Sora sighed, stick dropping to his side as he clasped his hands over his knees. It had been some time since he and Riku had been separated from Aanyx and Xemnas in the fight, and the only light of Shores of Obliteration seemed to shine from the very waters. It wasn't a bright light-more like a soothing light, like the equivalent to a child's night light. Riku was currently dozing against a nearby rock, leaving Sora alone and utterly bored.

He gave a jolt of surprise when a flash of black nothingness erupted above, and Aanyx fell to his feet-just as bloody and beat up as she had been before he and the others cured her. He pat himself down for another potion, having exhausted his mana curing her the first time, but she waved him off, standing warily to her feet. She collapsed on the other side of the rock Riku had been asleep against, "It's done..." She breathed warily, a limp in her stride as her wings twitched painfully behind her. Sora and Riku rushed over, but she irritably waved them off, "I'll be fine."

"What happened to you?"

"I sacrificed the Curaga spells you used on me to banish Xemnas' evil. It was the only way...to get outta it alive..." Aanyx collapsed to the ground, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. "Banished his evil? You mean his darkness?"

A hollow laugh, "Considering I called upon Darkness Herself? Not bloody likely."

Sora's eyes widened to the equivalency of saucers, "W-WHAT?"

"You called an All-God…and she just answered?"

"Look, Albino, I was running low on options—we all were! Sora wouldn't have lasted another attack against his heart, and I didn't see you getting up any time soon, so just—" Aanyx cut herself off as her vision suddenly clouded over, and she stumbled into the boulder dizzily.

Riku sighed, "…Sorry…"

"Old habits die hard," Aanyx muttered in understanding. Sora looked at her worriedly, "You aren't gonna…fade away too…are you?"

"Ha, takes more than that to stop me. I'll be fine in a little bit," She paused to lick her bleeding lip and nodded to the surf, its faint glow lighting the beach, "You'll find your way home there."

"What about you? Don't you have a home to go to?" Riku frowned, folding his arms over his chest. "I can't go home yet. I need to heal so I can bring them back."

"What? Why!"

"Because they're my family, that's why. With all I've done for you, the least you could do is be a little sympathetic, Albino."

At least the boy had the decency to look guilty after his outburst, Aanyx thought.

A small ball of light suddenly appeared at Sora's elbow before materializing into a raven-haired fairy, making the boy jump. "Whoa, a Pixie!"

"Calm down, Clumsies. I'm here for Aanyx," The fairy said. "Beck," Aanyx greeted warmly, holding out a shaking hand for the Pixie to land on. Beck smiled, ignoring the gesture to instead gently cover the Nobody's injured wing in pixie dust. It immediately perked to its original form, and Aanyx let out a grateful sigh. She allowed the Tinker Fairy to pull her blood-matted auburn hair into a loose ponytail as she explained, "Beck is my fairy—she's a Tinker."

"I'm gonna take you to a place where you can heal, okay Clumsy?"

"Where are you going?" Sora asked worriedly as Aanyx stood and slowly worked her wings into a hover. "Roxas' Twilight Town," Beck said, "Flit and I've been restoring it—it's time for Aanyx to heal now."

"What did she say?" Riku asked irritably. Sora frowned at him, "You didn't hear that?"

"You did? All I hear is chimes."

"Sora understands her because of Roxas. You can only understand a Pixie's language if you have a Pixie yourself. She said I'm going to—to the other Twilight Town. She and Roxas' fairy restored it so I could stay there while I heal."

"Roxas has a fairy? Is she mine too?" Sora asked, excited. Aanyx chuckled tiredly, "Flit's a he, and he's only Roxas'. Sorry, Sora. But hey, you swing by Pixie Hollow in Neverland and you'll find your own Pixie." She allowed him to interrupt with a short cheer before continuing.

"I'm not saying goodbye—especially not to you," she sent a glare in Riku's direction before giving Sora a soft smile, "And although you're no Roxas, you ain't half bad—you know, for a big-footed dumbass of a Somebody. See ya 'round." With that and a fond ruffle of his spiky brunette mane, Aanyx followed her fairy through the darkness, leaving the boys once more alone.

-u-

Aanyx was surprised to find Heyner, Pence, and Olete waiting for her. They asked no questions of her wings, nor where she had been. Heyner offered her a bar of Sea Salt ice cream, which she accepted with a smile as she sat beside Olette on the Clock Tower. Still without speaking, Olette began to clean the scrapes on the Nobody's arms, and Aanyx tried not to wince as she enjoyed a familiar view of an everlasting sunset…

She would wait until she was healed—Beck's magic only having temporarily given her the ability to fly—and then she would leave. But not now.

Now was the time for mourning those that had moved on without her. Now was the time to plan what she would do once healed. Now, she needed the comfort of familiarity, where she was just another teenager who failed math tests and fell down basement stairs…

-u-

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANK YOU ALL who've stuck with this massive project all this time! I'm SO sorry it took so long! I really loved working on this—Aanyx has grown to be my most loved OC, by far

As hinted through most of the whole thing, there WILL be a sequel—though, unlike this one, I'm planning on breaking it down smaller. I'll be going on a bit of a hiatus for now, maybe exploring other fandoms. I've got a sequel to my OHSHC in the works, as requested by several readers, and in honor of HPDH part 2 opening next Friday I'll probably be doing something HP-related soon, so look foreword to that!

So, yeah—thank you all again for sticking through this thing for the three-plus years I've been working on it. I may or may not go back and edit chapters, but I think I'll get through the sequel first….

MAJOR KUDOS to those that have reviewed / favorited / read through the whole thing! I know it's long, and I know it's kinda boring some times, but that makes those of you who've stuck through that much more awesome!

So, yeah. Loves to all, see you next time!

~Sincerely Doubtful