A/N: Yay, last chapter was liked :D! So…I've decided, since no one has really voiced their idea about it, I will not be sending Hope to the Space Paranoids with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, for the first visit. I will send her in one of the later visits, but definitely not for this first visit. Okay, so…*looks around for help* PSSST! What else do I need to say?

Axel: More stuff about me!

Hope: She already talked about you last chapter! Twilight, tell them about what will definitely be happening in either this chapter or the next!

Oh, right! Okay, so…Hope will be there when the King makes his presence known to SDG, plus she is going to talk to him in the beginning of this chappie, and…as for her past being revealed…well, we'll just have to see about that…Er, anything else I'm forgetting guys?

Ienzo: Responses to reviewers, Ms. Twilight!

Oh, that's right! Thanks! So, Amanda, my favorite little anonymous reviewer (seriously, you're like one of my favorite anonymous reviewers :D) You asked me if I ever watched the amazingness that is Ouran Host Club. In case the previous sentence didn't clue you in, yes, I have seen every single episode of host club, and I do agree with you, it is very amazing :D Keep on reviewing, kay? Okay, anything else I'm forgetting?

EVERYONE: JUST GET ON WITH THE STORY!

Yeesh, you people are certainly impatient today, aren't ya? Okay, okay! FORWARD AND ON TO THE STORY! EEEEEENNNNNNJJJJJOOOOYYYY!

"You're lucky that Leon and the King arrived when they did, otherwise you would be worse off than you are! I'm amazed that you're even sitting up!" Aerith exclaimed, her hands glowing with a green aura as she healed another wound of Hope's, Ienzo sitting down next to her and watching.

Leon was off to the side of the room, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, Yuffie standing over Cid's shoulder and watching him furiously type at the computer, the man cursing under his breath while chewing on his cigarette that was dangling out the side of his mouth, and The King was standing off to side, hands crossed behind his back patiently.

Hope stared down at her lap, playing with her fingers. "Sorry…."

Aerith sighed, giving her a small smile. "No, it's not your fault. You didn't know this would happen."

Hope gave a small smile, before someone spoke to her. "Gosh, it's been a really long time!"

Hope looked over and smiled at the King, nodding in agreement. "Yeah. It has been, hasn't it, Mickey?"

Mickey smiled back at her, "It's been 6 years since I last saw you. Last year, you disappeared without a trace!"

Hope stared down at the floor guiltily. "Yeah…"

Leon stepped away from the wall and over to where Aerith was seated, "I think you owe us all an explanation, Hope. I've left the subject alone for awhile, but I'm tired of just letting it go."

"…."

"I know that you knew that guy. Who was he?"

Hope closed her eyes and sighed. "He…he used to work as one of the castle guards, and he was one Ansem's apprentices…His name was Braig."

"You know more."

"He's also a member of Organization XIII. Number II, The Free Shooter. Xigbar…"

"How do you know all of that?"

Hope shook her head. "I can't tell you why, because…I don't want you to tell Sora. I haven't told him yet either, so…"

"But-"

"You'll tell us all eventually, right?" Mickey intervened, Hope sending him a gracious smile.

"I will."

No more was said about the topic.

"So, I take it that you boys had a nice long trip without me, huh?"

Sora scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "We came back to get you, but you were still asleep!"

Hope giggled, ruffling his hair as they walked into the computer room. "I'm kidding! But it's nice to see you guys! Okay, here we are!" Hope said, pointing over to the computer.

Sora ran over to it, Goofy and Donald on his heels. Immediately, he began to type in something. "Where's Kairi? Where's Riku?"

Hope's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the name Kairi. 'Kairi?…Surely, he couldn't mean…Kairi as in the little girl that would always come to story time?'

Suddenly, Sora began to beat on the keys, Leon frowning from his spot next to Hope. "Easy…You wanna break it?"

Hope heard a noise from behind them, turning around to see what it was, only to find nothing. She shook her head, thinking she was just hearing things as she turned back around to look at Sora, who sent her and Leon an apologetic look.

"Oh, sorry. Guess I got a little carried away."

Suddenly, Goofy made a noise of surprise, pointing up at the ceiling, where a blue little creature was hanging from. It suddenly lost its footing and fell, landing on both feet directly on the keyboard. Donald stomped a foot as he shot the little creature a glare. "Get offa there!" Donald jumped up onto the keyboard, the little blue creature laughing and jumping on top of his head before hopping off and onto the floor, moving over to where Hope was, Donald turning around to watch him as he crawled up Hope's back and onto his shoulder, surprising her slightly. An alarm on the computer went off, surprising everyone in the room.

"Attention current user. This a warning. Further misuse of this terminal will result in immediate defensive action."

"Who's there?" Sora asked, glancing around the room wildly.

"I am the Master Control Program. I oversee this system."

"Where are you?"

The alarm went off and Donald took a step forward, only to have the alarm go off again, everyone yelling his name in unison.

"Donald!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Decision gate reached. You are now under arrest."

Donald lifted one foot off of the keyboard while Sora stared at the computer in disbelief. "Arrest!"

Leon and Hope moved forward a bit, Hope leaning over to whisper to Leon. "Psh, arrest! How can a computer do something like that? What's it gonna do, suck 'em in?"

A bright light from the side averted their gaze to a large cable network like thing (A/N: I'm not sure how to really describe it, other than call it a portal…) lighting up. Leon gasped silently while Hope's eyes widened slightly, both of them looking over at the three as they were getting Donald off of the Keyboard.

"Guys!"

"Run!"

The three looked over at them and Hope made the move to run forward, only to have Leon hold her back as a bright light shot out and hit the three, erasing them slowly before they were no longer there, the light disappearing.

"Um…what just happened?"

"You jinxed it, Hope. The computer literally sucked them in."

"Ooops…."

"…"

"GAAAAHHH!" Hope screeched, grabbing Leon's shoulders and shaking them slightly. "WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT DO WE DO! THEY CAN'T STAY IN THERE FOREVER! HOW DO WE GET THEM OUT! GET THEM OUT LEON!"

"It's kind of hard to do that when you're screaming, Hope." Leon told her calmly, moving to the keyboard and beginning to type in some things.

Hope sighed, sinking down to the floor, the little blue creature still on her shoulder. It crawled off and down to in front of her, staring at her curiously.

"What's you name?"

It opened its mouth, it's voice somewhat funny to Hope, though she could understand it. "Stitch."

"I'm Hope."

"Hope friend?"

She smiled. "Sure. Hope friend."

An hour later~

"Damn!" Leon exclaimed, slamming his fist.

"Careful, Leon. Wouldn't want the computer sucking you in too."

He sent her a look, only to have it disappear as a sound from the terminal caused him to turn around and Hope to look up at it. In seconds, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were in front of them, the three of them jumping down in joy. "We did it!" Donald exclaimed.

"Where have you been?" Leon asked, Sora scratching his cheek as he thought of how to explain.

"Well, uh…There's a…world inside this computer, where these, um…programs live, and…"

"Something tells me that this is gonna be long story…"

10 minutes of explaining~

"So in other words…Ansem's research data is off-limits unless we know the password."

Sora nodded in confirmation. "I think that's right."

"But you've already defeated Ansem…" Leon pointed out.

"Gawrsh, maybe we'll never find the password." Goofy said, Donald kicking him slightly for stating such a negative thought.

"That means…this is all a wild goose chase." Leon said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You're chasing what now?" A voice asked from the doorway, everyone looking over to find a woman with brown hair and clad in a black leather attire staring over at them, her hands on her hips. "Well, well! A hidden room! Guess I'd better take another look around." With that being said, she turned around and headed back into the study room, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Hope all running after her.

She began to throw things around and hit the walls, making a bunch of noise. Sora casually crossed his hands behind his head. "She just won't give up…"

"And neither will we!" Donald exclaimed.

"C'mon, we've gotta look for that password!" Goofy reminded them as Hope moved into the room to look around. Her search for the password stopped when she stopped to stare at the portrait on the wall. Unconsciously, her hands tightened into fists.

'He loved you like a son, Xehanort. More than you will ever know. He praised you so much more than he did the others. He truly thought that you were a special person that had a gift. And in return, what did you give him? Darkness. You cast him away into a world of nothingness. And because of what you did, he's gone. And I'll never get a chance to see him ever again.' When Hope snapped back to reality, the picture was gone, writing left in its place. A voice alerted her to a visitor in the room.

"Say, fellas, did somebody mention the Door To Darkness?" Hope turned around and smiled while Sora, Donald, and Goofy all jumped with joy, the King shutting the door before he was tackled into several hugs. Hope turned away and tuned them all out until her name was mentioned.

"Hope?"

She turned around, noticing that it was just the King in the room with her. She gave him a smile. "Your Majesty, I think…it would be best if I explained what I've been hiding to you first."

"I'm all ears!"

"Last year…I was kidnapped by Organization XIII and held against my will and with it. There are several members that…used to be apprentices of Ansem's, and my friends. Ienzo…I don't know how it happened, but somehow, after he faded away, he came back, except…he was a child, like he is now, except he has a heart. I thought…that if I helped the Organization, I could help my former friends get new hearts…but…I found out the real reason I was being kept there. I'm dangerous…"

"How is that?"

Hope closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, holding them to her chest. "My heart…is something that their leader see's as a weapon and a tool. My heart has an incredibly large amount of light within it, and because of that, there's the possibility that it could be used to open the doors to Kingdom Hearts. It's sort of like a key. I found out what their plans were, and I got away. But…they're trying to take me back now, like you witnessed the other day with Xigbar. That's why I began to travel with Sora. I figured that since he visits so many worlds, it would it make it harder for them to pinpoint where I exactly was. But I guess I was wrong. I don't want to be burden, and make everyone feel like they need to protect me. That's why I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want anyone to know, because I didn't want to put anyone in danger. I've done enough as it is already…"

"So, if you got away, how come it took you so long to come back here?"

She smiled sadly, "I had to help a friend by keeping him safe. They were after him too. But he's safe now, in a place where they'll never find him."

The King smiled, looking thoughtful for a minute before speaking again. "Hope…I know that you feel like telling too much will put those around you in danger, but if you keep everything to yourself, how are we supposed to keep you safe?"

"But I don't want everyone's protection-"

"But we want to help you," Mickey interrupted, "You have a lot of people that care about you and your well being. Gosh, I know I would be sad if I something happened to you when I knew I could've tried to help you."

Hope stared down at her feet, silence coming from her. "…"

"You have a lot of friends that care about ya, and I know they would be just as sad as I would if something happened to you. You can keep it all to yourself if you want to. But just remember, you've got friends that wouldn't mind helping you out every once in awhile when you're in a tight situation."

She smiled a genuine smile. "Your majesty…thank you. Oh, and…could you please not tell any of this to Sora? I don't want him to worry."

"My lips are sealed, since ya asked. I'm gonna go check out some things in town. Be back a in a bit!" He exclaimed, waving goodbye to the Princess as he pulled his hood up and exited the study, leaving her to herself.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Or so she thought.

Hope glanced to the side to see Leon leaning against the wall, arms crossed across his chest. "If you were listening the entire time, then you know why."

He pulled away from the wall, angrily. "You're not a burden to anyone, Hope! You're our friend."

She laughed lightly. "I'm a pretty crappy friend though, aren't I? Keeping secrets from all of you…What kind of friend is that?"

"…If you had just said something to us sooner, Hope, you could be safer than you are right now-"

"And have people die because they were trying to protect me? Thanks, but no thanks."

Leon frowned. "If you die, then who's gonna take care of this world? Who's supposed to take the throne then?"

She sighed. "There you go again, Leon. You just don't get it, do you? The reason I keep saying I can't take that responsibility anymore is because…I'm sort of a bad guy now. Maybe if I hadn't of done all of those horrible things that I did, then things might be a bit different. I know that you think my place as the caretaker of this world is important, but right now, it's not. I'm pretty sure no one would even care if someone ruled this world. Look at them now: I doubt those people even knew this world was once ruled by someone, or even remember."

Leon moved over to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Hope…When we left Traverse Town to come back home, Aerith cried the entire way back because she was afraid that you would somehow show up again and find everyone of us gone. You wouldn't know where we were or where went. Yuffie and I practically had to drag her onto the Gummi ship to get her to come one. When we got back…nothing felt the same without you around. It felt…wrong, being back here without you with us. I felt…like it was my fault that you were gone."

"Why?"

"Because of the way I had treated you, telling you to move on with your life. I should've realized that not everyone could cope as fast as I could."

"Leon…I know that you all care for me. But…I just don't want to see anyone else suffer for my sake. I'm dangerous. Being too close to me…might end getting you killed. You saw that guy that attacked me in the church. Those guys…are much stronger than you think. They may be beings that have no hearts, but that doesn't mean that they aren't strong. Organization XIII…they will stop at nothing until they get what they want. And I know that for a fact. Because of what they seek, they're causing turmoil in all of the worlds. That's why I can't stay here for a long period of time. I have to fix everything that they've messed up. I know it seems like I'm asking a lot from you and everyone else, but please…don't think I'm some girl that can't take care of herself." She smiled, looking up at him with bright lilac eyes. "I've sort of been doing it for five years now. I think I've gotten the hang of being on my own. But I know. I have all my friends. I know that there will be times where I can't do something on my own. And if a time like that ever comes, I know who to call."

Leon nodded, giving her a small smile before releasing her shoulders. "Sora is already back from the computer. He's downloading the data right now. I'm heading back into town."

"Actually, I was just heading that way."

Together, the two left.

I was sitting inside Merlin's house when it happened. A small earthquake shook everything, causing several things to fall off of the shelves. Yuffie came barging in, conformer in hand. "We've got problems!"

I threw the book down onto the table and ran after her, running alongside her. "Yuffie, where's Ienzo?"

"Last time I heard, he was down at the shop helping Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Don't worry, he's fine!"

"Right…"

We ran through the bailey, which had been partially destroyed on one side. Yuffie pointed down to what she had wanted to show me and my eyes widened at the sight.

"My god…"

Thousands and thousands of heartless were making there way down the path below and heading to where the Great Maw was. Yuffie was suddenly gone, and I was left to stare. A sudden chill went down my spine, causing me to turn around and stare back at the castle, a bright light coming from the postern.

'So…he is back…No time to worry about it. There are bigger problems other than Sephiroth. I'll deal with him later...'

"Looks like you were right about something big happening," Leon said as he walked over to me, a frown etched on his face as he drew his Gunblade.

I summoned Hope's sky and nodded. "Shall we?"

"Yeah. Let's go!"

And so the battle for our home was on. In the end…I wasn't so sure how the outcome would turn.

And that scared me to bits.

To be continued….

A/N: *Whistles* 12 pages…not bad! So…review and stuff, kay? LATER TATERS