THANK YOU FOR 100+ REVIEWS AND OVER 15,000 VIEWS! That's a goal I never expected to reach, and I'm blown away by the positive reception this story is getting!

ALSO, I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! Clearly, I didn't finish this part of the story before KH3 came out. My muse for Akira just wasn't present the past few months. However, your love for the story kept her alive.

Thanks to everyone who checked up on me during this unplanned hiatus and made sure I was still doing alright :D It really means a lot to see you care both about this story being finished and my wellbeing! And thank you to the guests for leaving reviews encouraging me to continue! It really does help :)

You may be confused in this beginning—but fear not. All will be explained eventually! More importantly, get ready for fluff. Winnie the Pooh was a big part of my childhood so I was happy to write for these cute little characters. Akira, Kairi, and Sora get to play with a stuffed bear and all his friends and nothing bad happens—the end.

If only, right?

Chapter 17: Aftermath

"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart. I'll stay there forever."

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Blue eyes fluttered open slowly, meeting the floral pattern of an overhead bed cover. Sora blinked heavily, giving his head a small shake as if that would dissipate the haze clouding his mind. Unfortunately, all that happened in response was his head giving a massive throb in protest.

He shifted to his elbows, his senses coming back to him one at a time. Eventually his head cleared, and he became aware of an uncomfortable heaviness in his chest. But for the life of him he could not remember why he was here, sleeping in a foreign bed. As he sat up fully, his eyes were drawn to the bundle of sheets beside of him. He hadn't even noticed that the covers were rising and falling in a slow rhythm until now.

Sora snuck a finger into the sheets, tugging them down ever so slightly. Disheveled blonde hair poked out from the under the massive blankets as he did so, revealing Akira's sleeping face. Her breathing was deep and slow, and she didn't even react to Sora carefully brushing her hair from her face. She didn't seem to be inclined to wake up any time soon.

As he stared at her, a few fuzzy memories were brought to the front of his mind. The dark Keyblade in his grasp, freezing cold as if it was sapping the warmth from his skin. A piercing pain in his chest quickly overtaken by a blanketing darkness that ate away at his consciousness with every passing second. And then…Sora squinted as he racked his brain, trying to recall how they winded up here…wherever here was.

His eyes darted around the room, viewing the decorations and furniture instantly recognizable from the hotel in Traverse Town. Okay, so they were in Traverse Town, that's something.

Actually…That didn't clear up much. In fact, it only raised more questions.

Sora pushed himself forward and swung his legs over the side of the bed, wobbling as his vision blurred from the quick motion. Once his dizziness had passed, he stood cautiously and wandered about the room, trying to discern if there were any clues to be found.

As he did so, he passed in front of a mirror. His feet immediately halted and he backtracked until he was back inside the golden frame. Watching his reflection, he touched his face and marveled at the sight. A healthy glow, a flush in his cheeks, and no bandages covering wounds he knew he received.

A sudden morbid thought ran through his head, making curiosity bubble up inside of him. Tugging down the soft fabric of his shirt, he exposed the skin over his heart. The patch sat completely unmarred. In fact, now that he was actively searching, none of the scars he'd developed over the past few months were present. It was like he was entirely new.

Now thoroughly distracted from the task at hand, Sora headed back towards the bed with a hurried pace. Once he reached Akira, he practically threw the covers off.

Bandages were wrapped around her arms while black and blue splotches peppered her skin. All the scars he'd gotten used to seeing on her were still present. Whatever force that had brought him back apparently didn't apply to her. Then his eyes wandered down and he saw the gleaming crown necklace nestled between her collarbones.

He reached for it, and as he did so his fingers made contact with her skin. It was like an explosion went off inside of him as a string of memories rushed into his head. He grabbed the edge of the bed with his other hand to steady himself.

"I'll always be with you, no matter what."

"Sora! Don't leave—please! Sora don't leave me!"

Fear. Longing. Anguish.

Sora couldn't help but gasp at the intensity of the emotions rushing through his veins. When he snatched his hand back, the memories and emotions instantly receded. He caught his breath, grasping the sheets between his fingers hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Akira continued to sleep peacefully.

His heartrate lowered slowly, leaving him warily crouched at the side of the bed. As he stood, wondering what the hell that could've been, he became aware of the buzz of conversation leaking into the room. He looked to the door connecting this room to the next, noticing it was slightly ajar.

Cautiously stepping back from the bedside, he continued to watch Akira for any signs of pain. When none emerged, he finally made his way towards the door. He slowed his breathing as he pressed an ear to the cool wood, trying to make out the muffled voices behind it.

"I don't wanna start this again, but I'm not going to agree with you. We shouldn't have sent them."

"Yuffie, we didn't have a choice."

"That's bullshit, Leon, and you know it."

"But at least they took down Maleficent…You have to remember she's finally gone."

"Yeah, and now you gotta remember she's been a puppet this whole gaddamn time."

"As soon as they recover, they need to go back. That Keyhole being sealed is top priority."

Sora's brows drew together in worry at this declaration. Akira hadn't sealed the Keyhole?

"The Heartless are swarming everywhere, it's getting harder to keep them from the First District—"

"Who cares about that! Sora died! And Akira almost went with him trying to bring him back! Who knows if they'll even wake up! Why aren't we talking about that? It's been three days—"

"Yuffie, please."

Sora's breath caught in his throat. Those words triggered another rush of memories to course through his veins, almost forcing him to the ground.

The stained-glass floor, his own image staring back at him as the Islands were ravaged around him. Akira breaking through the storm, furious and determined. Love—so much love surrounding them with so much desperation, and then…Light.

He caught himself on the door, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. Unfortunately, he forgot the door was not totally closed. It swung open, halting the conversation immediately. Several pairs of wide eyes fell on him as he stumbled into the room.

"Sora…!"

Now thoroughly disoriented, Sora thought he might just keel over when he spotted the surprised face of Kairi among the group. She stood slowly, almost as if she couldn't believe he was there. He had the fleeting thought of 'Shouldn't this be the other way around?' But before he could voice that thought, Kairi rushed towards him and enveloped him in a fierce hug.

"You're awake?" They both asked at the same time.

Kairi drew back at this, amused disbelief written in her features. "Of course I'm awake you dummy! You saved me." She buried herself in the hug once again, a gesture Sora returned to the best of his abilities. Relief surged through him, and a weight he didn't know he carried was lifted from his shoulders. Finally. After all these months, they finally had Kairi back.

When he lifted his head from the hug, he saw the entire atmosphere of the room changed. Everyone had gotten to their feet and surrounded him, their expressions urgent. He noticed Aerith break away from the group and trot to the next room, heading towards Akira. His head craned back as he watched her touch her fingers to Akira's neck then feel her forehead, watching with an intensity only managed by a doctor with her patient.

"Sora."

He was drawn from the scene by Leon's calm voice.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Sora looked around at each person, seeing their grimaces and wide-eyed wonder, and let out a nervous laugh. "I think I'm trying not to." His voice was low and scratchy, and he just now realized he was thoroughly parched.

Noticing this as well, Yuffie dove to the side and produced a glass of water. However, she handed it to him so quickly it spilled over the rim and onto Kairi. That was the only thing that managed to make her let go of Sora's side. She jumped back with a yelp, knocking the rest of the water back onto Yuffie. Sora choked back a laugh at their faces.

"Come on guys, give the kid some room," Cid barked, waving for the group to step back. They all followed his command, shuffling back enough to give Sora room to breathe. Sora stood with the practically-empty glass awkwardly, still not sure what his reaction to this situation should be. It was then he realized two people were missing from this equation.

"Donald and Goofy?"

"They should be back shortly," Leon answered.

"Merlin said they needed to fetch some story book from the Gummi Ship," Cid said, flicking his toothpick. "Dunno why, but he was sure actin' like time was of the essence."

Sora nodded as if he understood what he was talking about.

Aerith slid back into the room silently, giving a discrete shake of her head. Akira wasn't up yet. Sora frowned slightly, his heart giving a painful thump in worry.

"So, tell me what happened," Leon commanded. Sora looked towards him once more. He was leaning against the wall, practically unblinking as he stared Sora down.

"All of it?" Sora asked.

"As much as you can remember."

Sora met gazes with Kairi. She was staring just as intently as Leon, and her seriousness sort of unnerved him. As if sensing this, she gave him a smile and patted the couch beside of her. He took her unvoiced offer and plopped down, feeling her arm find a comforting perch on his shoulder.

"Okay, well," Sora began, taking a sip from the glass. "You guys trained us all the way up 'til we got to the world. We landed, and it was super foggy from this huge waterfall. We were walking towards the Castle when we saw…" He trailed off.

Riku.

Anguish flooded his heart as the moment Riku disappeared played in slow motion before his eyes. He'd whispered Sora's name like an apology, looking up at him with saddened eyes.

Kairi's grip on him tightened. Everyone was still staring at him, concern written in every feature. Like he would suddenly break if they looked away for one second. Sora grimaced and turned his gaze downward. He wasn't used to feeling this vulnerable.

"It's okay," Kairi whispered soothingly at his side. She rubbed his back slightly, providing a sensation that grounded him. Sora took a deep breath and launched hesitantly back into the tale.

"We saw Riku. But he wasn't alone."

KH

Destruction met my gaze wherever I turned. I could see fires in the distance, large swaths of buildings laid to waste, making the scene appear more like a wasteland than a once-thriving town. But worst of all, it was completely littered with discarded Keyblades as far as the eye could see. Where had all their wielders gone?

I turned my gaze skyward, towards the heavenly blue light filtering down from the heart-shaped moon in the sky. Looking like rainfall in reverse, hundreds of white lights were floating towards it, becoming devoured by its ethereal glow.

My hand found its way to my own heart, and I pressed down on it and rubbed, desperately trying to dispel the burning sensation within it. God, my chest hurt. I squeezed my eyes shut and blew out a harsh breath, swallowing down the pain, and when I opened my eyes again the scene had changed.

A messy room stretched before me, filled with discarded clothes, beach playthings, and other memorabilia I instantly recognized as Sora's. I sat up and looked out the window, receiving a jolt when I saw the faint reflection of Sora's face instead of my own. Lightning illuminated the room followed by a huge clap of thunder, and suddenly it started to rain. My body moved without my command, shoving the window open before I hurtled from the room.

I landed heavily, stumbling forward and falling face first into rough sand. When I raised my head, I was met with an outstretched hand. I looked up to see a younger Riku, a grin on his face.

"Hey, you almost had it that time. Let's try it again."

When I was pulled up, the scene shifted once more. I met eyes with the person in front of me—no longer Riku. The golden eyes of a ram stared back at me, its silver horns protruded from the mask and curled elegantly to frame her face. She gave me a warm smile.

"Perhaps you will best me one day, Patientia, but today is not that day." A laugh followed that remark, making one emanate from me as well.

As we walked forward together, the background dissolved like sand, once again taking shape as vegetation and swaying palm trees. The masked girl was gone, and I looked back to see I was leading someone by the hand. A younger version of myself trailed behind eagerly, letting out excited giggles every now and then.

"Hurry up Sora, Riku's gonna find us!"

"Don't worry," I responded in a voice that was decidedly not my own, "I'm the best hide-n-seeker ever!"

We dived to the side, crouching among the foliage beside the waterfall, waiting with bated breath, when suddenly a monstrous howl echoed from behind us. We turned with wide eyes, glancing towards each other before slowly pulling back the leaves and ivy to reveal a hidden cavern. When another beastly growl emanated from the cave we both bolted, yelling for Riku.

I tore through the trees, watching as once again the background dissolved, but this time it did not reform. I skidded to a halt in the dark, my breathing heavy and my heart aching like there was something lodged within it.

"Pure Heart. You are lucky to be alive."

Relief coursed through me at this voice—something I would have thought impossible. I turned towards Kingdom Hearts, still out of breath.

"What…what's going on?"

"Side effects. Undergoing Serēbat Cordis is difficult under ordinary circumstances. You have, unfortunately, enhanced these disorienting effects with your weakened state."

"Serēbat Cordis…?" I repeated, my brows furrowing. "But that doesn't make sense. How would I have…" I trailed off, my mouth becoming slack. Hollow Bastion. Sora became a Heartless. I tried to bring him back—oh god.

"Are we…are we Heart Ties?"

Kingdom Hearts simply stared at me, giving me my answer. I clutched my head, sinking to my knees. That wasn't supposed to happen. That really wasn't supposed to happen.

"But it happened nonetheless." Kingdom Hearts stated simply. I expected the intense pressure of their anger to come crashing down on me any second, but that didn't happen. After a few moments of silence, I lifted my gaze, meeting their featureless face hesitantly.

"So…what happens now?"

"You heal and recover first. Then we will discuss the more pressing issues." They stepped closer to me and kneeled to my level, waving a hand over my heart. The pain within it lessened and I immediately felt serene. "Your friends are waiting. Enjoy your reunion, we will speak again tonight."

I felt my eyes closing on their own accord, and when they opened I was awake.

I knew I was awake only because my body felt heavy with fatigue and my throat was unbearably parched—uncomfortable feelings I didn't have in dreams. I struggled to sit up, my body screaming in protest at this action, and looked about the room. It was empty, but voices drifted in from a partially opened door. The most prominent one I recognized immediately, and it sent a bolt of adrenaline through me. I opened my mouth to yell his name, but all that came out was an intense coughing fit.

My body seized and curled from its intensity, and each cough sent a dagger into my heart. As it tapered to an end, I realized the room had fallen silent. Then all at once there was the sound of chairs scrapping against wooden floors and the pounding of footsteps as a crowd of people burst through the door.

My searching eyes found what I was looking for immediately, and as Sora smiled at me the aches in my body were forgotten in my joy. He flung himself across the bed, practically tackling me in a hug. But as soon as we touched, a surge of intense emotions flooded my veins. Several images flashed through my head—Sora's mother crying, tearfully explaining why dad wouldn't be home tonight—meeting eyes with a quiet silver-haired child and smiling widely, watching as he hesitantly smiled back—trying to calm down the crying blonde-haired girl and explaining her parents were just across the street—

Sora lurched back, breaking our contact, and the memories were gone in an instant. I felt confusion ricocheting in my mind, and when I met Sora's gaze I could see the same conflict mirrored within him. But before I could comprehend this, we were both bowled over by two other forms.

Kairi and Yuffie, apparently sharing the same idea, clung to me, each one yelling with relief and anger tinging their voices.

"Akira! If you ever scare me like that again I swear—" Yuffie broke off, pointing back towards Aerith. "You're lucky Aerith is here right now or you'd be in big trouble!"

"I didn't know you were gonna do something like that!" Kairi buried her head in my neck, squeezing me tighter in a hug. "Why did you let me tell you to do that? Akira, I was so scared—"

"Ow! Ow—Guys," I groaned under their crushing weight, struggling to get them off, "Space, please—I can't breathe."

The two reluctantly drew back, their faces reflecting a mix of emotions both good and bad. I'm sure I hadn't heard the last of their scolding.

"Akira, welcome back," Leon greeted. I looked towards him, surprised to see dark circles under his eyes and his face gaunt. His normally cool expression was tinged with stress he was clearly trying not to show. "Do you remember what happened?"

My gaze snapped to Sora's. At the sight of his saddened expression, I was instantly brought back to Hollow Bastion, watching as Sora's body disappeared while I stood helplessly to the side. The burning of brimming tears forced me to break our contact. I ducked my head, discretely wiping at my eyes as I answered hoarsely. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Good. We were hoping you'd be able to explain something for us," Leon said. He walked a few steps closer, his expression serious. "You couldn't lock the Keyhole. Do you know why that is?"

I flinched at the question as shame flooded my face. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"Well it ain't exactly good," Cid answered in his stead.

"From what we can guess based on Traverse Town," Leon said, casting a glare back at Cid to quiet him, "The worlds are being overrun by Heartless. Powerful ones."

I sucked in a breath and clutched the blankets tighter. Leon paused briefly before continuing his questioning, "Why couldn't the Heartblade lock it? Do you think the fact it was artificial prevented it from being recognizing as a Keyhole?"

"No, I don't think that's it," I said.

"How confident are you about that?" Leon asked.

"Very. The feelings I had next to that thing weren't artificial." I gave a small shudder. "The Heartblade and I are connected. It knew it was dangerous and it needed to be locked up."

"Good, 'cause we'd seriously be screwed if you guys couldn't lock it," Yuffie sighed in relief.

"Then why didn't it lock the Keyhole?" Leon asked once more. "We need an explanation before we risk going back to Hollow Bastion."

"If I may," Aerith's quiet voice interrupted as she pushed her way to the front. "You said you and the Heartblade are connected, and any emotions you experience the Heartblade would pick up on. Perhaps given the…circumstances at the time, the Heartblade was also too grief-stricken to function correctly?"

I frowned at this, looking at the hand I usually summoned the blade into. Could that be it? Did my own fear and uncertainty prevent the Heartblade from doing its job?

"I…I guess that makes sense," I murmured. Great, another thing that went wrong because of me. Guilt pressed down on me and I bowed my head, unable to meet anyone's gaze. "I'm sorry. I hope nobody's gotten hurt because of me…"

"Hey, this isn't your fault." Sora's hand tentatively covered mine, as if he were expecting another onslaught like when he hugged. When nothing happened, he gripped my hand tightly. "You did the best you could, Akira."

"Sora's right," Kairi agreed, scooting closer on my other side. "Besides, we didn't even have time to seal it. Ansem came back with all those Heartless. We could've been seriously hurt if you stayed. Sora might not be here right now."

I blinked in shock at this, meeting her honest gaze with surprise. I hadn't even considered that. If we left any later, we might have been caught. Who knows what would've happened to us then. And Sora…Sora would still be a Heartless. His heart would have been lost forever.

He would have been gone.

The tears I had been holding back finally spilled forth at this realization. I gave a sniffle and rubbed at my eyes angrily, not liking the fact I was crying in front of all my friends. Silence befell the room as I felt myself being drawn into a hug. The familiar beating of Sora's heart echoed in my ears as his chin rested on the top of my head. This comforting gesture drew my tears out further, and I choked back a sob as I turned to bury my face into his shirt.

"I'm sorry," Sora whispered.

"Apology not accepted," I hissed, drawing back from the hug to glare at him. "Not even close."

Despite my angry rebuttal, a small smile crossed Sora's lips. The fact he knew I didn't mean it only served to make my brow wrinkle further.

"So…we obviously need to go back," Sora said, turning back to the group surrounding the bed. "When are we setting out?"

"Not today," Leon answered, pushing off from the wall to walk closer to the bed. "You two aren't ready for anything right now. Besides, even if you were, we can't get close to Hollow Bastion."

"What? Why?" I exclaimed. "Is the Keyhole doing something?"

Leon nodded before gesturing towards Cid. "We're working on it."

"From what my sensors are pickin' up, the waves of negative energy comin' from the world would shut down yer ship in a second," Cid explained. "Wouldn't even make it close enough to land. But!" He fished in his pocket for something, misplacing several loose screws and toothpicks in the process, before producing a gummi piece. "This lil' baby is my pride and joy. Made it myself. Now, it's just a prototype, but I reckon it'll do the job just fine. Give the Gummi Ship enough of a boost to land without gettin' stalled."

"You're a genius Cid," I remarked with wonder.

"Don't I know it," he laughed.

A shrill alarm suddenly echoed through the room, making Sora and I jump. The others, however, had a different response. We both watched as Leon and Yuffie pulled devices from their pockets, each one glowing yellow.

"Yellow, that's Third District, right Cid?" Yuffie asked.

"A-yep," Cid grunted as he headed towards the door. "Hang on, I'll come with ya, lemme grab my gear. Aerith you got those potions? We'll probably need 'em."

Aerith nodded, hurriedly pushing past him into the next room. Cid followed but poked his head back into our room to look at Sora and me with a fierce glare. "Don't y'all go anywhere or do nothin'! We'll be right back."

"What Cid said," Leon said, unsheathing his gunblade.

"What's going on?" I asked, feeling left out watching everyone scatter and gather their gear while I watched from the bed.

"Heartless trouble in the Third District," Yuffie answered, waving around the small glowing device. "Cid made these things for people to set off during emergencies. The color tells us where the problem is."

"Heartless?" Sora pushed himself off the bed, about to summon the Keyblade. "You don't have to tell us twice, just—"

"No!" Leon and Yuffie simultaneously protested. Sora dropped his hand, looking taken aback.

"You can't summon," Leon explained. "Not when there's this many Heartless around. They'll sense it and come right to you."

"Yeah and with the Keyhole being open they're all on Darkness steroids," Yuffie said. "Better you rest up as much as you can before they find you."

"B-But…" Sora looked between the two of them in shock. "We can help!"

"You'll be helping us by staying here." Yuffie looked towards Kairi and pointed at us. "You'll watch them, right?"

"Aye-aye, Captain," Kairi responded, giving a two-fingered salute. Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Yuffie nodded before dashing out the door with Leon in tow.

Sora and I both immediately turned towards Kairi, who looked back at us with her eyebrows raised. "Well? You heard the lady, sit down and rest."

After a few moments of intense pouting, Sora let out a loud sigh and collapsed back onto the bed with his limbs splayed out. "I can't believe this. I feel fine! We could totally handle those Heartless…"

"Speak for yourself," I muttered, crawling to the edge of the bed to finally stretch my legs out. I winced as my joints popped loudly and my muscles filled with static from going numb. Sora noticed my struggles and immediately stood, offering his hands to help steady me.

"Whoa, hey. Take it easy."

"Oh, so I have to take it easy but you don't?" I quipped with a wry smile. I still took his offered hands, and as I did so a wave of concern washed over me. It was strange how suddenly the emotion entered my heart and how foreign it felt, almost like it wasn't coming from me. It was fleeting though, leaving me wondering if I didn't just imagine the whole thing.

I twisted and stretched, letting out a sigh of relief as I did so. "Ugh. I'm definitely not in top shape right now."

"That's what happens when you get put in a coma for three days," Kairi said.

I turned towards her, blanching. "Three days?"

Kairi grimaced. "Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have just dropped that on you." She hopped from the bed and gestured for us to follow her to the adjacent room. When I walked in, my eyes roamed the walls and tables littered with papers and opened books, seemingly scattered with no rhyme or reason.

"It didn't even feel like you were gone for five seconds before there was just this explosion of light," Kairi said, her eyes trained on me. "It got rid of all the Heartless surrounding us. And then you two were just lying there, and you wouldn't wake up. Me and your friends, Donald and Goofy, we carried you both to the ship and came right here through a portal—warp drive, that's what Donald called it."

My fingers brushed over Ansem's reports which were lined on the table, as well as the crumpled paper I had taken from the library. Different excerpts from Merlin's book on dark magic were there as well. Looks like they were trying to find some sort of explanation to what had happened.

"So, what happened?" Kairi asked. "I mean, they've been digging for answers nonstop—I'm pretty sure Leon hasn't slept in two days. But they're totally at a loss. And I've clearly been no help." She gave a shrug, clearly upset by this fact.

"I honestly don't remember much," Sora answered. "It was like the dreams I used to have…But you were there, Akira." He trailed off, and they both turned towards me. I swallowed heavily. He didn't finish explaining, so I had no idea how far he remembered. The kiss? The tying of our hearts together? I decided to start from the beginning just to see how far his memory stretched.

"Okay, well…you remember the dive, Sora?" I asked. He nodded, so I elaborated for Kairi's sake. "Apparently Pure Hearts could do this thing where they banished Darkness from people's hearts when they were imbalanced. I was going to do it to Riku, but…" I broke off as Sora flinched at the mention of his name. It was then it hit me—Sora hadn't seen. He didn't know Riku had held Ansem back. He didn't know there was a chance he was still alive.

"You don't know," I gasped.

His mournful expression turned to one of confusion. "What? Don't know what?"

I gestured to Kairi eagerly, urging her to pitch into the conversation. "Riku saved us, right Kairi? He stopped Ansem long enough for us to get away!"

Sora's eyes widened, and I saw a glimmer of hope within them. He whirled to face Kairi, and she gave him a smile as confirmation I was telling the truth. "Saving our butts, just like always," she laughed slightly.

"I don't know how," I continued. "Suddenly he was just there. It was like his spirit or something…but that means he's out there somewhere, right? The real him."

"He has to be," Kairi said, not waiting for Sora's response.

"He…he never does give up, does he?" Sora said with a small laugh. He wiped at his eyes, turning away from us and letting out another laugh. "Damn you, Riku…making me worry…"

"Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you," Kairi murmured, as if she was quoting something. "Even if he's lost, he'll be okay. It is Riku after all."

Sora perked up at this, looking at her with surprise and then understanding.

"Am I missing something?" I asked, looking between the two grinning at each other.

"That line is from her grandma's story," Sora explained. "It's what I saw in Hollow Bastion, in the library, remember?"

"Oh, oh yeah!" I gasped, turning my surprise onto Kairi now. "That was your world—your home world!"

"I know," Kairi said with a laugh. "Well—I shouldn't say that like I always knew. I think Sora helped me remember somehow. Not all of it, but while you were going through the castle I remembered small bits and pieces. The clearest memory is my grandma's story. And I guess somehow I shared that with you?"

Sora and I both stared at her with wide-eyed wonder.

"Does it feel weird? Knowing where you came from?" Sora asked hesitantly.

"A little…" Kairi's eyebrows drew together in thought. "At the same time though, I don't feel too different. I thought once I found where I came from, it would be this big revelation that would change my life. But I'm not changed." She gave a shrug. "Maybe I don't remember enough yet."

A silence grew between us as we contemplated her words. Eventually I broke it with a small laugh, something that made Kairi and Sora raise their eyebrows. "Everything is so different now," I explained. "It's like we're not even the same people."

Kairi let out a giggle before turning towards Sora with a mischievous grin. "I doubt it. There's no way Sora could change, he's always going to be a lazy bum."

I immediately tossed my head back and let out a loud laugh while Sora spluttered indignantly.

"H-Hey! I haven't been lazy at all! You should know—you were there!"

A knock at the door quieted his indignation. It opened without waiting for a response and a familiar blue robed wizard marched in. In his arms were a pile of books that stretched far above his head, teetering in a worrying manner.

"Hello, hello! Good to see you two awake. A little late, but better late than never," Merlin said, making his way to the center of the room. He set down the books on the table with a huff, sending the loose papers flying into the air. "The King's men left me with all these books, rather rudely I'd say. It seems there's an emergency in the Third District."

"Yeah, everyone else left in a big hurry to take care of it," Sora said with a sigh.

"And you didn't go? Well, color me surprised," Merlin chortled. He tossed a smile our way, giving his classic mischievous wink. "I thought you two would jump at the chance to stretch your legs. After all, you've been resting for three days straight!"

"Tell me about it," I said, wincing as I stretched my arms above my head. "My body feels so heavy. I'd give anything to just wake up a little bit."

"Same here, but Leon and Yuffie have us on house arrest," Sora said in a huff, flopping sideways onto the couch. Kairi stifled a laugh at the dull thud his head made against the cushion.

"I suppose that's true…" Merlin sighed, stroking his beard with one hand. With the other hand he was tapping his wand against the table, making sparks fly from it every now and then. "Well, you've always got books! Gateways to new worlds when you're stuck in one room." He gave up on absently tapping his wand, instead taking to rifling through his knapsack.

"Oh yeah, you said you were going to grab a book off their ship, right?" Kairi asked, edging forward with a curious gleam in her eyes.

"A book?" I repeated, my brow raised.

"Oh!" Sora jolted up at this, his energy renewed. "Is it your book? The one we've been collecting pages for?" Without waiting for an answer, he vaulted over the side of the couch and hurried to the table.

Merlin chuckled and nodded before placing said book on the table. The cover was still worn, but as he smoothed it out Kairi spotted the remnants of the title.

"The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," she read aloud. "What's so special about it?"

"You'll see in a second, dear," Merlin said with a smile. He then gestured towards Sora and I. "Would you mind giving me a hand? Or rather a key?"

Sora and I exchanged a glance. Once again, as hesitation flared in my heart, a wave of calming reassurance quickly washed over me. And, once again, the emotion didn't feel quite right—almost like it wasn't coming from me. I shook off the feeling, returning my attention to the task at hand.

"Should we?" I whispered to Sora. "I'm sure Merlin knows what he's doing but," I paused to look around the room, even though I knew there was no one present but us, "you heard Leon and Yuffie. There's a lot of Heartless around. They could sense it."

"I know, I know—but it's such a small lock!" He gave me a beaming smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"You always say that."

"And it always ends up fine!"

I pursed my lips at this. "I guess that depends on your definition of fine."

"Guys!" Kairi groaned in annoyance. "C'mon!"

At both her and Sora's pleading face, I sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay, I'm coming—but if Leon or Aerith finds out let it be known I was put under peer pressure."

"I'll take the fall if it comes to that," Merlin said with a chortle.

I extended my palm, acutely aware of Kairi's gaze fixated on us. As I flicked my wrist outwards, I felt the familiar spark of warmth quickly solidify into the handle of the Heartblade. When I looked towards Sora and saw the Kingdom Key grasped in his hand, a dizzy spell suddenly hit me hard.

I stumbled, closing my eyes to fend off the nausea. I felt like I could've heard a familiar feminine voice calling to me in the brief moment of respite—but that was gone as soon as I opened my eyes again. Instead Kairi was there, her hand on my shoulder to hold me in place.

"You guys okay?"

I looked to Sora, noting he was holding onto the table like he'd also experienced a bout of lightheadedness.

"Yeah," I answered, patting her hand in thanks. "Guess we're not fully recovered."

"Indeed," Merlin echoed, looking pensive as his eyes darted between us. "Luckily, this book is perfect for recuperation."

I hoped he was right. Together Sora and I raised our blades and pointed them at the book. For a brief second, I feared nothing would happen yet again, but my fears proved baseless. A light gathered at the tip of the blade and shot into the tiny lock keeping the book closed. With a small click it fell open and cluttered onto the table. I was expecting something miraculous to happen afterwards the way Merlin was talking, but it remained unmoving. I cast a confused look to Merlin, to which he reached into his robe and pulled out the pages we'd collected along our travels.

"Here, put them in! You must mend the book before you can mend yourselves!"

I took the pages, my confusion not lessened. Kairi had already opened the cover and was thumbing through the yellowed pages with interest. She let out a murmur when I approached and pointed out a few areas where it was clear the pages had been ripped from the bindings. "It looks like a children's book, doesn't it?"

I nodded in agreement as I carefully flattened a paper and placed it within the missing portion. To my surprise the tear mended itself within a second.

Sora wrinkled his nose in distaste at this. He lowered his voice so Merlin wouldn't overhear. "How is reading a children's book going to help us?"

"I don't think Merlin's the type for traditional means of helping," I answered back in the same lowered tone. "There's gotta be something else to it."

The three of us gathered around the table until all the missing portions of the book were located and filled. As I placed the last of the lost pages into place, I turned to tell Merlin we'd finished. However, when I looked up, the wizard was gone. In fact, the entire hotel room we were in was gone.

We were now in a flowery meadow which was surrounded on all sides by a lively forest. The air brought with it the pleasant scent of honeysuckles and pine, and an all-around peaceful aura ebbed from the place. The only thing recognizable was the table with the book sitting on top of it. But as I turned to look around and take in more of the scenery, that too disappeared. "Uh…guys? What just happened?"

"This…this is so cool!" Kairi gasped. She immediately ducked down to run her fingers over the grass and pluck a wildflower from the dirt. "It feels so real! We can't be dreaming, can we?"

"Wherever we are, I kinda like it," Sora said, closing his eyes and leaning into the gentle breeze.

I couldn't help but agree with this sentiment. Despite the fact we were rudely relocated to the middle of a forest, I wasn't really worried about it. Something about this place told me it would all be okay.

Kairi stood with a cluster of flowers grasped in her hands and let out a gasp, pointing with her free hand towards the center of the clearing. "Look! Someone else is here too!"

Looking towards where she pointed, I could see a large hollowed log with a figure sitting on top of it. Without any sort of prodding, we all walked towards the log. As we drew closer, I realized this someone was more of a something. It was a small yellow bear, and he had the unmistakable look of a well-loved stuffed animal. His eyes were small black beads, he was wearing a knitted red wool shirt, and the belly that poked out from under the shirt had a careful line of stitching circling it.

I couldn't stop a small coo from leaving my mouth at the cute sight. Kairi echoed this sentiment.

Even though we were only a short distance from the bear, he didn't appear to notice us. Or if he did, he didn't mind. He simply continued to tap on his forehead, muttering to himself, "Think, think, think…"

Sora cast a dubious look back at us before wandering closer and ducking into the bear's line of sight. "Um, hey? Is something wrong?"

The bear was not at all perturbed by this stranger interrupting his train of thought. "Oh, nothing's wrong," he replied with a soft voice. "Just thinking of how to say goodbye to Pooh."

"Pooh?" Sora repeated.

"Yes?" The little bear looked up as if his name had been called.

"Wait, wait," Kairi interrupted, walking towards the bear. "Are you Pooh?"

"Yes, I'm Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short." He looked at each of us curiously. "And who are you?"

We each responded in turn.

"I'm Sora."

"And I'm Akira."

"I'm Kairi, nice to meet you!"

"Hello to you all!" Pooh smiled. "Have you come to say goodbye to Pooh too?"

I couldn't stop an incredulous laugh from escaping at the question. "We've only just met, why would we say goodbye?"

"Because everyone's gone away," Pooh answered sadly.

"What do you mean by that?" Kairi asked, moving to sit beside the bear on the log.

"Well, we all lived here in the Hundred Acre Wood," Pooh explained. "And we'd take walks together, or play Pooh sticks…And every day, I'd eat some honey." He paused, looking down at his fluffed belly sadly. "Just one small smackeral would taste very good right now…"

We all traded looks of confusion as Pooh lulled, seeming to be lost in his reminiscing. Eventually he continued with a sigh, "But now everyone's gone. All my friends, and my favorite honey tree too. Must've gone away while I was napping…I think."

Pooh pushed himself off the log and landed with a soft thud on the ground, sending dandelion fluff into the air with a poof. "So, who knows? Maybe I shall end up going away somewhere as well. But I wonder, how do I say goodbye to myself?" He resumed tapping the side of his head, scrunching up his face in thought. "Think, think, think…"

"This is kinda sad," Kairi murmured. "Do you think we can help find his friends?"

"We don't have anything else to do," I answered with a shrug.

Suddenly Pooh's stomach let out a large growl, interrupting his thinking session. "Oh, my tummy is getting rather rumbly," he giggled. And with that, he waddled off towards the forest without saying goodbye.

"We're following him, right?" Kairi asked.

"Definitely!" Sora declared, running to catch up with the bear, which wasn't too hard a feat. We kept a steady pace with him as we trekked into the woods. It was a beautiful forest, and all the plants within it seemed vibrant and lively. Pooh didn't diverge from his course once, and he only acknowledged us briefly, letting us converse amongst ourselves during the walk.

"So, this is a world inside a book?" Kairi asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Yeah, Merlin had said it had its own heart, which meant it was a world. But I never could've imagined this," I answered.

"He also said we needed to find the missing pages to help out the world," Sora said, lacing his hands behind his head as he walked. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him so relaxed. "But we put them all back in, so why are Pooh's friends still missing?"

Kairi and I both shrugged. "Maybe that's the reason we got put in the story," I suggested. "We have to find them and get everything back to normal."

"I'm fine with staying here a while," Kairi said with a happy sigh. Sora and I echoed this sentiment with murmured noises of contentment.

By this time, Pooh had led us onto a definitive trail through the woods. The dirt path was clearly well worn and soon revealed our destination: a hill rising from the ground to create a natural clearing. A large tree was imbedded into the side of the hill, its roots wrapped around a small cottage as if protecting it. Pooh's pace hurried slightly at the sight.

"Home sweet home! Oh, I do hope there's a smackeral of honey left…"

As he pushed open the door and walked inside his house, we all hesitantly followed. The house was clearly built for someone of Pooh's size, and we had to duck to fit inside. I hung back as Kairi and Sora made their way inside, preferring to take in the view from the outside.

"Your house is adorable, Pooh," Kairi said, admiring the Pooh-sized furniture and cute stitched patterns of flowers that decorated the inside.

"Why thank you," Pooh responded with a laugh. "But it would be even better with some honey!" He headed to a small cupboard stocked to the brim with clay pots and began taking them all out. He'd peer inside their lids curiously, only to set them aside when nothing was to be found. Eventually, there were no more pots to be searched, which meant no honey to be eaten.

"Oh bother," Pooh sighed, looking over the pile of empty pots sadly. "There's no more honey left."

"Well I'm sure we could go find you some," Sora offered, pushing the pots aside to clear a path to Pooh. "Where do you usually get your honey?"

"At the honey tree," Pooh said. "But last time I went to gather some, it had disappeared, just like my friends…"

As Kairi and Sora bent down beside Pooh to try and cheer him up, I was distracted by the sound of a branch shaking above my head. I looked up to see a brown speckled owl gazing down at me with bright yellow eyes. It wasn't a stuffed animal, so I was slightly taken aback when it started to speak.

"Hoo! Well now, you aren't Pooh Bear." He scuttled down from the branch to perch on the door, leaning in an uncomfortably close distance to examine my face. "I've never seen you before. Are you friends with Christopher Robin?"

"Uh, no, I'm just here with Pooh," I said, pointing into the house.

"Akira, who are you talking to?" Sora called out in question.

"An owl?" I responded with a confused tone. The owl ducked his head into the doorway, craning his neck at an unnatural angle to peer inside.

Pooh let out a joyous laugh at the sight of the animal. "Why hello there, Owl! Where have you been?"

Owl raised a wing to his face, looking like he was stroking the white tuft of feathers below his beak in thought. "I'm not quite sure! One minute I was there, the next I was here!" he said, not clarifying anything.

"Well if you're back, perhaps the others are as well!" Pooh declared. As soon as he reached this conclusion, his nose twitched and lifted into the air. "Oh! I do believe my nose is onto something…"

I titled my head in the same direction and took a deep whiff, but I couldn't detect anything different besides the pleasant flowery smell that was always in the air. Before I could voice that thought, Pooh was headed past me and back into the forest, letting his nose lead the way.

We all exchanged bemused glances before hurrying to follow after him. With a flap of his wings Owl joined us, flying with barely a sound through the branches above us.

"You know, this reminds me of a time I was with my second cousin, Rupert," Owl called down to us. "What a rapscallion that bird was! We were looking for my Aunt Clara, who was a screech owl mind you, so she sang soprano rather well! But that's beside the point—"

His story lulled into the background noise of the forest as Kairi gestured for us to step closer. "Are all the people that live here going to be animals?" she asked in a whisper. I gave a shrug as Sora laced his fingers behind his head and smiled.

"Who knows! We've seen weirder than that though."

"Weirder than a talking stuffed animal?" Kairi asked, her eyes widening in curiosity.

"Yeah, don't you remember?" I questioned with a tilt of my head. "Technically you were there with us."

"I guess so," Kairi said, letting out a small laugh. "But the memories are fuzzy, like I woke up from a dream. It's getting harder to remember the details the longer I'm awake…"

"So, what you're saying is…we have a captive audience to talk about our adventures?" I said, raising my eyebrow to stare at Sora with an eager grin.

"Oh man Kairi, we've got so much to tell you." Sora said. His expression was like he'd been waiting his whole life for this moment.

Far above us Owl droned on, unaware his audience wasn't paying the least bit of attention. Sora and I started to regale Kairi with the story of our adventure, starting with waking up at Traverse Town, meeting Donald and Goofy, and traveling to Wonderland. The way I'm putting it makes it seem much more in sync than that, of course. Sora and I were constantly interrupting each other with details the other forgot, or bursting into laughter and struggling to get the words out in a comprehensible way. Despite this nonlinear storytelling, Kairi never lost her amazed expression. If anything, her smile grew until she was practically beaming.

We got to crashing the ship on Tarzan's world before Pooh suddenly stopped and let out a loud declaration of happiness. "I knew it! I knew I smelled honey!"

We all stopped and looked ahead, just now realizing how far away Pooh had led us. There was a break in the forest ahead leading to a tree that dwarfed the one surrounding Pooh's house. It rose high on a grassy hill and there was the faint sound of buzzing in the air. Now I could definitely smell the trail Pooh had been following; the sickly-sweet scent of honey was everywhere.

"Oh, well then!" Owl landed in a branch beside of us. "It seems the honey tree has made a reappearance!"

"And just in time for lunch," Pooh said, patting his tummy happily. As he went to take a step towards the tree, Kairi grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Whoa, hang on Pooh, don't you see what's on the tree?" Kairi said, pointing upwards.

Pooh looked up at the tree, as well as the rest of us. I then blanched at the realization of what the buzzing nose in the background had been. Hundreds upon hundreds of beehives were nestled into the branches of the tree, which extended upwards at least 100 feet into the air.

"There's no way we could get that honey safely," I said, backtracking slightly. "Is there another honey tree around here somewhere?"

"No, this is my favorite one," Pooh sighed, "Oh, if only it was Winds-day. The bees don't like the wind."

His disappointed face awoke an urge within me to climb the tree despite the danger. When I looked towards Sora, who was being oddly silent, I just knew he was feeling the same. Not to mention he had his idea face on, something I would have to see if I lived to regret.

"They don't like wind, huh?" Sora said, looking towards me with a smirk. "Aeroga should keep them away long enough, don'cha think?"

"There's a lot of bees, Sora," I said, drawling out his name in a playful tone.

"Kairi can hoist him up while we keep the bees away! We'll be able to blow them away before they even get close to us!"

I cast a doubtful look back towards Kairi, who only gave a slight shrug. "Don't look at me, I don't know any magic stuff."

I fiddled with the ring on my finger, my gaze dancing between Sora, Kairi, and the now-hopeful face of Pooh. I knew I wasn't in any position to refuse. Besides…how dangerous could this world really be? Maybe the bees were stuffed as well…

I kneeled down, giving the small bear a reassuring pat on his head. "Don't worry, Pooh. Me and Sora will keep those bees away. You eat your fill of honey alright?"

"Why thank you very much," Pooh said, giving a happy giggle.

Sora smiled widely at me as I stood back up, giving me a nudge as we approached towards the tree. "I knew you wouldn't be able to say no."

"I have many weaknesses, and cute animals is one of them," I said, giving an exaggerated sigh.

Sora rubbed his hands together eagerly before leaping and grasping onto the lowest hanging branch. He swung his legs over the top and hoisted himself over, reaching down a hand to me. I leaped and grasped it, hearing Sora give a slight grunt as he lifted me off the ground and onto the branch beside of him. I couldn't help but reminisce back to Destiny Islands as we did this, reminded of our days spent learning how to climb the branchless palm trees. Needless to say, this was much easier.

As Sora scaled to the next branch, I bent and extended my hand down to Pooh. Kairi had him raised in both hands, and she stood on her tip-toes to hand him off to me. As I sat him down, I heard the sound of wind violently ripping through the leaves above us, followed by a proud shout of success. Sora's head popped through the leaves, his hair already tangled with twigs.

"The hive blew right off the branch! Man, I bet it flew for a mile!" He smiled widely, and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. He then offered his hand to me. "C'mon, hand him up, you keep going and get the next one!"

I hoisted Pooh up to Sora and followed soon after. Pooh took no time enjoying the spoils of war, digging his paw into a crevasse within the trunk. He pulled out a honeycomb dripping the thick golden liquid of victory and started to tuck in, laughing to himself happily as he stuffed his mouth.

I did as Sora said and scaled higher into the tree, my eyes on the lookout for the next hive. It didn't take long for me to see the tiny soldiers guarding the next treasure trove. I pointed my palm up towards them, feeling the ring glow as I shouted "Wind!"

The current of air burst forth sending the bees and part of the hive flying off the tree. As it shook the branches further above, I heard a small dismayed cry echo down.

"Oh d-d-dear!"

Not sure if I was just hearing things, I parted the branches and popped my head through. A small stuffed pig was huddled against the trunk, hugging onto it for dear life. His floppy ears hung over his face and his magenta jumper looked too big for his small body.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Ah!" The pig let out a fearful squeak and attempted to cower even further away from me. "Yes! I was j-just…N-Never mind! I'm sorry!"

"Hey no, it's okay," I cooed, shimmying my way onto the branch. The little pig didn't move, but he was eyeing me like he would soon faint from fear. "Don't be scared. My name's Akira. Are you a friend of Pooh's?"

He perked up at the mention of the bear. "P-Pooh? You know Pooh?"

"Yeah, we're friends! He's actually here right now!" I gave the most reassuring smile I could manage. "I can help you down to see him if you'd like."

"T-That would be nice…" he scooted closer to me, still pulling at his jumper nervously. "I-I'm Piglet. Nice to m-meet you, Akira."

"Nice to meet you too, Piglet," I said in return, offering my hand. The stuffed animal was small enough to fit into the palm of my hand, and I cradled him against my chest as I lowered myself down. Unfortunately, I misjudged the distance I'd be falling to the next branch. My feet hit hard, making the entire branch shake and sway. It would have been fine, I could keep my balance, the problem came when this shaking displaced the rest of my broken beehive, which was sent falling down to the ground below.

"Uh oh…"

Kairi let out a shriek and I soon heard a shout followed by the tumbling and snapping of branches—unmistakably Sora falling out of the tree.

I peered down to see both Kairi and Owl bolting from the angrily buzzing hive. Sora was stumbling to his feet holding a large stick in his hands. With a yell of "Fore!" he smacked the hive with the stick, sending it sailing through the air and tumbling down the hill.

"Akira! C'mon run!" Sora grabbed Pooh from the ground beside of him and ran, just as I landed safely with Piglet. The swarming hive didn't take kindly to having their home punted and followed after us. As I met up with Sora, we exchanged wide-eyed glances, each looking down to the stuffed animal we clutched in our arms.

"Oh, hello Piglet!" Pooh said calmly. He waved to the pig he just now noticed I was holding.

His nonchalant greeting proved too much for me. It was then I couldn't stop the giggles from bubbling up at the absurdity of this situation. The laughter proved infectious and spread to Sora as well, and by the time we caught up to Kairi we were both doubled over, giving into the pull of breathless laughter.

Kairi looked like she was winding down from her own bought of laughter, but at the sight of us it started back up again. "S-Sora!" she snorted, wiping at her eye, "Your face when you f-fell from the tree—" Her sentence broke off as she gave into peals of giggles.

Meanwhile, Piglet was busy trying to wrap his arms around Pooh in the best hug his tiny body could give.

"P-Pooh! I missed you s-so much!" Piglet said in his squeaky voice. "I was s-scared you'd g-gone away forever!"

"I missed you too Piglet," Pooh said, patting Piglet on his head. "Have you been at the honey tree all this time?"

Piglet shook his head, making his ears flop around. "I c-came from R-Rabbit's house. He said t-the honey tree w-was back, so I t-thought you m-might be here!"

"Rabbit's house is back?" Pooh titled his head. His stomach let out another growl, a reminder of our failed mission. "Why, I bet Rabbit wouldn't mind if we joined him for lunch. Let's go pay him a visit!"

"Very good," Owl said with a nod. "I haven't seen Rabbit in so long! That reminds me, I hadn't even finished telling him about the ol' blustery evening of '89…" He took to the air without sticking around to elaborate, taking the lead towards Rabbit's house.

"So, does this place top…what was it called, Wonderland? Does it top that place in weirdness?" Kairi asked once we recovered from the giggling.

"Not even close," Sora answered. "When we bring you there, you'll see for yourself!"

My gaze snapped to attention at this, making my smile falter slightly. He shouldn't go around saying things like that when the Heartless issue hadn't even been solved yet. It was too late though, Kairi's eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"You'll really bring me along? To all the worlds you've been too?"

"Of course! We all will! Once all this is over, you, me, Akira, and…" Sora trailed off and his gleeful expression faltered slightly before he continued, "Riku too."

Kairi's smile flickered for a second. The same sensation of pain gripped my heart. But instead of giving into that feeling of despair, I instead grasped onto hope.

"I mean, we all did promise to travel the worlds together," I said, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Like we're gonna leave those two out of all the fun."

Sora blinked before his smile returned in full force. "We should go back to the Coliseum and challenge it together! And this time we'll make sure it's a team battle before the day of the tournament."

Before I could respond, I felt the same dizzy spell from earlier overtake me. It was like I was blinded, only for my vision to restore to the sight of Cloud holding me by my throat. A lithe figure then leaped from the crowd from behind him, and my heart nearly burst from the sensation of love that lit it up. As I saw myself grasping Cloud with a shout of rage, I blinked, and I was back in the forest.

I inhaled deeply as I came back into myself, letting go off Sora and reflexively stepping back. Sora too looked stunned, as if he had just undergone something startling. Kairi hung back, her eyes concerned.

"Guys? You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, just got dizzy again," I said, hesitantly putting my hand on Sora's shoulder once more. The experience of reliving the moment through Sora's eyes didn't repeat itself. "You good?"

"Yeah…" He nodded slightly, then repeated himself in a more convincing manner, "Yeah. That was weird, huh?"

"Hoo! We're here!" Owl called down from above us, snapping all three of us back to reality. I looked ahead and saw Owl diving to land on the wooden post of a small bridge. It crossed over a creek and led to tilled fields. The tops of vegetables were poking up from the rich soil, ripe for the picking. Pooh ignored these, however, and headed straight to the tree in the center of these fields. Much like at Pooh's house, this tree sat atop a small cottage.

We started towards the house, the calm atmosphere and the soothing trickling of the creek lulling us back into the happy atmosphere of the world.

Pooh approached the front door and knocked, calling out, "Hello, Rabbit! I was wondering if you might have a honey pot or two I could borrow?"

After a brief moment with no response, I could hear the sound of scurrying from behind the door. However, instead of it opening, I heard a lock being slipped into place. "Rabbit isn't home!" shouted a voice from inside. "And even if he was, I'm—I mean, he's out of honey!"

Pooh hummed at this. "Oh bother. Rabbit isn't home…"

"M-Maybe we can g-get through h-his back door," Piglet offered, pointing to the pathway around the house.

"Good idea Piglet!" Pooh said, immediately following his friend's advice.

"Should we tell him that was probably Rabbit?" I whispered to Kairi and Sora.

"Let's see where this goes first," Sora said, waving for us to follow the two around the well-trodden dirt path. We circled around the trunk of the tree to the back of the cottage, where it merged with the hill and dirt pushed up by the massive roots. A sign was posted by a tunnel that read, "Rabbit's Howse" in a messy scrawl.

Pooh approached this tunnel, which appeared to be a burrow entrance into the house, and shouted into it. "Rabbit? Hello?" His calls echoed into the burrow, invoking a groan of exasperation within.

"Nobody's home!" the voice insisted.

"Nobody?" Pooh looked over his shoulder at us with a smile. "Well perhaps this Nobody knows where Rabbit went!" With that being said, he squeezed himself into the tunnel, calling out as he went, "Nobody, have you seen Rabbit?"

"No! No Rabbit here!" the frantic voice called from within. "There's no one here!"

Despite the protests, with a small plop Pooh fell from view. I hoisted Piglet up so he could follow, but it didn't seem as if we would be able to fit. Sora poked his upper half through and into the home, looking a lot like an ostrich with its head buried in the dirt.

I stifled a laugh at this, attempting to suppress my giggles as I warned, "Don't go too far, you might get stuck!"

"Oh, please get stuck," Kairi said, crossing her fingers.

"I heard that!" Sora called back, his voice muffled. It was then a scream echoed inside of the house, and suddenly Sora was no longer addressing us. "Oh, uh, hey! We're friends of Pooh. Can we come in?"

Sora did not get stuck, much to Kairi's displeasure. But with his somewhat unpleasant introduction, we were allowed to enter Rabbit's house from the normal front door.

Much like his name would imply, Rabbit was just that, a rabbit. His tan fur was slightly disheveled, and his pink nose twitched rapidly as he addressed Pooh wandering about his home. "P-Pooh, it really is wonderful to see you again, but I'm afraid I'm all out of honey at the moment!"

Pooh, however, continued to roam about, his head tilted up as if he was following a scent. "Oh, but I do smell honey in here! Perhaps it is hiding from us…"

I followed his gaze upwards, towards the roots of the tree that formed the roof. Some dipped down lower than others, forming natural shelving if you happened to be tall enough. And on one of these roots, I saw several pots precariously stashed away. I gave Sora a nudge and gestured to them with my chin, meaning to question it quietly. Sora, however, immediately said out loud, "Oh, there's honey pots up there!"

Rabbit's ears shot up, and I swore his nose moved even quicker than before. "O-Oh! How did those get up there?" he said with a nervous laugh. This façade dropped as his shoulders stooped, and he looked to us with beady eyes that still managed to convey disappointment and stress. "Would you mind fetching those for me?"

Sora, being the tallest (not that this was a remarkable feat among us), stood on his toes and passed each pot down to me. I in turn passed them to Kairi, who placed them on the small wooden table where Pooh eagerly awaited.

"Of course, don't feel like you have to eat something Pooh," Rabbit said, his paws tapping his chin worriedly.

"Oh, why thank you Rabbit," Pooh said, pulling several of the pots closer to him. He remained blissfully unaware of Rabbit's foot beginning to thump the ground out of stress. "I would like just a small smackeral. I'm quite hungry." With this being said, he dipped his paw straight into the jar, pulling it out after it was entirely soaked in honey. He then licked his paw until it was clean, then repeated the process all over again. It was actually quite impressive how quickly he managed to devour the entire pot.

I started to raise my arm to tell him perhaps it was time to stop eating, but a soft pat brought my attention down to Rabbit. He shook his head and pushed my arm back down to my side saying, "Once he starts, there's no stopping him."

"He won't eat all of those pots," Kairi whispered, "…right?"

Rabbit simply fixed a stare on her that suggested otherwise. She gave an impressed whistle then turned towards me, her expression mischievous. "That's more than even Sora could handle."

Sora snorted and tossed a playful glare her way. "Wanna bet?"

At this statement, Rabbit's fur rose in distress, and I quickly interjected on his behalf, "I don't think now is the time to test that theory…but for the record, I'm on Sora's side."

Kairi laughed aloud at this, but I retained my serious demeanor. "You weren't with us for Goofy's pancake breakfasts…I swear he ate at least twenty."

Sora punched my arm softly. "Yeah, right! Gimme a break, Goofy's pancakes are the best thing in the world!"

As we chatted about the breakfasts on the Gummi Ship, Pooh contentedly ate away at all the honey within the pots, until there was nothing left in any of them. With a final clutter of clay pots hitting the table, Pooh leaned back with a happy sigh, rubbing his fully rounded stomach. "That was wonderful, thank you Rabbit!"

Rabbit nodded and smiled weakly as he stood in front of all his emptied pots of honey. "Well…so much for tomorrow's plans. Guess I'll be gathering more honey…" he said dejectedly.

Pooh dismissed himself from the house without another word, hoisting himself back into the dirt tunnel. "Oh, Pooh," I said, stepping towards him, "It might be a little bit easier to go through the front door…" But it was no use. Pooh continued to squirm his way through the burrow, until eventually he stopped moving. We weren't sure exactly what was happening, as we could only see Pooh's legs kicking about, knocking loose dirt into the house. Eventually his legs drooped, and I could hear his muffled sigh through the wall.

"Oh bother. I think I'm stuck."

"Stuck?!" Rabbit yelped, scurrying beside the tunnel. "Oh no, no, no you can't be stuck! Not in my house!"

"I told him we should've used the front door," I sighed.

Piglet grasped his ears, pulling at them in a panic. "Oh d-d-dear! What do we do?!"

"Hey, hey, it's fine!" Sora said, scooping Piglet into his arms. "We'll just push him out, no problem. Right guys?"

"Right!" Kairi said, bracing herself against Pooh. "He came through this way, so he can get out this way too!"

"Hang on, I'll go on the other side," I said, backing up towards the door. "I'll pull, you'll push, okay?"

I exited the house in a hurry, too focused on the task at hand to notice an orange bullet whizzing its way towards me. Without warning, I found myself shoved onto the dirt ground, the air forced out of my lungs. Standing on top of me was a stuffed tiger, his tail curled behind him like a spring.

""Hey there! Name's Tigger! T-I-double-guh-RR. That spells Tigger!" He pointed to himself then paused, leaning in an uncomfortable amount to smush his nose against my face. "Well, now! I don't think I've ever seen you before!"

"I'm Akira," I wheezed, "I'm new here." Before I could push him off, I could hear Pooh calling from a short way away.

"Tigger? Is that you?"

With a hefty bounce, Tigger sprung off me and towards Pooh, leaving me groaning on the ground from the impact. Picking myself off the ground, slightly disheveled, I followed Tigger.

"Hey, there Pooh Bear!" Tigger greeted him happily, "Say, you're lookin' mighty uncomfy today."

"Yes, I've gotten stuck in Rabbit's burrow," Pooh explained, as if this wasn't easy to see. "I believe the tunnel shrunk around me as I was leaving."

Tigger nodded and hummed, rubbing his chin as he examined the situation. "Have you tried bouncin' out?"

"Akira? You there?" Sora called from inside the house.

"Whoa, Rabbit's house just talked!" Tigger shouted, backing away rapidly.

I decided I didn't have the time to explain to Tigger and stepped up to grab Pooh's paws, bracing myself against the outside of the house. "Yup! Ready when you are!" I called back.

"On three! One…two…three!"

I pulled back with all of my strength, hearing the efforts of Sora and Kairi within the house to push Pooh out. I could feel a small bit of movement as I tugged, and I shouted happily, "It's working! Keep going!"

However, within the house I could hear shuffling, and worry begin to rise as I heard Kairi saying, "Sora…what are you doing?"

Before I could question what was going on, I heard the pounding of feet before a loud thud, and suddenly I was yanking Pooh into the air with all my strength, which sent him hurling over my head. I clapped my hands over my face in shock as he flew over Rabbit's garden fence and into the hills beyond. I could hear the sounds of tumbling followed by the unmistakable sound of him crashing into something wooden.

"Hey! It worked!" Sora called, peeking his head through the hole. I turned, and his proud smile dampened slightly at my horrified expression. "Um…where's Pooh?"

I could only point behind me, stuttering incoherently, but it seems Sora got the idea. He bolted and emerged from the front door, kicking up dirt as he jumped the fence after Pooh without another word. At this point I couldn't hold back a snort of laughter at the panic on his face, but I soon headed down with the others to check on Pooh's wellbeing.

Eventually the steep embankment we scrambled down led to Pooh, seeming relatively unharmed and unbothered by the whole incident. The same couldn't be said for the stuffed donkey who stood beside him, looking at the crumbled remains of what must have been something he'd been building underneath Pooh. His long ears drooped, and his eyes seemed set in a permanent state of sadness.

"Hoo, looks like your house got blown over by the winds, Eeyore!" Tigger said, oblivious to the real cause of the house's destruction still sitting atop it.

"Wouldn't be the first time it's happened," Eeyore said with a low, gravely voice.

Piglet pushed Pooh to his feet, who looked down at the pile of broken sticks with a frown. "Oh, bother. I'm sorry about your house Eeyore."

"Not to worry," Eeyore sighed, "It wasn't much of a house anyways."

"This is our fault," I said sheepishly. Not a very good introduction to Pooh's friend. "We should be the ones to fix it."

"That's not necessary," Eeyore answered with the same monotonous tone. "It always falls down. I always rebuild it. I guess I'm not that good at building."

"We can still help out," Kairi interrupted. "We're very good at building things! We built an entire raft back at our home!"

"A r-raft?" Piglet looked up at us with a questioning look.

"Like a boat, something to carry you across water," Kairi explained. She then looked to us with a smile, nostalgia clear in her gaze.

"Well, I don't need a boat, just a house," Eeyore said. "And don't feel like you have to. But it would be nice to have a little help."

Sora picked one of the sticks up, which broke apart at the motion. "Uh…I think we need more materials first."

And so, we all decided the best course of action would be to set off into the surrounding forest, searching for suitable sticks for Eeyore's new house. After we all split off, I circled back around to find Sora strolling along, whistling to himself. I wanted to get a chance to be with him alone, and now seemed the perfect time.

As I trotted to catch up to him, he looked over his shoulder with a knowing grin. "Doesn't this just give you déjà vu?"

"It does," I said with a laugh. When I reached his side, his hand found mine. "Reminds me of how we always ended up being the ones cutting down the trees."

Sora shook his head in mock disapproval, "You think it would've been Riku, what with the axe being his dad's and all. But no, make us do all the heavy lifting."

"I don't think we'd have much trouble with cutting down a tree now," I grinned.

A comfortable silence fell between us, only broken when one of us pointed out a potential stick for Eeyore's house. Eventually I had a nice bundle packed under my arm. Sora's hand still loosely gripped mine, the other preoccupied with his own bunch of sticks. We walked down the pathway as the birds chirped, beginning their evening serenade, drinking in the atmosphere and enjoying each other's presence. However, this silence was bound to be broken.

"So…can we talk about it yet?" Sora asked.

My heart thumped heavily, sending anxiety shooting through my veins. He didn't have to specify what he meant. I unconsciously tightened my hold on his hand and replied, "Only if you're ready for me to cry."

I heard him give a soft laugh in response. A few moments of silence passed and, unexpectedly, I ended up being the first person to break it. The question left my mouth before I could stop it. "Did it hurt?"

Once again, there was no need for elaboration.

"A little," he answered, his tone cautious. I didn't know whether it was for my sake or his. "It was like…a lot of pain for only a few seconds and then just…nothing. But…" Leaves crunched beneath our feet as our pace slowed to a halt. He set his bundle down carefully before pulling down the collar of his shirt, exposing his chest. I didn't really understand what he was trying to show me, after all there was nothing there. But then it hit me. That was the whole point—there's nothing there. No scar over his heart, like it never even happened.

"You made it better," he said with a smile.

I stared without saying anything for a few moments, both confused and somewhat proud of this statement. Curing someone with magic always left scars. You weren't reversing time, after all, just speeding up your body's healing process. But then again…what I did wasn't just normal healing magic.

Eventually I let out a laugh, turning away with reddened cheeks. "…I guess I did, didn't I?"

He let his shirt fall back into place, his hand finding its usual perch within mine. "But…that's not the only thing you did, right? Or at least…that's not the only thing that happened."

Even though I knew this moment was coming, I still bristled as the words left his mouth. "…No, it wasn't." I met his eyes, noticing the gentle tone of worry in his gaze. I couldn't hide from the truth any longer. "I did the dive on you."

"The dive to the heart," Sora said, nodding.

"Right. And I…well, I,"

"You kissed me?" Sora interrupted, a grin breaking his solemn expression.

At this nonchalant statement I inhaled quickly, causing myself to enter a coughing fit.

"Whoa, hey—sorry! I was trying to help with the remembering," Sora said, his hand thumping my back. "I mean, I guess it's more accurate to say I kissed you but, y'know, you kissed back."

I straightened and placed my hand across his mouth, my reddened face practically begging him to stop before I had a heart attack. After a few seconds of silence, I dropped my hand. "I thought you said you couldn't remember what happened?"

Sora hummed in agreement, "I couldn't when I first woke up, but it's been coming back to me here. It's strange though…because I kept seeing flashes of it in your perspective. That, and other memories I'm pretty sure are yours."

"I knew you must have been seeing that too…" I murmured.

He nodded, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "So…what does it mean?"

I couldn't help my gaze lowering as I hesitantly explained. "You remember everything I told you before Hollow Bastion? About the Keyblade War, the χ-Blade, and Heart Ties?"

"That feels like such a long time ago," he said, giving a half-hearted laugh, "Yeah, I remember."

"Okay well…doing that dive…made us Heart Ties."

Instead of the trepidation I felt at the idea, Sora only seemed confused. He didn't fully understand its implications. "But…what does that mean, exactly? What's happened to us?"

"I don't understand it," I admitted. "All I know is that somehow, I made something called Serēbat Cordis happen. It basically means our hearts connected sometime during that dive. I think that's why we can see each other's memories, and feel what the other is feeling, especially when we're close," I looked down to his hand and hesitantly brushed my fingers across it, "We're apart of each other's lives now, no matter what."

His hand caught mine and held it in a tight grip. "Well…that doesn't sound so bad to me."

"No, it sounds like everything I've ever wanted," I admitted, biting my lip to try and hold back the burning in my eyes. "But Kingdom Hearts told me my Heart Tie would be a weakness, something the man who started this would try to take advantage of to make the χ-Blade." My lips started to tremble, making my next words shake as the tears finally fell, "I just wanted to keep you safe. I wanted to keep everyone safe. But I just keep failing…"

"Hey. You know that's not true." I felt Sora's thumb wipe a tear away, and as I finally looked him in the eyes, I was startled to see him crying as well.

"I think you're making me cry," Sora explained with a quivering laugh when he saw my surprise, "The whole sharing emotions thing."

"I-I'm sorry," I whispered, mimicking his watered-down smile.

Instead of responding, Sora only pulled me closer. I buried my face into the crook of his neck, feeling him do the same. As my eyes closed, I felt the indescribable sensation of our hearts beating in unison. Images flashed before me, of the Serēbat Cordis, our golden and blue lights mimicking the ocean, and Sora's whisper of I love you.

"I didn't really say it then," I mumbled into his chest. "But I think you knew."

"Knew what?" he asked. I could tell he knew what I was going to say. He just wanted it to be voiced.

"I love you too."

The words settled into the air around us, sweeter than the honey scent on the wind. His grip on me tightened, and before I knew what was happening, he lifted me into the air and spun me in a tight circle, his laughter loud and light. I shrieked in surprise and delight as he gave me a small toss, catching me and embracing me once again.

"I'm sorry, it just feels so good to hear that."

"It does, doesn't it?" I said with a laugh, wiping the last of my tears away with the palm of my hand.

"Akira, I don't care what Kingdom Hearts told you," Sora said, looking me in the eyes with a sudden sternness uncharacteristic for him. "You did keep me safe. You kept all of us safe! I wouldn't even be here without you. And as for being Heart Ties—this feels right. This just is right. So, don't feel guilty over this, don't blame yourself for anything. Because no matter what, I'm always going to be here. And we'll get through this, together."

A burst of fondness for Sora ran through my chest like wildfire. And just like that, all my fears melted away. I leaned in, placing a small kiss on his lips. "Okay, you make a convincing argument."

"What can I say," he shrugged, his classic lopsided grin on his face, "I guess you gave me your way with words."

I laughed and pushed him away with a light shove, "Well then I guess you gave me your appetite, because I'm starving right now."

Sora grinned and looked towards the sky, noting its darkening color. Sunset was approaching, and I couldn't help but wonder when we'd be back in our own world for some dinner.

"C'mon, maybe Rabbit will give you some carrots when we finish Eeyore's new house."

KH

By the time we reached the clearing where Eeyore's old house had been, the stars in the sky were beginning to show their faces. Everyone was already back, including two more new faces. Kanga and her son Roo, two stuffed kangaroos, gathered by Tigger to help fix Eeyore's house. As we approached, Kairi arched her brow at our hands laced together, and I gave her a look to say I'd explain later. Kairi grinned slyly but turned back to the house, knowing she'd get the information sooner or later.

Once Eeyore's small house was completed, night had fully overtaken the woods. The birds had quieted, and in their place were a myriad of crickets and other bugs calling out to each other from the dark.

Kanga leaned forward and placed a knitted bow on the top of the house, hanging it from a protruding branch. This version seemed much more stable, and even had leaves and other materials draped overhead for insulation. Building that raft certainly taught us a thing or two.

Eeyore walked in and out, around the back, and finally reappeared with what looked like a smile on his face. "It's not much. But it's home."

As we all stood back and admired our handiwork, Pooh looked around with a sudden realization. "Why, it seems all my friends are together again!"

"It's funny, but it felt like we were never even really apart," Rabbit said, scratching at his face. "When you showed up at my house, it just felt like every other day."

"M-Maybe, b-but I was a-awfully scared all by myself," Piglet chimed in.

"Aw, Pigglelet," Tigger bounced over, giving the small Piglet an overly zealous head pat, "You gotta be brave like a Tigger!"

"Y-You weren't scared of being by yourself at all?" Piglet asked, disbelief tinging his question.

Tigger almost bowled over from laughter. "O' course not! Did you forget the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is that I'm the only one? I'm never lonely as long as I got myself!" After saying this, however, his tail drooped, and he looked about the group with a sheepish grin. "But I admit, having friends is awfully fun too!"

At this, I exchanged smiles with Sora and Kairi. I couldn't even imagine life without them. My friends were everything to me, and I certainly would be lost beyond belief without them.

A tugging at my shirt brought my attention away from them and towards Pooh, who looked up at me and Sora with a hopeful expression. "Will you three be living in the Hundred Acre Woods now?"

"I'm afraid not," I said with a slight frown. "We've got a home to get back to."

"Oh…" Pooh looked dejected, but he quickly perked up. "Well, can you at least watch the stars with us before you go?"

"Of course!" Sora answered before I had a chance. Not that I would have refused though, we didn't even know how to get back anyways.

"The hill is just this way, beyond the bridge where we play Pooh sticks," Pooh said, taking the lead with a group of friends following behind him.

Despite it being night, the moon shone brightly, and fireflies flitted about, acting as our flickering guides through the forest. Everything was covered with some sort of light, allowing us to find our way quite easily. Normally I felt a twinge of unease at night, but as with everything else in this world, I was completely at peace. I couldn't think of the last time my shoulders weren't tightened with stress and the anticipation of a battle.

Eventually we reached the stargazing destination; a large hill that overlooked a small flowing river. A tree with spiraling branches acted as our shelter as we all laid in the grass and cast our gaze to the sky above. The beauty of this world wasn't just constrained to the ground it seemed, as the sky was absolutely filled with stars of all shapes and colors.

It wasn't too long before a familiar whisper of "Think, think, think…" broke the silence. I propped myself on my elbows, looking towards Pooh, who was now sitting up and patting his head in thought.

"What're you thinking about now, Pooh?" I called out.

He blinked and looked towards me, as if he didn't know he was talking out loud. "Oh, well, I'm just thinking about what to think about."

I heard Sora struggle to hold back a snort of laughter at this answer, while Kairi couldn't contain her giggles. The rest of Pooh's friends simply nodded, as if this was a reasonable response.

"Well…if you need something to think about…have you ever tried to find constellations?" I offered, gesturing for him to lay back down on the grass. I then pointed upwards, tracing my fingers through the stars. "You make shapes with the stars, see?"

"Hm…oh, why I think I see a pot of honey up there," Pooh said, pointing to a grouping of stars that looked nothing of the sort to me.

"Hey, lemme try!" Tigger cried, jumping over and almost sending me rolling down the hill. "There! There! I see a Tigger! Hoo hoo, a Tigger that bounced all the way up into the sky!"

As all of the animals became preoccupied with making shapes in the sky, I laid back down with Sora and Kairi.

"Nice job," Kairi said, nudging me as I settled back down into place.

"Well when you learn to keep Sora busy, a bunch of stuffed animals are no problem," I said with a grin. Sora said nothing, his eyes closed and his smile peaceful, but I felt a small pinch on my arm in response.

As the murmurs of Pooh and his friends blended with the soothing sounds of the forest, eventually I couldn't keep my eyes open. With my last waking action, I searched for my friends' hands. Sora immediately grasped onto me, as if he were waiting for this, and Kairi soon answered my call with a small puff of laughter. It felt as if everything was right in the world.

KH

I let out a yawn and a long stretch, relishing in my joints popping and the peaceful aura that washed over me. Even as I opened my eyes and saw the stained glass beneath my feet, my heart continued to beat at a steady pace. However, upon further examination, I realized this was my first view of my Station of Awakening since the dive took place. I walked along its surface, noting its changes with my mouth parted in surprise.

Where once there was only my image framing the outside of the circle, Sora's sleeping form now mirrored me to take up the other side. Starting from my side, the background of a golden castle merged with Destiny Islands, originating from Sora's side. Just as the lights did in the dive, they merged to create a beautiful sunset. Silhouettes of our friends framed the outside alongside the image of a bright blue heart—the symbol of Kingdom Hearts.

And, as the saying goes, speak of the devil and they appear.

"You seem much better." Kingdom Hearts approached me, their ever-shifting form looking as if they were going to reach for me before they thought better of the idea. "I am…relieved."

I hesitated at their tone, not used to uncertainty tinging their words. "You…you sound like you didn't expect me to be better."

They only stared at me, only furthering my feelings of confusion and worry.

"Perhaps…I wasn't." They sighed, and the sound was like wind blowing through the trees. "You must understand, Akira, this is not an easy thing for me to say."

Hearing my own name muttered by Kingdom Hearts for the first time struck me hard. I backed down, realizing at once the importance of the words about to be uttered.

"I can see the possible outcomes for future events, and I have been looking into yours every moment I can, hoping to guide you. But every time I saw what you would come to do at Hollow Bastion, I saw only failure. You, the Keybearer, or both, ultimately could not stand the strain on your hearts. You never once made it. And yet…here you are."

I didn't respond, or more accurately, I couldn't respond. There was a heavy lump in my throat at what was just revealed. "What do you mean? There wasn't a single time we both lived?"

"None."

"But…But we did."

Kingdom Hearts looked past me, seemingly staring into nothing. "I know. You have done the impossible. I…I still do not understand. It is very…humbling."

"It's not the first time something like this has happened."

The voice from behind startled me, making me jump slightly. Patientia emerged from seemingly nowhere, walking to my side. I could see a slight smile on her face as she said, "Surprising Kingdom Hearts. Yet another thing we have in common, Akira."

I looked between her and Kingdom Hearts, concern creasing my brow. The last time they had been in the same space, it hadn't gone well. It seemed Patientia could sense my concern, as she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. I was invited this time."

My worry may have quelled, but this only served to make my curiosity grow beyond belief. The question I asked the first time we met once again rose to my lips. "Who are you?"

Patientia's smile widened. "One step at a time, Akira. You've already got a lot to manage right now, so how about we focus on the Heart Tie first?" She gestured with her head towards the image of Sora within the glass.

I frowned at the continuation of unanswered questions, but the more pressing issue of how to cope with being Heart Ties was more important than me nagging Patientia for the truth of her identity. For the moment, at least.

"The side effects you experienced were severe at first, but have lessened throughout the day, correct?" Patientia asked, placing a thumb on my chin and tilting my head this way and that.

"Yeah," I said through slightly squished cheeks as she pulled me closer to examine my eyes. I had enough of that though and pulled away, shaking my head to get her to let go. "At first when we touched, I would see his memories and felt everything at once—it was so overwhelming. But that stopped, and it only happened again when I started crying."

"A typical reaction," Kingdom Hearts said, watching intently from a distance.

"Yes. When you become a Heart Tie, you quite literally give up a piece of your heart to your other," Patientia explained, "This new piece must settle, and the first 24 hours are often filled with a lot of turmoil as you relive important memories through the eyes of your Heart Tie."

"This wasn't really our first 24 hours of being Heart Ties though," I pointed out.

"No, you were on the tail end of the settling when you awoke," Patientia nodded. "Be thankful for that."

"However, you still suffered this through your tumultuous dreams. It was quite a struggle to break through to you."

Even though I couldn't remember exact details from my dreams, I still shivered recalling how exhausting and confusing it was to relive all those memories as someone else; lost within the storm of someone else's heart. But then…if I was reliving Sora's memories…why did some of them appear to belong to Patientia? I gave a sidelong glance to her, one that was not missed by either her or Kingdom Hearts.

"She is closer to both you and the Keybearer than you realize," Kingdom Hearts stated, answering my unspoken question. Patientia only broadened her smile at this statement.

"Would you like a hint?" Patientia giggled, twirling about in her shimmering silver and gold robes. My frown only deepened, I didn't understand what she was trying to prove at all.

"Focus. Our time is limited," Kingdom Hearts chided, annoyance briefly clouding the air. "Don't make me regret allowing you here."

"You both need to practice patience," Patientia said, finishing her twirl. She seemed quite unbothered by Kingdom Hearts' threat. "But very well. After this initial settling, only strong emotions will cross over to your Heart Tie. You won't have to worry about being constantly worn down by emotions and memories that are not your own."

"That's a relief," I sighed. I didn't want to have to experience that every time I went to hug Sora.

"But it is not all about sharing emotions," Kingdom Heart strode up to me and gestured to the stained glass beneath our feet. "Heart Ties are connected far deeper than any bond forged between two hearts. His strength is yours, just as yours is his. You will never truly be alone, as his presence will always be felt, even if you are worlds apart. This bond was originally forged in the promise of defending the world against those who wish to do it harm. And it is up to you to fulfill this promise."

I looked towards Kingdom Hearts with a furrowed brow. This was a complete turn around of telling me forging a Heart Tie would only end up in destruction.

"As I said before, seeing you succeed when there was only failure in my vision humbled me," Kingdom Hearts explained. "And even if I did not believe creating a Heart Tie was the best for you, it happened, and there is no going back. So, we can only prepare you for the future."

"It is a lot to shoulder, but I have only the highest of hopes for you, Akira," Patientia said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I know you can do it."

I looked between both Kingdom Hearts' formless face and Patientia's golden unicorn mask—both trained on me in an intense manner that showed their dedication to their beliefs. It felt somewhat…parental. In stark contrast to the last time Patientia and Kingdom Hearts were together, the air felt harmonious, friendly even. Apparently, something happened between them in the time I was asleep that made them put their differences aside for my sake.

"After this…when we go to Hollow Bastion to seal the Keyhole, how can we possibly hope to defeat Ansem?" I said, backing away from their firm confidence in my abilities. "We don't even know where he is, and he's got the power of every Heartless ever on his side!"

"Oh, Akira," Patientia sighed as she smiled sadly, "Ansem may be strong, but there is something you have that he can never possess. Love. This power is not to be underestimated."

The air suddenly started to shimmer, fading in detail like a painting melting in the rain. Time was up. "B-But—how do I find him? How do we know I can seal the Keyhole?"

Instead of answering, the two spoke in unison.

"Your heart will be your guiding key."

KH

Leon looked upon the three sleeping kids with his mouth parted in surprise. Shaking his head, he turned to the wizard who was perusing a book and humming happily. "How'd you manage a feat like that?"

Merlin merely laughed at this question. "They did this to themselves, the poor lads. Those two still weren't recovered, and the Princess, well she's hardly slept at all these past three days. Nighty vigils do take their toll."

Leon didn't respond. It's not that he had a reason to distrust Merlin's answer, he just knew there had to be more to it than that. However, you learn not to question miracles. He walked closer to the trio, feeling the corner of his lip twitch up in a faint smile. Sora was in the middle, his head slumped over his chest. Akira's head was in his lap while Kairi rested on his shoulder. They were fast asleep, and Leon noted an occasional murmur that sounded like laughter coming from them. Good dreams? One could only hope so, with all they've been through.

He then looked to the table in front of the couch, on which the papers they'd been studying had been carelessly shuffled aside. A large children's book now took their place, and its cover made him do a double take. Small animals were holding hands with three kids that bore an uncanny resemblance to those currently sleeping on the couch beside him. He gazed at it a moment longer before sighing and stepping away. Too many things on his mind to worry about a strange coincidence like that.

A chapter chock-full of fluff to tide you over! I hope you all enjoyed, because that will be some of the last happy moments these kids spend all together as the end of the game quickly approaches. You'll have to stay tuned to find out more!

For Akira's Station of Awakening, think of Ven's heart during his battle with Vanitas. Maybe I'll draw it eventually, but that's a lotta detail to capture, so it's still a hard maybe.

Do you have an idea of who Patientia and how she's connected to both Sora and Akira? I'd love to hear your guesses!

Onto the reviews for now. There's a lot to catch up on, haha…

NuncaNiem: Ah, Nunca! Welcome back! I bet you didn't expect my chapter to come out a day after you left your review huh? I was actually finishing up writing it when your review came in, and it totally made my day and reminded me that no matter how long it takes to complete, my story will have faithful fans like you to keep it alive!

And you're correct, what comes now is totally different from canon. In fact, thinking far ahead into the future, my KH3 will be much different from the game and ending you all experienced. KH3 will be the last entry in this series, so there's going to be no cliffhanger to leave you on. But that's a long time from now, so let's focus on the present!

And oh boy you're so right about their emotional sharing being hell, especially in life-threatening situations ;)

I'm sorry I left you hanging for so long, but I hope this chapter makes up for that!

Idez15: Well it wasn't up soon, but it's up now haha! Thanks for leaving a review!

katiecrutcher: Don't worry, no matter how long it takes I will finish this story, and the rest of Akira's series too! Thanks for the review, hope you enjoy!

AnimeQueen82: You guessed correctly! That was Roxas and Namine's first moments being alive. Hope you were still ready for this chapter and enjoyed reading it!

All the Guests: Thank you for reviewing and asking for more of the story! It really does remind me that I need to get working, and it keeps the story ever present in my mind. I hope you all will forgive me and continue to find enjoyment in the series!

ShadowDragon07: Ah! I'm so glad this is something you can revisit and still find enjoyment in! It makes me really happy that all the chapters continue to be up to standard, and it means a lot that you think their friendship and interactions are fleshed out! That's one of my main goals: to make the story more impactful, alongside filling in potholes the game might have left. I hope this chapter is up to your expectations!

Badtzumaru: Thank you for the first-time review! I'm really sorry it took so long for me to update! Hope you enjoyed!

AreaBlue: I'm so humbled and happy this is one of your favorite stories! I work hard to make sure all the elements I add don't overthrow the original story of Kingdom Hearts, so I'm glad to see I accomplished that! Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts!

TheRoseAlchemist17: I'M SO GLAD YOU THINK THESE LAST TWO CHAPTERS ARE GOOD! I personally think these are some of my best writings to date, especially the previous chapter. I hope this one is up to your expectations as well! I'm sorry it took me so long!

(And it's not a problem, like I've said, no matter how short a review is I love and appreciate everything that is said within it!)

Lvl-ZeR0: So, I didn't finish this story before KH3 came out, but I'm still going to finish it! That counts for something, right? Ahaha….

Also, if anyone is telling Riku he's wearing a skirt, I'm afraid that's going to be you!

KittyCatKate: Don't feel bad, because it took me an entire year to release the next chapter…whoops! ALSO I'M SORRY NOT SORRY! When these children suffer and my readers cry, I gain more power…

I hope this story continues to be your guiding light ;)

Oh boy, I think that was everyone! Keep your fingers crossed the next chapter won't take as long to come out ahah…I think I'm officially out of my writing rut though, so I'll keep you posted!