A/N: I can't offer a good excuse for this being so late. And while it's far from perfect, I owe it to you guys for sticking with it. So regardless, please enjoy the conclusion. Thank you for reading. -Addictive Personality

Simple Movements

Chapter 20

[ ]Blank

"…there was nothing there."

The blue flowers for all he knew had a fragrance unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. But all Riku could smell was the sickeningly sweet scent of tea. He was kneeling on the grassy ground with Sora passed out in his lap and an aching arm extended outwards. Within his hand, the tiny wingless Tinker Bell was squirming to undue his grip, but he was fiercely holding on. Riku would not give her the slightest chance to move as he stared down the young girl glaring at him with an expression a child shouldn't be capable of making. Rinoa bit down on her lower lip.

"I won't be made to repeat myself."

"Well sucks for you, because I'm not going to hand her over."

Rinoa waved a small, delicate hand. A newly created marble chair appeared behind her and allowed for her to sit. She gave a little huff, her shoulders arching upwards a tiny fraction. "Very well, why don't you have a seat? I don't want the tea to go to waste."

He watched as she grabbed a pearly white tea kettle and poured out a thick brew for those already seated. Zack remained with his head down, unmoving and appearing lifeless. Godmother wasn't doing any better. Her face was pale, hair disheveled and falling from out of her periwinkle hood. She managed to bring her eyes to the pair a few yards away from her, the smallest of lights within them threatening to burn out. Riku inhaled nervously. He may have been able to talk back with what seemed like courage, but the reality was his insides were a twisted mess.

"You can hold onto him if you'd like, but please sit down."

She snapped her fingers and yet another chair bloomed from thin air. It was becoming quite the tea party and everyone invited was a very special guest. Rinoa motioned for Riku and slowly, ever so slowly and carefully, got to his feet. With a few odd movements he managed to secure Sora against his chest as he stepped forward. He could feel his slow, warm breath permeating through the material of his shirt. Looking down at him there was nothing but a serene nature to Sora's sleeping form. It didn't match the intensity of the atmosphere that hung over them.

Riku settled down in the seat created for him and rested Sora over his lap as if he was an infant. The hand holding onto Tinker Bell was beginning to grow numb and her constant moving around was becoming annoying. She was clearly pissed off and yelling at him with angry eyes, but silent words were the only thing that met him. For whatever reason, the once sweet and yet at the same time, teasing voice he had heard in his dream did not exist. Tinker Bell was nothing more than a flailing doll. Rinoa chuckled.

"To think such a tiny thing is what powers the wishing system," she said piling mounds of sugar into her cup. "It's almost embarrassing to think that the world as we know it could have ceased to exist had it not been for her."

She took a sloshy sip of her tea, the excess sugar coating Rinoa's lips like tiny icicles. Riku felt the revulsion rise in his throat. He didn't speak, but found his attention drifting to the other inhabitants of the party. The familiar sight of Godmother, albeit looking tired, tugged at the small glimmer of hope that still flickered in his chest. Zack, on the other hand, someone that Riku had never met, could only offer silence.

"My, how rude of me, how can I expect you to enjoy your tea if you can't even use a free hand?"

Rinoa once again waved her fingers and a brassy four sided candle holder materialized. It flew over to Riku's side of the table and met the surface with a soft clink. Its purpose was obvious and he studied the candle holder suspiciously for a moment.

"Do not worry, Riku. I promise I won't try anything."

Her promises held no weight, but the growing pain in his hand was not easy to dismiss. Riku remembered quickly that even if something were to happen, Tinker Bell did not have her wings. She wasn't complete, and there was no telling what would happen if Rinoa decided to lie through her teeth and snatch her up. The system was like a recipe. One missing ingredient and it wouldn't turn out correctly. So taking his chances, Riku opened the brass holder and immediately threw Tinker Bell inside. Before she had a moment to lash out, Riku slammed the small door closed.

"Now, where shall we start?" Rinoa provided a sweet smile. "Tell me about how you acquired those wings."

Riku inhaled. "Is there a point?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sora was surprised when we walked out of the chamber to see us here. We were supposed to be on our way to Destiny Islands. But we showed up here. You must have known what was going on already. So, if you knew that, then you must know everything."

"You give me too much credit, Riku. As flattered as I am, what you say isn't entirely true."

She held a hand under her chin, resting her arm on the surface of the table. "The only reason we were able to pinpoint your location was because of a strange occurrence. The world's wishes are monitored, so when a wish is made, we are aware of it. But here's the strange part. How is it that a wish already made can suddenly come back to life?"

Riku swallowed. "..I don't know."

"You sure?" She replied with coyness. "It wouldn't have anything to do with those wings? You see, because of our network we were able to determine that a young woman named Pocahontas had used her wish. But only moments later, her wish was active again. We have never come across such a thing."

She was toying with him to a degree. Rinoa appeared to have nearly all the pieces to the puzzle already in place. She knew that Pocahontas had used her wish only for it to have its breath returned. But Riku held onto the most important piece to that puzzle. And that was what Rinoa was nearly salivating over. Riku still had a trump card in all of this.

"Godmother."

The elderly woman was addressed by Rinoa. "Care to share your theories?"

Godmother's disheveled state was one that Riku couldn't entirely wrap his head around. He had only known her for a short time, but in that period she showed a sense of spirit and power unlike anything he'd ever witness in a person. To see her so defeated was only adding to a growing concern writhing in his belly. Riku looked to her and offered the smallest of smiles he could muster. She returned the gesture.

"I can't possibly think of a time this has occurred," Godmother said, finally expressing any form of words, "but I firmly believe it was meant to happen."

"Very true, Godmother."

Rinoa took a hold of the teapot and poured herself another cup. "How about you, Zack?"

The silent man and his stony expression barely reacted to her question. Rinoa licked the spoon with which she heaped sugar into her cup before grabbing one of the many blue roses that littered the floor. She raised it to her nose, took a whiff, and plucked the petals from it. With a carefully calculated breath she blew them from her hand with a steady stream. They flew and fell, scattering across the table in a random pattern. It was here that Zack's once lifeless eyes began to show a glint. They zeroed in on the petals, a sudden hitch of breath caught in his throat.

"It happened one time."

It was like a piece of fragile glass breaking into a thousand pieces. Zack craned his neck towards Riku, a look that the silver haired man couldn't begin to trace digging into him. He gazed at the slumbering Sora carefully cradled in his arms and turned his attention to Rinoa. "Please wake him up."

Rinoa's expression gave way to amusement. "My, my, what ever for?"

"He needs to hear this. It'll answer your question as well. Isn't that what you want?"

She pursed her lips and let out a small huff. "Very well."

With a wave of her hand, Sora's eyelids began to flutter. Riku couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face to see that Sora was okay. It brought him back to the moment he had used his first wish to wake him up from his coma. They were in that small white room, decorated with wires and monitors showing Sora's vital signs. It was their own private little world. Sora blinked a few times to adjust before he settled on Riku's face. The soft expression at seeing him quickly changed when the realization of where he was became apparent again.

"Welcome back."

A pain began to throb on the back of his neck as he attempted to raise himself from Riku's lap.

"What is this?"

Rinoa hunched her shoulders. "Haven't you ever seen a tea party before?"

Still clutched in Riku's arm, Sora now sat on his lap and looked around. Zack locked eyes with him. It was the first time they had seen each other since that fated night. The expression within them didn't speak of anger, but of relief. Sora swallowed feeling the sensation of Zack's kind eyes. This was the man he had sealed away in Anima's Chamber. This was the man that had taken him away from everything he knew. He selfishly forced Sora into something he didn't want. Sora hated him. He hated him for reasons he couldn't put into words. Then he remembered:

"Think about it Sora. It wasn't so much that you sealed him inside Anima's Chamber, but that Zack allowed you to do it."

Lilo's voice resonated deep within him. It was something he had never picked up on. But Lilo had no reason to lie. She had caught a glimpse of his memories and saw something in Zack that told her an unbelievable truth: Zack loved Sora more than anything.

"Sora…"

It came from Zack's end. He lifted his body until his back was resting against the marble chair. The dripping blood had suddenly stopped and no more blue flowers bloomed around them. To Rinoa's amazement and slight discomfort, Zack raised a hand to his mouth and wiped away at the crimson remnants. She watched carefully, never underestimating the man she had dethroned. He had been bound by invisible chains, but the simple action of lifting his hand meant he had broken away from them. This was something that caused her alarm. Rinoa cleared her throat. "Well, as you can see, Sora's awake. Care to move on with your story?"

Zack chuckled briefly, the act only adding to Rinoa's sense of irritation. He sighed. "I remember when Godmother and I first found you, Rinoa."

"Wh-what does that have to do with anything?" she spat out taking a stand. "Do not forget your place!"

"A poor little child in the battlefields of two warring countries. There were so many bodies lying there, and one tiny girl cradled in the arms of her dead mother. This was the scene that Godmother and I came to find so many centuries ago."

Rinoa's fingers were clenched so tightly her nails were digging into flesh. But no blood flowed from her wounds. "You are treading on dangerous ground here, Zack."

His demeanor remained unchanged and he continued. "We walked up to the brave mother that had sacrificed herself in order to protect her child. Godmother carefully untangled her from the mother's embrace and lifted the girl into her arms. She wiped away at the blood that spilled from the deep gashes on her face, and fought back tears when she realized she couldn't heal them as they were caused by a curse."

A teacup flew past Zack's cheek and met with the grass covered floor, smashing into jagged pieces. Rinoa's eyes were swollen with hatred, their gaze bringing with it a sudden chill. The beautiful green and assortment of bright colors that made up the garden began to grow dark as ice crippled their lush beauty. They were now sitting in a crystallized cage of ice. Riku backed away in his seat a fraction with Sora held against him, the pair observing with silent breath. Godmother simply remained as she was.

"She told the young girl how special she was. That she could be a part of something so much greater. Godmother soothed her with beautiful words of immortality, a life where she would never feel pain again. She would become a princess that would watch the world and make sure nothing like what had happened to her, would happen again."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Rinoa was floating in midair, her robes of pure white billowing not by wind, but pure magical energy. Zack, hidden by his black spikes looked to her, giving her a pitiful look.

"Godmother noticed it, but I dismissed it for centuries. I never noticed the quiet, sinister smile that played on your lips as you made that wish for eternal life."

The ground shook. The glass overhead shattered, sending dangerous shards exploding everywhere. The tea party was over.

"Godmother! NOW!"

Godmother, with agility beyond her looks, jumped from her seat while pulling something from out of her periwinkle robes. She aimed the thin, white wand skywards and sparkling waves erupted from it. The glass flew away in an array of silver sparkles and eliminated the danger. Godmother immediately circled around to Riku and Sora and looked at them with a stern expression.

"You have something you need to do here. Zack and I will keep Rinoa occupied, so go!"

They were at a loss for words. Sora mouthed off a few incoherent phrases. "How did you-I mean, wha-."

Godmother fished a cigarette out from her robes and cupped a hand to Sora's cheek. "My boy, I don't need to understand what your plan is to know that I trust you completely."

With a swift pat on the shoulder, Godmother turned her attention to the dueling pair behind them. Zack stood a few meters away, his hands producing a gentle yellow barrier in an effort to stifle the domineering energy Rinoa was blasting in their direction. He took a moment to find Sora standing with a look of surprise. With Zack mouthing silent words to Sora that Riku couldn't make out, Sora took a hold of Riku's hand and charged out of the frozen garden.

"Don't forget this!"

Riku swerved back and was met with a hard thud against his chest. Looking down he saw the brass candle holder with a very ticked off Tinker Bell inside. The pair trailed off, a last glance catching Godmother giving them a wink as she lit the cigarette in her mouth with the tip of her wand.

"Where do we go now Sora?"

They were running through the maze like hallways, their footsteps beating heavily against the white pristine floors. Sora's once frazzled expression was one of determination. Their hands were intertwined, fingers laced so tightly their skin no doubt bruising. With each step they took they were descending further into the depths of the building. It was after running for the better part of ten minutes that Riku realized there wasn't a single person coming across their way. They were occupying the headquarters of The Council. There should have been numerous members milling about performing an assortment of duties, but every room and hallway they passed was devoid of life.

"Where is everybody?" Riku voiced with worry, "I'm getting a bad feeling here."

Sora brought a canine down onto his bottom lip. "I'm afraid I know why."

The ground shook ferociously. The hanging lights and ceiling crumbled, sending dangerous debris falling in haphazard patterns over the two. Sora swerved in precise movements, his hand never letting go of Riku's as he maneuvered the silver haired man away from any danger. It was as if they were performing a strategically choreographed dance. Sora threw Riku away from him, only to pull him back and dip him in an arc. He looked up into Sora's eyes, mesmerized by the synchronized energy they were giving off.

"Simple movements," Riku whispered.

A small smile lifted Sora's lips as the earth stopped shaking. "Hearing it from you sounds much more appealing."

Riku gave him a quizzical look. "What?"

Sora shook his head, "It's nothing…nothing important."

Before them, a pair of double doors stood. Under normal circumstances, access to where they now were would have been impossible. Not even a fly would have been able to make it this far. But again, that was under normal circumstances. At the moment, they were far beyond that. Sora knew these double doors and of what was behind them. Inside the candle holder Riku was holding, Tinker Bell's face was one of lust. It clicked in Riku's head. "No way."

Sora nodded as he placed a hand on the plain looking doors. "Yes. The wishing system is inside."

With a gentle push that shouldn't have been capable of moving them, the doors opened for him. Riku's breath ceased. A cavernous room held a single tree. Its twisting trunk and numerous branches were dark, withered and barely holding life. Led by Sora's hand, they entered the wishing system's room. They walked ever so slowly, the tree appearing to grow more and more massive as they inched closer. Riku winced at the stench attacking his nose and gagged down on the sudden need to vomit. It was the smell of death.

"The tree of life the Gods planted on this world, the Wishing System. With every person born, the tree bears fruit, a wish. And once that person lives their life and dies, the wish returns to the soil of this tree to nurture it. With the power of the reincarnation spell, Tinker Bell as its source of "sunlight" it continues to bear fruit. It's one continuous cycle."

Sora stood looking up at the very thing that controlled their lives. It was this rotting tree that brought him and the rare Blank Points pain. For reasons untold, it wouldn't produce fruit for them. They were like starving children on their knees begging to the heavens for food. Yet the heavens saw it that they would never truly go hungry for they would be the only ones capable of immortality. There was no such thing as hunger pains for those that didn't need to eat.

"Sora…"

The hand clutching his squeezed it gently. Bright eyes looked over to the ethereal form of Riku and his transparent wings. There was a soft glow surrounding him, a warmth radiating off of him and melding into Sora's skin. It uplifted and filled him with the power he needed to carry on. Returning to the presence of the tree, Riku uttered something that came to mind.

"The tree looks like its dying. Is there really any point in us doing anything?"

Sora tilted his head upwards, the top of the tree never ending. "Don't let its looks deceive you. Even though I have never seen it in this state, it's very much alive. Remember earlier, how you felt something was off about not running into any Council members?"

Raising a free hand, Sora pointed a finger to the base of the tree. Riku followed with seafoam green eyes and immediately regretted doing so. It was a lake of red. Dark red liquid covered a lagoon-size plot of earth that supported the tree. Riku felt the revulsion in his throat. "Is that…blood?"

"Yes," Sora replied shaking his head and teeth gritted, "it's the collected blood of every Council member in this building."

Riku was horrified and his skin began to prickle with an uncomfortable sensation. "But why?"

"Rinoa…it's all Rinoa. Out of desperation she used the Scriptures to kill her followers and is using their blood, their life as a means of energy. She tried to extend the time the wishing system had in case she couldn't get her hands on the reincarnation spell."

"My god…"

Sora ran his tongue over his drying lips. "There is no end to her cruelty. It's for this very reason that we have to do away with the tree."

Gripping Riku's hand, Sora faced him. "You currently hold Tinker Bell's wings. Somehow, you were able to reverse a wish that should have been snuffed out."

Riku nodded slowly. "I exhaled a breath."

Sora grinned. "It's funny."

"What is?"

The spiky haired teen stepped on the tips of his toes and brought his lips to Riku's. Breathing through Riku's parted lips, Sora exhaled. "That a breath, air, something that gives trees life...will end it."

Kissing him, Sora grabbed Riku by the shoulders and melted into the taller man. But Riku could feel something burning. His back was on fire, a stinging sensation so intense it was threatening to cause a black out. Sora pulled back, a pair of transparent wings growing from his back. Riku didn't have to look back to realize they were gone from his own body.

"Sora?"

"I'm sorry Riku, so sorry for everything that I've put you through."

He left the ground, the wings picking him up into the air. Riku took a step forward, but was blocked by an invisible barrier. He gripped the unnatural wall, his voice silenced as Sora looked down upon him. Riku had tears welling up in his eyes, his mouth wide open and screaming quiet words. Sora only smiled.

"Leave this to me."

Sora flew. His body torpedoed through the air as he attempted to close the distance between him and the tree. But to no surprise of his, the pool of blood at the base began to move. It shot up at him like lances in an attempt to impale him and render him motionless. Sora narrowed his brows and shot through the many openings before him. The tendrils of red were numerous, each one reaching further and further into the endless ceiling as Sora grew closer.

"Sora!"

Riku continued to yell for him, his body held off by the barrier Sora undoubtedly erected through the chanting of a scripture. His already pale fingers were turning an even paler shade of white as they gripped the foreign wall that kept him from advancing.

"Have faith in him."

The voice came from behind him. It was soothing and warm. Godmother in her periwinkle blue robes stood at the entrance to the room. In her arms, she held a bouquet of the same blue flowers he remembered seeing blooming every time blood dripped from Zack's lips. He threw her a few surprised glances before returning to the flight Sora was making. Godmother looked on as she walked up to the slightly shaking Riku.

"Earlier, Zack shared that there had been only one time when Tinker Bell's wings had been acquired by someone else. Such knowledge was something even I was not privy to."

Riku was listening, his heartbeat in his throat. Godmother continued. "When Zack realized that Sora was not going to wish for his immortality and join him as a Council member, it sent him into a panic. Zack had grown to love Sora throughout the many lives he had lived. He couldn't bear to see Sora suffering from a painful disease now as a Blank Point knowing he could be saved. And so, against Sora's will…Zack found the means to override it."

Godmother was standing next to Riku and gently pressed the bouquet of blue flowers against his shoulder. Their scent was beautifully intoxicating, and their petals like silk. Riku broke away from watching Sora's flying figure to see the bouquet. Godmother handed him the flowers, taking Tinker Bell in her brass lamp and allowed him to closely observe them. He cradled the delicate blooms, the intense blue hue forcing a small gasp from his mouth. "My dream…at the top of the stairs…" Recalling his dream, it became clear to him. "In my dream Tinker Bell was inside one of these blue flowers."

She nodded slowly, face calm. "Zack came into this very room, where the wishing system bears fruit in an endless cycle. Using the vast power he had accumulated throughout millennia, Zack removed the reincarnation spell and manipulated it. He forced Sora's immortality to awaken in this manner."

Expressionless, Riku held the flowers up to his face and took a whiff. "So he too sprouted wings."

"And blew a breath," Godmother replied taking out another cigarette and lighting it. The smoke pooled around her, twisting in a way that made it apparent it wasn't ordinary smoke. "The flowers you hold in your hand are a continual reminder to Zack of his grave sin. By committing an unspeakable action, Zack would bleed for eternity. Blue flowers the same color as Sora's eyes."

Riku didn't notice that tears were streaming down his cheeks or how tight his grip was around the stems of the flowers. He suddenly felt a prick of pain and lifted a finger away, revealing a dot of red blood. Godmother showed a sign of surprise and came up to him. "What is this?"

He smiled, taking the wounded finger to his mouth and suckling it. "Thorns."

Zack's flowers were covered in thorns, yet Riku didn't let go of them. As he continued to hold them, their sharp points digging into his hand, Riku looked over his shoulder. "No…I won't let him do this alone."

Riku stood a few feet from the barrier Sora had created. He quickly walked up to it, blood dripping down the length of his arm and finally dropped the flowers. Balling up his punctured hand, Riku slammed it into the invisible wall. All of a sudden, the sound of a million windows shattering filled the air. Sora swerved his eyes, stomach dropping at the sound. It only took that one moment for him to make a mistake. The pool of blood at the base of the tree flew upwards and warped around Sora. A perfect sphere of crimson held him within its depths, the dark liquid seeping into his lungs.

"Agh-!"

He couldn't drown. Sora was very much alive, but the pain was something that immortality couldn't fight against. Sora flailed within the sphere of blood, his lungs burning and mind racing. His lips were still moving, scripture after scripture being chanted, but nothing was working. With his vision waning, Sora stretched his arm out, as if waiting for someone to take his hand. It was in that same moment that he felt a warm embrace.

"Together…"

They shout out from the blood sphere, Riku holding Sora like a fairy tale princess and flying with a pair of beautiful seafoam green wings. Sora coughed violently, the blood once filling his lungs leaving him in droves. He looked up to the silver haired man, his kind gaze settled on him. Sora punched Riku gently against the shoulder, his face resting against Riku's pectoral muscle. "You idiot…that was your last wish."

Riku zeroed in on the tree, the blood sphere now cascading behind them in a torrential downpour. He chuckled happily, as if he didn't have a care in the world. "There isn't a point in keeping it. We're going to destroy the system. Together."

Blood rain fell, each drop like a bullet shot from a high powered rifle. Riku swerved high and low, flapped his angel wings in perfect unison. It was as if he had been flying his entire life. But all Riku could draw from was that single dream, a place where he had been able to sprout wings like the boy he had seen in The Council's office only a few short weeks ago. To think all this could have happened in such a short time. Riku rested the top of his chin on Sora's head, breathing in his scent as Sora closed his eyes.

"Enscribe."

Sora's hand shot forward, his pointer and middle finger held out. A soft, silver glow appeared on the tips of his fingers. With his lips parting, Sora began the creation of a new spell.

"An artificial sun tasked with the nurturing of a broken world."

The transparent wings sprouting from his back began to shine.

"I find the perfection in your design and delicately touch the seams. My skin feels the line work, the textures imprinting a memory into my being."

The wings began to dissolve into white lights. Sora, like a conductor, swirled his fingers in an assortment of movements. With each stroke, foreign lettering began to carve itself into the length of the tree. A piercing, high pitched sound began to resonate. Riku bit down on his lip, the entire time avoiding the onslaught of blood rain. Sora continued, never wavering.

"My touch becomes a jagged piece of glass and severs the threads."

Riku let out a pained hiss when a droplet of blood hit one of his wings and like acid, dug a hole into the feathers. Sweat was forming in the creases of his face and his chest heaving heavily. Sora wrapped his free arm around Riku's neck and rested it there. The three lifeless green orbs that once gave Riku the rare title of Third Point were cold.

"It is white hot, searing and relentless."

Silver gashes tore into the tree at alarming speed. And with every verse that Sora chanted and conducted with his baton-like fingers, the screeching escalated into unbearable levels. With the noise throwing him off balance, Riku began to make more and more unsophisticated moves in the air. Blood paraded his backside and the feathers instantly dissolving. Biting down on the pain, Riku could only will his body to go on.

"The wailing stemming from knowing the end is near begins to ebb into dark silence."

Sweat dripped onto Sora's flushed face from the tip of Riku's chin. It ran its course to Sora's lips, his tongue darting out at the salty essence. "Sora…" Riku shakily let out, "I can't…"

With his hand gripping the back of Riku's neck, three orbs digging into his flesh, Sora's eyes shot open. He brought the silver fingertips to his mouth and kissed them. Sora uttered the final phrase of his newly created magic.

"Simple Movements"

A beam of silver shot from his fingers. It traveled the remaining distance and smashed into the base of the tree. Dark, thick roots erupted in a live frenzy and flew upwards. They wrapped themselves around the trunk and began turning an ash grey. The blood rain stopped suddenly, dropping straight down onto the ground. With the danger no longer looming over them, Riku descended into a sloppy dive. Holding Sora tightly against him, Riku tucked into himself and performed a roll as they impacted the floor. The tattered wings took the brunt of the force and feathers flew everywhere. Having survived the fall, Riku was now hovering over Sora. The brunette lay sprawled against the floor, his back feeling its icy cold. They were both breathing heavily, sweat and heat being exchanged. Looking at one another they couldn't help but smile.

"Did you do it?"

The question was so nonchalant, but Sora didn't care. He had done it. Sora had weaved together his own Scripture, his own form of magic. Taking the reincarnation spell, the wings that once belonged to Tinker Bell, Sora used it as the basis to his Scripture. Throwing his head back, Sora could see the upside down image of the wishing system. All that stood there was grey ash.

"You really did it Sora."

Using an arm to bring himself up, Sora looked straight on at the very thing that caused him so much torment. He doubted himself for a moment, looked at it for several long seconds as he allowed the feeling to sink in. The wishing system was gone.

"No, Riku. We did it."

The way Riku stood reminded Sora of the many religious art works he had seen throughout history. He was an angel bearing bloody wounds and broken wings among the desolate battlefields of warring nations. Except the ones usually depicted in the paintings were overdramatically poised on a boulder or cliff, the sun perfectly chiseling out the muscled lines in their bodies. There was none of that here. But Riku was an angel nonetheless.

"Is this really it?" Riku asked finding it too perfect. "What about Rinoa?"

"Nothing to worry about."

Godmother's footsteps led up to them, an empty brass lantern hanging from one hand. "You have to remember the most crucial thing about Rinoa. She is still a child. And when children are bad, they must be taught a lesson."

"Did Zack…" Sora trailed off, knowing the answer already. "…He sealed her in Anima's Chamber."

"The biggest mistake Rinoa made was bringing Zack out of the chamber. Had she not done that, I can't say this would have been possible at all."

Sora's face softened. Riku could sense that something was different about him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I'm okay…I'm just…it's over."

Godmother let out a hearty laugh, her voice booming in the cavernous room and catching the pair off guard. "It only took a 100 years, but we got there one way or another."

"What about Axel and Kuzco?"

The Council members that sided with Rinoa played no part in the tea party earlier, nor had their presence even been missed. It tugged at the last bit of uncertainty that remained in Sora's chest. But in reality, they posed no threat. With the wishing system now irrevocably out of order, whatever efforts they could make would amount to nothing. Godmother let out a long sigh.

"That I don't know. When I was brought back here from Destiny Islands I could no longer feel their presence. It would seem that they disappeared off somewhere. They were an odd pair anyways."

She shrugged her shoulders and gave it little thought more. "But now, the real work begins."

Riku and Sora gave her a confused look. Godmother clapped a hand to her head and sighed again. "You boys are hopeless. Do I really have to spell it out for you? No more wishing system equals no wishes. What do you think is going to happen the minute the world finds out?"

At the entrance to the room, with his back resting against one of the doors was Zack. Wiping at the remnants of blood from the corner of his lips, he took a step forward and flung his hand out. The blood stained the floor. And this time around, a flower didn't bloom.

"So…looks like that's that."

"Guess so."

"Well, it was fun while it lasted. I didn't think that was going to be the outcome, but I guess it's a lot more interesting when we don't exactly know how things are going to turn out."

"Hmm…"

"You really don't seem to care, do you?"

The man sat atop the spire of a tall, white building. The cold, night air was freezing his breath at such a high altitude, "What do you want me to say?"

"How about, what we're going to tell everyone when we get our asses chewed out? I mean, it was our turn to put on a show, and this…was it."

The tan skinned man sporting black hair heaved a sigh and dropped onto his back facing the dark skies. "Well, it was a pretty good run."

The redhead stuck a blue ice cream bar into his mouth and took a bite. "It'll be someone else's turn to put on a new game. We'll get to watch this time around."

"Where'd you get that?"

Axel pointed the ice cream bar towards Kuzco, offering it to him. Kuzco gave him a disgusted look. "After it's been in your mouth? No thanks."

"Your loss, Quezacotl," Axel spat out.

"Shut up, Ifrit, "Kuzco shot back with a roll of his eyes.

Reverting to their original names, Axel and Kuzco disappeared into the skies, returning to a far off place only known to the gods like themselves.

The waitress at the coffee shop had been standing behind the counter drying the same water glass for the better part of ten minutes. It wasn't so much that the customers she was watching were dressed rather oddly, but that the man in question hadn't taken a single sip from the now lukewarm coffee she had served him. It was bothering her more than it should.

"Hey, everything alright?"

Her attention snapped towards the voice at her side and nearly dropped the very dry glass in her hands. She shook her head, placing the towel she was using down on the counter.

"Nothing, just spacing out."

"Well if you have time to space out, maybe you can give me a hand in the back."

She stuck her tongue out at the shop owner. "I'll be there in a second."

It was slow, dreadfully slow at that. Traverse Town was a bustling place, and more often than not the waitress was running around taking orders and glaring daggers at the clients that left a huge mess on their table for her to clean up. This was what she was used to, and so having a day where the only customer that had come in so far was a strange man accompanied by a little girl and NOT drinking his coffee was really digging into her already perturbed mood.

"What's this guy's problem?" she muttered to herself walking around the counter. The woman was determined to find out.

"Is everything okay with your order?"

Bright blue eyes traveled over the pages of a book and zeroed in on the tanned skinned waitress. She plastered on her typical smile, hands placed in front of her apron in a delicate manner. The man sitting in the corner of the shop returned the gesture with a small grin of his own.

"Everything's fine, thank you," he replied flipping a page in his book.

The woman's kind façade faltered for a moment. "Are you sure? Your coffee is probably cold by now. Can I get you a fresh cup?"

He assured her again, that everything was quite alright. "Don't trouble yourself, I appreciate the thought. But, I think my friend here might want another glass of juice."

She didn't get the answer she wanted, but simply backed away and turned on her heel. "Coming right up."

The man sitting at the table watched her walk away before returning to his book. He was dressed in dark green cargo pants held up by black suspenders, a white fitted button up shirt, and a frilly ruffled collar around the entirety of his neck. He glanced at the surface of his coffee and noticed a ripple softly extending outwards across the dark brew. His face tilted upwards and caught the young girl's eyes across from him. She giggled as she played with the handmade doll sitting on the tabletop.

"It's surreal, isn't it?" the girl spoke. "It's her, but her personality is so different."

The brunette fingered the corner page of his book and finally closed it, finding the ripple in his coffee cup continuing to undulate. "Yeah, it is."

The jingle of a doorbell alerted them, a new customer now walking through the front door. Sora in his crisp white shirt and Lilo holding onto her doll found their eyes becoming glossy. At the door, with buzzed hair except for the top formed into a small faux hawk, Riku stood. He glanced around, saw the pair and offered a tilt of his head in quiet acknowledgement before walking over to the counter and meeting the raven haired waitress. "Hey Pocahontas."

"Hey Riku, gimme a sec, I gotta get this glass of juice to that table over there."

Pocahontas traveled across the floor and settled the glass in front of Lilo. She looked up at Pocahontas and offered her a toothy grin, her gaze falling on the blue and white shell necklace around her neck. "That's a really pretty necklace."

Pocahontas blinked a few times and smiled back. "Thanks, my mother gave it to me for my birthday last week, I'm glad you like it."

She returned to her silver haired friend, the pair diving into a conversation. Sora felt his chest expand, his lips slightly moist. "It's good to see them again."

Lilo tapped the soft front of her doll, a light seeping out from the material. It hovered in front of them before Sora stopped her. With a shake of his head, Sora smiled at her. "No, this is enough for now. We'll see them again next time."

The girl blinked furiously, but nodded. "I guess you're right. The memories of their past selves aren't going anywhere. I'll keep them safe. Always."

Taking Lilo by the hand and leaving a few bills on the table, Sora ventured towards the exit. They walked by, eyeing the two friends at the counter. With Riku's short hair, his neck was now fully exposed. And like things should be, there was nothing there.

Simple Movements