A/N: Man, when it come to being in home all day, all you can do is write, write, write. Which is good, considering the fact that I've been working on my stories as such.

Now without further or do, let's get on with on with the story!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 8

Traverse Town

"Noctis hold up," said a young girl who appeared to be in her late teens. She had pink hair that was picked up on the left side of her head, and had blue eyes. She was trying to catch up to a young man with black spikey hair. "You're going too fast!"

"We must hurry before we encounter the heartless Serah!" Noctis said in a firm voice as he ran. "Running into them is the last thing we wanna do!"

The two of them were in a hurry to get back to the hotel they were staying at since they traveled to this world. They've heard about the heartless invasion and decided to get to the bottom of the catastrophe.

They warned the civilians of Traverse Town to stay indoors so that they wouldn't get caught by the heartless.

"You'd think Stella's ok?" Serah asked.

"I'm sure she's fine," Noctis assured. "She can take care of herself."

The pink haired girl stopped mid-way as she noticed a group of heartless were surrounding an unconscious girl in the alleyway. "Noctis look!"

The young man took a step back and looked where Serah was pointing. "Those bastards!" He whipped out his Phantom Sword and warped through the heartless. "Get away from her!"

Serah went up to the poor girl to see if she was okay while Noctis was fighting off the heartless, she scanned her from head to toe and from the looks of it, she seemed to be unharmed. But there was more to this girl from what she was sensing.

There was a strong light coming from her chest, that could only mean one thing. Was she the girl they were looking for?

After Noctis defeated the heartless, he went over to Serah and the other girl. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Serah nodded. "Hey Noctis, I think there's a reason why the heartless were crowding this girl. It must be her heart that attracted them."

"I see," Noctis said, folding his arms. "So she must be one of the pure maidens."

"But that's not all," Serah added. "Her heart seems to possess an extraordinary amount of light. She's not like the others."

Noctis put his hand on his chin in deep thought. "Is that so? Well then, we'll have to take her back to the hotel and sort things out from there, it's too dangerous to leave her out here by herself." He picked up the young girl in bridal style and walked out of the alleyway along with his pink haired friend.

"Garsh it feels like ages since we've been here, aye Donald?" Goofy asked.

The duo were finally in Traverse Town, after blasting through all those annoying meteors and moon rocks along their travel. The town was still the same as ever with it's eternal night sky and friendly people walking by.

"It's only been twenty year," Donald said irritated with his arms folded. "Where could Yume be?"

"Ya think we should go find Noctis and ask him?" Goofy asked.

"We might as well," Donald quaked.

Goofy looked up at the night sky and noticed that one of the stars was only half blinking.

"Say Donald, does that star look funny to you?" Goofy asked while pointing at the sky.

"Who cares? Let's focus on the mission." Donald said with no consideration.

The magician felt someone poke at him from behind causing him to jump in fear, he held onto the clumsy knight startled.

"Are you the king's companions?" asked a young woman. She had golden blond hair that went down to her shoulders, she wore a white short-sleeved blouse over a black dress with a ruffled skirt, and short black heel boots.

"Who are you?" Donald asked.

"I'm Stella, and I couldn't help but overhear you looking for Noctis?"

Yume regained consciousness and found herself in some sort of room. She used her arms to pull herself from the bed she was laying on, she groaned as she held her head in pain.

"Are you ok?" asked Serah.

Yume turned to the older girl who was watching over her, with a moogle next to her.

"Yeah I'm fine," Yume said. "Where am I?"

"You're in Traverse Town's Hotel," Serah answered. "Don't worry you'll be safe here."

"How'd I get here?" the young blond girl asked.

"Noctis and Serah found you, kupo!" Moogle said. "On their way back they found you unconscious and surrounded by the heartless, kupo!"

"The heartless?" Yume raised a brow.

"They're creatures born from the darkness of people's hearts," Noctis intervened. "They go out stealing hearts from other people, they're also attracted to light."

"But why were they after me?" Yume asked, confused.

"It's because of your heart," the young man pointed towards Yume's chest. "It's filled with pure light."

"What do you mean?"

Right next to Yume, Serah, and Noctis' room was Stella's room along with Donald and Goofy. Both of them were having the same conversations right next door to each other.

"Alright," Stella began, with her hands on her lap as she was sitting on her bed. "You've heard about the pure maidens, also known as the Princesses of Hearts, right?"

"Yep," Donald nodded.

"They're the only ones who don't have darkness in their hearts." Goofy stated.

"Right," Stella assured. "Originally, there were only seven of them, until recently a new pure light maiden was born. Thus, making them eight."

"You mean…" Donald frozed knowing who it was.

"Yume?" Goofy finished with his hands on his mouth.

Stella nodded. "Yes, after Kairi gave birth to Yume, she immediately became a new Princess of Heart."

"So, I'm a pure light maiden?" Yume asked, astounded.

"That's right," Noctis replied. "The heart contains both light and darkness within everyone, however, many years ago that cycle was broken when seven females were born with purity, thus giving them hearts of pure light, not a spec of darkness. For centuries, they've been passed down throughout the generations. Then a new pure maiden was born, but she was unlike the others, her heart possessed an extraordinary amount of light. Making her the purest of them all. People from all over the worlds, worshiped her like a goddess."

"Like a goddess?" Yume said dumbfounded. To think such a being could actually exist.

"Garsh! Was she that special!" Goofy asked, amazed.

"Mmm-hmm," Stella nodded. "She would lend her light to those in need of it, she healed those who were sick, and saved the lives of people who were affected by darkness. She even restored the heartless back to their human forms."

"Wow…" Donald said, impressed.

"Sadly, though she died from a mysterious illness, some say it had something to do with being affected by darkness, others say the sensitivity was too strong that it led to her death."

"Ohh…" Donald and Goofy lowered their heads in sadness.

"But why though?" Yume asked, not understanding.

"The Princesses of Hearts are sensitive to darkness," Serah told the young girl. "It makes them very sick and if they sense too much of it, it can kill them."

Yume felt her heart fall to her stomach after hearing that info. Does that mean the same thing will happen to her?

"Sounds scary doesn't it, kupo?" Moogle commented. "Must be hard being a Princess of Heart, kupo."

"Unfortunately for you Yume, you have a strong amount of light in your heart as well. You are the first pure maiden in centuries to have a lot of light. That's why it's best you avoid darkness at all times." Noctis informed.

"You mean, I could die like the last purest maiden?!" Yume said, scared.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure that you know how to defend yourself in case any other heartless show up. Now that you're the Keyblade's next chosen one, you'll need to learn how to use it." The young man assured the frightened girl.

"The Keyblade?" Yume remembered the voice in her head mentioning it back in the island, but she didn't know what it was.

"It's a sword that's in the shape of a key." Serah explained. "It can open any lock, no problem. And has the ability to release hearts from the heartless. Only those with strong hearts can wield them."

Yume just realized an old memory about her father telling her stories of his adventures. She did recall him saying something using a Keyblade, but it's been so long that she completely forgot about it.

"My dad once told me about it when I was little," Yume recalled. "But he never explained what it was to me, maybe because I was too young to understand at the time."

"Well, now you know!" Serah said as she patted Yume's shoulder. "Say, why don't you try summoning it?"

"How do I do that?"

"You need to let your heart call out for it," Noctis explained. "First you must reach out to it, and let your heart do the rest."

Yume still didn't get it, but she went with it anyway. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she focused, then she reached for her Keyblade, then before she knew it a key-shaped weapon appeared in her hand out of thin air.

"Wow, what a pretty Keyblade kupo!" Moogle said as he clapped his hands excited.

"Good, now that you know how to summon it, you should be prepared to use it in training." Noctis instructed.

"By the way, have you ever heard a woman named Nerissa?" Serah asked.

"Nerissa?" Goofy said, raising a brow while he scratched his head.

"Yes, she's known as the Mistress of Darkness and for good reason. Centuries ago, she was experimented to become the first pure dark maiden, a being with a heart that devoid light. Basically the opposite of a pure light maiden." The young woman explained to the magician and knight.

"Could someone like that even survive with a heart filled with darkness?" Donald asked puzzled.

Stella closed her eyes in deep thought before continuing. "Some say it's nearly impossible for a human being to live with a heart of pure darkness, but surprisingly Nerissa was one of the few to actually survive. Normally when someone's heart is extracted whether it be his or her light or darkness, the heart becomes severely scattered thus a person can suffer an near-death experience."

"Say, didn't Veggie go through that once?" Goofy asked. The king told them about the incident of Xehanort extracting Ventus' heart a while back.

"His name was Ventus you nincompoop!" Donald quacked.

"That was only because his heart must've been extracted by force." Stella pointed out. "But for Nerissa it was a special case, because they never extracted the light from her heart, instead they injected so much darkness in it to the point where all her light vanished. With that, she became the first pure dark maiden."

"And ever since then, she's been using her dark powers to commit immoral deeds." Noctis continued. "So far, she's plunged over five-hundreds worlds into darkness."

"What?!" Yume jumped on her seat of the bed.

"That's not all though," Serah added. "Her goal is to obtain a pure light combined with her pure darkness to create a whole new world. One that is inhabited by darkness, no light whatsoever."

"Is that bad?"

"Of course it is," Noctis answered with a stern tone. "Every world is made out of light and darkness, our universe needs both in order to maintain its peaceful nature. If the balance is broken, it can lead to chaos to the other worlds."

Serah placed her hand on Yume's shoulder. "So you see Yume, you're the only one who can put an end to Nerissa's scheme. There's no one else who can do it, not even the other Princesses of Hearts can take her down with their powers alone."

Yume pointed to herself. "Why me?"

"It's said that only the purest of light can take on the purest of darkness. Now that you're the newest pure maiden to have a strong amount of light, you need to use it against Nerissa."

This was a lot for Yume to take in. First her homeland gets invaded by those yellow-eyed freaks, and now she's put into this position where she needs to take down someone?! What is going on here?

"B-But, I can't be the one," the young girl said frightened. "I didn't ask to be a pure maiden! I don't even think I have what it takes to face her!"

"Sorry kid," Noctis closed his eyes with his arms folded. "But I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter."

"Don't worry Yume," Serah reassured the younger girl. "We're gonna help you, we'll make sure you have what it takes to face Nerissa."

Yume took a good look at her Keyblade, it must've chosen her for a reason. But why would it choose a girl like her? What was so special about her that made it choose her, out of all people? She still didn't know what was going on, but now she's left with no other option. If this can help her find her friends and get back home, then it's worth a shot.

"And if I stopped Nerissa, will I be able to go back home?" Yume asked kindly.

"Of course," Noctis said.

After a moment of thought, Yume stood up from bed. "Alright,"

"Hooray kupo!" Moogle cheered.

"So you see Donald and Goofy," Stella spoked. "That's why you two must protect Yume at all times, there's no doubt that Nerissa is after her heart. It's the only thing she needs to create her own dark world."

"Garsh, does Yume even know about this?" Goofy asked, concerned.

Stella shook her head. "It's best to wait till the time is right to inform her, remembered she's at a troublesome age at this time. We don't want to trouble her even more."

"In that case, we'll protect Yume by all means necessary!" Donald said with a hand on his chest in honor. "Besides, Sora would kill us if we let anything happen to her."

"Good," The young woman said with a warm smile. "Well then, why don't you two settled down for a bit until Noctis returns?" Stella suggested as she went to the hotel's kitchen to make some tea, leaving Donald and Goofy alone.

"Don't you think Nerissa was the new enemy the king mentioned in the letter?" Goofy asked his feathered friend.

"Obviously," Donald replied.

"What now?" Yume asked.

"First things first, we need to get you prepped up for battle," Noctis recommended. "We'll take you outside to train, then when Stella comes back she'll teach you how to use your light powers."

"You mean Stella has light powers too?"

"Yes," Serah answered. "She's an expert when it comes to manipulating light, so she's the perfect mentor for you."

"Come on," Noctis said as he headed out the door. "Let's get going."

Yume, Noctis, Serah, and Moogle all left the room and exited the hotel, as they prepared for the training.

A/N: Boy did this took a lot out of me. Originally I was planning to add Luna in this story, but after discovering Stella in original cut contexts from FF Versus XIII, I thought she was a way better character than Luna, even though there was only a few scenes of her :'(. And yes, I am aware that Nomura is planning to revived FF Versus XIII as Verum X in Kingdom Hearts which I'm super excited for, it'd be super cool to see Kingdom Hearts take on a different route aside from Disney. As for Melody Of Memories, fuck that game! I don't care if it's gonna be cannon, I've had enough of Square ruining the good name of Kingdom Hearts with stupid spin offs that are pointless no matter how much they try to tie it into to the story.

Sorry for that small rant 😅.