"…now what?"

Sora rolled his eyes. He hadn't envisioned his grand victory to be this… bleak. Just endless swathes of nothing. Sure, he did technically delete the entire game, but he also defeated the guy who was in control of it all. So wasn't that supposed to fix it? He wasn't going to pretend to know anything about video games, not even for a moment, but generally things fixed themselves when you defeated the bad guy.

So why hadn't this?

"I-I don't know," Vanellope conceded. "King Can-, I mean Turbo had been runnin' the place for a while so maybe it's gonna take longer than normal?"

"How long does a reset normally take?" Goofy chipped in.

"Can't say I remember." Vanellope shrugged. "But it shouldn't take long, right? Few minutes at most?"

The four of them continued to wait in darkness, which remained unchanging. Almost as if to spite them.

"Ya think maybe we didn't beat Turbo, a-and that's why the game ain't resettin'?" Goofy scratched his chin.

"W-well we saw the Cy-Bugs eat him and then we blew those up so I'm pretty confident that we beat him. But it would explain a few things," Sora gulped. "I really don't wanna spend the rest of forever stuck in here."

Donald let out a long, low sigh. "…wanna play Go Fish?"

From out of nowhere the duck had produced a stack of cards and was splaying them out for show.

"Where… did you get those from?" Sora frowned.

"I always have these!" Donald hissed. "We gotta do something, don't we?"

"I guess," Sora scratched his head. "Alright, I'll bite. Got any fours?"

"Of course, I've got fours Sora, I've got the whole pack!" Donald raged, throwing the deck of cards at him. The cards fluttered down towards the 'ground', only to seep right through it.

"Ohhh…! And now I've lost my cards!" Donald seethed.

"Wait a second…" Vanellope crouched down. "Where did they go? It's a bit weird for them to just disappear, ain't it?"

"Huh, yeah now that you mention it," Sora said. "You know what Donald, maybe it is time to go fish!"

Donald just grunted in confusion. Sora dug his Keyblade into the ground, which sunk a couple of inches. He wiggled it a bit and watched as little flashes of light escaped.

"Ooh. Do that again!" Vanellope squeaked. "Vurp us outta here, Sora! That key of yours is the… key!"

"G-give us a hand!" Sora wiped sweat from his brow. Focusing everything he had on his Keyblade, he braced for the impact as Vanellope took his hand. The world surrounding them was reduced to green blocks and computer noises, with Sora's Keyblade a gleaming silver arrow piercing the ground.

"C'mon, c'mon…" Even his thoughts were strained. With every metallic creak of the Keyblade, every inch he buried it deeper, surges of light and energy would escape the wound in the floor. Sora pulsed his energy into the Keyblade and felt another burst of light ripple through him. The metallic computer noises were replaced with just one endless screeching noise, which only made concentrating harder. But it was working. No one could deny that.

"Come on, Sora!" Donald's voice echoed from the distance.

"You can do it!" Goofy's followed.

Sora grit his teeth in an effort to block out the screeching. Whatever this world was, it was clearly dying, and doing everything it could to stop them. Another wrench of his Keyblade sent the screech an octave higher but burst an actual hole in the bottom. Daylight was pouring in like air escaping a giant balloon. With another yelp of effort, Sora thrust his Keyblade into the floor once again, chipping off another section of floor. Cracks started shattering their way across, followed by entire sections of the ground falling loose. The screeching stopped at last, only to be replaced by the ringing of Sora's own ears, and the world slowly shattered away into nothingness, leaving the four of them standing on… the finish line?

This time it was the sound of applause shattering his eardrums. Squinting into the searing brightness, Sora could just about make out the sight of hundreds, if not thousands of Sugar Rush citizens cheering for them.

"You did it Sora, we're back!" Donald yelled into his ear.

"Ya saved us all!" Goofy literally picked him up in celebration.

"Some impressive work there, kid." Came another voice. Sora gasped and fell out of Goofy's grip, only to see Calhoun standing there, clear as day.

"S-Sarge! You're okay!" He dashed forward, arms outstretched but remembering at the last second. Instead one hand shot forward.

"We uh… we thought you were dead." His voice went all sombre.

"For a second so did I, Sora." Calhoun grasped his hand and shook it. "But I guess Candy sold himself short huh?"

"Either way, it's great to have you back Sarge." Sora grinned. "After all, who's gonna command your guys?"

"Huh. Well y'see, I was thinking about that Sora." Calhoun pursed her lips. "Now, you've clearly gone above and beyond the Call of Hero's Duty today, so how would you like to be my right hand man?"

"Hero?!" Vanellope yelped. With a panicked look, she vurped herself over the horizon.

"Y-you mean it?" Sora gasped. "I uh, wow, um…"

"You don't have to answer right away," Calhoun held up calm hands. "Or even if you just wanna do a couple sweeps every now and again. A uh, visiting Corporal, so to speak. That leaves you free to do whatever you want, and then help out when you can."

"Huh," Sora could feel the excitement bursting from within. "Corporal huh? I've never been anything other than just Sora before…"

"Say the word and it's a deal, buddy," Calhoun actually smiled.

"A-alright, I'll do it!" Sora grinned. "Happy to be of service, Sarge!"

"That's the spirit, Corporal." Calhoun stood up straight and saluted him, which he returned with gusto.

There was another flash on the horizon as Vanellope shot back, this time holding onto a Keyblade?

"Wait up, Dumdum!" She yelled after them. "Don't forget this!"

"This?" Sora gasped at it. "Is it… for me?"

"Well doy!" She poked out her tongue. "See anyone else with a giant key here?!"

"Fair point," Sora chuckled, and got a better look at it. The main shaft of the key seemed to be made out of candy cane, while candy corn teeth protruded from one end and a soft, squishy liquorice handle seemed to mould to his grip. A little handmade charm dangled from the handle saying 'you're my hero'.

"You seem to like these big key things so much, so I figured I'd make ya one!" Vanellope glittered. "That way you'll always have somethin' of us to take with you. I call it the Sweet Tooth!"

"Awesome…" Sora grinned, spinning it around a few times to get a feel for it. "A-and you made this? For me?"

"Well yeah, you fixed my game! I needed to thank you somehow!" Vanellope cried. She dashed forward and wrapped her arms around him. Sora braced for the weird, but it didn't come. The world remained strangely un-green. Positively normal even.

"Hey…" He mumbled.

"Shut up Dumdum, I'm hugging you." Vanellope muttered into his chest.

"But wait, look." Sora said. "The world's all… normal."

"Well yeah, of course it is!" Vanellope just got louder. "I said you fixed my game, didn't I?! Stop ruinin' the moment already!"

She nuzzled against him. "Come visit us, okay? It'll be tough being President-Queen without you idiots."

"President-Queen?" Sora frowned. "How are you both?"

"Hey, I can be both if I wanna. It's my game after all!" Vanellope poked her tongue out. "Now you guys get outta here before I start crying, okay?! But come back and visit!"

"Alrighty then, Ms President-Queen," Sora bowed. "Guess we're moving out then Sarge?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself Sora." Calhoun nodded in approval.

With Calhoun taking the lead, the four of them made their exit from Sugar rush, down the rainbow roll-up highway and back to Game Central Station. Unlike Sora's previous visits, the station was flowing steadily with dozens, if not hundreds of characters from various video games, interacting with each other between 'shifts' at their respective games. Unlike the lifeless husk it was before, everything about Game Central seemed reinvigorated and fresh now. Even the blue security guy was smiling.

"Well, looks like we've just about wrapped things up here kiddo." Calhoun clapped a hand on Sora's shoulder. "And I've got you guys to thank. So until next time, soldier."

Sora swung the Sweet Tooth over his shoulder and saluted with his free hand. "Thanks for having me Sarge. I'll swing by sometime, give ya a visit."

"I'd like that." Calhoun smiled. She turned about and began to slowly walk back off to her game when the world gave itself a gentle shake and Sora felt himself growing lighter.

Back in Hollow Bastion

The screen in the computer room began to glow, bursting with irradiated pixels as Sora, Donald and Goofy burst out of it.

"We're back!" Donald announced.

"Did ya miss…" Sora began, "us?"

The celebrations were going to have to be cut short. Aside from the missing roof, half of Radiant Garden seemed like it was on fire, billowing black smoke into the dusk.

"What happened here?" Sora muttered. Sweet Tooth already summoned, he and the guys hopped through a hole in the wall and into a scene of chaos. Residents of Radiant Garden were running about in a panic as an enormous winged figure launched balls of energy indiscriminately.

"What is that?!" Donald gasped.

There was a flash of bright blue light and someone familiar was knocked back into a wall. Gunblade in hand, Leon groaned with pain and struggled back to his feet.

"Dammit…!" He cursed. "Where the hell are you, Sora?"

"Leon!" Sora ran over to him and offered a hand up. "What's going on here?! Where is everyone?!"

"Heh. You always have the worst timing," Leon somehow found time to chuckle. "That is what's going on," he pointed to the huge dark figure in the sky. "And that, is where everyone is. Everyone is fighting that."

"What is it?" Sora gazed up at the creature. It had two pairs of insectoid wings stretching out from a dark central body, about six legs, and deep-set green eyes on a red and purple theme.

"Was just gonna ask you the same thing Sora," Leon held out his left hand to charge up a Firaga spell. "It spawned in the computer room while you guys were in there. Ruined my hotdogs too…"

"Ya don't think…" Goofy gulped. "It could be Turbo?"

"What?! That's impossible!" Sora cried. "We killed him and all of the Cy-Bugs! He can't just come back to life in the real world! I can't even-"

Sora's thoughts were derailed by a cacophony of high-pitched, demonic cackling. The giant creature had stopped in its tracks and appeared to be looking right at them.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Virus!" An all too familiar voice jeered. "What a lovely home you have! Now you can watch me destroy it!"

Sora exchanged a blank look with his comrades.

"Y-yep, that's definitely Turbo."

"But didn't you say it was impossible?" Leon frowned.

"Well apparently it isn't!" Sora cried. "C'mon guys, battle stations!"

There was barely time to react as another bright blue energy ball was launched right towards them. Goofy took point and absorbed the damage with his shield but was knocked back from the impact. Leon launched his Firaga spell towards Turbo, while Donald sent a sheet of Thundaga and Sora charged up a Blizzaga. All of which were cancelled out by a mere flap of Turbo's wings. Yuffie's boomerang arced out from somewhere and just bounced off the thick shell.

Goofy woke up and sprang back into action, launching his shield. Repeated wingbeats kept it suspended in mid-air before launching back at twice the speed, embedding itself in a wall. Cid's spear came vaulting out of nowhere, but it too just ricocheted from Turbo's tough carapace, and a blast of white light flashed through the skies, shocking him for just a moment. That must've been Aerith.

Cid swore loudly as his spear clattered to the ground, while Leon's gunblade grew to twice its usual size. He and Sora both charged Turbo at the same time, slashing with their respective weapons, only for their efforts to be held up by another blast of energy. Yuffie threw a trio of knives, Aerith attempted something with a blast of purplish energy, Donald launched a blast of Firaga and Cid even threw a lit stick of dynamite into the mix, but none of the efforts were getting through.

Turbo simply cackled with delight. "Aww, how cute. All of your little Virus friends are attacking together. Time to delete!"

An expulsion of energy burst from around Turbo, knocking anything and everything away like small bugs. Some were lucky enough to fall on the ground. Sora felt the rushing of wind in his ears before something heavy hit him from behind and his vision went black.

Reality came back to him in painful blurs.

Everything he had just hurt. There was the vague sensation of something tugging at his arm, but his very skin just felt as though it was made of needles. For every inch he was tugged across the rough ground, burning pain blistered across his body. His limbs, his joints, even his eyes felt like they were full of lead.

"Sora…!"

A grunt escaped Sora. Whoever was shouting for him, they were going to have to wait until he had the strength to move again.

"C'mon, Sora!"

There was another sudden shunt as a much stronger force attempted to move him. The ground left him completely, leaving him surrounded by a vague buoyancy. There were hands under his underarms and feet.

"He's so… heavy!" A voice obviously belonging to Donald complained.

"Well we can't jus' leave him there Donald!" Goofy said from above him.

Sora groaned, his eyes gently fluttering open. Goofy's head loomed above him while Donald was struggling to prop up his legs. A ribbon of darkened blood was matting the feathers on Donald's head together, while Goofy's movement was slow and laboured.

"Ugh…" Sora groaned, finding the strength to lift a hand to his head. "What's… going on?"

"Sora! You're awake!" Goofy almost dropped him. "Ohh, ya had us so worried!"

His feet suddenly fell back to the ground with a thud as Donald obviously decided he was well enough to support his own weight again. Goof made sure to help him upright again. No sooner was he standing again that his head exploded with pain, even more so than before. Wincing, Sora rubbed at the offending area and pulled back a hand sticky with half-dried blood.

How long was he out? He remembered Turbo, all of them attacking, then there was the rush of wind and suddenly he was getting carried away. The blood in his hair was already drying, his limbs were screaming at him with every movement and there were constant flashes out of the corner of his eyes. Meanwhile Goofy had one eye welded shut from a bruise and a cracked shield, and Donald's staff was nowhere to be found.

"Oh geez, you guys are just as beat up as me," Sora stumbled back a step.

"Yeah, and we had to carry you…" Donald said darkly. "Try not to get knocked out next time, okay?!"

"Next time?" Sora frowned. "Whaddya mean, next time? I don't want there to be a next time…"

"Well unless we get to the shelter, there won't be a this time!" Goofy's voice was suddenly harsh.

"But…" Sora massaged his aching head. "B-but what about Turbo? Are we just gonna let him destroy the place?"

"What else can we do, Sora?" Goofy shrugged. "None 'a' us can stop him, so we gotta hide, an' maybe he'll get bored or somethin'."

Something inside Sora curdled. Run away and hide? What kind of strategy was that? What kind of Keyblade wielder would he be, to just let a monster rampage through the town, endangering countless lives?

A bright blue ball of energy screamed overhead and engulfed a building, disintegrating it in moments. Turbo's evil cackle rang loud and clear, carrying effortlessly through the evening skies.

Goofy started tugging on Sora's arm. "C'mon Sora, we gotta go! There's nothin' we can do!"

Donald joined in, trying to push him from behind. "This is bigger than us!"

His already tired limbs were buckling from Goofy and Donald's attempts to move him. Meanwhile another building disappeared in a tower of blue flames.

"You want us to just run and hide?" Sora summoned the Sweet Tooth. "Aren't we supposed to be the ones protecting those who are running and hiding?"

"Yeah, well now that's us," Goofy tugged harder. "It ain't pretty but we're outta options."

"But there's gotta be something we can do?!" Sora cried.

"We tried those while you were unconscious!" Donald said.

"What, everything? Every possible thing? Not buyin' it guys!"

"No one's sellin', Sora. Sometimes ya gotta know when to fold 'em."

"No shame in living to fight another day, Sora."

Even Donald's voice was low and reproachful. Turbo's cackle continued to ring through the skies as he rampaged through Radiant Garden, meanwhile Leon was flagging the three of them down outside what looked like one of those old-fashioned military bunkers. Little more than an armoured door and a window.

"Well, this is us for the next couple of days," Leon sighed, clutching onto his left arm and wincing. "It's not so bad though. We've got hot dogs, enough beds for ten or so people and a TV with like, five channels."

The huge, heavy door groaned in indignation as Leon wrenched it open. "Alright, get in. Cid, Yuffie and Aerith are already in there so we can ride out the worst of it together."

Donald and Goofy just shared a dejected look before looking back to Sora.

"It's for the best, Sora."

"Bein' brave is about knowin' which fights ta pick."

Sora's grip tightened on the Sweet Tooth.

"…fine," He groaned. The Sweet Tooth fell from his hand, clattering against the ground. An angry, undecided gurgle gripped at the depths of his stomach as he followed after Goofy and Donald down the concrete steps and into the ordinary bunker, where a bald lightbulb illuminated just how grey it all was. Yuffie had splayed herself across a beat up three-seater couch while Cid was swearing at the tiny TV, which just screamed white noise back at him. A half a dozen or so inspirational posters littered the walls, the fridge hummed to itself and a dusty bookshelf stood abandoned in the corner. In a word, depressing.

"Hey there, Sora…" Aerith muttered bashfully. "You did the best you could, okay?"

"I guess," Sora said. His stomach was really starting to hurt now. "Sorry, everyone."

"No, no… don't apologise." Aerith kept her voice soft. She placed a hand on his shoulder, which began to glow, sending healing pulses through his body.

Sora braced himself. "I-I'm still sorry."

"Sora?" Goofy turned to look at him. "Sora, n-"

The tension in his stomach was released, and Sora disappeared in a flash of green lightning, slipping through the crack in the door before Leon could close it.

Adrenaline surging through his veins, Sora reappeared where the Sweet Tooth had fallen. Both Donald and Goofy had plastered themselves against the window, screaming inaudible panic at him. Sora just looked away. This was his duty after all.

With a quick look around for ideas, he dashed off towards the main plaza where the Gummi Ship was, miraculously, still in one piece. Even if he could just lure Turbo away with it, that would at least keep the town safe.

Sora fired up the engines and strapped himself in for a bumpy ride. Flicking various switches, the weird buoyant feeling surrounded him as the ship took off into the skies above. The Gummi Ship's engines whirred loudly in the background as Sora fought to keep the thing stable, swerving between buildings and ducking around fallen structures. Fingers twitching, he watched as Turbo set another building alight before taking careful aim.

A splash of laser beams shot out of the left cannon and plunged into Turbo's shell. He flinched, and the ball of flame he was charging up dissipated.

"Hmm…?" He cackled to himself, rearing up. "It seems like I need to swat another insect!"

Turbo's wings began beating faster, and Sora had to zip behind another building to avoid a ball of flame. The building exploded in blue nova and Sora reached around for the walkie talkie, swerving left and right to avoid more fireballs.

"H-hey guys, come in? Sora h-" he began, before his sentence was hijacked by a myriad of panicked voices.

"Sora!?"

"Sora! Where are-"

"-get back here, oka-"

"-you don't have to-"

"Sora!"

"Guys, guys!" He yelled into the receiver. "Look, I don't exactly have the time to chat! Someone put Cid on the line!"

There was audible squabbling and fumbling on the other line, followed by a loud thud of someone obviously dropping the walkie talkie. Eventually Cid's rough drawl picked up;

"What is it, numbskull? Tellin' ya, you're runnin' a suicide mission right now."

"Eheh…" Sora chuckled. "Well yeah, about that…"

The walkie talkie thudded again, followed by the crackly noises of warping plastic.

"Hang on, you WHAT?!" Cid raged from the other side. "If you're thinkin' about smashin' up that Gummi ship, I can promise you I will person'lly f-"

Sora had to swerve to avoid a fireball, which torched another building. Meanwhile Cid was still cursing at him;

"I'm tellin' ya Sora, there ain't gonna be SHIT left! You don't want me as yer enemy little man, you hear me?!"

"C'mon Cid, I never said I would!" Sora grimaced, dodging out of the way as an almighty claw swept past.

"Yeah but you're considerin' it aren't'cha?! That's as good as treason in my book!"

"Well then how about a last request?!" Sora cried. "Just let everyone know I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry things turned out like this, and I'm gonna do my best to fix it! Hell, even if I fail I'll be seeing you guys soon anyway, so what's the harm?!"

"Well… Cid's voice crackled through the static. "I reckon we've got a compromise. Win or lose kid, you trash that Gummi ship and I'll punch you until I pass out, y'un'erstand me?!"

"…I understand." Sora sighed. "I'll see you guys when this is all… over."

The static cut out on the walkie talkie, and Cid grasped onto it like it were a grenade.

"Stupid… kid!" He spat, dropping the thing. "Sora wants y'all to know he's sorry. Damn idiot's gonna try 'n' fight the giant space bug by himself!"

"Sora…!" Donald wailed, pressing himself up against the window.

"We're s'posed to be the ones protectin' you!" Goofy cried. Leon just put a hand on Goofy's shoulder.

Meanwhile Sora had just arced away from another fireball in the Gummi ship. Racing off into the night skies, he was throwing switches and practically tearing the steering wheel from its console in order to avoid Turbo's repeated onslaught. None of the limited chances he had to go on the offensive – the missiles, the rockets, the lasers – ever seemed to do anything, while smokescreens and evasive flying would only buy him an extra few seconds here and there. The concrete maze of Radiant Garden had phased out for long, stretching canyons. Occasional stacks of bright red rock would jut out of the lava below, which Sora could dodge around and slow Turbo down. But he persisted, stalking after the Gummi ship almost casually as if it barely interested him.

Turbo launched another fireball overhead, which Sora had to swing beneath and then avoid the rockslide it caused, meanwhile the missile he was able to fire in retort barely charred the cliff behind him. Meanwhile the canyons were getting narrower, and Sora was starting to regret ever turning down one. He couldn't exactly back out now though.

He was having to weave in and out between rock stacks, barely missing some, meanwhile Turbo decided to make things more interesting by suddenly loosing a stream of tiny yet powerful energy blasts. Hundreds of pellets were pinging off the Gummi Ship's shields, and warning signals were popping up everywhere within the cockpit. Sora was punching at controls to try and shut them up, but then a sheet of rock came out of nowhere, smashing into the side of the Gummi Ship.

Yet more energy blasts continued to pelt at the ship. The left engine was losing power and the shields were starting to run low. The cockpit was flashing red, and Sora was hitting every button and switch he could to keep the thing in the sky. Suddenly a wave of energy sliced into the shields and the alarms only got louder, meanwhile the rock walls were just getting closer together.

This was not looking good, Sora grimaced. The rock faces either side of him were glowing blue now, as Turbo charged up an enormous ball of energy. He was running out of options and fast. Sora scrunched his eyes shut and hammered down on a big button on the dashboard, once feeling his stomach leave him behind.

"No…!" Donald hammered his fists against the glass as a massive explosion flared up on the horizon. Turbo's evil cackle rang through the skies.

Sora's eyes opened. Wind rushing through his hair, the heat of the explosion was still sweltering. And now he was falling towards it. But Turbo hadn't noticed him yet. Hopefully. He had one chance at this.

Sweet Tooth in hand, Sora dropped down through the air, the heat of the lava below rising with every second. Turbo was too busy cackling to notice Sora puncture the Keyblade right in between his wing joints.

"Wha?!" Turbo gasped. "Wh-who're you?!"

"I'm a Virus, and you caught me, Turbo!" Sora sneered. Digging the Sweet Tooth ever deeper into Turbo's depths, the giant bug-man screamed in pain with every movement, and both went plunging through the skies, towards the lava below.

"Y-you know we're both gonna die, right?!" Turbo cackled. "You wanna die, Virus!? 'Cause this is how you die!"

"Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices!" Sora stuck the Sweet Tooth in farther still, prompting another pained shriek from his host. "But this is my game, and I'm gonna defend it!"

"Haah! A-hah!" Turbo's voice was getting squeaky now. "E-even from yourself, Virus? What'll happen if you die out here? Pretty sure you can't come back!"

"Well nor can you, and that's the important thing!" Sora cried. The heat was all but unbearable now. Flumes of lava would occasionally spout upwards just to make things worse, meanwhile Turbo was doing all he could to break free. Sora dug his Keyblade in farther just go keep the bug paralysed.

"I'll get you for this Virus! Trust me, you will rue the day you crossed me!" Turbo was still somehow cackling despite the rage in his voice. The cackling slowly morphed into strained screams however, as the pair continued to descend towards the river of lava.

"C'mon, c'mon…" Sora grimaced. Sweat was cascading down him now. The air around them must've been hot enough to melt rock, but he had to keep his focus. His grip tightened, and he ripped the two feet of metal out of Turbo's back in one swoop. Turbo shrieked in pain, but it wasn't from the Sweet Tooth. Wings flailing desperately, his body was slowly getting swallowed up by all consuming lava, meanwhile Sora was nowhere to be found.

Turbo continued to scream as his body slowly dissolved into the lava, all while Sora held on limply to the Sweet Tooth impaled in the side of a cliff. Pebbles were slipping loose thanks to his weight, but he couldn't wait around. He wrenched the key out of the rock and lobbed it away, where it pierced another wall and teleported him towards it. A Blizzard spell projected him outwards from the wall and he then pivoted himself upwards with another careful throw.

The rock walls were starting to collapse though. Sora took a leap and froze a plume beneath him with another Blizzard spell, which rose upwards. A rock stack started collapsing to his left, so he jumped over to it and started clambering across it as it fell. The heat of the lava below was slowly dissipating with increased distance, but the cliffs and rocks were falling apart in front of his eyes.

The Sweet Tooth cracked into another cliff and Sora pivoted from it onto a small shelf, inching his way around the rock face to a higher platform. One last throw and his Keyblade finally crested over the edge of the cliff, transporting him onto flat ground at last.

He fell to the gravelly savannah in a flourish of sweat, cradling up to it like a long-lost passion. He wasn't dead. He defeated Turbo – this time for good! – and wasn't dead. Sure, he totalled the Gummi Ship so Cid was going to kill him later anyway, and he had nowhere to run because he totalled the Gummi Ship, but that was a later problem…

Sora wrenched himself back into a sitting position and marvelled at the Keyblade in his hand. The two foot strip of metal was responsible for saving his life, and this time not by just beating something into submission.

With every swing, he could teleport himself another twenty or so metres, which was so much faster than walking. Vurping his way across the night, Sora ventured back into Radiant Garden's city centre, only to find a morose looking Donald and Goofy slumped up against the window of the shelter.

Grinning, the young man knelt in front of it and tapped on the window with his Keyblade.

*tap tap!*

Donald reacted first with a small grunt, opening heavy eyes and glancing at the intruder. Suddenly, realisation.

He shrieked silently, scrambling to his feet. Goofy sprang upwards almost immediately after and even Leon fell off the couch behind them. A series of heavy thuds up concrete steps had Donald fighting with the heavy metal door and then out into the night.

"Sora! You're alive?!" Donald gasped. "B-but… but we saw the Gummi Ship blow up!"

"Ejector seat." Sora said simply. "Good thing too, huh?"

"I'll say!" Goofy slapped a hand on his back. "Ya done scared us good there."

Both of his team-mates ran towards him in an enormous group hug.

"Good to see you again Sora." Even Leon was smiling. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting to. Looks like I stand corrected… again."

Cid simply stood in the doorway and glared.

"…sorry," was all Sora could say. "I guess you're gonna have to punch me a lot now, huh?"

"Yer damn right I do," Cid tapped a cigarette out of the packet he kept behind his ear and lit it. "But ya know what? I think I'll let you off today. That model of Gummi Ship was gonna get scrapped in a few months anyway. So ya can help me build the new one instead."

"I'll hold you to it." Sora grinned. "Well, now what guys? Looks like we're stuck here 'til the new Gummi Ship gets built."

Goofy just shrugged. "I… guess we can take some time off?"

"You did just save the world…" Donald sniggered.

"You know what? You're right. I did just save the world." Sora grinned again. Together with his two best buddies, Sora laid back on the grass and watched the night sky pass them by.

Infinite lights among endless darkness.

Author's Note:

That's it everyone, thanks for reading.

I messed around with the mechanics a bit and essentially Nobody'd Turbo. Unofficial name Boxtur.

Thanks again for reading. I'll be uploading more KH fics at some point, so look forward to those if you want :)