Bruixe fell asleep almost instantly after Kairi had gotten home and checked Bruixe's back. But her sleep was restless, haunted my dreamlike memories both vivid and vague.

It was autumn of her fourteenth year, and the gossips were saying that the Great Liberator had returned to the Eternal Kingdom after seven long years. Rubie fled to the Temple of Heroes and pressed herself against the door to the Council Room, listening intently. Councilors Striask, Aeson, and Demetre were there, debriefing the prodigal warrior.

"…entrusted to children?" Striask was saying.

"The age of the Keybearers is over," replied a deep male voice, which Rubie assumed belonged to the Liberator. "These 'children' are the last of our legacy. They are the future. When the time comes, they will be the ones to decide the fate of light and dark. Our work is finished."

Aeson, the youngest Council member, spoke softly. "And what of the Fair Swordmaid?"

The Liberator hesitated. "I… I know not. She was never the same… not after what happened to Ven. It's been…three years, since I've seen her."

There was a long silence, then Aeson asked, "You don't even know if she lives?"

"Not for certain," admitted the Liberator. "But… I have a feeling she's still out there, somewhere. It seems right, for her. …Now, if you please, Councilors, I am weary…"

"Of course," Demetre said graciously, her voice smooth and even.

Before Rubie could react, the door swung open forcefully and she fell backwards onto the marble floor. She scrambled to her feet and found herself face-to-face with the Great Liberator.

It had been seven years since she had laid eyes on the man who killed her father. The years had changed Terra; his brown eyes had the haunted cast of those who had seen terrible tragedy. Rubie knew he was in his mid-twenties, but the premature lines in his face and the set of his shoulders gave him a much older appearance.

Rubie started to turn away, but Terra's firm grip restrained her. "Changeling," he said in his deep, rough voice. "It's been too long."

She didn't reply, only looked at him.

"You've been well?" he asked her. Then he shook his head. "No, that's wrong. Of course you're not well. Who would be, in your position?"

Finally Rubie spoke. "I don't fault you. I never did."

He nodded. "Yet still there is anger in your heart."

"Of course there is," she spat. "These people, this world – they don't see me. All they see is him. I should thank you, for ridding me of that scum," she went on vehemently. "But they'll never admit he's gone."

"Peace, Changeling," Terra said softly. "You'll find your place, too."

Rubie met his eyes with her own eerie silver, trying to unsettle him. It was foolish – nothing shook Terra's rock-solid calm. He spoke again. "I can sense the future," he told her. "What it holds. What it brings. A great peril is coming, one that only your generation can stand against. Don't think you have no place among them, Changeling. I have seen your heart, and I speak the truth when I say that yours is among the strongest of them all. The people may not accept you," he said, "but it will only make you stronger, and you will be the only one that can save them."

He released Rubie's arm, and she ran from him then, trying not to let him see her tears.

" 'I have seen your heart,'" Bruixe whispered, recalling his words. She snorted to herself in the darkness of Kairi's guest room. "My heart is gone."

But she knew it wasn't true. She'd willingly given her heart to the darkness, trying to kill herself, to escape the pain of exclusion. But her heart had been too strong, and instead of dying, she'd become a Nobody.

She knew from the research Xemnas had done uner Ansem the Wise that such hearts weren't destroyed, only lost. It was why Xemnas had embarked on a vicious hunt for Kingdom Hearts – to attempt to recover his lost heart.

Bruixe stood and made the bed before leaving the room. She knew what she had to do.

Dear Kairi,

I guess I won't see you again, but I just wanted to say thanks for everything you've done for me. Sora and Riku too – you've all been really good to me, even if I didn't necessarily deserve it. So, thanks.

I don't know exactly where I'm going, but I know one thing – I have to find my heart, no matter what it takes. It's still out there somewhere, and until I find it, I'll never be whole. I know I can find it. It's been lost, but not forgotten. Who knows? Maybe I'll come back and see you guys again. I know I'll miss this place, even if I've only been here a short time.

Thanks again, guys. You made it a good time.

Bruixe

She left the note on the kitchen table, where Kairi would find it in the morning. She stepped out into the night, where the still air welcomed her like a lover. This was how she'd always preferred it – working alone, just her and the darkness. Bruixe looked back only once as she left the town; then she opened a portal to the dark realm, and left.