Rain fell on an empty world.

Water ran off black streets, pooling at curbs and falling into storm drains. Neon signs flickered behind the curtains of rain, putting on a facade of life amongst the dark buildings. But it was only a facade, with nobody around to witness it. No people scrambled for shelter from the weather, and no animals scavenged for food in the alleys. Though lights were on in the windows of the many black skyscrapers, no one could be seen inside. This world was abandoned. It had been abandoned for some time now, but even before then it had always been empty. That was why it was called the World That Never Was.

But abandoned though it was, there was one soul who made his way through the dark city. Near the center of the world, a figure navigated the maze of alleys and streets until he emerged in the square near Memory's Skyscraper. With his hood up, his heavy black coat kept the rain off of him entirely. Even though he had not been here in quite some time, he still knew the twists and turns by heart. He had no fond memories of Never Was, but it was necessary to return here now. This half-formed world would be his ark.

The figure spared a glance up at the flickering images on the landmark's screens - images of a girl, distorted by static - and then continued his way through the city. Through the ruins.

What had once been a metropolis as spotless as it was lifeless was now devastated; at least, the interior regions were. Following a final showdown between the forces of light and the forces of nothingness, the white castle that had previously hung in the black sky over the city had toppled. Entire skyscrapers had been uprooted from their foundation and come crashing down again. Concrete rubble was strewn across the streets, varying in size from as small as a pebble to as large as a building. The closer you got to the center of the world, to the vast pit above which the castle had once floated, the worse the devastation became.

The hooded figure stopped at ground zero, the Brink of Despair. The Castle That Never Was sat lopsided in the center of the pit. Or at least its lower half did. Its upper half, having been cut clean off near the climax of that encounter, had come crashing down onto part of the city and now rested across the pit, on the far cliff face from where the figure stood, the buildings around it having been toppled or flattened by the crash.

The constant sound of rain pelting the streets, and his shoulders and head, had begun to slow down. As he overlooked the ruins of the castle, the man in the black coat held out a hand palm-up and caught some of the raindrops on his leather glove. When the last drop had fallen, the man raised both hands up and lowered his hood. Would he have liked to shed himself of the black coat completely? Yes. But there was a hole in his heart, something missing, and the protection the coat offered was needed until that hole was filled.

Turning his gaze from the castle to the night sky, the man watched as the last of the rain clouds disappeared. There was no heart-shaped moon to greet him, but he had neither expected that nor wished to see it. Even despite the light pollution from the buildings surrounding him, he had a perfect view of the thousands of lights twinkling high up above. The stars were exceptionally beautiful tonight.

The man placed a hand over his aching chest and clutched tight at his coat. He spoke in a steady voice with his gaze locked on the heavens above.

"May my heart be my guiding key."

Startide
Chapter 1: The Weeks Since

In another world, one not far from the World That Never Was, night had not quite fallen just yet. Out here, it was like the sky was on fire. Shades of orange and yellow coated the sky and clouds, mixing with a faint purplish hue on the horizon. A girl took in a deep breath, her black hair blowing in the wind. No matter how many times she saw this sight, no matter where she saw it, Xion never grew tired of watching the sunset.

A voice beside her spoke up. "Don't lose your grip, Xion."

Xion snickered and turned to the boy beside her, his face silhouetted against the sun. Her best friend for as long as she could remember. "You either. This is a little more important than holding onto an ice cream stick, Roxas."

"I haven't dropped an ice cream in ages!"

Amidst laughter, the two who had only recently been restored from a state of nonexistence held tightly onto their lifelines while watching the sun vanish beneath the horizon. With one last flash of light, the warm hues in the sky were replaced with a deep, dark blue as the stars came out to greet them. It was different, but it was no less beautiful in its own way. Staring up at the stars, seeing the many worlds that she and Roxas had been to, and that all their friends old and new had been to? It was something Xion had never just slowed down to look at before… And it was almost enough to make her forget the anxiousness that came with sundown, the growing pit in her gut. The night sky was beautiful, but with night also came-

"It's getting kind of chilly," Roxas said beside her. Thankful for the distraction, Xion shook her head and pushed that anxiety aside for now. "You ready to head on down?"

Xion rubbed her bare arm for a moment and then gripped the handlebars tightly. "Yeah. Come on, everyone else is waiting."

With a nod, Roxas and Xion turned around and started heading back the way they had come. It felt strange and more than a little scary to soar through the air with only some metal beneath their bodies keeping them from falling out of the sky, but according to their teacher it was more than safe as long as they held on tight. The Keyblade Glider, Master Aqua called it.

Xion had not known until very recently just how much Keyblades, those magical weapons of the heart that had defined her short life, could really do. She leaned forward on her transformed blade and accelerated as she and Roxas returned to the mountaintop garden where they had spent the last several weeks practicing under three wielders of the Keyblade far more skilled than she could have imagined: the Land of Departure. As they curved around the white and gold castle, Xion watched with wariness and curiosity. She still could hardly believe that it had once been Castle Oblivion, the world that had once haunted her nightmares for the better part of a year. Some day she would have to ask about the full story behind that.

"Xion! Roxas!"

The voice of one of their three teachers called up to them. Master Aqua was waving at them from the cliff, as behind her the others were already gathered. Wait, hold on. Xion squinted as she examined everyone down in the gardens. Not everyone was there yet-

A little cat creature that had been watching the sky sighed and shook its head. "Oh boy."

An instant later, Master Aqua's voice rose up again. "Lea, look out!"

A blur of red shot between Xion and Roxas, sending both of them hurtling through the sky and nearly tossing them off of their Gliders. As Xion struggled to regain her composure she heard Roxas call out in confusion a few yards away, "Axel?!"

The newest Keyblade wielder of them all came rushing out of the night sky like a meteor, his shouts of terror echoing over the Land of Departure. He jumped off of his Keyblade Glider at the last second, and as it crashed into the side of the mountain Lea's body was sent flying until he crashed and tumbled on the soft earth, then came to a stop at the base of a man dressed in black.

"Having trouble again?" Isa asked with an entertained smirk decorating his face.

Lea spit out grass and grinned up at his friend. "You're just jealous you can't join us up there."

"Yes, absolutely. I'm jealous that I'm not risking my neck while failing to fly." Isa helped Lea up to his feet just in time for Roxas and Xion to leap off their Gliders and hurry over to the redhead. The vehicles vanished in flashes of light as soon as their owners left them behind.

"Are you alright, Axel?!" Xion asked, grabbing Lea's wrist and examining his arm with concern. He could have broken a bone doing that!

"Easy, Xion. I'm fine. I've dealt with a lot worse, you know that." He flexed one arm and grabbed his bicep. "I'll get the hang of this thing no problem! It's just, you know, gonna take some time. A little pain never hurt anyone right?" Though as he said this, he lowered his arms and pressed his hands into his back with a grimace.

"It's just because you're still new to the Keyblade is all, Lea." Though that was Roxas's voice, he wasn't the one who had said it. Ventus walked up to the group with a disarming smile, but the cat in his arms shook its head.

"I'm not so sure that's the reason," Chirithy said with a gesture upwards. In the sky, two more Keyblade Gliders skillfully moved back and forth, up and down. Riku and Kairi. Xion felt a pang tug at her heart at the sight; not for the sight of those two in and of itself, but for what it stood as a reminder of.

The two of them had stuck together like glue these last few weeks, ever since…well, everyone had taken to just calling it 'back then.' After Xehanort's defeat, Sora had gone off to save Kairi with the power of waking despite the King's protests and Xehanort's younger self's warnings. He had come back with her seemingly safe and sound, but soon after, and right in front of everyone, Sora had…

Since back then, Riku and Kairi had been inseparable. During this period of training in the Land of Departure, they had fought together, ate together, everything. There was absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that the second things were finished here those two would go off and find Sora. Some of the others expected Donald and Goofy to join in, too. Whatever the makeup of their party, Xion wished them the best.

"Those two probably do have the best hang of it out of all of you." Another voice spoke up as they watched Riku and Kairi start to descend. His voice not only snapped Xion back to reality, it also made her stiffen up. While the warm and comforting tone was a sharp contrast, the voice itself brought back memories of darker times. Terra walked up to her and Roxas and smiled. "But they're not the only ones doing well. Roxas, I think your control is really impressive in particular."

Roxas practically jumped out of his skin at the praise. He stood up straight and bowed his head while fumbling over his own words. "Uh, t-thank you, Supe- sir!"

Roxas had stopped himself, but Terra had caught that slip nonetheless. He hesitated, then rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, I… No problem, Roxas. Then I guess I'll, um, go speak to Riku." With that obvious change of the subject, he hastily turned and went to greet Riku and Kairi as they landed.

Once Terra had turned around Roxas visibly relaxed. His shoulders drooped and he let out a breath. Xion grabbed his hand, entangling his fingers with hers to bring him out of his memories. They didn't need to share words, they'd spoken about this before. Working with Terra was…hard.

"The situation is clearly as difficult for him as it is us," Isa commented dryly.

Despite his stupor, Roxas nodded. "I can't really blame him. I don't know what I'd do if I were in his shoes."

Like the story behind Castle Oblivion, or why it was that Ven and Roxas looked alike, Terra's story was something Xion didn't have the full picture of. But she knew enough, both from Lea's summaries and from the way others had spoken, to piece together his connection to Xemnas. She could see it in his face, even if his expression was different; hear it in his voice, even if his tone was different.

From the sound of things Terra had memories of his time under Xehanort's control, too. They were about as hazy and distant as Xion's own memories of Sora's life, but they were still there. And there was probably more than his fair share of regret for everything that Xehanort had done with his body weighing him down, too. To say that things were awkward between Terra and the former members of Organization XIII was an understatement.

"Lea! Xion, Roxas!" Ven called over to the three of them, standing with Terra, Riku, Kairi, and Master Aqua. "Come on! We have one more thing we're gonna test you guys at before we're done tonight."

Roxas looked to Xion beside him, then over his shoulder to Lea. He grinned. "A test? And here I thought we were just playing around on the Gliders all evening."

Lea chuckled. "Well if they were testing us on that, I'd say I failed with flying colors. Alright Ven, we're coming!"

Master Aqua spoke up as the Keyblade wielders all gathered around. "You've made great progress these last few weeks with the Keyblade Gliders, but their true strength comes partnered with something else. Flying around in one world's sky isn't all they're used for."

"Is this about those gates, Master Aqua?" Kairi asked.

Aqua let out a soft breath and smiled. "Kairi, please, like I keep saying you can all just call me Aqua." Kairi's face flushed red for a moment and she twirled some hair between her fingers before Aqua continued. "But you're right. They're called the Lanes Between: special passageways that Keyblade wielders have long used to travel between worlds."

"Don't they have the Gummi Ship for that?" Isa asked. He stood behind the assembled Keyblade wielders, but was still keeping up with the conversation.

Chirithy, still held tightly by Ven, spoke up in Aqua's place. "Both have their upsides. The Gummi Ship allows for a lot of people to travel together, and for non-wielders to travel between worlds too. But you have to find a place to dock it, and have to return to it to leave the world. With the Lanes Between you can leave whenever and wherever, and all you need is your Keyblade."

"So what's the catch?" Riku asked. "These Lanes sound pretty handy to me, but I've never seen Mickey use them before and I can't imagine he didn't know about them."

Chirithy continued. "If anything, the Lanes Between are closer to the corridors of darkness. Darkness plagues the world between worlds, and if you don't have a way to hold it off then it will worm its way inside your heart. That's what the Keyblade Armor is for."

"Or the black coats," Xion mused. Questioning glances came her way from Terra, Aqua, and Ven, so she continued. "Besides just being the Organization's uniform, it also kept the darkness of the corridors away from us while we wore it."

Ven smiled. "And here I thought it was just a fashion statement."

Beside Xion, Roxas shook his head. "I've had enough of that sort of fashion for a lifetime. I don't think I'm going to put that coat on any time soon."

Aqua brought her hand up to her chin in thought. "Well unless you have some other alternative you may have to if you plan to ever use the Lanes Between. Master Eraqus was the one who made armor for Terra, Ven, and I, and we don't know how to do it ourselves."

"Don't worry about that." Riku tugged on his jacket. "The clothes Kairi, Mickey, and I got from the good fairies from Enchanted Dominion protect us from the darkness like black coats. Oh, Lea's too. Roxas, Xion, I'm sure you guys could ask Master Yen Sid for some like them."

The good fairies, huh? Yet another story Xion had heard fragments of but didn't know the details to. Quite a lot had happened in the short time she was, well, away. Xion smiled and put her hands behind her back. "We'll have to stop by. Thanks for the suggestion, Riku!" Though as soon as she said those last words, she knew they were a mistake.

Without needing to look at him Xion quickly grabbed Roxas's hand, trying once again to get him to calm down. She felt him lessen up somewhat, but from Riku's own shift in expression she could guess what look Roxas was giving him. Unlike so many other things, the story between Riku and Roxas was one Xion did know. She'd been filled in on everything that had happened involving those two after she and Roxas fought in Twilight Town, from their first encounter in Never Was up to their last one in Ansem's datascape.

Things had been…rocky between Riku and Roxas since they had all arrived in the Land of Departure, and Xion and Kairi had done their best to keep them away from each other's throats; metaphorically, of course. It had never come to actual blows. Roxas was the antagonizer ninety nine percent of the time, even though he knew – and Xion knew that he knew, because they had spoken about it in private before – that everything Riku had done had been to save Sora. His own best friend.

"I know that, but still," Roxas had said during one of those conversations. "I know he wanted to save Sora, just like I had wanted to save you. But still, he helped to take away everything important to me. And I don't want to lose anything or anyone ever again."

Xion could also tell that Roxas was especially concerned about her interacting with Riku. She wasn't happy about that; on the one hand his care for her was appreciated, but seriously, Xion could take care of herself and Riku wasn't someone he needed to be concerned about in the first place. Still – she spared a glance over her shoulder at Isa – the past was something Xion knew full well was hard to get over emotionally, no matter what you logically knew to be true in your mind.

"Roxas, come on." Xion tugged on his hand, and he finally relented.

"Hey, Riku." Or had he? Xion's heart fell. Had he just lied to her–? "You know you still owe me that 5000 munny from last summer." Roxas crossed his arms and grinned a toothy grin.

Riku snorted a laugh. "Right, yeah. Don't worry, I'll pay you back."

"If you don't, then I guess I can just break your other wrist as payment."

Riku's eyes briefly widened in worry as he mentally relived the first time that happened, and then the awkward laughter that comes after a stressful moment began rise up from the group and fill the night air around the Land of Departure. Well, not everyone's laughter was that awkward. A genuine giggle came up away from the group, and heads turned to the bench where Naminé sat with her sketchbook on her lap and a pencil in her hand.

"Naminé, come on. Laughing at me?" Riku feigned hurt.

"Sorry! It's just…" Naminé smiled and turned her sketchbook over, showing everyone a perfect rendition of Riku's shocked expression forever immortalized on paper.

"Naminé?!" Riku gasped out, and this time everyone started to laugh for real. Him included.

Once the laughter slowly died down, Lea cleared his throat. After nobody paid him any mind he did it again, louder and more forcefully. Finally heads turned his way and he placed his hands on his hips. "This warning is all well and good, but we already went over it when we came here. So what's this test, you guys?"

"Oh, right." Terra cleared his throat then stood up straight. The teacher look didn't really suit him, though. "One last thing before you all graduate from the Land of Departure. We've spoken about the Lanes Between, but now it's time to try it out. You all ready?"

Xion looked to Roxas beside her, then Lea behind her. The trio nodded and summoned their Keyblades. Riku and Kairi did the same, then Ven set Chirithy down and he, Terra, and Aqua lastly all called on theirs. Ven jumped up onto a rock and pointed his Keyblade forward. "Look deep inside your heart. Let it guide your way forward. And then, like this!"

A beam of light shot forth from Wayward Wind, and at the point on the ground where it hit an oval-shaped gate emerged. It was reminiscent of the dark corridors that Xion and her friends were used to, but composed of lighter colors as opposed to the black and purple of darkness.

Two more beams shot out of Ends of the Earth and Stormfall as Terra and Aqua opened entrances into the Lanes alongside Ven's. Aqua turned to the others. "Once all of you try it out, we can spend one more night resting in the castle before you all head home."

And with those words and no further distractions, the anxiety about tonight that had been gnawing at Xion earlier returned all at once, hitting her like a freight train.

'Rest'… Right.


Hello, and thank you for checking out Startide! This is a fic that I've been brainstorming since finishing KH3, and I'm excited to finally get started on it.

If you're familiar with my previous fics—Remember the Tides, The Tides Go Out, and On the Way to a Smile—let me say plainly that Startide has nothing to do with them. There may be some familiar concepts reused here and there (which you might be able to tell just from the title!), but the stories are completely separate. Think of this as a spiritual successor to the Tides series, not a sequel. But I hope you'll enjoy reading it just the same!