It was late evening. The sun had set, and the sky was almost completely dark. Between the gaps in the gray veil of clouds, a few stars managed to show themselves. The group of five had left the station about half an hour ago, and was on their way back to the house. They'd spent the rest of their time in Central talking to people who'd seen the Heartless. After that, they'd inspected the area around the site of the attack.

Unfortunately, the witnesses hadn't been able to provide any new information. During the whole day, they'd failed to spot even one of the dark creatures. They hadn't actually gone underground, either, and this was what Sora was concerned about. That seemed to be the only place they'd been spotted, so it was likely that they were hiding there. He didn't know why, but it was something worth reporting.

Still, this presented a problem. The underground didn't extend to Resembool, and it took time to get to Central. How were they going to stop the Heartless if they couldn't reach them? Even if they could leave without attracting suspicion, they wouldn't be able to pay for train tickets. He'd seen the kind of currency that Roy had used, and it didn't look like munny.

Sora figured he'd give it more thought later. Right now, he was exhausted. "How close are we?" he asked.

Edward looked out the window. He tried to see if he could spot any landmarks, but the night made it difficult to get a clear view. "Pretty close, I think," he said. "No more than ten minutes."

His estimate was about accurate, and they reached the house soon after. The boys stepped out of the car and walked up to the porch. Sora looked back at the car. "Hey, do you need to come in?" he asked loudly.

"No. We'll stay the night in the inn again, and then we'll go back tomorrow. I trust the three of you to tell the others what we found," Roy shouted back.

"Thanks for the help. We'll call if anything else comes up," added Riza

"Thank you too," said Sora.

The car pulled away and quickly disappeared into the night. Edward knocked on the door, and Winry answered almost immediately. As soon as she saw them, she let out a sigh of relief. "You're back," she said, smiling.

"Of course we are," said Sora, grinning. "We didn't run into any trouble."

Winry looked a little surprised. "Really? You didn't see any of the monsters?"

"Heartless," Sora corrected. "That's what they're called."

"Whatever," muttered Edward.

He walked through the door. "C'mon. We've got to tell all of you what happened.

The four of them, plus Riku, Kairi, and Pinako, gathered in the living room. "So what'd you do?" asked Riku.

"Not too much," said Edward. "We went and saw the guy who'd seen the attack. Most of the day we just talked to witnesses and checked around the area."

"So you never actually went into the sewers?" asked Kairi.

"We didn't. They said we didn't have time, but I think the real reason was that they didn't want us getting hurt," Edward answered.

He rolled his eyes. "I bet they'll go right back there tomorrow."

Sora hoped he was wrong. It was true that Roy and Riza were veteran soldiers. Roy was an alchemist as well. They could probably take on anything else without much trouble. But Heartless were different, and an encounter with them might take a turn for the worse. The two of them seemed like good people, and he didn't want anything to happen to them.

"Does it matter?" Winry replied. "Either way, it seems like things went okay."

"Yeah, but I wish we'd learned more," said Alphonse, glumly. "Those things are still out there, and we're not any closer to stopping them."

Kairi tapped Winry on the shoulder. "You were going to ask them something when they got back, right?" she whispered.

Winry nodded. She looked at Edward and Alphonse. "Yeah. Ed, Al, I have something to ask."

Alphonse nodded. "Sure. What is it?"

Winry frowned, and tensed up a bit. She was clearly nervous, but she forced herself to continue speaking. "Could you explain to these three what things have been like over the last few years?"

Edward looked surprised, and a bit confused. "You mean, about…"

"Everything. Well, maybe not everything, but could you just give them some idea of all that happened?"

Alphonse looked away. "Winry, I don't know. That's kind of – "

"Why should we?" Edward interrupted. "This is our lives you're talking about. It's not a joke!"

"Of course it's not a joke!" shouted Winry. "Why would I think it was?"

Pinako glanced over at her granddaughter. "He has a point. After all, you've just met these kids."

She looked over at Sora, Riku, and Kairi. "No offense, but I'm not sure we know you well enough to talk about things like this."

"I understand," Winry said. "I was a part of it too, remember? I worried about you two a lot, and sometimes things felt hopeless. But it's over now. It was never a joke, but it's not a secret either!"

Sora wasn't sure what to think. He wasn't sure why Winry was asking this all of a sudden. Had something happened while they'd been gone? Whatever the reason, he found himself kind of hoping that they'd agree to it.

"They're getting curious, you know," she continued. "I already told Kairi some things when we were sorting through photos earlier today. And Riku found what's left of your old house when he was out walking. I think you owe them at least some explanation.

Edward sighed, and turned towards the trio. "You're really that interested?" he asked.

"I think I'd like to know more," Riku replied.

Kairi nodded. "If you're willing, I think I'd like to hear the rest."

Sora was quiet for a little while. Would they expect an explanation in return? If they did, would he be willing to give one? He wasn't sure what to do."

Riku nudged him. "Sora?"

It was probably worth it. "I want to know. It's been hard hearing all these little things and not knowing what they mean. If it's okay with you, I want to know what happened."

Edward and Alphonse exchanged concerned looks. "Al, if you're alright with this…" Edward began.

"I guess so," replied Alphonse.

His attention shifted to Sora. "I should warn you – this won't be easy to talk about. It probably won't be easy to listen to, either," he said.

"I understand," Sora answered.

He wished he could tell them. He wanted to say that things hadn't been easy for him, either. But he couldn't, not now. Right now, he needed to listen.

Everyone found a place to sit, and all eyes turned to the two brothers. "So, where should we start?" asked Edward.

"With Mom?" suggested Alphonse.

Edward nodded. For a moment, he seemed a thousand miles away. "Yeah. We'll start there."

So that's where they began. They told the whole story, from the failed resurrection up to the final showdown with Father. Sora, Riku, and Kairi listened intently the whole way through. Alphonse had been right – it wasn't easy to hear. But it explained a lot. All the little things they hadn't understood – the remains of the burnt house, the visit with Mrs. Bradley, the scar on Edward's shoulder – all of it made perfect sense now.

The trio was silent for what felt like a long time. It was a lot to take in. Again, Sora wanted to tell them what he'd been through, if only to prove that he could empathize more than they might think. Instead, he remained quiet.

Riku was the first of them to speak. "I wouldn't have thought that things were that rough," he said. "You wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at you. You seemed pretty normal at first."

Alphonse smiled. "That's good to hear."

Pinako glanced over at Sora. "There is something you should know," she said. "The real reasons for the conflict in Central were never revealed to the general public. They were told that a group of government officials had tried to seize control of the country, and that Fuhrer Bradley had been killed during the uprising. After all, who would've believed all that business about the Homunculi and ancient conspiracies without any real proof?"

She paused. "Point is, don't go telling this to just anyone. Got it?"

Kairi nodded. "Understood. We'll keep it to ourselves."

Sora turned towards Edward. "Thanks for trusting us," he said. "It means a lot."

Edward shrugged. "Thanks for listening."

Winry stood up. "Guys, it's getting late," she reminded them. "We probably should get some rest."

She glanced over at Edward and Alphonse. "That goes double for you and Sora. You had a long day today."

Alphonse yawned. "Sounds good."

The trio waited until everyone else had gone to their rooms. After that, they gathered in the spare room. "I think we ought to give the King another report," Sora suggested.

"What, about what Ed and Al told us?" Kairi asked, sounding confused. "We don't need to tell him about that!"

"Of course not!" Sora protested. "I meant about our trip to Central. About the attack."

"Sounds good," agreed Riku. "Actually, there's something I'd like to ask him about."

He glanced over at the door. "We should wait a few hours, though. We wouldn't want anyone to wake up and realize we're missing."

"Good idea," said Kairi. "Are we going to just stay up, or are we going to set some kind of alarm?"

"I don't think an alarm is a good idea," Riku reminded her. "We don't want to wake everyone else?"

"Then who stays up?" asked Sora.

"Not you, that's for sure. You need your sleep," Kairi reminded him.

"I'll do it," announced Riku. "It's about 10:30 right now, so I'll wake you up at 1:00. That alright?"

"Fine with me," said Sora.

He paused. "So does that mean I can sleep now?"

The next two and a half hours started out slow. If Riku were at home, he would've passed the time watching TV, or maybe playing video games. Neither of these things seemed to exist in Amestris. It was too dark to do anything outside, and the radio would be too loud. Besides, he wouldn't know which channels to look for.

Instead, he found a stash of books piled up on a shelf. Riku was no bookworm, but he'd always loved stories as a kid. He'd liked to read about people having exciting adventures, or going to places they'd never seen before. He'd liked to pretend that he was there with the characters, doing the same cool things as they did. The things that happened in the books weren't always fun. Sometimes they were scary, or sad. But for a boy who knew nothing beyond his own quiet life, that aspect was easy to overlook.

Most of the books in the pile had looked like bad romance novels. Someone's guilty pleasure, perhaps? There were a few others, though. Riku ended up choosing a thick paperback with a cover depicting a man and woman running away from an explosion. It looked fairly new, and didn't appear to have been read more than once or twice.

The book turned out to be about an ex-secret agent who was pulled out of retirement by a series of events taking place in his hometown. These events turned out to be connected to someone the protagonist had put behind bars years before. Now he'd escaped, and was seeking revenge. It wasn't all that original, nor was it particularly well-written. Still, it made a good time-waster.

Despite its length, it was an easy read, and so Riku went through it quickly. By 1:00, he was about halfway done. As he returned the book to the shelf, he took another look at the cover. He realized that the woman depicted there hadn't actually made an appearance yet. He wondered if she'd show up later, or if she'd just been put on the cover to attract potential readers.

He climbed up the stairs, and entered the spare room. Seeing Sora and Kairi asleep made him realize how tired he was. Still, it'd have to wait. They had a report to make.

He bent down and poked the two of them. "Time to go," he whispered.

Sora opened his eyes a few seconds later, and Kairi followed shortly after. "Already?" she murmured.

"Check the clock yourself if you want proof," Riku told her.

Sora sat up and slowly rose to his feet. "Ready," he said, still sounding half-asleep.

The three of them walked downstairs. Riku popped into the kitchen and quickly returned with a flashlight. "We'll probably need this," he said. "There aren't any streetlights this far from town."

They left the house, and began heading for the warp point. "We should be able to see it once we're close enough," Kairi announced.

She turned towards Sora. "Right?"

Sora said nothing. He looked up at the starry sky, scanning its expanse as if looking for something. Kairi tapped his shoulder. "Sora, did you hear me?" she asked.

He looked back at her. "Sorry, what'd you say?"

"I asked if we'll be able to see the warp point in the dark," Kairi repeated.

"Oh. Um…yeah, you can. It glows, remember? It'll be easy to spot," he replied.

The three of them kept going. Sure enough, it wasn't long before the glowing circle came into view. As they drew closer, Kairi got Sora's attention again. "Something interesting up there?" she asked.

He looked surprised. "Huh?"

"You've spent the whole walk staring at the stars," Kairi reminded him.

"Oh. That."

He suddenly looked a little sad. "I didn't notice this before, but the stars are different," he said.

"What about it?" asked Riku.

Sora stopped walking. "In every one of the worlds I've visited, the stars were the same. Sometimes, they were in different places, but it was still the same sky. It was the one thing they all had in common. But here…"

He pointed upward. "I don't recognize these at all. All the stars that Dad told me how to look for – the ones that can help you find your way if you get lost – aren't here. I can't find even one of them."

Riku thought about that for a moment. "It's an outer world," he reminded Sora. "It's not too surprising that its sky is different."

Sora looked down at the grass. "Yeah, I know. It's just weird, that's all. I'd almost forgotten how far away we really are."

Riku began walking again. "C'mon, Sora. We've got to tell Mickey about what you found out."

The screen flickered for a moment before showing the same room as last time. The King was nowhere to be seen, but someone's feathery white tail was visible from behind a bookshelf. Angry muttering could be heard in the background.

Sora waited a moment, wondering if this was a bad time. Eventually, though, he spoke up. "That you, Donald?" he asked.

There was a loud thump, followed by a series of noises that sounded like rustling paper. The duck backed out of the corner and turned towards the trio. "What's this all about?" he asked, sounding irritated. "I'm trying to organize my stuff!"

"Sorry," said Kairi. "Should we wait for a better time?"

Donald shook his head. "No, don't worry about it. King Mickey just woke up a few hours ago. You want to check in, right?"

"A few hours?" Riku repeated. "It's the middle of the night over here."

"It's morning," said Donald. "Just stay there. I'll go get him."

A few minutes later, Mickey appeared onscreen. He was wearing a red bathrobe, and had half a muffin in one hand. "We're not interrupting, are we?" Sora asked.

"Naw, it's fine. I was almost done anyway," Mickey assured them. "Besides, breakfast can wait. Your report can't."

He sat down in front of the screen on his end. "So what's up?" he asked. "Have you found the Heartless?"

"No, but they're not just sitting around anymore," Sora said, grimly. "We have a victim."

Mickey's expression suddenly turned serious. "I see. Is it just one guy?"

"I think so," Sora replied. "They're still staying out of sight. I went with Ed and Al to investigate, but we didn't find any."

"That's a shame," Mickey said, quietly. "Do you have any idea where they might be hiding?"

Sora thought about that. So far, the only casualty had been a sanitation worker in the sewers below Central. Had the other attacks taken place near openings that led underground? He wasn't sure, but he thought so. "They're under the capital, I think," he said.

Kairi looked surprised for a moment. Soon, though, the surprise was replaced with excitement. "You're right!" she exclaimed. "All the attacks have been near storm drains or other holes in the ground. That must be it!"

"That sounds about right," said Mickey. "How far away is the capital? Can you get there without much trouble?"

"Not really," Sora admitted. "It's a few hours by train, and they'd notice us missing if we used the ship."

Mickey frowned. "That's a shame. Still, I bet you guys can figure something out. If you ever need backup, just give the word. I'm sure Donald and Goofy would be happy to help you out."

Sora wasn't sure what the people here would make of a walking, talking duck and dog. People in most worlds hadn't seemed to notice anything odd, but he already knew that Amestris was different. "Not just yet," he said. "I'll let you know if we need them."

"Got it," replied Mickey.

He paused for a moment "Riku, you've been awfully quiet. Is something wrong?"

Riku looked back at Mickey. "Actually, yeah. I've got a question."

Mickey nodded. "Ask away."

Riku suddenly appeared nervous. He looked away for a moment, then back at the King. "It's about what you told us before. Y'know, about not telling anyone where we're from."

"What about it?"

"I understand the reasoning, but…"

Riku sighed. "Look, our explanations are getting flimsier every day. The people we're staying with aren't stupid. They know we're hiding something. It's only a matter of time before they confront us."

Mickey nodded. "I see. You want my permission to tell them, right?"

"Exactly. They told us a lot about their lives already – stuff that you don't tell just anyone. With that in mind, I don't think it's right to keep secrets from them."

He looked away, still looking nervous. "I understand how difficult it'll be to explain, but I think – "

"Go ahead," said Mickey.

Riku stopped talking. He stared at the screen, eyes wide. "What?"

Mickey smiled. "I said go ahead. If you wanna tell them that badly, then I trust you not to make a mess of it."

A faint smile appeared on Riku's face. "Thanks. I'll be sure that they're the only ones to hear about it."

"Your Majesty, are you really OK with this?" Kairi asked.

"Well, rules are there for a reason," Mickey admitted. "Usually it's best not to break them. But sometimes there are other things that are more important. Think about it. If your friends don't trust you, then how are they gonna help you keep their world safe?"

"Good point," Sora murmured.

After a brief pause, Mickey continued. "Is that everything?" he asked.

"I think so," said Sora.

"Gotcha. I guess I'll be seeing you later."

Sora nodded "You too. Tell the others that I said hi."

"Of course. Good luck finding the Heartless!"

The screen went black. Sora yawned loudly, and headed towards the warp device. "C'mon, let's go," he said. "I'm exhausted. If I stay here much longer, I think I'll collapse."

Riku chuckled. "Same here. Let's get some sleep."

Winry woke up suddenly, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. It took her a moment to realize that the nightmare she'd been having was over. It wasn't anything new – they'd come up occasionally since the Promised Day. But this one had been the most vivid she'd had in a long time.

She quickly realized that she wasn't going to be sleeping again for a while. Even if she managed to calm down and get back to sleep, the nightmare would probably pick up where it had left off. She pulled back the sheets and stepped out of bed.

She made her way down the hall, trying to get through without turning the lights on. Her throat felt dry, so she figured she'd go to the kitchen and get some water. She walked past the bathroom, past the workroom, past the open door to the spare room.

Wait a minute.

She stopped, and looked back at the spare room. Sure enough, the door was standing wide open. She entered the room, and turned on the lights.

No one was there.

Winry immediately began going over the possibilities. Had they left? No, she didn't think they'd do that without telling anyone. Had they been kidnapped? Not likely. It couldn't have been a bathroom trip, because why would all three of them go at once?

She ran downstairs, and began turning on lights. The kitchen was empty. So was the living room. She tried each room, one by one. Nothing. They weren't in the house.

She went to the coat hanger, grabbed a jacket, and ran outside. It was silent. The cloudless sky was full of stars, and the field outside the house was lit only by moonlight. Winry didn't see anyone, let alone their guests. Where were they, and why had they left in the middle of the night?

There was just enough moonlight to see by, so Winry began looking around the area. The porch was empty. So was the balcony by the workroom. She looked at the left side of the house, then the right. Still nothing. "This isn't funny," she muttered to herself.

She ran around to the back. Nothing there, either. After a bit more searching, she reluctantly decided that this was fruitless. She'd check again in the morning, when the sun was up. Maybe they'd even be back by then.

Just then, a beam of light shot down from the sky, touching the ground a few hundred feet away. It stayed there for a second or two, and then it disappeared completely. Winry stood still, staring at the place where the light had been. She had half a mind to run back to the house and forget about it, but her curiosity won out. She had to find out what that was. She took a few cautious steps forward before breaking into a sprint.

It wasn't long before she began to hear voices. "Guess we'll tell them tomorrow, then?" someone said.

Winry stopped, having recognized the speaker. That was definitely Sora. And if he was there, Riku and Kairi were probably with him. Within seconds, those suspicions were confirmed. "Guess so," Riku said. "I just hope they actually believe us."

They were close enough now that Winry could see their silhouettes approaching the house. Suddenly they stopped. "There's someone there," said Sora.

"Damn right there is," shouted Winry. "What's going on? I thought you were asleep!"

The three of them froze. Winry ran over to them, and looked Sora straight in the eye. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" she demanded.

The trio exchanged worried looks. "And what was that light?" continued Winry. "Did you do that?"

Sora let out a deep sigh. "We were planning to tell you in the morning," he said, sounding ashamed.

"Tell me what?" Winry yelled. "What the hell have you three been hiding?"

None of them had ever seen Winry like this before. Her whole presence had changed. She seemed completely different – upset, confused, and obviously angry. "We've been hiding a lot of things," Riku admitted. "But we're on your side. That hasn't changed. It's just that the issue is a lot bigger than what we'd said before."

"That's not the problem," Winry snapped. "The problem is that you lied to everyone!"

"We didn't lie," Sora said, avoiding Winry's gaze. "We left out a lot of things, but the only thing we ever lied about was where we're from. Everything else is true."

Winry took a step closer, fists clenched. "How is that any better than lying? You still weren't honest, were you?"

Kairi looked towards the ground, a pained look on her face. "Look, can this wait until morning?" she asked. "We're all really tired. I promise that we'll tell you everything after we get a chance to sleep. You and everyone else.

Winry glared at them. "You'd better," she said, coldly.

I've been making really slow progress lately. Busy with schoolwork, hooked on video games...stuff like that. This is one of my backup chapters. The chapter I'm actually working on is a few ahead of this one. That way, if I have a dry period like this, you guys don't have to wait as long for a chapter. Still, I know you had to wait a while, and I'm sorry about that. I hope this chapter was worth it, though, and I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long.

By the way, it seems like I've got quite a few readers for this fic. Part of why I started Distant Hearts was because I wanted to make a KH/FMA crossover that worked. It's good to know that so many of you think I've succeeded. Thanks a lot for your support. :)