Like I said, I don't have a schedule for this.

He was so cold. Ice bit at his very being. His body jerked and shook, trying to warm itself, but the heaviness around him prevented all movement. He gasped and grunted. Panic bubbled in his chest. He couldn't stay here, not like this! He needed to save them, his friends.

She was there. someone close to him. Her eyes glowed as they bore into his. And her hair, so blue, it could be the sky, if not for the storm clouds overhead…it shown with the light of the moon behind her. No, it was no moon, it was a harbinger. They had come to stop it. But everything was wrong. This was all wrong. She mouthed something at him, but her voice had been long forgotten. She was so desperate, and so much love poured out from her. Unfamiliar names ran through his head, but the feeling was the same. Friends. I need to help my friends.

—

It had been two days since Kairi's heart was destroyed. Things hadn't made much progress, except for rest for Sora and his fighting companions. Mickey and the Disney crew had gone back to Disney Castle, with the promise to return later. Riku, once rested, felt obligated to help around the castle one way or another. So he went with Cloud and split his time between the Library and restoration, especially in the upper parts of the castle that he was familiar with.

Naminé spent time in the library with Leon and Merlin. She recounted some of the things she remembered from being apart of Kairi, but that time wasn't long, and it didn't seem to be the answer.

As for Sora and Kairi,

"Rabbit shook his head in frustration, 'Piglet, can you tie a knot?' 'I can not,' replied the pig. 'Not knot?' Rabbit asked. Pooh turned to his friend, 'who's there?' 'Pooh!' 'Pooh who?'" Sora read from his book to the redhead, who was reclined next to him and tucked into his side, her head on his shoulder.

Aerith and Yuffie knocked and entered. "Afternoon!" The brunette chirped.

Sora glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Is it that time already?"

Yuffie set the bucket of warm water and sponge on the table by the wall. "Yep, go away."

Sora grinned and looked down to the book, "sorry guys, I have to go!"

The girls would have sworn they heard tiny voices coming from the book before he closed it and set it on the table. He scooted off the bed, and cradled Kairi in his arms. "Where did you want me to sit her?"

"Over here is fine!" Aerith pulled out a chair.

The boy brought her over and set her down, making sure to pull her hair away from her back, draping it over the chair.

"Alright, I leave her to you. I'll be back in an hour."

"Have fun!"

Each day, the girls would come and reprieve Sora of his duty for an hour, so that Kairi could be washed and refreshed. This would give Sora some time to run around and get a moment. The first day, Sora had trouble with it, because he was so worried about her, but today he came to realize that he'd be able to help in the research.

But ugh, reading.

If it was for Kairi, it would be worth it.

Leon was in Ansem's study when Sora entered.

"How's it going?" Asked the teen.

"Not…exceptionally well. Merlin's upstairs in the library, Cid's looking on the computer."

"Have you found anything?"

"There's stuff on Princesses, and on recovering hearts, but nothing on recovering Princess's hearts."

"Oh…"

"But, we've only been looking for a day. Don't get too down."

"Easy for you to say."

Leon scratched his chin. "You know…there's something I wasn't going to tell you, but maybe I should. Do you know where Riku is?"

Sora shrugged.

"What about me?" A voice called from the door. Riku was there, of course, looking amused.

"Are you a ghost? Does saying your name summon you or something?" Leon joked.

"It's 2 o'clock. Sora's break. I knew he'd be here."

Sora rolled his eyes. "So, what were you going to show us, Leon?"

The man handed a flashlight to Riku, and a Lantern to Sora. "Follow me."

Leon headed out of the room.

"Why did I get the lantern?" Sora grumbled.

The man led the duo outside, then to the restoration site. Towards the bailey, he went to a wall and slid a metal panel out of the way. "Watch your step," Leon warned as he nudged broken pipes and rubble.

"Where you you taking us?" Sora pressed.

"Somewhere important." The man said vaguely.

"You can never get a straight answer out of this guy, I swear…" Sora bemoaned.

There was another door in the wall of the castle, air locked. Leon turned a wheel on it and it opened with a 'clang'. The boys turned on their lights and entered the hall.

It was dark, dusty, and covered in webs. They passed several doors before coming to the one on the end. It was huge and metal, and looked like interlocking teeth.

"Sora, if you would."

The boy used his keyblade, and the door cracked open like a mouth, utter darkness beyond. He started to head through, but Leon grabbed the back of his jacket. "Careful, don't be too eager." Then the man stood at the edge of the doorway. A platform extended out of the wall, and then another and another, until a staircase was formed, going around the room. As the stairs shot out, lamps above them ignited, glowing with a soft blue light. It wasn't enough to see the details of the room, but enough to see where they were going.

Leon started down, carefully, "hey, I could use some light." Sora hurried up to him, nearly falling off the platform. "It's a long way down. We can take the stairs, or you can fall and we'll just meet you down there."

The teens heard the stairs still extending in the distance. "I'll be careful." Sora assured.

"Don't trip over your big clown feet." Riku muttered.

Sora stuck his tongue out but continued down the stairs.

The trio travelled in silence. Sora dutifully held the lantern up while Riku's beam carried over the walls, examining the room. It was like a tower, the ceiling decorated with arches that came to a peak. A glass chandelier made of black wrought iron and burning with blue flames hung in the middle. The walls were smooth like marble, as were the stairs.

The most astounding thing in the room were three absolutely enormous statues in the the middle. They looked like angels and they rested their hands on swords that carried on down to the floor. Their wings were stretched and pointed towards the ceiling. But the most particular thing about them was that they had no eyes, at least not on their faces.

"Have you been here before, Leon?"

"No…I actually haven't. But it was in Ansem's notes, as the first place the Heartless appeared."

Sora was surprised. But as he looked around, he sighed. "You know, in a place like this, I wouldn't doubt it."

As they neared the halfway point, the light intensified. The chest of the nearest statue opened up and revealed an eye, that stared them down until their backs were against the wall.

"Keybearers! Why have you come to this sacred place? Have you come to open the door we have guarded for so long?"

"Uh…" Sora looked at Leon, but the man shook his head. "No…?"

"We are only here to witness it." Leon provided.

The eye shifted over to him and then back to the two teens. "What are your names, children?"

"I'm Sora."

"Riku."

"Sora, Riku, I sense darkness within both of your hearts. But it is only remnants. Know that if you are speaking falsely, you will not leave this room alive."

Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I definitely don't want that to happen. Are you sure we should be here, Leon?"

Leon gulped, "we won't touch anything."

The eye continued to follow them as they travelled on, as did the other two statues.

"What was that?" Riku finally asked after he got his nerves back.

"Those must be the Ageless Sentries. Ansem mentioned them in his notes too, but I didn't imagine them actually being alive. It's pretty terrifying."

"Well, they do a good job protecting this place." Sora laughed mirthlessly.

Finally, they reached the end of the staircase. "Going down is always the easy part," Sora moaned.

"This way," Leon beckoned, heading through an archway. On the other side was a large heavy door, glowing white in majesty, and embellish with gold details and stain glass windows.

"That's—…" Sora and Riku started together.

"The door to darkness, yes."

"But…how is it here?"

Leon looked at the door, and studied it. "This is where it belongs. This is where the keyhole for Hollow Bastion resides."

"But, what was that thing I sealed upstairs way back when?"

"That was the 'final keyhole', a construct made by Xehanort to unlock Kingdom Hearts. When this world was lost to darkness, this door faded into it. That's why you found it in that in-between world. Behind every door to darkness, lies Kingdom Hearts. But in order to get to it, you would have had to unlock the keyhole. Since the door faded from this world, the Keyhole didn't exist with it."

"Maybe you should draw me a diagram when we get back." Sora scratched the back of his head.

"Let me try," Riku interrupted. "Kingdom Hearts is trapped in the dark realm."

"Right."

"And to get to it, you have to unlock the final keyhole, created by the seven Princesses of light."

"Right."

"Kingdom Hearts exists behind the door to darkness."

"Okay."

"If this door to darkness," he pointed, "is opened, the world will be plunged into darkness, like the destiny islands."

"Okay."

"This is where it gets complicated, so stay with me. When this castle was taken over by Maleficent and the Heartless, this door faded into darkness, but the keyhole that was attached to it, the keyhole to Hollow Bastion, disappeared. Then this door became linked to the final keyhole, which was created by the princesses of heart."

"Okay."

"We sealed this door at the End of the World, and it returned here."

"I think I get it." Sora nodded. "But then, what happened to the final keyhole that was upstairs?"

Leon explained. "Well, after the worlds were restored, there was no use for it. So it fell apart, and then we dismantled what was left. The room returned to what it once was, a Grand hall."

"Okay. I get it all now." Sora nodded, partly lying. "But what does this have to do with us and Kairi?"

"Look there," Leon pointed to the bottom of the door. A crack was forming, it was small, but visible. "It's just as Ansem predicted. The door to darkness is now unstable, since there is only six princesses of heart left."

Riku crossed his arms. "Now how do you figure that?"

Leon sighed, knowing he'd have to rehash everything he had read. "The final keyhole is created when the seven princesses are assembled, but the keyholes are already in existence because of the princesses. See?"

"Oh!" Sora exclaimed. "So, if there's a princess missing, then the keyholes become unstable, meaning the door to darkness becomes unstable!"

"Bingo. We still have time. It will awhile before this door falls to ruin, and if any darkness is released, the Sentries should be able to handle it. For the time being." Leon crossed his arms. "I'm just worried about the other worlds."

"How does this affect them?"

"There's more then one door to darkness." Riku provided. "Wherever there's a keyhole."

"Oh no…"

"That's why it's so important to get Kairi's heart back."

Sora pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can the worlds not be in danger, for like…more then a day?"

"Such is the fate of a keybearer." Leon preached. "Come on, let's go back up. I need to tell the others about this."

—

Back topside, Cid and Merlin were in the study, discussing a blueprint when Leon and company arrived.

"Did you find anything?" The brunette asked.

"I think we have!" shouted Merlin cheerfully. "Take a look at this!"

Leon looked over the page while the two teens looked on.

"A heart…reader?" Sora read aloud.

"Yep, the old man came up with this idea when he started his experimenting with the heartless. He figured, he'd be able to look at a human's heart without taking it out of the body." Cid explained.

"Is it here?" Leon asked.

"No such luck, never built it. Didn't get the chance."

"But, I theorize that with time and research, and teamwork, Cid and I could create such a device as Ansem the Wise had designed."

"And for what purpose?" Riku asked.

"Well, that's for this." Cid opened a notebook to a tabbed page and read aloud. "'Experiment of the heart: Part 75. When a heart is separated from it's body, the visual representation of it is as a crystal. But I hypothesize that within the body, the heart moves freely without form, shifting like liquid. If only I could find a way to test it. So far, the only way to extract a heart is by use of the keyblade, an ancient weapon…' bla bla bla… 'But I have devised a way to extract a heart without removing it from a body, for examination.'"

"Okay…"

"Oh, I see," Leon nodded. "You think Sora might have some of Kairi's heart still within him?"

"It's a possibility. If the heart moves freely, like Ansem suggests, then I don't see why they wouldn't mix." Merlin finished.

"Well, great!" Sora beamed. "When's the machine going to be finished?"

"…two months, maximum," Cid guessed.

Sora groaned.

"This isn't a sure fire fix either. We have to keep looking." Leon turned to Cid and Merlin, and looked grave. "For the safety of all the worlds."

Cid sighed, "So, Ansem was right. Alright then."

"All finished!" A cheerful voice came from the door. The group turned to see Aerith and Yuffie, pushing Kairi along in a wheelchair.

Sora grinned widely. "Hey Princess! Wow! You look so beautiful Kai!"

She really did. Her hair was damp but sat in a bun on her head, with tendrils falling to the side of her face. She wore a light purple summer dress.

Leon smiled at the exchanged. "Why don't you and Riku get out of here for a while? Take Kairi to see the grounds."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we're just going to be talking about everything you just heard."

Sora shrugged and went to take Kairi from Aerith.

"Naminé is in the garden. She said she wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, okay, thank you Aerith."

The three left then, as the group watched on.

"I wonder if he'll be alright." Aerith mused.

"He's got a stupid face."

"Yuffie!"

"I'm saying, he keeps smiling and being cheerful, but his fear and sadness is so plainly on his face. He expects us to not see it?"

Leon shook his head, "that's one of Sora's traits. Doing his best to be happy even in the darkest of places."

—

One thing that Cloud agreed on, was that the gardens were better now then they had been. Strangely, the darkness hadn't effected the flowers. Once Aerith had cleared away the weeds, the blossoms only flourished. Where they were once neatly trimmed back in the day, now they were overgrown and full. Roses grew up a side of the wall, sunflowers reached up and up, and the poppies and daisies filled in every blank space. It was like walking into a whole new world. Young or old, male or female, everyone enjoyed the gardens. The blonde male had been retiling the mosaic patio, at the suggestion of Aerith. They wanted to make the gardens perfect, so that everyone had a place to relax when the construction went on.

It was while he was working that the Nobody came. The mysterious girl, Naminé. She looked like a ghost, that pale skin, that white dress, and that blonde hair. He kept an eye on her, watching as she sauntered around the flowers. He knew nobodies, he had seen them all over, and attacked them without abandon. But this one, she was strange. But he knew it was none of his business to ask, so he left her to her devices.

Soon after, Sora, Riku, and the other girl, the one who had lost her heart, arrived at the garden. Naminé greeted them with smile.

"I heard you had something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Riku stepped in and took the wheelchair from the boy. "We'll give you guys some privacy."

"But—…"

Riku poked him in the chest. "Kairi's my friend too. I'd like to have a moment to talk with her, if you don't mind?"

Sora sighed in defeat. "You make a good point…Go on."

Riku winked, "don't worry, I'd keep the charm to a minimum."

"Hardy har har."

Riku leaned down and spoke to Kairi, "shall we, Princess?"

Cloud smiled at the exchange. In all honesty, they probably couldn't see him behind the shrub. He kind of felt little guilty, listening in like this, but it wasn't his fault. He just needed to focus on making this pattern symmetrical.

"So…what's up?"

"Sora…" Naminé started, putting her fingers together, "I wanted…I wanted to apologize."

"For what?"

"Sora…something happened awhile back. It's the reason why you were put to sleep."

"Oh, Castle Oblivion."

The blonde looked at him in surprise. "Who told you? The King? Someone from Organization XIII?"

"No, Ansem the Wise talked about it a bit in his reports. Well…I actually wanted to talk to you about it. All he said was that I needed to recover my memories…what happened?"

Naminé looked away sadly. "I altered them. I made you forget things. I made you remember things that were never there to begin with."

"Like what?"

"Of your previous journey, you forgot about your friends. Like Aladdin and Genie, Jack, and Tarzan. And in turn, they forgot about you."

"Oh!" Sora cupped his fist. "That's why Leon said that they 'remembered us' at the same time!"

"Exactly." She nodded. "Sora…above all things, I made you forget about Kairi…and instead, you saw me instead. I took on the role of the person you thought was the most important. And…it was wrong."

Sora was uncomfortable. The idea of someone going inside his head and changing what he thought he knew. I was mind boggling.

"I did my best. Everything is back the way it was, not an ability or attack out of place."

"How do you know?" The boy asked. "I don't even know if I'd remember everything. How do you know you undid everything?"

"It's strange. Nobodies are supposed to retain the memories they had before they lost their hearts. But I have your memories instead of Kairi's. Because I was born of your body, but her heart."

Sora scratched his head. "Thats…"

"Strange. Like I said." She agreed. "I couldn't alter the memories that I had of yours. They were all a perfect record of your journey. In truth, you may remember things better than you had before." She looked away. "Except for Castle Oblivion. Those were all false memories, and you agreed to have them forgotten."

"What did I say to you? When we met at the castle? Did I hold anything against you?"

"No…but that was because your memories were wrong, and—…"

"Naminé. You're the only one who knows, what did I say to you?"

"…you made me promise. Promise that when we met again, we'd be friends."

Sora grinned. "That sounds like me! Was it a pinky promise?"

"Yes."

"Called it!"

"But, you have to know, everything that I did…It wasn't my idea. It was those in the Organizations XIII."

"I know, Naminé." Sora stated, resting his hand on her knee.

"But that still doesn't make it right. I feel bad about it!"

"Do you really?"

"Of course!" she nearly cried, "how could I not feel guilt?"

Sora smiled at her, his hand still on her knee. "Then that's good right?"

"…what?"

"You feeling guilty. You're a nobody. You aren't supposed to feel things."

"I—…" Naminé stopped completely, her brain going at a million miles an hour. "I do…I feel guilt."

"That's so cool!" He grinned again. "I can believe it. Ansem said you were an anomaly. Maybe, a part of Kairi's heart is still with you?"

"We can hope." The blonde smiled.

Sora gently enfolded the Nobody into his arms. She was stiff at first, but relaxed in his hold. "Thank you for telling me, Naminé. I forgive you."

"Thank you, Sora." She hugged him tighter. Quietly, she whispered, "thank you, Roxas."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

The nobody rested her head on his shoulder. "I've spent my entire existence taking orders from others. Marluxia, DiZ, Saïx…now…I don't know what to do."

"What do you WANT to do?

She pulled away and looked up at him. "I…I want to go back to Kairi."

Sora scratched the back of his head. "That's going to be kind of hard."

"I know. So I guess I should do my best to find an answer to revive Kairi's heart."

"Thank you, we'd really appreciate it."

Naminé stood, brushing the dirt from her skirt. "We must take advantage of our resources. I will search the dark realm. Maybe what we are looking for, is there."

She turned to leave him, but he grabbed her arm. She looked back in question.

"You know…you look a lot like her."

She smiled, "Do you love Kairi?"

His face colored. "Yeah…"

"And what if we can never recover her heart?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Then I'll just have to have enough heart for both of us."

—

Not too far away, Riku had stopped Kairi at a staircase. He sat down on the top step. The cool wind rustled his hair, almost chilling him. He needed to reconsider his clothing choices if they weren't going to be fighting for a while.

"Hollow Bastion has changed a lot since I've been here. It's louder, but somehow, it's more peaceful."

Kairi didn't answer.

"I actually wanted to talk to you myself. I mean, I could talk to Sora, but he's a little too positive. You know? He just thinks everything is going to be fine, and I don't think that's realistic."

The boy raked his hand through his hair and sighed. "I didn't really want to come back with Sora. I had given into the darkness, how was I going to face everyone?" He shook his head. "Granted, I didn't really want to stay in the dark realm either. I just thought it was better then having to deal with hostility of those I scorned."

Kairi didn't answer.

"I don't know if we'll have to go to other worlds to search for your heart, but what if we do? The princesses will all recognize me, and they'll hate me. I won't be any help to you or Sora!" He sighed and crossed his arms on his knees. "Why was I so stupid?"

Kairi didn't answer.

He looked at her, and smiled. "At least you don't hate me." He sighed again, looking out over the town. "Maybe…if I explain what happened, and apologize, maybe they'll forgive me. And you know, I'll probably feel better knowing that everything is okay." He nodded to himself. "Yeah, that's what I'll do. Thanks Kairi."

Kairi didn't answer, but she smiled.