Coda

BACK AT THE CROSSROADS OF THE KEYBLADE GRAVEYARD, a single Keyblade fell from the sky and stuck into the ground upright. A man was there to pull it free from the soil, as if he had always known where and when it was going to arrive. The Keyblade was the one that Master Xehanort had once used.

The man wore a black coat, and behind him was a black box.

“Finally, back where it belongs,” the man muttered. Four paths led from the crossroads, dust swirling up in the distance.

From the cloud emerged four figures, wavering like mirages on a hot summer day and growing more solid the closer they approached.

They wore masks—a unicorn, a snake, a bear, and a leopard.

The man in the unicorn mask was the first to speak. “Did you summon us back?”

“Yep,” the man in the black coat replied.

“Is that you, Luxu? You look different.”

“Haven’t heard that name in a long while,” the man in the coat replied as he removed his hood, revealing a face with a patch over one eye. “These days they call me Xigbar, but hey, whatever suits you,” he added.

“Is it…really you?” the woman in the snake mask asked.

“Yeah, but some time ago, I had to cast my old form away. Been through plenty more semblances since, but it’s still me underneath it all.”

“What happened? Why are we here? You tell me,” the man in the bear mask demanded.

“I had a role to play. And after all these years, it’s done.”

“What role?” the woman in the snake mask asked.

Xigbar, who had once been known as Luxu, stopped and looked around him.

Two other figures stood watching the scene unfold from atop a cliff.

“I guess Ava didn’t make it after all,” said Xigbar.

“Meaning what?” the young man in the leopard mask wanted to know.

“I told her, clear as day, what it is I had to do.”

“And is that why you decided to exclude her?” the leopard-masked man asked back.

“As if. Ava had her own mission, and she carried it out.”

Frustrated, the man in the bear mask growled, “I’ve heard enough! Luxu, what was your role?”

Xigbar looked at the black box by his feet and said, “I hope you like long stories.”

…On that window seat in Scala ad Caelum, the young Xehanort and Eraqus sat across a game board from each other.

“Oh, right.” Eraqus cleared their old game from the board and arranged seven new pieces atop it.

“What’s this?”

“I heard about this new game.”

Xehanort looked at the setup, confused. “Seven black pieces. And?”

“Just watch…”

Eraqus put a single white king piece on the board.

Sora awoke in an unfamiliar city, surrounded by dazzling neon lights. He had never seen anything like this before.

Riku, too, woke to find himself in a strange city. The streets around him were lined with towering buildings, light twinkling out from their windows.

Atop one of the tallest of these buildings, a lone boy was watching the streets below.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a man wearing a black coat surveyed the streets and buildings glittering in the moonlight.

In the Land of Departure, Riku and Terra stood facing each other in the grand hall of the castle, where Terra had once undergone the Mark of Mastery exam.

“Well, look at you,” Terra said warmly, and the praise made Riku stand up a little straighter.

“Thanks. I finally fulfilled my promise to you.”

“You did. Now there’s nothing left for me to teach you. You’re a true Keyblade Master, not to mention a great leader to those around you. You’ve even found the strength to save your friends.”

Riku shook his head. “It’s not enough.”

Terra placed his hands on Riku’s shoulders. “The very fact that you were able to make your way here proves just how strong you are. That is why I called for you.”

“That’s the reason?”

“You expected more?” Terra said, slumping with embarrassment.

“Yes,” Riku replied frankly, and the two of them burst into laughter.

Aqua and Ventus entered the hall.

“Hey, you two, what’s so funny?” Ventus asked.

“It’s a secret,” Terra answered with a grin.

Ventus wasn’t too happy with that. “Aww, come on, tell me!”

Aqua watched them happily for a moment, then turned to Riku.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked.

“Yes, but don’t worry. I’m not alone this time,” she replied.

Terra and Ventus nodded.

The three stood together, then donned their armor and set off into the Lanes Between.

“Good luck,” Riku called to them as the gateway closed.

A year had passed since then.

Riku was visiting a small house located in a corner of Radiant Garden, and a group of familiar faces were there with him.

“But if we still remember him, then he must still be with us,” said Aerith.

“Yes, that would stand to reason,” Leon replied.

“But we’ve been searching everywhere for Sora,” said Riku, “and we haven’t found a single clue. If he’s really out there, don’t you think we would have found something by now?”

Yuffie put a finger to her head. “Hmm…”

“Cid’s been looking into the data for a year now. Aren’t the people at the castle doing the same thing? No one’s found anything yet?” asked Leon.

Riku turned to Cid, who was sitting at the computer. “Well…it’s outside their field of experience.”

“Come on, Cid! Can’t you throw us a bone here, please?” Yuffie begged.

Cid spun to face her. “Be quiet!” he barked. “I’m tryin’! I’m this close to somethin’, I know it!”

“Cid, you are a million times worse than a broken record!” Yuffie’s comeback got a chuckle from everyone.

“By the way, how are the others?” asked Leon. Apparently, this had been bothering him.

“Well, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are searching for clues in every past world that Sora’s been to. Terra, Ven, and Aqua went to the realm of darkness. And the Twilight Town gang are studying Roxas’s and Xion’s memories.”

“And what about Kairi?” asked Aerith with concern.

He lowered his eyes. “Kairi… She believes her heart might hold a clue about Sora. For a year, she’s been sound asleep while they search her heart.”

“So there’s been no progress…,” Aerith replied, seeming disappointed as well.

“What in the—? What in the world is this?!” Cid suddenly exclaimed and jumped to his feet.

Riku and the others peered around him at the screen.

“What is it?”

“This computer, the one in Twilight Town, and the one in the castle are all connected to the same network. They sent me all of their data and I merged it with the stuff I already had, and lookee here,” Cid answered and leaned into the screen.

There, in the monitor—was a very familiar face.

“Sora?!” Riku leaned in closer.

“Sora’s inside the computer?!” Yuffie asked.

“No, no. That’s just the data I constructed based on Sora and his fightin’ abilities,” Cid replied, plopping back down into his chair.

“So you gave us a heart attack for nothing?” Yuffie complained.

“No, that group Sora was fightin’…you know…Battalion somethin’? Well, I re-created their data, too.”

As Cid described, several gateways opened before the Sora on the monitor. There were thirteen of them.

“The real Organization XIII… Maybe their data will lead us to where Sora is…,” wondered Aerith.

“Well, it crossed my mind, but I must be better at this than I thought ’cause their data…it’s so powerful that I can’t access any of it,” Cid told her.

“Can you use Sora’s data to gain access?” Leon suggested.

“Oh, good idea. Worth a shot,” Cid said, quickly typing away at the keyboard.

“Yeah…let’s try,” Riku said as he watched the version of his friend on the screen.

Sora ran through one of the gateways and fought the Organization member beyond. He defeated all thirteen of them, but…

“No sign of the boy,” said Cid, and Yuffie was equally disheartened.

“What a bummer.”

Suddenly, there was a flicker of light behind them.

The unexpected arrival was the Fairy Godmother, the very one who had used her magic to help Cinderella.

“Fairy Godmother!” Aerith cried with surprise.

“Oh-ho-ho, I hope I didn’t startle you,” she said cheerily.

“Not at all. What brings you here?” Leon asked the fairy.

“Well, dear, I was asked to come by Merlin and Yen Sid. Now, where is… Oh, Riku! Yes, Riku is his name,” she replied, looking around the room.

“Here,” he said, walking over to her. “I’m Riku.”

“Why, it’s nice to meet you. Now, I’d like you to tell me about the dreams that you’ve been having, dear,” Fairy Godmother said with a smile, her magic wand in hand.

“Huh? My…dreams?” Riku thought for a moment.

Were those dreams…?

“There’s one… It was dark…and I was surrounded by tall buildings. I was looking around for Sora when I felt someone watching me from way up high.”

“And?!” Yuffie prodded.

“And that’s all I remember.” Riku shook his head.

That’s all I’ve got. It’s just a dream about a night in a strange city I’ve never seen before.

“Ugh. But what happens next?!”

Cid may have been let down, but Fairy Godmother seemed to understand quite well. “Oh, I know.”

“Why Riku’s dream?” asked Leon.

“Oh, because Master Yen Sid was worried. You weren’t having any luck finding Sora. And because Riku had been in Sora’s dreams before, he thought perhaps Riku may just be the key. That’s why he and Merlin asked me to come here and look into his dreams, since of course dreams are my specialty,” Fairy Godmother answered.

“So Riku’s dreams might…hold the key?” Aerith wondered.

“Yes, dear. I’m sure there’s something there that leads to Sora.”

“In my dreams…?” Riku said softly.

Fairy Godmother chuckled. “And…the other two,” she added with a wink.

“This place…”

Sora was back in that world of sea and sky—only the sky wasn’t clear anymore. Night had fallen over the world. He couldn’t tell if the dark sky was reflected on the water, or if the dark water was reflected on the sky. Were the stars above him or below?

The one thing he was sure of was the moon up high.

“At least…I’m all here,” Sora said as he checked himself over. He stood up and tried calling out. “Heeey! Is anyone out there?”

No response.

He tried again. “Hellooo!”

This time there was a soft sound. It could’ve been the water—or footsteps coming this way.

“Hey…”

Sora broke into a run as he heard what sounded like a faint voice.

Someone’s here!

“Over here!” Sora called out. In the distance, he could see them, and he hurried as fast as he could.

“I see you,” the person said, standing illuminated by the starlight.

“Hey, aren’t you—?” Sora knew this guy. He’d never actually met him, but he had seen him before.

“You know me?”

“Yeah, you’re Yozora, right?” Sora replied. He’d seen him in that game back in Toy Box.

“How do you know that? Who are you?”

“I’m Sora. And actually…there’s something I have to ask you—” Sora remembered that he had heard that name somewhere else once before.

But as soon as he introduced himself, Yozora had questions. “Sora? You’re Sora?”

“Huh? You know who I am?”

“Sure, I’ve heard of you.”

It seemed that Yozora was familiar with Sora, too.

“If you’re here, then this can’t be the real world, can it? But wait, that girl, she told me about you. Maybe you are real after all,” Sora thought out loud.

“Are you done? No, this isn’t the real world, and I am here. But this isn’t what I really look like. How’d you recognize me as Yozora?”

“Huh?” Sora said, unsure of where this was going.

“Why are you using Sora’s name?”

“Because…I am Sora.”

“If you are who you say, and it was fate that brought us here, then…my path is clear.”

Yozora made a fist, and suddenly he was holding what looked like a sort of ranged weapon.

Sora closed his eyes and braced himself.

When he opened them again, he found himself somewhere he had never seen before. Or…maybe he had. In a dream.

Streets lined with buildings, and buildings lit with neon.

Oh, maybe this is the world of Yozora’s game—the one I went into back in Woody’s world. Or maybe not…? Everything looks so different.

Man, I’m lost.

“I accidentally wandered into this place and went through some trials. Then, I was told to ‘save Sora.’”

“Huh?! Then what’s with the weapon?” Sora asked.

But Yozora only called a glowing red blade into his other hand. “Time to end this,” he said, then swung the sword. Sora summoned his Keyblade so he could block the attack.

But the fight was over before it began.

“But how…”

Yozora’s attack tore through Sora and dropped him to his knees.

“Sorry, but I don’t lose,” Yozora said as Sora began to glow and turn to crystal.

He laid a hand on Sora’s frozen form and said softly, “I will save you.”

A light swelled from the crystal and engulfed the world—and then Yozora was standing back in that realm of nothing but sea and sky.

He closed his eyes quietly.

When he opened them again, he was sitting in the back seat of a car.

“Commander! Commander!”

Yozora’s eyes drifted to the one speaking to him from the driver’s seat.

“Impressive, is it not?”

Yozora looked out the window of the car.

I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately…like, is any of this for real or not?

None of this…makes any sense to me.

Was that his voice or Sora’s?

All he could see beyond the window was the sprawling cityscape.