Second Chances

Crow here. This is a new story of mine, about the Organization XIII (obviously). I just have a lot of fun with them, because you never know what could happen. I'm going to rate it T to be safe, for language in the later chapters. (Haha, later chapters!)

Demyx: You talk like you're actually going to GET to the later chapters.

Crow: Hush your mouth, foo'!

Lexaeus: He has a point. Rare, but it happens.

Demyx: Hey!

Crow: No back-seat writing! -grumble grumble-

ANYWAY, as I was saying. This is a story where the Organization XIII comes back, and they have emotions for reasons that will become clear to some of you more quickly than others. I'll try my best to explain it in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Kingdom Hearts I, CoM, and II. Also, it has been pointed out to me by my sister that I use a lot of phrases from books and T.V. shows I don't own, without even realizing it. So if I do, know that I do not own ANY of them. And let me know if this sounds like your story, because it's most likely completely on accident.

Yeah. Well, here goes nothing.

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Prologue

It was a bright and sunny day in Destiny Islands. The sun glimmered over the ocean, throwing diamonds of light into people's eyes.

Suddenly, a gummi ship appeared on the horizon. It was followed by another, then two more, then one trailing behind. There was one big ship and four orbiting ships, all of them bright, flamboyant colors. They hovered over the islands uncertainly, and then set down on a large, wide stretch of beach.

As curious bystanders gathered, one of the smaller gummi ships opened up. A man and woman walked down, striding confidently. The woman had a pack slung over her bag, and the two were holding hands. Behind them came two children.

The younger child had corn-yellow hair that was perfectly straight. Her eyes were an odd, bright yellow with flecks of gold. She was about eight, and seemed to bounce with energy.

The other child was six or seven years older. She walked at a more sedate pace, but she had the same amount of energy. Her energy was more intense, more focused. Her long, dark, feathery light hair blew haphazardly around her head, whipping across her face. Her eyes were bright green, crow's eyes.

"Hello," said the man. He had the blond hair that the younger child had inherited, and the green eyes the older one had received. He had a cheery grin and seemed like someone who would be useful around the house. "My name is Tomoshibi."

"I'm Ankoku," the woman said quietly. Her dark hair was thicker and more controlled, framing her pale, moon-shaped face. A long scar ran across her face diagonally.

There was some murmuring among the crowd, and an adult stepped forward. "Who are you?" he called out several feet away from the couple and their children.

"We are traders," Tomoshibi called back, "seeking to barter our goods for food and supplies. We mean no harm."

There was some more conferring. The young child was looking around, smiling. The teenager was looking at the crowd, searching the faces. She focused in on three teens, two boys and a girl. They were exchanging nervous looks and talking in low, urgent tones. The girl narrowed her eyes, making a mental note to keep an eye on the three.

The crowd of adults finally stopped speaking. "Then you are welcome here!" announced the first adult.

Tomoshibi's face broke into a wide grin, and he waved his arm diagonally at the other ships. It must have been some sort of signal, because the other smaller ships opened up as well. The larger one stayed closed, though.

Families tumbled out of the smaller gummi ships. Children of every age ran down the ramps of their ships, chattering excitedly in a mix of English and some other language. The islanders could only understand every other word or so. The parents of the children followed, and some other adults as well. They were all shaking their heads and smiling at the children; some were stretching and breathing deeply as if they had spent a long time in their ships.

"Follow me," said the Destiny Island adult who had been unofficially elected spokesman, beckoning to the large group. Ankoku came to the front of the group with the man, and she followed him to the city, the rest of the traders trailing behind. The islanders either dispersed or followed; the three children that the black-haired girl had resolved to remember followed the traders.

The two children that had come out first stayed behind. The eight-year-old pointed at the sea. "Look at that lake, Karasu!" she said excitedly. "It's so BUGE!"

"Huge, Hoshi," the older girl said gently, smiling. "And it is a very big ocean. Bigger than any lake you've ever seen."

"Bigger?" she exclaimed, looking at the sea with wide eyes.

"Yes," Karasu said amiably, crouching down so that she was the same height as her sister. She pointed over Hoshi's shoulder to the horizon. "See? You can't even see the other side."

Hoshi made an awed noise and stared at the ocean for a while. "We'd better catch up with the rest of the caravan, eh?" She smiled down at Hoshi as she stood up. "We don't want to miss anything."

Hoshi grinned up at Karasu, revealing a large gap between two of her teeth. "I'll race you," she teased, running down the beach in the direction of the adults. Karasu shook her head and followed, her bare feet kicking up sand as she chased after her sister.

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After a heavy day of trading, the islanders and traders had sat down for dinner. As always happens in large groups such as these, the children and adults were divided, with the teenagers keeping an eye on the younger ones. After they had eaten a hearty amount of island food, the children had built a large bonfire, led by one of the three children who had been concerned earlier. His name was Sora.

The sun was just dipping below the horizon when the fire was finished. The adults had kept an eye on the children, but had otherwise kept out of it. Now all the children sat around the campfire.

"Tell us a story, Sora!" begged one of the islander children, making a puppy-dog face with his eyes.

"Yes, tell us a story!" cried a young girl, crawling a bit closer. "You make up the best stories."

At this, the silver-haired boy gave Sora a look. Sora laughed nervously, putting his hand behind his head. "All right," he conceded. "I'll tell the story about the Heartless."

"Yeah!" chorused the island kids. The trader kids scrambled closer to listen to the story.

"Well, a long time ago, on an island a lot like this one, there were three children," Sora began. "And one day darkness came, destroying the island and swallowing it. One boy ended up in a strange city, and he was woken up by a big yellow dog!" He raised his hands up and growled, making the kids shriek with laughter. "Then he met a man with a scar on his face . . .,"

Sora told the tale until it was late at night, and the sky was studded with stars. When he was finished, the children protested strenuously. "Tell the story about Organization XIII!" one child cried out. The trader kids, amazed by the story-telling skills the young islander possessed, began to protest as well. "XIII, XIII!" chanted the children.

"XIII!" Hoshi chanted happily, clapping her hands. Karasu looked at Sora. Sora was looking at the silver-haired boy and the girl with red hair.

"Riku? Kairi?" he asked quietly. "What do you say?" Karasu strained to hear over the children, her eyes narrow as she concentrated.

Riku shrugged, and Kairi said, "Sure!"

"All right," Sora said to the still-chanting kids, "and Riku and Kairi will help me."

The tale lasted long into the night, past midnight, even. Riku began the story this time, talking of a place called Castle Oblivion. Strange, powerful beings dwelled there, and tried to use the heroes to suit their own needs. Riku spoke of the keeper of the castle, and how the hero had defeated him, but had been forced to spend a year in sleep to recover his lost memories. He spoke of a man named Lexaeus, a man named Vexen, and a man named Zexion, who all perished. He spoke of many others who died at the hands of one of the two heroes.

Then Sora took over, speaking of how the Organization had tried to get a place called Kingdom Hearts, to get back the hearts they had lost. He told of how they had fallen, one by one, at the hands of the hero. He spoke fondly of one named Axel, who actually ended up giving his life for the hero so he could save the Princess of the Heart. He talked about how two of the Nobodies had joined with their Others. As the children's eyes began to droop, he told them about the Organization's home world, and how the hero had come to it. Some children were dozing off when he said the other hero had been trapped in the form of the evil Ansem, and was saved by Kingdom Hearts. And as most of the children fell asleep, he told of how the leader had been defeated, and the Organization was no more.

"They're all asleep," Kairi whispered.

But they were not all asleep. Karasu and Hoshi were sitting on the other side of the campfire, so close to one another that they were touching. "That was a good story," Hoshi said softly.

Karasu nodded slowly. "It was a very sad story," she admitted.

"How is it sad?" Hoshi asked, curious.

"Well, think about it. All that time they were searching for their hearts, and only two of them found theirs. Not even in the way they wanted, either. And everyone was always trying to destroy them, hunt them down. They never had anyone show them compassion. No one ever cried for the Organization." Karasu looked down, her eyes shimmering. She would have cried, but she had decided many years ago never to she another tear. And she had kept that promise.

Hoshi, however, had made no such promise. "That's so sad," she murmured, her eyes filling with tears. She thought about the Organization, unloved and longing for wholeness. She thought of how they were gone now, their last wish unfulfilled. One tear escaped her eye, trailing down her cheek and dripping onto her arm.

Karasu sensed Hoshi's tear. She had always been more aware than anyone else, feeling things in the air and sensing emotions and people. Now she felt a new power come to her, changing the way she saw the world. She saw a way to make things better, and without thinking, she did it, twisting space with her mind.

She was in an odd, floating place, neither here nor there. There was a large, open door with a shimmering barrier drawn across it, a heart etched on the barrier's surface. On the other side she saw thirteen, fourteen bright pinpoints of light. Reaching out and gathering them all up, she pulled them through the barrier. They came through, but something was added. Something new. She felt the pinpoints flee to another world, a dark world that smelled faintly of white-out. Karasu opened her eyes and the image vanished.

Sora and Kairi were standing up, dusting off the sand and getting ready to pull some of the children to their beds. Suddenly, the two wavered. Their eyes rolled into their heads and they collapsed. Riku looked at the two in alarm, and called out to the adults. Several came over, looking at the two.

Karasu watched this with alarmed eyes. "Stay here," she whispered to Hoshi, tapping her arm. She got up and crouched down, sneaking away. She saw two translucent hearts float out of the teenager's chests. She watched them rise; both were silver, but Kairi's had a faint gold tint. She looked back down and saw Riku staring at her. He had seen the hearts, too, and seen Karasu follow their trail upwards. He got up and began to approach her.

Biting her lip in panic, Karasu ducked into the forested area of the island and began running through the trees. She could hear Riku following her, making noises in the brush. She stumbled into a clearing, and fumbled to remember her newfound powers.

Feeling a sensation in her stomach akin to dropping a large distance very quickly, Karasu pulled at it with her mind. A dark portal appeared, and she stumbled through it. Riku ran into the clearing to find it empty, with nothing but dead leaves and a faint stirring of wind.

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On a dark, desolate world, a portal opened. Karasu stumbled out, her face pale and sweaty. She looked around at the strange new place she was in, and wandered into a huge garden full of larger-than-life plants. What is this place? she thought to herself. A name floated through her mind, accompanied by the faintest scent of white-out. The Castle That Never Was.

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Well, what do you think? Horrible, awesome? I try, but I can always improve! I should have the next chapter up soon, it's partially written.

Demyx: Where are we?

Crow: Next chapter. Now hush!

Demyx: Why? It's not like they can talk to you so that you can hear.

Crow: You never know, my friend. You never know.