Author's Note: Welcome to the beginning of Harrowed Heart. As you may have read in the summary, this is a joint writing of me and my friend Lacili. Tis very fun indeed.

The Kingdom Hearts universe and characters does not in any way shape or form belong to us! Hah! As if we could be that lucky. All OCs belong to me, though. And the lyrics that Lia sing belong to Utada Hikaru, her Devil Inside song to be precise.

Anyway. R&R is appreciated!

Lia moaned and pulled the blankets over her head. The truck she had stowed away on was bouncing around over a dirt road and she couldn't sleep. Not that she was able to sleep before the dirt road either.

A few weeks ago, she had been happy traveling with Zeke until he was…well, she didn't want to think about what happened to him anymore. It made her sick.

She could feel her stomach churning at the thought of that unfortunate event so she started to sing, "Everybody wants me to be their angel, and everybody wants something they can cradle," Lia paused, holding back tears, "They don't know I burn…" her voice trailed off and she broke down and cried.

Her whole body shook with sorrow and pain. She had once said that she wasn't going to let it take control of her, but now she didn't care. Her heart felt like it had stopped beating and she could feel the world stop spinning beneath her feet.

She cursed love for ever making her feel that way about him and then life for taking him away from her. She didn't even have the chance to save him. All she could do was stand and watch as Sora held her back. She had felt Sora shaking against her and she knew that even he was crying.

Sobs escaped her lips as her stomach began to hurt. The way the Heartless swarmed around him…it was all her fault. She couldn't even save him.

She pounded the cold metal floor of the truck until her hands went numb. She remembered struggling against Sora's hold, but she didn't break free until it was all over.

The Heartless had come and gone so quickly. His body was cold when she got to him, there was nothing left. She had cried against his chest, listening for what she knew wouldn't be there.

Merlin had told her she could save him, but Merlin was wrong. There was nothing that would get Zeke's heart back…there was nothing that would save him from the darkness. Not even love could penetrate the hold.

Sora had dragged her away from his body. She kicked and screamed the whole time as she watched the Moogles approach him and move him from the street of the second district.

Now here she was, lying against the cold metal in the back of a truck that was delivering something to somewhere far away from Sora, far away from the Moogles…and most importantly far away from Zeke.

She had been told by Beast that she was not supposed to run away from her problems, before he too was claimed by the Heartless. Beast had been wrong; the farther away she got, the better.

She wanted to go home, back to where she belonged, but that was gone too. Everything in her life was gone now and she didn't want to put any one else in danger. It didn't matter if they loved her or hated her she was never coming back.

She rolled onto her back and sat up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Merlin's voice was echoing in her mind, but she shut it out quickly. What did he know? He was just an old man anyways.

The truck stopped and Lia looked up at the light that was shining through the back. The town was different now. It was brighter. Lia stood up and began to walk out, but she was stopped by the man who drove the truck.

"Lia?" A familiar voice asked. Lia turned her head to look at the man who had said her name. She noticed it was Cid.

"No," she said, jumping down from the back of the truck.

"What do you mean no?" Cid asked, grabbing Lia's shoulder.

"Just no!" She screamed in his face, pulling her shoulder away from him roughly and taking off down the streets of the new town in front of her. Cid called after her to stop, but she ignored him. She had come too far to let him stop her now.

She had come too far to let anyone stop her. She would run away and far away and no one would catch her. Besides it wasn't like they would miss her anyway.

But she would miss them, she realized as she slowed to a stop. She heard water running and she walked towards the sound.

In the middle of the town there was a huge fountain. Lia rushed to it and sat on the side. She looked down into the water to see her reflection, but was surprised when she saw that it was only half there.

Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as she reached up and touched the side of her face that the fountain had said was missing. It was still there, so why did the fountain say it wasn't?

She noticed an inscription in the side that read:

Lover's Fountain

You are just one half of a whole heart.

A growl came out of Lia's throat as she splashed her fists down into the water. Love was a lie! But…why did she feel it in her heart? The pain of losing him…did he feel the same thing?

Lia turned away from the fountain and crossed her arms. She was useless now…she couldn't save Zeke and neither could anyone else, so why didn't she just give up?

Because Zeke wouldn't give up on her. Her heart pounded, had she really been so selfish to forget that he would do anything for her? Like Merlin had said…it would be love to bring him back.

Lia took a deep breath and got up off the edge of the fountain.

"Cid!" She screamed, "Cid!" She ran back towards his truck.

It was still there. She sighed with relief, but didn't stop running. She heard the engine start.

"Cid!" She screamed at him, "Stop! Don't leave me here!" The truck started forward just as she dived onto the back and held on with all the might she could muster.

"Cid! Stop the truck!" She called, but he couldn't hear her. She pulled herself into the back slowly and sat there.

She would save him just like Merlin said she would…by facing her fears and not running away.