EDITED 6/21/2010

Author's Comments: Thank you for reading this far!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, or its story lines (as noted with an *). I own Imani and Aden.

"Wrong castle, Maxiin."

I stir at the voice, prying open my eyes and pushing myself off the ground. I almost question whether my eyes are open at all until I spot a figure standing before me —a man whose periwinkle bangs (or more than his bangs?) cover half his face and whose dark trench coat appears similar to those of my previous dream-visitors.

The first words that come out when I open my mouth are "'Don't I even warrant a hello?'"*

His deep blue eye hardens. "It appears your recent retrieval of your extensive memory has made you arrogant."

A pang of guilt streaks my conscience. "It slipped out. I'm sorry," I sigh, reaching up to cradle one side of my head. "It's been happening a lot, if you haven't noticed."

"I have, and it is to be expected from of you."

I have to assume that's his way of accepting my apology. "Axel didn't say which castle to go to, and even if he did, I couldn't catch it because of those dumb cards Luxord threw at me."

"I will give you that. Still, your mistake generated trouble for us. All of Luxord's efforts to spur you on were nearly wasted."

"I suppose you're talking about my heart being filled with light and darkness, aren't you? If that's the case, meeting the king and Donald and Goofy and getting their help filled my heart with light."

"Correct."

I nod slowly, bringing myself to my feet. That explains why my heart felt so weightless after I met them. "That also means Luxord's talk with me last time was meant to plant darkness in my heart, then." I arch an eyebrow at the man. "And I suppose that worked?"

"Of course it did," he says. "Your communication with Sora when you battled the Nobodies was choppy, wasn't it?"

My eyes narrow. "You know that Sora's talking to me when I'm fighting?"

"Why wouldn't we? We're in your memory, aren't we? Whatever is recorded by your mind is accessible by us."

"Why doesn't Sora see the parts when you guys are talking to me? Why does he always appear after you've left?"

"Because our connections with you are deeper than his." He brings a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "You were birthed as a Nobody, so you're naturally of nothingness—you lacked light and darkness. We Organization members are of nothingness. This composition similarity we have deepens our connections with your memory and your heart."

"But Sora reunited with Roxas and he was a Nobody," I reason, "and Sora became a Heartless in order to seal the Keyhole. Wouldn't he still be able to connect with me well?"

"He isn't dwelling in your memories. We are."

My head reels with the information he's telling me and questions fire from my mouth one after the other. "If you have greater access to me, wouldn't that mean it's easier for you to influence my heart?"

"A logical assumption, isn't it?" He sighs. "Unfortunately, you're a Somebody now, meaning you have an equal capability of having your heart consumed with light as well as darkness. You are now constantly surrounded by Sora and the others. It's really only times like these when we Organization members have any personal interaction with you."

I mull over his words. They can only communicate with me in my dreams? That means the only time they can threaten my heart is when I'm asleep. If I stay awake, I won't have to face them...and I won't have to fight any Heartless or Nobodies. That kills two birds with one stone...but I can't stay awake all day. I have to sleep otherwise I won't be able to keep up with everyone when I'm awake.

"If I can keep myself surrounded by Sora and Riku and the others, the light in my heart can counter the darkness you guys try to plant in me," I contemplate aloud, crossing my arms and furrowing my brow.

"Should you really want that? That would make it harder for you to discover what the Superior's plan is, which in turn would cause you to virtually run around on a wild goose chase while the plan proceeds without your knowledge."

A bullet shoots through my thought stream. That's right.

"Also, I didn't say we are the only ones who can plant darkness in you," he continues, "or that your dreams are the only times darkness has the chance to strike."

Several more bullets puncture deeply, but the finishing shot propels my mind back to the reason I'm unconscious in the first place. "You mean the thing that dragged me down—"

"—was an agent of darkness," he finishes for me. "A Heartless, to be precise, which, obviously, has the ability to influence you in our favor. I'm sure you remember that stab to your back you received the first time you actually fought the Heartless and how that allowed a degree of your true self to surface."

"M-My true self?" I stutter.

"The guarded, calculating, self-centered Nobody you are." He smirks. "You're not really a Somebody, after all. You're a Nobody with a provisional heart. You know that."

The breath in my lungs whooshes out as I feel his declaration pummel me in the gut several times. Visions of sneering classmates cornering me in the halls flash before my eyes, their laughter echoing in my head. The cold metal of the lockers presses against my back and my hand curls into a fist, fruitlessly trying to stop shaking. "You're so invisible it's hard to remember you exist," they taunt. "You're nobody."

My heart aches.

"IMANI!"

The crowd separates as Aden pushes through to me, standing before me with his arms spread to either side of him. "What the hell is wrong with you people?" he demands. "Leave her alone! She's done nothing to you!"

"Because she is nothing," they fire back. "She's nothing like us. She's a walking doll that can't talk or show emotions."

"She's more of a person than any of you are! She is my sister!" Aden roars. "IMANI BRISCE IS MY SISTER!"

"Maxiin."

The lockers disappear. The crowd vanishes. Aden's gone. Only the man in the coat stands in front of me.

I draw in a shaky breath, ignoring the burning sensation building in my throat and peering at him through tear-blinded eyes. "I may have only been given this heart to fulfill some foreseen purpose that was dumped on me," I mutter, my voice wavering but my volume increasing. "Fine...but I am. I am, which is more than any of you can say. None of you exist anymore!" I let out in a scream.

The man barely responds to my outburst. Warm tears roll from my eyes, clearing my vision and allowing me to pick out the new unreadable edge in his dark eye and the slight downturn of his lips. "Yet again, you are correct," he murmurs calmly, "which is why we are extremely dependent on you to gather your wits together and bring the Superior's plan to life. Even if the Organization cannot do anything at the moment, the agents of darkness that do exist will do whatever it takes to consume you."

I swallow in an attempt to bring relief to my aching throat. "How did you get the Heartless to come after me?" I ask, sniffling and hurriedly wiping away the tears from my face.

"We didn't do anything. You attracted them. Heartless go after those with hearts, more so those with light in their hearts." He steps towards me, speaking authoritatively. "As you had iterated earlier, your heart was filled with light because of your friends. To top it off, your heart has a stronger magnetism for Heartless simply because of what you are—the Kismet Scribe. If your heart had been filled with darkness, on the other hand, you would've been fine."

My lungs expand pleasantly with a deep, tired sigh. Yet another light versus darkness condition to keep in mind.

"So," he comes to a stop and peers down at me, "it is to your benefit that you allow the darkness to consume your heart. You'll avoid all the trouble of fighting off the Heartless along with the risk of receiving injuries worse than that of your first Heartless battle and having your Nobody persona resurface and you'll be able to reacquaint yourself with the Superior's plan.Of course, I'm sure your Nobody will surface no matter what, but it's certainly less painful this way."

My teeth sit atop each other and I draw my lips back. "Z..."

"You see what I mean, don't you? In case you don't," he turns, raising his hand and ripping a void into the space, "you'll find something convincing when you wake up."

"Z-Zexion..." I trail off, watching him walk into the void.

"Axel meant the Beast's castle, by the way," he tells me over his shoulder right before disappearing completely, "but you won't need to worry about getting there."

I blinked at his departure and suddenly the darkness isn't so dark anymore. Instead, I find myself standing in a spacious starlit room . Windows make up an entire wall and pillars stand on each side of the room. I crane my head back to see a domed roof painted with angels and clouds as well as a large unlit chandelier suspended above me. When I bring my head down again, I see polished flooring below me.

A ballroom, I conclude. A castle ballroom. An empty castle ballroom...A Sora-less, Riku-less, king-less, Donald-less, Goofy-less ballroom.

A groan rumbles in my throat and my shoulders sag. How am I supposed to find everyone? They could be anywhere. Why did Zexion send me here? What makes this castle the "right" one?

With a sigh, I begin to walk to the exit. There should be a light portal thing nearby—

Blue haze blows up midair and a dark, muscular, winged, spiked, horned monster spins into being, his arms whipping out to either side of him and his yellow narrowed eyes glaring at me. With a startled cry I stumble back, watching in horror as it flexes the wrist holding a long flame-colored blade and swings its sharp pendulum-like tail. As I back up, the monster levitates closer.

I curse under my breath. Well, the ballroom certainly isn't Heartless-less.

Another step back and the monster charges, swinging his sword at me. I leap out of the way, running as fast as my legs will carry me around it to the double-doors—

"Aah!" The heels of my feet skid against the floor as I halt abruptly and run in the opposite direction, away from the monster that suddenly zoomed in my face. Again and again I run and skid and run away and skid and run away again, weaving between pillars and dashing across the floor. Pain quickly builds up in my side and in my legs.

Slamming my back against a pillar to avoid the orbs of energy the monster whipped up, I gasp for air desperately. There's no way around it—I have to fight the monster.

I swipe my arm across my chest...but nothing happens.

My heart drops. "What?" I swipe again, but no metal materializes within my grasp. It's not working! Why isn't it working?

A flash of orange in the corner of my eye and I dive away right before the monster's blade crashes into the pillar I was hiding behind. The marble explodes and crumbles just like the other pillars the monster destroyed while chasing after me.

Sweat makes my clothes stick to my body uncomfortably but I keep running, swiping my arm frantically and shrieking in my head, No way this isn't happening this is not happening why won't it work why can't I call it?

I glance over my shoulder just in time to see the monster disappearing into thin air, tossing up his blade. The bright sword rockets straight for my back. I jump at the last second and the blade zooms beneath my feet and passes me, turning around to rocket at me again.

I dodge too late. The blade cuts into my side as it passes by, forcing a cry of pain from me and making me stumble over my feet. I can't gather wits quickly enough before another slice cuts into my other side and another and another.

Finally the blade spins on its hilt and the monster appears in a burst black light, catching the blade—

No! something in my mind shouts. My feet pelt the ground as I dash to the monster. I can't miss this moment! I have to attack it!

The monster brings the blade back and moves to strike the ground with its full weight—

My arms thrust down along my hurting sides. Warm metal meets my fingers and brushes the undersides of my arms for a split-second before I skid to a halt, lean forward, and hurl the objects in my hands one after the other at the monster, my arms swinging across my chest powerfully.

The desecrated ballroom glows in the light of the flames.

Author's Afterthought: Zexion! Heh, another of my favorite characters makes an appearance.

"Brisce" is "scribe" scrambled up, in case you didn't catch it. I've noticed that Aden is becoming much more prominent in this story than I first wrote him...What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinions in reviews! Thanks for reading!