Note: This picks up ideally at the end of KHIII, not taking 2.8 or canon 3 into account (although it does take DDD into account). This is just a 'what if' kind of thing and isn't meant to be too serious. FYI.

xXx

They'd won.

It hadn't been easy. The thirteen semi-Xehanorts had been more than just difficult to beat, but they'd done it. They'd taken down each and every one of the darknesses, including the mastermind himself...or, so they'd thought.

The fight had ended with Xehanort's so-called 'original' body on the ground before them, beginning to dissolve into little specks of black that vanished as they spread. It was a familiar sight and meant that, at least for a little while, Xehanort should be out of the picture. So Sora had focused on the casualties that actually mattered.

His first mistake. The worst part of it? Sora knew better. Or he should have in any case. Their victories never so clear cut. Maybe that, in and of itself, spoke of how tired he'd been.

The first thing Sora really saw was the battle zone. Xehanort had known where to strike to get at Sora, Riku and Kairi. They'd heard about and arrived at their home world—their island—just in time to see Xehanort practically rip it in half. The treehouse that had withstood so many storms lay in rubble around the beach, half of it floating in the water. All that remained of the dock were a few stubs in the water and sand, and the shack that had always seemed so safe to Sora was nowhere to be seen. In it's place stood a gaping hole in the side of the rock it had been built into.

Sora didn't want to really think about how long it would take to rebuild it all. Of course, it never really crossed his mind that they wouldn't rebuild it, because he would make sure that it was restored as best as it could be.

Sighing at the sight, he shook his head and began to take role. A heavily injured Lea had stumbled to a prone Isa's side, hesitantly shaking him, talking to him quietly and trying to get the other boy to respond—making sure that every possible trace of Xehanort had left him. Sora didn't know if Lea's hope of getting his friend back would be fulfilled, but at least they weren't attacking each other. Given Isa's slightly blank face, Sora couldn't even tell how aware he was. Probably not very, but Lea didn't look to be panicking, so Sora filed them under 'okay for now'.

Kairi looked a bit battered from the two battles that she'd won, but Riku had already made it to her side, throwing an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to help her rejoin the group. She had a bright, proud grin on her face despite how worn she seemed, and Sora felt an ache deep in his heart. Even King Mickey had had to be rescued a few times, but not Kairi. Sora wasn't sure whether he should be proud of her as a friend or disappointed that she didn't need him anymore. Both she and Riku went under the same category as Lea and Isa on Sora's mental list.

King Mickey himself seemed only slightly worse for wear. He lay sprawled on a pile of debris nearby, trying to fan himself a paper fan that he'd produced from somewhere. Sora wasn't sure where he'd gotten that and wondered idly if he could get one himself. Shaking his head again, he moved on.

Donald and Goofy were...actually, they weren't anywhere to be seen. Sora straightened a little, unable to help a pang of worry from shooting up his spine.

He turned in a few slow circles, taking in as much of the battle-damaged area around them as he could from his current position. Sora felt exhausted, and while he knew he'd be able to move if Donald and Goofy needed him, he couldn't help but hope that they had just gotten distracted away from the battlefield.

After he'd spun around enough to make himself slightly dizzy, he gave it up and figured he and the king would need to try and drag the two friends back from wherever they'd (hopefully) ended up getting into their tiff. Because that's what it had to be. One of them (probably Goofy) had said something just ridiculous enough that they'd started on each other to the point of... not finding the rest of them after a really bad fight... And making them worry... And not checking with their King...

The shiver of worry turned into an actual shudder and Sora turned to the king to suggest they go looking for the two, but his slight dizziness suddenly increased to the point that the world practically turned upside down. It all happened so fast. Before he could even open his mouth and say anything to the mouse. He stumbled, unable to keep himself upright.

That quickly, he found himself looking up at sky with the sandy ground spinning and rocking underneath his back. A loud burst of noise sounded around him, going straight from his ears to his twisting stomach, causing it to clench and try to claw it's way up his throat. A lot of people had just said his name. He didn't respond.

The sky had begun to darken almost as fast as it had when the Heartless had first come to Destiny Island, the only difference this second time being the hundreds of sparkles of light that had jabbed at his vision as well. It wasn't a pleasant dichotomy. He'd closed his eyes, which did manage to help stop the sparks of light, though the darkness that consumed him afterwords made the twisting, dizzy sensation a thousand times worse.

Sora remembered thinking that maybe... Maybe he'd been more hurt than he thought...

And then it felt as if the ground had swallowed him, dropping him into the eye of a hurricane.

He didn't know what was going on or what had happened or why. He only fell, and fell, and fell.

The sudden, stable feeling (without a landing at all, whatsoever) caused him to gasp and risk trying to open his eyes again. Thankfully, nothing hurt, but they widened in surprise. The blackness was still there, but it seemed different—larger somehow. What was worse, though, was the figure that drew his gaze almost immediately. A figure he'd hoped he'd never see again.

Xehanort.

"This is your fault," the man hissed as he stalked forward threateningly. "It was perfect but you just had to meddle! You foolish child!"

Sora stumbled to his feet, backing away from the madman awkwardly. He desperately tried to call his Keyblade to defend himself only to find the part of his heart that let him pull the sword into being had somehow become impossible to reach. He refused to let the stab of fear he felt at that show on his face though.

Xehanort, in an uncharacteristically aggressive move, darted towards Sora, hands outstretched towards his throat. The teen barely managed to dodge in his surprise.

"You need to realize that there is no hope in fighting me! Like every other Keyblade master before you!" He took another wild swing, and Sora managed a controlled dodge this time, back flipping so he had some distance and could smirk in the face of that frankly dumb declaration.

"Then why did we win?" he crowed, crossing his arms haughtily just to see Xehanort get that little extra bit angrier. Maybe he shouldn't provoke him, but he couldn't help himself at this point.

"You didn't win because this isn't over! I'll find a way! I will have my revenge! And I will achieve my goals!" With that, he dove forward again, this time reaching to grab Sora's arm and dropping to sweep his legs out from under him.

Sora, while not feeling the physical fatigue that he had felt moments ago when he'd been with his friends, was still mentally exhausted. He didn't have it in him to keep dodging the evil genius and trade verbal barbs too, so he focused on the fight. He managed to jump over the leg and somehow avoid the grab, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up for very long.

So Sora attacked despite not being able to access his Keyblade. It was his second mistake.

All Sora knew of hand to hand combat had been learned while sparring with Riku and their other childhood friends years ago on Destiny Island. Since then all he'd really learned were sword techniques and magic. It meant he lacked coordination, skill, and muscle memory. All he had was the vague sense of where to hit to make it hurt and a few years of battle-honed reflexes. Really it was the only reason he stood any chance against the crazy man.

Or so he thought.

For a few moments, when his initial barrage managed to throw Xehanort back, he thought he might actually be able to at least hold his own. Then the madman grinned right as Sora threw another punch, and he reached out faster than he'd moved before, catching the brunet's fist in his own.

"Even in your mind you aren't strong enough to win."

Part of Sora tried to put that together, even as he braced for the inevitable consequences of his current position. What did he mean by that? The rest of him couldn't help but stare in shock and more than a little fear because the man had just caught his attack like it was nothing.

And then he felt agony in his gut and he was flying upwards and away from Xehanort who just watched with that self-assured grin. Then he jumped towards Sora, who knew he couldn't really do anything in mid air. It had always been a problem he'd had during battle.

"Without access to your heart, you are nothing!" Xehanort said as he zoomed up to meet Sora in mid air. "Your mind is weak under the chains of your own creation!"

He swept a kick from above and Sora had just enough in him to twist and catch what he could of the blow on his forearms. It hurt like the dickens, but it would stop him from breaking ribs...or more ribs judging from the white-hot pain that shot through his torso as he moved. Yeah, he'd thought Xehanort had broken bones earlier.

Fortunately, he didn't need a Keyblade to heal himself and that was one of the few things he could do while still in the air.

"Heal!"

The green glow surrounded him and managed to mend his ribs in just enough time to make it so he didn't damage anything worse when he hit the black ground below. He looked up, barely able to roll out of the way of the man shooting down, feet first, to crush Sora's chest. That wouldn't have felt good if it landed.

Sora took several deep breaths and remained in his crouched, defensive position, not wanting to waste any extra energy as his mind tried to analyze the situation. It didn't look good. He didn't have a weapon, and while still able to use his magic, he would have to use it sparingly.

Xehanort laughed as he slowly, arrogantly, turned to face Sora.

"Pathetic. Without your friends and your weapon you will be far too easy to subdue." The guy couldn't help but monologue, and seeing as Sora needed a bit of a break he wasn't about to stop him. In fact, he could probably encourage him.

"What did you mean?" Sora asked.

Xehanort frowned and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You said that even in my mind I'm not strong enough. What did you mean?"

The grin on the madman's face returned in full force. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

Then he rushed Sora, who pulled another dodge roll off to the side and then turned to face his attacker, who had adjusted and struck with a heavy force that jarred Sora's body with the blow, even though he once again caught it on his arms.

Come on, he told himself, think! He re-analyzed the fight and looked for discrepancies. Something about Xehanort had felt...funny when he'd caught Sora's arm. His skin had seemed almost as if made of steel. It reminded him of how strange the ground felt, now that he thought about it. It didn't make sense. The blackness beneath his shoes almost seemed soft, but hard at the same time. Misty but solid. Like it wasn't really there even though he could feel it and stood on it like any normal ground. Was there some connection to that and Xehanort? The darkness perhaps?

He ignored the pain in his arms as he sprung backwards on his hands and fell back into a stance that would help him meet Xehanort's surge forward. He barely kept up with the man, doing his best to move his arms and feet in patterns that would help him as he turned his mind back to their surroundings. It felt similar to the snippets he could remember of diving inside his heart. Maybe that was the connection?

And then he put it together.

"We're in my mind," he whispered.

Xehanort's eyes narrowed and he swung a leg past Sora's guard and into his face. Sora flew away but managed to reach a hand out to the strange ground and turn himself so he could land on his feet and knees. Fat lot of good it did him. He still felt so utterly exhausted and spent. Fortunately, Xehanort didn't attack again.

"Yes," Xehanort acknowledged. "We are. And you have proven that your strength is inferior to mine."

"Why can't I call my Keyblade then?" he asked, part of him stalling but mostly because he really, really wanted to know.

"Because your Keyblade responds to your heart, not your mind."

Sora didn't really see why there should be a difference and suspected Xehanort had done something to put him at this disadvantage. It had worked rather spectacularly too. He had no idea how to work his 'mindscape'. It didn't respond like his heart did. That had always been instinctual.

As if to accentuate the thought, Xehanort managed to call a black Keyblade to him. Sora couldn't help but gape. That was so not fair! And why hadn't he used it before? Probably just so he could prove his little point of "I'm stronger". The jerk.

"As a punishment for your crimes," the white-haired figure said in that haughty voice of his, and Sora couldn't help but feel that was more than a little unfair—he'd only fought for his and his friends' lives. How could that be a crime? "You shall become my new vessel," he continued. He walked forward, striding confidently across the blackness towards the Keyblade Wielder. Sora didn't know what to do. He could feel the fatigue weighing him down and he doubted he'd be able to dodge again. Still, he determined that he wouldn't look away. He wouldn't. He'd face what was coming and defy this man (if he could even still be called human) to his very last thought.

The dark Keyblade arced straight for him, and his heart hitched.

Then he saw a flash of color, and heard the sound of metal on metal just as something—no, someone—blocked his view of the madman.

He knew who it was the instant he saw that back too.

"R-Roxas?"

Sora couldn't help but blink in confusion. Why was Roxas here? Sora had always hoped he still existed in some form or another, but he'd never been really successful in contacting his nobody. And besides, wasn't that also a 'heart' thing, not a 'mind' thing? And he had a Keyblade too! How was that possible?

"Here, Sora," a higher-pitched, much softer voice answered him from the side. He looked over and saw a girl coming to kneel beside him. She had short, dark hair that reminded him a bit of how Kairi used to wear hers before they'd left their island the first time. She also wore an organization cloak. He'd seen her before, somewhere, he was sure, but he had no idea who she was.

So, naturally, he asked.

"Who are you?"

She sighed with an expression on her face somewhere between sadly resigned and amused. "That doesn't matter now. We just have to get you out of here."

A loud, mocking laugh from Xehanort drew both Sora and the girl's attention.

"Do you really think a nobody can beat me on his own?" he asked. "Especially when his 'somebody' couldn't?"

Sora was about to speak up and defend his nobody, but yet another new voice stopped him.

"He won't be alone, Master." The boy that stepped from the darkness could have been Roxas' twin, except for the smallest of details. He also spat the word 'master' with such vehemence that Sora couldn't help but worry for the newcomer. That couldn't be healthy.

"Wait, Master?!" both the girl and Roxas asked together, surprised.

Xehanort, looking rather amused at this new turn of events broke away from Roxas, jumped back a safe distance and turned to the newcomer. Then he started to laugh. The Roxas lookalike's expression darkened even further.

And yet, even though everything about him spoke of anger and hatred, Sora didn't really get that feeling from him. It almost seemed as if he were going through the motions. But that made no sense. Why would someone do that?

"So, this is where your heart has been hiding, Ventus," Xehanort said neutrally.

Sora frowned. He knew that name. Wasn't it one of the three kids whose lives had been ruined by Xehanort all those years ago? The one that everyone was looking for? And again with the heart thing and not a mind thing...and he couldn't help but feel really confused right now.

If the boy's expression had been angry before, he looked downright murderous now (although he still didn't feel that way, and how could Sora tell what the boy was feeling anyway?). "I needed to go somewhere after you tore me to shreds."

"And you didn't have the good grace to simply die."

"Look who's talking," Roxas interjected.

Xehanort turned and looked at him with a new, strange expression. They sat like that, in an anticipitory silence, for several seconds, neither side willing to make a move. Then Xehanort spoke.

"Why is it that you look so much like Ventus and not like your Somebody? The likeness is quite remarkable."

Roxas just shrugged, looking for the worlds as if he didn't care about Xehanort's question at all. "Beats me."

"When Sora became a heartless, it didn't affect my heart. It remained with the body and soul that became Roxas and influenced the form he took," Ventus said almost nonchalantly. "At least, that's my theory in any case."

"Come on, Sora," the girl said again, hefting Sora's arm over her shoulder. He could have sworn this place wasn't just in his mind. It felt real. His arm rested against the smooth leather of her coat and her bony shoulder poked into him uncomfortably, not to mention she was shorter than him, making his efforts of moving with her awkward at best. "Let's get you out of here."

That made even less sense than everything else.

"Get me out of where? How do I go out of my mind?"

She blinked at him with those dark blue eyes for a moment before she broke down into snickers, even as she dragged him away from the other three who had all taken battle stances. He thought back on his words and had to laugh along with her. He would have rubbed the back of his head sheepishly if he'd been able to do more than move his feet.

"We're just going to get you to another, more isolated part of your mind," she finally managed to answer.

"Oh. Will it be safe there?" because that sounded very nice right about now. He could rest for a minute and then get back here and help kick the madman out of his head. And if anyone thought he shouldn't come back, well, they had another thing coming. He wouldn't just give his mind or body up without a fight.

"I don't know. We've been trying to get to you ever since we sensed his intrusion. We were only just able to get past the barrier he put up. It cut your mind off from the rest of you."

Which explained why he couldn't reach his heart or his Keyblade. Sora nodded, feeling vindicated.

"There's nowhere you can hide from me forever," Xehanort called triumphantly after them. Sora hated how confident the guy sounded. "And before you go, let me ask you—why can you harbor so many hearts?"

Sora couldn't help it. He paused at the question and looked over his shoulder.

"Don't listen to him, Sora," the girl whispered urgently, but he ignored her for now.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It is an unusual trait," Xehanort continued, not once lowering his Keyblade or taking his eyes off of Roxas and Ventus. "Not many can, and usually only for close relatives or comrades. So why...?"

His eyes widened and he seemed to realize something. Then he started to laugh. It wasn't the creepy laugh Sora usually heard from him, but a downright entertained guffaw. The strangeness of such a carefree laugh coming from this person, of all people, made it even more menacing somehow.

"Why did I not see this before?" the white-haired man asked himself in between wheezes.

"Sora," the girl urged.

"Just a minute," he said, still frowning at Xehanort.. Before he could say anything else, though the madman continued.

"It explains so much! Why you received the Keyblade when you had not been given the gift. Everyone came up with our own reasons, but we all seemed to overlook the fact that it shouldn't have happened. When one becomes a Keybarer, they must materialize their key themselves or inherit that which is specifically given to them. They should not inherit that which is not theirs and I had never heard of a Keyblade doing so until you.

"The princess of heart could take refuge in your heart, even with at least one other heart already residing there. It is, again, another impossibility, and you continue to hold at least two now. You could also release the other captive princesses' hearts. Not something an ordinary human could do."

Sora did not like where this was going. Maybe now was the time to turn and follow the girl again.

"And it explains why Roxas looks so much like Ventus. Roxas is Ventus' nobody, not yours."

"Then why did my heart remain with Roxas when he materialized as a nobody?" the second blond boy cut in angrily.

"Because he couldn't access it at the time. You were so used to relying on Sora's heart to strengthen your own that once it left, it was as if you had no heart which is why Roxas was born.

"I say 'Sora's heart' but in all actuality I believe it is merely the echo of hundreds of thousands of hearts combining to make an approximation. Similar to Kingdom Hearts in that way."

He turned to look back at Sora again. Involuntarily, he took a step back as the white-haired man continued. "It also explains why you cannot be corrupted. We always assumed that you had conquered what little darkness lay inside your heart, but in truth, there is no darkness inside your heart because you don't really have a heart."

"That's not true!" Ventus and Roxas yelled at the same time.

"How could he not have a heart?" Surprisingly enough, that rather sincere question came from the girl. Sora found himself agreeing. There was more than enough evidence pointing in the other direction. Of course he had a heart. Why else would he have a nobody (because he still thought Roxas was his nobody, thank you very much)? How else could he feel and care like he did?

"Because," Xehanort began laughing again, "he isn't a human at all! He is the X-blade!"

Sora's mouth dropped open in shock at the (frankly ridiculous) accusation.

"What?!" the girl and Roxas said at the same time, both looking about as surprised as Sora felt.

"That makes no sense," Ventus said after a moment, his voice calm and assessing. "Just one person cannot forge the X-blade. I'm living proof of that."

The madman was still laughing. "It is a mystery, but it also explains why I failed to construct the X-blade—it had already been forged! It also explains why you, Ventus, a single person, could even make an approximation of the true X-blade and why Vanitas looked so much like Sora. Your heart, broken and fading the first time, found refuge with him, and that gave Vanitas a connection and a form! Am I correct?"

He didn't say it like a question. Sora had no idea if he was right, but Ventus looked unsure and truly worried for the first time. He glanced over at the brunet and then back at Xehanort hesitantly.

"Let's go, Sora!" the girl sounded more urgent than ever, and this time, Sora agreed with her. He turned to hobble away.

Then Xehanort's voice boomed all around them, commanding and powerful. "COME, MY X-BLADE! COME TO ME AS YOU WERE MEANT TO!"

Against his will, something inside Sora responded. He gasped and felt his legs give way beneath him. The force pulled at him, urging and straining and he knew he would have to put all of his mental concentration into fighting it; that if he didn't, everything he'd fought for would be in vain.

He closed his eyes, focusing on remaining where he was. Vaguely he realized he'd accidentally dragged the girl down with him.

"Sora...SORA!" she called frantically, but it sounded far away to him and muffled. He grit his teeth and focused again on holding himself together. Yes, that's what it felt like—like someone was trying to tear a part of him out, or force him to do something he didn't want to do, or both...

"Xion, get over here! We have to stop him!"

He vaguely noticed another Keyblade appearing in her hand as she ran from him to join the other two.

Xehanort's laughter kicked up a notch. "And all of the hearts residing inside of you are Keyblade wielders. Do you still think all of this is a coincidence?"

In all actuality, Sora didn't know what to think.

"But he was born on Destiny Islands," Roxas argued.

Somehow, impossibly, Xehanort's grin became wider. "Tell me, nobody, do you remember your somebody's biological parents? Did you have any? How about you, Sora?"

Of course he did. He'd lived with them since before he'd left the island.

Hadn't he?

He vaguely remembered a brown-haired woman...and his father...who was his father? Had he really been away from the island for that long? Had losing his memories and regaining them had something to do with this? Or...?

A shock of fear ran through him. Was Xehanort right? Was he even human? As if in reaction to his negative thoughts, something inside of him seemed to stutter just a little and a light shot out from his chest, slipping through his fingers. Then, before his eyes, the ethereal form of what looked like two Keyblades merged together began to appear in the air before him.

Desperation rose inside of him. No, no, no! He had to stop this from happening! He couldn't let the madman get the X-blade and use it! Use...him?

Sora didn't want to admit it—didn't want to believe it at all—but it seemed right. Somehow, he could sense the truth in Xehanort's words.

Somehow, he was the X-blade.

He gasped again. How would this affect everything? What was he going to tell Riku and Kairi? Did they already know? And just how was this all possible? How could he be a...a thing? Not that he hadn't sensed, well, something from his Keyblade every now and then that felt like more somehow. A connection of sorts, but wasn't he supposed to feel that with a Keyblade? Was there something more to it than normal?

Apparently.

He felt like his entire universe had been turned upside down, even more so than when his Island had been swallowed by darkness and Kairi and Riku had vanished. It didn't help his current situation in the slightest.

"It doesn't matter if Sora is the X-blade," a voice that could have been Roxas or Ventus said. "He's still his own person."

"He's definitely more than proved that." Okay, that one had to be Roxas. Sora looked over his shoulder to see the nobody standing defiantly before a decidedly less-happy Xehanort.

"And we will protect him from you!" the girl—Xion apparently—said as she took her own stance.

The madman looked between the three of them, and then over at Sora—who had been bolstered by their sincere words—frown deepening into a scowl.

"As you wish. I shall deliver oblivion to you!" And with that, he attacked.

Before he reached them, though, the three defenders turned around and shot a white light at Sora. The pulling stopped and he knew no more.

xXx

Possible future ending. Just thought it would be a fun idea to explore. SoraxKairi

I'd like to thank Kuroi Atropos for helping me out with this! She's amazing, especially because she is not caught up but helped me anyway. Kudos to her! However, I AM looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested!

To be continued...