Day 1

Kairi fell into darkness.

She supposed she had been foolish, rushing into the night and the storm just to check on a raft. The young girl never would have expected to be attacked while on her friends' play island. But it was there that the gathering shadows took on solid form, striking at her with wicked claws. She had sought refuge in the secret place, but that was not what she found.

The brown-cloaked figure had not said a word, had not even moved, yet she had felt a terrible tugging in her chest as if something was being ripped out of it. Wracked with pain and fear, she had barely heard Sora arrive. Weakly she had called out to him, and for a moment she thought she would fall into his arms, only to somehow pass through him and into darkness.

Sora…

It wasn't supposed to be this way. She was supposed to be starting her journey off the island with Sora, and with Riku. She had shared the Papou fruit with Sora, ensuring their destinies would be intertwined. She had constructed a charm out of seashells, intending to give it to Sora once their journey began. The charm was still in her pocket.

No!

She could still move! She was still alive! Kairi reached into her pocket. The darkness chilled her, but had not yet touched the charm. Unexpectedly, a mote of light appeared in front of her. Struggling, she tried to right herself. She could not find purchase in the darkness, yet somehow she felt herself moving towards the light. The light began to grown in her field of vision, and suddenly she was free of the darkness.

Kairi gasped as she fell onto a white floor. After taking a minuet to catch her breath, she looked around to find herself in a solid white room, furnished with a long white table and several chairs. A large window dominated one wall, obscured by a curtain. Getting to her feet, Kairi moved the curtain and looked through the window outside. She saw an overgrown courtyard enclosed by a wall which was surrounded by many tall trees. Everything was tinted orange in twilight.

Nothing was familiar to her, save for a vague sense that she had gone through this experience before. It was just like when she had first woken up on Destiny Islands. Pursuing this line of thought, she realized that she was now in another world… and that once again the world she had called home was lost to her.

Sora… Riku… It was her arrival to Destiny Islands that proved to the boys that there were other worlds out there beyond their own, and it was with them that she had decided to set out on a journey to find those other worlds. Kairi had no idea what had happened to the boys, if they were still on the island or if the shadows had consumed them. She wondered if she should be feeling afraid, for the boys' sake or for her own, but instead she felt empty, as if her insides had gone numb.

Regardless, she wasn't going to figure out anything just standing around. Kairi went to the door on the other side of the room and moved into the rest of what appeared to be a manor house. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere, and it seemed that no one had been living here for some time. Kairi called out, but no one answered. The house was completely still.

A search of the building turned up no indication that anyone had been there recently; the kitchen was bare. There were books in the study, but judging by their titles they were too esoteric to be useful. Deciding to try her luck outside, Kairi proceeded out the front door into the courtyard she had seen earlier. She had just shut the door behind her when she saw the first sign of life since her arrival.

The creature bounded weightlessly about the courtyard before coming to a stop shortly in front of her. Kairi backed up against the door and held her arms up defensively, but the thing stood quietly, swaying slightly and allowing her to get a good look at it.

The thing she beheld was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It stood upright on two legs and had two arms, though its gauntness and silver coloration appeared very unnatural, as did the way it constantly swayed like a ribbon caught in a breeze. Most unusual was its head, which lacked recognizable facial features, instead possessing a smooth protruding surface marked with an emblem of some sort. Despite its lack of eyes, Kairi had the impression that it was staring at her.

"What are you?" Kairi asked.

Something moved across the bottom of where the thing's face should be, and then a gap like a mouth appeared. No sound came out, yet Kairi somehow perceived the thing speaking to her.

Another lost soul.

The creature twisted, and then bounded away through the bars of the gate at the other end of the courtyard. Kairi waited a moment, but it seemed that nothing else was going to happen, so she approached the gate herself.

An open area was visible through the gate, with a path leading through the trees beyond. However, the gate was locked, and there was no way she could open it, nor could she fit through the bars like the creature had. She wasn't sure that she could climb over the gate, at least without hurting herself.

After determining that she wasn't about to get past the gate anytime soon, Kairi headed back towards the house. She took one last look towards the gate, but stopped when she saw the creature returning from the forest. Following it were two tall men in hooded black coats.

After leading the cloaked men to the gate, the creature twisted and vanished. One of the men produced a spear and vaulted over the gate. The other blurred and vanished, immediately appearing on the other side of the gate.

"Well, well," said the teleporting man with amusement. "What have we here? She's just a little thing; hardly Organization material."

"Take another look," the other said. "Do you not recognize her?"

"Well, what do you know? It's the little princess. Not quite as little as when we last saw you, though."

"Uh… have we met before?" Kairi asked.

The two men lowered their hoods, revealing their faces. Both had dark hair; the man with the spear had his hair in dreadlocks, while the other's hair was run with grey, and he bore several scars and an eye patch. Kairi had a flash of realization: she had seen these men before. But it was before she had come to Destiny Islands, back in the time of which her memories were obscured.

The man with the eye patch caught her gaping. "Hey, don't strain yourself, kiddo. I'm Xigbar, and this here is Xaldin."

Kairi looked between the two. "I'm sorry, but I'm kind of lost right now."

"Let me guess," Xigbar said, "you had been going merrily about your way, when all of a sudden you were attacked by a bunch of inky black creatures with yellow eyes. You felt a pain in your chest, you thought you were dying, but instead you woke up here."

"Yes…" Kairi replied.

"The black creatures that attacked you are what we call Heartless," Xaldin said. "They exist only to steal hearts. When someone loses their heart, their body falls to darkness. Very rarely, however, such a person can continue to exist despite having no heart. If you survived an attack by the Heartless, then you are now, like us, a Nobody – a being that exists without a heart."

Kairi put a hand to her chest. "I… no longer have a heart?"

"Hey, it's not all bad," Xigbar said. "You're in good company. See, me and dreads here are part of a special group that takes in poor little lost Nobodies like you. Come with us, and we can make sure you're taken care of."

"Now hold on," Kairi said, crossing her arms. "How can I be sure you have the right intentions?" Even though they seemed to know who she was, she knew she couldn't necessarily trust these men.

"What else would you do?" Xaldin asked. "You have no idea where you are or how to take care of yourself. No one else on this world will understand your condition or be able to help you."

"Look," Xigbar added, "at least come meet our boss; let him answer some questions, explain what we're all about. No pressure or anything. Hey, it's better than sitting around here without a clue."

Kairi looked down. They're right. I'm helpless and have no idea what to do. I still don't know what happed to me before I ended up on the islands, and I need to find out what happed to my friends. These men have information that I need. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"That's the spirit!" Xigbar grinned. "Trust me; you've made the right choice."

Kairi exited what Xigbar had aptly referred to as a Corridor of Darkness to find herself once again in a place she had never seen before. The room she was now in was dominated by an expansive curving window, with the remaining surfaces various shades of dull silver. Outside, the ground was not visible, but several massive grey structures could be seen against a sky dark with night.

It's just been a few hours, Kairi thought, but already I've been to two different worlds. They make it seem so easy.

Waiting for them was another man in a black coat. This one was younger, with short blue hair. "You have returned from your mission," he said, "and you have found another rescuant." The young man examined Kairi. "This is the princess. The Superior will want to know about this immediately. Number II, come with me."

Kairi watched as the young man and Xigbar departed, and then turned towards Xaldin. "Who was that?" she asked.

"That was Zexion, our Number VI," Xaldin replied. "He is currently in charge of assigning missions to members of the Orginazition."

Kairi joined Xaldin in looking out the window. Judging by the view, they were in a massive building. "Where are we?" Kairi asked.

"This is The World That Never Was, a world without a heart," Xaldin said. "There is no place that would be more fitting to be the base of our Organization."

They keep mentioning this group of theirs, Kairi thought. Have all of these men lost their hearts? Did I really lose my heart? Am I like them?

"It's strange," Kairi said. "After all that's happened, I should be feeling afraid, or nervous, or excited, but I don't feel anything at all. It's as if I know what to feel, but I just can't feel it."

"That is because you have lost your heart," Xaldin said. "The heart is the seat of all emotion. Sorrow, joy, hatred, love, fear – you may remember what it's like to experience these feelings, but with no heart you cannot actually feel them."

"But, how can I still be alive if I have no heart?" Kairi asked.

"You are alive because you strive to remain so," Xaldin replied. "The old master thought that the heart was the source of greatest human strength. But the heart can fail. I now know that there is one thing that can be stronger – human will. It is through strength of will that we have transcended this imperfect state."

"To live like this," Kairi said, "unable to feel… It just seems wrong. Is there any way to get my heart back?"

"There may be a way," a deep voice said from behind Kairi. She turned to see yet another man in a black coat, this one with long silver hair.

"Greetings," the man said. "I am Xenmas, the Superior of In-Between. Welcome to my castle." He looked to Xaldin. "You are dismissed."

Xaldin departed without a word. Xenmas waited until he was out of sight before continuing. "I'm sure you have many questions. Please, have a seat." He waved to a silver couch.

Kairi considered the man. Something about him seemed dangerous, and once again she had a flash of a memory that was just out of reach. She sensed that she had to be wary of this one. "I'll stand, thank you," she said, before starting into her questions. "Xaldin said that the creatures that attacked me are called Heartless. Where did they come from? How did they get on the islands?"

"Heartless travel from world to world," Xenmas replied, sweeping his arms about grandly, "looking for hearts to consume, from which they produce more of their kind. Once they find a path into a world, their numbers will continue to grow until they overwhelm the heart of that world, casting it into darkness." He paused to look through the window at the sky. "Just before you arrived, I observed a star going out. I have reason to believe that was the world you where you had been."

"You mean… Destiny Islands is gone? What about my friends and family?"

"Most likely they fell to darkness. Even if there were any survivors, they would be cast among the worlds like leaves in the wind. You will not be seeing them again anytime soon."

Kairi stood still. She wanted to feel grief, or anger, or anything at all, but all she felt was the same emptiness. "Then I am on my own." Worse than alone; I've heard that I should follow my heart when I don't know what to do, but it seems I can't even do that.

"Your friends, they were what gave your life meaning?" Xenmas asked. Kairi looked away and did not answer. "But in the end," he continued, "no matter how noble, they were unable to protect you from the Heartless. Even if you were to find your friends, they could bring you no comfort in your current state. Without your heart, you would be an outcast among them, unable to feel the connections you had forged. Without your friends or your heart, you have nothing."

"I need to get my heart back," Kairi said. "But how can I? You said there was a way."

"Indeed. But it will not be easy. How far are you willing to go? Will you face the Heartless that took your heart? Will you risk what little existence you have left?"

Kairi felt the charm in her pocket. Without her heart, her connection to Sora, and to Riku, was gone. She really did need to get her heart back. But could she fight the Heartless? Always before she had sat on the sidelines, watching Sora and Riku do all the heavy lifting. But they're not here now. I can't rely on anyone else to do this for me.

"I'm not afraid of the Heartless," Kairi said, and she realized that it was true. How liberating.

"Twice now you have been cast adrift," Xenmas said, "cut off from everything you knew. It is time to walk a new path. Until you can find the strength to stand against the Heartless, you will continue to be at their mercy. Our Organization can help you. We can give you a new purpose, and show you the strength to follow it through."

"Why?" Kairi asked. "What is the Organization?"

Xenmas began to pace. "We originally formed Organization XIII for the purpose of studying and unlocking the secrets of the heart. It was during the course of our research that our hearts were lost. We then expanded the Organization's mandate: to find others who had lost their hearts and their purpose. We would bring them into the fold and give them new purpose. Thus the Organization would grow in numbers and strength, and we would move ever closer to our true goal – Kingdom Hearts."

"Kingdom Hearts?" Something else stirred in Kairi's memories. She was sure she had heard that term before.

"Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds and the ultimate source of all hearts. Surely it has the power to restore lost hearts. We have theorized that there is a way to release the hearts stolen by the Heartless in such a way that Kingdom Hearts will be revealed. However, the Heartless will not give up their captured hearts easily.

"You have already shown great strength of will to have survived losing your heart. I believe you may be the key we need to unlock the way. The Organization currently has twelve full members. We need one more in order to be complete. I would like you to be our thirteenth member." Xenmas extended a gloved hand towards her. "Join us. Only by working together can we reveal the path to Kingdom Hearts and restore to us what has been lost."

Kairi hesitated. I have nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. If they can help me, I have no other choice. And… he called me the key. Maybe… they actually need me as much as I need them.

"Alright, I will join your Organization."

Kairi extended her hand, and Xenmas grabbed it, smiling. "You are joining something much larger than either of us. There is no going back, only going forward. You must leave behind the trappings of the past…" He released her hand and waved his own. Ghostly letters appeared in the air and Kairi saw her name spelled out. With a wave of his fist, the letters began to spin. "… and embrace your new identity."

Xenmas opened his hand, and the letters abruptly stopped, one additional letter joining them. "Behold - the new you."

Within The World That Never Was, within the cold white castle of Organization XIII, there was the room Where Nothing Gathers, where the Nobodies came to meet. Dominating the room were thirteen massive white thrones arranged in a circle. Twelve of the towering chairs were occupied by black coated figures, some with hoods raised and others with faces visible. The thirteenth chair sat unoccupied, the one who would claim it still waiting to be called forward.

"My friends," Xenmas said from his position atop the highest chair, "today is a momentous day for the Organization. A new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat. Please welcome Number XIII - Rixika."

Rixika's Journal

Today I lost my heart, my home, and my friends. Perhaps that was why I took Xenmas's offer – I hardly have anything left to lose. After my initiation into Organization XIII, Zexion gave me this journal. He said that it was important that we hold on to our memories, as they are all that we have left with which to define our identities. I know there are some memories that I never want to lose. My time on the islands, my friends, I hope I never forget them.

Sora. Riku. I want to see you again. If you knew what has happened to me, I'm sure you would be doing everything you could to reach me. But this time I can't wait and hope you to come to my rescue. I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but I need to be strong. Kairi wasn't strong enough. Maybe Rixika will be.

Xenmas's Journal

A great boon has come about for the Organization, in the form of the former princess of Radiant Garden. Although Rixika is no longer a Princess of Heart, I sense that she may still be one of the Keyblade's chosen. If she can wield it, we will finally be able to begin the next phase of our plan. It is for that reason that I inducted her into Organization XIII. A new Nobody is like a freshly-plowed field, devoid of life. But with the right seed, anything can grow there. It will be interesting to see what becomes of her.

My counterpart has begun his own machinations. The timeframe currently favors him, but it remains prudent to have more than one plan in motion. It is increasingly certain that at least one of us will find the way to Kingdom Hearts.