Kairi's mouth dropped open when she saw her reflection in the pond. A pink lion cub stared back at her with the same blue-violet eyes. Her hair was the same, every strand the way she had left it, but still her appearance was embarrasing. Sora popped up next to her, a few leaves stuck in his hair. She thought he was kinda cute, but then her eyes locked back onto the pond.

His crown necklace remained around his neck, as always, but that was about the only difference between him and her. "Aaah!" Sora shouted as he jumped, and fell into the pond. Riku appeared next to her laughing. He was like them, except with silver fur and his normal silver hair. He pushed her in, and her head disappeared from the surface. There were only a few tiny bubbles that appeared on the rippled surface.

She was sucked into an underwater tunnel, struggling to breathe. The outline of Sora appeared just ahead. Then it was gone. She started to swim, awkwardly because of the four legs, after him, speeding up with the help of the current.

Sora knew Riku wouldn't be coming, because he had teased Sora last time about bringing Kairi there. He pawed the side of the stream, as it entered the cave. He scratched his way up onto the wet rock. He shook himself dry, and started waiting for Kairi. She appeared, only two of her paws visible on the rock. He knew she was still caught underwater, but partially. He softly bit one of her legs, but hard enough to lift her.

"Ow! Why'd you bite me?" she asked, still wet. Water dripped onto the rock, sliding back into the river.

"I didn't bite you, okay well I did, but it was either that, or that." he replied gesturing to the opening where the river met with the waterfall halfway down. She lowered her head feeling a little bad, but he did bite her. And it hurt too.

He walked around in small circles, looking for a dry place. He settled down, near Kairi, of course. She invited herself to lay next to him. The calmer water, riled up again. On the other side, Sora recognized Timon and Pumba, some of Simba's old friends. "Whoa! Didn't know you had it in you kid! Ok, well don't blame me for interrupting. So what's your mate's name?" Timon asked.

"Kairi." she said, hoping both of their faces wouldn't be seen in the dim light. She turned her head towards Sora, who was frozen with embarrassment. "What's the rat talking about?" she whispered. He could barely answer.

"In this world... m-mating means h-he thinks w-we're m-married or something like that." he stuttered. She froze, her face blushing a deeper red. They both stared straight-ahead.

"Timon, what's wrong with them? They look kinda-"

"Quiet! They just are a little upset that we interrupted." Timon replied hoarsely.

"No, I mean, just look! They haven't moved an inch since we got here. Did you ever consider that they're a little young for that?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."

While the two of them carried a silent argument, "Let's make a run for it!" he whispered to her. The two inched to the edge of the rock, stopping everytime there was silence. Finally, Sora managed to lower himself in the cold water, and Kairi could follow. The river dumped them over the waterfall and into a shallow lake.

MEANWHILE...

Lumina couldn't help but shed a few tears. She cried for the loss of all those lives, for the world that now seemed like a scattered dream, and for her far-off memories of the days before the Darkness. Jossi's eyes were dry, but inside, she felt the same. She cried one final tear as Kingdom Hearts appeared in the sky. It was nighttime, but the glow lit the deserted land in an eerie blue light.

"I've never felt close to you, Lumina. I thought of you as an obstacle, an enemy, rather. But this world, means as much to me as it does to you. That's what unites us, right?" Jossi asked, turning her head. Lumina had her back to her, for the teardrops she shed were not ones that Jossi should see.

"Right, but Xehanort... he may ruin it all for us. I mean all of us. Sora and his friends, they are the stongest on our side, perhaps one of the only ones on our side, but I can't put much faith in them. Let's face it; the fate of humanity rests on their shoulders. I-I may be the Immortal of Light, but you cna't expect me to be able to support us all! I can barely protect myself from the Darkness overrunning this world.

"Get ahold of yourself, we have to be patient. Think of it, Kairi waited a whole year for Sora. Aqua waited twelve, and we've waited for thousands of years for this day to come. Don't give up now, we need to keep holding on."

"Maybe... you're right. I did give those chains to them, remember? I can't give up, ever! Too much is at stake!" Lumina declared jumping up.

Vanitas watched them, as he gathered the Keyblades of the wielders who fought on their side. Deathly Serenity, Lifeless Mirage, and Twilight's Captivity were the last three. As he lifted Twilight's Captivity from the ground, a voice echoed.

"This is why I was created. This is what I was always made to do. I never needed Sora's memories, I took Ventus' instead. He had so many, I couldn't help myself." she said. She removed the hood of her cloak and her face took upon the appearance of Aqua, but with black hair and smaller features. She slapped his hand off Twilight's Captivity and wielded it herself. A perfect match.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Vanitas asked her, not at all considering being polite enough to hide his agitation.

"Depends who you want to see me as. I have many names. Saix called me 'it', Axel and Roxas and Riku called me 'Xion'... I'd love to go on, but I would call myself how I see myself the Second Keyblade Wielder of Darkness." she said, and Vanitas thought it was quite a clever response. He stuck the other two Keyblades into the small pack and opened a Corridor. She stayed as he stepped inside.

"You coming or what? If you know who you are and I know who you are, then let's go. Master should be pleased."

"With you? Please, I have better things to do. Like, I need to pay Riku a little visit." she said, before disappearing.

She's not my type, but she is my type at the same time. Oh, I need to find a girlfriend. Besides, I need to stay focused. I have better things to do than daydream about a clever, intelligent, Keyblade-wielding, mysterious, beautiful... snap out of it! he scolded himself. Xion, or whatever she called herself, was charming him into her web. And only in a few minutes, that had to be a record. Still, he felt himself turn red at the sick little fantasies popping into his head.

(A/N: Ok! Vanitas and Riku, both falling for the same girl. Xion and Riku have more history together, but her and Vanitas share the same emotions and lack of independence. Who will get the girl? I personally think Riku, but then again... Back to the chapter! This counts as a meanwhile too.)

Riku gazed her up and down as she stood in front of him. She was so beautiful. "Xion? Is it really... you?" he asked. She sat next to him on the bed.

"Who else? I know I look different, but how long has it been? A year or two? We've all changed." she reminded him.

"Look, there's something I want to say to you. I don't mean to be so sudden..." he broke into a sweat, and lost his nerve. "Nevermind."

She didn't seem to hear him. "So... how's everything been?" she asked, clutching her Keyblade tighter. He shifted nervously.

How does Sora do it? All he said was "I love you" and blah blah and Kairi's all over him. This has to be karma. he thought. "Okay. I'm not crazy about it, but it's good to have my life back on track."

"I'm getting there, but I've made so many mistakes..." she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "...I don't think I can keep going. But if you really accept me like you did before, then you won't freak out when I tell you, that I'm on the dark side. I'm on the same side as Xehanort and Vanitas." she confessed. He froze, but rested his head on hers. They were in each other's embrace, but Xion still didn't know where she should go. He moved to kiss her cheek, so it wouldn't be too forward, but she turned her head to say something so it was directly on the lips instead. He grew love-starved and pressed harder. She trembled just a little, from her nerves acting up, but he stroked her cheek to relax her. "Riku, I like you... I really do..." she said during the short breaks. "...but this is too soon." she whispered. He couldn't help it, she was so tempting.

"I'm sorry. I just... I've been single my whole life! You know what it's like?"

"Well, yeah. But it doesn't really bother me." she admitted. He still held her close, trying to get as much out of it as he could. She still wanted to take it slow, she and Riku had only been accquaintances, and it just didn't feel right. After all, she didn't really know him.

"So, how did you get out of Sora?" he asked, changing the subject. She felt the mental struggling continue in her mind. She really did like Riku, as a friend, but there were more important things than her inner thoughts and feelings.

"I took someone else's memories. Turns out I didn't need him after all. Anyway, I can't hang around any longer. I have to go back to show myself to Master Xehanort. He was expecting someone like me." She didn't want to leave right away, but finally there was a place for her to maybe call home, one side of her was saying.

Riku looked sadly at the spot where she had been, after the last trace of her disappeared into the Corridor of Darkness. The reason he had falen for her was still unclear, though. He saw the sandy footprints, and lay back down. The ceiling became like a movie screen, only it didn't display movies, it displayed his memories. Good and bad, better and worse, treasured and forgotten.

He started to see that they understood each other, sort of. Both had their times in the dark, both had pushed away their best friends, and both were looking for answers. Maybe she hadn't seen it yet, maybe she thought it was coming on a little too strong. Yes... that's it. Maybe we should just be friends or something. Not get into anything really really serious.

Sora hung outside the door, his hand on the knob. He'd heard voices earlier inside, but there were only five of them on the entire ship. Kairi and Namine were in the training room, and Roxas was watching tv in the entertainment room. Maybe Riku had smuggled someone in? No, too out-there. What was going on? He had to know. There weren't too many secrets between them. He pushed open the door, and saw Riku staring up at the ceiling. "Hey, Riku?"

"What?"

"I heard voices in here earlier. Is there anyone besides me, you, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine?" he asked. Riku froze up, and blinked.

"Yeah. But I don't really want to talk about her." he replied.

"It's okay, I understand. But I'm just happy you found somebody."

"Oh, and one more thing. How do you do it?"

Sora turned on his way to the door. "Do what?"

"You make girls seem so easy, I get so tongue-tied when I see her. Tell me your wisdom with the opposite sex." Riku said sarcastically. Sora pretended to consider it.

"Take it slow."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean 'take it slow'."

Kairi couldn't help but listen in. She had heard everything, but the voices were muffled. Riku... had he really found someone? It seemed so strange, but at the same time, she felt relieved. The girl may keep him occupied. Her thoughts drifted off to her and Sora.

She snapped out of it when she heard a clicking noise from the door. The unmistakable sound of the doorknob turning. She ran down the hallway, and jumped into a random room. It was when she turned around, she realized whose room it was. Sora's.

Empty potion bottles were in a pile by the door, with the price tags still attached, and a bunch of old items, that were most likely from the worlds he'd seen in the past were scattered on the unmade bed. On the floor, were discarded ice cream sticks, some had "WINNER" written towards the top. In conclusion, it was a really messy room. She heard footsteps coming closer and backed into the closet. It had only big crates and smashed bottles inside. The door flew open.

Sora looked his room over. He found a full potion bottle and looked it over. The label said, "Please Keep Refrigerated. Expiration Date: March 23" He threw it over his shoulder.

"Stop!" he muttered. There was no shattering noise.

As he rummaged through the mess, he felt something vibrating from one of his pockets. Somebody was calling him. He checked the Caller ID and it showed up as Riku's father. He pressed the talk button and waited.

"Hello? Oh good. I've been trying to call my son all day and he's not answering. Where are you?" His voice was being messed up by the long distance.

"In a Gummi Ship in outer space heading to uh... hold on." Sora added, before calling Riku.

"What? What is it, now?" Riku asked sounding agitated.

"Where are we going?"

"Radiant Garden,"

"Riku... I hope you have that two month's payment you owe me. And aren't you two a little bit too old to be playing these games? I mean, NASA wouldn't really let a sixteen year-old and seventeen year-old boys fly their space shuttles and take them to an imaginary planet called 'Radiant Garden'." his dad put in.

The line went dead on Riku's end. "Oh you have no idea."

"If I have no idea then do you?"

"Yes, if you haven't already received the twenty missed calls, then I think you should know that Kairi's been missing for five or six days. And if you must know, she wasn't kidnapped. We have her right here on our Gummi Ship, Highwind. By the way, tell her 'parents' she's fine and that she's going home in fourteen hours."

"Great. Well, I have to go." Sora hung up at those words and put the phone back. He turned and saw Kairi on her way to the door. She paused and stared back at him. He was confused, she was embarrassed.

"Sorry its such a mess." he said, in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

She broke free of his hold and summoned the Oathkeeper. He backed away as she came closer. She had him cornered. He didn't want to attack her, he didn't want to hurt her. The Keyblade in her hand plunged into his side, going down and making a deep gash. His eyes froze and stared straight ahead. A little bit of bright red blood poured out of the side of his mouth. But he didn't blame her...

"Am I the one who did that to you?" she asked, in a daze.

"Did what?" He followed her gaze and lifted up his shirt to the wound underneath. "This?"

"Yeah, that."

"No." he lied. It was just a little lie, harmless. His shirt fell back into place. She summoned the Oathkeeper and showed it too him. She pointed to the red spots on the teeth and part of the shaft. "Those were probably there before." he added. It was another lie, but she could easily break down again. They were so close to that day they'd been waiting for. But at the same time, dreaded.

"But-"

"Kairi, it doesn't matter who did what. That's in the past." he told her, ending the discussion. She wanted to say more, but he had a point. She watched him pick up the empty bottles and dump them on the bed. He put the little items from other worlds and stored them in the crates inside his closet. The door opened again, and a Moogle came in.

"I'll get this for you, kupo. Oh yes, these could be recycled. This one is still good." it said picking up an empty potion bottle. It took the popsicle sticks, too. The only thing left was the bottle stuck in mid-air. He caught it when it started to fall. He put it on one of the nightstands and turned back to her.

"So, only two days left. I don't really get what all this is about anyway, but it seems really important to everybody else." he said.

"I feel the same. Except I think I was more dragged into it. Its not everyday that a Princess of Heart is a Keyblade wielder." she pointed out.

"They don't give you a choice really. It just happens." he said. The ship started to rock back and forth, side to side. Kairi was struggling to keep her balance. Sora knew what was happening. Heartless ships were attacking, and the defense grid was taking a while to load. Mean while, the Teeny Ships were firing their small lasers. Riku was swerving the controls to dodge the attacks. Kairi waved her arms out in another attempt to keep from falling over. The gummi swerved dangerously to the left, and Kairi finally lost her balance. She fell onto Sora who tried to catch her at the last minute. But it was too late for either. Both hit their heads on the floor, rendering each unconscious.

Their limp bodies collided with the door, forcing it to open the wrong way. It made a snapping noise as the lock broke. They flew out, and seperated from each other. The rocking stopped when the defense grid was finished loading. The laser squares formed a blanket around the ship, hugging its form tightly.

Riku sat back, but was tired from nerves. He kept hearing those sounds from outside the bridge.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The noise was echoing in his mind, as if it were trying to tell him something was wrong. His thoughts led to another uneasy turn.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He flipped on the auto-pilot and ran out into the hallway to see what was going on. He saw Sora on the floor, not too far from where he was standing. His best friend was unconscious and his limbs were twisted in some abnormal positions. Close by, was Kairi. She had her face frozen in an expression of pure surprise. Her body was mostly pressed up against the wall.

He walked over to Sora and moved his arms back the way they were supposed to be. He flipped him back over and moved his legs. Neither responded. A Moogle floated down the hallway in their usual strange way, and stopped. "What happened, kupo?"

"Look, I'm not the best at steering a Gummi Ship. I may just be the worst. This was the result of me steering us through a Gummi Gate." he explained. The Moogle presented him with an ordinary air horn.

"This might work. It has my personal secret recipe; Three Lightning Shards, One Gust Gem, and its been charged with a Level 2 Thunder spell. It can help revive your entire Party, kupo." it said, handing him the red and white Reviver. He shook it, and heard what sounded like static electricity and a low humming noise. He put it by Sora's ear and saw a tiny flash. The low hum started getting louder.

He groaned, and finally opened his eyes. There was a dull, throbbing pain in the back of his head, and his arms and legs felt a little numb. Riku pulled away the Reviver thing. "Next time, I drive." Sora muttered. Riku stood up and walked over to Kairi. He did the same thing to her as he did to Sora. She managed to sit up, but wasn't fully conscious yet.

"Where's... Sora?" she asked softly, her voice arely above a whisper.

"Over there."

She turned her head and saw Sora staring back at her. He was laying on his side, his head turned up. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. What about-" He was cut off by Riku.

"Ok, everyone's fine. Now like you said, you're the pilot. So get going." he said. Sora struggled to get up, but he somehow managed to start towards the bridge. Riku thought he was moving too slow. The air horn gave him another shock.

Kairi rubbed the back of her head and stood up, long after they were gone. She summoned the Oathkeeper, studying it, as usual. It was really was a wonder, why she had a Keyblade. Since she was on this Gummi Ship, going to the same places they're going, doing the same things they do, she walked over to the training room. She had only proven to be her best when she used Magic. The system had already taught her Fire, Blizzard, Cure, Stop, Gravity, Thunder, and Aero. Roxas was busy stabbing at a test dummy when she came in. Namine was watching him from a corner she had claimed as her own.

"Welcome, what would you like to improve on today?" the system monitor asked in its usual, but creepy, mechanical voice.

"Magic." she replied.

The screen showed her a list of spells, and informed her that they were upgrades. "Fira, Blizzara, Cura, Gravira, Thundara, and Aerora."

She wanted to try the upgrade for the easiest spell she'd learned, which was Fire. The monitor shut itself down and restarted. She tried what she had done last time, with the little pouch the machine had given her. "Fira!"

Nothing happened. She repeated it again. "Fira!" Still, nothing. The test dummy rocked back and forth. She thought it would be as easy as it was last time, but her efforts still went unrewarded.

MEANWHILE...

Xion felt the two sides of her, battling each other, struggling to take over. There were many reasons for her to join Vanitas and Master Xehanort. She just had to find them.

"Well, for once Vanitas has succeeded. He has finally brought me another Keyblade Wielder of Darkness. What is your name?"

"My... name?" She paused to think, her name had been Xion. But would it really suit her now?

"Yes, of course. I can't treat you like those lowlife Silhouettes. You have much more purpose in life, unlike them."

"I... My name... it's Xion." she murmured, still encased by her thoughts.

Xehanort felt something erupt within him. Master Xehanort continued to discuss certain things with the newcomer, as they traveled through the endless grass.

"So it still exists. No. i, our failed experiment of the Replica Project. I still don't understand it completely. It shouldn't have begun to stem feelings of its own. It has no heart, therefore it has no human emotions. However, I see that I am no longer the Superior among us, so I shall have no say."

(A/N: It's hard to do someone, if you haven't figured it out already I'll give you five minutes.)

(A/N: Ok, where was I? Oh yeah, it's hard to do someone like Xemnas. I can't seem to figure out why, but I mean, both him and Master Xehanort have to sound really convincing whenever they speak and their prescence needs to make other characters feel overwhelmed. So I'll try my best.)

Xehanort listened to the voice within him, his steps becoming slower and slower. It kept going on and on about the newcomer, refering to her as "it" or "no. i" constantly. He continued to walk, trying hard to ignore it, but he couldn't help but want to listen, want to understand.

Xion tried hard to keep herself in balance, but the mental struggle continued to grow worse. The words of Master Xehanort became faint, a distant whisper with no wind to carry it along. One side was telling her to leave, to remember Roxas, Axel, and Riku. The other was telling her that this was the only place she belonged, the only place she would be accepted. This mental battle between the different sides to her, was holding her captive. Just like it always had been.

Vanitas lagged behind, feeling confident in his abilities. There were now three out of the seven they needed. It was unclear what Master was after, but his only goal was to please him. The other Keyblades remained idle and stone cold. The corrupted hearts of their wielders were missing. He knew that when a Keyblade was in the Keyblade Graveyard, the heart of that wielder followed, or at least, it was supposed to. "We have to find somewhere safer than here. A more suited area for us to hide out. Vanitas, any ideas?"

The voice belonged to Master, and it was the one thing that crashed his train of thought. The Keyblade Graveyard, was rather deserted. There were certain risks to take, but the path there was hidden, only accessible by Corridor, as far as he knew. Trying to get through by any other means would be pointless. You'd only go around in circles for endless periods of time. Ven and Sora would be searching forever in all the wrong places if they hid there. Of course that wasn't considering the worst case scenario.