Minutes after they had gotten out of orbit of Reath Kyle stood up and wandered through the corridors of the ship. His feet felt like lead and his head buzzed with so many questions. A cramp in his forearm caught his attention. He hadn't noticed he was making a fist, but once he saw it he could feel the tension rising from his hand traveling up his arm. This pure anger was intoxicating, feeling like it was empowering him but killing him.

A single warm tear stung his eye as it traveled down his cheek. Making his fist tighter to compensate for the pain in his chest he struck the wall as hard as he could. He couldn't stop, something about using his anger was unsatisfying. A scream of sorrow and rage ripped through his chest and through his unwilling lips. Why had he survived? Darren and the Knights were more suited for a task such as he had now.

Chris looked at his screen and silently watched as Kyle unleashed furious blows on multiple corridor walls. Chris understood the feeling, he too had been a sole survivor once. It's not something you can forgive yourself for being. He was going to let Kyle burn himself down, it's the only thing you can do to help them. Chris only hoped the kid wouldn't hurt himself.

Kyle's breathing was labored, his tired muscles screaming in agony as he forced them to tense and release. Leaning against a wall, he slid to a sitting position, his knees to his chest. He tried getting a hold on himself, he was dizzy and felt sick. And when he felt as if everything was lost and hopeless, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He shivered under the touch, both trying to ignore it and accept the comfort it brought.

"What do you want?" Kyle asked harshly.

"I want to help." Sandra said. Without knowing where it came from a laugh escaped Kyle. He couldn't stop himself, he didn't think it was funny... but he couldn't stop laughing. Lifting his head to look at Sandra, he could see a look of concern on her face twisted with confusion.

"I don't know if you can." Kyle said, his voice cracking. Sandra knelt down in front of Kyle and put her other hand on his other shoulder. She seemed to be contemplating something, what it was Kyle couldn't even guess. Exhaling deeply Kyle bowed his head. He felt himself moving, but he was hardly aware of it. But it didn't take long until he became aware of the warmth surrounding him, an almost familiar touch. Sandra had pulled him into an embrace, and rested her head on his, rocking him back and forth.

When his head no longer spun and his feelings didn't feel like knives in his chest he slowly got to his feet bringing Sandra with him. He had words of gratitude ready to say, but he was unable to bring himself to say them. She smiled at him and nodded knowingly. He slowly moved down the corridor looking for an empty room to rest in and it didn't take him long to find one. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Kyle awoke a few hours later to Sandra shaking him. She was smiling slightly at him.

"We've arrived. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Still sore from the fight earlier, but I'll live."

"I'll bet, bringing you back from the darkness wasn't an easy task. We though we lost you for a moment." Sandra said concernedly.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. You're fine so everything's okay." she said smiling and walking away. Kyle stood up and stretched. Chris walked into his room with a couple of military rations.

"Hey kid, how you holding up?" Chris said throwing a ration to Kyle.

"Like I said, a little sore still." Kyle said grumpily as he caught the ration.

"Sorry kid, I'm not psychic. I came by because I could use some company while I eat for once."

"She doesn't eat with you?" Chris smiled slightly while he opened his ration.

"No. Nobodies don't eat." For a moment Kyle was surprised, he had almost forgotten she was a Nobody.

"Are all Nobodies like that?" Kyle tore the wrapper off with his teeth.

"Like what?"

"She sounded so concerned. I could even see it in her eyes, it was so real." Chris took a bite before he answered.

"It can throw you for a loop, I just tend to ignore the fact that she is a Nobody. Something that she's told me is that even if she can't feel what she's showing, as long as I can feel it inside of me, her Heart is still with her, beating inside those she encounters." Kyle didn't quite understand what that meant, but he figured if it kept everyone sane and happy they wouldn't hear any argument from him. Sandra came from around the corner and beamed at them.

"Are you two coming or am I going alone?" It looked so real. It actually made Kyle's Heart throb uncomfortably with a pang of guilt. No matter what someone does in their life they don't deserve to be robbed of their Hearts. It was a fate worse than death.

"We'll be along in a short while Sandra. If you would try to find and notify who's ever in charge of our arrival would be nice." Chris said smiling back. She rolled her eyes and disappeared around the corner again. Chris noticed the look in Kyle's eyes. "Hey, keep your pity for when it's needed."

"I'm sorry. It's just…" Kyle never finished, only took a bite from his ration. Chris nodded knowingly.

"Come on kid, it'll annoy her if we don't catch up soon."

A couple of minutes later Chris and Kyle exited their craft and followed the trail to the main part of the city. It was rather huge, compared to the places Kyle had been. As Kyle looked around, trying to be aware, he couldn't quite shake the feeling something was off. There were no people out and about, he could hear the occasional person shuffling and whispering from inside their houses. He gave a cautious look towards Chris, who responded with the same look. Three blocks up they ran into Sandra, who was more or less skulking around with a concentrated look on her face.

"Sandra, what's up here? Why is everyone inside?" Chris asked quietly.

"I don't know, but I keep getting this vibe something isn't right with this place. It reeks of fear." Sandra replied. Kyle's hair on the back of his neck rose, and instinctively he tensed. He heard some muffled screams from inside one of the houses. He concentrated within himself, forcing his senses to kick into overdrive.

"Look out!" someone yelled out a window at them. Within an instant he had materialized his Keyblade and made a very powerful slash as he whirled around. Slain, the shadow evaporated back into darkness and released the Heart. More came up from the very ground, out of alleys, and from the tops of the buildings. They stared at them menacingly, daring them to fight. Sandra had drawn two curved blades while Chris had merely went into a fighting stance.

'Everywhere I go they follow! It will never end until I die!' Kyle thought to himself angrily. 'But they won't take me willingly!' Like a tide the Heartless converged on the three, blanketing the very ground with a dark aura. Sandra was nimbly dodging the relentless attacks and taking the advantage to slay the shadows, while Chris was powerfully hitting them with jabs that sent them flying into each other, sometimes if the opportunity presented itself he would hit some into the path of either Kyle or Sandra.

The battle ensued for a fervent ten minutes before the Heartless relented and began creeping back into the alleys and shadows. Kyle was breathing hard, anger burning in every fiber of his body. Chris and Sandra noticed that even though the Heartless were gone Kyle was still tense, as if he was ready to pounce at the first thing he saw.

"Kyle, power down okay? Just calm down…" Chris tried saying. Kyle lunged at Chris, unable to control himself. Kyle's face was twisted in a broad range of emotions, as if he himself was unaware of which to feel. Even as Kyle tried slashing at Chris, Chris noticed the look in Kyle's eyes. It was a mixture of absolute terror and rage. Chris believed that whatever was making Kyle attack, he was probably unaware of what was going on, kind of like he was sleeping or blacked out. Kyle stumbled on himself leaving himself open for Chris to grab him from behind and restrain him.

"Wake up kid! I don't want to have to hurt you." Just as Chris had finished saying this Sandra walked over and smacked Kyle across the face. At first the boy looked shocked, then looked around curiously.

"What is going on here? What happened?" Kyle asked confused.

"You attacked him." Sandra said. Kyle stopped struggling and stared disbelievingly at Sandra.

"I don't remember attacking him, last thing I remember was the Heartless attacking. Nothing after that."

"You blacked out. You should learn to control that temper better or it might be the end of you." Kyle lowered his head in shame, he had been told many times he had a terrible temper, only now he had let it run so far as to attack an innocent. Kyle let his Keyblade disappear, and after doing so Chris let him go.

"Hey guys, after we check in to what's going on here you should stay away from me. I'm a walking target for danger. If the Heartless don't get you, I might fly off the handle again. Except next time I might actually hurt one of you." Chris only smiled lightly at Kyle.

"Hey kid, I don't care if you were evil incarnate, once I set out to help someone I stick by them. Danger is kind of part of our jobs you know? So get over it and let's be done with it." Kyle nodded. "Well then, if that's the end of it, then let's be on our way. Sandra, did you at least find out where a figurehead is?"

"Yes, his name is Ansem the Wise. He lives up there doing research on the Heartless." Sandra said pointing up to the castle. The hair on Kyle's neck began to raise in a creepy 'You're being watched' feeling. He looked around to see people staring out their windows and doors at the trio with wide eyes and smiles of approval.

"Come on, before they start coming out to talk." They raced down the street towards the castle, Kyle moving slightly faster than Chris and Sandra, due to the fact he was using magic to increase his speed. He turned his head back to look and saw people walking outside and following them with their eyes. Kyle's already sore legs began to feel like they were tearing themselves apart from the strain, but thankfully they arrived before he couldn't go any further. A man wearing a long white robe, long blonde beard and hair was waiting for them at the gate.

"Welcome travelers. I'm afraid we haven't received visitors for a long time, how might I be of service to you?" the man, assumed to be Ansem, asked.

"Actually we were wondering if by chance you had any others come through here recently, very recently actually. Maybe within the last few hours." Kyle asked.

"No, I'm sorry. You are the first to arrive here. Am I to assume that more will be arriving?" Ansem asked slightly nervous.

"No. I hear you're doing research on the Heartless. Might I ask what kind?" Ansem perked up a bit at the mention of his research.

"You don't seem like the scientific type, what is your interest?" Kyle materialized his Keyblade in front of himself.

"I have an Avid interest with the Heartless." Ansem didn't hide his enthusiasm at all, he looked the Keyblade over quickly with his mouth agape.

"I study them, see if what they are doing is treatable. Mainly I have to reproduce what they do in order to understand it. What manner of blade is this? I have never seen one like it before." Kyle retreated his hand.

"If you keep reproducing what they do in order to study them, which I assume means you're either making more or making copies, you will never see another blade like this. Let alone your world which you will lose to them. And you're right there are ways to treat it, you can either retrieve their Heart from the darkness and find their Nobody and make them whole again, or you can destroy them, simple as that."

"I beg to differ though. I believe the I can completely undo it, if I only had the right data."

"In either case, for what I must do I need a place to stay and was wondering if maybe I might be able to find a place here in town." Kyle said.

"Nonsense, our guests don't sleep in the town, you can sleep inside the castle. I'll have a special dinner arranged, so please come in and let my apprentices show you the way to your rooms." Kyle, Chris, and Sandra nodded in unison and followed him up to the main chamber. It was a spacious arrangement, and almost immediately after they had even entered the chamber three kids had arrived grinning from ear to ear. Kyle didn't even have time to say goodbye to the other two. Sandra had been led by the hand down the opposite hall and Chris had chased down his escort. Kyle looked down and saw the kid that stood in front of him. He was a scrawny kid, but underneath his silver hair he could see a duo set of orange eyes. That surprised him, he had never heard of or seen that color before.

"Hey, what's your name kid?" Kyle asked kneeling down to the kids height.

"Xeahnort." the kid said smiling. "And I'm not a kid, I turn six tomorrow."