A/N: Everything about KH3 was cool, aside from how they handled Kairi. So, here is how I feel KH3 should've been written. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only owe an OC who will appear later in the story.

!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!

Let Me Face My Fears

Chapter 0/Prologue: Oblivion

"The state of being unaware of what is happening around you."

~Mysterious Tower~

Sora's feet felt like lead. He'd been training with Riku all day, and he was exhausted. He was ready to hit his pillow and fall straight to sleep.

At least, he would be if Xehanort wasn't still intending on making him another one of his vessels.

He was tired of fighting it, and he was tired of feeling such a way.

Like a never ending cycle of suffering that was leading him deeper and deeper into darkness.

"Hey, Sora, nice job today. You've really improved."

Sora jumped at the sound of Riku's voice, and immediately he slapped a smile on. "Thanks, Riku. You were great too."

He hated that every smile he put on his face these days was fake. But he didn't want the people counting on him to lead them know that he didn't feel as strong as they wanted him to be, that they needed him to be.

"You should've seen me and Kairi," came Axel's voice. Or was Lea?

Technically, he wasn't a Nobody anymore, so it was Lea. But it was Lea's choice on what he wanted to be called, and he said he didn't care, so Sora took to calling him Axel. It's what Sora was used to.

"I saw you two," there was Mickey. "You both did very well."

"Thank you," Kairi said with a bright smile.

Today was the day Yen Sid had determined that Kairi and Axel were strong enough to move onto real missions instead of training in Merlin's timeless realm.

Kairi...what would he ever do without her? She was the reason he kept fighting the darkness. He didn't want to let her down.

He couldn't.

She was the light in the sea of darkness he was currently experiencing. He couldn't lose her.

He wouldn't.

"Hey, Sora," Lea spoke, a smile on his face. "Did you know that Kairi writes letters to you?"

Everyone else winced when Kairi gave Lea a solid elbow to the gut. She said through gritted teeth and an obviously fake smile, "They're diary entries, Lea."

Sora chuckled at the exchange.

It felt good and liberating, which meant it was real.

Feeling sad that the moment was so short-lived, Sora replied, "Well, I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Good night, Sora!" Donald and Goofy joined in with everyone else.

"Sweet dreams," Kairi added as Sora walked to him.

Sora shot another what he hoped was a real smile back at her, before entering his room.

After closing the door, he leaned his back against it and slid down, fake smiles being replaced by real tears.

'Sweet dreams', huh? If only, Kairi. If only that were possible...

He had a plan in mind, but he was still unsure about when to put it into action.

Maybe the right time was now.

Well, there was only one way to find out, but it was going to involve the one thing he didn't want to do.

Go to sleep.

Sleep. Where the nightmares of darkness were. He'd have to get through all of that just to talk to the three people he absolutely needed to protect at all costs.

But he sucked it up. He needed to this.

For himself if not for anyone else.

So he lay down in his bed and reluctantly closed his eyes.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Sora's Heartscape~

Sure enough, Sora suffered through the great ocean of darkness surrounding his heart before being swallowed up by it.

Sora was afraid to open his eyes. What if he woke up to a scene that scared him more than anything else? What if it was him being controlled by Xehanort to kill Riku and Kairi? What if–?

"Breathe, Sora," came a familiar voice. A voice belonging to a person he missed dearly despite them being practically the same person.

"Roxas," Sora breathed.

"Who else would it be, you dork?" came Roxas' typical sarcastic reply.

Despite him and Roxas being polar opposites, Sora found comfort in his Nobody's sarcasm and finally found the courage to open his eyes and let slip a smile – small, but real.

He was immediately greeted to a deep orange sky – a sunset typically found in Destiny Islands. And he knew he made it.

He made it into his heart. The hard part was over.

His lower half was resting on the trunk of that all familiar paopu fruit tree, while his head was resting comfortably in Roxas' lap. Roxas, in the meantime, was gently stroking Sora's hair, a technique that always soothed him ever since his mom first used it on him as a baby.

"You okay?" Roxas asked him, genuinely concerned.

"No," Sora replied, not feeling like lying for his Nobody's sake. Besides, he couldn't lie. He and Roxas shared a heart, which meant Roxas always knew when Sora was lying or hurting or feeling genuinely happy. "I'm tired." Physically, not really. Emotionally, big yes.

"You made it," came a female voice, drawing Sora's attention that he and Roxas weren't alone up here. Xion sounded and Ventus looked relieved as Xion continued, "For a moment, we were worried you wouldn't."

"Yeah, you were struggling," Roxas added.

"All the more reason to act now." Sora paused, the pain getting marginally better by the second, now that Roxas, Xion, and Ventus were here, helping him. "I hate this."

"We know," came Ventus' comforting voice. "The colors here aren't as bright as they used to be."

They knew, and they understood. It was a small thing to note, but to Sora, it was a big deal. It was something he took solace in.

Sora paused again before quietly saying, "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Roxas asked. There was no malice behind it. It was an honest question.

"You guys are suffering because of me," came Sora's reply.

"Don't beat yourself up over this," Xion said. "It's not your fault. Xehanort's the one taunting you."

"But he's not taunting anymore," Ventus warned them. "He's already made his move."

"I agree with Ven," Sora said. "The nightmare was him taunting me. This is real."

"Have you found a Plan B yet?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, actually. I have," Sora paused again as he finally found the courage to sit up. "Thank you, you guys, for fighting so hard to protect my heart. But it's getting worse, and I'm not sure how much longer I can fight it off." A thought suddenly came to him. Maybe sealing away his heart wasn't the right answer, but rather... "You guys don't mind if we take a little vacation from this place, do you?"

"We have no choice but to follow you, Sora. We are you," Roxas replied.

"If all of this works out in the end," Sora said as he got off his perch on the tree branch, "you guys will each be your own person."

"You sure?" Xion's voice sounded hopeful.

"I promise," Sora vowed. "And there's only one person I trust with this."

"Who do you have in mind?" Ventus asked.

"A little change of scenery," Sora replied, "a place where the sun never sets." A strong wave of affection immediately went through him. Thinking of her in that moment felt extremely liberating.

She was one the few people in the entire known universe that darkness could never touch. And he was comforted by that fact. It would give him enough time to build up his own inner strength to keep fighting off the darkness until he was ready.

But...

Roxas noticed his hesitation, and took action right away, "What's wrong?"

"I-..." Sora found the courage to speak. "I'm not sure how this will affect her..."

"Sora," Ventus was the one who spoke, "you've kept all three of us safe for this long, so whoever you have in mind, we'll do everything in our power to protect her."

Sora smiled him, all three of them – small, but real. "Thanks, Ven, all three of you." He glanced back up at the sunset. "Sorry, Kairi. It's about to get a little crowded, but I believe in you."

He materialized his Keyblade and used it to unlock his Station of Awakening.

Then, he just...let his soul go.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kairi's Heartscape~

Kairi dreamed of Radiant Garden, of all the flowers she loved to pick, of the blue haired lady that once saved her from monsters, of her grandmother that she loved so much and hadn't seen since the fateful day when Radiant Garden was no longer Radiant Garden.

"You know she's not your real grandma, right?" She remembered one of the mean boys saying once. "You're adopted!"

Little Kairi didn't fight back. She simply bowed her head to hide her tears, and calmly replying with, "She's all I have."

She vaguely remembered Xehanort – Ansem's apprentice – keeping her as a test subject, trying to turn her into a heartless. She remembered being in that giant test tube one moment, blacking out, and when she came to, she first met Riku and Sora on the shores of the Destiny Islands.

Kairi had a fleeting feeling that the moment she left Radiant Garden is the exact moment her home became Hollow Bastion.

It was all her fault for leaving everyone behind to suffer the darkness while she enjoyed the light and safety that was the Destiny Islands.

Why was she chosen to survive?

Grandma, Lea, Isa, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo – she knew them all. She knew everyone.

Suddenly, the foreboding Hollow Bastion evaporated into the beautiful Destiny Islands.

And immediately Kairi was filled with peace. She would always feel at home here.

"Kairi!"

The said girl turned around when she heard his voice.

Sora.

And he sounded scared. He never sounded so scared in his life.

Thunder sounded and the crack of lightning flashed through the sky as the winds picked up and the skies darkened.

The exact same one that swept away Radiant Garden.

Kairi couldn't stand to lose anyone else. She wouldn't. Least of all Sora.

Sora was way too important to her.

"Sora!"

Kairi opened up her arms when Sora was sent flying towards her by the storm winds.

When he finally reached her, she closed her arms around, but she didn't catch him.

He just went right through her.

No, no, no, no, no!

Not Sora!

Kairi hastily turned around, but Sora was nowhere in sight.

"SORA?!" She was utterly terrified.

This was not happening! She could not lose Sora! She could not lose anyone!

It was like she was reliving the destruction of Radiant Garden all over again!

She turned around when she felt a dark presence behind her, and she was immediately faced with a dark version of herself. She would have felt confused, but she didn't. Instead, she felt anger and an extreme instinct to protect her friends.

She materialized her Keyblade, and made to attack her dark self, but was terrified to realize that her body wouldn't respond. Instead, she could only helpless watch as her body turned her towards little Riku and little Sora playing on the beach, without a care in the world. Against her will, she raised her sword to attack them.

Quickly, and finally, she regained control of her body, at least enough to look up to see who was forcing her to attack her defenseless friends.

Her best friend.

Why?! Why was her best friend forcing her to do this?!

She felt angry tears come to her eyes as she forced her wrist – the one that was armed with her Keyblade – out of their grip and instead felt anger, sorrow, and betrayed as she turned her Keyblade on them – her own best friend.

"Sorry, Kairi," she snapped out of it when she heard Sora's disembodied voice around her, "but this is something I have to do."

Kairi saw her world go black as she was swept up by darkness.

Sora, meanwhile, awoke to a place that was bright and filled with flowers. It was a beautiful place, and Sora knew that this place was what Kairi considered home – same as him and the Destiny Islands.

"Welcome," came a calm, familiar, feminine voice.

He, Roxas, Xion, and Ventus turned to the voice, and immediately Roxas choked up at whom they saw, "N-Namine?"

Namine gently smiled at them, after looking up from her sketchbook, "I was notified of your presence when Kairi started experiencing memories that weren't her own."

Sora sheepishly smiled, "Sorry. It was my idea."

Namine's gentle smile never wavered, "You left because you needed to escape the darkness plaguing your heart." Sora looked at her with fondness and gratefulness that he didn't have to explain all this to Namine. "Don't worry. Kairi's heart cannot be tainted by darkness, so you're safe here for now."

As Ventus rubbed circles into the small of Sora's back, Sora asked, "Namine, tell me the truth. How is us being here effecting Kairi?"

Namine's smile wavered a bit, "Aside from the memories, nothing really." Sora wasn't convinced. The blonde artist sounded too concerned.

"Nami," Roxas spoke up, and he and Namine met eyes.

"I'm not sure," Namine finally spoke up, finally telling the truth. "This hasn't happened to her before."

Xion smiled, trying to cheer everyone up, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. After all, Sora, you said Kairi was the only person you trusted with this."

"Yeah..."

"Then, we'll protect her from the things she can't defend herself from," Xion continued.

Sora finally formed a smile, small but determined. "Yeah."

He would protect Kairi's heart from any darkness that came with him. He wouldn't fail.

He couldn't.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Mysterious Tower~

Kairi woke up in her bed in a cold sweat, the sun shining through the window.

It was morning already?!

But she didn't care. She was shaken up the nightmare she just had. Sora slipping away from her, facing her dark self – which was confusing in and of itself – and being controlled by her best friend to do something she didn't want to do.

Kairi held a shaky hand up to her face, trying to calm her anxiety. "What did all that mean?"

She was brought out of her reverie by a knock at her door, before it opened, revealing Riku.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked, wondering if Riku heard her thrashing around during her nightmare – because she's done that before.

"Sora," he breathed. "He's awake but he's not responding."

No, no, no, no, no! She couldn't lose Sora!

Worried, Kairi frantically shoved the covers off of her, not caring that she was still in her pajamas, and ran out after Riku, who lead her to Sora's room.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Mysterious Tower~

About three and a half hours later, Lea had been woken up by the three fairies and told to meet Master Yen Sid in his office.

Now, here he was, but as he entered the room, he quickly took note of Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy already there, as well as, and especially, their solemn expressions.

But he asked, "Where's Sora?"

"Well, you see," Mickey was the one who responded, "That's kinda why we're here. Something's wrong."

"What happened?" Lea asked.

Master Yen Sid revealed, "Sora is missing. Or rather, his heart is. The way he is now is an empty shell."

Riku swallowed an obvious lump in his throat, and said, "Master, we already told you that we understand what he did. We just don't understand why."

Kairi watched as Yen Sid paused before answering, "It's rather difficult to know for certain, but it's very possible that his heart escaped to a safer place in order to avoid the darkness still plaguing it."

Kairi was caught off-guard by Riku's outrage, despite her expecting it – because she already knew. "What?! I thought we had prevented that! He was fine!"

Riku calmed down when Kairi placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He shot her a grateful look, as she asked, "What can we do to help, Master? Sora's heart has to be somewhere."

"Indeed," Yen Sid replied. "It is imperative that we find Sora's heart before Xehanort does. Right now, his body is surrounded by Xehanort's darkness, and it won't be long before Xehanort has control over it. If we fail, Sora will be completely under his control." He paused. "But there are two other tasks that are top priority. We must gather our forces to fight Xehanort's, as well as secure the six New Lights."

"New Lights?" Donald repeated, confused.

"With the exception of Kairi," Yen Sid explained, "the previous Princesses of Heart have passed on their Power to new maidens after sensing no escape from the darkness plaguing them at the time. We must find them and ensure their safety as soon as possible."

Donald pointed out, "Well, there's six of us and three missions. That's two per task."

"True," Goofy said. "We're fine with anything, Master, but we'll secure the Princesses."

"Yeah," Donald said. "We already have experience with doing that."

"I promised to free Aqua from the Realm of Darkness," Riku reminded them.

Kairi was about to speak up, but Yen Sid beat her to it, "Very well. Riku and Mickey, you shall gather our allies. Donald and Goofy, you shall secure the Princesses. Lea and Kairi, you two shall search for Sora's heart."

"Wait, what?" Kairi was not on board with this. Where was the importance of her opinion? Everyone else got to put their two cents in. But not her or Lea?

She and Lea shared a rather betrayed glance with each other, as the other four confirmed their orders, "Right!"

"Hold on!" Kairi yelled out.

And she hated that she had to raise her voice in order to be noticed.

"Something wrong, Kairi?" Yen Sid asked.

"Yes," Kairi said. "Mine and Lea's thoughts and feelings were just ignored. I don't know about Lea, but that does not sit well with me."

"Gawrsh, sorry, Kairi," Goofy spoke up. "We just thought you wanted to look for Sora."

"Don't get me wrong," she explained. "I do, but I know that protecting the light is important than how I feel. Let me secure the Princesses. I swear I won't let you down."

"That is a very dangerous path, Kairi, and we cannot afford to lose you," Yen Sid defended his choice.

Kairi was tired of being treated like a damsel in distress. She had agreed to Keyblade training to learn how to fight, so she could protect Sora and Riku when the time came, and win. So Yen Sid's comment just now really pissed her off.

But instead of letting her red-headed temper flare, she was calm as she replied, "You won't, because Lea will be with me, and I trust him." She turned back to Lea for support, and he nodded. She smiled, grateful that she did have his support, as she turned back around and continued, "Besides, Lea and I are the best people for the job, and you all know it."

"She's got a point," Riku said. Kairi glanced at him, surprised but grateful that Riku was on her side. "Kairi is a Princess of Heart, so she knows how to find and talk to the other Princesses, and Axel was an assassin for the Organization, so he knows what he's up against."

After a short silence, Yen Sid nodded, "Very well." Kairi breathed a sigh of relief. "Lea and Kairi, you two will secure the Princesses. Donald and Goofy, you two will go out and search for Sora's heart."

"Yes, sir!"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The six were outside now, waiting for the train that would take them to Chip and Dale's lab, where the three duos would each get their own Gummi Ship.

While they waited, Kairi pulled Riku off to the side, "Riku, thanks for supporting me earlier."

Riku shot her a classic Riku smile, "No problem, Kairi. But why was that so important to you?"

Kairi solemnly hung her head as she answered, "Because I'm tired of not being taken seriously. I need to prove that I can be someone who doesn't need saving all the time."

"Alright," he accepted her reasoning, but asked, "but prove to who?"

"Myself."

"Yeah, I figured," Kairi was grateful that Riku wasn't at all surprised at this. Almost as though he already knew she would say that. "Well, good luck. If you ever need me for anything, though, call me on the Gummiphone."

Kairi smiled, "I will. Same goes for you too." Riku chuckled. "And, Riku? Don't worry. We'll put Sora back together in no time."

"Yeah, and then I can rag on him about him hiding something as serious as being plagued by darkness from us," Riku said, as he and Mickey walked toward the train that just arrived.

After taking a deep breath to ease herself, Kairi made to follow them, Donald, and Goofy, but paused when Lea placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be scared. We got this," he said. "And thanks. You're not the only one who has something to prove."

Lea needed to prove that he was loyal to the light.

Kairi nodded, before the two stepped on the train after the other four.

!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!

A/N: While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review, so I can correct any mistake I make.

Also, Kairi's nightmare:her best friend can be anyone you want it to be. I left it open because her best friend could be anyone.