Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor any of the companies and characters involved in the franchise. I do own my OC, obviously.

Okay, so I'm obsessed with Kingdom Hearts. The gameplay is great, the characters are even better, and how can you not love the ridiculously complicated storyline?! That being said, after playing Dream Drop Distance, I learned something both awesome and awful. I won't say what it was, mainly because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but know that this event is the reason for why I'm finally doing this fic. This will be an AU, not just for the OC that I'll be adding, but because I will change minor things about the plotline as well. I promise it won't be anything super major, just some tweaks here and there to help the story flow better.

The story itself will center on my OC and her interactions with the other characters. There will be no slash and I will try not to make my OC a Mary-Sue or Sue-ish in any way. Some events on certain Worlds will be expanded or redone to match the storyline better and to suit my OC's involvement. These changes don't really affect the overall Kingdom Hearts storyline, but merely goes more in depth into the Worlds in a way that the games couldn't. You may expect this fic to be epic in length as it spans over all the Kingdom Hearts games save for Birth By Sleep and Coded. That last one being excluded because I seriously disliked Coded.

Chapter 1: Welcome To The Organization

It was a Heartless, massive and mighty, one meant to usher in darkness and destroy worlds.

Wide, pupil-less, glowing yellow eyes was the only visible feature behind the tentacle-like strands that twisted and shifted around its' face like snakes. The Darkside was colossal; a hulking towering figure that took up most of the space of the jagged, floating piece of land that Sora was trapped on. He didn't have time to spare for his friends and family, though they were a constant worrying thought, causing him to glace over the edge again. All he saw was darkness, the mainland and even the ocean were lost in the inky blackness that had taken Riku and had tried to take him too.

Pushing his concerns aside was difficult, but Sora managed it as he refocused on Darkside and glared. Crouching down into a fighting stance and wielding the mysterious Keyblade, the young hero was undeterred as he charged forwards with a jumping slash, landing a hit on the monster's left hand. He moved to attack again, but missed as the Darkside plunged its' fist into the ground, sending out a shockwave and creating a pit of swirling darkness that three small Shadows crawled out from. The shockwave hit Sora just as he landed, causing the boy to grunt and falter.

"Oh, screw you Darkside!" A woman's voice called out, annoyance radiating from her tone. The owner of said voice pressed pause on her game, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, and downed her now warm soda in hopes that it would reenergize her. It was two in the morning, but like any true gamer, Heather wasn't going to let the late hour stop her from playing. Her wonderful cousin had brought the game over earlier that night, and he'd given her the privilege to play it first.

She resumed her game and made Sora go left, just barely dodging the small horde of Heartless that were attacking. With the Lock-On feature activated, she had Sora swing out at the closest Shadow and finished it off with a simple combo in order to collect some Health Orbs. She returned to the Darkside, jumping up to reach its' hand and just started pressing X like crazy. The special moves and longer attacks wouldn't come until much later in the game, so she had to settle for Sora's very basic three strike combo.

At this point, Heather was beginning to regret not spending more time in leveling up like she usually did. But she hadn't wanted to waste an hour grinding up to level seven, just so that she could take Riku down without using any Potions. She'd just wanted to jump straight into the storyline. To be fair, Darkside wasn't giving her too hard of a challenge, but she seemed to remember this battle ending a lot faster the last time she played through the game.

After a few more minutes of dodging and repeating her attacks on the enemy's hands, the Darkside was defeated and Sora was left hanging from some random debris to avoid being sucked into the darkness that would somehow magically whisk him away to Traverse Town.

Setting the controller down and letting the cutscene play out, Heather yawned, tiredly rubbing at her now closed eyes and allowing her body to slump into her couch. The urge to keep them shut grew and she sighed in defeat, deciding to call it a night. Exhaustion tugged at her insistently and she felt herself drift off for a moment, not really awake or asleep. She forced herself to keep going, sluggishly opening her eyelids, and Heather blinked in surprise at the sight of something black oozing out of her TV screen. Her heart skipped a few beats, before subsiding back into its usual tempo. She brushed the disturbing image away by closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"Damn, I must be more tired than I thought. I'm seeing things." She smacked her cheeks with both hands, the slight sting jolting her senses, and opened her eyes again to see that the mass of ooze was still there and growing bigger by the second. With an alarmed yelp, Heather scrambled to her feet and immediately stumbled towards the front door, only to be stopped as the black ooze suddenly shot outwards and latched itself around her waist.

"Help! Somebody he–" She was cut off as a new segment of ooze reached up to cover her lower face and she was forced to clench her jaw to keep any of the stuff from getting inside her mouth. She could only hope that one of the other tenants in the building had heard her scream and were rushing downstairs to investigate.

Whatever the black stuff was, her mind couldn't help but register just how weird it felt on her skin. It wasn't a liquid, although it certainly moved like one, but it wasn't exactly solid either. It was like a tangible fog, one capable of being semi-solid, considering she couldn't break out of its grasp. It wasn't warm or cold either, which just messed with her senses even further, but it was… vibrating, like every part of it was constantly moving, rolling over itself, endlessly shifting.

As she felt herself being drug backwards, Heather caught sight of her IPhone and reached for it with her free hand. She gave a muffled shout of success and grasped the phone tightly. Her victory was quickly ruined though as she was yanked backwards roughly. Her feet left the floor entirely and her breathing stuttered as she braced herself for the inevitable crash into the ground, but the inky ooze kept her up in the air, pulling her headfirst towards the TV.

Heather caught one last glimpse of her apartment before everything went black.

'Sometimes,' Xigbar mused dully, 'it just doesn't pay to play the right-hand man.' The one-eyed Freeshooter was currently slouched over in his chair, barely listening as Saïx gave his latest report on pretty much anything and everything. As per usual, Xemnas was holding his monthly "secret meetings", where they talked about the progress of the other members. Vexen would likely say it was an honor to be a part of such a selective discussion—Xigbar just called it boring.

"Furthermore, I suspect that Marluxia is up to something. He and Larxene have left the Castle on numerous occasions lately and they consistently managed to evade the Dusks I send after them." The not-really-second-in-command reported to their leader. Oh sure, Xigbar knew that the others saw Saïx as the boss's number one go-getter, but he was the real Nobody that Xemnas turned to when things needed to get done. Poor Saïx didn't have a clue that he was just a pawn in a much bigger game.

Then again, Xigbar supposed his own piece wasn't that much better. Maybe a rook? He definitely wasn't a knight. The comparison instantly rankled him. He wasn't the noble type, even if he did follow through on his duties. A bishop then, that sounded more impressive, and people never really see them coming until it's too late. As he smirked a little at that thought, Xigbar returned to the conversation and rolled his lone eye as Saïx began to list his theories on what Marluxia could be up to. 'Okay, change of topic please.'

"Ugh, give me a break." He groaned in annoyance. "Marluxia's been planning to stab us in the back from day one. And as for Larxene, well she's been gunning for a higher position ever since she realized where she sat on the totem pole around here." He was unable to resist chuckling as Saïx sent him a mild glare for interrupting.

"Very well then. Perhaps you have more pertinent information to share, Number II." The Lunar Diviner replied evenly, his usual apathetic attitude at play.

"Hey, my job is to tail the Keyblade kid, which I've been doing." The Freeshooter replied as he held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "In fact, just this afternoon he left the Coliseum after taking down that giant three-headed mutt."

"…He defeated the Cerberus?" Xemnas asked lowly, attracting the other two's attention immediately. Xigbar mentally noted that they were the first words the Superior had spoken since their little meeting had started over an hour ago. There was a slight tinge of curiosity in the question and Xigbar could only guess at what that meant. He'd long since given up trying to understand the motives of the other man. Xehanort had possessed a real flair for ambiguity and his Nobody proved to be just as cryptic. In the end it hardly mattered, so he just smirked and gave a one-sided shrug.

"Well, the kid had some help, but yeah. He's actually not doing too bad for a brat that just got his Keyblade little more than a week ago." He continued in a long drawl, unable to resist sending a knowing look in their leader's direction. "Then again, he's got nothing on those three." Predictably, Xemnas didn't acknowledge his reference to the last group of Keyblade wielders and the Freeshooter grinned as Saïx frowned at them.

"What of Maleficent and her capturing of the Seven Princesses?" The Superior inquired instead, redirecting the conversation back to business. Xigbar inwardly sighed. He was never going to catch a break with stiffs like Xemnas and Saïx always hanging around.

"Supposedly the Heartless are closing in on another one, but the witch ain't saying who it is just yet. Not that I blame her, seeing as that girl they nabbed from Wonderland turned out to be a dud." He chuckled at the memory of Maleficent's reaction when she'd discovered the girl wasn't one of the Seven Lights. "Which means they're still stuck at three." Saïx, now practically glaring at them, opened his mouth, probably to ask why the Princesses were so important once again, when a Dusk suddenly appeared below them through a Corridor of Darkness. The conversation came to an immediate halt and Xemnas ordered the Lesser Nobody to speak.

–My liege, we have discovered one who wanders in the Realm of Darkness. It is kin.

'A new Nobody, huh?' Xigbar mused inwardly. Well, that was a little unexpected. Being the figurative eyes and ears of the Organization, he, along with Xaldin, were the ones who scouted for promising candidates in other worlds. It was strange that this Nobody had ended up in the Realm of Darkness though. The Freeshooter had never heard of that happening before. And what were the Dusks even doing in the Realm of Darkness in the first place? Xigbar cast a glance at their leader, who typically looked as calm as ever. 'Hmm, looks like Xemnas managed to slip one by me.' He'd have to look into the matter later—discreetly, of course.

"You want me to go check it out?" The Freeshooter asked mildly, already knowing the new guy need to be brought in. After all, the Organization hadn't filled its' quota yet. Xemnas nodded wordlessly and Xigbar dropped down from his chair. His boots clacked against the floor, knees bending to allow for a fluid landing, and he straightened out. "Alrighty, show me where you found the fresh meat." The Dusk nodded obediently before slipping through the Corridor.

Xigbar wasn't sure what to expect as he followed the Dusk's twisting form at a sedated pace, but he briefly entertained himself with thoughts on who this new Nobody was and what their attribute might be. Upon arriving in the Realm of Darkness, it took him a few seconds to get a good look at the Nobody, as they were currently being attacked by a small horde of weak Heartless. His musings, the few he'd had, didn't even come close to what he found.

The Nobody turned out to be a young woman with long, colorless brown hair pulled back into a braid. Her bangs seemed to be cut at different lengths, framing her face in a wild, somewhat spikey fashion. She was a little thing, both in height and weight. He would have pegged her as a teenager if it weren't for her face, which was narrow and rather mature looking. Deciding that this was a good opportunity to see what she could do fighting wise, Xigbar stood back and simply watched, staying out of sight and easily blending in with the surrounding darkness.

Her clothes were a predominant mesh of purple, black, white, yellow, and silver. On her feet were black and purple shoes with yellow straps and white highlights. They reminded him of the Keyblade kid's footwear, as they were overproportioned to an almost comical size. White baggy cargo pants sagged a little over the bulbous shoes, adorned with a few extra pockets, and a yellow belt with a black side-pouch hung over her right hip. On her arms were long fingerless black gloves, a purple strip going up the middle, which stopped just short of her elbows. To finish her outfit, she wore a sleeveless purple and black zip-up vest with a collar high enough to hide the lower half of her face if she ducked her head. On the back of her vest, around the area of her shoulder blades, was a large yellow star.

"Gravity!" The new Nobody shouted suddenly as she swung her right arm down towards the ground in a sweeping arc. As the spell activated, a sphere of dark purple energy expanded and descended upon the Heartless before fading into the ground. The effect was immediate. The Shadows and Soldiers fell flat against the floor, unable to get up, with a few of the weaker ones being destroyed instantly, and the girl lunged at the remaining Heartless. The Freeshooter caught a glimpse of something purple in her hands, her weapons no doubt, and she began to quickly pick off the weighed down Heartless, making them burst into clouds of darkness.

As Xigbar carefully studied her movements, he quickly concluded that she didn't seem to have a set fighting style. Her defense was sloppy, leaving her open for attacks, and her timing was all off. She lashed out whenever she could and usually retreated too late, letting her take the brunt or tail-end of an attack. Her footwork was terrible too, but she at least seemed to know her own limits and used her magic to her advantage. The latter was the sign of a tactical mind, which barely compensated for her obvious lack of skill.

'I suppose the little minx isn't doing too bad.' Xigbar mentally conceded. He continued to study the fight for several more minutes as the group of Heartless was slowly taken down, until only one enemy stood a solid ten feet away from the Nobody. As if finally realizing that it was in over its head, the Solider made a run for it.

"Magnet!" She called out flatly as she aimed both hands out at the retreating target. The Heartless stumbled before it was suddenly zooming towards the newbie, its limbs flailing wildly in an attempt to grab onto something. She stood in place, knees bent, right arm drawn back in preparation for a powerful punch. The collision between Heartless and weapon looked brutal as purple plunged through the Soldier's torso, where it dissolved into a formless plume of darkness. Victorious, the Nobody panted heavily and braced her hands on her knees, clearly exhausted from the fight.

From what Xigbar could tell, there hadn't been that many Heartless to begin with, maybe twenty at the most, and they'd only been a mixture of Shadows and Soldiers. Her combat skills weren't good, but they weren't exactly bad either, just unrefined. 'She must be relatively new to fighting then.' The Freeshooter surmised as he took in her worn state. He smirked, knowing that the Organization would toughen her up soon enough. 'Wonder what poor sap will get stuck training her?'

Xigbar clapped his hands to announce his presence as he approached her, startling the Nobody slightly, and he held himself in friendly manner as she turned towards him with her fists raised. Now able to make out the smaller details, he noticed a few things he couldn't see before.

He identified the woman's weapons as a pair of modified spiked knuckles. The guards were much thicker than normal, completely covering her fingers and knuckles from view, designed to better protect her hands and deal more damage. The four short spikes were silver and shaped in a way that reminded him of the tips on the Organization's sigil. The guards were purple, the same shade throughout her outfit, though the coloring faded to white, while the grips were a solid black.

She was definitely a close-range fighter, which was surprising for her small build, but he imagined speed would be the driving force behind her attacks, not strength. Speaking of her appearance, she really was short. He'd put her at maybe 5'3", and that was him being generous. Her body type was very thin and lacking any defined muscles from what he could see. And her skin tone was just a few shades shy of being pale, so she couldn't have been in the Dark Realm for very long.

It was her eyes that grabbed his attention the most, as they were a vivid red color. Crimson, if he had to identify them—which he would because stick-in-the-mud-Saïx would want a report later. 'Don't think I've ever seen eyes like hers before.' They were pretty he supposed, but kind of unnerving, especially since she hadn't blinked yet.

"Whoa, easy there killer, I'm on your side." Xigbar said after a moment when she didn't show any signs of letting her guard down. She studied him for a few seconds longer before shaking her head slightly, making some of the more unruly bangs flop and wave in the air as her braid swished lightly from side to side.

"...If that's true, then why didn't you lend a hand?" She asked dully while raising a narrow eyebrow in an awkward manner. Xigbar, an old player at the recruitment game, recognized the telltale signs that this girl had indeed only lost her heart recently. Her tone lacked any form of emotion and her facial reactions were way too stiff. Good, the fresher they were the easier they were to manipulate. Smirking slightly, he shrugged his shoulders.

"You looked like you were handling things well enough." He replied in his usual laidback demeanor to put her off guard. "Besides, I had to make sure that you had the right stuff to join us, ya know?" He abruptly switched his voice to a more serious pitch. "I mean, we don't let just anyone without a heart join the Organization." Xigbar's demeanor broke into a crooked smile as she took a small step backwards. She didn't look afraid or even wary, but she didn't need feelings for this. A person's survival instinct was more a physical reaction than an emotional one.

"...What makes you think I lost my heart?" Her body was tense, even if her face wasn't, but she looked more ready to flee than to fight him. Playing up the part of an understanding stranger, Xigbar brought up a hand to his chest, mustering up the most sympathetic expression he could fake.

"Because I'm like you. I lost my heart to the Darkness too. We're called Nobodies." He explained and the girl finally lowered her weapons, though she didn't dismiss them.

"...And the Organization is made up of people like us, other Nobodies." Her voice had no curiosity in it, so she sounded more like she was stating a fact rather than asking a question. Belatedly, as if realizing her lacking tone, she titled her head to emphasize her point and Xigbar chuckled. It was always amusing watching the newbies struggle with learning how to fake their emotions.

"Right in one, you're a smart girl. So what do ya say? Are you interested?" He said with an offered hand, aware that she had no choice in the matter. If she turned him down, he'd simply knock her out and drag her back to headquarters. She closed those oddly colored eyes for a moment before nodding, her weapons disappearing in a purple flash of dark energy and flickering lights. "Good, then I'll take you to meet the boss. If you'll just follow me..." He trailed off before summoning a portal back to The World That Never Was and gave her one last look before stepping into the Corridor.

A few seconds later he heard her light steps echoing from behind him.

Upon arrival, his only eye narrowed at the irritating brightness of The Room Where Nothing Gathers, before Warping to his seat, leaving the Nobody behind to fend for herself. From above, she looked harmless now that she wasn't thrashing a horde of Heartless and Xigbar guessed that she would use that ruse to her advantage on future missions. She squinted harshly at the glare of the room, as if she hadn't seen light in days—which was more than likely, now that he thought about it.

The Freeshooter glanced over at his fellow Organization members, analyzing their reactions to their newest addition.

Unsurprisingly, Xemnas gave nothing away as he gazed down at the red-eyed Nobody. His chin rested in his left hand in a relaxed manner while he studied her with slow blinks. Saïx sat straighter than usual, his head tilted to the side as a pronounced frown made its way onto his face. The Lunar Diviner clearly wasn't impressed with their latest recruit and Xigbar couldn't really blame him. The little minx certainly didn't look like much, but he believed that the old proverb, 'don't judge a book by its cover' suited her well enough.

"Greetings." Xemnas intoned, and Xigbar watched as the girl's gaze, which had been zooming around the room, locked onto the Superior the moment he spoke. "I am Xemnas, leader of Organization XIII. Might I ask for your name?" The newbie straightened her posture before answering, earning her an approving nod from Saïx. Xigbar rolled his eye.

"Heather, sir." Idly, the Freeshooter found himself evaluating the sound of her voice. Her words were of course impassive, but she spoke in a smooth tone that only a fully grown woman could pull off, and surprisingly, Xigbar decided he rather liked the sound of it. It wasn't grating like Larxene's could be, but he wondered how her voice would change once she relearned how to put some feeling into it. Would she sound more laidback, like himself? Upbeat like Demyx, stern like Lexaeus, or perhaps even haughty like Vexen?

"Is it too much to bare, the emptiness resonating within you? Do you wish to return to whom you once were?" Their leader asked as he summoned the letters of her name out of thin air. The girl studied them for a few seconds before her gaze switched to Xemnas and nodded in answer. The Superior waved his right hand and a large χ—the Recusant's Sigil—joined the translucent golden letters as they started flying around in the space between them and their newest member. Xemnas flicked his wrist once again, making the letters come to a standstill, and she read the name out loud.

"...Hexerath." She said lowly and Xigbar smirked at how intimidating the moniker sounded.

"Yes, Number XIII. Welcome to the fold."

Hexerath let out a sigh as she closed the door to the room that was now hers. Saïx had briefly explained how things in the Organization worked after Xemnas had given her a new name. She would be introduced to the rest of the members tomorrow as it was currently the middle of the night. The young woman let her eyes roam over the room, lingering on the small white desk and matching chair situated in front of the room's only window.

Overall, it looked strikingly similar to the one Roxas had in 358/2 Days, except for one glaring difference.

It was real now.

She began to explore the room for a lack of having anything to do. She found the closet Saïx had mentioned located in the wall opposite of the bed. It was fully stocked with the Organization's uniform—black coats, black pants, black tank tops, three sets of black gloves, and a pair of black boots. Hexerath looked down at the clothes she was wearing and fingered the fabric that had been given to her upon her rebirthing as a Nobody. She briefly wondered if all Nobodies were born with new sets of clothes or if it had just been her and Roxas.

Moving on, Hexerath spotted another door located near the corner of her room. She opened it to reveal a white tiled bathroom. It was simplistic, just like everything else in the room, with a small shower, a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. She found that the cupboard beneath the sink was fully stocked with white towels and other toiletries. Glancing over the mirror, Hexerath stilled at seeing her reflection.

She looked like a 3D computer animated model, like a video game character. It wasn't the same as the graphics of Kingdom Hearts 1.5—rather it matched what she'd briefly seen from the trailers for Kingdom Hearts III. But it wasn't her animated appearance that gave her pause, she'd been aware of her transformation upon waking up in the Realm of Darkness, though she hadn't been able to see her face until now. No, it was her eyes that caught her attention.

'My eyes are brown.' Thinking it didn't change the fact that her irises were now a bright vivid crimson. Looking at herself more closely, Hexerath noted that nothing else about her features had changed besides the obvious. She had the same shade of ash brown hair and untamable bangs, though they were definitely more anime like in this form. Her face was still narrow, with her body just as short and thin as it ever was.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Hexerath found her sights landing on the large window that spanned the length of the back wall and moved towards it, stopping beside the desk. She stared down at the city, the flash of neon lights catching her attention, and ignored the reflected gleam coming from her eyes. 'It seems the Organization hasn't started collecting hearts yet.' The black, star filled sky was empty of the heart shaped moon that she had been expecting.

It was strange. She had a secondhand… sense… of something. Her mind, as it had ever since she'd turned into a Nobody, pointed out that she should feel anxious, worried, afraid even. But she found it impossible to summon forth any type of emotion. She could only feel numb.

Hexerath bit back a yawn, suddenly aware of how exhausted her body was. She had never gotten tired in the Realm of Darkness, not in a physical sense at least. She shrugged off her vest, exposing the plain black tank top underneath, and hung it on the headboard of her bed. Taking off her socks and shoes, she stuffed her IPhone under the pillow since the room didn't have a nightstand. As she settled into the bed, Hexerath found that it was actually rather soft.

She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"Ouch, ugh. Why does my brain hurt so badly?" Heather moaned as she slowly sat up and moved her hands to massage her temples. Her limbs felt oddly heavy, sore, as if she'd worked out too much. There was a pounding in her skull that rivaled the only hangover she'd experienced after her twenty-first birthday. Prying her eyes open, Heather squinted at her surroundings. "What the–"

It was black—the ground, the sky, everything was pitch black.

"Oh my god, I'm blind!" She stood up shakily and reached out, hoping there was a wall or something nearby to lean on. "Wait a second?" She waved her visible hands in front of her face. "I can still see myself just fine, so I can't be blind." She studied her hand, confused even further as she realized that it looked really weird. "What the hell?" Glancing over herself, she found that the rest of her body, as well as her clothes, had changed. She looked like something out of a Pixar movie. "Okay, this is really weird. Am I dreaming?" Heather brought a hand up to her chin and hummed in thought while still studying her appearance.

"Let's see, I remember playing Kingdom Hearts and then–" She gasped, recalling how that black ooze had come out of her TV, sucking her in. She shook her head, deciding that she was indeed dreaming. She must've fallen asleep while playing the game. "Well, if this is a dream, then why am I not kicking Heartless butt with Sora, Donald, and Goofy? Or at least partying it up in a mega crossover with all the Disney characters in one room?" She mentally pictured how she wanted her dream to change, but after several minutes of nothing, Heather shrugged it off and started walking in a random direction.

"Man oh man, does my imagination suck or what? I didn't even dream up a change of clothes." Heather mumbled in a disappointedly as she looked over her attire. She was still in her pajamas, which consisted of grey sweatpants and a white camisole—though she was impressed with how detailed she looked in digital animation. She frowned, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "Hey, hold up… isn't this the place where Aqua sacrificed herself to save Terra-Xehanort?" Whatever ideas Heather might've had concerning the missing Keyblade Master were instantly forgotten as four Shadows appeared in front of her.

It was a little hard to see them though, because they blended so well with the surrounding darkness.

A simple 'oh crap' just didn't seem to do her situation justice. She wasn't scared though—after all, it was only a dream.

"This is the part where I get an awesome Keyblade and completely destroy you guys." Heather said to the Heartless that just stared up at her with wide, unblinking yellow eyes, unaffected by her threat. She brought up her hand and tried to will the Keyblade into existence, like Sora had done over a dozen times during the games, only to end up yelping as she felt something brush against her leg. She glared down at the Shadows, but was greeted to three sets of eyes instead of four. 'Where'd the other one go?'

"Seriously, you guys won't want to be anywhere near me once I get this thing working!" She shouted as she started to back away, wildly searching for the missing Shadow. "C'mon subconscious, help me out a little here." Heather held her hand out again, inwardly begging her mind to cooperate, and stared at her empty hand in dismay. She gulped as the fourth Shadow suddenly reappeared to her right and leapt towards her. She felt something sharp cut into her side, making her cry out in pain.

"That hurt?! That actually freakin' hurt!" Her hands instantly went to her side, rubbing the stinging skin, knowing without a doubt that it would be bruised later. Heather felt as if time itself had stopped as she realized what that meant. "This is just a dream. I can't—I'm not supposed to feel pain." Shocked and dazed, she slowly looked back towards the Heartless.

The other sets of eyes moved and she ran.

Heather called out for help. For Sora, Aqua, anybody, but her yells seemed to only attract more Heartless. Swallowing back her panicked shouts had been almost impossible, but she somehow managed to keep her mouth shut, her pleas ringing throughout her head instead. At one point, she didn't know when, she had started crying. It only became apparent when her vision blurred.

Heather didn't know how long she ran or how far, she just knew that it wasn't an impressive amount of time or distance. She'd always been weak in the cardio area, and although desperately running for her life had pushed her to go faster and farther than normal, it certainly wasn't enough to help her outrun the Heartless. Her side continued to throb with every step she took, doubtlessly hindering her getaway.

In the end, something, most likely her pursuers, lashed out at her bare feet and sent her tumbling into the floor face first.

"I should have known that this was a nightmare the minute that black ooze showed up. Ooze is rarely a good sign." Heather panted while trembling, trying and failing to ease her nerves. She rolled onto her back to face her attackers—whether to launch an insult, crack another joke, or just beg for mercy—she wasn't sure. In any case, the words never got a chance to leave her throat. As a Shadow lunged forwards, a heavy feeling of terror set in, and Heather knew then that she wasn't going to survive this.

In that moment, she closed her eyes.

Surprisingly, she didn't feel any claws digging into her, although she did feel as if something was being torn out of her chest. There was pain, not exactly physical, but all-consuming and mind-numbing. Agony spread through her ribs, taking away what little breath she had left. Heather's eyes shot open, dread growing as she saw that the Heartless were just standing around her, as if they were waiting for something. Her lungs expanded slowly, causing more pain to swell up in every part of her body, and she coughed, suddenly feeling as if she was suffocating. Something icy gripped at her insides, spreading outwards, draining her of… everything.

The Heartless didn't even shift as she slumped to the ground, arms too weak to support her anymore.

Just as her vision started to dim, a white light appeared in her chest. It was glowing so bright and warm—a little fire to keep the darkness at bay. The Heartless leaned away instantly, repelled. For a short moment, she felt safe, but then something horrible happened. The white light dimmed, shifting to a warmer pink coloring, and then it pulled away, slipping through bone, sinew, muscle, skin, and cotton, leaving Heather with a gnawing emptiness.

The loss of the light should have been horrifying, devastating, but she oddly couldn't feel anything now. In a way, it was a relief to be released from the fear and hopelessness that had griped her not even a second ago. Blinking slowly, she simply watched as the pink light floated upwards, beginning to take shape, only to be consumed by the Darkness before it could finish.

It took Heather a second longer to realize what the light had been before the darkness swallowed her too.

Hexerath woke to see her hands stretched out into the air, attempting to grab the light that had long since faded. A light that had been her heart. With a sigh that she had to consciously perform, Hexerath pushed back the bangs that clung to her sweaty skin. While she felt nothing after reliving how she'd been turned into a Nobody, her body had clearly reacted to it. She laid a hand over her chest, half-expecting to find a heavy tempo pounding away, matching her elevated breathing and the blood rushing through her veins.

There was nothing however. Her chest was hollow, just as it had been since her reawakening.

Before, when she'd speculated about Nobodies with others, she'd never believed that they physically didn't have a heart. How could such a vital organ disappear? Realistically, the body wouldn't be able to function. Instead, she'd always believed that the Heartless didn't so much as take hearts, but rather a person's soul, the metaphorical heart. This was not the way she'd wanted to find out.

Not that it mattered anymore. She couldn't genuinely feel upset about the loss of her heart or curious about what was now pumping her blood. Her memories helped, with them Hexerath could almost pretend to be the same. But her reactions were slow, she had to process her responses, and even then her movements were stiff, her words had no inflection to them. The emptiness residing in her wouldn't go away and it was hard to reenact what she was like when that light had been in her. It was the memory of the light and it's warmth that drove her on, made her want her heart back.

Hexerath sat up in bed and retrieved her IPhone from underneath the pillow. It had been in her pocket when she'd awoken after her heart had been taken. It seemed to be the only thing that had survived her conversion into a Nobody. After waking up in the Realm of Darkness a second time, with brand new clothes, the Heartless had attacked her again. They weren't as relentless as before since they'd already taken her heart. She suspected they'd attacked her merely because it was in their nature, seek and destroy.

She'd first summoned her weapons, her Knuckledusters as she'd begun to call them, by accident. A Shadow had jumped at her, missed, and she'd instinctively lashed out with her fist, where a flash of black-purple energy and twinkling white stars engulfed her hands, revealing her unexpected weapons. Since she had no previous combat experience, Hexerath learned how to fight through trial and error. It didn't take too long before she was able to handle small groups of Heartless, but she'd still ended up running away more often than not.

It was during the countless fights that followed where Hexerath realized she'd gained some speed, strength, and durability by becoming a Nobody. It wasn't like she had superhuman capabilities or anything, but she could take an attack a lot better than before, move faster, and hit harder. She'd learned that she was able to use Gravity, another accident, and was surprised to find that she could cast Magnet as well. She'd no idea how she could suddenly use magic, but she'd soon discovered that the two spells were the only ones she could cast. They'd come in handy whenever she'd needed to flee.

Turning on her phone, the Nobody saw that it read 11:15 PM, which couldn't have been right. Saïx said they were going to introduce her to the other members in the morning and it had supposedly been rather late when Xigbar had found her. Her eyes moved over to the calendar app. She'd been sucked into her TV on the 20th—her phone now said it was the 30th. She'd spent ten days trapped in the Realm of Darkness, of course that was only true if time was relevant in the Realm, or if it even flowed at the same rate as her world.

Deciding to put those thoughts aside for a later point, the young woman went over to her closet. She didn't know what time it actually was, so it was probably for the best that she got ready now. After grabbing some undergarments, a tank top, pants, gloves, and a pair of socks, Hexerath headed to the bathroom. Faster than she'd ever done as a Somebody, she was showered and dressed within fifteen minutes.

After drying her hair with a towel, she pulled it into a damp braid and sat on the bed as she put on the uniform's knee-length boots, tucking her pants into them. They were heeled for which her mind told her to be thankful for simply because they made her look taller. Her short stature had always been a sore subject growing up, so she'd made it a habit of wearing shoes with a bit of height to them.

She brushed her fingers along the infamous black coat, finding that it was made from leather, or something like it. Zipping the coat up, Hexerath found that the sleeves were tight around her arms and shoulders instead of loose like most of the members' were. Lastly, she pulled on her gloves, which were made of the same material as the coat. After a moment, she raised the hood over her head, leaving her face in shadows.

"Hexerath, Number XIII." She repeated her new name and number lowly, shifting her mouth into an uncooperative frown. Since Xemnas had given her that number, she assumed that Roxas wasn't around yet, which meant she'd arrived before Sora had released his and Kairi's hearts. Where was she in terms of the game's timeline? 'Does Sora even have the Keyblade?'

Seeing as she had a moment, Hexerath folded the clothes she'd woken up in, slowly tracing the star symbol that was on the back of her vest. Logically, it would be best to keep them. She would need a change of clothes should she decide to leave the Organization or she could use them for a disguise. The black coat was not covert. She placed the clothes at the bottom of the closest, hidden from sight. Someone knocked sharply on the door and Hexerath moved across the small room to open it, revealing Saïx's amber gaze. The Nobody briefly looked over her appearance before nodding in approval.

"Follow me." He ordered and she did so without even thinking. Hexerath trailed behind Saïx down a barren hallway, keeping one eye on him while the other took in her surroundings. White walls and floors greeted her, along with a high ceiling that matched. There were no other doors to be seen, something she'd failed to notice the night before.

Saïx on the other hand was more interesting to look at. He was far more... detailed than she'd ever seen him. The scar on his face, which should've been jagged in reality, was so clean-cut it looked more like a tattoo than an actual scar. Not that she thought about it, maybe it was a tattoo, something he'd gotten to match Axel's teardrop marks? Hexerath could see the individual stands of his hair, which was just so blue and so vivid. In perfect contrast, she could see the gentle curves of his face, the sharpness of his cheek bones, and the small pattern of pores along his skin. His amber gaze, for the brief moment she'd met it head-on, had almost seemed to glow because the colors were just that striking.

Would he allow it, she could've easily spent twenty minutes just taking in his appearance.

However, her memories were quick to remind her to be wary, that she should be nervous, afraid, should Xemnas discover what she knew, but she didn't see how those emotions would benefit her at the moment. Had she still possessed a heart, she might've accidentally revealed that she knew more than she was letting on, which would've been a disaster for the storyline. Saïx glanced back at her once, but he said nothing so their journey continued in silence.

A wayward thought, one that had not left her alone since arriving in the Realm of Darkness, came to her again, questioning if her situation really was happening. Even now it was trying to make her believe that everything was the result of a comatose dream. Delusions. However, rationalism ruled over her thought process now, and she suddenly recalled a quote from an author that she'd been fond of as a Somebody: "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

So now she was Hexerath rather than Heather—a Nobody and a member of the Organization. She'd worry about everything else once she actually had a heart to worry with.

Axel yawned as he shifted in his seat slightly, watching as Demyx nodded off and almost fell out of his chair, much to Larxene's amusement. The redhead had expected to wake up to the usual routine: get his daily orders of wiping out Heartless, write a report describing how he'd wiped out said Heartless, and then getting to sleep as his reward for a job well done. He'd therefore been a little caught off guard when he'd spotted Lexaeus and Zexion heading towards the Round Room.

He'd asked the two what was up, naturally Lexaeus hadn't done the explaining, and had found out that a new member was being introduced. He had shrugged it off and joined the others in the Round Room, wondering if he would still have to go on a mission afterwards. Probably. It's not like he'd ever gotten a day off before.

The minutes passed by at a snail's pace and Axel did his best to ignore the few members who had enough energy to start a conversation with each other. His gaze landed on Saïx's chair again, unsure as to why it was empty. The idea that the Lunar Diviner had been charged with collecting their new member was laughable, but judging by the grin on Xigbar's face, it seemed to be the case.

His waning attention returned as soon as Saïx appeared in his chair, composed in his usual position with his right leg crossed over his left, both hands clasped and resting on his knee. With barely a glance in his direction, Saïx looked up at their leader with a nod, his gaze dropping back to Axel after the Superior returned the gesture. Sending Saïx a questioning look, his friend merely tilted his head in answer before turning back to their leader.

Xemnas raised a hand to silence the others and smiled for once, perhaps pleased that they now really were an organization of thirteen members. He addressed them in a tone that had a touch of warmth to it. While it didn't fool Axel for a second, it was a pretty convincing act for a man who had no heart.

"My friends, today is truly a fortuitous one as the thirteenth member finally joins our ranks." Xemnas stated in his usual blasé tone, some of the words and syllables were drawn out, as was his usual way of speech. And right on cue, the new guy appeared out of a Corridor, stepping out onto the Nobody's sigil that had been engraved into the floor.

Number XIII was already dressed in the standard Organization uniform; their hood was up and covering their face in darkness. Axel, having had more than his fair share of investigative missions, could easily tell that the new member was female. The shape and curves of her body were clear to see, especially since the coat seemed to hug her figure. The boots she wore matched Larxene's in style too, pointed and heeled in the same feminine fashion.

"Let us all welcome our new ally, Number XIII, Hexerath." The new member pushed back her hood, and true to Axel's observations, turned out to be a girl. Her age range seemed to be in her late teens, maybe early twenties. It was little hard to tell from his current distance. Her gaze lingered on their leader for a moment before switching to Xigbar, whom she gave a two-fingered wave. The Freeshooter blinked, but waved back at her anyways in a lazy manner. Luxord said something to Marluxia that Axel couldn't hear, but he didn't doubt that it was some sort of game analogy.

"Whoa, no way! Number XIII's a girl, and she doesn't look scary like Larxene!" Demyx shouted, only to end up cringing as said Nobody sent him a heated glare.

Axel blocked out the others' comments and narrowed his eyes as he took a closer look a the new Nobody's appearance. She had long brown hair of a dull shade which was styled in a braid, with the exception of her spikey bangs, which were cut at different lengths. Number XIII gaze turned towards him for a moment and he saw that her eyes were a vivid red. In all honesty, she didn't look like much, not with her short height and scrawny build.

"With the arrival of our thirteenth member, let us all take this as a sign of things to come." Xemnas said, putting a halt to the numerous conversations. "Perhaps our long years of waiting are finally coming to an end and Kingdom Hearts might soon be ours." He gestured at the empty chair located opposite of the Superior's own seat. "That is your place Number XIII, and yours alone. Serve us well and you will have your heart once more."

With those closing words, Xemnas dismissed them and left via Corridor. Before anyone else could disappear as well, Saïx ordered them to report to the Grey Area so that they could receive their missions. Slumping in disappointment, Axel followed the other members and grumbled about how unfair everything was with Demyx. Taking his usual spot up against the windows that went from the floor to the vaulted ceiling, Axel closed his eyes and leaned against the glass, waiting for Saïx to give him his next mission.

"Axel." 'Well, that didn't take long.' He thought sardonically, as he decided not to sigh in faked irritation. "Your mission will be to scout a new world." Saïx stated and Axel opened his eyes to find the blue haired Nobody standing in front of him, clipboard in hand.

"Recon, huh? Got it." He ruffled the back of his hair unthinkingly, an old habit, when a flash of red caught his attention. Looking across the room, he spotted Number XIII standing next to Xigbar, her gaze focused on him rather intently. "What's the place called again?" He asked without looking away, which of course caught Saïx's attention. The Lunar Diviner spared her only a glance, appearing as disinterested as ever.

"Twilight Town." Saïx turned away, giving his back briefly to the other members, and spoke in such a low tone that Axel almost missed it. "Keep an eye on her, Axel. She could prove to be a hindrance to our plans."

"Right." Axel replied smoothly, grinning, well aware that Marluxia and Luxord were only some few feet away from them. He lifted a hand to summon up a portal. "No worries, I got it memorized."

Organization XIII Excerpt No. I: The Final Vessel

Today something long excepted came to pass—the thirteenth member has finally been found. The Dusks scouting the Realm of Darkness were the ones to discover her and Xigbar was the one to retrieve her. With the Recusant's Sigil, I placed my mark upon her very being. So long as she bears the name Hexerath, I will always be aware of her presence.

–Xemnas

I didn't know how to introduce my OC into the Kingdom Hearts Universe, and it really shows. Having a higher being, like the entity/spirit of Kingdom Hearts, summoning her is not only a bullshit concept, but it reeks of Mary-Sue-ness. For all intents and purposes, I wrote my character's origins like this because I wanted my OC to know a good bit of the KH storyline. I hope the lame way I inserted her into the story doesn't put any of you off from reading this, but I'd understand if it did. Honestly, I'm not too impressed with it either, I just couldn't think of anything better.

For those of you who missed it, since I had to word it from Xigbar's point of view, (which is kind of difficult since he likes to allude to things rather than just spit out what he means), Alice is NOT one of the Seven Princesses of Heart! Now I know this is a major change from the continuity, but I have reasons for making this alteration. This of course means that since Alice is not a Princess of Heart, then somebody else must be. I will state now that it is not my OC. Also, I'm only going to use the worlds that we've seen so far in the games. So that narrows down the candidates for who could be the new Princess of Heart. Can you guess who?

For those who've read this story before my re-write/alterations, you'd know that I'd originally made my OC's attribute Time rather than Gravity. However, even though I had her use it in a different manner than Luxord, (let's face it, Luxord barely uses Time in his battles) it never sat right with me to change his element just for the sake of my character. This lead me to changing Hexerath's attribute to Gravity and I'll go more into that in the next chapter.

I had to include some of Axel at the end. As you've no doubt guessed, Hexerath will be joining the sea-salt ice cream trio.

–Hexalys