"Royal Flush, my friends!" Jack Skellington boisterously exclaims, grinning wide as his huge bony hands reach out to shepherd the pile of poker chips from the middle of the table and into his possession. "Am I hot tonight or what?"

The other holiday leaders say nothing. They're not even looking to Jack, but instead to Santa Claus. The man who had broken rule number two (the first and foremost rule was the one that prohibited "clever" cartoon greeting cards from being exchanged, even in jest) of their little weekly game: NO Skellington!

The jolly old fellow can only offer a sheepish smile and shrug. How was he to know the Pumpkin King's skull could naturally hold such an excellent poker face?

"Oh, this is so much fun!" Jack cackles. "Deal 'em up, Cupid. Sally needs a new pair of ankles!"

KH-KH-KH

The entire colony turns up to see off their "brave warriors". The summer season is back, and that means gigs and paying customers await.

"And so," Francis announces to the newly crowned Queen Atta, gesturing behind him where Manny is swirling two leaves around Slim's open hand, "we leave you with this gift, from us to you!"

With a flourish, Manny pulls his leaves away, revealing the object held in Slim's hand. Atta, and the rest of the colony, stare intently at the gift.

"Oh," the queen ant says, remembering her lessons about grace under any circumstance. "How, lovely! It's such a nice rock…"

Behind the befuddled queen, Flick and Dot giggle privately to each other.

KH-KH-KH

Li Shang, captain in the Imperial Chinese Army and the emperor's personal bodyguard, takes a slow, calming breath.

In his short career, he's faced threats of such staggering intensity, older officers would be liable to run in terror. Shadow monsters, avalanches, strange and powerful men dressed in black… Each and every one of those threats, he's stared down without hesitation.

But at this moment, they all seem to pale in comparison to the small, wizened old lady standing before him.

"Grandma," Mulan says, gesturing back to her guest. "This is Captain Li Shang, the one I told you about. We, uh, we work together."

"Do ya now?" the senior citizen chuckles, giving Shang a good once over. She smiles at what she sees. "So, this is the kind of man you meet in the army, eh?"

Mulan giggles into her hand. "Oh yes, grandma."

"Well in that case, go ahead and sign me up for the next war!"

Taking in the scene from his vaunted position of honor within the Fa family shrine, Mushu lets loose a long, hearty laugh.

KH-KH-KH

Olympus Coliseum is open for business.

Herc and Meg stand back, admiring the final result of the grueling construction process. It had taken a while, and even with godlike strength it was a real labor, but in the end, it's all worth it.

If asked, Phil would swear to (and at) he inquirer that the cause of his tears is the bright sun, glinting off the golden sword of one of the gladiator statues. And, of course, he'd be lying.

Far away from any prying eyes, Auron watches it all unfold. Satisfied with what he sees, the grizzled old man turns and begins walking away. Before he reaches the coliseum's outer gate, his body has already separated into a cloud of glowing pyreflies.

KH-KH-KH

"How are the apples today, Jean-Claude?" Quasimodo cheerfully asks his favorite fruit vendor.

"Excellent, Quasi, simplement exquisite," he replies, gesturing to the tray where he keeps the red fruit.

"Good to hear!" the hunchback laughs, grabbing a few and placing them in his sack. After he pays Jean-Claude, Quasimodo goes on his merry way.

"Bonjour Quasimodo!" a young woman passing by calls out, nodding at him.

As he makes his way back to Notre Dame, several more people call out to him in passing. Their friendly greetings are a far cry from what he'd been taught so long to expect of the outside world.

The initial adjustment hadn't been easy, and there still existed to occasional trouble spot, but for the most part things have turned out fine for the bellringer.

And so, the young man puts on a bright smile as he strolls down the streets of Paris, the city that is his home. His sanctuary.

KH-KH-KH

With a grunt of effort, Cogsworth pushes open the door to the castle's library. As he suspected, the master and Belle sit together at the room's long table, huddled together over some novel.

"I hate to interrupt, Master," the majordomo sighs, quickly striding across the floor, "but we do have guests waiting in the ballroom."

Belle and her husband heave twin sighs, reluctantly lifting their gazes from the book in front of them.

"C'mon Cogsworth," the prince whines. "Just let us read one more chapter, then we'll go! We're at the best part."

"Now, now," Belle admonishes the former Beast. "You do still have a long way to go with reestablishing relations with your subjects. Keeping them waiting would not be the right thing to do."

The prince groans inwardly, already able to tell where this is going.

"In fact," the Princess of Heart continues, giggling, "I'd think it rather beastly, wouldn't you?"

Oh gee, like he's never heard that one before.

KH-KH-KH

"You know, we have servants for this kind of thing," Princess Jasmine says to her fiancée, entering the small room he's been staying in for the past year. Only three more months, and it will no longer be necessary. The young woman smiles at that thought. "In fact, they've already written nearly two hundred of them."

Aladdin shrugs, not looking up from his project. The young man's focus is tight, ever vigilant for mistakes. Writing and reading are still a bit new to him.

"Yeah, but that's for all of your guests," the former street rat teasingly replies. "A bunch of muckety-mucks from distant kingdoms. This one is for my friends, and I want it done my way."

After a few minutes work, he holds up the paper like it's the fabled lamp itself. "There, finished."

"Do you want me to check it over?" Jasmine asks, holding out her hand.

"Sure, that'd be nice," Aladdin admits, handing the paper over to his fiancée.

She quickly runs her eyes over it, smiling at its personal nature. Certainly it's more intimate and familiar than anything the other guest are receiving.

"Well?" Aladdin asks, looking nervous despite himself.

"It's wonderful," the princess assures him with a big grin.

The former street rat lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Great, that's awesome Jasmine. Okay, now read it back to me. Just to make sure."

"Of course I will." She takes a moment to clear her throat. "Ahem. 'Dear Sora, Azlyn, and Telary…'"

KH-KH-KH

Joshamee Gibbs, loyal first mate of the Black Pearl holds his hand out for the captain to grab. Instead of the expected flesh, however, a grimy human leg bone slaps into his open palm.

Jack Sparrow pulls himself up onto the deck, allowing the coffin he had been using as a makeshift vessel to drift back out to sea.

"Well, captain?" Gibbs inquire, leaning in close. Not too close, of course. After days of separation, who knows what the good captain's breath could smell like? "Success?"

Jack nods slyly. "Oh yes, Mr. Gibbs. Success indeed."

The portly man grins wide. "Good to hear captain. I take it you're one step closer to finding the way of wielding that Keyblade?"

Gibbs' captain raises an eyebrow at his first mate, as if the very question is offensive. "Keyblade? What Keyblade, mate?"

"Um," Gibbs bites his lip, grimacing at the taste of it. "You know, Captain. The one wielded by that Sora boy. The one that can open any lock? That Keyblade."

Jack nods sagely. "Ah, yes. Keyblade." He leans back and laughs, confusing his old friend even more. "Oh, I gave up that hunt weeks ago. Been to ten different so-called mystics I have, and none of 'em had any inkling as to the nature or acquisition rights of such an item."

"So, uh, then why did ya infiltrate that festering pit, if I may ask, if not to find our key?"

"Key?" Jack parrots, tilting his head in confusion. "Oh, I got us a key alright!" He reaches into the breast pocket of his coat, pulling out some slim object.

"Is that it?" Gibbs inquires. "The key?"

Jack shakes his head, chuckling as if his first mate has just told some funny joke. The pirate opens his hand to reveal a folded piece of parchment.

"What I have here is much more better than that," the Black Pearl's captain announces. "It is, in fact, a drawing of a key…"

KH-KH-KH

Hayner, Pence, and Olette sit on the lip of the Twilight Town clock tower, blissfully eating ice cream and enjoying their summer break. It's a simple existence, but they don't mind.

KH-KH-KH

Hands on his hips, Pete surveys the Hall of Empty Melodies. The sight isn't exactly pretty, what with the glass roof pretty much all falling in. In fact, there are trouble spots all through the Castle That Never Was. Whatever had happened inside that giant floating door, it sure had one hell of a spillover.

"Well," he finally says to his mistress, "I guess it coulda been worse, eh?"

"On the contrary," Maleficent replies, grinning like the cat that ate the canary, then all the canary's friends. "This is excellent! Exactly what I hoped for! Why, with this castle as my own…"

"WHAT!" Pete yelps, jumping a full two feet in the air. "Maleficent, ya can't be serious! I already told ya, this place is too close to the Darkness! The Heartless won't…"

"You told me, did you?" the jade-skinned sorceress shrieks. Her minion jumps back, covering his face. "I suppose you did. But remember Peter, I told you something as well."

Maleficent waves her hand, a simple elegant motion. For a long moment nothing happens. Then, just when Pete is about to obliviously ask what was supposed to happen, a Neoshadow rises from the white floor. It looks around in bewilderment for a second, until finally it fixes its gaze upon Maleficent. Without any further ado, the shadow creature bow before the witch.

"I told you not to underestimate me."

KH-KH-KH

"Okay," Tron mutters to himself, all of his processing power queing up for this one, monumental task. "Are you boys sure about this?'

"Positive, Tron!" Phineas assures the program. He and Ferb stand before the system administrator, clad in the blue armor of all Space Paranoids residents and visitors. "We ran several test, and only once out of six times did this program inspire homicidal mania."

Tron nods, trying to remain calm. "So, that's about a seventeen percent chance." He shrugs. "Those odds are okay by me. Hit it boys!"

At the program's command, Ferb presses the triangle-shaped button on the MP3-player's window. On cue, a bouncy electronic beat streams into the room.

Tron takes a second to absorb it, carefully parsing out the time-signature. He begins nodding along, letting the music direct his body where it wants to go. Toe-tapping follows, a snap not long behind.

The second the bass drops, the system administration program really lets loose.

KH-KH-KH

Quistis regards the men and women before her with a critical eye. Usually she can spot the stars in an instant, and this time is no different.

"Hello, recruits!" the young blonde calls out, every eye following as she paces the length of the newly rebuilt bailey's courtyard. "Welcome to your first day of training for the Radiant Garden Defense Force!"

KH-KH-KH

LeBlanc and Cid sit side-by-side on a bench in one of the city's many parks, sharing a meal between them. It's a beautiful day, absolutely perfect for their date.

Or, as it turns out, a crime.

"Fly Gullwings, fly!" Yuna calls out, bursting out of a bush with Rikku and Paine right behind. "Operation Pie In The Sky is a go!"

LeBlanc springs to her feet, absolutely indignant. "Why you little, I'll have you know I spent hours baking that pie just right for my Ciddy, and there is no way I'll allow your grubby little hands anywhere near it!"

For his part, Cid decides to sit back and just watch the show unfold.

KH-KH-KH

"Quadrant three on the north wall is all finished up, boss," Yuffie reports, skipping into Merlin's house with a carefree smile.

Leon says nothing, his eyes carefully roaming the piece of paper in his hand. Yuffie frowns, tilting her head to get a better look. For a long moment, the only sound in the room is Perry the platypus's quiet snore.

"That's good news, Yuffie," the Restoration Committee's leader says, nodding absently. In a quieter voice, and mostly to himself, he adds, "Great news."

The great ninja has no idea what to do next, so she just resorts to backing slowly out of the room. "Okay then. Uh, I'm gonna go grab some lunch. That okay with you, Squall?"

Sitting at a table across the room, Aerith shoots her young friend a gently reprimanding glare. Leon had been in such a great mood, and all it'll take to tick him off again is a single utterance of his abandoned name.

"Sure thing, Yuffie." No outburst, no reprimand. Not even a glare. This is truly unheard of.

It's as if time stops. Aerith's jaw drops, Yuffie lets out a gasp, and even Perry lazily opens one eye. An event has just passed that will live on throughout Radiant Garden history.

"Right," Yuffie says, starting her creep out the door again. "Great, cool. That's cool. See ya later… Squall?"

The man in question nods once. "Alright Yuffie. Don't take too long, you've still got a bit of filing to do."

Later on, Aerith surreptitiously sweeps her eyes over the paper Squall had been reading. She only gets a second's glance, but that's all it takes to note the small picture in the sheet's upper righthand corner. Two angel wings, colored a faint pink.

KH-KH-KH

The last remnants of the supposed Door to Light fade out, leaving the Dark Margin once again worthy of its name. All is still and quiet, the only sound that of waves gently lapping against the shoreline. Once again, the Realm of Darkness knows only emptiness.

Or so it may appear.

Two figures emerge from the Dark Forest, one smaller and quite noticeably female, the other male and almost twice as tall. Each is covered from head to toe in a suit of armor, dozens of plates locking together seamlessly, even their eyes hidden by a visor of black glass. Long capes blow behind them in the stiff wind.

The larger figure leans heavily on the smaller, who seems to have no trouble dragging her comrade further down the beach. The pair make it a few steps past the treeline, then promptly collapse. For some time, they merely sit together in a quiet rest, the sound of labored breathing joining that of the waves.

Finally, the female figure speaks, her voice coming out ragged, raspy. Like it hasn't been used in a very long time, except for screaming. "How… long?"

The man is silent for a moment, though whether he's contemplating the question or just out of breath is unknown. "Eternity."

"Did you feel… it too? The power that… freed us from that realm?"

"Yes. And I felt… him. Xehanort. But… different. Incomplete. Then gone. Destroyed."

"At least, we have that satisfaction." The armored female's voice is getting stronger, though her body can still feel the effects of the long nightmare. "After… what he did to…"

"No," her male companion disagrees, using what little energy he has to shake his head. "No satisfaction… yet. Not while… it still exists. Whoever had it… escaped. Same way we did. Just luck we weren't… seen."

The female weakly reaches out, brushing against her partner's chest. "We can deal with it, my friend. Just as soon as we're at full strength again. Give it time, and our mission can continue."

"Yes." The armored man leans back, closing his eyes for a long, hopefully peaceful and restorative slumber. "Soon… we will be strong enough again. And then… we'll destroy the Keyblade and… whoever is foolish or mad enough to wield it. Once and… for all."

KH-KH-KH

Sora leans back against the tree, watching as Azlyn and Telary explore the beach. The pair laugh together as they run and splash at each other. After a few playful fakeouts, the knight charges her fiancée and tackles him to the ground, kissing the absolute life out of him despite the fact that both of them are laughing so hard they can hardly breathe. Mickey stands close by, shaking his head at the antics.

Riku joins him, taking a seat at his fellow Keybearer's side.

"Well, we finally made it," Riku muses, ducking his head away so no one can see his tears. His lifelong friend knows that they're there, but decides to let him have his dignity. After a minute of composing himself, he brushes his hair away and looks up to Sora again. "Back home. Is it everything you thought it would be?"

Sora grins. "You know it is." He takes another look around, focusing on the familiar landscape rather than the people. It's all just as he remembers it. For a long time he'd feared that he would return only to find it all different, and he's glad that it isn't in the slightest. "What a small world."

Riku shakes his head. "Yeah, but it's part of something much bigger. Just like we all are."

A sudden thought strikes Sora, and he turns his head to meet his silver-haired friend's gaze. "So, Riku, what do you think the Door to the Light was? That's gotta be how we got back here."

Reaching out, Riku taps a finger against Sora's chest, right underneath his pendant. Where his heart is. "Right here. Just where it's always been."

Sora grins, chuckles. "It's always closer than you think, huh?"

"Ahem," Kairi cuts in from behind the boys. They turns to see her approaching, her hair practically glowing in the light of the golden sun, like the auburn strands have a fire all their own burning deep inside them. "Am I interrupting anything?"

Sora shakes his head. "Not at all, Kairi." He pats the spot next to him, obligingly helping her settle atop it. He looks from her to Riku, tears pricking at his blue eyes. "Well, would ya look at this? The three of us, together again." The Keybearer throws his arms around his friends. "There were times I was sure this was never gonna happen again. But here we are."

"Here we are," Riku repeats, almost dreamily. He looks happy to be home.

"After everything we went through, all the time apart, trying our hardest to be together again…" Kairi marvels, watching as Mickey finally manages to break up Azlyn and Telary's love fest. "I can't believe that it's finally ended."

"Hey you three!" Azlyn calls out to the trio. Telary's holding her around the waist from behind, his chin resting atop her head. "Get your butts down here and tell me where we can find a blitzball! Three on three, Disney Castle versus Destiny Islands! Prepare to be humbled by the superior world!"

As Mickey and Telary team up to admonish her about the equal importance of all worlds, Sora turns and presses a kiss to Kairi's cheek, then locks eyes with her.

"Oh, it isn't the end, Kairi," he declares, pushing off the trunk and lifting up a hand to the girl he loves. "It's just the beginning."

Smiling, she takes the offered hand and accepts his help down from the trunk. The future awaits, after all.

They go together.

In You and I,

There's a new land…

Well folks, there you have it! Kingdom Hearts: Keys to the Kingdom II is in the bag! I almost can't believe that I finally finished it. This story has been such a labor of love, and I am well and truly satisfied with the end product.

I started the first Keys to the Kingdom at a not-so-hot time in my life, as a way to have something I could make progress in and in some small way unburden my soul. I love Kingdom Hearts I and II, and adapting them with my changes and my characters has been a great experience, as I already noted. Things are going great now, and part of that is due to all the great people who have read and supported these stories.

But it still ain't over folks! If you've been to my profile page, you'll notice the names of 5 new stories (all quite a bit shorter, I should note) waiting on the heel of these two giants. I've been building the ideas for these for quite some time, and I hope you'll enjoy them even if I veer a bit from established KH canon with them.

Shoutouts to Bezerkr21 and Guest for their reviews of the last chapter, but actually I'm gonna take this moment to shoutout to everyone who's read Keys to the Kingdom to this point. Whether you favorited, followed, reviewed, or just took a look, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I ain't getting any money from this, so your appreciation is all I really have. And I am so glad to have it.

So again, thank you, thank you, thank you! Until next time!