Ok, I have a short attantion span, so I'm taking a break from X and starting this one. I got this idea suprisingly from a completely unrelated fanart on DeviantArt that I originally planned to use as the uniform but scrapped the idea because I couldn't descibe it; the story idea is still good in my opinion, though. Enjoy.

Xehanort's POV

Eraqus and I sped through the Lanes Between toward the dying world. We landed and immediately ran to look for survivors. Minutes in, I recognized the world. The Destiny Islands? My home? My family! Forgetting our plan to evade the Heartless, I summoned my armor and plowed through them, taking the quickest path to my son's home. I reached it and was horrified at the sight of the broken in door. I ran in and searched the house, finding only shredded clothes that seemed to have had the people inside vanish. I sighed and turned to leave, then smelled darkness nearby. I followed the scent to a closet and slowly opened it.

A blast of darkness grazed my helmet, thankfully not breaking through. A small boy with shaggy, swept-back silver hair sat quivering in the corner, eyes filled with fear and hatred. "Go away! I don't want to see any more monsters!" Another blast came at me from his tiny fist, but this time I let it hit me. My visor cracked slightly, but otherwise no damage was done.

I dismissed my armor and knelt down, using my Keyblade for support. I smiled at him. "I am no monster," I assured. "I'm here to save you. My friend Eraqus is on the other islands, rescuing the people there before the monsters reach that area." His rage slowly died and he held out his arms to be carried. I complied and lifted him up on my shoulders. My armor reappeared and I returned to the entrance of the house, only to be stopped by the boy.

"You're in that picture." I turned and saw a portrait of myself holding a newborn, with a man and a woman standing beside me.

Sadness tugged at my heart as I stared at the painting. "Are you suprised that there's a painting of a proud grandfather in his son's home?" He fell silent.

I barreled through the hordes of Heartless until I reached the edge of the island. I leapt across the water and landed next to Eraqus as he was directing people through a gate he had opened to Hollow Bastion. He looked at me through his helmet, most likely in suprise. "Xehanort! You were supose to evacuate the infested island!"

I set the boy down. "I did." Eraqus looked at the boy's silver hair, then back to me. "I went to Lysandre's home. He and Thalia where both felled when I got there. If my son didn't survive, no one could have."

Eraqus returned to trafficing. "You four, over here!" A group of boys, brothers by the looks of it, came over to us.

"Riku!" one of them cried.

"Sora!" my grandson replied with equal vigor.

I looked down at Sora. "You two know each other?" Riku nodded. "Where are his parents?"

Riku looked at the ground. "They don't have a mom. His dad was at my house when the monsters broke in. My dad and him tried to fight with weird swords while my mom hid me in the closet. I guess things didn't work out." Hearing this, Sora and his seemingly twin brother rushed to the arms of their older brothers and started bawling.

Eraqus knelt down beside them. "Don't worry, being defeated by a Heartless only assures that he will return."

"How?" asked the oldest, an older version of Sora with dark blue hair.

"Because it means he himself became a Heartless, and will return once it is destroyed." Sora looked up at him hopefully. "But don't get too hopeful; the number of Heartless is limitless. No matter how many we destroy, more are born from peoples' darkness." Sora returned to his brother's arms.

"Eraqus, that's too negative," I chided. "You basically told them their father is dead." I knelt down. "Have faith; our goal is to destroy Heartless, so your father has a fighting chance of returning." I turned to Riku. "And I would never let my own son become my enemy."

"Look out!" shouted Sora's blond brother. I spun around and slashed a NeoShadow midair.

"Eraqus, we have to hurry!" He ushered the boys through the gate and followed me into battle. "This world is going to collapse on top of them; we just need to stall so that they don't leave." We leapt into the middle of the swarm to attract as many as possible, then started hacking away at the Heartless.

We had succeeded in catching the attention of all the Heartless, but that may not have been a good thing. The ground suddenly started shaking and all the Heartless started to exit the world. We looked toward the source and saw horor incarnate. A gigantic Heartless only theorized about was rising out of the ocean; the Darkside. "Xehanort, we can't fight that! We have to go!"

"Agreed!" We both summoned our Keyblade Gliders and sped into the Lanes Between. I watched with regret as the world was swallowed by the Darkness.

We finally landed in Radiant Garden and were immediately greeted by Sora's family and Riku. Riku hugged my legs once my armor was gone, nearly knocking me over. "Careful," I laughed. "I'm an old man, you know."

Sora's brother, dark blue hair, looked at Eraqus hopfully. "Were you able to save our world?"

Ignoring the question, Eraqus turned to me. "Why did the Darkside appear? That world was one of the farthest from the Darkness."

I glared at him. "Don't ignore him; they need the truth." I looked down at the boys. "I'm sorry; your world is gone, and most of the Heartless escaped." The boy froze up, then started shaking. Darkness rose off his body and a black heart-like shape started to appear on his chest. "Darkness? Boy, please calm down or you may attract the Heartless!" He took a breath and the darkness retreated into him, but the symbol remained.

Eraqus looked from one boy to the next, then... "How would you boys like to help us?"

"Eraqus, what are you talking about? They're children!"

"Then we could teach them as we were taught." I considered this, then nodded. "What do you boys say?"

Sora and his brothers looked at each other, then all nodded. "Riku?" I asked. He nodded as well. I then turned my attention back to Eraqus. "It will take more than nine of us, though. What do you propose?"

He thought about this. "Well, I know one way we could train hundreds, but it's a bit... cliche."

"Let me guess; a school?"