Okage Hearts

Chapter 30

I don't own Okage or Kingdom Hearts. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Stay tuned past the final Author's Note at the end of this Chapter for the finale.

Ari and his companions had made their way back to the mainland, and kept walking until they arrived on a familiar shore, which was being illuminated by the light of the setting sun. None of them spoke a word, seeming unsure of what to say after the ordeal they'd been through. Even Stan, who had assumed his true form once they'd gotten off of that island was speechless from what they'd all experienced. As could have been expected of the situation, it was Rosalyn who managed to find her voice first.

"So, the world's supposed to have changed somehow?" she inquired, turning towards the group, "Then why does it feel like nothing's changed at all?"

"Well, should the matter be expressed in words, I suppose that the best method to describe the change is in the cognizance of the citizens has been affected, rather than the actual world, itself," Kisling interjected, "We are no longer constrained by the Classification that kept everyone assigned specific roles. No longer are we 'props,' to use Beiloune's terms. We are now free to pursue any endeavor that we desire. Even though Classification is gone, for example, I intend on continuing researching things in the name of science!"

"It doesn't matter to me," Stan said, crossing his arms, "I am the Evil King, so why should it matter to me if Classification was erased forever. All that matters is that I'm free to find true evil once again."

"You are stupendous, Sire!" James shouted, racing towards the group, "I will follow you to the ends of the world!"

"Ah, there you are, James," Stan remarked, "Where were you earlier and what were you doing?"

"I was watching from the background," James said automatically, though Ari suspected that the ghost was lying, "I didn't see a reason to interfere when the Master had a handle on things."

"Alright, then," Stan shrugged, apparently trusting the butler at his word, "Well, Ari, I think we can wrap things up, now. It's been fun. Next time you hear my name, it will be with people telling of how I rule the world! If you visit me, it'll probably be a lot of fun. So long!"

With that, he and James walked off before Ari could speak, seeming content with their current situation.

"That was cold-hearted!" Rosalyn exclaimed, "He ran off before we could have our final fight! Wait. . ."

She looked down, parasol still in hand as she registered what happened. Once she had a firm grasp of the obvious, she shouted, "He didn't fix my shadow! We had a deal! And, of course, it's my duty as a Hero to not leave an Evil King who's seeking ways to be evil alone! Yeah, that's what I'm mostly thinking about, nothing else. Now, to catch Stan and get my old life back! Gotta go! See you later, Ari!"

With that, she raced off in the same direction Stan and James had left from just before Ari could give a response.

"And what do you all plan to do with yourselves," Ari asked the remaining group as they watched them race off, one in hot pursuit of the others.

"So wonder I if World's answers lie hidden in magical power," Epros replied, "Rest never I, the answers nigh, so off to the Gear Tower."

"Wait for me, Epros!" Linda shouted, latching onto his arm, "You promised Linda a Cuddly and a Bubbly, after all."

"What?!" Epros exclaimed in surprise and mortification, much to Ari's amusement, "I never. . . I mean. . ."

"Don't worry about it," Linda said, preventing him from making a rhyme, "Let's go! Later, Ari!"

"Take care," Ari replied, waving the pair off.

"I suppose I'll be going back to being a respected and acclaimed scientist,"Kisling mused, "I likely have enough information by now to write several papers, but that will not stop me from continuing my research! I will continue observing the bizarre, the fantastic, and all things in between! Considering that you still possess the Keyblade, we will almost certainly be meeting again, my young comrade. Fare thee well in this bold new world of undiscovered possibilities!"

At that, the scientist made his exit, muttering facts and figures to himself as he became lost in his musings.

"I have a vision I'm going to follow, too," Big Bull said earnestly, "I call it 'The Ox Hole.' I'm going to make a training center for macho men everywhere! I'll have a macho army ready for our next spar. Feel free to visit whenever."

With those words, Big Bull raced off, intent on making his vision a reality.

Once all of his companions were gone, Ari stood at the shore's edge for a while longer, looking into the sea as he thought of everything that had happened to him. He'd changed in his adventures, and he thought that it might have been for the better. He had gained confidence, made more friends than he'd ever had, and had led a successful crusade to make the world free of constraints that no one had even been aware of. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel that the victory was a bit hollow. Here he was, alone on a shore, and he couldn't find Her. He knew that he would be able to find his friends if he ever needed to, but She was still missing. Making up his mind to begin searching for her starting the next day, he headed homeward as the sun vanished behind the horizon.

As he continued down his path, he idly noted upon the Moonflowers growing along the path before a thought struck him, one which made too much sense for it to be chance, especially given Beiloune's words.

Elsewhere, in a village that once did and didn't exist at the same time, one wouldn't be laughed at for assuming that this strange village was being bombarded by all the stars in the sky, as that was the best way that one could describe the appearance of the village. Nevertheless, were one to be inside of the village, they would see the 'stars' fly towards the dull, almost colorless denizens of this village, who seemed to gain life and color to their features upon being struck. One by one, they all began to head towards a girl with a hat that had a purple ribbon and flower attached.

"Is this really happening, K.T.?" one asked, "Are we really free?"

"We're no longer bound to Triste," the girl said to the crowd, "You can all leave this place if you wish."

With that, she walked away as the gate to the village opened, allowing the people who'd been trapped for so long to leave. Despite her newfound freedom, however, K.T. was heading in another direction. Heading through the village, she stopped at the door of a small dilapidated house, and knocked twice. When the door opened, revealing the inhabitant, she asked, "Do you know where you're going to go?"

"Home," they responded, "I'm going home."

"I wish you luck," K.T. said, "And, please, give him our thanks."

"I will," she agreed, shaking the former Gatekeeper's hand before she headed on her way.

The next day, the sun rose over a brand new day. Things were different, yet, no matter how different they were, they almost seemed the same. People continued about their lives, yet now they did it by choice, rather than due to a compulsion to follow an assigned role. It was during this new morning that Ari found himself at the crossroad where it could be argued that led to his new situation. This was, after all, the crossroad that led him to the Circus, where he'd gotten the Keyblade in the first place.

Ari was torn from his musings when he saw two boys standing nearby, seeming to be talking about something.

"But, now they've got some giant talking rat, a magician, and a singer," one boy said to the other.

"Ari?" the other boy asked, having spotted the Keyblade wielder, "Is that really you? You haven't been around the village in a long time. You actually got here just in time. the annual village festival is up. Why don't you go see if they need any help?"

"Why not?" he shrugged as he dismissed the Keyblade, surprising the pair with his louder voice. With that, he headed off towards the Town Hall, where he suspected his father would be. As he headed that way, he was stopped by the scared man that kept panicking about every little thing.

"Ari, it's terrible!" the man shouted, "Do you know what's happened? A new world's been discovered at the edge of this one! With so much world, there's bound to be a bunch of dangerous things out there. Makes me shiver."

Once it was clear that the scared man was not going to say anything further, Ari took his leave of him, heading towards the Town Hall. When he got to the door, he was surprised to see his father was already out there, apparently supervising as people moved different items into specific spots. Upon catching glimpse of Ari, however, his father stopped what he was doing and said, "Ari! It's good to see you son, but something tells me this isn't a simple visit. I'd love to hear all about your adventures, but it's going to have to wait until I get home. We're completely swamped with this festival."

Ari simply nodded his head in response, deciding that he might as well head home and let the rest of the family know he arrived.

When he arrived at the gate to the residence, he was not particularly surprised to see Annie outside, clearly about to leave.

"Ari, you're back!" she smiled, "You have no idea how bored I was listening to dad's crazy theories while you were gone."

"Yes, I'm sure that I don't have any idea how dull they can be," he replied dryly, causing her to pause, almost as if to determine whether she'd actually heard him or not.

"Anyway," she pressed on, "There was a girl here looking for you. She even asked if this was where you lived, so I led her to the house. She was kind of cute, you lady-killer. Well, got to go. Festival only comes once a year and I can't miss a chance to test my feminine wiles, can I?"

She looked up, only to see that he was already gone.

Ari was racing towards the house, intent on seeing if he was right about who he believed the guest was. Upon getting there, he was stunned by the sight in front of him. A vision with a white dress, blond hair, and blue eyes greeted him. After a moment of silence, his mother, who he hadn't even noticed smiled and said, "Ari, your timing couldn't be more perfect. You have a guest. I'm so proud of you, finding a pretty girl on your adventures. Why don't I give you two some privacy?"

Once Ari's mother had entered the house, Ari walked up to the girl and smiled as he said, "I'm so happy to see you, Julia. Or should I say 'Your Highness,' Princess Marlene? That is your real name, isn't it?"

"Figured it out, did you?" she asked, a delicate smile on her face, "What gave it away?"

"The only person who remembered you was me," he began, "Not even the Innkeeper, the person who I remembered being your father noticed. Then, Beiloune said that the other one had a similar heart to you, but couldn't be you. At the same time, there were so many things that you had in common that made me comfortable around her that it couldn't be a coincidence. Once I had the time to think about it, that was the only thing that made sense. Why did you do it, though?"

"I didn't want to be the Princess, anymore," she answered, "I wanted to live a simple life, instead of spending my time in a tower waiting for Heroes and Evil Kings to fight. My father and I didn't agree, so I ran away. I used my power to hide myself, and invented an entire back-story under a new name to make things easier. Then, I met you, and you know the rest. Is my father. . .?"

"He vanished," Ari replied, "He said he was going to look for you, even though Classification was done with, and walked away before disappearing."

"I hope he gets better by the time we meet again," she said, "From what I could tell, he wasn't in his right mind."

The pair stood there in silence for a few moments before Ari asked, "What now, Marlene?"

"First, you go back to calling me 'Julia,'" she laughed, taking his hand in hers, "I like that name better, even if I can't Classify myself as 'the Innkeeper's Daughter,' anymore. After that, who knows? There's an entire world of possibilities out there. As long as we're together, everything should be fine."

With that, the pair headed inside, each content with having the other with them, no matter what else life could throw at them. They were together, and that was all that mattered.

Thank you all for reading this story from beginning to end, and thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and/or set the alert for this story. It's hard to believe it's already been over two years since it began, yet, here we are. I know that the update time was pretty slow, so thank you all for sticking with the story for this long. We had a good run, but it's finally over. And now, just to make the ending match the game, I present the finale. . .

Once Ari and Julia entered the house, closing the door behind them, a familiar shadow made his appearance just outside.

"Heh, heh, heh," Stan laughed, "Abusing my slave is more amusing than any other task! I wonder what sort of calamity I'll have him go through next. . . Thinking about what to do to mess with him is almost as fun as actually doing it. Ha ha ha ha ha!"