"when you walk away, you don't hear me say… please, oh baby!, don't go. Simple and clean is the way that your making me feel tonight, it's hard to let it go."

kairi stood outside her bathroom as she listened to ria singing in the shower. She had to admit, ria had a beautiful voice, she could easily become a musical sensation if she wanted. kairi yawned while waiting for ria to finish. she didn't get much sleep last night, her mind had been so occupied trying to process and find sense in ria's words, particularly about sora and the little… conversation they had last night, kairi still didn't know why she never felt bad for ria, maybe they just didn't know each other well enough, or maybe it was something else.

Kairi jumped in surprise when ria opened the door to the bathroom and exited, her hair was dripping with water and she was wearing nothing but a towel.

"oh, im sorry, did I keep you waiting?" ria asked.

"no, it's fine." kairi said. "i washed your clothes for you, they should be dry now"

"thanks" she said, walking to the laundry room. she had to admit, she liked kairi, she had done so much for ria than most people ever did in her entire life, they even shared the same bed yet neither of them minded, this left ria feeling bad about saying all those things to her, she knew kairi was kept awake all night because of their conversation, maybe she would have gotten a better sleep if ria had never showed up. Now wasn't the time to think about that though. in a few more minutes, ria would be out of kairi's hair and off to go find her way back to sora and riku, she wondered how she would be able to do that, the people of this world probably don't know how to contact people from other worlds.

Ria wished she had her book with her, it did contain diagrams and notes on how to summon portals to other worlds, she knew she should have learned how to do that instead of that stupid shield spell.

She soon found her clothes, entirely free of sand, even the leather of her boots looked to be polished. With her clothes returned, she went into kairi's room and began to dress herself. Kairi soon entered fully clothed.

Her outfit mainly contained a pink strapless mini-dress made up of three zippers (two appeared to be just decorative) as well as a white halter top underneath her mini-dress with a black hood. She also sported three bracelets on her left wrist, a black belt reminiscent of suspenders with a note book shaped bag attachment, and lilac sneakers. Personally, ria wouldn't be caught dead wearing that, but it looked good on kairi. As stated before, ria was not a fan of pink.

Vanitas smashed the annoying alarm clock that had ruined his peaceful slumber, the infernal sound of the clock reminded vanitas that he had a job to do, he now had to send the unversed and himself into any world he could, it would not be easy. Creating unversed meant that vanitas had to sacrifice a tiny part of his power so the small creature could function, it wasn't a big subtraction but it was still a part of his strength that he would not have when he needed it.

His train of thought was ruined when he heard a knock on his door. vanitas groaned in annoyance, the 'do not disturb or you will be murdered' sigh was there for a reason.

"a pleasant morning to you, vanitas" said vexen, entering without permission.

"that's lord vanitas. what do you want?" he said in an annoyed tone.

"i understand master xehanort has instructed you to commence a search for the girl, correct?"

"why do you ask?" vanitas glared, he didn't like when people got in his business.

"i was wondering if you would to have Xari join you on your search" he said.

"who?" vanitas asked. Then in walked the replica of ria.

"Xari, my daughter" vexen said, referring to the replica.

"you named it?" he asked.

"well, of course. It seemed cruel to call her replica all the time, so I gave her a little name, what do you think?"

"i think you're the biggest moron in this entire organization" vanitas spat. "you should know the first thing about owning a slave, do not give it a name, you'll grow attached. you see that… thing as a real person, it isn't. You said it yourself, it's a puppet, a toy to be used, broken, then thrown away."

"i beg to differ, master vanitas." the replica said. "let me follow you, I will show you that I am more than a simple replica, I can prove that I am better that my original…"

vanitas smacked the replica in the face with the back of his hand, the replica gasped and fell onto the floor, it covered the bruise with its hand, as if it was actually in pain.

"don't you dare compare yourself to her!, you are nothing!… no wait, you are something, there is a word that describes you perfectly, what was that word?..." he said, instantly regaining his cool. "ooh yeah… fake!, And that's all you'll ever be. You are a fake, an inaccurate and flawed copy of a person who is far more superior that you could ever hope to be, a cheap ripoff of the original, do us all a favor and erase yourself from existence, this world and all other worlds have no place for useless fakes like you" vanitas said, walking out of his room and leaving for his mission.

Vexen helped lift his creation off of the floor, he'd get even with vanitas for this, keyblade pupil or not, nobody hurts vexen's daughter and walks away. "are you alright, my dear Xari"

"father, is he right? Am I a useless fake?, a cheap knock off that was created for the sole purpose of being used?" she said.

"no, you are not a knock off, you are a remastered edition, an improvement. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise" vexen said as he and xari returned to his lab.

Vanitas walked through the halls of the castle, the other members of the organization just gave him passing glances and then looked away, that didn't bother vanitas, they looked away from him because they were afraid of him, they knew he was strong, and their fear of him was justified in every way.

"yo, vanitas, you wanna hear this new song i've been working on?" one of the fools got in his way, he didn't bother learning any of their names, its not like they were important enough.

"is there some reason you are talking to me?" vanitas asked.

"dude, it's me, Demyx." he said.

"oh, you're the loud mouthed idiot who kept playing that guitar til six in the morning"

"actually, it's called a sitar, the difference is..." he said. Vanitas just glared. "i…um, i'm sorry for keeping you up, but you know what they say, music is..."

"i could care less, get out of my way" vanitas said, shoving demyx.

"fine!, I was only trying to be nice!… jerk"

"what did you say?" vanitas stopped.

"um, I said!, um good luck on your mission!"

"i don't need luck, slows me down" vanitas said.

As soon as vanitas left the hall, larxene spoke.

"that brat thinks he's so tough, maybe we should teach him a lesson."

"that sounds like the worst idea i've ever heard" said Xigbar. "besides, the old man would kill us if we put a hand on him"

who did that old man think he was, thought Larxene. She liked it better when Xemnas was running things, everyone was laid back and casual, but now everyone is on edge, trying to track down some crazed sixteen-year old. Larxene wondered what would happen if she took that brat hostage, then Xehanort wouldn't be able to harm larxene, and if she played her cards right, she could become the new leader of the organization, then (with her amazing guidance) the organization could become the rulers of all worlds!.

Vanitas kept walking through those flat, dull grey halls until he found the exit, it was there master xehanort stood.

"remember, just make sure she's alive, do not talk to anybody, do not let anybody see you. If you find her, then return immediately, do not let her see you." xehanort said.

Vanitas nodded and left for his mission.

Xehanort watched him leave, he admitted, vanitas was brash, but he still followed orders most of the time.

"its a shame you have to send that fool to do your work" said vexen, who was behind xehanort.

"excuse me?" xehanort said.

"if you had asked for my help in locating the girl, we would already have her." he said with a prideful smile.

"is that so?" xehanort asked. "and how would you have done that?"

"you seem to forget that the replica is made from her data, I used that data to find her location in a matter of seconds"

"well, where is she? Is she alive?" xehanort asked.

"i could tell you, but you put more trust in that brute of yours instead of me. I was one of radiant garden's most advanced scientists, I did things there that even you could barely comprehend." Vexen said.

Xehanort chuckled. "normally, I'd slit your throat for saying something like that, but I am in no mood for it. so go, play your little games, vexen, just be sure they don't interfere with mine."

"of course, my lord" vexen said as xehanort walked away.

"you can come out now, xari. He's gone"

"is now my time, father?" she asked.

"yes, now we shall show them what you can really do." vexen said to the replica.

Little did they know that the entire conversation was being observed by a small black raven. The raven flew off to return to its mistress and inform her. The bird rested on the shoulder of maleficent, who was hiding in an alleyway underneath the castle that never was. pete was standing by her side, listening to the bird's squawking, he didn't really know if maleficent could actually understand it.

"interesting" maleficent said. "it seems that xehanort's organization is rather unorganized. What interests me though is why this child is so important to him, he seems to go to great lengths to ensure her safety"

"gee, I dunno, maybe she's his kid, or somethin' like that?" pete said.

"impossible, xehanort had no children, and the girl looks nothing like him. No, this child is much more." maleficent said.

"what is she then?" pete asked.

"a conduit" maleficent stated. "her heart's light has been removed at an early age, and in its place lies pure darkness."

"so… like a reverse princess of light?"

"exactly, darkness in it's purist form, a living connection to the realm of darkness itself."

"and those who are connected to the realm of darkness..." pete started.

"…are connected to kingdom hearts!" maleficent said with joy.

Sora and riku had finally arrived at destiny island, it was nice to be home. Sora breathed in the cool sea air, saw the waves crashing against the beach, riku didn't really seem all that glad to be back though.

Sora wasn't on the actual islands, he was on the mainland, not to far from his house, he had to be careful, he knew his mother had been worried for him, since most of the buildings had missing posters with sora's face on them. Sora felt horrible for making his mother worry like this, but he knew she would never understand. he told her every detail of his past journeys, the worlds he saw, the people he met, the dangers he defeated. He even showed her his keyblade but she still didn't believe him, she called it a magic trick when he summoned his weapon out of thin air!.

Sora sighed, now wasn't the time to worry about mom. he had to find ria… before someone else did.

Ria and kairi were siting on the dock on the islands, watching the waves, they were mainly going over kairi's book, ria thought it was good but it still needed improvement.

Eventually ria parted from kairi for awhile, she just paced about and explored the island, eventually she found a secret cave hidden behind a waterfall. This island was amazing!, ria could spend hours walking through it. She walked her way into the cave, the first thing she noticed were the roots that hung from the top, no doubt they came from the many trees the island had, as she ventured deeper into the cave, she found many different drawings that were carved into the cave's walls, they weren't high art but they still seemed really cool, maybe she should draw something, most of the rocks were full of other peoples work, but she was sure she'd find a spot if she looked around.

She went deeper into the cave and discovered some large wooden door, or at least she thought it was a door, to the right of the door was a spot that was free for ria to draw something, she stopped dead in her tracks due to a certain someone's drawing.

It was both sora and kairi's faces, staring back at each other… smiling. In the drawing, they both seem to be sharing something, she thought it might be food or something, since they seem to be going towards they're mouths, ria sighed and rubbed her hand along the stone, she should have accepted this by now, but she didn't. She failed to understand that sora cared about kairi, they had been friends for years, and he only knew ria for a week.

"this world is connected…" she heard from behind her.

"who's there!" she turned and summoned her keyblade. She saw someone wearing a brown tattered robe, she knew it wasn't the organization of black hooded freaks, they had a signature wardrobe and you don't change that so easily.

"who are you?" ria asked.

"this world is connected…" the figure repeated.

"what do you mean?" she asked.

"tied to the darkness… soon to be completely eclipsed, much like you will…"

"what are you talking about?, are you saying im weak? That I can't control my power?" ria said in anger. She noticed the veins in her hand turn black.

"darkness can never be controlled or commanded. in the end, all hearts are engulfed in the very power they claim to control. This is the fate of all darkness wielders, you cannot control your power, because you cannot understand your power."

"well you'll see, I'm gonna go and learn it!"

"a meaningless effort… one who knows nothing can understand nothing"

she turned her head away to look at her hands black veins, which had disappeared since she had calmed down, when she turned her head back, the figure was gone.

"help!" ria heard a scream coming from the exit of the cave.

"kairi?" she ran out to find kairi fallen in the sand, there was a woman looking down on her, pressing a keyblade to her neck.

"leave her alone!" ria shouted, getting the attacker's attention. When the attacker turned to face ria, she was shocked.

"what the…" ria said.

"surprised?, you should be" the attacker said.

her opponent was her, not actually her but a person who looked just like her, she matched everything ria knew about herself perfectly. the slender frame, the silver hair, albinism, her keyblade was also exactly the same.

"who… who are you?" ria asked.

"I'm you" she said simply.

"no, I'm me. Now tell me who you are!" ria pointed her keyblade in anger.

The lookalike crossed her arms and scoffed, it was then ria noticed that this person was also wearing the same clothes as her.

"i am replica number 45, model R.I.A, but you can call me Xari. I am a replica of you, created by my father, Vexen, who the forth member of organization XIII."

"so you're a fake me?" ria asked.

"no" the replica said with disgust in her voice. "i am the remastered edition of you, an improvement. your replacement" ria just looked at her with confusion. "allow me to explain, think of this as a gigantic school play, you're an actor and I am your understudy, when the actor is unable to go on with the show, the understudy takes her place. Do you understand now?"

"ria!" they both turned their heads to see sora and riku on the docks, keyblades drawn.

"what?, which one is the real one?" sora asked.

"she is" the replica (or better known as Xari) pointed to ria.

"then what are you?" sora asked.

"i am…"

"a fake!" riku yelled. "a replica made by the organization!"

"i didn't know the organization relied so strongly on useless copies!" sora insulted. Trying to provoke the replica.

"how dare you!" Xari yelled. She was about to swing at sora but her keyblade hit ria's instead.

"you're my fake, so you're my fight" ria said, getting in the way of the attack.

"fine" Xari jumped back and went into the same stance as ria. "bring it, sister!"

sora wanted to help but riku stopped him, it was as ria said, this was her fight.

The two both charged at each other and swung left and right, all attacks were ether blocked or deflected and their keyblades clashed constantly.

"hmm, we seem to be evenly matched" Xari said.

"i guess we are, but can you do this?" ria jumped back and threw a dark fire ball from her hand, it hit the replica in the center and caused her to fall on her back. Ria approached Xari as she began fumbling backwards. "now ria, sweetheart, lets be reasonable about all this" Xari said. "i didn't want to do this but you're forcing me to play dirty" she said as she dug her hands in the sand and threw it at ria.

"ahh!, my eyes!" she shouted covering her face, Xari saw her opening and thrusted her kayblade right into ria. Ria made a squel of pain and then… silence. The weapon went completely through her and her body fell, the sand around her body turned crimson as the blood leaked out.

riku and kairi were paralyzed by the scene, sora however, was bursting with rage, he ran right for the replica and charged head on.

"you killed her!, why! She didn't do anything to you!" sora shouted as he attacked the replica.

"i had too, now I will be seen as the stronger one, the organization will respect me, they will fear me."

"they can't if you're dead!" he yelled. sora hit the replica right in the face with the blunt end of his keyblade, he thought he saw a tooth fly out.

The replica was on the ground, before sora destroyed this miserable fake, he took one last look at ria, she was still motionless… she was gone, or.. was she? Sora saw her fingers twitching, a shocked expression soon came to his face when he saw ria's arms move, he heard her frantically breathing, and then he saw her face.

Her entire face's veins were all black, her eyes were a burning bright gold and she had a glare of pure hatred, she slowly got up to her feet and pulled the keyblade out of her own body like it was just a splinter. She then ran at lightning speed and grabbed Xari by the neck, lifting her feet high off of the ground, the replica was screaming in fear the entire time.

"h-how are you alive!? I killed you! You're supposed to be dead!" the replica screamed.

Ria made a fierce growl that no human was capable was producing, like the growl of a lion before it attacks. Ria held her free hand in the air and black smoke began pouring through it. Sora and riku were both amazed and terrified, they could also she the fear in the replica as ria slowly brought her hand to it's face.

Xari tried with all her might to keep ria's hand away but her struggle was in vein, she then began to beg

"no, no please!, I'm sorry!, let me go and I'll never bother you again, no, PLEASE NO!" she screamed as Ria's hand met Xari's face, the replica began screaming incredibly loud as it's own veins turned black and it's entire body began burning from the inside!.

"ria'! Stop!" sora shouted to her. She wasn't listening. Sora had to do something, he held his keyblade and swung at the back of ria's head, knocking her out, sora felt horrible for hurting her, but he had too, even though sora was going to kill the replica, he wasn't going to make it suffer like she was.

The replica tried as hard as she could to move her body but it was still experiencing the excruciating pain from the attack, Xari's veins remained black the entire time.

Just then a dark portal opened and through it walked a member of the organization, riku recognized him as vexen, the creator of the replica. He looked incredibly shocked, like a father who comes home to find his children being beaten.

He quickly picked up the replica and glared at sora. He then walked back into the portal with the replica his arms.

"I'm sorry, father…" Xari said.

"you have nothing to be sorry for, you'll be alright."

the portal then disappeared.

Now sora, riku and kairi were left alone, watching ria's unconscious form.

"is she?…" kairi asked.

"she's alive" riku said. Her black veins faded away.

"what was that riku?" sora asked.

"the darkness in her heart, it revived her, brought her back to life, but in doing so, it gained complete control of her. It happened to me once too" riku stated. "don't worry, now she's fine, she'll wake up in a few hours," he assured.

"whats going on here?" they turned around to see sora's mother and riku's father standing on the docks, it looked as if they only just arrived. The moment they set foot on the beach, all keyblades had disappeared.

"sora, where have you been!, shame on you for making your mother worry like that!" she said as she grabbed him by the ear. "you are coming home with me, say goodbye to the sunlight because you'll never see it again!"

"but mom!" sora whined.

After sora left the island, kairi and riku soon did the same, with riku carrying ria over his shoulder, riku would watch over her while she slept, and if anything was going to happen, he'd know how to deal with it.

From atop a palm tree stood vanitas, snacking on a bag of popcorn. That was one impressive fight, his favorite part had to be when ria made the replica scream like a two-year old. Vanitas had completed his mission, the girl was found, more importantly, she was alive. Vanitas would now return to his master and inform him on the little event that took place.

"say goodbye to your daughter, Vexen. Now the only thing she'll be good for will be target practice."