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"I want to be a part of your life no matter what. That's all."

"Let me keep you safe."

"I knew you'd pull through."

Those were the voices that Sora kept on hearing ever since his whole world went black. The voices belonged to a single person, and believe it or not, it was because of it that he was able to retain his consciousness.

Yes, he was supposed to be dead. That's why everything went black, right? It meant that he was succumbing to the darkness. But because of her voice, he was able to pull through and stay alive.

"Kairi... thank you."

"I feel strong with you, Kairi."

"I thought we'd finally be together, but we're not."

The more he thought about Kairi, the more his senses started to come back to him. Memories of the time they spent together, alongside his best friend Mario, began to grow in his mind, which was like a blank slate at the moment. Just by hearing her sweet warm voice, Sora was able to feel at ease.

"Kairi..." he weakly muttered as his consciousness began to return to him. Thinking of those memories was enough for him to open his eyes slowly, just as he remembered what exactly happened before everything went black.

Him, Mario, Kairi and Peach were sitting on the Paopu tree back home at Destiny Islands, succeeding in his mission to bring her back using the Power of Waking after Xehanort struck her and Peach down. Sora felt so happy that she was finally back and he knew Kairi was feeling the same way. The four were holding hands the entire time, and he gripped Kairi even tighter as if he was afraid she would go away again.

When they looked at each other, Sora expressed how happy he was that Kairi was with him again, and then he saw her shedding a tear. Whether it was out of happiness or relief, he would never know.

Because it was at that moment that his whole world went black.

As he kept on thinking about Kairi, Sora felt he was lying on something cold and hard underneath, most likely cement. He was lying on his back and his head was starting to ache from the hardness of the ground beneath him, showing that he was indeed back to the world of the living.

Sora's eyes finally opened and the first thing he saw was the blue sky and the white clouds that flew above. Good thing the sun wasn't directly up there or his striking blue orbs wouldn't like it. The boy stood up carefully and looked at his left hand that was filled with longing, sadness and confusion. He could clearly remember the feeling of Kairi's soft hand intertwined with his, causing him to clench his fist for a bit before lowering it.

"Where am I?" he thought aloud, looking at his surroundings and taking in every detail.

He was standing in the middle of a street with several cars parked all along the sidewalk and various houses everywhere. It kind of reminded him of San Fransokyo for a bit but he noticed that there weren't any tall buildings around nor any highways, meaning he wasn't in a city. Sora also noticed that there weren't any people around, even though the time was most likely in the afternoon right now.

Sora was all alone right now, which bothered him for a bit because he hated the feeling of loneliness. Sure, he could defend himself from danger but being alone was overwhelming. He silently wished that he could find someone around here sooner or later... some company would do him good.

"Wait a minute. I can't freak out right now." The boy took a moment to stop and take a deep breath to calm himself. He wasn't alone, because the bonds he made with his friends are what kept his mind and heart intact even in the face of the most dangerous situations. He had to keep a level head right now, because he was in a place that he had no knowledge of, and panicking would only make his current situation worse.

He walked towards the sidewalk and followed its path, continuing to observe his surroundings. The more he treaded through the pathway, he became more confused with the issue of his whereabouts.

"How did I get here?" he asked to no one in particular, but himself instead. Sora thought hard and looked through his memories for a possible explanation. The last thing he remembered was sitting with Mario, Peach and Kairi on the Paopu tree back home after he and Mario saved the girl's lives with... wait a minute...

"What do you think the Power of Waking is?" came the voice of the young version of Xehanort in his mind. "It's for traversing hearts to reach worlds. Not traversing through worlds to reach hearts."

During that particular moment, Sora only though he was trying to play mind games with him and Mario in order to distract them from bringing back all of their friends, but perhaps there was some truth in Xehanort's words now.

"I told you. There's a high price to pay for all of this."

Even after they rescued all of their friends, they thought that Xehanort was still trying to taunt them and make them feel weak, and so they didn't listen one bit.

"I'll go back to my time, and live out my life. But Sora, Mario, you're done now. Your journeys end here. Goodbye, Sora. Goodbye, Mario. Your time in this world is—"

And that was the last of the Young Xehanort as he vanished with his heart returning to its rightful timeline. During that moment, Sora and Mario wondered what Xehanort was about to say since he was cut off, but now he was starting to understand based on his situation alone.

"Sora, Mario, listen. The power of waking isn't to go chase hearts around! Even if you two do locate Kairi and Peach, you both might never come home to us again!"

This time, it was King Mickey who warned him of the 'price' that comes with the Power of Waking, right before they used that very power one more time to bring Peach and Kairi back. Mickey warned them of the dangers and he sounded serious about it, but everyone else was willing to believe in him, even Riku. They were successful in their goal, but now Sora had a better understanding of why he ended up here in this unknown place.

"So this is the price I have to pay? And I assume that the same went with Mario, wherever he ended up in." Sora stopped walking and looked up at the sky. Something then came to his mind as his eyes widened in alarm. He quickly looked at his hands and began to tap several parts of his body, before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I still have my body... not a ghost or anything." he said to himself, remembering the little skirmish he and Mario had to deal with in the Final World. He didn't really want to chase copies of himself again. Sora's face lit up in embarrassment when he heard his stomach grumble, causing him to cover his abdomen for a bit. "Aw man, it's been a while since I ate something..."

"Okay, I'm feeling hungry and I can feel my heartbeat. I don't think I'm dead since I can walk... but how would I know? There aren't any people around..." the spiky-haired teen said, crossing his arms as he thought of what exactly happened to him. "Hmm, I don't feel any weaker too, just a bit stiff in some places... which a nice long walk could fix. What else..."

A quick idea popped into his mind as Sora raised his right hand and much to his surprise, he was able to summon his keyblade, the Kingdom Key.

"I didn't lose my keyblade at all..." he thought to himself in amazement. "That was it? The price of the power of waking was just ending up in another world?" His weapon that vanished as he reached into his pocket, only for his eyes to widen again when he felt a certain something there.

"Oh my god! I still have it!" he exclaimed with a huge smile on his face, bringing out the Gummiphone that he brought along the whole time during his third adventure. He opened it and saw that Jiminy's journal was still there, along with the pictures he took and the games he collected along the way. "And it didn't lose any of its memories too..."

Another idea came into his mind as he remembered something about his Gummiphone that was useful to him in his third journey. "If I'm just in another world, I could try calling my friends and let them know I'm okay." With this in mind, he tried to contact Mickey, only for a large red 'X' to appear on the screen. "I guess King Mickey's out of the question." Sora sighed but remained optimistic as he tried to call Ienzo instead, but the same 'X' appeared.

"Come on... work already." he groaned, trying the other contacts he had.

Mario - X

Luigi - X

Peach - X

Toad - X

Chip and Dale - X

Riku - X

Kairi - X

Axel - X

Aqua - X

Ventus - X

Sora sighed in defeat as he turned off his phone and tucked it away in his pocket. "Looks like I can't call any of them... I wonder why. This hasn't happened before, has it? Oh man, I suck at this stuff... where's Jiminy when you need him?" His face quickly turned from sad to panicked when he remembered somethimg important as he checked the area around his neck. Much to his great relief, his trademark silver crown necklace was still with him.

"Phew... glad it's still there." Sora wiped his forehead, feeling glad that his favorite accessory was where it always was. He then took a deep breath as he thought about what he found out so far. "Anyway, is that really it? I just ended up in another world, still alive and working? Did the same happen with Mario? Where did he go?"

He then remembered that he was unable to call any of his friends, which hasn't happened before even if he was in another world. "No, I don't think so... something's not right here." There was something off about this new world, and he could feel it just by standing there. Sora had a hunch that there was a reason why he was here, but he had no clue about it. Also, why did he feel like something was following him all along?

"Hey there." A voice spoke from behind him.

"AAHHHH!" the boy screamed, turning around as he jumped back a bit out of fright.

Before him was a man who appeared to be in his late 40's with tanned skin. He was wearing a brown overcoat with a green kimono underneath but his most striking feature was his brown hair that had a blonde twinge. The man looked regretful as he waved his hands in front of him with an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry about that. Did I frighten you?" he asked.

"N-Not really. You just caught me off guard, mister." Sora took a deep breath and calmed himself down, while also feeling relieved at the same time. "Looks like there are people around here... that solves the question of me being dead or not."

"Good. I hate to be the reason you fall asleep again, kid." The man gave a small nod, which caused Sora to frown slightly in confusion.

What did he mean by 'again'?

"Anyway, I saw you walking around here and you seem like you don't know where you're going. Are you somehow lost?"

His confusion was overwhelmed by his curiosity right now, since he really needed to get a grasp on where he was. "Uhm... yeah... can you please tell me where I am, mister?" Sora asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, please don't call me that way. It makes me feel old. The name's Azazel, kid." The man waved him off with a small laugh.

"Oh, hi! I'm Sora Ishida! But just call me 'Sora'." the spiky-haired boy pointed to himself with a grin.

"Sora, huh? That's a nice name." Azazel remarked before shaking his head. "Anyway, to answer your question Sora, you're in the town of Kuoh."

"Kuoh?"

"This whole place is a small town found in the island of Japan, that's pretty much all that you need to know." Azazel hid a smirk to himself when he saw the conflicted look on the teen's face.

"Japan..." Sora whispered slowly, coming to terms with this new information. He was indeed in a new world that he had no idea about but for some reason, it felt as if he was a complete stranger to this place. By now, Sora was used to travelling to different worlds on the Gummi ship so why did it feel like this was the first time he went somewhere else? It was exactly like the time when he first left Destiny Islands during his first adventure.

"You look like you're having trouble accepting the news, Sora. You're not from around here, are you?" Azazel grinned knowingly, causing the spiky brunette to snap out of it and gulp nervously.

"Oh no... uhm... should I tell him? I'm all alone out here without my friends, and Azazel looks like someone I could trust. Wait, even if I do, there's no way he'll believe what I say! Oh yeah, I have to protect this world's order, too..." he sighed in the end, as he could already imagine Donald screaming 'ORDER!' into his ear.

Thinking of a good cover-up, Sora took a deep breath and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I don't exactly live around here. I'm from a land far away from Japan and I'm trying to find my way back! I just came across this place by accident."

"You mean falling from the sky and landing safely on the street is an accident?" Azazel cupped his chin and smirked.

"Yeah... I'm kinda embarrassed about it and I just—" Sora replied with a nervous smile before he realized what the man before him just said. His eyes widened as he looked at Azazel with his mouth agape. "W-What did you just say?"

Azazel began to laugh heartily, amused from the gobsmacked expression on Sora's face. "You look like you have a lot of things you want to say, kid. I won't judge you, and I'm willing to listen." He grinned reaasuringly. "I've had my fair share of crazy stories from time to time, so I'm sure yours isn't anything new."

"I fell out of the sky? I didn't even feel anything after sitting with Mario, Peach and Kairi back home. Azazel must know something about how I got here then... but should I tell him? Would he even believe the stuff about the keyblade, the different worlds, the Princesses of Heart, and everything else? Plus, there's the world's order too..." Sora pondered over the thought for a while, weighing his options as well as the possible consequences. Finally, he sighed in defeat and just shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to spill the secret. After all, I need to know as much as I can about where I am, and I have a bad feeling about this place. Plus, it's not like Donald is here to stop me from ruining the order..."

He looked up at Azazel with nervous eyes, while also looking around if there was another person around. Telling his secret to somebody else was already enough trouble as it is, and he didn't want to spill it to any eavesdropper out there, now that he knew there were people here.

"Uhm... is there a place where we can talk about this? It's not safe if I tell you everything out in the open."

"Sure! Follow me to my apartment and let's talk about it over some tea!" Azazel grinned as he turned around, gesturing for Sora to follow him.

The boy nodded as he followed the older man down the path, not exactly sure where things would lead to now that he chose to go against one of the important rules in being a keyblade wielder.

Description
"I want to be a part of your life no matter what. That's all."

"Let me keep you safe."

"I knew you'd pull through."

Those were the voices that Sora kept on hearing ever since his whole world went black. The voices belonged to a single person, and believe it or not, it was because of it that he was able to retain his consciousness.

Yes, he was supposed to be dead. That's why everything went black, right? It meant that he was succumbing to the darkness. But because of her voice, he was able to pull through and stay alive.

"Kairi... thank you."

"I feel strong with you, Kairi."

"I thought we'd finally be together, but we're not."

The more he thought about Kairi, the more his senses started to come back to him. Memories of the time they spent together, alongside his best friend Mario, began to grow in his mind, which was like a blank slate at the moment. Just by hearing her sweet warm voice, Sora was able to feel at ease.

"Kairi..." he weakly muttered as his consciousness began to return to him. Thinking of those memories was enough for him to open his eyes slowly, just as he remembered what exactly happened before everything went black.

Him, Mario, Kairi and Peach were sitting on the Paopu tree back home at Destiny Islands, succeeding in his mission to bring her back using the Power of Waking after Xehanort struck her and Peach down. Sora felt so happy that she was finally back and he knew Kairi was feeling the same way. The four were holding hands the entire time, and he gripped Kairi even tighter as if he was afraid she would go away again.

When they looked at each other, Sora expressed how happy he was that Kairi was with him again, and then he saw her shedding a tear. Whether it was out of happiness or relief, he would never know.

Because it was at that moment that his whole world went black.

As he kept on thinking about Kairi, Sora felt he was lying on something cold and hard underneath, most likely cement. He was lying on his back and his head was starting to ache from the hardness of the ground beneath him, showing that he was indeed back to the world of the living.

Sora's eyes finally opened and the first thing he saw was the blue sky and the white clouds that flew above. Good thing the sun wasn't directly up there or his striking blue orbs wouldn't like it. The boy stood up carefully and looked at his left hand that was filled with longing, sadness and confusion. He could clearly remember the feeling of Kairi's soft hand intertwined with his, causing him to clench his fist for a bit before lowering it.

"Where am I?" he thought aloud, looking at his surroundings and taking in every detail.

He was standing in the middle of a street with several cars parked all along the sidewalk and various houses everywhere. It kind of reminded him of San Fransokyo for a bit but he noticed that there weren't any tall buildings around nor any highways, meaning he wasn't in a city. Sora also noticed that there weren't any people around, even though the time was most likely in the afternoon right now.

Sora was all alone right now, which bothered him for a bit because he hated the feeling of loneliness. Sure, he could defend himself from danger but being alone was overwhelming. He silently wished that he could find someone around here sooner or later... some company would do him good.

"Wait a minute. I can't freak out right now." The boy took a moment to stop and take a deep breath to calm himself. He wasn't alone, because the bonds he made with his friends are what kept his mind and heart intact even in the face of the most dangerous situations. He had to keep a level head right now, because he was in a place that he had no knowledge of, and panicking would only make his current situation worse.

He walked towards the sidewalk and followed its path, continuing to observe his surroundings. The more he treaded through the pathway, he became more confused with the issue of his whereabouts.

"How did I get here?" he asked to no one in particular, but himself instead. Sora thought hard and looked through his memories for a possible explanation. The last thing he remembered was sitting with Mario, Peach and Kairi on the Paopu tree back home after he and Mario saved the girl's lives with... wait a minute...

"What do you think the Power of Waking is?" came the voice of the young version of Xehanort in his mind. "It's for traversing hearts to reach worlds. Not traversing through worlds to reach hearts."

During that particular moment, Sora only though he was trying to play mind games with him and Mario in order to distract them from bringing back all of their friends, but perhaps there was some truth in Xehanort's words now.

"I told you. There's a high price to pay for all of this."

Even after they rescued all of their friends, they thought that Xehanort was still trying to taunt them and make them feel weak, and so they didn't listen one bit.

"I'll go back to my time, and live out my life. But Sora, Mario, you're done now. Your journeys end here. Goodbye, Sora. Goodbye, Mario. Your time in this world is—"

And that was the last of the Young Xehanort as he vanished with his heart returning to its rightful timeline. During that moment, Sora and Mario wondered what Xehanort was about to say since he was cut off, but now he was starting to understand based on his situation alone.

"Sora, Mario, listen. The power of waking isn't to go chase hearts around! Even if you two do locate Kairi and Peach, you both might never come home to us again!"

This time, it was King Mickey who warned him of the 'price' that comes with the Power of Waking, right before they used that very power one more time to bring Peach and Kairi back. Mickey warned them of the dangers and he sounded serious about it, but everyone else was willing to believe in him, even Riku. They were successful in their goal, but now Sora had a better understanding of why he ended up here in this unknown place.

"So this is the price I have to pay? And I assume that the same went with Mario, wherever he ended up in." Sora stopped walking and looked up at the sky. Something then came to his mind as his eyes widened in alarm. He quickly looked at his hands and began to tap several parts of his body, before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I still have my body... not a ghost or anything." he said to himself, remembering the little skirmish he and Mario had to deal with in the Final World. He didn't really want to chase copies of himself again. Sora's face lit up in embarrassment when he heard his stomach grumble, causing him to cover his abdomen for a bit. "Aw man, it's been a while since I ate something..."

"Okay, I'm feeling hungry and I can feel my heartbeat. I don't think I'm dead since I can walk... but how would I know? There aren't any people around..." the spiky-haired teen said, crossing his arms as he thought of what exactly happened to him. "Hmm, I don't feel any weaker too, just a bit stiff in some places... which a nice long walk could fix. What else..."

A quick idea popped into his mind as Sora raised his right hand and much to his surprise, he was able to summon his keyblade, the Kingdom Key.

"I didn't lose my keyblade at all..." he thought to himself in amazement. "That was it? The price of the power of waking was just ending up in another world?" His weapon that vanished as he reached into his pocket, only for his eyes to widen again when he felt a certain something there.

"Oh my god! I still have it!" he exclaimed with a huge smile on his face, bringing out the Gummiphone that he brought along the whole time during his third adventure. He opened it and saw that Jiminy's journal was still there, along with the pictures he took and the games he collected along the way. "And it didn't lose any of its memories too..."

Another idea came into his mind as he remembered something about his Gummiphone that was useful to him in his third journey. "If I'm just in another world, I could try calling my friends and let them know I'm okay." With this in mind, he tried to contact Mickey, only for a large red 'X' to appear on the screen. "I guess King Mickey's out of the question." Sora sighed but remained optimistic as he tried to call Ienzo instead, but the same 'X' appeared.

"Come on... work already." he groaned, trying the other contacts he had.

Mario - X

Luigi - X

Peach - X

Toad - X

Chip and Dale - X

Riku - X

Kairi - X

Axel - X

Aqua - X

Ventus - X

Sora sighed in defeat as he turned off his phone and tucked it away in his pocket. "Looks like I can't call any of them... I wonder why. This hasn't happened before, has it? Oh man, I suck at this stuff... where's Jiminy when you need him?" His face quickly turned from sad to panicked when he remembered somethimg important as he checked the area around his neck. Much to his great relief, his trademark silver crown necklace was still with him.

"Phew... glad it's still there." Sora wiped his forehead, feeling glad that his favorite accessory was where it always was. He then took a deep breath as he thought about what he found out so far. "Anyway, is that really it? I just ended up in another world, still alive and working? Did the same happen with Mario? Where did he go?"

He then remembered that he was unable to call any of his friends, which hasn't happened before even if he was in another world. "No, I don't think so... something's not right here." There was something off about this new world, and he could feel it just by standing there. Sora had a hunch that there was a reason why he was here, but he had no clue about it. Also, why did he feel like something was following him all along?

"Hey there." A voice spoke from behind him.

"AAHHHH!" the boy screamed, turning around as he jumped back a bit out of fright.

Before him was a man who appeared to be in his late 40's with tanned skin. He was wearing a brown overcoat with a green kimono underneath but his most striking feature was his brown hair that had a blonde twinge. The man looked regretful as he waved his hands in front of him with an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry about that. Did I frighten you?" he asked.

"N-Not really. You just caught me off guard, mister." Sora took a deep breath and calmed himself down, while also feeling relieved at the same time. "Looks like there are people around here... that solves the question of me being dead or not."

"Good. I hate to be the reason you fall asleep again, kid." The man gave a small nod, which caused Sora to frown slightly in confusion.

What did he mean by 'again'?

"Anyway, I saw you walking around here and you seem like you don't know where you're going. Are you somehow lost?"

His confusion was overwhelmed by his curiosity right now, since he really needed to get a grasp on where he was. "Uhm... yeah... can you please tell me where I am, mister?" Sora asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, please don't call me that way. It makes me feel old. The name's Azazel, kid." The man waved him off with a small laugh.

"Oh, hi! I'm Sora Ishida! But just call me 'Sora'." the spiky-haired boy pointed to himself with a grin.

"Sora, huh? That's a nice name." Azazel remarked before shaking his head. "Anyway, to answer your question Sora, you're in the town of Kuoh."

"Kuoh?"

"This whole place is a small town found in the island of Japan, that's pretty much all that you need to know." Azazel hid a smirk to himself when he saw the conflicted look on the teen's face.

"Japan..." Sora whispered slowly, coming to terms with this new information. He was indeed in a new world that he had no idea about but for some reason, it felt as if he was a complete stranger to this place. By now, Sora was used to travelling to different worlds on the Gummi ship so why did it feel like this was the first time he went somewhere else? It was exactly like the time when he first left Destiny Islands during his first adventure.

"You look like you're having trouble accepting the news, Sora. You're not from around here, are you?" Azazel grinned knowingly, causing the spiky brunette to snap out of it and gulp nervously.

"Oh no... uhm... should I tell him? I'm all alone out here without my friends, and Azazel looks like someone I could trust. Wait, even if I do, there's no way he'll believe what I say! Oh yeah, I have to protect this world's order, too..." he sighed in the end, as he could already imagine Donald screaming 'ORDER!' into his ear.

Thinking of a good cover-up, Sora took a deep breath and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I don't exactly live around here. I'm from a land far away from Japan and I'm trying to find my way back! I just came across this place by accident."

"You mean falling from the sky and landing safely on the street is an accident?" Azazel cupped his chin and smirked.

"Yeah... I'm kinda embarrassed about it and I just—" Sora replied with a nervous smile before he realized what the man before him just said. His eyes widened as he looked at Azazel with his mouth agape. "W-What did you just say?"

Azazel began to laugh heartily, amused from the gobsmacked expression on Sora's face. "You look like you have a lot of things you want to say, kid. I won't judge you, and I'm willing to listen." He grinned reaasuringly. "I've had my fair share of crazy stories from time to time, so I'm sure yours isn't anything new."

"I fell out of the sky? I didn't even feel anything after sitting with Mario, Peach and Kairi back home. Azazel must know something about how I got here then... but should I tell him? Would he even believe the stuff about the keyblade, the different worlds, the Princesses of Heart, and everything else? Plus, there's the world's order too..." Sora pondered over the thought for a while, weighing his options as well as the possible consequences. Finally, he sighed in defeat and just shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to spill the secret. After all, I need to know as much as I can about where I am, and I have a bad feeling about this place. Plus, it's not like Donald is here to stop me from ruining the order..."

He looked up at Azazel with nervous eyes, while also looking around if there was another person around. Telling his secret to somebody else was already enough trouble as it is, and he didn't want to spill it to any eavesdropper out there, now that he knew there were people here.

"Uhm... is there a place where we can talk about this? It's not safe if I tell you everything out in the open."

"Sure! Follow me to my apartment and let's talk about it over some tea!" Azazel grinned as he turned around, gesturing for Sora to follow him.

The boy nodded as he followed the older man down the path, not exactly sure where things would lead to now that he chose to go against one of the important rules in being a keyblade wielder.