I don't know what to say. I am so sorry this has taken so long. I totally thought I'd be updating this fanfic like once a week, and I just…so lazy . I mean, there are a million and one things going on in my life I can blame it on right now, but…every excuse I was thinking of writing comes out hollow. I will say this: there was a period of time where I fell into despair and hopelessness. I go through these periods about every two weeks. Then after said two weeks of depression I curse myself and get my life back together, laughing at how depressed I got and start enjoying life again. Then rinse and repeat.

As far as this fanfic goes…for a while, I felt like this was pointless and getting nowhere. Then I figured out how I'm going to end this one! I'm so excited about the ending and the sequel that I can hardly contain myself. The problem with a complicated story (like I write, 'cause I'm annoying like that) is that I totally have the middle and endings all planned out more or less…and I think so much toward the future, I can't focus on the present . but I'm trying to change. Hopefully, I will update this a little more. I sort of know what will happen in the chapters after this…I'm not sure how close to the end we are, maybe about halfway there? Depends on how much more crap I feel like spewing out. And poor Sailor Hearts…I'll update that soon. I'll let you know when something important happens in there. It's mainly just important that I write it :P If you're not that big a fan of Sailor Moon…don't bother till closer to the end of it (assuming I get there).

At one point, I planned out like six fanfics for this series. Now I wonder what was wrong with me lol. I'll be lucky if I finish the third one. I had to make some edits to the storyline to allow for some new things from DDD to make there way into here…I'm a total geek for kingdom hearts and I wouldn't feel right if I didn't update it. There were some things in DDD that were already going to be touched on here, and some things…they just work out deliciously well with the future^^ So there is a method to the madness! Never forget.

Riku had his eyes closed, deep in thought. He was waiting just outside the coliseum, waiting for Kairi to arrive.

"Riku, it's going to be fine!" said Mickey. Riku smirked a bit, but didn't open his eyes. "There's something here. I can feel it. We just may have ended up in the right place after all. But you know, something bugs me."

"What's that?"

"The organization's been pretty quiet. So far, we don't have many leads on their plans, but…it doesn't seem like they're doing anything new. It's just a little unsettling. I've also noticed—or rather, haven't noticed—any sign of Xehanort returning. Yen Sid had us take the Mark of Mastery exam to fight him, right?"

"Don't worry about it Riku. It could be…maybe he isn't back yet." Riku sighed. "It just bugs me that we don't know what's going on."

The giant door that sat at the edge of the world opened; Kairi walked through, looking around, then smiled and waved as she saw him. "Riku!"

Riku looked up and smiled back. It was good to see her finally have a smile on her face. He could practically feel the light radiating from her. A heart untouched by darkness…almost the opposite of his. How long had he traveled world to world, searching for that light, pushing his own heart deeper into the darkness?

"Riku…are you okay?" Kairi's voice switched to concern as she got closer and looked at her friend's eyes. In the background, Donald and Goofy walked in, and Mickey ran towards them. Hotaru trailed after, looking tired. Riku stared into Kairi's eyes for a moment, then sighed. "I'm fine. It's just…you three all look so alike."

They both looked in surprise a t that statement. It was just the first thing that had popped into his head—there was no need to share his fear with Kairi. "You, Xion and Naminé. I spent a long time away from you. But, every time they were near, it was like seeing you again. And I knew I had to hang on and bring Sora back to you." He didn't mention how different the three of them seemed in personality, or how they technically should lack a one.

"Oh…" said Kairi softly. Riku touched her shoulder. "We'll find him. I promise."

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Hotaru joined them then. "A tournament's about to begin here. How about you guys join? It could be a good chance to train." Kairi and Riku nodded.

A few days ago…

The world that never was. A girl that never was.

Xion was sitting at the base of the memory skyscraper. She had come here to clear her head. For some reason, she couldn't stay around Sora or Axel. Sora, who was so sure of himself, and Axel who was whole. She didn't know Xire that well, and she wasn't sure if she could trust her.

While wandering around the world that never was aimlessly, it started to rain, and so Xion just sat on the steps of the skyscraper and watched water fall to the ground. She curled up into a fetal position, her head buried against her legs, and just sat there, unmoving. She didn't even respond as she heard footsteps come here way.

"The search party's here!" said a female voice cheerily. Xion raised her head a bit, not quite recognizing the voice. It was one of the newer organization members, she realized. The girl had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes that seemed cheerful, but at the same time empty—all nobodies had emptiness reflected in their eyes no matter what emotion they were trying to feign. She had a black bow in the back of her hair—any other color might have been suggesting individuality.

"Funny how it seems to rain when you're sad," said Mixanko (mi-ZAN-ko), smiling at her. Xion shook her head. "I'm not sad. I can't feel sad. It's just a trick of my memories. I'm remembering what sad is."

"Oh? 'Cause you really look sad." Minako came over and sat by her. "I can't feel sad. I don't have a heart."

Minako put a hand on her back. "Hey, don't push away your emotions like that. Most of us would kill to have them. Are killing..." she trailed off for a moment, then looked back at her. "One way or another, you're sad. Just admit it and tell me what's wrong."

She frowned. "You don't seem really surprised."

"Nothing really surprises me. Lot's of things are unexplainable to someone as slow as me, so whenever new unexplainable things come along, I just assume there's a reason and roll with it." She beamed at Xion, but it wasn't a happy smile; it was completely empty and devoid of any emotion.

"So, you really think everything has a reason?"

"And a purpose," she said, "no matter how small."

"Mm. That's funny, coming from you," said Xion, only teasing. Mixanko was well known for being as lazy as Demyx, if not lazier. "Hey! Someone has to be lazy around here to keep things balanced! Besides, I have it on good authority that Nobodies can't change who they were. Why fly in the face of another one of Vexen the great's theories?"

Xion smiled a bit. "Here's some advice: stop thinking, and just feel. It works better when you make yourself feel happy." She stood up. "Ready to head back?" she nodded and stood up.

"XION!" a voice rang out. Xion small smile widened a bit. "Sora."

"What do you mean I can't enter?" asked Kairi angrily. She was in the vestibule along with Donald, Goofy, and Hotaru, standing over Phil. Riku had already gone in to his first match, and Mickey had taken his spot in the stands.

Phil waved a hand around Kairi as if the reason she couldn't enter the games was obvious. "You're obviously a rookie," he finally said. "The games aren't for little girls."

"I'm not a little girl!" Kairi said, stomping her foot like a little girl. "You let Sora enter his first time and he did fine!"

"I didn't let him in," argued Phil. "Although the pipsqueak did do a good job his first time…"

"And we'll be right there with her, ahyuck! Right Donald?" "That's right."

The three of them ganged up on Phil. "Why's it so important that you enter this tournament anyway?" He asked.

"Because I have to get stronger!" blurted out Kairi. "That way, maybe I can actually help him…" Phil looked at her for a moment. "Well, I can see your heart's in the right place. And that's the most important thing about being a hero. I guess Sora finally found that out too." He turned around and crossed his arms. "All right, I guess I could squeeze you in. You're just lucky Herc's not here. He's off doing something with Meg," he groaned. "That Riku guy should be finishing up his match soon. He looked pretty tough. Go ahead in."

Kairi cheered as she walked by. Goofy and Donald walked after her, followed by Hotaru. Hotaru caught Phil grumbling to himself, "It's a good thing Herc isn't here. We got some powerful weirdoes signed up this time."

Two Organization members stood outside of the coliseum. One of them was huge, towering over the smaller, female figure.

"This is a waste of a mission," grumbled the larger one.

"Orders are orders," replied the female. "Although off the record, I agree." They both walked in.

Seagulls. Seagulls and water.

Sora opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He looked out at the ocean and smiled. He was home, on Destiny Islands. He stretched, gave a yawn, and lay back down, then saw a face—

No, there was no face; no one there? No, someone is there now; Xion? Now something else…

"Woah!"

Ven bolted upright. He got to his knees and turned. A blue-haired girl with bright blue eyes and a soft demeanor laughed at him playfully.

"Give me a break, Aqua!" said Ven, now smiling too. Aqua stood up.

"Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead!"

CRACK

"I knew I'd find you snoozing here…"

Sora and Xion both bolted up at the same time from the same dream. It was gone from Xion's mind in a few moments, and she turned over and went back to sleep. But Sora had tears in his eyes. Something in that dream had struck a cord, and he couldn't think of what. By the morning, he had forgotten about it too.

"Thunder!"

A rain of sparks shot down, destroying several heartless. Kairi whipped her keyblade around, destroying several more surrounding her. Hotaru cheered from one of the seats.

"She's getting better." Hotaru looked up and saw Riku standing by her. "Mind if I sit?" Hotaru shook her head.

"So, how are you doing? Kairi told me about what happened before."

Hotaru sighed. "I'm over it, mostly. I just…I'm scared of the idea that I have a Nobody. I mean, what could have happened that I…"

"I wouldn't worry about it," said Riku. "Sora had a Nobody, and he's the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He became a heartless so he could save Kairi. Maybe before, you became a heartless so that you could save somebody…important." Huh. Why did it bother him to say that?

"Don't worry. I don't think there was anyone like that I was protecting." She had a teasing smile on her face. "It's creepy you always know what I'm thinking."

"You're not that hard to get. Not at all." She leaned back a bit. "I still can't shake the feeling that there's something I've done. That's what she made it sound like. And I've been having these dreams lately…all of them end in pain and destruction."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you wouldn't be the only one." She looked at him with surprise. "They told you everything about before, right? How our world was thrown into darkness? Well, I'll bet they left out who opened the door and let it in. I tossed aside everyone, everything I knew, to go chasing after power in the darkness. I joined Maleficent and helped her spread the Heartless, destroy worlds…I even tried to kill Sora."

They sat in silence for a few moments. "So that's it, then. That's why you're always punishing yourself."

"Yeah."

They both looked into each other's eyes. "I'm glad you told me. That you could trust me enough to tell me. And…Riku, you've done everything right since then. Right now, you're doing everything to keep the worlds safe. Trust me, you're not a monster."

"Then neither are you," said Riku simply. Now he was the one with the smug smile. "But…the dream I had…in it, everyone…"

Riku clutched her hand. "I won't let anything hurt you. I promise."

Hotaru looked bleakly. "What if I were the one to hurt you?" Riku gasped a bit as he looked into those eyes and saw the same fear, the same guilt that haunted him, and he didn't know what to say. "Riku...make me another promise. If...if I do something..." she struggled to get the words out. "Just put an end to me."

Riku stared at her for a moment. Hadn't he once asked Mickey to do the same thing? What had Mickey said?

"Hotaru, nothing's going to—"

"Just do it!" she said, this time her voice steady and unflinching. Riku shook his head adamantly. "I'll do everything in my power to save you. Er, we all will."

"Riku…" They were both blushing now. Then Hotaru's look turned urgent. "Riku, Kairi's next opponent!"

The large organization member came lumbering out. Donald and Goofy ran towards him. He raised his Axehammer and knocked them both out of the arena. Riku stood up.

"Lexaeus!"

Riku's keyblade came to his hand and he ran forward.

"Not so fast!"

The other organization member appeared in front of him and kicked him in the chest—hard. He went flying past the stands and up against the back wall.

"Riku!" Hotaru ran over towards him. His eyes were on the girl, who's hands sparked with lightning. "Larxene, I assume?"

"Nice guess, but wrong. Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Riku raised his keyblade, blocking the ball of lightning. "Isn't it just our luck, running into you?" she said sullenly. "Here we are on a completely unrelated mission, and…" she trailed off, looking at Hotaru for a moment, as if recognizing her. She took her hood down, revealing her face. She had brown hair pulled into a thick ponytail, and dark green eyes. "You…forget it." She clenched her fist and ran towards Riku, ignoring Hotaru. Riku dodged two of her punches, then was caught by a third one to the chest, followed by another kick. Riku went flying again. "Man, you're almost as strong as Lexaeus," groaned Riku. She came at him again, but this time he was ready. As the two fought, Hotaru's eyes turned towards Kairi, and here eyes seemed misted over. Riku noticed her out of the corner of his eyes take out some sort of pen or something…

Kairi quickly back flipped away as Lexaeus swung his weapon, simultaneously wondering when she had learned to do that. "Reflect!"

Kairi quickly blocked his blow. He staggered back a bit, and she took the chance to shoot a fire spell at him. The fire spell exploded on impact, knocking him down, but he quickly recovered and started blocking every other spell she threw at him. She knew there was no way she could beat him physically, and she was starting to run out of options.

"Hm. Kairi…and we'd thought you'd be the hardest to get a hold of. Lucky us…" He swung again. Kairi barely had time to throw a shield around herself, and still went flying against the stands. Lexaeus walked towards her, smiling. He raised the axehammer…

"Silent Wall!"

Lexaeus went flying. Both Riku and the girl he was fighting turned in surprise, wondering who could knock Lexaeus over like that.

"The princesses of heart are not to be harmed by the likes of you."

Hotaru was standing there with a scythe-like weapon pointed at Lexaeus, who was beginning to recover. Her eyes seemed cold and almost cruel, not the eyes they were used to seeing. "And just who are you?" asked Lexaeus angrily.

"I am the warrior of death and ruin…" she raised her glaive. "The time of destruction is nearing." She ran towards Lexaeus and, faster than anyone could really see, she slashed through him with her silence glaive. Lexaeus dropped his weapon and fell over. "You…" he choked out as he began fading away.

"Well, what do you know? It was merely a trick," she said softly. Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and the girl all looked on dumbly. The girl then disappeared into a corridor of darkness. Riku started walking slowly towards Hotaru.

"Holy Hera…" said Phil, staring from the other end of the arena. "These guys are something else…" another cloaked figure started to walk past him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you crazy? You can't go out there now!" Phil put himself in front of the figure, but he just kicked him aside like a soccer ball.

The glaive disappeared from Hotaru's hand, and the transformation faded away. She started to fall, and Riku caught her at just the right moment. Donald and Goofy came scampering over.

"What was that all about?" asked Goofy. "Warrior of death and ruin…?" repeated Riku softly, pondering her meaning. She couldn't be…an enemy? But now, she had protected Kairi, and mentioned her as one of the princesses of heart, destroying Lexaeus. Then what was…

"You…" Riku turned his head towards the familiar voice. The figure in the organization coat was pointing right at Riku. "The darkness I sensed a few moments ago…it feels…familiar."

He removed his hood. Xemnas stood in front of them, a look of pure fury on his face. Riku stood up.

"You follow him, don't you?"

"Xemnas? What…What are you talking about?" asked Riku angrily, raising his keyblade. "You two keep an eye Hotaru," he whispered to Donald and Goofy. Xemnas' grimace merely grimaced more. A red ethereal blade came to the hand sticking out, and then the other. "Knowingly or not, he has marked you. His scent of darkness is all over you."

"Whose…" started Riku, but he already knew the answer.

"XEHANORT!" Xemnas dove towards Riku. Riku instinctively began tapping into the darkness as they fought, which only seemed to enrage Xemnas more. Xehanort…isn't he Xehanort's Nobody? Riku thought to himself as he dodged another one of Xemnas' blows. Riku struck out towards Xemnas. He blocked it and brought his other blade forth…

"Riku!"

Xemnas' blade struck against a barrier. He turned in anger towards Kairi. She was standing there, keyblade pointed out to where she had cast the reflect spell on Riku. His expression seemed to soften slightly looking at her. But then he quickly turned back towards Riku. Kairi posed no real threat to him. Riku grabbed his own keyblade when a golden ball of light leapt between him and Xemnas.

"Xemnas? How are you here?" said Mickey, his eyes glaring and his keyblade ready to attack. Xemnas stared at Mickey, then Kairi, then looked back to Riku. "He'll be back for you. Know that. You'll wish I had killed you." He stepped back and disappeared into a corridor of darkness. Riku registered, at the last moment, that Xemnas' eyes appeared blue.

All of them stood there, together, all unsure of what had just happened.

Oh the horrible writing…

Xemnas just sort of barged his way into the chapter…both into the arena and in my mind. The moment seemed like poor timing, but…seriously, is Xemnas going to care if Hotaru just transformed and two other members of his organization were there?

He doesn't have the heart to care. Or does he?

And Hotaru finally transformed. It's about friggin' time she just stopped sitting there like a worthless Kairi!

And I honestly just forget about Donald and Goofy sometimes. And who knows what Mickey was doing…getting a greek dog?

Also note that I did skip a few days in Kairi and Riku's adventure, so the scenes with Sora and Xion happen at points between there. I don't like to write in chronological order apparently.