Well, here's Chapter Four... finally. My excuse this time? College. The good news is that I'm taking an English course that should develop my writing skills. Wait, that implies that I have writing skills in the first place.

Thanks to JadexOfxDarkness (previously Kairi159), Starlit Iridescence (previously RoseZephyr), and Saharas for reviewing my last chapter.

Disclaimer: I bet you thought I was going to say "I don't own Kingdom Hearts", didn't you? Well not this- oh, darn it.

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Chapter Four: Home Again

I had spent enough time in Twilight Town. These people needed to get on with their lives. My presence here prevented them from doing that. I got in my ship and took off.

I just got through the planet's atmosphere when it occurred to me that a Heartless wasn't welcome on any world… except, of course, worlds that were under Heartless control. Since I knew of only one world like that, my choice was made for me. Vale, or more specifically, Cyrene, was my next destination.

On my way there, I wondered how I should act when I arrived. I was a Shadow now; I had to act like a Shadow. That was the problem. All I knew about Shadows was that they stole hearts from people, but there would be nobody to steal from in Cyrene. How did Heartless act around other Heartless? I knew that I shouldn't act scared or nervous around them, but that's kind of hard to do when you're still in the mindset of a human.

My greatest asset was now my greatest hinderance, but I still had to rely on it. It's what has kept me sane this long, and I was sure I would need it sometime in the future.

I arrived in Cyrene at the hanger bay, which seemed to be in good condition. Then again, its walls are made out of two-inch thick steel. I landed a comfortable distance away from the other ship there and got out.

Wait... other ship?!

I could've sworn that when I left Cyrene, I took the only remaining ship. Then again, I was in a blind panic when I got here. Maybe I didn't see it because I was so relieved to find my ship. Just to be sure, I went over to take a look at it.

It didn't take me long to figure out it wasn't one of Cyrene's ships. It was more colorful than any ship I've seen. It had a lot of weapons installed on it, many of which I'd never even thought could possibly exist. It was made out of a material that was... well, different. Finally, to dispel my theory about it being a custom job, there was no serial number on it that showed it was from Cyrene.

Someone was here.

Well, at the very least, someone came here between my departure and my return. Who knows? Maybe this ship arrived a long time ago and its owner was killed by the Heartless. Then again, maybe this ship arrived mere moments before I did. Knowing my luck, it probably came here recently. But for what purpose? Did they side with the Heartless, Cyrene, or neither? How many were there? Were they still alive? And why did they need so many weapons on their ship?

"Another ship?"

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw three figures walking through the hangar entrance. One was a human boy with brown, spiky hair that defied the laws of physics. The second one was a duck wearing a blue naval vest. The third one was a large dog wearing an absolutely absurd outfit. They were heading straight for my ship.

"This wasn't here when we arrived, was it?" the boy asked.

"Sure wasn't." the dog replied.

"Who would come here?" the duck asked.

"I don't know. Maybe someone got lost."

"Gee, you think they might be wanderin' around outside?"

"We better go look, just in case!" The trio hurried outside, and I hurried towards my ship. I had almost reached it when the boy turned around and looked back. "Hey, get away from there!" He ran towards me.

"Sora!"

"You guys go on ahead. I can take care of this guy!" As the boy named Sora charged at me, a strange object appeared in his hands and he gripped it like a sword. I had never seen it before, but somehow, seeing it filled me with terror.

A giant key.

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End Chapter Four

Sorry. My thoughts in this chapter were all over the place. I promise I'll make the next chapter better.

Reviews make me happy. Reviews with compliments make me happy. Reviews with constructive criticism make me happy. I write better and faster when I'm happy.

I think there was a hint in there somewhere...