Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is owned by Square-Enix and Disney. I also don't own any Final Fantasy characters that show up in this fan fiction. They are owned by Square-Enix. I only own the OC's. I do not mean any of this to seem like it is copyright infringement.

Prologue: Bedtime Stories

Eight people gathered around a bed that was centered in the middle of the room. There was a single window that was opened, with the wind blowing in from outside. They could see an island that was with rowing distance from where they lived. The adults brought in chairs for all of them to sit while two of the kids—a boy and a girl—sat on the bed. The other, a boy who looked a little older than the other two, stood in a corner next to a huge poster hanging on the wall next to the window.

Sora sat next to Kairi. They put their chairs closer to the kids sitting on the bed, right next to the window. Riku and Naminé put their chairs close to the bed as well, and sat next to each other. Roxas sat closer to the kid standing in the corner.

The boy sitting on the bed, with one leg hanging off the edge, looked at Kairi and said, "Mom, do we have to listen to this story every time we have Uncle Roxas, and Uncle Riku and Aunt Naminé over?" The boy had a striking resemblance to Sora. He had the same spikey hair, only it was red-brown like his mother's. He had the same blue eyes as both of them as well. He wore black and blue pajamas, and looked to be about fourteen.

"Aw, come on, Zephyr," Sora said. He was wearing a red shirt with blue jeans. He wore a few belts that hung loosely off his waist. "Be honest with yourself. You like the story."

Zephyr paused a moment, and then said, "Yeah, but still."

"Maybe we can tell another one?" Naminé suggested. She was wearing a white dress with a white cover shirt over it. "We might be able to come up with something."

"But I love hearing this one," the girl, sitting with her feet crisscross on the bed, chimed in. She hated the idea that another story might take the place of her favorite. She was wearing lavender pajamas. She had black hair and purple eyes. This was Zephyr's sister, Apolla. She, too, was fourteen.

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. He wore a white and black shirt with khaki pants. "We could tell you and your sister about the time I beat your Uncle Riku in a spar when we were around your age." He pointed at Riku.

Zephyr and Apolla looked at their uncle. Riku was glaring at Roxas. Everyone laughed.

"Let's save that for another time," Kairi said. She wore a pink dress over a pair of off-white pants. "I don't think we will be able to get away with not telling this story." At that point, everyone looked at Apolla, and agreed that it was inevitable; they were going to have to tell it.

Roxas looked at Zephyr, Apolla, and the boy in the corner, and asked "Should we use the same names as last time?" They all nodded.

"It sounds more exciting that way," Zephyr added.

Sora started the story off. "Not long ago, three children—in this case we'll say their names are Sora, Riku, and Kairi—who dreamed of travelling away from their home and seeing other worlds."

The three children in the room laughed at the thought of their family members using their names in the story, like they usually did.

"One night, their dream came true, but not at all how they imagined. On that fateful night, the three friends were separated, each sent to a different world. Sora was given a gift that had been sought after by many: the ability to wield a mighty weapon that was shaped like a key. With this weapon, he was able to fight off enemies that threatened the balance between the light and the darkness."

Apolla looked over at her Aunt Naminé. She was drawing in a sketchbook that she always seemed to bring with her.

"During the search for his missing friends, Sora made two new friends—we'll say their names are Donald and Goofy—who helped him on his journey to find Riku and Kairi, to find their missing king, and to destroy the darkness that was threatening all worlds. They travelled to the different worlds, making sure they were safe. In one of those worlds, he found his friend Riku. But something was wrong. Sora noticed that Riku's heart had been touched by darkness, a darkness that had been tempted by Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. Riku was being used by him, because Ansem only wanted to use him as a host. Sora wanted to save his friend, and in time, he did. He saved both Riku and Kairi from the clutches of darkness, and defeated Ansem. When the time came, Sora and his friends closed the door to darkness. However, this meant that they had locked the missing King and Riku in the Realm of Darkness. The trio had lost their friends once again. Promising to return with Riku, Sora leaves Kairi behind. She understands, and returns to their world. Sora, with Donald and Goofy by his side, continued on another journey."

"Wow," Apolla chimed in. "Poor Riku and the King!"

This time Naminé spoke. "Leave the next part to me, Sora. You always seem to forget, no matter how many times I tell you."

Sora blushed, and scratched the back of his head.

"Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked on for many days, searching for Riku and the King. That is, until they came to a strange castle owned by a mysterious organization. They walked in, believing that they might find them there. But in this castle," she paused a moment, and then continued. "They lost their memories. They defeated some of the Organization members, and saved a girl named Naminé—that's what we'll go with for now—who was the reason why they lost their memories in the first place, because she had power over Sora's memories and those connected to him. The Organization forced her to strip him of his memories, making him forget things that were important to him, people that were special to him. She felt guilty, and helped to put their memories back together again. They were put to sleep in order for her to put them together again."

Roxas took this time to jump in and start the next part of the story. "Meanwhile," he started, "another boy—his name will be Roxas—who was a member of the Organization, was living his existence carrying out missions and doing what he was told to do. During the afternoons, when he was done with a mission, he would eat ice cream with a young man and a girl around his age—their names are going to be Axel and Xion, okay?—and talked about whatever came to mind."

He didn't look too excited to start the next part.

"But Xion left, running away from the people who had created her. She found out that she was created to not only hurt Roxas, but to also keep a hold of memories that didn't belong to her. She decided to give them back, and no longer existed. Roxas was devastated, and left the Organization as well, because they kept him in the dark about everything. He met Riku, who wanted him to become a part of Sora once again, and give him the memories he had. Roxas fought Riku, and lost. He was taken to an abandoned mansion, and put into a simulated town, until the time came for him to give Sora what he needed to wake up. Roxas lived in that town for seven days. He met Naminé, and she told him the truth, and what he needed to know. He was found by his old friend Axel, who tried to convince him to come back to the Organization with him. But instead he followed Naminé, and became a part of Sora."

Roxas fell silent, and looked at the floor. Riku took over.

"Sora, Donald, and Goofy woke up, not remembering how they got to where they were," he began. He wore a white shirt over a yellow long sleeved shirt with dark blue jeans. "The only things they could remember were the events that took place before they arrived at the castle. They decided to continue looking for Riku and the King. While they were searching, Xemnas, the leader of the Organization and looked a lot like Ansem the Seeker of Darkness, had Kairi kidnapped. Sora looked for her as well. Axel helped the trio look for Kairi, and was lost as well. Sora, Donald, and Goofy eventually found all of their friends, and eliminated the remaining members of the Organization. They briefly met Roxas and Naminé, who helped them to escape. When they became a part of Sora and Kairi once again, they finally went home."

"Man, what an awesome story!" Zephyr exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Apolla questioned. "You were the one who wanted to hear a different story."

Zephyr and Apolla looked as though they were about to have an argument, so Kairi stepped in to finish off the story. "Not long after they had been home did the King send Sora, Riku, and Kairi a letter, asking them to mend the hurting of those who were lost. This included Roxas, Axel, Naminé, Xion, and three others who, like Sora and Riku, held the power to wield key-like weapons. The King also told them that a man named Xehanort was back. The three joined forces with Donald, Goofy, and the King, bringing back those who were lost, and bringing an end to Xehanort once and for all. When they were sure that the worlds were safe, they returned to their homes, and lived out their lives the way they wished."

"Now you can say that was an awesome story, Zephyr," Apolla pointed out.

Zephyr frowned. But the look on his face afterward worried his sister. "How about the story Uncle Roxas was talking about?" She sighed, knowing that was coming. Riku frowned.

"Well, I think it's about time we left," Riku said. "It's getting late." He looked over to the boy standing in a corner of the room, his arms folded. He had blonde hair, just like Naminé's, and green, piercing eyes like Riku. He was currently wearing a red and black tank top with baggy tan shorts. "You ready to go, Ren?"

"I guess so," Ren reluctantly replied. He didn't seem to want to leave.

Sora seemed to have picked this up, because he said, "Why don't you just leave him here, Riku? He's more than welcome to stay over."

"Yeah, that's fine. It's probably safer that way." He looked out Apolla's bedroom window, and stared at the island where he had played at when he was a boy.

"What do you mean by that, Uncle Riku?" Apolla asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just being safe, that's all. It is dark outside."

Apolla could only nod.

"Well, time for bed, kiddos!" Sora announced. Roxas winced at this. He hated that nickname.

"Alright," Apolla said. "Night, everyone!" She turned to Zephyr and Ren, who were, for some strange reason, snickering. She walked towards them and started to push them out the door.

"Zephyr's room is that way!" The boys left, yelling "Good night!" as they ran off, and slammed the bedroom door shut.

"Good night, Apolla," Kairi said. She ushered everyone out of the room, turned off the light, and closed the door. Apolla yawned, closed her eyes, and immediately went to sleep. Not even the sounds from the boys' snores could wake her.