A/N: 5.22.09 - The name has, as you should have noticed by now, undergone a third change. Now Keira instead of Kera. Why? Because... it'll make more sense in the next story. :3 Not much else to add except I'm doing more minor changes in here...

I hope that I haven't confused any older viewers what with the name change. I decided that I wanted Kat to be Kera. Why? Because the name Kat is unimaginative and icky. No offense meant to anyone since it's my middle name shortened anyway! xD''

Kairi was tired. No, she was absolutely exhausted. That much was obvious what with the absence of a blush while she laid her head against Sora's shoulder. Sora, however, was blushing enough for the both of them; he was a bright tomato red. The two 'lovebirds' were sitting on the stairs next to Riku. Donald and Goofy were sitting above the trio. Keira was sitting on the top of the 'wall' of the platform with Tifa leaning against it. (A/N: Blah. I suck at description. You know the stairs that lead up to the platform with the Radiant Garden keyhole? And you can like jump or sit on the platform 'wall'? That's what that is.) Leon and Cloud were leaning on the opposite wall, and the King was in the center of them all.

"If ya didn't figure it out already, Maleficent is very much alive." He started as he paced in circles. "And it seems she's got lots of Keyblade wielders on her side. Even worse is that all the world's keyholes have been unlocked again." Leon smiled humorlessly.

"As we figured." He commented. King Mickey nodded.

"She's after the seven Princesses of Heart, again, too." Instinctively, Sora's arm wrapped around Kairi and he held her securely and tightly to his body. The corners of Riku's mouth twisted upward slightly.

"Has she captured any of them yet?" Riku asked, glancing from his best friends to the mouse king.

King Mickey shook his head. "Not yet. But if we don't take action soon, she might." The King replied in a grave voice. "There's also another Princess." Cloud, who had been looking at the floor in deep thought, glanced up.

"Do you know who yet?" He asked quietly as the King nodded.

"Yes..." King Mickey replied ever so slowly, almost hesitantly. Keira tilted her head as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Great! Who is it?" The King looked at the teenager for the first time. Her dirty blond and black streaked bangs covered her right eye, making her true expression unreasonable. Her face was excited, her mouth smiling.

"You." He sighed out after a few minutes of silence. There was a shocked silence. Even more silence passed until Keira fell backwards and hit the ground with a thud.

XxxxxX

"She took that a little worse than I had expected." The mouse King stated uncertainly ten minutes after the fact. Everyone had relocated to the platform with Cloud holding the teenager.

"Well, what did you expect?" asked Kairi as she looked over the girl with pity. "If I had been told I was a Princess of Heart before losing my heart, I would've probably done the same."

"So what is Maleficent after this girl for? What is Keira a princess of?" Cloud asked, looking up at King Mickey from his spot on the floor.

"'Keira' isn't a princess of anything. A while ago, it was discovered that their were seven girls who were princesses of purest hearts. Then, in his studies, Ansem the Wise discovered that there was another girl. Her heart was completely tainted, but it was still pure. The taint covering it slowly fell away, but it remained on half of her heart. The other part of the girl's heart was pure. She was also a Keyblade wielder. It's believed that a girl named Stefa is this princess." The King explained before falling quiet.

"Stefa?" Tifa asked quietly. "Her name is Stefa?" The King nodded slowly.

Everyone was deeply confused by this. "But why would she lie about something as trivial as a name?" Cloud asked.

"Maybe she wasn't lying," suggested Sora, uncharacteristically quietly. "Maybe she... forgot." All eyes were on him. Kairi stirred against him. Her eyes, which had been on Keira earlier, were closed again. It was apparent that she was still listening closely to the conversation whilst resting her eyes.

Now, she faced everyone with her indigo eyes once more. "How could she have forgotten her name? Didn't she tell Cloud about what had happened to her?" Kairi asked the room at large.

"It's... difficult to understand." The King agreed, nodding, "But she's definitely Stefa. I looked up Keira in many old files and found nothing, but I found a lot on Stefa." He smiled humorously, "Ansem was keeping close tabs on her."

"That's why the heartless keep going after her, I guess." Leon stated as he ran a hand through his hair, "Now the real question is, what are we going to do about her?"

As Kairi sat up, Sora stretched. "We kind of need her for our side of the war," remarked Sora as he moved his arms behind his head and stood up and looked around the familiar room.

"And we need to keep her from the other side," added Riku.

"But," Kairi broke in, "I bet she'll be really upset if you forbid her to fight." Both boys stared at her.

"How do you know?" asked Riku as he quirked an eyebrow.

The teenager rolled her eyes and batted a piece of hair out of her face. "Because I'd kill the both of you if forbid me from fighting now and leaving me behind again." She answered matter-of-factly. Sora and Riku smirked, knowing she was right.

"I guess you Princesses all think alike?" quacked Donald.

"I wouldn't say that, exactly." Kairi replied, shrugging.

"We can figure out things later, right?" added Tifa as she also got to her feet.

"Tifa's right. Let's head back." Cloud agreed as he stood; the weight of the girl he was holding did not seem to bother him in the least.

"You sure you're alright with carrying her?" Leon asked. At Cloud's nod, he turned to the other visitors, "You're all going to stay here, right?" The new group nodded.

"Where are we going to stay?" Sora wondered aloud.

"Isn't it obvious? At Merlin's." Tifa answered, descending the stairs and leading the way out of the room.

"Gawrsh, all of us stayin' at Merlin's?" a bewildered Goofy repeated.

Leon smirked, "Merlin's house may look small, but he's used magic to make it very large on the inside." He informed everyone. "All of us can fit there."

"Alright then! Onward to Merlin's house. I can't wait to see Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, and Merlin." Sora added with a small smile. Kairi released a small yawn as the large group followed after Tifa

XxxxxX

Keira had received a room in Merlin's house since the first day she had arrived. It was relatively large, as were all of the rooms. Not to mention, it seemed Merlin had used magic to make the rooms fit the personality and liking of the person who stayed in them. Upon arriving back at the house, Cloud placed her in her large bed and left.

The King appeared to be in a very in-depth conversation with everyone excluding Cloud, Tifa, and, of course, Keira. Obviously, he was explaining the current situation to Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Merlin with the others assisting him with some details. Once Cloud reached the bottom of the large staircase, he instantly noticed Tifa staring at the computer screen with slight interest. She seemed to feel his eyes on her back, for she quickly whirled around to face him.

"Hi." She greeted her friend, surveying him with her chocolate eyes.

Cloud's eyes did not reveal any emotion Tifa seemed to be searching for. "Hey." He replied as he settled on the stone isle in the center of the room. Slowly, she approached Cloud and took a seat beside him.

"It seems that you've found another person to soften up too, hm?" She asked in a conversational tone that attempted to lure him into thinking that she was really uninterested. Cloud quickly looked up from the ground and into Tifa's eyes.

His clear blue eyes were a bit wider than usual. "What?" asked he quickly; the surprise in his voice betrayed him. Tifa smiled and giggled quietly.

"You heard me." She replied with a smirk. "You're worried about her. Do you see yourself in her at least a tiny bit?" Cloud had to hand it to Tifa, she was very sharp.

"I suppose a little." At this, Tifa's smile became more precise.

"Good. It seems like she needs someone to care about her. Especially if she really didn't have anyone back home." She stated, her smile relenting a bit. "It must be sad. I feel bad for her." Cloud shook his head a little.

"You always seem pretty attached to the younger ones, you know." He said as the corners of his mouth slowly tilted upwards, revealing a faint smile.

"Oh, I am," replied Tifa unashamedly. "Especially in cases like these. But it's good to finally see you smile. You beat Sephiroth, so you should be happy."

"What about everyone else back at home? If they're still okay, I mean." Cloud murmured in a melancholy tone.

"Hey, at least a few of them made it here. Including Marlene and Denzel." She added with a smile. Cloud nodded, the smile once again on his face.

"You're right." He agreed.

"And the rest of them are very stubborn, so I'd barely worry about their safety." Tifa added as she cast her eyes up at the ceiling.

XxxxxX

The room was filled with moonlight by the time Keira had awoken. Her white curtains were blowing serenely from the wind. She slowly sat back and pulled away the white curtains from her bed. (A/n: It's a canopy bed.) Keira ran her right hand through her hair (which, she admitted, felt a little gross) and pushed her long bangs away from her face. "How long have I been out, anyway?" she asked the room as she stood up and headed across the wooden floor for the door.

Outside, the hallway was empty and tranquil. Not wanting to disturb anyone, Keira quietly tiptoed down the hallway and down the staircase. The bottom floor was equally empty. She sighed, causing the bangs that had fallen over her face to be blown back up for a brief moment. Keira settled herself on the computer chair. 'I need some fresh air.' The teen decided and, just as quickly as she sat down, she was back up and headed for the front door. She opened it super slowly to prevent it from squeaking and closed it nearly all the way as she stepped outside.

The temperature outside was pleasant. It was cool with the wind blowing and the night sky was also beautiful to look at. 'Quince, how is it that I can still remember you when I can't remember myself...?' She thought with another sigh as a certain sadness came to her eyes. "Why do I still bother to remember you is an even better question."

"Who do you remember now, Stefa?" A male voice spoke from overhead. Keira whirled around and cast her eyes higher up. Sitting on the roof above the door was a boy with long and straight black hair. He smirked, jumped down from the roof and landed on all fours, like a cat, before her.

"Stefa?" She questioned, her eyebrow furrowing. "Who are you?"

The boy hardly seemed troubled by her defensive voice. "You don't even remember? Sheesh, that heartless sure did a number on you. Or, shall I say, your 'inner darkness' did a number on you." He mused, not really seeming here or there. "I guess that makes my job easier, anyway." The boy stated, a metallic crimson Keyblade appearing in his hand. It was long-reach and fairly plan with something like small 's's etched all over the body of the Keyblade. (A/N: I'd describe it in full, but most of us can figure out why the color is crimson red.)

"Your job, huh?" repeated Keira with amusement in order to hide the fear that was taking hold of her. Never in her life had she encountered a stranger like this and, with the Keyblade and being in another world, she was more frightened than she normally would have been. She called upon Shadow Heart in response to his advances. "And who, may I ask, set you on some job after me?"

"My mistress, of course, Princess." He answered. The boy had equally long bangs that obscured his eyes from view. It was a wonder he could see her at all. Even without the long hair, his face was submerged in the shadows of the night.

"Ah. So you're going to help Maleficent round up princesses, huh? It sounds like you need a life." Keira remarked with a large, but naïve smirk.

"I wouldn't be acting so tough if I were you, Princess. I already know that you're terrified. That's what girls like you do. Stop trying to hide it. Like I wouldn't know." The black-haired boy told her as he shook his head. "It's pathetic to see you acting this way."

Keira's eyes narrowed. "So you think you know me, huh?" She growled as her agitation grew. "You know nothing about me." The frustration in Keira's system finally boiled over and she ran at the boy, not caring about who he was and how he thought he knew her. Amusement filled the boy's concealed eyes as he easily blocked the attack and threw the girl off.

"Don't get pissed so easily, it's blinding that wonderful strength of yours." He teased. Keira let out a battle cry that sounded odd to her ears but familiar to her vocal chords as she jumped in the air and swung down on the stranger. The stranger who blocked her blow with one hand and had an easier time throwing her off again. "Maybe you should try defense versus offense because you, well... really suck at it." In a flash, the boy had disappeared and reappeared behind Keira.

He swung the Keyblade at the pressure point on her neck and was surprised when Keira blocked it. "Do I look stupid to you?" She asked, shaking her head and stabbing at the boy's gut. Both were equally surprised when Keira's Keyblade stabbed into his arm. The boy released a low growl as he grabbed her Keyblade and pulled it out of his arm. It made an awful squelching noise.

"I'd watch it if I were you. Maleficent has an extremely strong guy on her side and I'm sure he'd love to have his revenge." The boy muttered as his Keyblade disappeared in a flash. "You really shouldn't lie about people you love, either." At Keira's confusion, the boy's smirk reappeared. Keira would like nothing more than to wipe it off his face. "If you want more answers, take a trip to Traverse Town. Later, Princess." He mock bowed before disappearing into darkness.

Keira slid down against the side of Merlin's house. She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her head in her legs. Her right hand still held the Keyblade as her confusion mixed with fatigue made her drift off to sleep.

XxxxxX

"She's not in her room?" Tifa asked the pink healer who shook her head. Aerith had just been to Keira's room to see if she was awake and wanted some breakfast when she opened the door and realized the girl wasn't there. "It's early. Maybe she went out for a walk?" She suggested, and Aerith nodded in agreement. Being the only two awake, they decided not to awake the others until they were sure something was wrong. But with Keira, so much seemed able to go wrong quickly.

The two girls exited the house and found Keira in an instant. Her Keyblade was still out, and she still appeared to be awake. "Phew." Tifa muttered as they hurried to her side. "Keira?" Both girls asked, shaking the teenager gently in an attempt to wake her.

Keira mumbled and groaned but remained unmoving. They shook her a little harder. This time, she began to stir. Her pale eyes opened to the bright sun and Aerith and Tifa hovering above her. "Morning." She mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she dropped them back to the ground. The sun was way too bright for her to look up.

"Why are you out here?" asked Aerith in a motherly scolding tone as slowly stood to her full height and extending a hand out to the teenager.

"Mm... fresh air... last night... wanted. Guy came. Confused me. Fought. Left. Fell asleep." She muttered incoherently as she wobbled to her feet. Tifa stared at her.

"Try that again in English?" She suggested, causing small pink patches to burn onto Keira's cheeks. "Over breakfast." Tifa finished with a certain nod. "You should be more awake before saying anything." Neither of the other two argued, for all three of them were famished.

XxxxxX

"He told you to go to Traverse Town?" asked Aerith with disbelieving and puzzled forest green eyes. Keira nodded meekly; she'd just finished explaining what had occurred last night.

The martial artist seemed more interested in the linguistics. "Where's Traverse Town?" asked Tifa. Unlike Aerith, she had never been there before.

"A few years ago, Traverse Town was the world that people who had lost their homes to the darkness came to. That is, if they survived the attack and escaped, of course. Granted, no world was safe from heartless back then so only one of the districts was without heartless." Aerith explained. After losing her world to Darkness, she had arrived at Traverse Town. As had Yuffie and Leon, all with the help of Cid. Tifa nodded in understanding as she took a sip of tea. Her facial expression turned sour.

"A-Aerith? I th-think you put in a little too much sugar." (A/n: Recurring joke from the manga.) She muttered, downing the tea with her eyes shut. Keira laughed at Aerith's bewildered expression.

"I barely put any in, though," she murmured quietly.

Tifa set her cup on the table. "How much did you put in exactly?" The brunette asked, still wincing from the aftertaste.

"Oh, you know. About six spoonfuls."

"The big spoon, Aerith?" asked Tifa as she finally overcame the taste.

Aerith nodded in reply as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do. "Yes." She answered, causing all three girls to burst out laughing.

"What's goin' on down here?" Cid asked groggily with his strange southern accent. "What's so funny?" All three of them shook their heads.

"Nothing funny here, Cid. Maybe Sora's right about you getting old, you're starting to hear things." Tifa said unblushingly. Aerith hid her giggle behind her hand and Keira stuffed some more pancakes in her mouth. Cid shook his head at the three young women.

"Sure thing." He said before heading to the fridge in the kitchen. Yuffie came downstairs next, catching Cid walking into the kitchen.

"Do you think it's a good idea to let him go in there alone?" asked the great ninja with a large yawn.

Out of the four women, Keira seemed to be the only one who didn't get it. "Why wouldn't it be?" she asked, tilting her head to the side like a confused dog.

"Cid has a thing for using everything in the fridge in one big meal. Kind of like mystery meat surprise." Yuffie stated causing the younger girl to gag. "My thoughts exactly." She sighed as she took a seat at the table and grabbed some food.

"What is it we're talking about down here?" The ninja asked as she looked at the faces around the table.

"Keira met one of Maleficent's Keyblade wielders last night," Tifa replied in a casual tone, as if such things occurred every day. Yuffie's eyes practically flew out of their sockets.

"And he/she was here?!" (A/n: Gotta be grammatically correct...for once.) She demanded. The others nodded. "Let's hear the details." Yuffie said in a rather grave tone, like a person waiting to hear the names from an obituary. Just as Keira opened her mouth to respond, several more people came downstairs: Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Cloud.

"Before you say anything, Keira..." Tifa trailed off and looked up at those that had just come joined them. "Wake up everyone else in the house."

"I'll go tear Cid away from his terrifying food-making ways," offered Yuffie as she pushed herself away from the table and walked into the kitchen. "Cid, what are you eating?" Yuffie's voice floated back to the others at the table. "Is that my--? Damn it, Cid!" She cursed. The group downstairs stared at the kitchen in horror as they heard Cid's strangled yell and a thud. (A/n: Another recurring manga joke: Yuffie, her pie, and Cid eating it constantly.)

XxxxxX

"I'm a little bit in favor of not letting you out of the house anymore." Leon muttered after Keira had retold her story from last night.

"It's not like he beat me or anything." Kera murmured as she struggled to scrape the dried blood off of her Keyblade. Only, of course, that he had beat her. Except for the fact he hadn't left any mark on her like the one she'd left on him. Vaguely, she made out Aerith telling her not to scrape blood off of her weapon at the table.

"You technically didn't beat him anyway," Cloud added. "You made him run away."

"Welp, we have to accept the fact that this is gonna happen. After all, Sora, Kairi, and Riku have been through worse." King Mickey reminded the room. "I'm thinkin' we should head on over to Traverse Town."

"All of us? At once?" Tifa asked, raising her eyebrows. "How would we manage that?"

"If only Naminé were real." Kairi mused.

"She did it last time, didn't she? And she wasn't real then." Sora reminded the redhead. Their wording wound up pissing off both Nobodies, causing the two teens to deal with a good amount of yelling and strong headaches.

'What do you mean by 'real'?!' demanded both Roxas and Naminé. Outside of the house, a figure in a black cloak was watching through the window. (A/n: I'm looking at you through the glass, wonder how much time has passed...) The figure seemed to shake his head beneath the hood and approached the door, flinging it open. Everyone became quiet as they looked over at the doorway.

"Nobodies don't enjoy being referred to as 'not real'. Got it memorized?"


A/N: I felt the weirdest need to get this chapter up. I don't know why. Anyway, I'm sure most people who play Kingdom Hearts know about Final Fantasy, right? So that means we all know who Marlene and Denzel are? Also, you get two cookies if you can guess who the Keyblade wielder working for Maleficent was referring to when he said 'Maleficent has an extremely strong guy on her side and I'm sure he'd love to have his revenge.'

See you next chapter!