Disclaimer: not mine

Sora doesn't look exactly how Roxas did in canon. He looks like a blend of himself and Ventus, that is why is hair is lighter, though not quite as light as Ventus'. So Roxas doesn't actually exist in this, sorry, it's just Sora with no Heart and therefore emotion.

Chapter 2

Kairi collapsed, panting heavily, and Yuffie gave her a water bottle.

"You're doing great," the older girl told her.

"Not good enough."

"To face the one possessing Riku? No, not alone," Leon said as he joined them. "That's why we're all going. Your job is to close the Keyhole, no matter what."

Kairi swallowed but nodded. Keyblade or not, she had no experience outside of a few fights with the local Heartless. Even with their help, could she do it? It should be Sora, not her, doing this. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears. Sora was gone and Riku…was there any way to free him?

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Sora sat on the bed in the room he'd been given in the Castle, staring out at the partially constructed Kingdom Hearts. That was the final nail in the coffin as far as he was concerned, everything he remembered told him that was not good. He felt no anger or anything over it, but this was the kind of thing he had fought against, wasn't it? But if it could give him back a Heart…the ability to feel, shouldn't he want that? He had seen that man in Traverse Town become a Heartless, but he hadn't died like that, was it because he'd used the Keyblade that he had become a Heartless and Nobody? Was his Heartless out there somewhere hurting innocent people? That should make him feel horrible. Even without feeling that, he didn't want it to happen, but how could he find one Heartless among the countless ones that existed?

His mission with Axel had been strange, why send them to find a chest? But if they were making Kingdom Hearts, then surely they needed Hearts? What would he be expected to do? He had no weapon, his unarmed fighting skills weren't very good even if his strength and stamina had improved when he became a Nobody. And what about magic? He had always used his Keyblade to cast it so had he lost that ability too? He hadn't actually tried to cast anything. He'd been too busy making sure he acted how Xemnas seemed to expect him to, while also trying to learn about the Organisation.

He was empty, so empty, but…Kairi was a Princess of Heart, wasn't she? Could she fix him? Could she restore his Heart? He wanted it back, he wanted to feel something, anything.

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The two ships landed at Hollow Bastion and Goofy glanced at Kairi, now dressed in clothing given to her by Yuffie, more protective and easier to fight in. He knew she was scared and he didn't blame her at all, she wasn't ready for this, Sora hadn't really been ready either. They were just scared kids forced by circumstances to grow up too quickly. He glanced at Donald who nodded in agreement, they would do whatever it took to protect her. Not only did she have a Keyblade now, but Sora had died to protect her, they would honour his last actions.

Kairi wanted to save Riku from the possession by that Ansem fella and while he felt bad that they had thought the kid bad when he was just possessed…he had the sinking feeling it was too late and the poor girl would end up grieving for both her closest friends.

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Sora collapsed on his bed, wishing no Heart meant no physical feelings either because he was worn out. He had seen the look from Xemnas, even hidden behind his hood, the man wanted the Keyblade…he just knew it from that look during his training. He'd managed a few weak spells which was good, it meant he wasn't totally defenceless. He also didn't doubt that should Xemnas be disappointed in his work, he would not like the consequences. He could still feel physical pain after all.

The Keyblade and Kingdom Hearts…he had to get away somehow. But how? He had no clue how to make those Dark Corridors and even if he could, he knew the others would equate them with evil, and with him looking different, would they believe he was really Sora? Would they turn him away?

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"We've been waiting for you," Cinderella said as she looked at Kairi. It was strange, somehow knowing who they all were…her fellow Princesses. "Where is the Keyblade Master?"

Kairi fought not to flinch. "He…he's gone," she managed to say, but then called her Keyblade, different to the one she could remember Sora using, even without attaching the Keychain Belle had given her. "Where's Ansem?"

"Gone," Cinderella answered.

"When the Keyhole appeared, darkness poured out of it. It swallowed Ansem, and he disappeared," Aurora explained further.

"Though Ansem is gone, the flood of darkness hasn't stopped. We're working together to hold it back," Cinderella looked at her and then the Keyblade and Kairi realised, her help would make it easier on them, but she was the only one now who could seal the Keyhole.

"I cannot forget the look on his face. As the darkness engulfed him, he was smiling," Aurora whispered, shuddering slightly, and Kairi didn't blame her.

"Let's get this done then, before it overwhelms them," Leon spoke up, and Kairi nodded. They made their way back to where she had woken, fighting the whole way, Kairi protected in the middle of the group since they didn't know if sealing the Keyhole would drain her or not so the closer to full strength she was, the better. She still hated being kept from fighting.

They ran into the giant Keyhole and found themselves face-to-face with an enormous Behemoth Heartless.

"Get to the Keyhole!" Yuffie yelled even as she hurled her shuriken at the creature.

Kairi nodded and ran, dodging around the Heartless, Donald and Goofy protecting her as they ran. She forced herself to ignore the sounds of battle as she braced herself, raising the Keyblade, relieved when a beam of Light lit up the area. The Keyhole slowly sealed and she turned back to the others, relieved to see they had taken the Heartless down.

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Axel watched Roxas as they made their way through the town. They were really pushing the kid as if trying to get something specific from him. Something….like a Keyblade? Why? They'd been doing fine, hadn't they? Kingdom Hearts had really come a long way the last few months…ever since word of a Keyblade wielder had begun to spread. So did that mean it wasn't their work but Sora's? That would explain wanting Roxas to be able to summon it. How though? Didn't you need a Heart to have a Keyblade?

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He watched from the shadows as the Princesses congratulated one of their own….who now held a Keyblade. Was it Sora's? Could Roxas not summon it because it had passed to the girl when their Hearts separated? Well then, they'd just have to intercept her and see if she would prove useful. Let her finish the job and seal Kingdom Hearts, then they could guide her to Castle Oblivion and see. There was a very interesting young Nobody there after all.

Should Roxas continue to prove a disappointment he would end him to ensure he could not mess with their plans even accidentally.

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Sora stared at his hand even as Axel and Demyx cheered. He'd done it…he'd called the Keyblade, but how? He didn't feel any different, still empty. He felt Axel slap his shoulder and looked up at him, smiling even though there was no emotion behind it. Axel had told him to mimic emotional expressions that he saw around him, assuming he didn't remember them himself, so that it would be easier if he needed to interact with others on a mission.

Of all of the members, Axel was the one he spent the most time with and he found things weren't as confusing with him as they were the others. It wasn't emotion but it was the closest he had to it now. If he still felt emotion he thought that maybe they would be becoming friends. Still, it was not enough to make him stay, not when it was obvious Xemnas had plans for him, especially now that he had summoned his Keyblade again. It was logical to leave a place that was dangerous, even though he felt no fear.

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They disembarked at the Gate to the Dark, a cave near fragments of dense snowy rocks floating in a pool of an unknown substance. A swirl of energy lit their destination and Kairi gulped.

"Gawrsh, is that all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" Goofy asked as they looked around.

"Those worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem, right?" she asked, fingers wrapping around the charm in her pocket, the one she'd wanted to give to Sora but now she'd give Riku this one once they got him back. She'd make another for Sora when they made it home, even if she'd never be able to give it to him. That was when it hit her, how were they going to tell his Mum? What could they tell her?

"You betcha," Donald agreed.

"But, if we do beat him and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's gonna happen to this place? And to us?" She hated the idea of being separated from them all and if they didn't find Riku before then did that mean she'd be trapped back on the Islands while he was lost somewhere on another World, unable to ever leave it?

"Well, uh..."

"This is a Heartless world, so maybe it'll just disappear," Goofy suggested, and they both looked at him.

"Huh?!" Donald demanded.

"But no worries. Even if this place goes poof, our Hearts ain't goin' nowhere. I'm sure we'll find our pals again. Yup, I just know that we will," there was a slight tremor in his voice though…because there was one 'pal' they'd never find.

"Yeah, you're right," she nodded, refusing to cry. They stood, waiting for the others to arrive, only to find themselves enveloped by a bubble and facing Heartless.

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"Roxas, was it? I never properly introduced myself. I am Marluxia, Number XI," the pink haired man explained as they entered the Sandlot.

"Okay. So what do I have to do today?" he asked.

"Today, your job is to collect Hearts."

"Um, how do I do that?" Sora asked, feigning ignorance, even as he knew that wasn't right. Collect Hearts?

"Roxas, could you summon your Keyblade for me?"

"Well...sure, all right." The Keyblade came as easily as it ever had before he lost his Heart.

"Lucky Number XIII... At last, a chosen wielder of the Keyblade amongst our ranks."

Several Shadow Heartless appeared before them.

"Those are Heartless?" Sora asked as if not quite sure.

"Hmph. Nothing to be feared. So, Roxas, shall we put that power of yours to a little test? Use your Keyblade...and defeat those Heartless."

Sora nodded, his job was to deal with Heartless, no matter what they wanted from him.

"Good. Those Heartless are called Shadows. Dark creatures who roam about, searching for hearts. They come in two larger varieties. The ones you just defeated are known as Purebloods. Purebloods don't release any hearts when you defeat them. In other words, don't bother with them. Your mission is to collect hearts, after all. The other variety…" he trailed off as several Yellow Opera Heartless appeared. "Hmph... Is right over there. Forget about the Shadows. Take these out, Roxas. They are your real targets."

Sora nodded and once again easily defeated his targets.

"Those were what we call Emblem Heartless."

"Why are they so special?" Sora asked, genuinely unsure.

"Did you notice? Hearts appeared when you defeated them."

"Right..." Sora nodded, that was normal.

"Your job is to collect those Hearts."

"Is there any trick to it?" he asked, head tilted to the side as he observed the man. It was strange…without emotion it was easier to see things he would have missed before, to think and learn. Maybe, he was better off without a Heart?

"None. So long as the Heartless are felled by your weapon, the Keyblade, the Hearts will be captured."

"I see. And what happens to the Hearts I collect?"

"They will gather as one, and create an almighty force known as Kingdom Hearts."

"Which is...good, right?" Wasn't that what Maleficent and Ansem were after?

"Completing Kingdom Hearts is the Organization's primary objective. And to do that, we need all the Hearts we can possibly find."

"So that's what the Organization does? Collect Hearts?" it didn't make sense, what use did they have for them, for Kingdom Hearts?

"Actually, you are the first of us to accomplish it."

"Wait, then…"

"The rest of us can defeat Heartless, but we have no way of collecting the Hearts they release. Eventually, the Hearts will turn right back into Heartless. You see, then, how special you are?"

"Hmm..." he'd known Leon and the others couldn't destroy Heartless, that they'd just reappear elsewhere after a while, but he'd thought the Organisation had a way. So how had they expected to…they'd been collecting the Hearts he'd been freeing since he'd gained the Keyblade. It was the only thing that made sense. He'd been their pawn before ever hearing of them that. Anger, that was what he should be feeling, wasn't it?

"With power like yours…

Several more Yellow Opera Heartless appeared and Sora almost hesitated, but if he left them they would just take people's Hearts and make more Heartless. Kairi would be very upset if he let that happen, Riku, the real Riku, would have been too.

"Heh. Here come more of them. Each one is a gift, Roxas. Squeeze every last Heart out of them!" Marluxia told him, even as Sora launched himself at them. "Excellent, Roxas. Your work today is done. I am amazed." He stared at the Keyblade and Sora dismissed it, wary of his expression, even if it was only a mimic. "That Keyblade... The things that could be done with that sort of power..."

"Umm..."

"I have high hopes for you, Roxas, as do we all. Defeat the Heartless, and help the Organization reach our noble goal."

"Um, all right..." what else could he do but agree? They had yet to teach him to travel alone or take him to a World where he could escape from.

"Shall we RTC, then?" Marluxia asked, and Sora nodded.

He followed the man back to the Corridor and the castle.

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Kairi collapsed and Donald poured healing magic over her, worried. Her stamina had improved but barely to the level Sora's had been when they had met. He glanced at Goofy, seeing his own worry echoed there. The World seemed determined to continually split the group up but at least it wasn't isolating them individually. They'd never make it if that happened.

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Now I can be...one with darkness... She dropped her Wayfinder, which was immediately picked up by a gloved hand with four fingers.

"Aqua, are you okay?" a voice called to her, then her Wayfinder was pressed back into her hand.

She forced her eyes open only to stare in shock at Mickey who took her hand and led her safely down to the ground. "Mickey, how did…" she gasped and looked around. "Terra! Ven!"

"No time to talk," Mickey told her, summoning his Keyblade and she scrambled up to call hers….her Master's.

"Dwellers of darkness..." she grimaced.

"They're called Heartless!" the King told her.

She nodded and they launched into the fight. It was strange fighting alongside someone again but it gave her hope. Finally the strange tower retreated, leaving them alone.

"Better not push our luck," he told her as they dismissed their blades. Then he turned to her and smiled. "Gosh. I never thought I'd find ya in the realm of darkness, that's for sure. So, um, what happened?"

"Have you seen Terra or Ven?" She asked desperately.

He shook his head. "No, just you."

She sighed. "I'm sorry. The darkness in this place, it's getting to me."

"Oh. But, you'll be okay," he told her.

Aqua looked down despondently. "Right."

"Say, we've been looking for ya a long time. How come you're in this place?"

"First tell me: how long's it been in the realm of light?" She figured it had been a few months at least.

"About...ten years," he answered softly, and she froze briefly in shock before pushing that aside.

"Interesting. After we last spoke, I took Ven somewhere safe, and then I went after Terra." She took out her Wayfinder and held it up in front of her. "But Terra was about to fall to Darkness, so I had one choice. I stayed here in hopes of giving him a chance."

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"I...didn't know," Mickey whispered in shock. If he had known…he would have found some way in earlier. He never would have abandoned her to such a place.

"How 'bout you? What could've brought you here? Has something happened? In the realm of light?" She asked, and he let her change the subject.

"It's the Heartless. They've been attacking worlds and taking their Hearts. And worlds with no Hearts vanish into darkness. But if we can lock the door between the two realms-light and dark-from both sides, we can protect the other worlds. So ya see, I came here to find the key on this side. Turns out, it's not so easy getting into the realm of darkness. The points you can cross have become unstable. It's only when a world gets consumed, that an entrance appears in the realm between. So, I waited for my chance...to sneak in," he explained, hoping she'd understand how hard it would have been to come earlier, even if he had known she was there. He also felt bad about lying to Riku when he'd finally managed to contact the boy, he didn't have the Key, yet anyway. But he'd needed the confidence of a plan that was almost complete, not one with several steps still to complete, in order to hang on. He'd felt Riku struggling not to fade after all.

Mickey held up Aqua's hand, her Wayfinder in its clutches. "But hey, when I got here, I felt a warm, familiar light. I followed it to find my way...to you," he smiled at her, knowing she needed the reassurance that she was still very much of the Light.

"The charm," she whispered, looking down at their joined hands. "So they were helping. Terra and Ven brought you and I back together again."

"Yeah!" he grinned at her.

"But, the worlds are still in danger. Terra…did he make it back to the realm of light?"

"We still haven't found him," he admitted, looking down. He'd searched but had never found any sign of him.

"I see. Well, wherever he is, he's fighting. He'll beat his darkness. And I know he wants me to fight too," she gave him a small smile, and he nodded.

"I think you're right. He'll be just fine."

"Yes. But what about Ven? He won't wake up unless I'm there with him. I have to go. I have to find a way back to the realm of light."

"Good. Then let's locate that key and go home together!" He grinned again even though he knew it wouldn't be that easy to find a way out once they locked the door. And that was if there was someone on the other side to help…he'd heard Riku, how he couldn't sense Sora's Heart and that was a concern.

"Does that mean you know an exit?"

"Well, uh, I was so busy finding a way in, that I didn't give a lot of thought to where there'd be a way out. But, together we're sure to find one!" he assured her. And soon it would be the three of them to look.

Aqua chuckled. "You haven't changed at all."

They both laughed at that before Mickey turned around and stared into the distance. "May our hearts be our guiding key," he murmured.

"There's a phrase no one's used in ages," she smiled wistfully.

"Keyblade wielders used to say those words to each other." Mickey raised his hand into the air and clenched it into a fist. "And now, it's something I like to try and remember." He held his hand out to her. "So. Ready?"

She took his hand and nodded. "Ready!"

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Xemnas watched as Roxas and Demyx returned from their mission, the boy as blank faced as ever, so different to Sora. Perfect for his plans though, especially now that the Keyblade answered to him. Still, the girl would make a good back up plan. He knew Axel was trying to teach him to mimic emotional expressions but it seemed he was a slow learner there. Without memory or emotion, Roxas would be the perfect tool, with no reason to ever consider betrayal, unlike others among them. They would need to be dealt with and perhaps Castle Oblivion would be the right time and place to do so.

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They walked and then found themselves on the Destiny Islands, fragmented from its stay in the realm of darkness.

"This is...where I met those children," she whispered, looking around sadly.

"So many worlds have been lost. And now they're trapped here in the dark. Wait-you know this place, Aqua?" he looked at her, and she nodded.

"Yes. I visited once, and I met two boys I considered passing the Keyblade on to. But because Terra had already given one of them the power, I didn't."

Mickey gasped, staring at her with wide eyes. "Aqua. What were the boys' names?" he demanded urgently and she frowned.

"They were...Sora and Riku," she dragged the names up from her memory. It had been such a brief meeting in a rather turbulent time.

"I see. We're getting warm."

"Huh?" She frowned, there was something he wasn't saying and he sighed.

"Welp, it's Sora and Riku who've been helpin' me. We're tryin' to get that door shut for good. Although…we've lost contact with Sora."

"Oh…The same boys?" what were the odds of that? But how could Sora help if Riku was the one with the Keyblade? And she definitely didn't like the sound of them having lost contact with the cheerful child. Then again, by now they'd be…Ven's age?

"Aqua, if this is where my friends first got the Keyblade, it also must be where we'll find its counterpart. The Keyblade of Darkness has gotta be here on the dark side of their world," Mickey explained.

Mickey looked up in the direction of what looked like some kind of cave but before she could say anything, the ground rumbled, surprising her.

"We'll have to hurry. C'mon!"

They ran towards the cave, but a swarm forming another tower flew out of it towards them. It attempted to ram into the two Keyblade wielders, but they jumped out of the way. Thankfully, it was easier to beat than the first and Mickey pointed toward the cave.

"Let's keep goin'."

Aqua nodded and the two entered the cave. They found a wooden door without a knob inside.

"I bet it's in here," he told her excitedly, and she smiled.

They pushed the door open and Aqua gasped. The Keyblade of Darkness floated inside

the room, radiating a golden glow.

"There!" he walked towards it.

"Is that what you're after?" she asked.

"Yep, it's just the key I was looking for. A Keyblade from the dark realm!"

"A Keyblade of Darkness." She shivered at the idea, but Mickey grabbed it, the glow fading.

"'The door of darkness...tied by two keys. The door of darkness...to seal the light.' Welp, we've got the keys. Now we find the ones to close the door."

"Sorry?" she asked in confusion.

"The door between the two realms-it won't let a heart with light pass through. So only Darkness keeps spilling out. We can lock the door by using the two Keyblades, but we need help on both sides to get the door shut."

"Well, then, since you'll be doing the locking, let me be the one to close the door," she offered, even if she was scared that maybe the door would let her through.

"Sorry, but the job's taken...by somebody else."

"Huh?"

TBC…