Author's Note: Hey, guys. This is chapter four of "A Heart Divided." Sorry it took so long. Been busy with other stories. There will be two or three more chapters after this one. Enjoy, friends...


The days passed and seemed to grow longer with every passing hour. Crystal wasn't even sure where she was. The land was a dark, dismal wasteland. There was a sun, but it didn't seem like it was shining brightly. Shadows crept across the land. There were a few trees scattered around, but they were all dead. And if Crystal didn't find some food and water fast, she would be too!

She ran out of food three days before and water last night. She was starving. She could feel her body begin to eat away at itself, trying to get the necessary energy to keep going. She could see her ribs sticking out of her chest, her waistline shrinking even smaller than it already was. Could she be starving to death this fast? Her arms felt weaker as she tried to hold her Keyblade. She used to be able to wield it gracefully with little or no effort. Now, it was a burden to carry. She kept it dismissed most of the time. She'd do that until she got her strength back.

She collapsed on the black sand of the beach and looked across the sea to the Darkness of the horizon. "I'm gonna die here, aren't I?" she asked herself in despair.

"No, you're not," a voice called from the Darkness behind her.

Crystal didn't even have the energy to draw her Keyblade. But the woman the voice belonged to didn't sound threatening. Quite the contrary, she sounded concerned. Crystal turned around to see a beautiful girl with short, black hair, wearing a black trenchcoat. "Who are you?" she asked, not in the angry tone she usually asked strangers that sneak up on her, but in a curious, childlike tone.

"I'm all that's left of a Nobody named Xion," she said. "I exist here in the Realm of Darkness because my essence had to go somewhere when my body was destroyed. The other half of my being is back with Sora, where it belongs."

"You're a part of Sora?" Crystal asked, amazed that she was actually seeing a ghost.

"I was his clone," she said. "I look like a fourteen-year-old Kairi because of Sora's memories of her. I was killed by his Nobody, Roxas, when I tried to absorb him. I can't believe I tried to hurt Roxas." There was pain in the phantom's voice from memories of her life. "Now half of my existence is in Sora, and this half is here, in the Realm of Darkness."

Crystal was feeling a mix of happiness and fear. She was happy that she was home, but afraid because she hadn't been there and apparently Heartless were attacking her now. She didn't think she had the energy to fight anymore. "I can tell you are hungry," Xion's spirit said. The ghost waved her hand and something materialized in front of Crystal. When the light faded, there was a large canteen of water and a basket full of food at the Dark Angel's feet.

"Thank you, Xion," she said as she completely destroyed the meal Xion had provided for her.

"It's no problem," Xion said. "I couldn't just let you die like me." A bright, white light enveloped Xion and she started to fade from existence.

"No, don't go Xion!" Crystal said. But she was too late. Xion disappeared without a trace and Crystal was left alone on the Dark Meridian. "Xion," Crystal said as the loneliness crept into her heart. Its Darkness wrapped around her like a million tentacles. "Ahhh!" she screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground as her Darkness tried to extinguish the faint Light in her heart. She could feel that she was losing herself to the Darkness. "No, I can't! I won't be taken by the Darkness!"

"You can and you will," a malevolent voice called out to her. Crystal looked up through her pain to see an old, bald man with dark skin and pointy ears standing there. He had his hands behind his back and an evil grin on his face. "You belong to the Darkness, young one. It is inevitable that you should fade back into it. It created you, you are its property."

"Created me?" she wondered. "But I had parents, didn't I?" She tried to think back, but she found nothing. She couldn't picture their faces, think of their names, or anything. It's like they never existed.

The elderly man laughed at Crystal's despair. "Child, you are a creation of the Darkness. I had a hand in your birth. My Heartless formed you out of the purest Darkness that he could find. You were such a beautiful creation. I could feel the pure Darkness radiating from you. Your mere existence was a threat to the Realm of Light."

"Why did you create me?" she asked, the Dark Angel furious at the aged Child of Darkness that stood before her. "What do you have to gain from me being alive?"

"Though I'm dead, I still want all my plans to come to fruition," he said. "I desire the X-blade above all else. With it, the true Kingdom Hearts can be unlocked. Within its beautiful Darkness, I can resurrect myself and rule the worlds with Darkness as my ally and you as my slave!"

"I'll never create the X-blade for you, whoever you are," she screamed. "I am my own person. You don't own me!"

"I own you, and you will create the X-blade for me," he said. "And as for who I am, search your feelings. What is the one name that you always held in the back of your mind, the one name you remember from your time in the Realm of Darkness?" The old man grinned as Crystal tried to think.

"Xeh…Xeha…Xehano…Xehanort!" she said. "You're Xehanort? Yes, you are Xehanort."

"Good, my daughter," Master Xehanort said, grinning evilly.

"I'm not your daughter!" she yelled, causing Xehanort to take a step back. Crystal didn't know what made him step back. She didn't think she'd been that intimidating. She didn't try to attack him. She turned her back to him and walked to a calm pool of water to see her reflection. What she saw startled her.

She still looked like herself for the most part. There were a few differences. Her teeth were noticeably sharper, but not quite like fangs. Her golden eyes had turned to a deeper red, similar to John's eyes. She also had a black, purple, and green aura of Darkness surrounding her.

She gasped in shock and quickly turned back around to Master Xehanort. "What did you do to me?" she asked, furious, venom and Darkness coating her every word.

"I did nothing, my child," he said in his aged, raspy voice. "This is your Darkness, not mine. You belong to it. Your foolish Master thought he could protect you, but you will be my slave just as he once was."

"Your slave?" she asked. "What did you do to Master?" Crystal's anger rose and she could feel the Darkness closing in on her. It was warm, comforting even, but also scary.

"Terra gave into the Darkness many years ago," Master Xehanort said, laughing at the memory of it. "I possessed his body and controlled his heart. Those brats Sora, Riku, and Kairi are the only reason I don't possess him to this day."

The Darkness crept into Crystal's heart, staining it black and purple. She let out one more scream as the only Light she ever had was extinguished forever. She was absolute, pure Darkness now. Her heart was no longer divided, it was unbalanced. "I hate you!" she screamed roughly in absolute rage.

"Good, good," he said. "Let the hate take your heart. Let it consume you, Crystal. You will be mine in a matter of minutes."

Crystal was helpless as she collapsed to the ground and writhed in pain. She could feel her selfhood being destroyed. She was now a slave to her Darkness.

"Finally, after sixteen years I finally have my tool to create the second X-blade," Xehanort boasted in triumph. "Now, go seek out a Princess of Heart and fuse with her. You will become the most powerful creature in the universe and be my right hand!" Crystal's mind, though nearly gone, still had enough selfhood to try and fight it, but she couldn't. She was too far gone to turn back now. The Darkness had finally taken over, she had fallen. She was now something even more abominable than a Heartless. Crystal had become a Shadow Wraith. And she knew exactly which Princess of Heart she would absorb.

Kairi.


Kevin's search for his Heartless seemed to be taking a turn for the better. He'd managed to learn how to tell what kind he'd transformed into. His Heartless was the light-wielding Heartless, Angel Star, most likely due to his strong light.

If Kevin could feel, he would have been getting frustrated. It was like every time he got near his Heartless, it would teleport away. Today would be different, though. He promised himself that.

"Come out, Heartless!" he called out. "If you really are my heart, you'd face me like a man."

The Angel Star appeared in front of him suddenly. They were beautiful Heartless, really. It had an ethereal glow around it. Its body was like a cylindrical light bulb, four white wings protruding from it, two on each side. It had three eyes on the top side of its body. Its looks were deceiving, however. They were some of the deadliest of the varieties of Emblem Heartless. Kevin knew it would be hard to destroy. He also knew what he'd have to do to himself afterward. He was preparing for that.

The Heartless launched a ball of light at Kevin, but he deflected it back. The creature roared in pain as it was knocked out of the sky. Kevin ran over to finish it off, but it just flew back into the air and dodged every spell Kevin sent its way.

Eventually, Kevin realized his tactics weren't working. He had to think of something else or he'd never get his heart back. He tried to think of a spell that the Angel Star would be weak against. He quickly thought of a powerful anti-air spell that Master Aqua taught him.

He dismissed his Keyblade and concentrated. He could feel the wind beginning to pick up around him, charging the atmosphere with energy. He was using a spell called Wind Maelstrom, the most powerful storm-based magic he knew. He unloaded the fury of the storm onto the Heartless and it disintegrated right before his eyes. All that was left was one, single feather.

He picked up the feather and blew it away. "Now for the hard part," he said, artificial sorrow coating his voice for what he was about to do. Kevin had to destroy himself so his body could rejoin his heart. He'd appear back on Radiant Garden, his homeworld. "I'd better get this over with." He drew his long, black, sharp Keyblade and plunged it into his chest. Kevin let out a cry of pain from the blade piercing his body as his Nobody faded away. He felt something he hadn't felt in a while.

It was fear.


The new, feral Crystal discarded her Keyblade armor. She wouldn't need it anymore. Crystal used her newfound Dark power to open a Corridor of Darkness to the Destiny Islands and charged through.

She appeared on the same stretch of beach that she landed on the first time she came. Crystal started to sniff the air, trying to get a lock on Kairi's scent. She caught Kairi's Light signature and zeroed in on her.

It was nighttime on the Destiny Islands, so everyone was asleep. Feral Crystal slowly picked the door lock with tendrils of Darkness that appeared from her fingertips. The lock gave way with a low 'click,' and the Dark Demon slowly crept into the pitch-black house. With her red eyes that shined like lanterns, Crystal was able to see perfectly in the dark.

She slowly climbed the stairs, passing the kids' room. She looked inside at them and still thought they were adorable, even though her selfhood was nearly lost. She walked past the room and made her way to Sora and Kairi's bedroom.

Crystal entered the room and crept over to the bed. She loomed over Kairi, thirsty for her blood, but also knowing that she couldn't kill Kairi. She came here to make the X-blade with the beautiful Princess of Heart.

She raised her right claw over her head and prepared to plunge it into Kairi's chest, trying to create a bond with their hearts so they could fuse. She slashed downward only to be met with the cold steel of Sora's Kingdom Key. "Crystal?" he asked, barely recognizing her. "What are you doing?"

Crystal hissed and drew her Keyblade. It had changed. It was now almost straight. It was colored black like Kevin's, and it had the Heartless, Nobody, and Unversed emblems as the teeth. She tried to speak, but the transformation warped her vocal cords so much, she sounded demonic, "Dieeee, Keyblade Master!" she hissed as she swung at Sora. He barely missed her extremely sharp Keyblade, tripping over the bed and waking Kairi.

"Sora, what's…oh God, Crystal?" she asked in astonishment. "Crystal, what happened to you?" Crystal took notice of her and went to claim her prize. Sora had broken his leg when he landed after falling off the bed. Crystal tried to plunge her Keyblade into Kairi's heart, but Kairi quickly summoned Destiny's Embrace and deflected it. "Crystal, what's the matter? Why are you trying to kill me?"

"X-blade," Crystal said in her warped, demonic voice. Her eyes started to flash from red back to gold as her consciousness tried to resurface. "Kairi…please…kill me! I'll hurt you if I'm…allowed…to…live! Xehanort…Xehanort wants the…X-blade!" Crystal's demonic side took over once again, but Kairi was ready to defend herself this time. She lunged at Crystal, trying to wound her, but not kill her. Kairi didn't have it in her to end Crystal's life. Crystal deflected the flower-themed Keyblade with her own Keyblade.

Kairi jumped out of the bed, firmly planting her feet on the cold, wood floor. She was making her final stand in her own bedroom. Crystal slashed once again, but Kairi was too fast. Maybe Kairi was too fast for her own good, as she snagged her nightgown on the dresser and fell to the ground with a loud thud, undoubtedly waking the children. Feral Crystal took advantage of this moment and dug her hand into Kairi's chest. Kairi screamed in pain as her pure, once untainted light mixed with Crystal's pure Darkness. "Crystal, why did you do this?" Kairi choked out as she felt Crystal possess her, absorbing Kairi's very essence.

"X-blade," Crystal hissed as Kairi's body disappeared and her mind went into Crystal's black, lightless heart, the newly completed X-blade appearing in Crystal/Kairi's hand. Crystal's appearance changed yet again. Her hair took on a reddish tint, similar to Kairi's crimson hair. And her eyes became purple, mixing Kairi's violet with Crystal's red. Sora's wife ceased to exist as the new X-blade bearer was born. Master Xehanort's plan was slowly coming to fruition again.


Author's Note: So, what do you guys think of the new chapter? Crystal's transformation into a Shadow Wraith (an original concept of mine) was inspired by the song "Down With the Sickness" by Disturbed. Two more chapters after this and we'll have the conclusion. Thank you to all that read this story. I would really appreciate reviews, however. They let me know what areas I need to improve upon. Don't be afraid to give constructive criticism, just don't flame. I hate flaming. Remember to check out Dragginninja, Master'sEnd, and Maisuki-Chan. They are all three talented writers that don't get nearly enough recognition. Dragginninja and I are collaborating on a new story, Kingdom Hearts: Battle Royale, which pairs KH characters against various characters from other things. Such as: Chad, Rukia, and Ichigo from Bleach, Darth Vader, Ronan from Stargate Atlantis, and Annabeth from Percy Jackson. Until next time, friends...