Author's Note: Hello again. Here's my latest idea. Kingdom Hearts: A Heart Divided. Just one thing before I go on, if you haven't read my stories, "Shattered Hearts" and "Hearts of the Olympians", then I suggest you read them before going any further. There are references to those stories here and these three stories take place in the same storyline. If you have read them already, then enjoy. This probably won't be very long. I have most of it typed already. This will follow my two original characters, Kevin and Crystal. It's more about Crystal than Kevin, though, and her personal struggle with her Darkness. Enjoy, friends...

On a sunny day outside Castle Oblivion, two young Keyblade apprentices were locked in an intense sparring match. One was a young man who was about seventeen years old. He was tall with shoulder-length blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He wore a black t-shirt, faded jeans, and black combat boots. He had an expression of unbreakable concentration on his face.

The other was a beautiful, sixteen-year-old girl. She too had long, blond hair, but the irises of her eyes were gold, as if she were someone from the Darkness. She was shorter than the man, but just as strong. She matched his every move, as he matched her every move. She wore a light-blue tank top and darker jeans than her opponent, but she wore the same combat boots.

On their belts, they had the emblem of their masters, a gold heart with three spikes protruding from the bottom in a "T" shape. The man was the apprentice of Master Aqua, a powerful Keyblade Master. The girl was the apprentice of Master Terra, Aqua's oldest and dearest friend. The two, young apprentices were very close friends as well. They trained together with their Keyblades every day in hopes of showing their masters that they had what it takes to earn the Mark of Mastery. They promised each other that they would both pass and together they would take apprentices of their own just like their masters.

They eventually wore each other down and their mock fight ended in a draw. They both collapsed onto the white, snow-like ground beneath them. "Geez, Crystal," the young man said, addressing the girl, "at this rate, you're going to pass me up and graduate before me!"

She smiled at him and said, "Oh come on, Kevin. It took everything I had to keep from losing."

"Same here," Kevin said. "You really are getting stronger."

"Thanks," Crystal said, smiling at Kevin. "But you probably would have beat me if we were using magic." Kevin's master, Aqua, specialized in magic. As a result, that was his specialty as well. Crystal's master, Terra, was all about brute strength and that is what she learned from him. She could cast decent spells, but only the spells that ended in "ra". Kevin could cast spells as high-ranking as the ones that ended with "ga".

"Maybe," he said. "Maybe not. Master Terra has been teaching you how to control your Darkness to your advantage, hasn't he?" Crystal was inclined to Darkness like her master before her. That was the reason her eyes were golden.

"Yes, but he's also warned me to not use it unless I absolutely have to, like a life or death situation," she said. "He said it could destroy me if I left it unchecked." Terra knew all too well what happened when you let your Darkness take control. Twenty years ago, he had lost everything thanks to his inability to control his Darkness. "I wonder…" she said, staring at her Keyblade. It was about three-and-a-half feet long. The slightly curved blade was gray like iron, but it was made of some type of steel. It was also special in the fact that it was sharp, something that seemed to be uncommon with Keyblades. The teeth looked like the sharp, jagged stalactites from the roof of a cave. The hilt was gray like the blade and shaped like the mouth of a cavern. The Keychain was a large diamond that was connected to the Keyblade by a white, braided rope.

"You wonder what?" Kevin said with curiosity in his voice.

"I wonder why the Keyblades chose us," she said. "Don't get me wrong, I love it. But I just wonder why us? It could have just as easily been someone else, right?" She knew that there were other Keyblade wielders out there, and many more who would kill to be able to use a Keyblade.

"I don't know," Kevin replied. He looked at his own Keyblade. It was three feet long, slightly shorter than Crystal's, but just as sharp. The blade was colored black and had the elemental symbols for Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Aero, Cure, Gravity, and Stop magic written down the length of the blade to enhance those specific spells and show that he specialized in magic. The teeth were shaped like the outline of a crown, similar to the Kingdom Key. His Keychain was a simple, round token with his name inscribed on one side, and Aqua's name on the other.

Kevin looked up to Aqua and held great reverence for her. He was orphaned at the age of seven. A Dancer Nobody killed his parents right in front of him. Aqua found him when he was ten and raised him while she taught him the ways of the Keyblade. She was the closest thing to a mother he had left. And he loved her like she was his mother.

Crystal wasn't orphaned like Kevin, she never even knew her family. Terra found a nine-year-old Crystal in the streets of Radiant Garden while he was visiting Ansem the Wise and she looked so scared. He saw her big, gold eyes and realized she was full of Darkness. He took her out of pity and compassion. She was raised to control the Darkness that Terra saw in her. Terra was like a father to her. She loved him like a father and he treated her like a daughter.

"Let's head back inside," Kevin said.

"Sure, what time is it?" she asked.

"About five," he answered. "Why?"

"Oh my God!" Crystal screamed, jumping to her feet. "I was supposed to meet Master Terra half an hour ago! He had something important he wanted to tell me." And with that, she ran toward the castle and left Kevin wondering what Terra could have to say to her that was so important.

Crystal ran through the stark white halls of Castle Oblivion. She barged through every door without even looking where she was going. She had the castle memorized. After a while, she finally made it to the main auditorium where her beloved master was waiting. "Master," she addressed him reverently, "I'm sorry for being late. Kevin and I were having a duel and it went on longer than I expected."

"I know," he said. "I was watching you both from the window. I'm very impressed by your skills, but that also brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about." Crystal was wondering what their friendly fight had to do with anything but training. "I noticed an aura of Darkness around you while you were fighting. It was barely noticeable, but it was still there."

"But what's the big deal about a little Darkness, Master?" she asked. Darkness was part of her nature. She couldn't exactly get rid of it completely.

"There's nothing wrong with a little Darkness," he said, "but there is something wrong with a lot of Darkness. I felt it growing more powerful toward the end of the fight. I don't think you were consciously summoning it, but you need to be more careful."

"But what's so bad about the Darkness anyway? Why do you tell me it will kill me if I use it too much when it's a part of who I am?" she questioned. Terra wasn't making any sense to her.

"Because it just is," he said sternly, showing that he was finished with the subject.

"So, am I evil?" she asked. Crystal wasn't about to drop the subject like Terra had wanted. She was too stubborn, a quality that had rubbed off on her from Terra himself. "I am Darkness! It is just as much a part of me as Light is a part of Kevin! How can I reject my own nature?"

"You're not evil, Crystal," he said. "And Darkness isn't all of you, just a part. That part needs to be kept in check." Crystal, having heard enough of her Master's rambling, turned and started to run away. "Come back, Crystal!" the aging Keyblade Master called to his student, but it was no use. She was already running out the door and had donned her Keyblade Armor.

"I can't stay here anymore," she thought. "I guess I have to find some answers myself since Master won't tell me." She turned her Keyblade into a Keyblade Glider that was shaped like a motorcycle and took off toward the stars. She didn't look back at Castle Oblivion as she went to the one world she knew she would find someone who understood. That world was the Destiny Islands.

Kevin sat alone on the ground after Crystal ran to meet her Master. "I wonder what was so important that she took off like that," he mused. He had sat there for about fifteen minutes when he saw something dart across the sky. He recognized it as Crystal's Keyblade Glider. "Where is she going?" he asked rhetorically. He turned around to see Terra running toward him. "Master Terra, where's Crystal going?" he asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "I was talking to her about her Darkness, and then she got upset and ran away. I'm afraid she might get into trouble." Terra's heart was breaking. His apprentice was following the same pattern that he had all those years ago. He too had set off on his own to find answers about his Darkness. He feared for his beloved pupil. Terra didn't want her to suffer the same fate he had. He almost didn't make it out alive. "Kevin, I need you to follow her, find her, and bring her back home. She hasn't set off on her own like this before. She might get hurt, or worse."

"Don't worry, Master Terra," he said. "I'll bring her back. I won't let you down." Kevin threw his Keyblade and it transformed into his Glider. His glider was shaped like a motorcycle too, but the shape was different. Crystal's Glider was sleeker while Kevin's was bulky. "Goodbye, Master Terra," he said as he flew off into the vast expanse of space.

"Be careful, Kevin," Terra whispered once the apprentice had cleared the atmosphere. His heart pained at the thought of what may be to come. The memories of what happened twenty years ago flooded his mind.

Crystal had been flying through the Lanes Between for hours. She arrived at the Destiny Islands and landed on the main island. It was a beautiful sight. Ocean stretched before her as far as she could see. She had never been there before, but Terra and Aqua had told her about it. She thought it was even more beautiful than they had described. She wanted to stay on that beach all day and swim in the ocean, but she had more important things to take care of.

She walked through the streets of the small town, looking for someone, anyone really. She came across a muscular man with sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin. "Excuse me, sir," she said.

"Hey," the man said. "I'm Tidus. I don't remember ever seeing you around here before. Where are you from?"

"My name is Crystal. I'm not from around here. I'm looking for someone. Do you know a Riku?" She had heard about Riku before. Terra told her about how Sora, Riku, and Kairi defeated the threat of the Heartless and the Nobodies seven years ago. The Heartless and Nobodies were still around, but it was nothing the Keyblade wielders around the universe couldn't handle. She had never fought a Heartless or Nobody, but she had been trained to.

"Oh yeah, I know Riku," Tidus said. "He lives in that house over there." Tidus pointed to the suburban home across the street.

"Thanks, Tidus," she said. She walked over to Riku's home and knocked on his door.

A tall, muscular man with long, silver hair and emerald eyes answered the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Hi, are you Riku?" she asked. "My name is Crystal. I'm the apprentice of Master Terra. I need someone to talk to."

"I'm Riku," he said. "So, you're Crystal. Terra has told me great things about you. And you're even more beautiful than I imagined." Crystal blushed at the comment. She never thought of herself as very beautiful. She knew she was pretty, but she didn't let it get to her. She didn't really care about her appearance. "Come on in and sit down. My friends, Sora and Kairi, should be here any minute with their kids."

Riku's house was very nice on the inside. The living room had hardwood floor. There was a couch against the wall to the right of the door. Two chairs were in the middle of the room and a large, HD TV was hanging from the wall with a PS3 and Xbox 360 plugged into it. 'Twenty-five years old and he still plays video games?' Crystal thought to herself. There were different decorations all over the walls. Pictures of Riku's friends and family were framed and neatly arranged. In the corner next to the door there was a large, deep-sea fishing pole, some harpoons, and a trident for when he went fishing. A large fish she didn't recognize hung on the wall just below his TV. That must be the biggest fish he had ever caught.

She sat on one of the chairs while Riku sat on the other. "So, what brings you to the Destiny Islands?"

"I actually came here to see you. I have to ask you about the Darkness of the Heart."

Riku's eyes widened. For the first time, he noticed her yellow eyes. "You're close to the Darkness, aren't you?" he asked, his voice uneasy.

"Yes," she said. "It's part of my nature. Master says I need to control it, but it just finds its way into everything. It does me no good to try to stop it. It's as much a part of me as Light is for everyone else."

"Terra is right. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. It may be a part of your nature, but it's like a fire. It just consumes and destroys until there's nothing left but Darkness. I know because I've given in to the Darkness before. It nearly destroyed my heart. I lost everything; my home, my family, and even my friends. I tried to kill Sora out of jealousy, and he's my best friend." There was pain in Riku's voice. The memories of his adolescence haunted him and he never completely forgave himself for what he had done ten years ago.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Riku," she said. "But what I want to know is, how can I suppress something that is such a part of who I am? How do you do it?"

"It's very hard. I have to keep myself in check every day. If I slip up, I'm as good as gone. But I can tell it's even more a part of you than it ever was me, or your Master for that matter. Your golden eyes are a sign of a Darkness-controlled person. But you don't appear to be controlled by it."

"But that's the point I'm trying to get. It's a part of who I am." She didn't delve into the truth about her origins. She was abandoned, yes, but she never had a family in the Realm of Light. She had been born in the Realm of Darkness. The Dark Realm expelled her when she was six and she appeared in Radiant Garden shortly after it was restored. She never knew her family and grew up among Pureblood Heartless. She never fought them. They never attacked her for some reason. "The Darkness doesn't control me, but I am a part of it just as it is a part of me. I don't understand how I can suppress something that is such a big part of my being!"

Riku looked down at his shoes and started to say something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. He got up and walked toward the door. He looked through the little window near the top and saw Sora and Kairi waiting on the other side. He let his best friends in and their two kids followed.

They had two children that looked about five years old. One was a boy. He had violet-blue eyes and blood-red hair like Kairi. Crystal thought he was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

The little girl had messy chocolate-brown hair and big, cerulean eyes like her father. She looked like a little angel. Crystal couldn't help but go 'Awww," in her mind at the sight of Sora and Kairi's two beautiful children.

"Sora, Kairi," Riku said. He hugged his best friends and they sat on the couch. The two children sat on the floor and played with the big, yellow ball they brought. "This girl is Crystal," he said, introducing her to them. "She's the apprentice of Master Terra that we've heard so much about."

"Welcome to the Destiny Islands," Sora greeted. "I'm Sora and this is my wife, Kairi. We've been married for six years." Sora hugged his wife closer and Crystal could see that he deeply loved her. Crystal wanted someone to love her like that. She'd never had a boyfriend. Kevin was the closest person she had, and they never dated. They were afraid of ruining their friendship.

"Pleasure to meet you both," she said. "Master has told me great things about you three. He said he owes you guys a lot."

"We were only doing what was right. We couldn't just let the Heartless, Organization XIII, and the Olympians take over," Kairi said. Crystal didn't remember much about the Heartless Invasion and Organization XIII since she was so little and had just arrived in the Realm of Light, but she was a little older when the Nobodies of the Olympians came and tried to take over this galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, and the Pegasus galaxy and she could remember that. "Sora, I don't feel so good," Kairi said just before she fainted.

"Kairi!" Crystal said. She started to get up and see if Kairi was alright, but she started feeling strange. She grabbed her throbbing head and seconds later, she blacked out.

When Crystal finally came to, she woke up in a bed on the second floor of Riku's house. Riku was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, staring at the floor. She looked at him and tilted her head to the side. He looked up and saw that she had finally woken up. "You're awake. That's good. You've been out for fifteen minutes."

"What happened? Why did I pass out?" She was trying to wrap her brain around how she could have possibly fainted. She'd had perfect health her whole life. She hardly even got sick. "Is Kairi alright?"

"Kai woke up a few minutes ago. I don't know what happened," he said. "You two seemed fine for a while, but then you just went out cold. I wonder…"

"You wonder what?"

"Maybe it's because Kairi is a Princess of Heart and you're a Child of Darkness. That's the only thing I can think of. You two are polar opposites. The proximity between you two must have been too much for you both to handle."

"Kairi's a Princess of Heart?" Crystal asked, shocked that she actually had the chance to meet one. Terra and Aqua told her about them, but they never mentioned who were the current Princesses. "Wow, I'm honored to have had the chance to meet a real Princess of Heart!"

"How much of your heart is Darkness, Crystal?" Riku asked, as if her answer would shed light on a vitally important question.

"Nearly all of it," she said. "The truth is, I was born in the Realm of Darkness. I lived there among the Heartless until I was six. Then, I appeared on Radiant Garden and lived on the streets for three years until Master Terra found me. I hardly have any light inside me at all. I'm pure Darkness."

"I see," he said. "Then it's important you never get too close to Kairi or another Princess of Heart, ever."

"Why?"

"Because, you could accidentally create the X-blade."

"What's the X-blade?" Crystal had never heard of it before. She wondered why Terra had never mentioned it before if it was this important. Didn't he know that she was bound to cross paths with a Princess of Heart sometime in her life?

"It's a special kind of Keyblade that is created when a heart of pure light and pure Darkness are fused into one. Its sole purpose is to unlock the door to Kingdom Hearts. One of the personalities that is used as the catalyst controls the new body while the other is completely powerless. Most of the time, the Darkness side wins."

"Have you seen this happen?" She was curious now.

"No, but your master has. He and Aqua once knew a boy named Ventus. Master Xehanort took him and split his Darkness from him. It created a being called Vanitas. Ven and Vanitas fought at the Keyblade Graveyard and the contact allowed the X-blade to be created. Ven was possessed by Vanitas and almost lost his selfhood. He defeated Vanitas in his heart while Aqua fought him in the physical world. Unfortunately, killing Vanitas collapsed Ven's heart, leaving him as an empty shell. Ven's fractured heart eventually made its way here and he fused with Sora. Ventus is no more. The closest thing left of him is Sora's Nobody, Roxas."

Crystal just looked at Riku, soaking in what he had just told her. She wondered why Terra and Aqua hadn't mentioned Ventus before if they had been such good friends. There seemed to be a lot they never told her, which only served to fuel her resentment more. Darkness seeped its way deeper into her heart. She no longer tried to restrain it. She welcomed her Darkness. She didn't believe her master or Riku that the Darkness would eventually destroy her heart.

Kevin flew through the void of space. "Where am I even going?" he asked himself. He had nothing to go by except what he felt in his heart. Crystal and Kevin's hearts seemed to resonate with each other. He hoped that he would be able to sense where she went.

He was having no such luck. He couldn't feel his best friend anymore. That scared him. "Maybe she's just too far away," he thought. He started to think about their relationship. They'd know each other for seven years. She was his best friend. But lately, he'd started to feel different than he used to. He started to notice the little things first. He noticed how her hair smelled like strawberries-a result of the shampoo she used-and he loved that smell. He also noticed her golden eyes. When they were kids, they scared him. He'd seen those same eyes on the Heartless that he had to run away from. But now, he saw them as something beautiful, something that made her unique. Kevin was falling for his best friend.

He saw something in the distance. It was a tiny world that was covered in dense forest. He suddenly felt a strong urge to go there. "Maybe Crystal is there," he said as he descended into the planet's atmosphere. His Keyblade Armor kept him from burning up in reentry.

Kevin landed after a slow descent to the surface. His Keyblade Glider transformed back into his Keyblade and he dismissed it for now. He didn't see any threats in the immediate area. He was standing a clearing in the middle of a large bamboo thicket. There was a lone rock in the center of the clearing. There was also a broken jawbone from what appeared to be a long-deceased leopard. There was a tooth missing from the jawbone. Kevin just kept walking, though. He had a job to do. He had to find the person he cared about the most. He wasn't about to let something bad happen to her.

He walked through a ravine and found himself at a lagoon full of hippos. He knew that they could be dangerous if provoked. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he walked through the small area.

Up ahead, he saw two figures. One looked like a man and the other was a woman. He picked up his speed and jogged over to them. The man was moderately tall. He may have been taller, but he was slouched over like a gorilla. He had long, brown, greasy hair and wore nothing but a loin cloth. The woman was a little more civilized-looking. She was tall as well. She wore a brown, animal skin tank top and a matching skirt. She had long, thin, brown hair and was very pale despite having the appearance of someone who lived in the jungle. "Excuse me," Kevin called to them. "My name is Kevin. Have you seen a girl named Crystal around here? She's a little shorter than me. She has long, blond hair and golden eyes."

They both turned to look at him. The man pierced Kevin with his deep-set, dark eyes. He looked like he was sizing him up for a fight. The woman just looked at him kindly. "Please excuse my husband," she said in a sweet British accent. "My name is Jane and this is Tarzan." She seemed like a nice woman. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen anyone like that around here."

"Thanks anyway," Kevin said. "I guess I'll be on my way."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a little while longer?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, but it's kind of important that I find her. She's my best friend and I'm afraid something bad is going to happen to her. I love her too much to let anything happen to her."

"Well then, I guess you should get…" Jane started to say, but she was interrupted by a rumbling in the ground. It was as if the ground was seriously mad at them for something. A giant fissure opened on an island across the lagoon from Kevin, Tarzan, and Jane. Kevin drew his Keyblade and Tarzan readied his long, wooden spear.

From the fissure, a giant monster crawled out. It was a Giga Shadow. It looked similar to a standard Shadow, except it was about ten feet tall. It stared at Kevin with its yellow eyes that reminded him so much of Crystal.

Kevin, like Crystal, had never fought a Heartless before. They never came to Castle Oblivion and he had never left the castle since Master Aqua found him. Kevin summoned all of his strength and completely jumped over the large, murky body of water. He coated his Keyblade in Thundaga magic and attempted to drive the cold, electrified steel into the creature's brain with the powerful Thunder Edge attack. The Giga Shadow jumped out of the way at the last second and Kevin's Keyblade was buried into the dirt. He struggled to pull his now-embedded sword from the ground as the Shadow took a swipe at him with its large, black claw. Kevin just barely got out of the way. The Heartless' fingertips barely cut his shirt. It broke his skin a little, but not enough to make Kevin bleed. Tarzan wildly swung his spear at the Child of Darkness. The Giga Shadow knocked him away and into the water with no problems. It was clear that this was a one-on-one fight.

Kevin realized that the Giga Shadow was too much for him to handle. He dismissed his Keyblade and concentrated. He was summoning the most powerful spell Aqua had taught him, Mega Flare. The giant, swirling ball of unquenchable fire charged up and he unloaded it onto the Dark being. The Heartless screamed in pain as it was incinerated by the white-hot flame.

"Whew, thank God that's taken care of," Kevin said in relief. "Thanks for your help, Tarzan."

"You're welcome," the wild man said with a deep, yet normal sounding voice. Kevin was shocked at his ability to speak clearly. Jane must have taken a lot of time to teach him.

"I really have to be going. Thank you for all your help."

"Goodbye," Jane said. Kevin donned his Keyblade armor once again and set off into the deepest part of space in search of his beloved friend.

Author's Note: So, what do you think? Next chapter soon. It's already typed, I just have to post it. Remember to follow "Her Scars" and "Hearts of the Olympians." Until next time, friends...