Sora held his hands in front of the campfire. Honestly these past few days were nuts. He just wanted to go home with Riku and Kairi was that too much to ask this suddenly larger universe?

With that thought Sora swallowed hesitantly; it was pretty big, wasn't it? He was small, he realized. Not in the way other kids would poke fun at him for, but the insignificant, mote of dust kind of small that made you realize how few cared about you. Sora looked at the stars; one of those was his home, once. Now he just felt small and alone looking at them; the constellations were wrong if he could spot any and none of the stars were comforting in the wrong places.

He felt a gloved hand on his shoulder, "Aw, don't'cha worry, Sora. We'll find them, sure as the sun rises!"

Sora smiled with tints of worry and hope at Goofy. They would, wouldn't they? He went back to warming himself, noting Donald tending to the fire while Goofy resumed setting up sleeping bags. He pouted at Donald, but the duck didn't notice. The two weren't exactly close yet, and playing what amounted to "I hate you more" with each other; ignoring, insulting, the works.

"Hey, Sora?" Sora cautiously turned his head to the cricket on his shoulder, "I was thinkin', maybe since this is a new beginning for the four of us, why not turn over a new leaf?"

Sora looked confused, "Um, little late for that-"

"I know, I know," Jiminy waved his hand as if it didn't matter, "but what I was thinkin' would be my new leaf is bein' an artist!"

Sora grinned, "That's cool!" It turned wistful, "Kairi liked art..." He then thought about what he could do as something new. Not much came up. He carefully shrugged, "I dunno what I'll do anyways."

"Well, maybe you could think it over while you pose for a portrait!" Jiminy suggested, "There's a rock right over there. You can brainstorm and I can get some practice."

Sora nodded and got the cricket off of his shoulder, then sat down on the rock, crossing one leg over the other with his Keyblade laying across them at a similar angle. As Jiminy began sketching and making all sorts of lines, Sora wondered over what could be new for him. He forced his smiled on as his thoughts drifted over all sorts of things; what was going to happen? Were they gonna fight every day? Would he find his friends again?

Something clicked, "I'll be useful."

Jiminy stopped a moment, "Whaddaya mean by that?"

Sora noticed Donald and Goofy looking at him, and he explained, "Back home, at my islands, I was always laying around and not getting anything done. While my friends would work I'd be doing something lazy and stupid- like taking a nap." He stood up, grabbing some logs to feed the fire with, "I'll be useful. I'll learn how to hunt, and cook, and start a fire, and set up camp; I will always be looking out for others who need my help." He smiled at Jiminy, "That's my new leaf."

...

Later that night, while Donald was dozing off on watch, Sora bolted awake, "AGH!" Donald made a buzzing noise as he woke up, then glared at Sora. It softened when he saw Sora wiping up tears. Sora glowered at him back, "I'm not being a sissy if that's what you were gonna say." Both glanced at Goofy, surprised he hadn't awoken yet despite Sora's cry echoing through the world they camped on even now.

Donald huffed and leaned back against the very rock Sora had been sitting on earlier, "Well, if it was a nightmare, get back to sleep. I'm sure you'll be fine."

Sora laid down, huffing as well. He tossed. Turned. He couldn't get to sleep. He looked at Donald, then Goofy. Slowly he inched over towards the dog, wondering if he could get him to wake up and provide some reassurance. Like a little worm he crawled over until he was pressed flat against Goofy. Sora expected that to wake him up, but he was still fast asleep. At least until he rolled over and put an arm around Sora with a loving grumble. Sora scooted into the embrace, feeling much more at ease.

Donald watched as the two were soon one synchronized and snoring lump. He rolled his eyes. Soon after he couldn't resist the adorable sight, and waddled over and leaned up against them, snuggling in and making it a lump of three.

...

"SORA! SORA!"

Sora was on the ground. He felt wet all over, and in pain. He was just sobbing gibberish even he didn't understand. What were those kinds of Heartless? Dangerous, that's what. Sora didn't anticipate Heartless to be so ruthlessly efficient, with one pinning him down and the rest running in and taking a hard route to his heart from his back. It was terrifyingly planned for such an instinctive species. Normally they were predictable, easy to pin off, loners when it came to fighting and not good at teamwork. These were a well oiled wolf pack.

He shrieked when he felt something touch his raw and bloody back, and he tried frantically crawling away. No, no! Not another one! Not like this, not while he's vulnerable-

"Sora calm down it's just us!"

Sora stopped, flopping back to the ground like jelly. He finally sobbed something legible, "I'm scared... I'm scared..."

Goofy lifted his chin so he would look at him, "We know, we know. Gawrsh, we're scared too." He smiled, "But we're here now and Donald's gonna fix you up." Sora nodded and twitched out a forced smile. Boy was he thankful for the pain to end. He let out a shuddering sigh when he felt the cold wash of a healing spell running down his back along with the sensation of feathers.

Goofy let Sora lay his head on the ground, and the three shared a sigh of relief. Shortly after Donald asked, "So, how ya feeling?"

"Terrible, but it could be worse, I guess." Sora whimpered. A dull ache was coming back to his back.

Donald made a "tsk"ing noise, "Well, there are scars. Sorry."

Goofy shifted to focus off of it, "Well, can ya sit up, Sora?"

Sora groaned, but he was able to sit up and smile, "Well, I can still move."

...

To be honest, Sora really didn't like the thought of camping in the middle of an enemy castle like this. Especially not with the sluggish fog that had started invading his head. And actually it could've been anywhere they could stay, with the doors leading wherever Sora's memories took them, but the three had voted on staying in the eerie blank hallways. Less chance of a surprise, even if it was more uncomfortable. They all appreciated the thought of not having to worry too much about surprise attacks or events.

The fire wasn't much, mostly a magical one that was kept going through MP and Ethers and the occasional bit of junk someone rummaged out of their pockets they could afford to trash. It was warm though. Comforting. Familiar.

Oddly, even though this whole journey was going to be through his own memories, Sora was scared by the castle. The halls were chilly and far too cold, as if nothing lived here. And not to mention the white was... Too white. It hurt his eyes at first, but now he'd grown adjusted to the brightness. Really what irked him- or maybe disturbed was more accurate -about the color now was how striking blood was against it.

"I wonder what's going on here..." Sora said. His voice fluctuated a bit, between deep and cracking, like it had been for awhile now.

"Well I don't know," Donald said, testy as ever, "That guy wasn't making any sense when he said to lose is to find around here."

"Yeah," Goofy agreed, "I dunno how you can lose something and find another..." After a moment he shrugged and tagged on, "And vice versa, I guess." Sora shrugged, leaving Goofy and Donald to debate on what exactly the man at the entrance meant. His thoughts drifted to Riku. Hopefully Riku was okay. No, Riku had to be okay, didn't he? Besides, here was something he did know.

"I hope Namine can hold on." Sora whispered among the debate. The name still felt funny to his tongue. Like he never said it much before. But that was stupid, Namine was just as much his friend as Riku, right?

"I dunno, she seems a little funny." Donald stopped his arguing to comment on what Sora had said.

Goofy shrugged, "Well, we haven't met a lot of Sora's friends. We might just not be familiar enough with her."

Sora nodded, "Yeah, but you know we still gotta help her." He stared at the fire with an intense gaze, "We gotta save Namine." He hadn't talked about Namine much, he now realized. She didn't like people talking about her, positive or not... or did she? He wasn't sure. Still, it bothered him more how the name wasn't quite right on his tongue, even after saying it twice now...

...

Sora really, really hated how he woke up to knowing diddly squat with a new threat on the horizon. Not to mention his old clothes were way too small. Well, a wardrobe change fixed that problem, so he scratched it off with a smirk and a snort. Short shorts Sora, huh? Now that he wasn't experiencing it the thought was hilarious.

"Hey Sora?"

He tilted his head, the captain's chair whirling a bit with him, "Hm?"

"You sure you're all a-okay?" Goofy asked him.

Sora nodded, "Yeah, just got a lot of thoughts to sort out and all that." He laughed and gestured to himself, "Kinda happens when you wake up after growing up so much!"

Goofy looked him over with an odd, wistful look, then went back to piloting the ship, "Yeah, I guess."

"Well be careful," Donald teased, "I think if you think too hard-"

Sora waved his hand towards Donald in a mock slapping gesture, "Gee thanks you molt-y duck!"

...

Sora collapsed. He didn't know what just happened. Adrenaline roared in his ears and veins, the hands in his swaying sight were drenched in blood and shaking from exertion. Pain was all over his body- almost to a numbing point -but his shoulders cried out every time his arms even twitched.

"Donald? Goofy?" He croaked. Even fighting Saïx wasn't this bad. They shouldn't've come here. They should have just continued on to fighting Xemnas and ignored this hellish place. Sora dimly wondered over what would happen if they ignored the call from Disney Castle, though.

"Heyo, Sora hold on a moment!" Jiminy called out from a scrap of Sora's hoodie, "Your back's torn to shreds and so is everything else! You shouldn't move too much!"

Sora tried pushing himself up, but yelled as his body seemed to dig in more to the feeling of pain. He took shaky breaths. Breathe. You need to breathe. He lifted his head, biting into his cheek and adding to the rusty taste. Where were they? "Guys? Anyone?" He whimpered, "Please?"

He saw Jiminy leap out and run back to Disney Castle, "I-I'll get Her Majesty! I'll get help!"

He saw Donald, and lunged, "DONALD!" He gasped in pain, but stubbornly crawled over, "DONALD ANSWER ME!" Sora frantic yelling elicited a small groan from the duck. Sora laughed in relief, then sat up and helped his friend do the same, "Come on, it's over, we gotta get outta here." Realizing Donald was is worse shape than him, he bit a hole in his cheek as he started carrying him on his back, "Fine, I'LL get you outta here."

Sora looked around, "Goofy?" His breaths were starting to hitch and catch in his lumped throat. He couldn't see well through tears of pain and the thought of loss. Again. Kingdom Hearts if he could help it he wasn't going through The Battle of Hollow Bastion for a second time. "Goofy we gotta go back!" He yelled out to the dusty and barren land. Not again. No, please, not again.

"Sor... O'er... Her..."

Sora turned around, then fell to his knees and held out his hand to Goofy, "Hey, we're getting outta here. It's alright I'm here now!"

Goofy smiled at him, but then he said carefully and gravely, "Listen, you gotta make it outta this alive, okay? King Mickey needs you more than he needs us-"

"Shut up!" Sora snapped at him. He then grabbed Goofy's arm and lifted it over his shoulders and Donald, "We're all getting outta this, okay?" He looked for the portal, then sighed on relief when he found it, "We're gonna live, and we're gonna save everyone, alright?" He began dragging the three of them back home, "'Sides... I can't..."

He stumbled. Was his vision always so blurry? "I can't..."

His breaths were getting quick and unsatisfying, "I can't... Do it all..."

His eyes began rolling back into his head, but he continued on, "Not... by myself..."

He fell back to his knees only a foot or two from the way back. "Not... Not without..."

Just a little more... "Without..."

He could barely comprehend the jump between worlds, and was dazed when he collapsed onto the clean white floors of Disney Castle; well, now a slightly disgusting red and pink and white... "You..."

He passed out completely from either blood loss or pain.

...

Sora awoke on his stomach. His shirt was off, and he vaguely remembered the feeling of gauze around his chest and his head and his arms- well, he was better off saying a lot of places. He stared at the flowers on a table near his... Sleep-thing...? Recharge station...? Bed. Bed, that was the word he was looking for.

A chipmunk entered his view, "Sora's awake guys! He's okay!" It then quickly left, leaving Sora dazed and confused.

"It... Talks?" He mumbled. He wanted to move but honestly his arms had lead in their veins. His body was content to continue sinking into the mattress and indulging in that sweet warmth after a good, long nap. His eyes rolled back again, and he continued sleeping.

...

Sora felt something shaking him. Calling his name. He wondered if it was Riku. Or maybe it was Kairi. He stumbled through darkness, hoping to wake up home safe and sound and his islands were back and everything was how it was supposed to be and there was no Keyblade no Heartless a-and they'd build that raft and-

His eyes cracked open and were assaulted by light. He was on his back now and that kinda hurt. He turned to see Donald grinning. He smiled back as all of the fog of trauma cleared up, "Hey... you're alright." Well, alright was a mild understatement considering the duck had one wing in a sleeve. No, wait... Sora blinked; sling, he meant sling.

Donald wiped up a tear, "You're okay."

Sora nodded, as lethargic as he was; maybe he was under painkillers, "'Course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well for one you've been out for days, mister." Donald wagged a feather at him. Almost like mom back home, Sora noted.

"Scared us half ta death ya did!" Sora turned his head and grinned wider at the sight of Goofy. He had bandages all over, but you know what he was fine, too. Goofy hugged Sora, "Gawrsh, I didn't know if you were gonna pull out all okay or not."

Sora's hands shook as tried returning the hug, "All for one and one for all, right?" It was a struggled just to get them on Goofy's back. He let one hand drift off and go out to Donald, "We're gonna get through this together, or not at all."

They enjoyed a moment of sweet peace as they sat there in one continued embrace.

...

Adventure three. Sora really didn't expect that. Honestly the plans alway were "we'll trudge through and then part ways" but now it was three times their teamwork had been called up, and three times where they said no to the crossroads and chose one path. Maybe they were gonna stay together always. Sora smiled at that thought. Maybe Kairi and Riku could come along, too, or maybe Ven, or Aqua, or Lea, or Roxas. Well, when this Keyblade War mess was done with.

Sora grinned and pointed at a star still visible despite the dying campfire, "How about we head there tomorrow?"

Donald shrugged, "Well, what difference does it make?"

"If they're friendly or not, I'd say that makes a difference." Goofy chuckled.

The three laughed.

Sora felt his cheeks were sore from smiling so much. He then thought about a starry night like this, and his head bobbed up a bit, "Hey Jiminy?"

The cricket yawned, "Yeah, Sora?"

Sora politely held out his hand, "Could I see that first sketch of yours?"

Jiminy pulled out the small journal, "Sure thing."

Sora carefully leafed through the drawings until he found the very first one. He laughed, "Wow, you've improved a lot!"

Jiminy beamed, "Why thank ya very much."

Sora lost the comment as he got lost in the drawing. Man, was he really that small compared to the Keyblade then? Were his cheeks that full of babyish puff? He smiled. He was awfully scared those first few days, but he wouldn't trade the moments for anything. He handed Jiminy the journal back after flipping through a few more drawings and settled his hands behind his head as he stared at the sky.

After a moment he disturbed the silence, "I wonder where Riku and Kairi are."

"Well," Goofy waved to the sky, "I'm sure they're somewhere out there."

Sora nodded, "Yeah." He frowned, "I hope Kairi hasn't gotten hurt." He went over his own small list of scars:

Shoulders; whip sword, wasn't paying attention.

Lower back; pinned by Neoshadows, also wasn't paying attention.

Left side; claymore, underestimated Saïx, almost completely disemboweled.

Chest, above heart; from saving Kairi, and it was exploited by Xemnas to try and remove my heart again, so it's gotten a little bigger since it's early days.

Right thigh, stomach; Xemnas made a move to incapacitate, or, more likely, kill.

Arms; various marks from blocks gone wrong and dodge rolling into something harmful.

It stunned him to have so many scrapes and bumps still lingering. Did normal teenagers his age have such brutally honest scars? Maybe one or two from really stupid dares or childhood incidents, but marks of sacrifice and lethal threats? He didn't figure they did. He felt an odd sense of having his feet in two different shoals; a place in both worlds, yet still alien to each.

He then said softly, "Hey, I'll take watch." Donald let out a soft squawk of concern. That phrase was Sora's away of saying "I need to think things out and I'll stay up all night doing it." Sora waved him off, "I'll be fine."

Goofy rolled over, "Ya sure you don't wanna talk to us about it?"

Sora was silent. He then shrugged, "After all this... I'm probably gonna be expected to be a normal kid." He frowned and spat, "Go to school, get a normal job, stay in the same place... Ugh, that will be maddening."

Donald shrugged, "You don't have to."

Goofy snapped his fingers, "Yeah! You can be one of my knights!"

Sora chuckled and looked at Goofy, "Yeah, I keep forgetting you're captain there." He sighed, "Thanks, but no thanks. I won't exactly be home there either."

"Well yeah. Still, bein' a normal kid you'll be at home, but if ya want that..." Goofy stopped to ponder over the paradox of what Sora wanted.

Sora nodded, "See my problem?" He stared at the stars and tried picking out a cluster of worlds. "I don't want it to stop. There's still worlds to see, people to meet." He looked over to see that the fire was just about out, and he quietly cast a blizzard spell and let more stars come into focus, "Lots more." He laughed sadly, "I might not be able to see 'em all. Not in my lifetime."

Sora then sat up, an idea coming to him. Donald sighed, "Sora, what are you thinking?"

Sora grinned and laughed, "That's it! I'll start up a business!" Donald and Goofy looked at each other. Sora turned to them, "Don't'cha see? I start up a touring business! I can always come back home, but I'm also free to go where I want!" He snuggled back into his sleeping bag in-between Donald and Goofy, "World order's been messed up enough that no one will really care. In fact, I think it will do some good to have everyone connected to he bigger picture."

He held up his hands to frame a pocket of stars, "After all, part of this mess is because we're still so separate. If I can get people together, exchange cultures, stories, and all that. We can reach a bigger understanding, can't we?"

Sora's arms flopped back to the ground, "Or maybe I'm just being too idealistic."

"Nah, it's a pretty good idea." Donald said.

"I think King Mickey would like it." Goofy agreed.

Sora smiled. He then waved, "I think I'll take it back, I'm tucking in!" He laughed when Donald and Goofy pounced on him to goad him back into his words, and soon the fire was back up in a dim light for watch. Sora smiled at Donald and Goofy, fast asleep.

"Thanks guys. Thank you for everything." He wiped up a tear, "You've been such great friends to me all this time. Maybe even parents?" He laughed a little, "Still. I love you guys and I'll never forget you."

Once again stay ten feet away from me to be safe from drowning in salty tears.