I do not own any of the characters except for Theena/Xanethe. All rights belong to Square Enix and Disney.

Morning arrived in the world that never was, but a dark sky continued to contrast the white castle. A man sat up in his bed and stared out of his window for a moment, taking in the dull view. Not even stars littered the dark sky. He let out a weary sigh, unmotivated to start the day, but he had no choice. He got up and dressed in his usual black pants, black coat, black boots, and black gloves. He stared at himself in the mirror, his emerald eyes staring back. He ran a hand through his thick red hair.

"Six years today...maybe I'll finally find you." With that, he left his nearly empty white room for a completely empty white hallway. He made his way towards the castle's Gray Room, but stopped when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. He turned and put on a smile. "Roxas! Going to get your mission for the day?" The blue eyed blonde boy returned his smile.

"Hey Axel. Yeah, you?"

"What else would I be doing in this boring place?" They both laughed, and continued down the hall together. Axel was always happy to see Roxas, but not even his friend could lift his spirits that day. "So uh...Roxas," he started, scratching the back of his head. Roxas glanced at him. "I may be a little late for our usual spot tonight." Roxas' brow furrowed.

"What? How come?" he asked, sounding somewhat dismayed. Axel sighed, not sure how to explain.

"Well I uh...I just have couple of places to go, that's all." Roxas laughed.

"Since when do you care about your responsibilities?" he questioned jokingly. Axel let out a weak, half-hearted laugh, that died out in another sigh. They finished their walk down the hall in silence. They knew they reached their destination when the hallway began to widen and darken slightly. It opened up into a round, gray room, rightfully named the Gray Room. The back wall was all glass, opening up the view to the newly formed Kingdom Hearts, the only thing worth looking at in this world. It was a beautifully glowing moon in the shape of a heart. Axel stopped to look up at it, while Roxas separated from him to get his mission from the blue haired man that stood at the center of the room. After Roxas left, Axel approached the man.

"Saix, are you going to join me on my mission today?" he asked hopefully. Saix looked at him with stern yellow eyes, and raised an eyebrow, distorting the X shaped scar in the center of his face.

"And why would I do that Axel?"

"Come on, don't you know what today is?" he pushed, frustrated.

"Not one of any significance." Axel scowled.

"Isa," he began, voice low and somber. "Today is six years. You really don't remember?" Saix scoffed.

"Of course I do. As I said, it's of no significance." Axel stared at him in disbelief.

"What if today's the day? What if I find her today?" Axel's voice began to rise as he got riled up.

"You said it yourself. It's been six years. If she was going to show up, she would have by now. I've accepted that, and let it go. It's time you do the same, Lea," Saix replied, unshaken by Axel's frustration.

"She's your damn sister, how could you just give up on her?" Axel growled.

"You're going to be doing some reconnaissance in Wonderland. I'd suggest you leave immediately," Saix said, staring Axel down with stone cold eyes. Axel could do nothing but stand, dumbfounded by his old friend's apathy. Unsure of what else he could say, he opened a corridor of darkness. He clenched his fists as he approached his passage.

"You really are heartless." With that, he stepped through into the darkness, onto Wonderland. Wonderland was an odd world. Axel had never been fond of it. He had no desire to go through with the day's mission, his mind was set on one thing, and one thing only. He wandered aimlessly through the world's hedge maze, making note of minor things to cover his tracks in case his findings were questioned. After he felt he had enough to weave a small story, he opened a dark corridor, and stepped through. If he had had a heart, it would have been wrenched by the world in which he arrived. It was a ghost of what it had been. A sky that was once clear and blue was now gray and gloomy. The center of town that he had spent his childhood days in was just a sea of heartless. The only thing he could recognize the Radiant Garden by was the Castle that loomed over everything, though it's presence was now more menacing than protective. He knew that it was now known as the Hollow Bastion, a fitting name for the shell of a world. He took a seat on a wall. "And now I wait…" he murmured. He waited, as he did every year, hoping for a sign of his lost friend. He waited as hours slowly ticked by. He waited until the gray sky became a rusty orange with the setting sun. Once the town finally became dark, he stood with a sigh. "I guess today wasn't my da-" He froze as he saw a powder blue flash disappear into a corridor of darkness. "He...hey wait!" He took off in a run towards the corridor. "Come back!" He burst through the corridor right before it closed, only to be thrown into a dense jungle, with no one in sight. "Theena…"