The Sapphire Sorceress

Disclaimer: The rights to Kingdom Hearts belong to Disney and Square Enix.

Act 34: Mystic Moon

"Maybe. I just wish I knew what I was doing here. How I got here... I started having the strangest dreams."

Destiny Islands: Mainland ( Kairi's POV )

As I walked through the halls of my school I knew the season has changed in more ways than just the color of the leafs. With the turn of a new part of the year time seems to move onto different events that many consider holidays. With the upcoming results on the S.E.E.D exams there was also the important holiday of Thanksgiving. Naturally everyone is ready for the big feast, and to think about the people, things, and memories they cherish the most out of their lives. There were many things I'm grateful to have certainly yet the things I want to have, which makes this holiday somewhat difficult to endure with for me...

'Am I being selfish for feeling this way?' It could be the case, so I guess that means I have to enjoy being around the people who can be here during this special time of the year. Another sign of this change was the colder air breezing by when I arrived here earlier, and it turned out we were lucky to live on these islands. Apparently in other worlds the weather has not only a colder atmosphere, the other worlds can actually get snow which I never saw before in my whole life.

"The land becomes so white in color that sometimes you can even watch the sky since it looks so bright even during the night." That's what Quistis told me from her studies about the ones who managed to cross the border of the other worlds. Then again it two completely different things to see and actually watch those snow flakes come from out of the sky. Even if such an even never might happen I still wanted the holidays to be filled with happiness for everyone.

It only made sense Rufus wanted to regain some approval from the crowd with a special dinner for the staff, student, and several citizens living on this island to attend on Thanksgiving. Hopefully Zidane will be there at the event, then perhaps we can finally talk with each other again since he's been avoiding me lately, which made me even more curious about what Rufus told him...

"Kairi, there you are!" Yuffie and Tidus waved at me bringing their lunches over to my table to spark some kind of conversation. Nonetheless, I was grateful some of my friends wanted to reach out for my attention, the boredom of school and more training has soured my mood which might change now.

"Yuffie, Zidane, but...where's Wakka? I haven't seen him in a while."

"Oh don't worry he's been hanging out with Lulu, and don't tell anyone yet but I think he really likes her!"

"Yeah Yuffie, but are you sure it's not Wakka who has the crush on her instead?"

I almost gagged on the bread I was eating from my sandwich as they were talking about the possible new couple. If they truly did want to love one another then I can only hope for the best. At least there was some good news in the matters of love...shaking my head I decided to change to subject to a more important issue bothering me, the current state of Zidane.

"Do you guys know where he is today? I haven't seen him around the classes, and I don't want to believe that..."

"We don't know Kairi. Yuffie asked some of her friends as did I however everyone is assuming he's just been skipping classes."

He couldn't have reverted back to his old ways like that, the reason must involve that conversation with President Rufus. I doubt anyone would believe me with Quistis support, even the truth can be bought out with the right amount of money. All I can really do is fine Zidane and talk with him about this problem to understand what more I can do for his sake.

"Don't worry too much about him Kairi. He usually is kind of a loner, so even if you don't see him for a while he will be just fine."

"I don't know Tidus. Kairi has been close with him recently, and the fact he is not bothering to visit her is not a good sign..."

I had to believe that was not the case of course; Zidane was not a weakling like mostly everyone thought the "monkey-boy" was from this academy. As I was drinking some of my Banora juice there was a sudden change in the atmosphere, everyone's eyes moved to look at someone entering the cappteria while I ignored this person to finish up with my meal.

"It's her..."

"The new student..."

"I forgot how beautiful she looks..."

The new student? Oh that would be-

"I hope you don't mind if I sit here. No? Great!"

Before I could blink a flash of pink-hair slammed down right next to my spot at the table, her hand grabbed the last part of my sandwich, and she finished it off before I could process what just happened to me. This wonderful ray of sunshine not gulping down the rest of my drink happened to be none other than our new student: Claire Farron.

She was also known as "Lighting" to some of the students, the nickname coming from how fast she could move like at this moment to ruin the remaining minutes of my lunch time. Not much as known about her when she introduced herself besides her sister who is living in a completely different world from these islands. The idea of visiting other worlds or even living in other places was foreign and not acceptable to the general public, but to the exceptions like us keybearers and guys like Squall that was the norm.

'She must be missing her sister badly perhaps that is why-'

"Hey! You got anything else to eat or what?" Unbelievely Lighting was still quite hungry even after snatching up my plate of food, but my friends didn't look like they would let her eat anymore.

"Why don't you just get your own food Claire? You just took stuff that wasn't even yours in the first place." Yuffie was always the first one to speak up for me if there was something going on. Tidus also stuck up for me standing up to the new girl who had one mean look in her eye.

"Kairi, you're a nice girl aren't you? She is generous enough to let me eat some of her food right?" While I was prepared to say no, the sudden realization of her size compared to mine and the fact she was grabbing hold of Yuffie by the arm in a "playful" manner let me know she was some ordinary bully.

"...Of course Claire." I couldn't fight back at the risk of hurting my friend.

"Lighting, but yeah Yuffie we can get along just fine if you don't fight me." With a change on her face showing a "smile" she let go of my friend while plopping back down in the chair next to mine. First impressions were she was a stuck-up girl who liked pushing others down, but as my teachers have shown me there can be more hidden under the surface. Her heart might be in turmoil which meant it was up to people like me to find a way of possibly fixing it.

"So, umm how has your first day been Lightning? I know it might be confusion where you need to go or meeting some of the other students, but if you want I can help you out with anything you need."

"I think that will be nice we can meet up after classes are done with." My eyes blinked in surprise hearing that she accepted my offer, and even more shockingly seemed happy about it.

'Something isn't right about this.' My inner voice whispered while I hoped she was just acting tough because she was afraid about her first day of school. After lunch I was in history class learning more about how Thanksgiving was started here, the legend goes people from another world washed up on these very shores claiming to have come from another land.

"The settlers apparently believe that in turn for being treated so kindly by the villagers who let them stay on this particular island they would celebrate the occasion with a huge feast, the dinner would be a symbol of their united bond as people who were thankful for their blessings along with new friends and family."

"More like they got conned into giving up their home to a bunch of swindlers..." I couldn't help hearing that comment being muttered under Claire's breath as some of the classmates giggled, which was quickly silenced by a glare from her cold blue eyes.

"Is there something you wish to discuss with us Miss Claire?"

"Actually yes there is Mister Sith. The fact is you're not telling anyone the truth about that event, and how a bunch of people lied about their true intentions of coming here on this island!" True intentions? The books only mentioned both parties working together in order to live here in harmony.

"I bet you all don't know why I'm not here with my sister, and if the staff told you what I told them you likely wouldn't even believe my story!"

"That is enough Miss Claire! You will sit back down, remain quiet, and continue this class or face detention!" I knew Lightning was headstrong yet I also got to know her enough to realize she wasn't willing to get into trouble so easily as she flopped back into her chair giving into Cait Sith's demand without a fight. Some of the other kids were making fun of her defeated gesture, but I knew she was not going to remain quiet for long...

With the last class of the day head I decided to use the restroom to get ready for the remaining hour ahead, the place thankfully was not filled with anyone else giving me time to myself. On some occasions Quistis considers our school to behave like a bee have, and there were moments when I agreed with her comment. All of us did move around to learn, grow, mature, and graduate with flying colors.

"Psst Kairi..." I looked around in the room, the voice didn't reveal anyone in the room with me, but the sound reminded me of-

"It's me Zidane! Look up above you!" I almost fell on the floor when I saw Zidane literally in the roof peeking out from a hidden panel. Wait is that how he's been able to avoid being detected, the idea of a school student crawling around the air ducks required a good amount of physical skill, but I guess that why Zidane was considered a monkey by most of the school.

"Where have you been! I've been worried sick about you Zidane, the fact you refused to meet me, and now you just show up in the girl's locker room...wait a minute! Why are you even in the girl's locker room?!" Sick, disgusting and perverted piece of...

"Look there is a reason I can't see you right now. Just watch out for the new student Claire, the reason she came here involves you and me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I can't explain it here, but if Rufus comes looking for you don't confront him alone. Trust me things will only get worse from here on out, so watch your friends closely..." Thankfully he did leave at this moment, the doorknob began to move around as the panel was put back into place on the roof not looking disturbed by Zidane. Speaking of the new girl Lighting came into the bathroom with a nasty look in her eyes...perhaps I should get out of here.

"To be honest I'm really glad you came here, the chances are we won't get to meet after school today so I need to get this off my chest. I know stuff about you Kairi, and I'm not just talking about your life in this academy." No way she knew about my keyblade duties unless someone told her about it.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sure go ahead to pretend that there is not way to reunite with my sister. I have plenty of time to spare, which means we are going to become the best of friends in no time, and best friends don't keep secrets. See ya later Kairi! We should get together for some turkey." The cheerful nature of Lighting only made her veiled threat more certain as she left me to think about her words. If Zidane was speaking about Lighting then could Rufus be involved in this as well? I need to talk with Sqaull, Quistis, and well anyone who can help me with this issue...

The World That Never Was: Grey Area ( Aqua's POV )

- Day 94 - Hearts

Today was going to be very special to all of us nobodies as we would come together for a special meeting with Xemnas, the place of this summit would be at the very top of this castle to have a tribute to our Kingdom Hearts. With the help of the heartless like that Wavecrest Roxas defeated it continues to grow more brightly each day; the darkness of this world contains an increasing source of light and hope for our kind. I can't be sure how they were currently doing since Axel was back in charge over them for their last few missions.

The passage of time was difficult for beings who can't age, but we were aware of the fact it had been a long time since we could truly feel anything. It might have been several months of even a year since I've come here however I did know that I'm just same as the first day I've come here. There were changes of course like the loss of nearly half of this group, and now I did remember my past identity as Aqua.

'It seems like time means nothing to us anymore...' No matter how many entries I put into my journal, the number of days that pass by seem to move quickly and slowly creating a strange contradiction. My mind usually goes into these kinds of thoughts when I had nothing to do, and that's why I enjoyed talking with people to get my mind out of this trance like-

"Auxaq..." Axel who was standing above where I was sitting down on one of the lounging chairs in the room. I figured he was mad once again, but his expression looked sad instead which surprised me. Standing up I wondered if there was something going on with him as he was not yelling at me like he would over these past few days.

"I know that I've been acting hard on you lately, but yesterday I've gotten a chance to think about things and after speaking with Roxas and Xion something clicked in my head. Xemnas told me I needed some time alone to think about what matters to me, why I should continue serving this organization, and most of all how to learn to care about others again. He felt that my friendship with Roxas and Xion was nothing but a shame since I lack the heart to really bond with them..."

Xemnas told him that? That can't be true since he supported my efforts to befriend Roxas and Xion.

"Do you think he was punishing you?"

"Not exactly, the reason he told me was I had forgotten that I was a nobody because I've been spending too much time with a fantasy. That reality had escaped me for a moment so he figured if I was no longer around the people I considered friends my mind would remember what I really am."

My head titled over as I could not understand why our superior would make Axel suffer like that just for getting friendly with his comrades, the reason for this had to be much deeper than what he told me.

"I...get it they are my partners first and comrades second that was the lesson I've learned. Still I figured that my relationship with him would have worked out, but even that seems like a lost cause at this point." Before I could ask who "him" was he just waved his hand around slapping my shoulder in a kind gesture.

"At least you looked out for the kids while I was busy so...umm I'm sorry that I've been kind of an ass to you. Despite what I've said earlier you're still a fine looking warrior even without your keyblade. Do you think we can still be-"

"Of course we can Axel, the last few days won't affect how much we care about Roxas and Xion." I really did want this issue to go away, but something was bothering me now about Xemnas and his words to Axel. I suppose it will have to wait for another time since I just wanted to admit my relationship with our group's fire-starter.

"Listen we can settle this over some ice cream, which I pay for as a token of our bond remaining as good as it was when I got you out of that crappy, dark, and downright depressing realm." Yeah that's the charming hothead I've gotten to know over these long months, and someone who deserved a second chance to feel happy again like Roxas, Xion, and even the other nobodies.

"Come on we should meet up with the others before the ceremony starts..."

The World That Never Was: Altar of Naught

The air felt heavy as I began to approach the source of light in this realm of nothing, the power from this artificial Kingdom Hearts already was attractive, but it also brought up less than fond memories of my past along with someone else who desired this kind of power. I can only hope things will go right this time around, so I made my way over to the other members who looked at our leader who was gazing up at the "Mystic Moon" radiating above us. Roxas called it mystical as the beauty of such a thing stood out in our bleak world. The fruit of our labor still has to ripen, but once it becomes full of the hearts we seek our own bodies will be complete once more.

"The time has arrived. And at long last, we see before us the great collection of hearts. Hearts full of rage...hate...sadness...and bliss."

Souls which come from many worlds, people, and creatures of darkness unifying into one singular point, the true purpose of Kingdom Hearts as Master Eraqus...and Xehanort taught me. All of the other members were under the words being spoken to them, and I was also falling in love with the future that all of us could have.

"Shining down upon is us the crystallization of all hearts-Kingdom Hearts. There, in the sky, hangs the promise of a new world. My friends! Let us gain further power, to conquer the human heart, and claim it as our own."

I was completely mesmorised by Xemnas' speech along with how emotive he was speaking compared to his calm tone and facial expressions, which rarely showed any change like anger or happiness. My soulless body knew my duty was to fulfill the promise I made to this organization, and complete this Kingdom Hearts which means I can't fail. Gazing into his yellow eyes I knew where my loyalty lies...

"Let us remember why we are here and what we hope to achieve. Hearts shall be gathered, and be made our own. Hearts shall never again have power over us."

Yes...the souls that can lie to us, manipulate our minds, and corrupt our humanity. With our hearts back we shall become more than we were before Organization XIII. With the return of our hearts we will become the masters of those very hearts that sent us down this path in the first place...the seekers of hearts as Xemnas puts it.

"Auxaq, might I have a moment of your time..."

As the others disappeared my superior wanted some time alone with me which I didn't anticipate. Saix was also here with us making me nervous about staying on good terms with my leader and his number two nobody.

"I wanted to learn about your feelings about Roxas and Xion. Those journal entries are your private thoughts, so I felt like the best way to grasp your thoughts was to ask you in person my sorceress." A harmless question and considering he asked me like this made me feel obligated to reply to his request.

"Well from the missions I lead with them I feel that both of them have become much stronger than before however I feel that Roxas is overall much better than Xion. This is likely due to his experience with us being much longer than Xion's time here, but there is room for improvement for our keyblade users." Saix shook his head after my statement almost as if I was not saying the right thing to Xemnas.

"I appreciate the honesty Auxaq yet that is not the answer I had in mind. The relationship you have with Axel, Roxas, and Xion has peaked my interest because you know more about their current thoughts than the rest of us. That is why I need to understand how well you all can cooperate as a group or by yourselves." So that's what he really wanted to learn about with my help.

"In order to keep our keybearers in proper form Lord Xemnas wishes you to serve as the balance for those three members. Keep them in good shape, they offer more hearts for our goal, and everyone will get what they desire."

"Axel and Saix once held a tightly-knit bond however with our VII member becoming my most trusted adviser he can't spend much time with him."

"Are you sure about that Superior? I know Saix does give out many orders, but Axel really just wants to spend time with him again. I've heard him talk about missing him just as much as Roxas during our stay in Castle Oblivion." Axel despite knowing he was without emotions still cared about each one of us who didn't stray away from the path Xemnas showed us. Even if Xemnas is right that we can't truly have a friendship without a heart it doesn't mean we can't pretend that is the case. It could also mean once we do regain our souls that bond could only become stronger, and that certainly can't be a bad thing...right?

"Axel needs to remember his place, the organization's goal is more important than whatever partnership we have with each other. I have given my body, mind, and soul for this chance to become whole as will you Auxaq."

"He still cares about you Saix! No matter what's happened between you two even now he wants to remain your friend..." Saix only turned around when I explained that hiding his reaction from me.

"Then he should focus on his "real" friends then. If he wants to protect them so be it, but I don't need anyone to help me not now and not ever..."

"It pleases me to see your empathy towards your fellow nobodies, the trust you have with them will be important to have over these next coming months. There is a particular mission that I wish for you to complete today, but that will involve coming with me immediately." A mission with the Superior?! The fact we would be doing something together completely caught me by surprise as was Saix.

"Sir! You can't expect me to keep the others in line without you being here again."

"You have proven to be reliable Saix, so I think you can handle another day in charge. Besides it would give you a good chance to take our dear sorceress' advice to speak with Axel."

Saix didn't reply as he simply walked away leaving me alone with Xemnas, his hand waved in the air creating our traveling portal.

"Come we shall depart for a land on the verge of being reborn..."

Hollow Bastion: Ansem's Study

Following behind my leader we both arrived in a futuristic looking room with a giant screen in the center of the room. Before I could say anything Xemnas walked over to the computer screen, his fingers began to type something down on the keyboard. Meanwhile I couldn't fathom where he ended up taking us, the surroundings around me looked unfaimilar to my memories.

"I wouldn't feel upset you don't know about this place. After all he did keep a lot of secrets from the both of us, which is why everything that has transpired is because of him."

"Him? Do you mean Xehanort?"

"Yes...and no, the being who took was originally considered Ansem or rather Ansem the Wise." That researcher from Radiant Garden? What does he have to do with-

"As you know from your studies he took in a person who went be Xehanort, the studies and research about the heartless taking place while Ansem taught his apprentices many things." Xemnas stopped his typing to perform a weird habit of rubbing his hand over his chin, which made me feel nervous since I thought I recognized that motion from someone else.

"In fact you could say without him I would not even be here guiding nobodies towards a bright future. Nevertheless his actions lead toward his own ruin, and in turn gave birth to the very heartless we seek to feed our Kingdom Hearts..." Suddenly after Xemnas wrote in something on the computer a hole appeared on the ground, his actions revealed a huge stairway underneath our very feet. The superior of all nobodies simply walked down pulling me along like there was an invisible rope around my neck.

"In his attempts to understand the human heart that man created beings who seek out any heart they could find on pure instinct. He also discovered the possibility of crossing into other worlds, thanks to Xehanort opening the doorway thus the bridge allowing us to come here was made. All of our knowledge came from that man, and even today I'm grateful to have learned from me."

"Sir, I don't mean to sound rude however it sounds like you were one of his apprentices from the way you're speaking about him, but that can't be true." Xemnas laughed as we continued moving downward toward the destination he had in mind.

"Again you are half-right Auxaq, the man who was Ansem's finest apprentice was Xehanort yet I did learn many useful things from his knowledge. In fact you could say I would have not existed if Ansem the Wise never experimented on Xehanort's heart." Then that could mean Xemnas was...born from Xehanort? The very man who ruined my life is the person I've been working for in Organization XIII. I realized there was a choice to be made: remain in this group or run away from everything leaving behind Axel, Roxas, and Xion...which I couldn't do even if it might lead me into ruin. Xemnas must have read my mind as he turned around to look in my eyes.

"The Xehanort you're thinking about is not the one from your memories; he was a man who lost his own memories like yourself. If you don't wish to believe me you can ask Xigbar about this. Only recently did I come to realize this myself thanks to what I am going to show you today." I decided to put my faith in his words, which didn't fail me before so I only hoped my trust in Xemnas would pay off once again. Eventually we came down an empty hallways, the many different doors had empty cell rooms which made me wonder about where we had ended up. The doors in front of us came open as I looked at a circular room, only a single chair was in the middle, the symbol of our group was over the walls, and finally...my armor was on the ground?

"I believe you were seeking out the Chamber of Waking in Castle Oblivion. This is why Auxaq, welcome to the Chamber of Waking..."

So this is where Xemnas went to sometimes, and it turned out Xigbar was being honest about this place. The area seemed very bizarre yet calming to look at, my hands wanted to touch my armor which also held my keyblade next to it as well.

"Such a strange weapon you have, the items always returns to this spot even when I bring it back to our home, and whenever you make it disappear it also gets drawn back into this room." At least I know where my keyblade ends up when I try using it, but how come Xemnas can hold my weapon considering only the chosen can hold that kind of object. There were so many questions on my mind the only hope I had was answers would finally be coming.

"Recovering memories and finding the truth was not exclusive to you, the fact is I can't fully remember how I came into being except for details Xigbar has told me. That is why I came here on certain occasions. This place also could let me pass into another place in the worlds, the very room you were looking for in Castle Oblivion the Chamber of Waking." Would that create a link between both rooms? It could also be a way of finding where Ventus was in that castle since I couldn't discover that room.

"Please have a seat, the chair will not reject you if anything you will feel welcome to stay once you sit down." His tone was not making this easier considering I was not sure if this would even work like he claimed. Running my glove over the chair I wondered if this was the key to finding my friend or something Xemnas wanted me to do for his sake, but there was not much I can do besides go along with the request.

"Superior, how come you are able to connect with that room, and how did this place even get made since it looks like your handwork built this room."

"I can't say for certain how I've managed to discover Ventus' location or how I learned about you, but I did create this room to uncover those answers and more. Now its your turn to learn things you never knew about..." Another cryptic which I was started to get sick of, so I decided to roll the dice and go along with it. My black outfit was in stark contrast with the white throne I was now sitting on looking at the smile on Xemnas who was egging me to concentrate.

"Focus your thoughts, extend them outward, and seek out what you desire to find. Memories, people, places, and whatever else you can look for with your mind." Closing my eyes I began to relax my mind like he instructed hoping to discover anything about Ventus or Terra's whereabouts. First, dark space around me suddenly began to light up with a single dot shining in the darkness, then another after another lit up the void my mind was currently in, and lastly I could see a single image come into clear focus.

A white room similar to this one with the symbol of the Keyblade Master on the walls, and in the center was another throne similar to this one...just like where I put Ventus! My eyes saw him resting on throne like he was when I first left him to sleep in Castle Oblivion. It hurt being this close to him yet so far away, the ghostly image of myself tried to cup his cheeks only to move right through him.

"Ven...I'll save you no matter what."

Then the form of his began to change into a black hooded figure with his face...Roxas? Why is he now resting on this throne, and wait the figure is changing again into a person with a different head and hair color. Suddenly I was looking at Xion who was staring right at my face with...a strange smile on her face. What happened to Ventus and Roxas?

"Don't you understand? I have to make you a part of me to...that is the reason I was created." Her hands managed to grasp hold of my arms as my body was now being pulled closer to her. What is going on, why is she doing this to me, and is this just some dream of my subconscious or...

"Xion! Stop it please it is me Auxaq!" The innocent giggle from her lips was completely out of character for a nobody like her.

"What are you talking about? You're just another part of me like Roxas and Ven, and together we will become the most powerful keyblade warrior ever born." My body tried so hard to escape yet I only felt myself being sunk further into her body...my mind is fading...my thoughts are slowly changing...why do I feel so happy and sad...who am I? Darkness all around me...

[ Figured that I would make another holiday themed part for Kairi since it is almost time for Thanksgiving this year. As for what's going to happen so I can't say for certain how much like this current arc will take, but we are nearing the 100th day now so that's almost a third of the way through this part of the story. Also in more current news Trump...don't know how to feel, but life is life you can't despair or stop living if something doesn't go your way. All you can do is move forward...]