Disclaimer: Do I really have to do these every time? You all already know that I don't own Kingdom Hearts…

Miss Anne Onimus asked why I changed Noelle's name to Elleon (which, obviously doesn't have an 'x' in it). The answer to that is because she never became a Nobody. Something else in her heart prevented it from happening.

Also, I don't know if you guys understand how happy your reviews make me. Literally, when they pop up in my inbox, I squeal. Yes, out loud. It's still amazing to me that people are actually reading this, so thank you. I appreciate it, I really do.

Finally, this is NOT a Sora/OC fanfic. At all. Just if you were wondering.

Well, here, the real story begins. Enjoy.

Chapter 1:

"It's been ten years, Aqua, and we haven't found a way out." The boy rolled his eyes. "You know how much I hate being separated from you, but perhaps it's time to split up." The second fragment was heavy with sarcasm. Vanitas hadn't changed much since the days of Master Xehanort. In fact, his sarcasm and anger management levels had increased and decreased accordingly. However, he and Aqua had managed to form an uneasy alliance for the sake of companionship. Neither of them liked being alone for long periods of time, though Vanitas was loathe to admit it. Sad as it was, Aqua was his only option for company in the Realm of Darkness, and he had to take what he could get. But, no longer.

"Why do you care?" The bluenette shot back, her own frustration clouding her tone. "You are darkness. This is where you belong."

The boy looked over at the dark waves that were lapping the shore scornfully. "This isn't where I belong." He scoffed. "My place is in Ven's body, but that little blondie just had to mess that up for me."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Aqua hissed, summoning Stormfell, before realizing that she wouldn't gain anything from fighting him in his element. Reluctantly, she banished the weapon with a sigh. "But, maybe you have a point." She certainly would be glad to get a break from the pest. He knew the best ways to get under her skin, and after ten years of constantly being with him, Aqua was at her limit.

"Of course I do." Vanitas rose to his feet. The two had been resting on the beach with the moon shining over them. It was ironic; He brushed the sand off his skirt, that the only speck of light in this place was the moon, which only comes out at nightfall in the first place. A bitter chuckle came out from the boy.

Aqua gazed up at him, her gaze pleading "If you find a way out, please don't go after Ven or Mai." Not that you would be able to find them, She added wryly in her mind.

Vanitas' eyes narrowed in response. "No promises."

"Revenge only brings death." The bluenette's tone cracked, remembering how Terra had killed Master Eraqus out of anger at his attacking of Ventus. Now, Terra had lost control of his body and his soul was a slave to the darkness.

"Maybe that's what I want." The boy began walking away, not particularly caring where he would end up. He couldn't really be any more lost than he already was. "They are the ones who ruined my chance at power."

"Power isn't important." Aqua quietly said. But, by then he was out of hearing range. She sighed heavily and let herself fall back into the sand. Staring up at the never-ending darkness, she wondered how Mai was doing after spending a decade alone. A pang of worry hit her, but she shook it off.

If Aqua had spent the past ten years alone with Vanitas, of all people, in the Realm of Darkness, than Mai should definitely be okay with a comatose Ventus.

Then, loneliness struck Aqua for the first time in forever (cue Frozen singing), because for the first time in ten years, she was alone once more.

A fiery determination gripped her as she mentally pushed the melancholy feelings away. She would not become a despondent sod, giving up all hope. No, Aqua pushed off the sand, I'm going to find a way out of here.

She took out her Wayfinder and a small smile crept up her cheeks.

"Right. Tell me where to go."

Dayna wasn't sure why she kept returning to the play island; it wasn't like she had any friends there, after all. Besides, she told herself, a girl who you met ten years ago doesn't count. Her hand touched the scarf that had been around her neck since then. Even if she did leave me one of her most prized possessions.

Her green eyes peered over at her adopted sister a few yards away who was giggling like a stereotypical teenage girl with her two guy friends watching her adoringly. Kairi doesn't count either. It's not like she ever includes you or anything.

The brunette girl immediately scolded herself for thinking such mean thoughts. Kairi was a perfect little sister. It's not her fault that I'm a loser, Dayna thought bitterly.

Throwing herself back on the sand, the girl closed her eyes and a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once. It wasn't particularly surprising to her. She had stayed up all last night drawing in the sketchpad that her father, the Mayor, had gotten for her as a birthday present.

Needless to say, she didn't have a party, only a meal with her father and Kairi. The redhead had left early, though, with mumbled excuses of having to be somewhere. Dayna knew that she was building a raft with her two best buds (Sora and Riku?) but she couldn't understand why for. There weren't any other landforms near the two that made up Destiny Islands, but Dayna kept her confused musings to herself. She had to play the role of ignorance in order to keep the sisterly relationship strong between herself and Kairi. Otherwise, her inquiries would only serve to increase the gap between them, even though the relationship was already pretty strained. She was pretty sure that Kairi disliked having such an antisocial adopted sister, but there wasn't anything she could really do about it.

With a sigh, Dayna yawned and curled up on her side. The palm tree fronds above her created a shaded, cool environment and the sand beneath her was powdery and soft. Soon enough, her thoughts had all but disappeared and she found herself drifting off into sleep.

Well, at least she had thought she had fallen asleep, but her surroundings said something entirely different. It was almost as if she had been transported to another world; an opulent one, judging by the gorgeous stained glass platform beneath her feet.

"This is too weird." Dayna noticed a flash of red against gold and her eyes widened in recognition. She stepped back a few feet to see the mosaic in its entirety, making sure that she didn't accidentally walk off the platform.

It was exactly what, or, should she say whom, she had thought it would be. "Mai…" But, why was she depicted here, in this strange place? Heck, why was Dayna even here in the first place? Surely someone had sent her to this location, and with that thought in her mind, she spoke up.

"Um… Can I please go back home now? To Destiny Islands?" She prayed that her captor was friendly. "It'll be getting dark soon…"

Almost as if her last words were a trigger, a voice sounded in her head.

So much to do, so little time…

"I know that voice." Dayna tilted her head. "Mai?"

Shut up, I'm trying to follow a script here: I'm a day late as it is. The voice lashed out. May I continue?

The brunette girl cringed, abandoning all thoughts of going home. "Yes, go ahead."

The voice, which Dayna now knew belonged to Mai, continued on after clearing its throat. Power sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well.

Three pedestals rose from the ground, each displaying a different object. On one was a sword, on the other was a staff, and the third had a shield.

Once again, Dayna hesitated. All of the weapons insinuated violence, which, in turn, meant battle and fighting. She had never been one to spar, mostly because she never had anyone to spar with. "Can I pick something else? Like a pencil?"

No! The voice groaned. Dayna, can't you just work with me here?

The girl hid a smile at Mai's obvious irritation, but said nothing more.

Fine, I'll choose for you.

Both the staff and the shield remained in front of her, while the sword disappeared. Once again, Dayna felt a grin on her countenance. Mai read her well.

I'm in your heart, dummy. Of course, I can tell what you're feeling. She paused. Also, watch out.

"Watch out for what?" Dayna asked confusedly. Seconds after she uttered the words, the platform beneath her disappeared and she found herself falling into darkness. However, the drop was short-lived and her body landed gently on the next platform that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

There will be times when you have to fight. Mai pretended as if nothing had happened. Keep your light burning strong. God, this is so cliché.

The staff she had seen earlier magically materialized in her hand. "What the –"

And then, black creatures arose from the ground, causing Dayna to cling to the staff with both hands in panic.

"How do you expect me to fight these things when I've never even held a weapon before?" She quickly dodged one of the monsters, and then rolled out of the way of another.

You're doing pretty well so far. Mai said wryly. Hurry up, though. I need to move on to the next part of my lines.

Dayna fought the urge to look incredulously at the ceiling in favor of bonking a shadow on the head with her weapon. To her surprise, the being disappeared. "That was shockingly easy."

That's because this is only a simulation. Mai yawned boredly. When you see them in real life, it'll take a lot more than one hit to strike them down.

"Oh." She squeaked, whacking another one. "I see."

She shook off the feeling of dread that had come from Mai's words and focused on jabbing the staff at the creatures. When the last one finally disappeared, she took in a deep breath in an effort to calm her rapidly beating heart.

Nice job, Dayna. Now, I really can't be bothered with the rest of the script, so just continue up this pathway here.

"Um, okay." The girl brushed her bangs out of her face and attempted to tuck them behind her ear. When that failed, she let them be and instead trod nervously up the ramp. A small voice at the back of her head noted the beautiful art beneath her feet, but the greater part of her mind was wondering what the hell she was doing in this weird place, fighting strange creatures and listening to an old friend's voice in her supposed heart. The world was a peculiar place.

Can't you move any faster?

"No, I can't!" Dayna snapped back, instantly surprised at her own irritated response. A pang of guilt hit her, and she immediately apologized. "Sorry."

By that time, she had reached the next platform, where a light was shining a few feet ahead of her. Cautiously, she approached the radiance.

The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes, blah blah blah. Sorry about this, Dayna. You might want to turn around.

Said girl gulped, peeking over her shoulder. To her displeasure, there was an enormous dark being towering above her. As if on cue, a smirk split the shadow's face.

"Oh, joy." The brunette slowly backed up as the giant stepped forward, and the staff in her hand was slippery with sweat. "The small guys are one thing, but this giant? Uh-uh."

Unbeknownst to her was the fact that she was at the edge of the platform. She swiped once meekly at the hand that was reaching towards her, but with one more backwards step, she fell off into darkness with a screech of shock. The last thing she heard before blinking back into consciousness were a few of Mai's irritated words.

Well, at least I tried. She's on her own, now.

"Gah!" Dayna spluttered, jolting bolt upright, her chest heaving. Her hands grasped wildly around her, only ceasing when she felt warm sand beneath her fingertips. "It was just a dream."

She pulled her knees into her body, resting her chin on them. It was a strangely realistic dream, though, albeit terrifying. And Mai… How had she been in her heart?

Dayna looked down at her right hand, remembering how Mai had had a strange weapon in it so many years ago. What was it called? A keyblade? She vaguely remembered one of her teachers mentioning it in passing during one of her classes. Perhaps that was how the blonde had managed to get into her mind. They were rather mysterious weapons with strange powers. She was lucky that she had even been able to hold Mai's.

She remembered the feeling of the warm metal and the intricacy of its delicate swirls. Closing her eyes, Dayna imagined the weapon and its wielder in her head. It was odd; she could almost feel the keyblade in her hand. Memories didn't usually invoke something so, well, corporeal.

Opening her eyes, which she hadn't realized she had closed, a gasp escaped from her mouth. There, in her hand, was a keyblade, and it wasn't the same as Mai's. There were similar swirls, but the handle itself was made of white pebbles, which looked as if they had come from the shores of Destiny Islands. The gradient faded from a pale purple, to a reddish-orange, to a creamy light orange, and then to white at the tip of the weapon. It was almost like a sunset, when the light met the darkness in a clash of brilliant color.

Dreams Equinox.

"Mai?" Dayna's head shot up at the sound of the girl's voice. But, there was no response. Puzzled, she returned her attention to the weapon in her hand. "What does this mean?"

A voice threw her out of her reverie. "Dayna! We've got to go now!"

Dayna started. "Okay, coming!" She frantically tried to banish Dreams Equinox, heaving a sigh of relief as it complied. However, it left behind a keychain of a crystal heart, which she quickly pocketed; it would make a nice pendant.

She scrambled over to where her redheaded sister stood, her foot tapping impatiently. To her surprise, Kairi's two friends were still standing at the dock. They usually left before she got to the dock, presumably on some hare-brained thought of racing back to the main island, or something. Her eyes narrowed curiously; what had changed?

"Kairi, don't forget to come at 7 AM sharp." Riku stated, his aquamarine eyes flicking over to Dayna momentarily before moving on to his spiky-haired friend. "You too, Sora. Knowing you, you'd probably sleep in until noon."

"Hey!" Sora protested half-heartedly before the three friends burst into laughter. The cheesiness of the moment almost made Dayna throw up.

God, maybe it's good that I don't have any friends. And with that thought, she decided it was time to intercede.

"Well, Kairi and I need to go home now, so we'll see you later." Dayna blurted out, mentally cursing her awkwardness in social situations. "I mean, she'll see you later, because, um, yeah."

"O-kay…" Sora cocked an eyebrow but said nothing more. Dayna nodded her flustered head, grabbed Kairi's hand, and practically leaped into the boat.

"Um, Dayna?" Kairi tapped her shoulder amusedly. "This is Riku's boat."

Her face blushed the shade of a tomato. "Oh."

The two girls carefully stepped over into their own ship and Dayna hastily pushed away from the dock. She had had enough embarrassment for one day, thank you very much.

"Bye Kairi!" The two boys shouted. Only Sora was nice enough to add a goodbye to Dayna as an afterthought.

For a while, there was nothing but the sound of the paddles slapping the ocean as the sisters worked to make their way back to shore. Dayna was still reflecting over the strange events of the day, and Kairi was thinking excitedly about her adventure that would be starting the next morning. Neither of them knew that the night would bring about the end of their world.

Literally.

Their evening went along as usual. Kairi set the table, their father prepared the meal, and Dayna did the dishes. Bedtime was at 9, and all was quiet in the house. Of course, Dayna stayed up later, as per usual, making a necklace out of her new keychain. With a cry of triumph, she slammed the pliers down on the table. She had managed to twist the wire around the chain and had attached it to a longer chain so that the necklace barely peaked out from underneath her scarf. It had only taken her two hours, but weariness still pulled at her limbs and a yawn erupted from her mouth.

"Time for sleep." She muttered, stumbling off the chair. Of course, with her being her clumsy self, she knocked the chair over onto the floor. Cursing, Dayna picked it back up but paused after putting it upright. The window in front of her displayed a scene that was extremely abnormal on Destiny Islands: there was a storm brewing, and it did not look pleasant. In fact, the sky was pitch black with accents of red and purple swirling around in a spherical pattern. Lightning periodically struck the ground, and Dayna winced as she saw it hit the ocean.

"Thank god, I'm not out there." The girl brought her hands up to close the window, but a sudden movement outside caused her to freeze. There was a familiar figure dragging a boat down to the shore.

"Kairi!" Dayna shouted, wondering what reason Kairi could possibly have for venturing out in a storm like this. "Come back here, it's not safe!"

The redhead showed no sign that she had heard her. "Dangit."

Dayna hurriedly grabbed her scarf and swept the door shut on her way out. Behind her, the lights flickered and a pair of glowing yellow eyes blinked emotionlessly. Seconds after, another shadow popped into the room.

The invasion had begun.

God, I just love ending on dramatic notes. I really need to stop with those.

What do you guys think about Dayna? She's a bit insecure, but she has a hidden sassy side (as you may or may not have been able to tell). She just doesn't show it that often because she's shy around basically everybody.

Check out a pencil drawing I did of Dayna at my deviantart xXxDovexXx :)

Well, toodles.

- SoraMaiDay