Author's Note: I'm not sure how many readers I have on this fanfic, but thank you to everyone who's giving it a shot. I love this fanfic so much and it's the first thing I've written entirely for myself in over 6 years.

At first, Reina wondered if time stood still on this beach. Only a few hours had passed, but nothing about their scenery seemed to change. There wasn't a soul around, and she didn't see any wildlife either. Xigbar had mentioned that this place was like its own dimension, and it seemed like the standard rules of reality didn't apply here. Beaches were supposed to be full of life, with birds flying through the air and crabs scampering along the water's edge. Here it was quiet, save for the gentle crashing of the waves, without anyone, or anything, else existing in sight.

The only thing that let Reina know that time did, in some form or fashion, pass here was that the sun eventually began to disappear beyond the horizon. The once blue sky was now melting into a beautiful shade of pink, making the clouds look like puffs of cotton candy. Once the sun fully set, would they be able to see the moon and stars? Would the duration of nightfall last the way it did in the normal world?

Earlier, they had tried looking for an alternate way out, but no matter how far they walked, they never seemed to reach the end of the beach. Xigbar was convinced there was no end to the beach. If the original painter didn't paint anything but a beach, then there was nothing else that would exist in this realm. It was simple logic, he had told her, but Reina didn't think there was anything simple about this place. Their exploration had been anything but productive since there were no other windows or doors that led to the outside world. It seemed that the only way out really was the way they had come in—through the window in the sky.

"So where's that 'miracle' of yours, Xigbar? It's getting late, and we've been stranded for hours," Reina nudged him with her elbow. "If we can't get out of here, then—"

"We die? Yeah, I gathered that much already from your tantrum earlier," he grunted.

They finally returned to where they started, with the window portal taunting them from above. Xigbar had left his black leather coat on the sand, along with his boots and tank top, to use as a marker so they wouldn't lose track of where they were. Since he had been walking around completely bare from the waist up, Reina had been cursing her stupid female hormones all day since it had been impossible for her to stop stealing glances at Xigbar during their stroll along the beach.

Despite how uncomfortable it was, Reina had chosen to keep her sodden clothes on throughout the day, but she had at least kicked off her heavy, black boots since it was easier to walk in the sand without them. Luckily, the heat of the sun had dried her up quickly and kept her nice and warm all day. It had kept her a little too warm, though. Xigbar could see shades of pink dusting her nose and shoulders, and he was relieved to see that the sun was now setting, so at least her sunburn wouldn't get any worse for now. She was bound to complain about the pain of her scorched skin later.

The brunette wrapped her arms around herself in a comforting manner, the heaviness of their situation weighing her down. "I…I don't want to die here, Xig. At least if I had died fighting the Drainer, it'd have been for a noble cause. But to die on this beach… I just never expected things to end this way."

"What's the difference between dying of starvation and dying in battle? Dead is dead," he shrugged. "Nothing matters once you're gone. Whether you die for glory and honor, or die like a dog, you won't care once you're in the grave."

Damn, talk about cynical.

"But don't worry too much, babe," Xigbar continued, realizing he was being far from comforting. "I'm positive that this won't be the end for us. We'll get out of here somehow."

He seemed rather confident that things would work out for them. But how could he possibly know that? Without his powers, they couldn't fly out of here or even teleport away to safety. Reina didn't have any useful techniques of her own, either. While she had recently learned the High Jump ability, it didn't mean she could jump up to the sky and reach the window.

Her bag was still hung over her shoulder, having fallen into the ocean along with her after Xigbar's careless "leap of faith" into the painting. All the contents inside had been completely soaked through, and all the snacks she had been saving were now soggy and gross. She didn't have any more fresh water to drink, either. It was only a matter of time before the two of them suffered from dehydration unless Xigbar's "miracle" showed up.

Reina pulled out her father's journal from her bag and began skimming through some pages. Xigbar's eyebrow raised in suspicion as he saw that the book hadn't suffered any water damage. It was still in pristine condition and completely dry.

"Uh, this may be a dumb question, but shouldn't that journal be as useless as a wet paper bag right now?" Xigbar questioned.

Reina giggled, pleased that she had finally found something that stumped the Freeshooter. "It's enchanted, silly! Traverse Town's local wizard, Merlin, cast a spell on it to keep it safe. It's waterproof, fireproof, and—"

"Idiotproof?"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence as Xigbar swiped the book from her and attempted to tear a page out. It ripped out of the binding with ease, and he had to bite back a chuckle as Reina gasped in horror.

"No, it's not idiotproof!" She snatched the book back from him, pouting as she folded the now loose sheet of paper in between the other pages. "It's only protected from the elements, so it'll never mold or disintegrate."

"Smart thinking on the wizard's part, considering how accident-prone you are."

Ignoring his subtle jab, Reina resumed flipping through the pages, hoping to find something useful inside. Maybe her father had written about "portal paintings" within Wonderland, or even just different dimensions in general and how to get out of them. There was nothing useful written, of course. She should have expected as much.

Were they truly stuck there without any hope? How long could they survive without food and water?

"You're stressing out again," Xigbar pointed out. "I can see it on your face."

"Can you blame me?" With a frustrated groan, she shoved the book back into her bag. "I have an important mission to complete. The kind of mission that will determine the fate of the world, and yet, I'm going to die here on this stupid beach!"

As usual, the older man was quick to make light of their situation. "Well, it can't be all that bad. You said so yourself that the Five Keys of Radiance will combine together to make one, big, fancy weapon to save the world from darkness, right?"

Reina had to think for a moment. Did she seriously tell him all that earlier? She really needed to work on not being such a blabbermouth… So much for her "top-secret" mission.

"Yeah, but if I don't get to the Five Keys first, someone else eventually will. And that someone could use the keys for evil," she reminded him. "I can't let that happen!"

He reached out to point at the gold necklace around her neck. "Well, no one will get the Fifth Key if you die out here. No one tried to hunt you down and steal it when you lived in Traverse Town, right? Then they sure as hell won't find you decomposed in the sand inside a painting in Wonderland."

Reina stared at him with a blank expression. Was that supposed to be comforting? She then jabbed a finger into his bare chest, poking him roughly to push him backward. "Even so, I can't die here. I'm not going to just give up and hope no one finds my corpse out here! I'd be letting my father—and everyone else—down."

At least she hadn't lost the fight in her yet. Xigbar wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up his cheery, optimistic façade since, when it all boiled down to it, whether they could make it out of the painting or not solely depended on Reina. She was the only one with any semblance of powers at the moment. She just needed to dig deep inside, believe in the strength of her heart or whatever, and discover her hidden potential in order to-

Nope.

They were screwed. Absolutely, completely, and totally screwed. He could pretend all he wanted in front of her, but there was no way he could actually make himself believe in all that bullshit at this point. Damn, he really messed this one up. Things weren't supposed to go like this…

"Will anyone else from the Organization show up?" Reina asked as she continued to walk beside him along the shore. "Maybe someone will come looking for you."

Xigbar's frown said enough as he shook his head. "I wouldn't count on it… And even if they did come to Wonderland, how would they know to look inside a painting for me?"

"Well…What about Luxord? Do you think he'd come to help?" She asked with a bit of hopefulness in her voice. "He knew you would follow me into the Bizarre Room, so maybe he'd realize you jumped into the painting."

The very name of the heinous conman was enough to make the hairs on the back of Xigbar's neck stand straight up. He had never hated the guy before; Luxord could sometimes be a pretty cool guy to talk to. Things, of course, had changed as soon as Luxord stuck his nose into Xigbar's private affairs. Now all the Freeshooter could think about was how he was going to knock that blondie's teeth out as soon as he could RTC.

"He sure as hell won't be coming to our aid. He wanted to lead us both into a trap, so I'd say he got what he wanted. Why would he go through all that effort just to bail us out?" The girl's naivety could be annoying sometimes. While he still didn't know what Luxord's overall endgame was for this little charade, he didn't think the Gambler of Fate would swoop in to save the day. This whole ordeal wasn't a simple prank. Luxord wanted them both dead.

It was clear Luxord hoped to gain something with Xigbar out of the picture, but how could he benefit from killing the princess of Radiant Garden?

Reina interrupted his thoughts as she stepped in front of him. "Speaking of Luxord, I—"

"Do we have to keep speaking of Luxord?" Xigbar tried to cover his ears with his hands to block out anything else the girl had to say.

"Yes, because there's something important I want to tell you!" She reached forward to pull his hands away from his ears and was surprised that he made his arms go limp to give her an easier time. When she was sure she had his undivided attention, she finally brought up the one question that had been gnawing at her brain all day.

"Luxord did mention something troubling earlier… He said that no one else from Organization XIII would be coming to help you fight the Drainer. He also told me that if you don't get your powers back, you'd be executed…"

Reina half-expected Xigbar to laugh and tell her that Luxord was full of shit, but the heavy sigh he released proved there was at least some truth to his words.

"Useless members of the Organization die on their own during missions. If you can't fight the Heartless, you'll be killed by them. There's no getting around that," he explained.

"But would your leader, or even your teammates, actually dispose of you themselves if you could no longer be of use?" She asked, wanting to understand more about the secret club he worked for.

Xigbar didn't say anything back. His silence was a response in itself.

Reina reached forward and placed both of her hands on his shoulders to shake him violently. "What?! That's horrible! I thought you guys were supposed to be, you know, the good guys! You fight Heartless, save innocent people from being killed by them, and restore peace and balance to the worlds! Heroes aren't supposed to turn on each other!"

He stepped back and gently pushed her hands away from his shoulders. Xigbar would have loved nothing more than to outright laugh at her remark, but it was almost too ridiculous for there to be any humor in it. "Heroes? Who the hell said anything about us being heroes?!"

"I mean, you didn't exactly call yourself a 'hero,'" she replied, using two sets of fingers to form quotation marks in the air. "But you did save me. And you do help people by fighting Heartless. So, by default, that would make you guys heroes!"

It was almost flattering that she'd ever think of a sleazeball like him as a hero, especially after all his snide remarks and relentless teasing.

"In all seriousness, how did you even get mixed up in such a toxic organization?!" She folded her arms over her chest. "What kind of club would kill its own members?!"

He sighed again, this time heavier and louder than the last. "It's a long story, babe. One that I don't think either of us really wants to get into right now. Just trust me on this…"

Even though she had spent the past few days with Xigbar the Freeshooter, she knew she really didn't know anything about him at all. Obviously, he didn't feel like opening up to her, but that didn't mean she would drop it so easily.

"Look, Xig, I don't mean to pry, but can you at least tell me the truth for once?" She asked softly. "I know you don't want to tell me what Organization XIII is up to, or why you're even with them. I'm sure you have your reasons. But… I don't think we will make it out of here alive. The sky is getting darker, and you don't have any powers to fly us out of here. The least you could do is give me some information about who you are and how you came to this place."

"You know why I'm here," he replied flatly, turning his back to her. "To investigate Wonderland and kill the Drainer."

No, that wasn't it. Reina knew that wasn't it. But why couldn't he tell her the truth? What did he have to lose by opening up to her?

She watched his long, dark ponytail sway in the evening breeze. The air had drastically cooled down now that the sun had set, and the moon was finally beginning to show itself behind a soft, gray cloud. Reina couldn't wrap her head around the fact that it was nightfall in a painting that had only depicted the sun, but if there was one thing Xigbar was right about, it was that she shouldn't overthink things.

"So you want to know the truth about me? About who I am and why I'm here?" Xigbar's voice broke through the stillness of the evening. Reina could hear the tenseness in his voice, and it made her feel uneasy.

"I do," she replied. "We've spent the past few days together, and you've saved my butt numerous times now. Is it really so terrible of me to want to know more about you? I know I yell at you a lot, and I know I've caused some serious problems for you, but I can't help but think of us as friends." It was strange to admit something like that out loud, but it was too late to turn back now.

He turned around to face her again, his lips pressed tightly together in a frown. "You probably won't think of us as friends anymore if I tell you who—or what—I really am. Are you sure you want to know the truth about me? I'll tell you, but only because I'm starting to think we really will die out here, and honestly, that super sucks."

That didn't exactly sound reassuring. It pained her to think he was giving up hope on finding a miraculous way out of there, but it was time to face the facts—they were stuck there, and help was not on its way.

"I mean, if it's any consolation, anything you have to tell me won't phase me for long." The brunette gave him a little smirk. "I doubt we'll last out here more than a few days. We'll either be fried up like shrimp tempura under the sun's heat or shrivel up like sardines from lack of fresh water."

Even though she could crack a joke, Reina didn't exactly like how cryptic Xigbar was. Whatever he had to tell her must be pretty damn serious for him not to be giving her his usual, goofy grin. She had to brace herself for the worst. Could he be an ax murderer? A drug lord? An evil scientist responsible for heinous experiments? Maybe all three?

"Well, you might not last out here for very long without food and water," Xigbar said teasingly, his airy tone returning. "But me? I could probably last months out here without even trying."

Quick to dismiss his stupid remark, Reina scoffed. "As if. You're just as helpless as I am out here."

Xigbar finally laughed as he shook his head, almost endeared over the fact she was starting to use his catchphrase more than him. "That's where you're wrong, sweetheart. Powers or no powers, I am what I am. And what I am isn't human."

The golden hue of his singular eye somehow seemed brighter to the girl as she stared right into them, making Reina feel suddenly anxious.

Well, he just admitted he wasn't human. That was fine, right? Not a big deal at all. She always had a feeling he wasn't an average guy. Gold eye, striped hair, pointed ears…Nothing about him was particularly ordinary, and it wasn't like he was the first non-human she had ever encountered. There were the ducklings that ran the Item Shop in Traverse Town—Huey, Dewey, and Louie—and another shop owner in town—Gepetto-had a talking, walking wooden puppet for a son. Not to mention the Moogles that had taken up residency in the various shops, cheerfully crying out 'Kupo!' every time they sold their wares. It wasn't exactly surprising that a man named Xigbar wasn't a normal human, and she was already placing bets in her head that he was some kind of mystic elf or something.

"What, are you immortal or something?" Reina asked, trying her best to sound almost bored so Xigbar wouldn't feel that he needed to hold anything back.

"Not quite," he replied. "I'm just an empty being without a heart."

Reina froze.

"Wait a second…"

She took a slow step away from him.

"An empty being without a heart is a—"

She couldn't even bring herself to finish her sentence. Her throat was getting dryer, and it wasn't from the saltwater this time.

"A nobody?" Xigbar finished for her, a lazy grin on his face. "Yup. That's me. Just your average nobody."