May Hope Guide You Home

A/N: Long author's note ahead.

Hello yes I wanted to write this after I made a million KH references in my last SW fic, A Legacy of Duality. Since the likelyhood of this crossover happening is zero I decided to give a crack at it.

This will generally follow the plotlines of TFA/TLJ but I will be diverging heavily after that because we're gonna pretend TROS was some half-baked gossip that got out of hand in the universe.

Also, this is taking place in my KH Canon-Divergence AU (fic: Lines In-Between) where Kairi doesn't go home to Destiny Islands at the end of KH1. TL;DR summary of changes: Xion is not a puppet in this universe, she's a Princess of Darkness (created from the would-be darkness born in Kairi's heart) and KH3 has Kairi not get fridged. This is post KH3/Re:Mind/Verum Rex/Sora is alive and well.

Minor pairings involve Rikushi and Rokunami in brief. Major pairings involve Sokai and Reylo in equal amounts.

I will try to keep most of the movie-plot stuff brief and short since this is not the novelization but I will sneak some scenes in here and there... ;D

With all that said and done, I hope you like this very experimental fic.

Chapter 1: In Which Kairi Doesn't Like Sand

"How hard could it be searching out here off maps?" Sora spoke with a cheeky grin towards his friends. "It's not like we're a small unit or anything." His eyes flitted from Kairi, his girlfriend and Princess of Heart, to his best friend Riku, Keyblade Master. Then he glanced at Axel—originally named Lea but now going by the name everyone knew him by first. To Xion, the Princess of Darkness and Kairi's opposite in every way. And finally, Roxas, the anomaly among keyblade wielders everywhere.

Riku rolled his eyes. "We're still going into uncharted territory."

"And that Riku," Sora relaxed in the captain's seat. "Will make this more interesting."

Axel scratched his neck. "Do we even have any clues about this part of the lanes-between? Not even like, some sort of map left behind or are we really going into uncharted territory here?"

Xion shrugged. "Nope. Nothing in the old Recusant Castle's library except the name scribbled on the edge of a map: Galaxy of Stars."

Axel scoffed. "That's so helpful and not vague at all."

Roxas stared out the window in contemplation. "There's been nothing but stars so far so the name is at least partially accurate."

Sora sighed. "Guys where is your sense of adventure? We'll find something soon, I know it."

"I for one," Kairi finally spoke after some time to examine the maps in front of them on the projected screen of the window of the ship. "Believe this place is something magical. I can feel it."

Oh, Kairi could feel it alright. Light and darkness were dancing around each other in a chaotic mess. Shaking, storming, like it was desperately trying to find balance but keeps being torn apart. It was… terrifying to say the least. Kairi tried not to think about it much ever since they journeyed deeper and deeper into this galaxy, far from the other worlds she had come to know as a source of comfort. Radiant Garden, Twilight Town, Disney Islands...

Ever since this search for King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy started since Sora came back, Kairi yearned for the warm sandy beaches of home. She missed sitting on the paopu tree with just Riku and Sora and watching the sunset. Some nights she would go to bed a little irritated and resigned—towards the situation, the cause of the situation, she didn't know. But she had Sora and Riku with her this time. They didn't leave her behind.

Kairi refused to be left behind ever again.

She snuck a glance at Xion. Xion, born from the supposed darkness that in theory should have gone to Kairi's heart, most likely shared Kairi's unease. The chaotic pull of light and darkness tugged at her own heart.

Xion nodded back at her, somehow understanding.

"This place gives me weird vibes," Riku said. "Like something is off."

"Hmm?" Sora perked up from staring mindlessly at the maps. Kairi knew Sora trusted Riku's instincts perhaps more than his own. "What makes you say that?"

"Uh, guys?" Roxas was halfway out of his chair and pressed against the window. "Is that a planet?"

Xion and Axel joined him in observation. Outside was a rather dry and barren looking planet very close to them. "Whoa, it is," Axel said. "It's huge. We finally found something in this endless star place."

Riku nearly jumped out of his skin at something else. "Holy—"

A ship, bigger than anything they had witnessed so far on their current journey—not the previous ones—was black and sleek in design and heading right for their tiny ship.

And there were even more ships.

"Sora?" Kairi gripped her seat in fear. "Might wanna uh; get away from that big ominous ship."

Sora reached for the controls. "Right!" He tugged the gummi ship forward and began moving as far away from the scary ship as possible.

The entire small ship shook. The systems and alarms screamed over the surprised yelps and gasps from the gang.

"Sora!" Roxas exclaimed from his seat. "Please tell me that was only your driving skills."

Sora panicked as he tried to stabilize the ship but gravity had other ideas. "I drive perfectly fine!"

"Sora," Kairi clung to the armrest of her seat. "I love you but you nearly crashed us into Hollow Bastion upon first visit."

"That was one time and it was Donald's fault!"

"What even hit us?!" Axel questioned, trying to keep himself steady in his seat. "I don't want to die like this!"

Riku latched onto his seat belt and reached forward to see on the systems that their engine was shot. "Uh oh. No engine on our left."

"Yep," Xion deadpanned. "We're dead. It was nice knowing you guys."

Rey's day started about as normal as one could expect, the only difference was she had a BB unit with her as the only company she ever really had for the last 15 years of her life.

Once upon a time, she had some sort of warmth with her, carrying her through some of her early years of being a scavenger. It was a reassuring one in her soul, a hope of finding her family one day. Then, it went cold. Very cold. She was 13 at the time and never felt a chill so deep in the midst of a hot desert afternoon.

Now, Rey was 19 and still felt cold. But this little BB unit following her into Niima Outpost was a small comfort. She stood in line for the day's rations from her small haul. She had found several pieces of equipment from a Star Destroyer that was sure to feed her for the next three days.

"These five pieces are worth… One-half portion," Unkar Plutt said with his usual gruff and sneer. Rey's lips fell into a tight line.

"Last week they were a half-portion each," she protested. Her luck never fared well.

"What about the droid?"

Rey looked down at the BB unit—named BB-8—a sudden dread twisting in her gut. "What about him?"

"I'll pay for him." Plutt shoved a pile of condensed portions over the counter. "60 portions."

Rey reached out with her hands in wide-eyed awe. It would be enough to feed her for months and accumulate even more. She wouldn't have to fear starvation for a while.

She looked back at BB-8, her heart sinking. BB-8 was the only company she had in her life and so far it was nice to have someone to talk today in and day out. She simply couldn't trade him away like this, even if it meant surrendering a full belly and security. "Actually," Rey said with slow caution. "The droid is not for sale." She grabbed the single half portion and left. "Come along," she said to BB-8.

Rey's day got odder as she walked around the expanse of Niima outpost, searching for possibly BB-8's owner.

What she hadn't anticipated was meeting a man wearing the owner's jacket, but also two teenagers close to her own age wearing odd clothing.

Xion's eyes cracked open amidst the glaring bright lights above. Her head throbbed from dull pain. Her back ached from the hardness of the floor. Pushing herself up, she spotted Riku and Roxas in similar states of disorientation. The next thing she noticed was an array of armed guards in stark white with weapons all pointed at them.

"Don't move," one guard spoke.

Xion remained as still as she could. "Riku, Roxas, wake up."

Riku groaned. "Wha…"

Something made Xion shudder. A darkness she had not experienced in some while since the Keyblade War. It squeezed her insides with fear. But she wasn't going to bow to darkness. She was darkness after all.

Roxas sat up. "Where—who are these guys?"

One of the guards' weapons clicked. "Don't move."

"Sheesh, alright."

The loud thumping of boots pounded in Xion's ears.

A voice in a chilling distortion spoke to the guards in white. "Who are these three?"

"Sir, they were found on their ship which was destroyed by one of our attacks."

"No identification?"

"None, sir. Their ship was unusual and never seen before."

A moment of silence. "Stand them up."

The guards grabbed the three up by their arms. "Hey," Xion tried to swat at them, but she was no match for any of them due to her small size and stature. She looked at Riku and Roxas, the two not fairing much better giving slight relief to her confidence, though Roxas had to be constrained by two guards by both arms.

It was then she saw the source of darkness. A man, tall and in black robes, had his face obscured by a mask and his hood was up. If he didn't have said mask on, Xion would have thought this was one of their common enemies.

He wasn't, but he had darkness singing about him all the same.

"What is going on?" Riku demanded first. "Why are we here?"

"I could ask," the man in black said in his distorted voice, "The same of you. Why are you here?"

The three kept silent. Their mission was critical and so far this guy and his entourage were not very trustworthy.

"Are you Resistance?" the man questioned.

"What Resistance?" Roxas answered. "Look, we were just minding our own business when your ship attacked ours and now we're here."

Xion's eyes flitted around the area. There were ships everywhere. They could have a chance at escaping if they found the perfect opportunity. The one thing was this man was obviously large and in charge and there was no hint of a weapon on him. Not yet at least.

"No one just minds their own business," the man said as he reached for something on his belt. It looked like half a sword with only the hilt and a crossguard.

And something flicked on and Xion felt her whole world crash in on itself. Flashes of golden-orange eyes and the menacing red glow made her dizzy.

The man in black's sword was a beam of red that crackled with raw energy as if it was going to explode. "I suggest you start talking," he said.

Roxas yanked at his own guards. "Like we will…"

"Roxas…" Xion warned, still trying to recover her senses.

Riku cleared his throat, eying the red blade with caution. "We're searching for a guy."

Keep it vague. Keep it vague.

There was a slight tilt of the man's head. "Elaborate?"

"He's a threat to us. He likes to meddle in affairs," Riku said. "He wears a black coat…"

Too vague. That could refer to half of the people they run into. Xion really wished she could face-palm right now.

"You're hiding something," the man said. "And I intend to find out."

Riku's posture became rigid as the man in black raised his hand up. "What the…" Riku gritted out in a strained voice.

Xion's eyes widened. "No!" Her hand clenched and she channeled her heart out, blasting back the guards around her with a surge of darkness, freeing Roxas and Riku. With a flick of her wrist, her keyblade was in hand, pointed right at the man in black. "Let. Him. Go."

Roxas and Riku gaped in horror at what she had done, but it was too late now.

"Keyblade wielders…" the man spoke as if he was fascinated more than intimidated. "Take them to a cell and do not leave them alone for a second. They can and will flee."

"I don't think so," Roxas said, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his hands.

Riku had Braveheart in his grip. "Gonna have to fight us first!"

The moment was still. Then the man gave his retort. "Of course."

Xion couldn't remember much except she let out a scream as she was sent flying across the floor, landing flat on her back. She ached as she tried to maintain her grip on her keyblade, the sounds of metal clashing against volatile energy shook her pounding ears.

Kairi loved to lie in the sand on Destiny Islands. She loved the sun soaking through her clothes and the heat and cushion of the soft sand around her body. Perfect for taking a nap.

This place, however, she was anything but thrilled to be stuck in. The sand was rough, coarse, and everywhere in her clothes and hair.

She nudged Sora, looking around in the endless sand dunes for signs of anything else, and to find nothing. "Sora? Sora wake up."

Sora groaned, eyes sliding open as he turned over to look into her eyes. "Kairi?"

She breathed with relief. "You're okay. I don't see Axel or anyone else anywhere."

Sora sat up and shook the sand from his hair. "Uh oh. Where are we? We gotta find them."

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. Plus I don't think we're going to be finding a beach around here."

The two teenagers got up and summoned Kingdom Key and Destiny's Embrace, transforming them into gliders to make it easier to traverse the desert. As they flew over the dunes of sand in search of civilization and a sign of any of their friends, Kairi glanced over at Sora, focused and determined.

It reminded Kairi of her adventures with Sora over a year ago. They were stranded much like this, together. It took both their wits and reconciliation to conjure these gliders up and get back to their friends over a vast ocean. Once they found the Master of Masters, perhaps Kairi would ask Sora to go on a new journey with her, when it wasn't so dire and they could relax. Maybe even properly celebrate their 17th birthdays together.

Kairi would never forget Sora's birthday. He turned 17 last week and he didn't say a single word about it; he was far too concerned with the Master of Masters and keeping the gang together.

She understood the strain this all had on their friendships. Some days she caught Roxas staring at his gummi-phone in longing for Naminé. Axel would mumble a comment or two about Saïx—Isa. And of course, Xion would tug at her necklace, an x-shaped symbol of her old home and her friends, fellow Princesses of Darkness who disappeared after the Keyblade War and Xehanort's demise. The burdens of being away from home were not easy to carry.

"Kairi, is that a town I see?" Sora pointed his finger to something in the distance.

She squinted. "Yeah, I see something. Maybe we can ask for directions."

Sora saluted her. "Race you there!" He increased the speed of his glider, zooming ahead.

"Sora! That's cheating!" Kairi yelled out while trying to contain her giggles.

The place they came upon—Kairi won the race as per usual—was an outpost of sorts. People in rags and masks walked about. Some of them glanced at the pair in disgust or curiosity. Sora made no hesitation to take Kairi's hand into his own.

"This place feels off, doesn't it?" Sora commented. "But different."

He stopped walking, forcing Kairi to halt in her tracks. "Sora?"

He was gawking at a large space-ship parked inside a large closed-off spot of sand. "Whoa… That looks so cool!"

"Sora, do you even know how to drive that thing?" Kairi teased. "It looks more complicated than just the gummi-ship."

He pouted. "I can certainly try."

She laughed. "We might wanna figure out where we are—" she was cut off mid-sentence when she spotted something adorable.

A woman who looked only a couple years older than her was kneeling in the sand. A man in a jacket stood as the woman talked to what appeared to be a little robot that rolled about.

Kairi let go of Sora's hand to go see it up close.

"Wha—Kairi!"

Rey had no idea what to make of the red-head in front of her, asking about BB-8. She had a spring in her step and her eyes were unusual—a color Rey had never seen in her life. And her clothes were a mix of black and pink, a very far cry from the usual matted rags most scavengers and gang members wore.

"He's a BB unit—a droid," Rey explained, standing up. The girl was short, very short in comparison to Rey's own weight and even Finn's.

"I'm Kairi," the girl said. "What's your name?"

There was something about her that Rey couldn't put her finger on. "I'm Rey." She gestured to the droid. "This is BB-8."

Finn nodded. "I'm Finn. Nice to meet you but we gotta go."

"Oh, where are we?" Kairi asked.

"This is Niima Outpost on Jakku," Rey answered.

Another teenager, a boy in black and red—and what is up with his hair—ran over. "Hi," he gasped out. "I'm Sora."

"Sora, this is Rey, Finn, and BB-8." Kairi looked to Finn. "Why do you have to go?"

"Because the First Order—"

The roar of something coming at high speed was all they needed to know.