Well... here's the next chapter! I hope you like it!

PLEASE R&R!

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts (c) Tetsuya Nomura
:Disney characters & setting (c) Disney
Claimer: everything else (c) me

Chapter Nine: Aggravation in Agrabah! The Truth is Revealed

"Mmm…" Yuki moaned, leaning tiredly against the ship wall the next morning on their long journey.

"Yuki," Riku murmured quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at him. "I'm thinking that maybe… I should stay here on the ship for this next world…" she sighed. "But something else is telling me I need to go. I believe that an Organization XIII member will be there. I have to go." As she took a step forward, her face scrunched in pain as her hands went to the sewn-up wound caused by Morgana.

"Yuki, you still need time to recover," Riku said worriedly, his arms wrapping around her body as he pulled her against him.

She pulled back, shaking her head. "I have to go, Riku. We'll go together. All of us will," she murmured quietly, only meant for his ears.

"I promise I'll protect you," he swore, hugging her back taut against him. "I love you. I love you so much."

She smiled. "I love you too," she whispered back.

"Are you guys ready to go yet? We're almost there," Sora announced.

Riku looked deeply into her eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she answered surely, grabbing a potion from the storage and drinking it down, sighing in slight relief as it eased some of the pain. "Let's do it."

- - - -

When they arrived, they found the entire desert-surrounded kingdom filled with Heartless and Nobodies.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Yuki sighed, her necklace glowing darkly.

"Well… let's take care of them," Sora declared, his, Riku and Yuki's Keyblades appearing in their hands.

Not before long, they began to fight the various huge Heartless and strange-looking Nobodies. Without warning, Organization XIII No. 6 Zexion walked through a portal and towards Yuki, as they had all split up to finish off the Heartless and Nobodies.

"Ah, it's you," she groaned. "What do you want?"

"Miss Yuki," he said in a calm tone, half-bowing to her, "please return to us at the Organization."

She smirked. "Really… what are you talking about?" she demanded, allowing her Keyblade to vanish, knowing that it would return if she needed it. "Return? I never joined in the first place."

A blue-leather book appeared in his hand, and he flipped through it, completely relaxed before flipping to a certain page, folding the page and tossing the book over to her, and she caught it in her hands, looking back at the calm demeanour of the Organization member.

"What is this?" she inquired curiously and warily.

"A book, what else?" he replied sternly.

She rolled her eyes, carefully opening the book to the folded page, where there was a picture of her and all sorts of information about her, including how she became a Nobody and her completed missions. Before she allowed herself to read it, she chucked the book back at him.

"LIES!" she shouted defiantly, "All of it! They're all lies!"

Zexion shook his head. "It's anything but," he argued. "I know you've seen your past, and what really happened to your heart. You remember that Xigbar, Saix, Luxord and I have always treated you like you were a younger sister to us and watched over you."

"Shut up!" she cried, a powerful pure white aura erupting from around her. Confusion, distress and anger emitted from her, but Zexion seemed unfazed, stepping closer towards her.

"Yuki…" Zexion murmured.

"S-Stay away from me!" Yuki screamed, tears streaming from her eyes in denial.

Emotionlessly, Zexion walked over, unfazed and unhurt by the aura before proceeding to wound his arms around Yuki and pressed her against him.

"Come back to us," he told her.

At this point in time, Sora, Donald and Riku had saw the explosion of light and hurried to the site, finding Zexion holding and comforting a sobbing Yuki.

"Yuki!" Riku called, but she didn't reply, as if she'd never heard.

Zexion glanced over at them, before looking back at Yuki. "Come, Yuki. To the Cavern we go, where I will explain to you everything," he told her softly. "Lexaeus will come later and… speak, with the others. Come."

"I don't know," Yuki choked quietly, her aura of light shimmering away until it no longer resided.

Very gently, Zexion caressed her face in both his hands before pressing his lips gently against her forehead. This gesture alone infuriated Riku, and shocked the others.

"Yuki! Yuki!" Riku cried, and she turned to him, golden eyes filled with tears.

Looking back at Zexion, she pulled away from his embrace before running into Riku's tender embrace, and he held her close, as Sora and Donald charged at Zexion.

"Yuki, shhh, it's alright now," Riku told her, pulling her head tightly into his chest.

She shook her head, shouting at Sora and Donald, "Sora, Donald, stop!"

"Yuki, why?" Sora inquired her.

"Is everything alright?" Riku inquired. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, everything's not alright," she told him. "Riku, I need to go with him."

"What? Why?" he demanded.

Tears continued to fall down her cheeks as she gripped his white and yellow vest tightly in her hands, pressing herself closer to him.

"I-I'm sorry Riku…" she cried quietly as she stepped backwards from him and towards Zexion. "But I'm not who you think I am…"

His pale blue eyes looked at her in shock, and in betrayal. "W-What do you mean, Yuki?"

Zexion pulled her back into his embrace, holding her against his black cloak before looking back up at Riku. "You may as well forget about her, Riku. She's a Nobody."

"Shut up!" he hissed. "Don't you dare speak of her in that way!"

"He's right, Riku," Yuki declared, her voice strained and pained, "I am a Nobody. I don't have a heart. I'm no better than those of Organization XIII."

Zexion looked at her, his eyes suspicious. "Hmph," he grunted.

"Ah," she realized quickly and quietly while sniffling, "no offense."

Riku took a step forward towards them. "But Yuki," he protested loudly, "you do have a heart, not like those in Organization XIII!"

Closing her eyes, she looked at him with unflinching, pained eyes. "That's only because my Heartless still exists out there, somewhere," she argued, her voice powerfully strained, "so my heart was turned to me." She turned away from him and lowered her head. "I'm not the girl that was ever supposed to exist. I was never the one that you were supposed to fall in love with."

"But you are the girl I fell in love with!" Riku cried, "Nobody or not, I will still love you for who you are!"

She looked at him. "But I'm not who I am!" she shouted at him. "I'm only a shadow of who I'm really supposed to be! I've taken her name, and her heart. You said it yourself; a love between a person and a Nobody will probably end in nothing but misery! And you were right…"

He was taken aback. He had never imagined that Yuki was a Nobody, and that his words would be sent back right at him. "Yuki, I-I never meant-"

"No, Riku," she cut off, her voice breaking as a dark aura flared around her. "there's nothing you can say to fix this. I guess you were right, Riku…" She began to walk with Zexion to the dark portal, not looking back. "Nobodies are doomed to fade back into darkness. Therefore… so shall I."

As both Nobodies disappeared through the portal, Riku screamed her name once before the portal vanished and it was already too late. Furious with himself, he dropped to his hands and knees and began to mentally beat himself up. This was all his fault.

"Riku…" Sora said quietly, both he and Donald gazing sadly at their friend as they quietly approached him.

"If only I hadn't been so blind," Riku murmured chokingly. "If only I hadn't of been such a fool I would have realized her fear when she asked me those questions back in Atlantica."

Donald looked at him. "What questions?"

"Whether there could be a romance between a Nobody and a person," he replied, still not looking up at his companions. "And other things. Her voice seemed so scared, but I never took notice of it. And now… now it's too late. She's gone."

Sora kneeled down next to him. "We'll get her back," he promised.

"Yeah!" Donald agreed. "After all, that Organization member said that they were heading to the 'Cavern'. He's probably referring to the Cavern of Wonders!"

Riku shook his head pessimistically. "She won't come back to us," he said quietly. "This is all my fault."

"No, it's not, Riku, it's just not," Sora argued, mentally groping for the words that would help his best friend. "We just need the time to talk to her, then she'll understand."

"Yeah, maybe her mind has been twisted by that guy," Donald suggested.

Riku looked at them, sitting back on his knees. "No, it hasn't. I could tell that her pain was all her own. This is all my fault," he sighed depressingly. "I shouldn't have been so ignorant."

Without warning, footsteps were heard as they all looked up and saw a purple-vested, dark-haired man run over to them.

"Sora! Donald!" he shouted.

"Aladdin!" both of them exclaimed, waving at him.

As he ran over to them, Riku stood up depressingly, dusting off the sand on his jeans and sighing.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here? Did you find your friend Riku and the King?" Aladdin inquired.

Riku forced a smile. "Hey, I'm Riku. The 'friend' in question that Sora searched for," he greeted, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you!" the ex-thief replied. "I'm Aladdin. So… what brings you to Agrabah? I suspect it has to do with these Heartless again, right?"

Sora sighed, "Yeah, that, Heartless, and now our other friend has gone missing."

"More like AWOL, Sora," Donald corrected. "She's probably gone to the Cavern of Wonders."

"Then let's go," Aladdin announced, "I'll be your guide. I've been there dozens of times."

Sora nodded. "I've been there too," he added. "I assume there are still Heartless there as well?"

"Yeah, probably," he responded.

Riku's eyes looked grave. "Then let's get going," he stated, his voice just carefully neutral. "I really need to talk to Yuki and apologize to her. This was all my fault. I shouldn't have been so stupid."

"Awww… come on, Riku, it'll be alright," Sora tried to reassure. "She'll understand."

"Yeah," Donald agreed. "It's not your fault."

He forced a smile, nodding slowly. "We need to hurry as quick as we can," he told them, his expression turning grave once more. "I have no idea what Zexion might be saying to her, but I'm sure its probably not good… Plus… utilizing the Dark Corridor without wearing a black cloak… I'm not sure how it will affect the light within her heart."

- - - -

"Yuki, you need to understand this," Zexion told the Nobody with a heart as they stood in the middle of the gold-and-treasure-filled Treasure Room in the Cave of Wonders. "You're not one of them… you never were."

She looked down sadly. "But… I always felt like I was one of them…" she reasoned.

"Only because you have the heart of your person," he told her. "Your Heartless is still out there, and you have taken the name of her. Your true name has always been Kixyu, but… you will always remain our little Yuki to us at the Organization."

Yuki looked at him, pain in her eyes. "Then… why did the others attack me back at Destiny Islands?" she demanded. "Why did Saix and Luxord try to kill me?"

"They probably had no choice. Knowing Lord Xemnas, he most likely wanted you to go back peacefully. We both know how loyal Saix is to Lord Xemnas, and so he had no choice," Zexion explained, his Lexicon book appearing in his hand. "I wasn't there, remember? I had been erased by the Riku Replica back in Castle Oblivion, where he had drained me of my life force."

She shivered, remembering the Riku Replica she and Riku had encountered. The replica had nearly killed her with the powers of darkness before the original Riku stepped in and defeated it to protect her.

"So then… what am I supposed to do now? I'm the Maiden of Light…" she inquired, her gaze dimming as she looked away, "or has that title been stripped from me too now?"

"You're still the Maiden of Light, no matter what," Zexion assured.

Very gently, he reached to stroke her cheek, and she couldn't help but tense at the unfamiliar yet all-too-familiar touch.

"Are you ready to return to the Organization with me?" he inquired calmly.

Her golden eyes widened in shock. "W-What?" she gasped. "Why do I have to go back? I'm not going to be welcomed… After all… I've already captured one of the Organization…"

"Of course you are," he reassured her. "Larxene acted on her own, and so did Xven. Larxene wanted to kill you, and Xven wanted to learn more about who he was. We were ordered not to interfere and allow Larxene to go to her doom, and Xven returned to us not long after her capture. The others don't wish to hurt you, not unless you really have turned against us."

Yuki bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. "But… you know I don't agree with how Organization XIII is run, and their goal."

"But do we really have any choice?" he inquired. "Or else what will we live for? We don't have hearts, we can't feel emotions, but… we do feel hatred, jealousy, longing… how can this all be when we don't have hearts?"

Her eyes hardened. "I think you do have hearts though, or at least something close to it," she told him.

Zexion smirked. "Is that so?" he inquired. "Is that what you think?"

She nodded, and he grabbed her hand, pressing it against his chest over where his heart would be, sandwiching her hand in between.

"If I had a heart, don't you think you or I would be able to feel it?" he asked.

Yuki sighed. "This isn't about having a heart, is it?" she guessed quietly. "It's about becoming a real person, and not just a shadow of someone."

"You're brilliant," Zexion told her, confirming her guesses. "How did you figure it out?"

She looked up at him with sadness. "Because I feel the same way; jealous of the real Yuki who's heart I've taken, at the same time… very sad that I did," she admitted.

He leaned down to whisper into her ear. "You know…" he began quietly, "I've done some research on your true heart's owner, and she's very much like you. There is a way for you to absorb your true person back into you, so you remain yourself, while at the same time, you become and are your true heart's owner."

Yuki's eyes widened. "R-Really?!" she gasped, taking a few steps back.

He nodded, his bright blue eyes honest.

"B-But… why are you telling me this?" she asked quietly. "You're my enemy… aren't you?"

Zexion walked over and hugged her. "You're part of Organization XIII once more. You're no enemy to us," he told her. "We've missed you."

Memories of the times she had taken on missions with Zexion and the others flooded her head; both the good times and the bad. She had been so happy to take on missions with who she thought were her friends; especially the good times with Zexion, Axel, Roxas, and Xion.

"I-I miss you guys too…" she couldn't help but whisper. "B-But… now that I think about it… I was so scared before… back in Castle Oblivion… M-Marluxia… h-he-"

"I know," he told her before she continued. "He and Larxene tricked you and tortured you in order for you to help them betray the Organization, and to capture Sora and his friends. Don't worry, this time we'll watch over you to make sure you will be alright."

Yuki pulled back and looked at him strangely. "By the way… why was it that nothing happened to me when I walked through the dark corridor? I wasn't wearing a black cloak to shield me…"

"Who knows?" he sighed in replied. "I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything. You sure you're alright?"

"I don't recall anything happening," she murmured. "Now… I'm not quite sure what to do. I don't want to abandon Riku; I love him."

Zexion looked at her. "You could return back to him, if you want," he told her. "It's just a matter of him accepting you. But… everything will be different now…"

"I can't agree with you more," she agreed, her voice sounding miserable before she collapsed sideways, Zexion catching her as she fell.

Yuki's eyes were closed, and the crystal heart pendant glowed darkly.

"Hmm… it seemed travelling through the Dark Corridor had more effect on you than I had thought," he muttered quietly, carefully picking her up and laying her down against a sand dune.

Suddenly, another Dark Corridor appeared, and another cloaked figure walked through, a folded white blanket in hand. Zexion looked at them.

"Lexaeus," he greeted in a monotone, bidding a nod in his direction.

"Zexion, how is she?" the other Org. member inquired as he lowered his hood, handing the blanket to him. "Is Yuki going to be coming back with us?"

He sighed. "It seems that because she went through the Dark Corridor without any protection from the dark, it has affected the light within her greatly. I'm not exactly sure how long it will take until she awakens. I'm doubt she will be wanting to return with us. Her feelings for Riku still hold true."

"But couldn't you just make an illusion to make her see Riku rejecting her love and hating her?" Lexaeus inquired, forcing the words to come out.

Zexion's eyes hardened. "We both know that I would never hurt her like that," he scolded as he draped the blanket over Yuki. "If she wishes to return to her friends, I will allow her to."

"B-But… Zexion-" Lexaeus broke off, his voice sounding filled with sadness.

"No, Lexaeus," he interrupted, standing up. "If she doesn't wish to return, I won't force her to. I know Lord Xemnas and perhaps a few of the others would argue against, but she's important to me…" He gazed at the sleeping young woman. "She makes me feel like I have a heart…"

"She's one of those few that have that uncanny power to do that," he agreed. "It'll be sad that she's not returning with us; sad that she lost most of her memory of what happened while she was in the Organization with us."

Zexion nodded in agreement. "I fear that Lord Xemnas and Marluxia may have plans to twist her back onto our side. I can already see that she's affecting Xven's ability to follow all his orders. At this rate they'll probably have plans to twist him as well," he elaborated. "Then everything will fall into place according to Lord Xemnas' plan."

Lexaeus bit his lip. "But there's no doubt that Sora, Riku, and their friends will try to stop them. Hopefully they'll be able to protect her from him. Or else she might not make it…"

I hope you liked it! So much drama now, who knew that Yuki was actually a Nobody?! AND that she was one of Organization XIII?! EPICCC!!!!!!

PLEASE REVIEW!