise for you." Riku gestured with a jerk of his head for Sora to position himself in front of Kairi.

"Oh reeaally? And what would that be?"

Riku uncovered Kairi's eyes and Sora grinned broadly, holding up the hair clip for her to see. She gasped with delight and threw herself on Sora in an enthusiastic hug, almost knocking him over. "Oh, you guys are the best!" she cried.

Sora chuckled sheepishly and looked over Kairi's shoulder at Riku, who quietly smiled back. "Are you going to wear it, or what?" he chided Kairi.

Kairi blushed, took the clip from Sora, and stuck it in her hair just as Yuffie, Goofy, and Donald walked up to them. Yuffie declared that it looked absolutely great on Kairi and the colors fit her perfectly, to which the others wholeheartedly agreed, and with that they continued on their outing.

As they walked, Sora constantly felt his gaze drawn up to the citadel that overlooked the city. The first time he'd visited this world, it had been the only structure remaining. Even though it still stood, it had changed so drastically that Sora had a hard time believing it was the same castle. Memories of what transpired there ran through his mind like an old film – the colors a little faded, some images blurry and indistinct, but it was all still there. "Hey, Yuffie?" he asked.

"Mmmmmyes?" Yuffie spun on her heel to face Sora, hands planted firmly on her hips.

Sora pointed at the towering spires overhead. "Do you think we could go up there? Not the lower parts...

I mean where we went when we first came here."

Yuffie must not have expected the question. She raised one eyebrow curiously. "Ummm... sure. After we visit Merlin's, m'kay?"

It didn't take them long to reach the old wizard's house in the borough. It, Sora was relieved to see, was one of the few things in the city that had remained completely unchanged since he last saw it. Without even stopping to knock, Yuffie opened the door and strode right in as if she owned the place, her little tour group following behind with varying degrees of hesitancy. "Hey Meeeer-liiiiiiiin!" she sang. "Guess who came to seeeeee yooouuuuu!"

Merlin looked up from where he sat at his old wooden table. Caught a bit off-guard, he blinked owlishly for a few seconds before managing an, "Oh my stars and garters!" He set down his cracked china cup with a soft clatter and turned to his guest, whom he'd been having tea with. "Isn't this a lovely surprise, Your Majesty?"

"Sure is!" King Mickey replied cheerfully, setting down his own cup of tea. "Hiya guys!"

"Hi, Your Majesty!" Kairi replied with equal enthusiasm, as if there had never been any argument at all. That was Kairi for you – she'd probably forgive even Xemnas, as long as he was sorry. She rocked back on her heels and waved, her mannerisms almost identical to those of a girl half her age.

"Are you enjoying Radiant Garden so far?" Mickey asked, ever the master of diplomatic small talk. Kairi nodded vigouously, a wide grin on her face. "Bring back any childhood memories?"

"Nope," Kairi replied, still grinning. "But that's okay – it's more fun to visit an entirely new place than one I've been to before!"

Sora breifly wondered how King Mickey knew Kairi was from Radiant Garden but dismissed the thought, figuring that kings learn that kind of thing. "We're going to see the upper parts of the castle after this," he said, deciding to follow Kairi's merry example.

The little mouse nodded, as if he'd been expecting as much, and smiled. Instead of answering, however, he turned to look at Donald and Goofy. "I hope you two have been on your best behavior. You're representatives of Disney Castle, you know."

Goofy and Donald snapped to attention and saluted, making Mickey laugh. "Relax, you two! I was joking!"

The group continued to talk for a while about the unimportant things that old friends always prattle about. It was almost like the old days, except that the shadowy threat of Heartless attacks was no longer there. Even during the most lighthearted conversations back then, there had always been an undercurrent of tension; Sora was glad it had disappeared. As the conversation progressed, Merlin was horrified with Sora when the boy admitted he wasn't practicing his magic regularly. "My goodness, boy, do you want to forget all I've taught you again?" he chided.

Though Sora apologized sheepishly, he honestly couldn't see a reason to practice hurting things. After all, the Heartless were gone, and he'd never dare use offensive magic on another person. He didn't say anything to Merlin about it, though; the old sorcerer would probably get so flustered that his hat would catch on fire or something. Things always got a little crazy when dealing with wizards.

Merlin stood, tugging his beard and smoothing his robes, and pointed his wand at Sora. "All right, boy. Show me you haven't forgotten everything yet. Let's see a little fire!"

"Whaaaaat?" Sora whined, his shoulders slumping. Merlin was making him cast magic now?

"C'mon, Sora," Riku teased as he leaned against a wall, arms crossed. "Show us what you can do – unless you've already forgotten?"

Sora stuck out his tongue at Riku. "I'll bet you've forgotten all your magic!"

By way of reply, Riku held out his hand and summoned a softball-sized sphere of purple flame, causing Merlin to twitter with approval. Riku quirked one eyebrow at Sora mischievously. "All right, now your turn."

Grumbling a little, Sora closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. How did it go again? It had been so long... He was so absorbed in thought that he nearly jumped out of his skin when Merlin lightly tapped him on the head. "Stop thinking so hard," the wizard instructed. "You'll give yourself a headache."

"Then how will I remember?" Sora asked, rubbing the spot where Merlin had rapped him.

Merlin stifled a smile in his massive beard. "The memory is already there," he said. "But instead of searching for it, let it come to you."

Okaay... Sora shrugged his shoulders and forced his brain to relax. He resisted the urge to start humming, which he tended to do when he was bored and didn't know what to do next. Then, like a puzzle piece clicking into place, the knowledge sprung to the forefront of his mind. With a smirk, he opened his eyes and performed the appropriate motions; a small cyclone of fire swirled around him, causing everyone to take a step back. However, even that impressive display wasn't enough to satisfy Merlin, so he had Sora go through every single spell he'd learned until he was convinced Sora hadn't become a complete magic flunky yet.

It took more time for Sora to remember some spells than others, so it was several hours before Yuffie was able to excuse them and leave Merlin's house. "Mind if I tag along?" Mickey asked, hopping down from his chair. Naturally, no one refused and the little mouse joined them.

It didn't take long for the group to reach the grand front entrance to the castle, though instead of going through the massive doors Yuffie led them to a smaller side entrance instead. "We don't really use the castle anymore," she explained as they walked down darkened hallways. "At first, everyone lived here because none of the houses had been rebuilt yet. But now that the city's grown, it's become more of a national landmark because we have a republic now instead of a king – no offense, Your Majesty..."

Sora only half listened to Yuffie's tourist-guide lecture. As he gazed at the oh-so-familiar surroundings, he half-expected Heartless to jump out at them at any second. At one point he realized his fist was clenched so tightly that his nails were digging into his palms, and he forced himself to relax. Boy, old habits really died hard...

"Kinda creepy comin' back here, huh?" Goofy whispered in Sora's ear. Sora nodded in agreement. My thoughts exactly. He was glad to hear that Goofy felt the same way he did – and, judging by Donald's slightly anxious expression, their mage friend was no different. Still, he'd wanted to come here for this very reason. It was time to see a new side of the former Hollow Bastion.

As they climbed higher into the castle, Sora felt his old battle-readiness slip away, layer by layer. When he wasn't constantly on the lookout for enemies, he could see how beautiful the architecture actually was. Who knew? He was even able to take time to read some of the books in the massive library, though most turned out to be boring, anyway. Just when he'd actually found a book that was interesting, Sora felt a tug at his jacket and turned to see Kairi motioning for him to be quiet. "What is it?" he whispered as he set the book down on a nearby table.

"C'mon," Kairi whispered back, gesturing for him to follow her. She glanced around furtively and began tiptoeing towards the door.

Instead of asking questions, Sora figured it was best to just shut up and do what Kairi said. He trailed behind her as she slipped out through the lower doors of the library and scurried up the stairs to the Grand Hall. Upon seeing the giant keyhole, now sealed and dark, Sora stopped and gaped. It was magnificent – there was really no other way to describe it. Even when silent and dormant, the power that it contained was impossible to ignore.

Sora was suddenly aware that Riku had silently joined them and was standing on the other side of Kairi. Sora prepared for the obvious questions – what are you doing here? Why did you sneak off? – but Riku said nothing. Kairi took their hands, smiling at each boy in turn, and the three stared up at the structure that had made such a huge impact on their lives.

Almost without thinking, Sora flexed his right hand and the keyblade materialized in his grip. He was a little surprised that he could summon it so easily, but even after all this time it was second nature. Still holding Kairi's hand, Sora held up the keyblade to examine it more closely. He then pointed it at the keyhole and sighted along its shaft, as though he were taking aim. Keys close things, and they open things, he thought as he peered down the length of the keyblade. Wouldn't it be easy? Wouldn't it be so easy if it would just open?

And then something opened.