Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with, Kingdom Hearts or its makers. I only own my (as of yet unnamed) OC, and this plot.

Heart of Gold

Chapter Two : Una Questione Penosa

When I woke, the soft moonlight of Kingdom Hearts was still filtering in from the doorway leading out beyond Proof of Existence, as it always did in this world of eternal night. I blinked my eyes open and slowly rubbed the sleep out of them, fatigue weighing down my eyelids. My head felt heavy, but perhaps it was just a trick of my mind; my head feeling "full" of all of the memories I had taken in and stored. I shifted my weight onto my elbows before pushing myself up fully into a sitting position, taking note of my surroundings and feeling oddly disappointed when I found that nothing had changed.

Why should I be disappointed? I thought, as I clenched my chest, which ached dully. Maybe I wanted someone to come and find me. But that was utterly nonsensical; after all, with the Nobodies vanquished and the Keyblade wielder likely long gone by now, there would be no one left on this world who could find me…. Except, perhaps, for creatures whom I would not want to find me.

I sighed and wondered… is this loneliness? It felt… cold. Like something that gnawed at the very core of my heart. Corroding, cold, aching, looming. It felt like an omnipresent beast that towered over me, waiting to swallow me whole. I clutched harder at the fabric over my chest, and was surprised when I felt something wet on my face. I reached up to touch my cheeks, and was surprised when there was liquid on them as I drew it back to look at it.

Tears, something said in the back of my mind.

Tears?

Something that your eyes make when you're sad.

A distraction, I thought frantically. That's what I need: a distraction. Something that will take my mind off of this all-consuming loneliness and grief. For surely, if I allowed it to wash over me any longer, I would surely lose myself to it forever, and sink into a cavern of hopelessness and despair that I would be unable to climb back out of.

An idea sparked in my mind, and I laughed through the tears, scrubbing them away with the collar of my robes. I was unsure of whether it would work, but… anything was worth a try. I clung to the idea and began to think of how I should go about it. Something should work… portal of darkness? No. Light. Kingdom Hearts was light.

I concentrated on my destination point, and found myself holding a hand out, focusing on forming a doorway that would lead me to that place. I felt something ripple through my body, a surge of warmth; and then, as it surged through the tips of my extended fingers, a spark of light caught and grew, multiplying until it became a large, oval portal of swirling light, with tendrils of prismatic colors shining throughout. An involuntary smile curled my lips at my success, and relief coursed through me that I was able to do it, though after that, a spark of fear came as well.

What am I?

That question nagged, ever-present, at the back of my mind, even as I stepped through the portal and into a passageway of bright, swirling colors. I saw another portal at the end, and walked faster towards it, intent to be at my destination point already. The passageway was entirely convenient, but it frightened me when I looked down to find that I trod on naught but thin air. I soon emerged from the blindingly-bright myriad of colored lights only to find myself in complete and utter… darkness.

The darkness was suffocating. More all-consuming than the loneliness I'd experienced only moments ago, the darkness pressed in around me, making me feel a claustrophobia and fear like nothing I'd ever experienced before… though looking back, I suppose that wouldn't be saying much, as I had only ever known the light and confines of Kingdom Hearts before being spat out into the cruel outside world.

Shivering, I hugged my arms to my chest, feeling as though I'd been swallowed by a void as the light portal behind me vanished into thin air. I panicked for a moment, frozen by my fear that I was alone—or perhaps not, in a bad sense—and trapped in this horrible darkness, but then I focused, and I noticed that there was a soft, small light a ways away from me, at a slight diagonal. After I finally managed to move my feet from where they had been rooted to the spot, I shuffled slowly at first, then broke out in a jog heading towards the soft light that was such a relieving reprieve from the ever-present blackness in this horrible plane of existence. As I reached it, I slowed, realizing that… I wasn't entirely sure what it was. I furrowed my brow in concentration, wracking my brain for an answer, hoping that the voice that had supplied knowledge for me a few times already would come back to answer my question.

It's a soul.

I blinked. Soul? Well, that would be what I was searching for, then. But… how to find out if it was one of the ones I was looking for?

Just touch it.

I complied with the voice's suggestion unquestioningly, reaching out to touch it. As my hand neared, it tingled slightly, before plunging into the center of the light, fingers disappearing into it as they did. I didn't have time to panic or get confused, because almost immediately, another voice, one I had never heard before, seemed to enter my mind. I could feel the edge of another person's consciousness brushing against mine, the feeling indescribably strange and mildly uncomfortable, like being pushed up too close against a stranger in a crowded place.

'Who are you? What are you doing here?'

I was frozen momentarily by surprise, but then I managed to answer back: "I don't know. I'm here to get someone, though."

'What the… you don't know who you are? Boy, are you hopeless…'

"And I take it you still know who you are?" I hoped against hope it was one of the people I had thought to rescue. I wasn't sure what I would do if I had to go wandering in this horrifying, still darkness for someone to take back with me.

'The name's Axel. Got it memorized? ...Not that it really matters, in a place like this… How'd a whole person like you get here, anyway?'

Don't tell anyone how. You don't want to be imprisoned again, right?

The other voice startled me momentarily, but I realized that Axel would not be able to hear it giving me pointers, so I found my voice and replied again.

"That doesn't matter. But I would like to take you with me."

'Oh, puh-lease. I'd like to see you try.'

I retracted my hand from the light, the uncomfortable feeling fading away as my fingertips came back into view. I felt an odd smile twist my lips at this newfound… ability. It was very strange, but it was intriguing nonetheless. Who knew there could be such a person that could talk to the deceased? It was… fascinating, in my mind. Nevertheless, I scolded myself mentally. I needed to focus. What should I do to take Axel's soul out of here with me?

Open the portal first.

Leading where?

Back to The World That Never Was.

Back to Proof of Existence?

That's fine. It doesn't matter.

I nodded, feeling the warmth surge through me once again as I stretched my hand out and summoned another light portal, feeling a bit tired and giddy as I watched the swirling light come into existence. Was I using too much of my powers? Oh, well. It didn't matter now; I was going to complete this task before resting. I hated the idea of leaving it unfinished while I slept.

Now, cup the light in your hands.

I complied, turning and carefully cupping Axel's light in my hands, finding that as I moved, though the light gave a slight resistance, it remained within my hands. I smiled and strode through the portal of light, glad to be out of the oppressive atmosphere that place of eternal, piercing night held.

I never thought I would be so glad to return to a place as empty as Proof of Existence, but at that time, I was just so grateful to be anywhere that wasn't immersed in such frightening darkness that I think I would have even welcomed the fiery depths of hell. My feet hit the now familiar, cold ground, the dust and bareness of my feet muffling the sound of my footsteps as I stepped out onto Naught's Approach, Axel's light still clasped in my hands, pulsing softly.

Then, a Dusk rose out of the ground in front of me.

Axel's light turned a blazing red.

Now! Thrust the light into the Nobody's chest!

The Dusk leapt towards me, and I heard myself shriek as I thrust my hands—and subsequently, Axel's light—out towards the Nobody's chest; I squeezed my eyes shut in fear of the impending attack.

The flash of light was bright enough that I could see red against the backs of my eyelids, and I could feel my energy draining from my body. As soon as the light dimmed, I opened my eyes to see Axel's light was gone.

However, instead of a Dusk about to attack me standing in front of me, there was a very surprised-looking Axel, instead.

The surprise didn't last long before his eyes sagged and he collapsed heavily onto me. I struggled to hold him up, but I doubted I could do it for long; I was fighting to keep my legs from buckling under me, as it was.

…Portal… need to… Axel… Destiny Islands…

The voice was fading in and out, but I could understand what it was trying to say. Summoning what seemed to be the last few ounces of my strength, I opened a light portal, focusing on opening the other side at a secluded part of Destiny Islands… after all, I didn't want to open it into a crowd and startle everyone. I half-carried, half-dragged the now-unconscious Axel through the portal and out into the Destiny Islands sunshine. Looking out across the water, I saw another island with buildings on it. As I took in the island we were on, I noticed there was little more than a shack, a strange contraption strung between two wooden platforms, and a plethora of foliage; there were no actual houses in sight. There was a rowboat shored on the beach a ways down, but that was it.

Well, I wanted secluded, and that's what I got, I mused. I glanced over at Axel. As nice as the sunshine was, I wasn't sure if it would be good for him to stay in the sun for too long. I dragged him over to the shack and shouldered the door open before setting him down on the sand. As I straightened back up, a sudden wave of nausea overcame me as my world started spinning. Before I knew it, I had made impact with the ground. I closed my eyes, hoping that would make the nausea go away. It was only then that I realized how utterly exhausted the day's events had made me, and I found myself slipping into a blissful unconsciousness—the only darkness I did not fear; the darkness created by my own mind that allowed me rest.

I slept.

--

'Sir… I went back, as per your orders, and observed the girl. It seems that something, or someone, may be instructing her on how to use her powers. She seems not to know how to use them herself, or what the extent of her powers may be, as of yet.'

A man was seated on a large throne that had been constructed from scrap metal and draped with long lengths of rich purple velvets and silks. He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he listened to his follower, though they did not speak the words, rather projecting their thoughts without the use of vocal chords and mouth—which they lacked.

'She has also… revived one of the Organization members, sir.'

"Revived one of the—!" A look of shock flitted across his face before he masked it with calm, leaning back in his throne. "…A most interesting report you bring." He sneered. "So… the child of Kingdom Hearts, eh? …I suppose we may have use for her." His sneer turned into a haughty smirk. "Watch her, Ica. Report to me when she moves from Destiny Islands… I believe this is the sign we have been waiting for.

"We begin our move… now."

A/N: The chapter title, "Una Questione Penosa", means "A Troublesome Matter". Again, my apologies if this translation is incorrect. If it is, please inform me via PM or review.

Sorry for the late update. Spring break was busier than I thought, and a couple days ago I decided to dedicate all my story-writing time to an original story of mine so that I could have it finished by graduation and hopefully find a publisher for it. That being said, there will be no further updates on this story until July 1st, at which time I will start updating it on the first of every other month.