The Train

Alright, I thought as I groaned and sat up. These vision things have got to stop.

Rubbing away the bleariness from my eyes, I tried to figure out where I was now. I expected to find myself on the floor of the sitting room in the Mysterious Tower, but that wasn't where I was. I was still dreaming. Brilliant.

I was sitting in the center of a circular room with about a dozen doors surrounding me. It reminded me of the way J.K. Rowling described the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter books. Except here, everything was bright white. Curious, I stood and spun around slowly. What a strange place...

The ends of my hair lifted and tickled my shoulders, moved by a sudden breeze. I turned and say a door standing wide open. A bright light emitted from it, beckoning. Cautious, I walked toward it and stopped outside of it. This is only a dream...

Gathering my wits, I took a step through the door...

...and walked through into a moving train car.

Well, that was...interesting.

I spun around, confused. The door to the white room was gone. That's a little freaky. Then again, it is a dream.

The train car was an old fashioned lounge car. I'd say from around the mid-nineteenth century. Out past the windows on one side, grassy fields and leafy woods passed by. It was really pretty. I went to look out the other side, but my eyes were caught by a sudden glimpse of golden yellow.

A few seats in front of me, a boy with golden yellow hair sat gazing out the windows.

Roxas?

I rushed over to the booth. "Roxas, what-"

The boy turned around, halting me in my tracks. It wasn't Roxas. My eyes widened in embarrassment. The boy didn't look at all like a boy, he looked like he was only a year or two older than me. I stared at him, shocked. Light blonde hair, no longer then his ears, softly waved in the wind of his turn and settled just above his eyes. It was the same golden yellow as Roxas' hair. As well as the blue of his eyes. However... his face was different. Sharper and more striking.

"I'm so sorry." I said, fumbling for words. "I-I thought you were someone else."

"That's okay," the guy said. His voice was smooth, enunciating every syllable... like a singer or actor would. "I actually thought you were someone else as well." He admitted with a sheepish smile.

I found myself grinning like a fool at his smile. It was so genuine and bright. "What's your name?" I asked, curious.

The guy stood up from his seat and tucked a hand into the pockets of his jeans. "'What's in a name?'" He quoted cordially, reaching up with his free hand to pull a lock of my hair through his fingers. "'That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'"

Shakespeare, I thought with a smile. I nodded once in appreciation. "An actor, then."

"Indeed, I am," he grinned. His eyes slipped shut and he took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "There is something different about you. You radiate a brilliant light... strong and warm." He opened his eyes and his smile turned into a smirk. "Not unlike your beautiful smile."

I blushed. A charmer, this one is, I thought. Who was this guy?

In a second, the guy seemed to change into another person right before my eyes. Easily slipping into a Shakespearian romantic. He brought his hand up to his chin, as if contemplating something. "'Shall I compare thee to a summers day?'" He questioned, walking slowly around me. I wrapped my arms around myself, tracking his every move. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate: rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date...'" He quoted softly as he finally stood before me again. "Which I feel will end soon, however much I wish not."

My face had been burning warmer and warmer this whole time. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. It would not be attractive at all if I died of a heart attack while some guy flirted with me.

That's when I spotted her. A girl with dark hair sitting at the back of the train car.

I looked back to the guy and smiled softly. He was right, this meeting will end soon. And you know what? I can quote as well. "'Sweet, so would I, yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.'" I quoted back with a sigh. "'Goodnight, goodnight! Parting in such sweet sorrow, that I shall say goodnight 'till it be morrow.'"

The guy smirked, amused, and took a hold of my hand, leaning down to kiss the top of it gently. "Then it shall be." He said, standing up. "Until we meet again."

Dazed, I stumbled away from the strange guy who with just a few phrase's captured my heart. What is wrong with me? A silly grin was plastered to my face the whole time I cross the car. I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts. I stopped at the very last booth on the left, unsure if I should sit or not.

The dark haired girl turned her golden eyes to me and gestured to the seat opposite her. "Sit, there is a lot to talk about."

So I did. Only after I sneaked a last look at the mysterious blonde guy, of course. The girl saw my glance and smiled with a small laugh. "He's a wonderful guy," she said, nodding at him. "Very charming and honest. A good heart. You have good taste."

"All he would say were quotes. I think he's an actor." I said, pulling my feet up in to the seat. "That or he likes to read."

The girl hummed in thought, tilting her head slightly to the side. "'The first casualty when war comes is truth.'" She quoted, looking at me.

"Hiram Johnson," I said. "Interesting choice."

She shrugged, "It fits."

The girl pulled her legs up into her seat like I did and leaned back against the cool material. Her face lit up in a breathtaking smile and held out her hand. "I'm Dierdra," She stated. "It's nice to finally meet you officially."

"Sam," I said politely, taking her hand and shaking it once. "Likewise. So, how are you here? Better yet, where is here?"

"You're still asleep," She said, confirming my theory. "You have just finally figured how to look inside of yourself for a change. This," She said, waving her hand around the train car, "is your heart."

"A moving train car is my heart?" I questioned skeptically.

"For others, its sometimes their home or a castle. There have even been hearts depicted as a mountainous landscape or the sea," She shrugged. "For you, it's a moving train car. Always in motion. Always heading to the next destination, never staying to long in one place. That's why change has never really bothered you all that much."

"I thought that hearts where balls of light or darkness or something." I said, lifting a hand to gesture about. "So where is my light?"

Dierdra pointed out of the train car window at the sky.

"The sun?" I gasped.

"Yup, this train circles it, protecting it from the darkness," her eyes flickered to the other side of the train. I looked and saw what seemed to be storm clouds on the horizon. Nasty, dark clouds. "For the darkness to reach the light, it has to come through here," she said, waving at the door behind her.

"What happens when it gets through?"

"I beat it to a pulp," she smirked. "That's my duty in your heart. I protect the light."

I nodded. That would make sense. "Who's he, then?" I asked, indicating the blonde guy with my head. "What's his purpose here?"

Dierdra smiled softly. "He's someone that is going to be very close to your heart. When he showed up a few days ago, the light in your heart became brighter and the darkness abated a bit."

Someone close to my heart? Like... will I fall in love with that guy some day? My cheeks warmed again at the thought. Dierdra laughed, "Each car of this train represents a level of your heart. Depending on how close you are to a person, how much you love them, decides which car they ride in. I've met your sister and some of your friends," she admitted. "But when you have a fall out with someone and you lose your love for them, they get off the train and wander into the darkness."

I stared silently out the window. No matter how much I wanted to continue discussing the mysteries of my heart, I had to get some answers. "What happened to you, Dierdra?"

Dierdra folded her hands in her lap and looked away. "I got lost."

"Lost?" I questioned, watching her.

"Yeah, after Radiant Garden was gone and I was taken away... I became so angry with everything," she shut her eyes, hiding whatever emotion that was in them. "First, my best friend was taken away, then my family, and finally, my home. I was destroyed. I lost everything.

"I learned how to fight. I trained in all the skill I could. Guns, swords, combat... I fought the darkness with fury. I fought against the thing that so many had fallen too. That's when I started to realize I was different. I was stronger than the others. At the end of the day, the others would talk about how strong the darkness had felt to them. It never felt strong to me." A quick smile crossed her lips and was gone. "They used to tell me that it was my bratty attitude that scared all of the darkness away. But it was more than that...

"That's about the time when I met him," she said, looking up at me. "The boy who saved me from my own darkness."

"Who was it?"

"He was a boy, just a bit older than me," she said. "His name was Divan."

My jaw dropped. "What?!" I gasped. "How-wha-"

Dierdra put a finger to my lips to shut me up. "Divan wasn't always who he is today," she said softly. "He's lost, too. When we met, he was like me. Homeless and fighting the only thing he could. But... there was a anger in him that allowed the darkness to seep in. Vengeance," she said, looking away, "can do that to a person."

A surge of emotions passed across her eyes. I sat in silence, patiently waiting for her to continue. "Divan wasn't from Radiant Garden," she finally said. "He came to Traverse Town from another world. He lost everything like I had. We shared the same need to avenge our worlds for what the darkness did to them. Then when I disappeared... he sought to avenge me. Opening his heart even more to the darkness."

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"Divan was with me when I disappeared." She said, not looking at me. "A neo shadow he had been fighting got away. It ran past me and snagged my shirt, pulling me into the darkness with it. He couldn't do anything to save me, he was too far away. Guilt ebbed away at him from that day. He wanted to look for me in the darkness, but couldn't find a way in. Now the darkness has completely taken over his heart and he's tied to that crazy, old git."

True anger flashed in her eyes at the mention of Xehanort. Closing her eyes, she calmed herself and looked back at me. "I met a lot of people in the realm of darkness," she said. "Even you."

Me? I was in the realm of darkness?

"Your spirit body was sitting next to the sea in the Dark Margin," she said absently. "Just... sitting there. It was...strange when I first saw you. I felt something inside of me, here." She laid a hand on her heart. "Just a tiny bit of warmth, like a small flame. I realized that it was... hope. When I asked who you were, you said you didn't know." Dierdra lowered her hand to her lap. "I asked, 'What are you doing here?', you said 'I'm waiting for someone'. When I asked who, you said 'I don't know, but... they'll come here and wake me up'. Then I laid a hand on your shoulder and a warmth went through me and a light appeared out of the darkness of the water. We walked through it and I woke up here. In your heart."

"I don't understand, are you dead?" I asked, confused.

"Yes," she said, meeting my eyes, "and no. The heartless that pulled me in left me horribly weak. The darkness inside of me wasn't helping, either. The darkness was eating away at me, little by little. When I found you, I was hardly alive. Although I was physically in the darkness, you were spiritually there. By my joining you, it helped you obtain a spirit to fight. You overcame your demons and I battle the darkness that tries to take your heart."

I was silent for a minute, thinking everything through. She had died, going into that realm. The last of her being latched onto me, the most compatible since I was her other. To me, it sounded like someone had meant for this to happen, not just a chance meeting. "Dierdra, what am I supposed to be doing?"

"So much has been lost... even the once mighty kingdom has gone into hiding, in fear of being destroyed. Sam... there is so much to do in so little time. If you just listen to your heart," she smiled softly, "you will find your answer."

BANG!

Crying out, I jumped up from my seat. The sound came from the door next to us, echoing through the car. Dierdra stood and moved toward the door, lying a hand upon it. Another bang reverberated from the door. Dierdra gasped and stumbled backwards, turning to me.

"Listen, Sam, don't ignore the darkness," she said hastily. "It's a part of you just as much as the light is."

A dark smoke started to seep through the cracks of the door, dripping drops of blackness to the ground. My eyes went blurry and a wave of exhaustion swept over my mind. I collapsed into a strong pair of arms. My eyes were still fuzzy, but I could see clusters of color. I saw a flash of blonde and then a flash of black as I felt Dierdra lean over me.

"Sam?"

I tried with all of my might to focus, but I was too tired.

"Sam...please...save him..."

Then I blacked out.

My eyes snapped open frantically and a gasp was sucked into my lungs. I was back in the sitting room, lying on the couch with Roxas. The fire crackled in the mantel, the only sound in the quiet room. My head was pounding in pain. I groaned and covered my eyes with my hands. The light stung.

"Sam?"

My heart stopped for a second at the sound of the voice.

"Are you alright?"

I sat up slowly, removing myself from being next to Roxas. My brain felt like it was melted. Too much information. "Headache," I whimpered. "Big headache." My eyes really, really hurt. I bet that if I looked in that mirror again, I'd see gold instead of green. I kept my eyes covered and added my other hand to my forehead. I leaned heavily against the back of the couch, curled up in my own little world. Roxas sat next to me, worried.

That's when I remembered why my head hurt so much.

Namine was gone.

A invisible pain squeezed my heart. She was gone. Forever. Tears swelled beneath my hand and spilled down my cheeks. I couldn't stop them.

"Sam?" Roxas said, panicked.

"She's gone," I sobbed. "Namine. She's gone."

Immediately, gentle hands grasped my shoulders and pulled me into a warm embrace. I curled into Roxas and cried into his shirt, pulling my hands away from my head and eyes. I kept my burning eyes shut. He rested his chin next to my head in my hair. "I know," He whispered softly, "I felt it." He pulled back, to look at my face, but I pulled away. My eyes were still gold.

"No, Roxas," I cried, "I..."

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, but I heard hurt in his voice. "It's okay, you know. You can trust me."

I know that, I thought miserably, I just don't know how much you trust me. I put my hands into my lap, keeping my eyes shut. Tears still streamed down my cheeks. I felt him wipe them away. I was afraid of his reaction, but he was already suspicious of something and I can't keep hiding this.

I opened my eyes and looked into his. Shock was the first emotion to cross his face, then confusion as he pulled away from me. "What..."

I choked back another sob. "My eyes change color when the darkness is close to my heart," I explained teary. "It means that Dierdra is borrowing some of my power to fight it."

"Dierdra?"

"She's my other in this universe," I explained in a whisper, "like Kaity and Kairi."

Roxas opened his mouth to say more, but a door opened behind me, interrupting him. I turned my head around to see Kaity walk out, fully dressed. "Good morning, you too," she smiled. We half-heartedly greeted her. Kaity stopped, noticing the awkward vibes coming from us. "Uh, did someone die or something? And why are your eyes gold, Sam?"

I told Kaity about my dream with Namine and the reason behind my eyes. Her cheery atmosphere vanished, replace by a cloud of anguish. She fell into one of the chairs, defeated.

"I knew something was up when I woke up this morning," she muttered. Her eyes looked over Roxas and I, "Not to change the subject or anything, but why are you both still in your sleep clothes? It's almost noon."

Noon?! My cheeks warmed for the billionth time as the pain in my eyes and head subsided, but I hardly noticed. "Uh..." What was I supposed to say? She's going to tease me about this forever!

Seeing my panicked expression and red cheeks, Roxas laughed and stood. I glared at him. Why is he laughing? This isn't funny! He maneuvered to stand in front of me and crouched down to my level, looking into my eyes. "Your eyes are green again," he said before rising and gently kissing the top of my head. My blush spread down my neck.

Kaity stared at me, wide eyed as Roxas left to his own room. I buried my face in my hands, uselessly hiding from Kaity, who I felt suddenly sit next to me. Here it comes...

"What the hell did I miss?!" She exclaimed. "What happened last night?" Her eyes flickered to Roxas' door and back, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Did you two do anything?"

"What?!" I gasped, turning to her. "Oh my God! No!" I exclaimed, waving my hands frantically. "No! Nothing like that! I couldn't sleep last night, so I came out here to draw and he came out and we talked. He knew that if I tried to go back to sleep alone, that I wouldn't sleep, so we both went to sleep out here," I explained hastily.

"On the couch?" Kaity said hesitantly. "Together?"

"Uh..." She would never believe a denial. "Yeah," I admitted reluctantly.

Kaity squealed and tackled me, "Aw, that's so cute!" She pulled away and I coughed, trying to breathe again. "Details," she demanded. "What happened? What did you talk about? How did you feel? Was he-"

"Whoa! Slow down!" I laughed, covering her mouth with my hand. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my hand away. "We talked about our mutual feeling for one another. Nothing happened," I shrugged, "But... I think that was the first time in a while that I felt... I don't know, happy..." I said with a smile.

"Well," Kaity said hugging me. "I'm happy if you're happy." She pulled away and took another look at me, her nose scrunching up, "I'll be even happier once you change and shower."

I sighed and got up, gathering my sketchbook and pencils. I went to our room and threw my bag on my bed. As soon as I was alone though, my mind was whirring. Thinking about everything that had happened in my dreams last night. It seems like I'll be getting quite a bit of art done while we are here.