AN: This takes place during KH2 and ends somewhere around KH3. It's an epic romantic fantasy about you and Axel. Hope you enjoy!

They can take your heart.

Cut you lose from all you know.

But if it's your fate…

The Radiant Garden was once ruled by a king whose research was held in high regard and whose word was equally as respected. He allowed very few people into his Castle: researchers and scientists who would make the world into a better place. Why would anyone think that behind those pristine walls lurked unimaginable horrors? Their king was good and just - there was never a reason to think that his own research had doomed them all. And then darkness consumed Radiant Garden.

It ravaged the lands so completely the only name fit for what remained was the Hollow Bastion. No-one knew what had happened or why the darkness had come. All we knew was fear.

Life in Hollow Bastion wasn't easy with the Heartless waiting to pounce on you at any given moment. Even so, we persevered. It didn't matter how long it took to dispel the darkness. If banishing it brought back the home I'd once had, it was enough for me.

Yuffie and I were on our way back to Merlin's house, our arms laden with paper bags filled with parts that Cid had asked us to bring him, when those very creatures materialized out of the air.

Ghastly things, all spindly arms and unbalanced movements. Or the bell-shaped floaters that struck you with different elemental attacks. There were so many variations of them that no-one knew how many existed. But really all that mattered was that they were all bad news. We were just lucky the tall, snow-white ones with zippers for mouths weren't here.

"They never give up do they?" Yuffie said as one of the Heartless swiped at her. We jumped backward, dodging their long claws. I pushed her down the street and guided her around the corner. She almost lost her footing due to the heavy bag in her arms shifting to the side and pulling her along with it; I stepped forward so she fell onto my back to support her. Gritting my teeth, I straightened and made sure she was fine before we continued. "Thanks, I didn't expect these to be so -

"Let's go," I lightly pushed her right as a stream of Heartless skirted around the corner and leaped at us.

We had no time to engage them. If we did, reinforcements would only replace their fallen comrades. Thankfully we had more than each other to rely on as we ran with all of our might from our pursuers: in mere seconds we heard the Claymores obliterate one of the Heartless behind us with a satisfying sizzle. The discs of light travelled like moonlight sliding on water over the cobblestones, entrapping the darkness in death beams.

That wasn't to say that Yuffie and I couldn't fight. It just wouldn't do to lose any of these parts when munny was already tight for the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee - HBRC for short. Cid said that protecting the people was our priority and I couldn't agree more. After we made sure the people were safe, then and only then could we focus on destroying the evil.

The Heartless tailed us like our own shadows stretched thin in the waning daylight. A cramp started to sew stitches into my side. You'd think with all of the running around we did that inconveniences like these weren't an issue. Well, they were for me.

"Your call," I said to Yuffie as we skidded around another corner. It wasn't much farther from Merlin's, but coming up was another small residential area the Heartless favored. Most folk preferred to keep themselves locked up safely in their homes while the Claymores burned the Heartless like bacon on a frying pan. And we were heading straight for the greasy middle.

Yuffie's mouth became a tight line, as if she were wondering if I were trying to somehow trick her into being able to fight alongside her. My chest squeezed at that. "What did Merlin say?" She settled on.

She didn't need to ask me that. Merlin had forbade me from ever engaging with the Heartless. He'd explicitly told Cid and the rest of my friends as such. It hurt, wanting to be of help but being forbidden to do so. Still, self-pity never did anyone good.

In response, I grabbed the paper bag from her. It was just as heavy as mine, a weight that made me double over as I struggled to hold them both against my body. Trembling from the weight, I huffed and forced myself upright. I said, "Some day he's going to let me fight with you guys. So in the meantime, make them wish the Claymores had gotten to them first."

A distraction was all we needed for me to get to Merlin's. She was great at that, though sadly no-one gave her much credit for her efforts. One of these days I'd make sure Leon saw just how much of a badass our Yuffie was.

"We'll figure something out," she said, reaching out a hand to stop me before I could take off fast as a jetstream of water shooting out of a spicket. "Merlin's just worried about you." She let go of me and prepared to fight the Heartless as a film of anguish shuttered over my vision at her comment.

And then I was racing on jelly-legs while Yuffie leaped into the air, a four-point shuriken in one hand. She was a fantastic fighter who made up for her lack of brute strength in speed. My feet pounded over the cobblestones as her parting words echoed over and over again in my head.

Charging straight for the red-roofed house ahead, I immediately went on high-alert. Merlin's house attracted Heartless like no other area. Four steps more and as if on cue, more Heartless sprang into existence to bar my path. I cut sharply to the right. The momentum carried me straight through a gap in their ranks, the heavy weight of the two bags in my arms a force that yanked me forward. Stumbling toward the house, I adjusted my grip on the supplies, believing I'd made it to safety.

Something zipped past my peripheral and then one of the flying bell-shaped Heartless dived for me. I had only a split second to register the bright yellow color of its body before I threw myself to the left.

I rolled over three times and collided hard against the doorstep. The impact nearly ripped the breath from my lungs. With a gasp, I got to my feet. "Open up, Leon!" I yelled as loudly as I could. I scooped the bags back into my arms and braced myself to swing one of them at the yellow Heartless that had swooped down in front of me. Its body was encased in a dangerous cloak of electricity, sparks zapping the air with heat.

Actually, that was a horrible idea. If it struck me while I was carrying a bunch of spare metal parts…

"LEON!" I roared as its body became a white-hot flare.

The door behind me flung open and Leon's gigantic sword knocked the Heartless out of the air. It skittered along the cobblestones, crackling as a volley of electricity burst from its body and electrocuted its own comrades. Then like prey in a spider's web, it was devoured in the Claymore's jaws.

I pushed past Leon and into the safety of Merlin's house, straining to keep the supplies aloft in my arms. I'd feared my little tumble would've sent some of them spilling out but the shopkeeper had liberally fastened the opening of each bag. Before my body slumped in relief and I dropped them onto the floor, I crossed the distance to Cid's desk and set them at his feet.

Merlin's house was cozy and snug with a little fireplace constantly warming the area. I often settled on the rug before it, curled up with a book and a cup of tea. The scent of flowers permeated the air, adding to the blissful atmosphere. Although he could do with cleaning up some of the mountain of books he'd stacked around the place. Much as I appreciated all of them, my toes sure didn't whenever my foot accidentally jammed into them.

Raking a hand through my hair I said, "That should be all of it." Cid just gave me a concerned look, his brow crinkling as I fought for breath. "Any reason so many Heartless like to zap us?" I continued as he stared at me silently. Finally seeming to understand my near-death experience, Cid's eyes widened a little.

"Bunch a pinheads," he grumbled.

"This pinhead got you your parts," I countered good-naturedly. Cid made a sound at that and rifled through the bags, inspecting each one as a jeweler might a stone.

I jumped when Aerith placed her hand on my forehead. Her skin was cool against mine. "Are you sick?" She asked me.

"Not been sleeping well," I admitted. When she looked at me as if for an explanation I said, "Been having these strange dreams lately."

"Strange?" Cid repeated.

With a shrug, I said, "You know how dreams are. For some reason this one keeps repeating itself. Drowning in water, lots of stained glass windows, giant heartless trying to squash me with a hand. Must be those books I've been reading, come to think of it. Merlin has one about these churches with stained glass windows. Can you believe they're made out of sand?" Cid would know of course but I could hardly contain myself.

Cid swiveled his chair back to face his monitor. He nodded every now and then at something I said while his fingers danced a complicated tune over the keys. Whether he was actually paying attention or not didn't bother me. He was always like this.

But then he surprised me with a comment. "Maybe you shouldn't be readin' them books no more."

"Why not?" I asked him.

Cid bent down, sunk his hand into one of the paper bags, and rummaged about their contents. Withdrawing an oddly bent metal piece, he squinted at it and said, "Well, if you been havin' bad dreams cuz of them it'd make sense you'd stop having them if you quit readin' them, am I right?" He said it so nonchalantly that Aerith immediately agreed with him.

Yet Cid's strained voice belied his calm suggestion. He seemed frazzled by what I'd said.

I opened my mouth to say something when the door opened so suddenly that it slammed into the wall. Yuffie rushed in with Leon behind her; he locked the door behind them with a displeased frown on his face. His usual look.

Yuffie looked mildly embarrassed as she approached Cid. "I left your coin purse with the shopkeeper."

"You what?" Cid groaned, swiveling around to look up at her. Yuffie giggled nervously. "What're you doin' here then? Go on, that's all we have for fundin'." I started to follow her out the door, wondering when and how we'd been so careless when Cid called out, "Maisie, stay here. Yuffie can get it herself."

My friend glanced up at me, a strand of her short black hair sticking to her cheek from perspiration. I smiled at her encouragingly and shrugged as if to say there wasn't a thing I could do. With a weak smile in return she headed outside, unsheathing her shuriken.

I could feel everyone's gazes hot on my back. We'd all grown up together - mostly. We knew each other's ticks and tells and they were kind enough not to remind me too often of Merlin's rules. Even when the reason for it had never been explained to me. I'd tried so hard to learn why a few years ago and all that'd resulted in was me crying myself to sleep, thinking that I wasn't needed. Or that they didn't like me. Or any number of terrible things a little girl thinks when she has no-one to confide in. But as I'd gotten older I'd begun to realize something else had to be the cause. And it was indeed worse than anything I'd ever considered.

Merlin was scared of me - or of something that had to do with me. If he wasn't, he'd have spoken to me about it. Not awkwardly brush me off and then get annoyed with me when I pressed the issue.

Aerith eased the tension with a soft inquiry, "Do you think we'll see Sora again?"

"Sora," I murmured. Lately he was the hottest topic in the HBRC because for some inexplicable reason all of them had forgotten his very existence at the same time. And all of them had remembered him at the same too.

Apparently he was but a child when he'd been chosen by a keyblade. He'd been searching for his friends across many different worlds. What I wouldn't' give to be in his shoes. With the powers he possessed maybe I'd be able to make a difference. Maybe I too could travel to other worlds.

Maybe...I could find my parents. I squashed away that tiny ember of hope burning in my chest. Merlin and Cid and all of my friends had promised to look out for them but as of yet there'd been no sign of them.

Leon folded his arms and drawled, "Who knows? If the kid ever turns up he could sure help us out."

"Yeah," I agreed absent-mindedly. Then I perked up. "Cid, if those parts can upgrade the Claymores can't we send them down to the Hollow Bastion?" There were a ton of dangerous Heartless prowling the skeletal premises of the castle beyond the bailey. No-one dared ventured out there but if we had backup perhaps something could be done.

Cid scratched the back of his neck. "It's too far away. I'd lose any connection to them."

"So it can only defend the town then," I sighed. "Do you think Sora can do something?"

Leon nodded and his hair fell into his eyes. "With that keyblade of his he'd make quick work of the Heartless. Though that's if he ever visits again."

"You can't just make him work as soon as he stops by," Aerith protested. "He should take some time to rest and hang out with us all."

"Hate to break it to you but we don't have that kinda time," Leon simply said. "We can only keep up the Claymores for so long. And once those go away…"

All of us glanced over at each other with downcast expressions.

"Then we just have to keep trying," I said firmly. "Whatever it takes. We'll find a way."

The door opened again and Yuffie skipped across the expanse to slam Cid's coin purse down onto his monitor. Her spurt of exuberant energy astounded him and I had the feeling he was about to say something like, 'if you're this happy about fixin' a simple mistake why don't you not make it in the first place?' but then the door opened for a second time.

A young teenage boy I'd never seen in town before appeared. The midday light lit the tips of his impossibly spiky brown hair white like snow-capped mountain peaks. His attire was...unique. His shorts were cuffed near his knees and on his feet were the most baffling shoes I'd ever laid eyes on. They were lemon-yellow bordered in black and decorated with zippers.

As the door shut closed the light caught the length of a huge key gripped in his right hand right before it vanished into nothingness.

A Keyblade. A kid with spiky hair. Who was traveling with two strange companions. One was a duck wearing a blue hat and a shirt festooned with zippers and no pants. I wondered if he was related to Scrooge - he sure looked the spitting image of him. An anthropomorphic dog slouched awkwardly beside the boy in green. Two square buck teeth protruded from his top lip as he bashfully regarded us all.

Yuffie raced over to the newcomers, folded her arms behind her back and leaned into his line of sight. "Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" She welcomed him cheerfully by sweeping one arm out toward me, Leon and Aerith who were crowded around Cid at his desk.

Aerith twirled around and pressed her palms together before her. "We missed you!"

Cid turned his chair around and flicked his nose with his thumb. "Well, if you ain't in top shape," he said, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing around each word.

"I knew it," Leon declared proudly. Even his expression had gone soft at the sight of the boy and his companions.

"Knew what?" The boy asked, coming forward to speak to him. The duck and the dog fanned out on either side of him. I couldn't stop staring at them.

Leon said, "A while back, everybody suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time."

The three jumped at that before the boy recovered his composure. "You...remembered? Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us?" He spread both of his hands out and I had to sympathize with him. I couldn't imagine what that must be like, having your friends completely forget you existed.

As I was counting the spikes in the kid's hair, the duck let out a jumbled sound like an accusation. I shook my head and placed a hand over my temple. What on earth had he just said?

Yuffie, who was standing to the right of the dog said, "So where've you guys been all this time?"

The dog responded with, "We were sleepin'."

Okay, so the dog could talk but the duck? Maybe I'd not been paying attention.

Cid said, "Where? In cold storage?" And while that would've been funny the trio nervously glanced at each other and looked reluctant to elaborate the situation.

Aerith immediately jumped to their defense. "It doesn't matter. This is great. Everyone's together again!"

The boy smiled at her before he asked, "So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen them?"

All of my friends shook their heads no. I stood there, unsure of what to even say or do as I continued to stare at the newcomers with wide eyes. In particular, I kept glancing back at the duck. Would he try and speak again? Maybe I'd understand him better.

Cid caught me in the middle of an internal overload and nudged me as if to snap me out of it.

"Right," the boy said, lowering his head in disappointment.

Aerith was quick to console him. "Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do, okay?"

"Okay, thanks."

Cid flew out of his chair as if a gummi ship had landed in front of him and he couldn't wait to inspect every inch of it. Clasping his hands together he squatted down to the boy's height and said, "Don't go thankin' us just yet." The poor kid took a few steps back.

Leon said, "Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem."

To my left, I could feel Aerith's disapproving glare directed at him for dumping a cartload of errands onto the kid so soon.

The boy leaned around Cid to see Leon. "You mean like, Nobodies? And Heartless?"

Nobodies?

"That's right," Yuffie said.

"Sounds like you could use our help."

"Then let's cut to the chase," Leon continued. He took two steps closer until he stood before the three newcomers. "Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the three of you might give us a hand around here."

So this is Sora.

Sora proudly thumped a fist against his chest. "Like we're gonna say no?"

An amused smile curled Leon's lips. I'd had a huge crush on him because of how cool he was and whenever he decided to smile it was like the sun had broken through a cloudy covering. Now all I could see was a big dork. Not that he wasn't cute but now that I'd grown up he seemed more like an older brother figure to me.

And then the duck spoke. His string of sounds were an unintelligible garble and I knew I'd never be able to understand him.

"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment,'" Aerith said and I turned to her, flabbergasted. She could understand him? What was going on?

Leon had strode over to the door and said, "Follow me to the bailey - there's something you need to see." Then without waiting to see if he was being followed he strolled on out outside.

Sora turned to me and I frowned. He was just a teenager and yet in a few more years he'd overtake me in height. I had about a good two heads on him now but a tall stature was not in my stars. He held out a hand and smiled. "I don't think we've met. I'm Sora and these are my friends, Donald and Goofy."

His companions greeted me as Sora shook my hand and I smiled back. He had a genuine warmth to him, the infections kind. "Nice to meet you Sora. I'm Maisie. Sorry to dump you into the water so suddenly."

"It's nothing," he said but there was a spark of pride in his blue eyes. "Well, I should get going. See you later -

Right as he turned around to follow Leon, a puff of white smoke curled into the air with colorful bursts of magic. Merlin, the great wizard, popped out of the air. He was short and slight and his long white beard stretched nearly to his ankles. Baby blue robes covered his frame, accentuating his slim limbs and softening his appearance into that of a genial grandfather. But that would be a huge disservice to the great wizard, for he was more than his age. Although most wouldn't know it if they took one look at him. His caterpillar eyebrows arched in surprise at the sight of the newcomers and he adjusted his spectacles. "Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time," he said.

Donald quacked at the wizard but if he understood him, Merlin gave no sign.

Yuffie said, "Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out."

"Splendid! We'll count on you."

As Sora and his friends nodded enthusiastically, Merlin asked Aerith to give them the HBRC cards while I edged closer to Cid's chair.

"Um okay," I began. "This is the Sora guy you were talking about, right? Why can't I understand anything Donald is saying?"

"No-one knows what he's sayin'," Cid replied in a hushed tone and we both looked at Aerith in wonder. "Either that or I'm old."

"Oh no. We're supposed to be at the bailey!" Sora said and I shared a knowing look with Cid. Leon never waited on anyone. He just went and expected you to follow him. "But what about our magic? We haven't been able to use any since we all slept."

How that worked, I had no idea. Then again I wasn't a wizard. Merlin smiled patiently at them and gave them some of his own spells to use.

The second the trio had left his house, Merlin's gaze landed on me.

Aerith, Yuffie and Cid all looked around for something to do. Merlin was usually a really happy-go-lucky kind of guy but whenever I came into the picture he was like this. The wizard's caterpillar eyebrows nearly kissed as he frowned. Gripping his wand so tightly his knuckles bled white, Merlin took a deep breath and said, "And how goes things?"

Cid replied while he typed away, "The Claymores should run for a little while more now that I got them parts. Really helpful to have them."

Aerith said, "And Sora's come to visit. Though I worry that Leon will only make him do chores the whole visit."

Yuffie glanced over at me before saying, "Everything's great, Merlin."

But the wizard only watched me. Unable to bear his disapproving glare any longer, I spoke up. "Merlin, I'd like permission to go with Sora and Leon."

"And why on earth would you want to do that?"

"You say there's been no sign of my parents. I'm very grateful that you're still looking for them -

"But?" he said quietly, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"But," I swallowed. If I didn't ask now I'd lose this chance! "I know he's travelled to other worlds before. If I can just ask him to look out for -

Merlin waved a hand as if shooting away a fly. "Don't bother them with that, dear. They've plenty of important things to attend to."

"Every day I wonder if there'll be news about my parents and that day never comes. If I can just ask him - even if he never looks for them - I'd feel much better about it all rather than having to bug you and everyone else about when I'll ever see them again."

"Child," Merlin said as if he were exhausted. "Those three don't need the burden of keeping an eye out for them. I can assure you your parents are out there somewhere. When the darkness swallowed Radiant Garden and Cid grabbed you and your friends and flew you to safety, I was there helping the people escape. And your parents made it out alive."

He'd told me this same story time and time again. At first I'd been so relieved to hear they'd escaped. He'd said my parents were smart people who knew their way around in a gummi ship. Surely they'd have travelled to this world by now. Surely they'd have looked for me. My breath lodged in my throat. They were the only thing I wanted more than anything.

"Maybe they're dead," my voice cracked but I shouldered on. "Maybe I'll never get to see them again. But please, just let me speak to Sora. You can talk to him later and tell him never to worry their heads about my parents but I can't just sit here when someone who could know something about them are right here!"

Merlin's scowl darkened and Cid turned around in his seat to cut the wizard's next words off. "Child? She ain't some child no more, Merlin. Look at her. She's an adult! She can make her own decisions but she still follows your rules to the T. Why not just amuse her for a change, huh? If it'll put her heart at ease maybe I can teach her a thing or two about how to help me keep the Claymores stable. We all know I'm gettin' old and I'll need someone to help out soon."

Cid held Merlin's gaze and tapped a rhythm on the back of his chair. Then, quite reluctantly, Merlin's shoulders drooped and I saw the wizard as I'd first known him. Old, whimsical and a little goofy. But beneath it all was a layer of utter exhaustion. And something else, like regret.

"You are not to fight. You are to make sure that if you come across an enemy you have Leon and Sora defend you." Everyone was always defending me. I hated it. But I wouldn't dare say that now. "Furthermore I expect you back before the sun sets."

"Understood!" I nodded, my eyes bright with tears. "Thank you, Merlin. I won't forget this!"

I raced past him and out of the door, giddy with happiness and hope. I'd treat Cid to his favorite coffee. I'd let him teach me all about the Claymores, I'd do anything.

If only I'd known that beyond the bailey something worse than even a Heartless awaited us. If only I'd never tried to speak to Sora, maybe I'd never have gotten wrapped up in something more terrifying than a simple struggle against the Heartless devouring our town.