Chapter 55: Epilogue

A/N: Yes, I'm sorry to say that this is the final chapter to A Trail of Memories 2. It's been amazing writing this story and getting so many great reviews. I'll admit, I was crying when I wrote this chapter. I loved writing this story so much that it pains me to finish it. But I have to keep reminding myself that it's not over and that we'll see our beloved hero, Hikari again very soon.

I just want to thank all of you for sticking with me until the end and for reviewing my story. I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for all of you, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This chapter is dedicated to all of you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my oc's.

Now let's enjoy this final chapter!

/

The Xemnas and the Organization finally gone, the worlds were at peace once again. Thanks to Hikari, Riku and Sora, they were finally able to gain the happy endings that they all wished for.

/

With their mission complete, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey were able to return to Disney Castle.

It was painful for them to say goodbye to everyone, but they made a promise that they would see each other once a month to stay in touch. After all, they had gone through so much together that they didn't want this friend ship to end.

Daisy was thrilled to see Donald and practically threw herself into his arms. Now that her boyfriend returned, they could finally go on that date they promised.

Goofy and Pluto smirked as they watched the couple.

King Mickey smiled brightly as he faced Queen Minnie. Minnie was so happy to see her husband again after such a long time that she had tears in her eyes as she smiled.

The two of them held each other tightly as they basked in this moment of happiness.

/

In Twilight Town, Hayner and Seifer faced each other in a match of Struggle.

Pence and Olette were cheering Hayner on while Seifer's change did the same for him.

The two fighters had smirks on their faces as they stepped into the ring. It always thrilled them when they were able to face each other.

When the Mayor signaled the start of the match, they charged at each other, planning on having a great fight.

/

In the Hundred Acre Woods, Pooh and the others spent every day having fun and being together. Even though Sora and Hikari weren't there to enjoy the fun, they made sure that they were with them in spirit. As long as they thought about them, then they wouldn't have to be sad

They always played the same games that Sora and Hikari played with them even.

And every night, they would sit by the hill and looked up at the moon.

Pooh looked at the ribbon that Hikari tied around his wrist then looked up at the sky.

Sora and Hikari were right.

They would always be in his heart, so they were never far away.

/

In the Land of Dragons, Mulan and Shang had started to have romantic feelings for each other.

They were in the woods not far from the army's base and were about to share their first kiss, but that was interrupted when Yao, Ping and Chien-Po blew their hiding spot by falling out into the open.

A flustered Shang quickly reprimanded his men while Mulan and Mushu just laughed at the scene and enjoyed the moment.

/

At Beast's Castle, the curse was finally lifted from the Beast and he was able to return as a human.

It was a joyous moment in the castle for everyone. The Beast as able to learn to love and be loved by Belle in return.

And to show how happy everyone was, Belle and the Beast danced with each other in the ballroom just like they did countless of times, only this time as a cursed free couple.

/

At Olympus Coliseum, Hercules was able to restore the Coliseum to its natural state. The hero was proud on himself, knowing that even little things like this were hero worthy.

Meg was impressed and pleased that Hercules was back to his normal self while Phil was crying his eyes out.

Auron stood near the gateway that lead to the Underworld and smirked at the sight. Seeing Hercules reminded him of a certain boy that he knew when he was alive.

Knowing that he was not meant to stay in the world of the living, he turned around to head for the Underworld. He had a story to tell and it wasn't going to get finished by itself.

As he walked into the Underworld, Pyreflies floated off of his body and surrounded the Coliseum.

Everyone was amazed by the breathtaking sight.

But then again, only something this beautiful could be made by a worthy hero.

/

In Port Royal, Jack Sparrow sailed off on another expedition with Will and Elizabeth as his crew.

Everything was fine and dandy until Jack saw the moon peaking through the clouds.

Growing apprehensive, he held his hand out into the moonlight, checking to see if he was still curse free.

He smirked when he still saw flesh on his hand and pulled out his compass to lead him to his next voyage.

He was hoping that whatever journey he went onto next, he hoped that it would be as thrilling as the last one.

And he hoped that he would meet up with two certain keyblade masters again so he could obtain the keyblade.

/

In Halloween Town, Jack had finally ditched the Santa Clause suit and had gathered everyone for a meeting so they could make plans for next Halloween.

The Pumpkin King was all smiles as he told everyone his plans and ideas to make their years Halloween even better than the last.

After all, he had to compete with Santa Clause to see who created the best holiday event of the year.

/

In Space Paranoids, Tron was waiting to get the newest installment for the computer. Since he was in charge of this world now, that meant he had to be at his best.

He couldn't let another program like the MCP taking over.

When he grabbed the identity disk that was handed to him, he expected to get a new upgrade or something. But when he placed his on his back, he felt nothing at all.

Shrugging, he simply walked off to see how the system was doing.

While he was walking, he noticed that he started swaying his hips and doing funny moves as he walked.

It seemed that he finally got his dancing programmed installed.

/

In Timeless River, Captain Pete was getting ready for another trip in his boat.

He was expected his deckhand to be here by now, but he knew that he was always late.

Knowing that he had work to do, he started the ship without him. He couldn't wait on his hired help when there was work to be done.

As he was sailing away, Mickey came running towards the peer and saw the ship sail off.

Panicking, he did the unthinkable and ran off the peer and jumped into the boat.

As he sat up, he smiled and thought about what adventures he would encounter today.

/

In Agrabah, Aladdin, Jasmine and Abu went on a carpet ride and flew all over the Kingdom.

Genie flew next to them and had a little race with them as they flew around.

Everyone laughed and smiled as they enjoyed their day in the peaceful kingdom.

/

In Atlantica, Ariel was able to become a human, thanks to King Triton.

Triton loved his daughter so much, that he wanted her to be happy, even if it meant living the rest of her life with a human.

And that's what she did.

Shortly after she started a relationship with Eric, the two of them got married.

Ariel smiled happily as she looked at her friends and family in the Ocean.

Sebastian was crying his eyes out while Flounder smiled.

Triton had a few tears in his eyes as he saw his youngest daughter get married to the man of her dreams.

Ariel and Eric kissed each other, sealing their union.

Now land and Sea were connected because of them.

/

In the Pride Lands, the kingdom was restored, thanks to Simba's ruling.

The once, barren wasteland was now replaced with life nature.

Simba proved than even though he could never be like his father was, he was able to be a good king…maybe even better.

Simba and Nala celebrated this happy occasion with the birth of their daughter.

As they looked out at the Pride Lands, Rafiki blessed their daughter as the new heir to the Kingdom.

Everyone was overjoyed by this moment. Even Mufasa, who shone brightly in the heavens.

It seemed even he was proud of what kind of king his son became.

/

In Radiant Garden, Cid was typing away at his new computer. Since Merlin pretty much destroyed the last one, he had to get a new one and fix it to his liking.

As he was typing away, Yuffie came up to him and handed him a bar of Sea Salt ice cream.

The pilot accepted it and munched on the frozen treat.

"I haven't had this in a long time" he said.

Yuffie smiled and was about to eat her own when the Gullwings flew up and snatched it from her.

The ninja grew angry and chased after them.

"Give that back, you thieves!"

Aerith just laughed at the scene, knowing that her friend would never change.

Leon stood near the back of the house, lost in thought. He knew right away that Hikari had managed to defeat Xemnas and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. After so many years of suffering from that man, he and his family were finally free.

And it was all thanks to his brave little sister.

He looked at the bracelet that he had on his wrist and thought about what she said to him before she left to defeat Xemnas.

With the heartless and nobodies out of the way, maybe now would be a good time to visit the Islands.

"I guess a little vacation wouldn't hurt" he said to himself.

"And since it's at a beach, that's a bonus".

While everyone was having a good time at headquarters, Mikomi sat near the ledge in the Great Maw.

After Cloud disappeared to fight Sephiroth, she came to this place every day, hoping that she would see her older brother again.

It tore her heart that she couldn't see him, but she reminded herself that her brother was fighting the darkness in his heart and he needed the love and support of his little sister.

She gripped the winged necklace that he gave her and looked up at the sky.

A tear fell down her face as she smiled weakly.

"You'll come back" she said.

"I know you will"

And she knew he always would. Because she was the light within his heart.

/

So many things happened on the Destiny Islands. With everyone finally home, so many things had to be done.

Taiyouko, Tsukiko and Ankoku walked around the beach and admired their new home.

"This is so different from Twilight Town" Tsukiko said.

Ankoku gripped her shell necklace and smiled.

"Yeah, but I'm sure it'll be fine" she said.

"We have each other, and that's good enough for me"

Tsukiko smiled at her best friend. Even though she didn't have Roxas and Axel with her, at least she had her best friend.

She placed a hand over her heart when she felt it suddenly grow warm. It seemed that Axel was with her, but in spirit.

"Let's make some new memories, Tsukiko" Axel said.

Tsukiko smiled and looked out at the ocean. It was time that she created new memories to company the old ones.

Taiyouko smiled at the two nobodies.

She was glad that after such a long time, she was finally free from Xemnas and his connection to Kingdom Hearts.

She pulled out Laguna's army tags and looked at them in thought.

She didn't want to believe that he was really gone, so she was going to find out.

After all, Hikari searched high and low for Riku, so why shouldn't she?

"I'll find you, no matter what" she said to herself.

She tucked the army tags into her dress and started to head for the houses.

As she walked, she felt a sharp pain within her head and heard someone's voice.

"Times up, Taiyouko"

Taiyouko gasped when she realized who she heard.

She almost forgot that she had one other person to take care of.

It seemed that she wasn't free just yet.

/

On the small island, Riku went for the secret cave that he and Sora always went to when they were children.

The last time that he was here was when he and Hikari drew each other's faces on the walls.

He smiled as he thought about that day. That was when he realized that he had fallen in love with Hikari and wanted to be the one who protected her.

As he looked around the drawings on the wall, he relished in the feeling that he was actually home and that he was no longer connected to the darkness.

As he looked at the drawings that he and Hikari made, he saw that Hikari's picture was giving him a Paopu fruit.

He ran his fingers across the drawing and smiled lovingly at it. This was proof of how much Hikari really loved her.

He picked up a small rock and drew himself giving Hikari a Paopu fruit as well.

It may have seemed pointless, since they both proved that they don't need a Paopu fruit to be in each other's lives, but he wanted to at least show everyone that he loved Hikari and no one else.

And after everything that they went through, he was never going to let her go.

/

Hikari smiled as she closed her eyes.

She saw up on the Paopu fruit tree and let the breeze blow through her hair.

It was hard to believe that she was actually home after all this time. She kept thinking to herself that any minute now she was going to wake up and find that this was all a dream.

But when she opened her eyes and saw the sunset grazing over the ocean, she knew that this wasn't a dream.

She was finally home at long last.

She had traveled to different worlds and fought hard enemies to get to this point.

She opened her eyes when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and someone's head resting on her shoulder.

Hikari smiled softly when she felt Riku's hair tickle her neck. She leaned back against him as he hugged her closer.

After fighting countless battles, they wanted to enjoy this moment of peace and quiet. After all, they were finally allowed to be a normal couple.

Hikari chuckled a little as she looked at the sunset.

"You know…you would think that after seeing this sunset for so many years, it would start to get boring" she said.

"But every time I see it, I still find it to be breathtaking".

Riku smirked a little as he nuzzled his face close to Hikari's.

"It's even more breathtaking when you see it with the one you love most" he said.

Hikari smiled as she looked at Riku.

"Yeah, it does".

The two of them kissed each other sweetly and went back to looking at the sunset together.

A little while later, Sora came up to them and joined them at looking at the view.

Nobody said anything for a while. After being away from home for a year, they wanted to relive this childhood tradition they always had.

"Nothing's changed, huh?" Riku stated.

Sora shook his head.

"Nope" he said.

"Nothing will"

Riku sighed as he held Hikari closer.

"What a small world".

Hikari smirked as she placed her hand on his chest.

"But part of one that's much bigger" she said.

Riku smiled a little and placed his chin on top of her head. Leave it to Hikari to speak words of wisdom.

The three of them stayed quiet for a moment and listened to the ocean.

Sora thought of something and quickly looked up at Riku.

"Hey, Riku" he said.

"What do you think it was-the door to the light?"

Riku chuckled as he and Hikari jumped off the tree to look at him.

Riku smirked and pointed towards Sora's heart.

"This" he said.

Sora looked surprised for a moment before placing his hand over his heart.

"This?" he repeated.

Riku nodded.

"Yeah. It's always closer than you think" he said.

Sora blinked for a moment before smiling brightly.

"Sora! Riku! Hikari!"

The three of them turned around to see Kairi running towards them.

"Hey, what's up?" Sora asked.

Kairi held up a bottle that she was holding and handed it to Sora.

"Look" she said.

Sora took the bottle and noticed that a letter was stuck inside. He gasped when he saw that the King's seal was on it.

"From the King?"

He quickly pulled the letter out of the bottle and read what was on the page.

Hikari quickly peered over it while Riku and Kairi looked over their shoulders.

It looked like a new journey was just beyond the horizon.

/

A/N: (crying) so without further ado, this is the conclusion to A Trail of Memories 2! It's been such a wonderful experience, writing this story and getting so many reviews and fanart.

(Hugs fans)

Thank you all so much! If it wasn't for you guys, I don't think I would have gotten this far. It's wonderful to know that you guys love my stories so much that you demand for more.

And more you shall get!

And for those of you who've played Final Fantasy 8, I'm sure you know who that voice Taiyouko belongs to. I'm pretty much hinting towards who the new villain is going to be.

Even though we've come to the end of one journey, another one is about to begin.

Stay tuned for the prequel of this series called 'Memories by Sleep'. Find out how Hikari got the keyblade and how Taiyouko knows so much about Terra and the others.

Thank you again so much! I love you guys and thank you for seeing through this until the end.

JA NE!