AN: We got another biiiig chapter here lol! xD It's 15,000 words sorry! Kinda went overboard, got way too into it. Buuut what can you do? xD Hope people enjoy this one! I will not spoil its contents. But some people in my reviews will be happy something finally happened lol. :D Also won't spoil the next one after this one...

Kairi stood at the window in the hotel's hallway in Traverse Town, gazing down onto Second District.

Watching the assorted newcomers (humanoid pandas, birds, buffalos, crocodiles, all sorts!) doing their best to get to know this new world they'd been taken to - all these new and strange people they'd been forced into contact with.

These people of that lost world...the ones they'd managed to get onto the Pestilence...

They'd waited until the very last possible second before lifting off and going through the portal to the Lanes Between.

When they'd gone through, the ground itself had been shearing away beneath them. Huge chunks of the land ripped out and sucked into the dark orb in the sky.

Mountains torn apart, that city devastated...

Nothing left behind, Kairi knew.

But they'd saved seventy-two people.

Probably a lot more than would have arrived at Traverse Town if the world had been destroyed without any interference at all - with no rescue attempt by active forces. It was lucky that anyone ended up here, strong enough to survive the destruction of a world, and strong enough to survive passage through the darkness itself to find refuge. Out of the entirety of Destiny Islands, only Kairi, Sora, and Riku had survived, to her knowledge. Out of thousands of people...only three lived through the end. That was the rareness they were talking about here.

But it still felt like the terrible loss that it was. Felt like, if they'd gotten there earlier, they could have done so much more. Sealed the Keyhole, for one thing...

Why hadn't the world called out to them sooner? Why hadn't Kairi felt it sooner? Why hadn't Aqua or Terra-

No. Now she was just getting angry. Blaming the wrong people. There was only one person to blame.

Xehanort.

Xehanort...

Kairi turned from the window, striding back into the hotel room. She looked to Aqua, who was sitting on the bed with Sora.

"You know Xigbar - Braig," Kairi spoke. "Tell me what you know about him. About...how he worked with Xehanort."

Aqua nodded, distaste crossing her face. "All we really know is that he was, as you said, working with Xehanort in some fashion. He fought Terra before, when he helped Xehanort to set up a false capture at Braig's hands. Terra is the one who gave him those scars - and took his eye. But it was a trick, a way for Xehanort to awaken the darkness in Terra. To set him on the path he wanted for him. Later, during our final battle against Xehanort and Vanitas, Braig showed up again. I fought him that time, and he ran. He said it was a distraction - buying time for Xehanort. Buying time for him to take Terra's body, in all likelihood."

"Do you think Xikira's a delusional moron?" Kairi asked bluntly.

Aqua blinked at her. "I- that isn't- for me to say-"

"Do you think it's even possible that she's seeing something we're not? I mean, that was ten years ago, right? People can change in ten years. Maybe...he has? Maybe he regrets...maybe...a low rent thug working for a mastermind Keyblade wielding psycho...it's got him realizing he got in over his head?" Kairi spoke on.

Aqua's frown intensified. She gave a slow noise of consideration. "You're right - ten years is a long time. I know that better than most. And that is a very long time to have a change of Heart, if any were to occur. But the odds of that man having one...I wouldn't bet on it at all, Kairi. Even as a human with a Heart, he enjoyed what he did. His disposition doesn't seem to have changed much from what Terra and I can remember."

Kairi sighed, looking back out the window again.

"Kairi...try not to worry too much about him. Or...about XIkira. Even she knew there was only a chance, didn't she? But she decided to try. Maybe it was misguided, but...it's the choice her Heart made. And if she fails, she'll come back to us. And then...we really won't have to worry about it. Except for the task of taking that man down - for good. Along with the rest of that Organization. Along with Xehanort himself."

"Right..." Kairi said dully, moving to seat herself on the bed with the others.

"And we can't...succumb to despair," Aqua's spoke again, gentle now. "One of the greatest lessons any Keyblade wielder must learn is how to deal with failure. And how to move on from them. Yes, today we lost a world - we lost so many people - but we've also saved many other worlds too. And we'll save more. No, we don't always get it right, we don't always succeed - but that's just life itself. It doesn't mean we lose Heart. It means we process it, we accept it, and we get up and try again. As many times as it takes, as many times as we can. We can't let our light go out."

Kairi nodded. "I know that." She did. Really. But it still...

Aqua gazed at her in silence. Then she leaned over and pulled Kairi into her arms. The woman turned and reached out to give Sora's head a caress - gave him a smile. Sora startled, but he perked up and smiled back.

"I know that it hurts," Aqua whispered. "I know. I've seen world after world, during my travels in the darkness. I've seen their remains, and I've spent so much time wondering...what happened to the people. What it was like for them. And not just for them, but the animals of the worlds as well. Pets. Wildlife. All of it, lost. But we can't forget that one day soon, we will set it all right again. We will bring them all back. We just...need to find the right key. And so for those people, we can't give up now."

Kairi nodded into Aqua's chest, pressing to her and hugging her back.

She knew that. She knew all of this. She knew her Master was right. But just because they had a chance to restore these worlds again later...didn't make it hurt any less in the here and now.

It was just...going to take some time, she thought.

Terra wandered through the back alleys of the Fourth District of Traverse Town, unsure of where he was going or what he was doing.

He just had to be alone for a bit - clear his head. Going on a walk had always been his preferred way of doing that.

He walked the stone path between the buildings, through underpasses and damp tunnels.

He rounded a corner - stopped.

Roxas was sitting on the ground, his back to the brick wall.

For a moment, Terra admitted he'd mistaken the boy for Ven - Ven had the same habit of stewing alone when he was upset about anything...

But that black coat made Roxas unmistakable, as a whole.

Terra drew a breath and started forward again, approaching his lone apprentice. "Hello - sorry to bother you," he called, raising a hand to wave.

Roxas startled, as if he hadn't even been keeping track of his surroundings. His eyes found Terra, then he looked away, drawing his knees up and wrapping his arms around them.

Terra stopped before the boy, gazing down at him. "Is it okay if I join you?" he asked.

Roxas just gave a nod.

"Thank you." Terra sat down next to Roxas, touching his back to the cool brick wall. He drew up a knee, resting his arm on it. He let his head fall back against the wall, gazing up to the night sky.

"I've fought Heartless before," Roxas spoke, in a subdued voice. "I've been to other worlds before. But I never saw..." He trailed off, his voice catching.

"What they actually do?" Terra finished softly.

"Yeah...I never thought they- even after hearing Kairi and Sora talk about their world being- I didn't realize...that's what they do. What they're capable of. All those people, and that whole...Pieces of the entire world were just being ripped right out of-" Roxas stopped again, setting his chin on his knees and shutting his eyes.

"Yeah," Terra echoed, nodding to himself. "It's terrible, isn't it?"

"Terrible...I guess that's the right word for it..."

"I'd seen something like it happen before - when Xehanort destroyed my home. The Land of Departure." Terra sighed. "But seeing the Heartless, seeing those people...that was different."

Roxas didn't respond.

Terra pulled up his other leg and mimicked Roxas's pose, giving another great sigh. "I've never been very good at losing - handling failure. I suppose I'm still not very good at it."

Still nothing from Roxas.

"All right..." Terra whispered. He got to his feet again, shaking his head. "If you want to be left alone, that's okay. Just - we're here for you. I'm here for you."

Roxas finally moved again, looking up at him. "Thanks," he muttered, then dropped his head again. "I just...I don't know what to do," he added hoarsely.

"Neither do I," Terra admitted.

He lingered a few moments more, but Roxas said nothing else. So Terra turned and left him be.

Maybe Terra wasn't sure how to personally handle this total failure, but he knew what he had to do as a Master to several students.

He had to make sure they, at least, were dealing with things okay. Or at least...as okay as they could be.

So he left the back alleys, entering the streets of the Fourth District. He moved through the streets and passed through tunnels, went up some wide stone stairs, and finally emerged out into the fountain plaza.

It didn't take too long to find Xion, even in the crowds; she wasn't part of the crowds.

Terra found her up on a wide, curved stone balcony, beneath the windows of some multi-story building. It was in the corner of the plaza. There were a bunch of wooden boxes stacked up against the side of the balcony to reach it from below. Terra didn't need to use them to get up there, of course - a simple high jump powered by magic did the trick.

Xion, like Roxas, startled at his appearance. Of course, for her, it was more typical.

What wasn't typical of the girl was the small tin can she had in her hand, which looked to be shooting out pink paint onto the ground in front of her.

"Hey," Terra said lightly, smiling at her. "Sorry if I'm bothering you-"

"No!" Xion said instantly.

Of course...

"Okay," Terra said simply. "Can I sit with you?"

"Yes..."

"Thank you."

Terra sat down next to the girl, eyeing the drying paint on the balcony floor in front of them. "What are you doing up here?" he said casually.

"Spray painting," Xion answered swiftly - but quietly. Nervously. "A girl gave it to me. She told me to try it. She said it's fun."

"Like the drawings on the walls down there?" Terra said, gesturing to the plaza below.

"Yes," Xion confirmed, with a tiny smile. A shy one. But it was there. And Terra was hopeful, at the sight of it. Even a glimpse...

"That does sound like fun. So, what are you making?" Terra asked, smiling too - keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Nothing," Xion replied. "I'm just..."

"Just messing around with it?"

"I guess..." Xion agreed.

Terra was actually sort of marveling at this conversation - it was more engagement than he'd ever gotten with this particular student of his. Though, maybe that fault lay more with him than with her... It was his job to engage her. Of course, given she was so uncomfortable with people in general - so easily confused and overwhelmed - he hadn't wanted to just push her into anything...

"Xion, do you...have any feelings about what happened today?" Terra said cautiously - gently as he could. "Any thoughts - anything you want to...talk about?"

Xion shook her head wordlessly. She leaned forward and gave another big spray of paint onto the stone. She dragged a line out to the left, then moved it in a circle.

It occurred to Terra, then, that this girl might not even know how to express whatever she was even feeling and thinking inside. Lacking what was lacking. Unable to communicate what she couldn't...communicate. It would be all new to her, in a way that was far different from any normal girl - any normal person at all. Because this girl wasn't fourteen; she was only a few months old, really.

And here she was being shoved into all of this - all these worlds, all these unfamiliar, stressful situations - all this...

Terra wondered if it was even right to keep dragging her around through it all. Wouldn't it be better for her, if, say, she were to be made to stay here? To be looked after by...well, more competent and experienced adults, hopefully, and to interact with kids who weren't also...involved in a fight for the worlds? Life and death? Danger at every turn?

It came to Terra, too, the random fact once told to him that this girl before him...didn't even know how to read.

And had anyone even asked this girl if she wanted to be here, to keep doing all of this with them? Had no one given a thought to whether she might want or...or need something different?

Weren't they just dragging her along and using her for her Keyblade - like the Organization? Like Xemnas?

Like Xehanort?

They had more than enough wielders - people who were here by choice and full understanding.

Xion didn't need to be here. Roxas didn't even need to be here, either.

And after seeing Roxas in that alley, seeing that look on the boy's face...a boy who was also...who was strangely younger than this girl named Xion, even...!

Terra shut his eyes, bowing his head deeply.

Are we even doing the right thing? Am I...doing the right thing...Master? Or am I just...

"Are you...OK?"

Terra opened his eyes. Xion was gazing at him with concern. Anxiety. He gazed back at her, and she looked away quickly. He cursed himself. "I'm fine," he said lightly. "Thank you for asking, Xion. Ah, look, I...I need to go see Aqua. Do you want to come with, or do you want to stay here?"

Xion clutched the little paint can in both hands, holding it in her lap. "I...I want to stay here..."

"Okay," Terra said simply.

And he left her.

Terra returned to Second District, and found Aqua in the hotel.

The conversation they had was a lengthy one - and one they included Kairi in, on account of Xion being her sister (and on account of Kairi potentially being essential in actually convincing Xion to go along with what the final decision might turn out to be).

If either of the two Masters had been worried about Kairi opposing the entire discussion - well, they didn't have to. Kairi was kind, and good, and moreover: mature. And she'd voiced that she only wanted to do whatever was best for Xion as a person, in life, over anything else. Even if Xion herself might not be happy about the decision.

"Even if she doesn't like it at first, I'm sure she'll get used to it. And when she looks back on it, she'll understand how good it was for her," Kairi had said. "She didn't choose to be born into this world, she didn't choose to be sent after me for a stupid test - like a tool - and she didn't even choose to stay with us, to fight with us. Not really. She's just been going along with things - along with us. But I doubt she's really ever thought about it. About...doing anything else."

Kairi's face had changed, a look of sadness and shame washing over her as she had added, "I hadn't thought about it, either, before now. I hadn't even thought that..."

"None of us did," Aqua murmured, looking equally as ashamed of herself. If not more so. "We all just...took her presence for granted."

"We'll fix that now," Terra said confidently. "We'll give her a choice - like the Master gave me."

Aqua's expression darkened, suddenly, and she looked away.

"Kairi, could you go and bring Xion here for us - and Roxas, too?" Aqua said, glancing at her apprentice. "It's best if we do this as soon as possible."

Terra told Kairi where to find Roxas, and the girl left without a word.

Terra and Aqua were alone now.

"Aqua..." Terra said hesitantly.

"What?" the woman said, staring with sharp eyes at the wall.

"Did the Master give you a choice?"

Aqua continued staring at that wall, as if she wanted to burn a hole through it on sheer willpower (a feat probably not outside of her capabilities, Terra thought). Her lips pressed tight. "Yes," she answered, her voice just as tight. Hard, and cold. At odds with the answer she gave. "There was a choice - but it was no choice," she elaborated.

"I see," Terra said softly, mulling over all the implications of the answer - all the unsaid versus the spoken. And then he let it drop, let it go, right there.

He knew better than to press any further. He'd asked Aqua many times, as kids, about her life before. He'd set his stubbornness against her steel cage of a Heart and iron will - and he'd lost, each and every time. Until he'd finally thrown up his hands about it (metaphorically) and gone to the Master for answers. What he'd gotten from Master Eraqus had been a lengthy lecture about privacy, rudeness, trust, and, above all else...respect. If Aqua wanted to leave the past in the past, if she never wanted to volunteer a single piece of information, if she never felt like she wanted to talk about it with anyone...then that was that, and it was her right, and no one could take it from her. No one should try, like Terra had been trying so hard to. If she wanted to lock it all away inside, she could do that.

And then, Master Eraqus had told Terra that Aqua hadn't even told him a single thing about her life - and that he accepted it. And so Terra should as well.

Of course, over the years together, Terra had gleaned tiny scraps, bits and pieces, from Aqua - but only over years of living together and growing to trust and open up to each other naturally. And over the years, he'd come to treasure those scraps she gave to him. To take them as a token of just how much she'd come to trust and even...see him as something like family. Someone she could be any, tiny degree of vulnerable with. And it was because of how much he trusted and even loved her in return that he didn't ever push her again - not like he had when they were kids.

The fact that she'd answered him at all on this one... That was enough. Another piece, another treasure to carry in his Heart.

After a while had passed, Kairi finally returned with Xion and Roxas in her wake. Aqua directed them to sit down on the bed, which they did without question. Well, Xion did.

"Why did you have her bring us here?" Roxas said immediately, even as he sat down. His narrowed blue eyes flitted between Aqua and Terra - and Kairi, too.

"Neither of you are in any kind of trouble," Terra said quickly, wanting to allay any fears right off the bat. "There's just something we wanted to talk with you about. An idea. A...well, I can't lie and say it's not serious or important."

Roxas tensed instantly; Xion was looking to Kairi as if begging for help in an escape.

Terra mentally kicked himself for that one. Good job allaying those fears, he scolded himself.

"How would you both feel about the idea of staying here in Traverse Town?" Aqua spoke, getting to the point way too quick, in Terra's opinion (he had at least wanted to break it to them easy, slowly).

Given the looks on Roxas and Xion's faces, it was obvious how they felt about that idea.

"Why would we want to do that?" Roxas said, staring at her.

"Roxas," Kairi began quickly. "You and Xion were both - either taken in or...or created- by the Organization to serve their purposes. To do, be, only what Xemnas planned for you to do and be for himself. Neither of you had a choice in what you've done all your lives so far. Even here, even with us, now, you two...you've just kept fighting, and fighting, risking life and death - but that isn't all there is to life. That shouldn't be all your lives are. Xikira has the right idea about that - dreaming about having more for herself. And you two...you should be doing the same."

"We should?" Roxas said, as if he hadn't ever considered it. Not really...

"That's a perfect example," Kairi said, with a small grin. "Normal people, we live our lives in peace and happiness. Having fun, learning and growing and exploring, and being with people we love and care about. It's not just constant fighting, risking limb and life! Not usually, anyways...it depends on your career interests...Anyways, the point is that you both haven't ever gotten to experience what life is really all about. What it's like. Sora, Riku, and I - Terra, Aqua and Ven - we all had normal lives before all of this started. And we're fighting to get those lives back. But what about you two? Have you ever thought about it? About what you'll do after? Or- if you want to do something else now? And...have you realized that you have a choice in it?"

"Everyone should have the choice not to fight - and, in your case, we'd like you to know what normal life is," Aqua spoke up again, in a soft voice. "All you've ever had was fighting - never knowing anything different. If that's why you're still here with us..."

"We don't want you to feel like you're stuck here with us," Terra said quietly. "Or even like you're obligated - like you have to stay. We're not the Organization, we don't want to just use you like...like you're tools to us, just because of your Keyblades. Being a Keyblade wielder in the first place is something that people become with full knowledge, awareness, and consent, most importantly of all. When my Master, Eraqus, came to my world and found me - sensed my potential, my strength - he spent four days and nights with me. And then he spent another four with my mother. In the end, this was what I wanted, and...it was what my mother wanted for me. But, even then, at any point, any wielder is free to walk away."

"So you're...getting rid of us?" Roxas said, frowning.

"No!" Kairi said instantly. "No, we're not-"

"I'm sorry!" Xion said, loudly, her big, unblinking blue eyes beseeching Kairi. "If I did something wrong - I-"

"No one did anything wrong!" Aqua said firmly. "We aren't getting rid of anyone, this isn't about- poor performance, or anything like that. I promise you. All we want, is to-"

"How about seven days?" Kairi suggested.

"Seven days...?" Xion said.

"Yeah!" Kairi said, enthusiastic. "Think of it like a- a vacation!" she added, grinning at them both.

Roxas's eyes widened. "A vacation?"

"Right!" Kairi nodded. "You can just get away from it all for a while - hang out, relax, get to know new people and explore all the little nooks and crannies of this place. And then, after you're done, you can come back if you really still want to. After you've thought about it. But we want you to think about it."

Roxas's eyebrows furrowed with concentration. Deep thought. "I...think I could handle seven days," he said quietly, nodding back. "A vacation sounds...great."

YES! One down! "Xion? What about you?"

"It's...just seven days? That means- that means you'll come back?" Xion said desperately. Hopefully.

"Of course I will!" Kairi told her, smiling. "I just - I want you to have a taste of what a normal, real life is like. Call it a...a trial period, right? A training mission - practice! You're going to be doing a whole lot more of it once we restore the islands and go home together! You don't want to be totally lost once we get there, do you? But if you take seven days here, you can get used to it all ahead of time. That way, you won't be completely overwhelmed by it all when it starts long term."

Xion stared at her in that unblinking way she had, that frown on her face still. But Kairi saw the beginnings of gears turning in her head. She saw thoughtfulness blooming. Xion looked at Roxas, who looked at her in return. "I'll still have Roxas. I won't be alone here," she said finally, if uncertain still.

"Of course you won't be alone," Kairi said. "You'll have Aerith, Tifa, Noctis, Cloud - everybody! And, look, if you two are worried about not being able to put your fighting skills to use...well, we know the Heartless still aren't just leaving this place alone. That's why there are other fighters around in the first place. So, having two Keyblade wielders here will be a huge help in fending off the Heartless and protecting the people here!"

"Yeah...I guess you're right," Roxas agreed, seeming a bit more enthused now, himself. "If any Heartless appear, me and her can be there to deal with them!"

"Exactly!"

"...OK," Xion said finally. "I'll try."

"Thank you. I know it's a little scary, but it'll be worth it, I promise," Kairi said earnestly. "And we'll be back before you guys know it!"

"So that's really it?" Roxas said, showing doubt again. "We just...stay here, and you guys all leave? What are we supposed to do? Where do we go? What do you...want us to do?"

"Good questions, actually," Terra said lightly. "We'll need somewhere for them to stay - and someone to keep an eye on them."

"Someone who can encourage you to go out of your comfort zones," Aqua nodded, thoughtful. "And someone you'll listen to. Not to mention, someone who can take charge if you two refuse to listen..." she added, muttering to herself.

The pair of Masters looked to Kairi.

Kairi grinned widely. "I've got a girl."

"And you're sure it won't be any trouble?"

"Nope! Why would it be?" Aerith replied happily.

"No trouble at all," Tifa said quickly, smiling. "Right - Cloud?" she added, glancing at the blonde-haired man.

Cloud looked at Tifa, then Aerith - then Kairi. His gaze found Roxas and Xion. He leaned back, crossing his arms, his green eyes closing. After a moment, he opened them again and let his arms fall. "No trouble," he agreed. Then, he gave a small smile that might have bordered on a grin, adding, "Long as they don't cause trouble."

"They won't," Aqua said, making the reassurance sound simultaneously like a threat.

"Then we're good," Cloud replied.

"Thank you," Kairi said earnestly.

Cloud gave her a warm nod.

"Okay, then," Aqua said, eyeing Xion and Roxas. "While you're here, the two of you will listen to and do whatever Aerith, Tifa, or Cloud tells you to do."

"They're your temporary new parents," Kairi said, smiling. "So be good for them."

"Let's hope they're not too good, or we might have a custody battle on our hands by week's end!" Aerith joked, winking at Kairi.

"What's a-" Xion started, wide eyed.

"Custody battle?" Roxas finished, interjecting. "What kind of fight is that?"

"Usually the kind where nobody wins and everybody loses," Aerith laughed, waving a hand. "And that is why I was only kidding around! Don't even worry about it, all right?"

"Alright..." Roxas murmured, shaking his head.

"Really now?" Tifa said, giving Aerith a mildly disapproving-slash-exasperated look. "We don't need to go making them even more nervous than they already are about this whole thing."

"Joke," Aerith reiterated, a small grin on her lips.

"There anything else you need from us, concerning these two?" Cloud spoke, gazing at Aqua and Terra. "I still can't quite wrap my head around it all, but I know they're...special. Is there anything special there that we'd need to do to look after them?"

Aqua and Terra exchanged looks. Approving looks.

"Aww, and you say you're no good with the kids," Aerith sighed lovingly, leaning over and latching onto Cloud's arm.

"Hmph..." Cloud rolled his eyes and pulled free, but there was a playful smile on his lips now. "So?" he added, still holding Aqua and Terra's gazes.

Aqua relaxed a good dozen degrees, a soft smile coming over her face now too. "Nothing that we're aware of," she replied finally.

"Xion doesn't need to sleep - but that doesn't mean you can just let her go wandering around at nights," Kairi said swiftly, giving her sister a grin. "She needs to be casting Sleep spells on herself every night. Technically she also doesn't need to eat...but it's probably good to keep her in the habit."

Cloud eyed Xion with some interest now. "Really? Alright. Good to know. How about Roxas?"

"He still has to sleep - but he doesn't need to eat, either," Kairi said thoughtfully. "Although, he looooves to eat."

"I'll only eat ice cream," Roxas said firmly.

"Well, I'm already incredibly envious," Aerith told him with a giggle. "If only I could pull off an ice-cream-only diet..."

"Bet you could - you spend enough time running after the kids around here," Cloud joked.

"True!" Aerith agreed.

"What about...sleep arrangements?" Tifa spoke up casually. "Would they be good sharing a room - or a bed - or would they be kicking and hitting each other all night long?"

"They have their own rooms, back at home," Terra told her. "But if they need to share a space to fit in here, we understand that."

"No, no - it's fine!" Tifa assured hastily. "There are plenty of vacant apartments - a few of the hotel rooms, too! And more to the point, we happen to have two unused rooms here in our own place...for...obvious reasons." She turned to indicate the open doorways to the two bare bedrooms, a little pink tinge coming to her cheeks now.

"Right - obvious reasons," Terra agreed easily. Though, there might have been a glint to his blue eyes... "Which works out perfectly for us all."

"Yep! Funny how that happens, right?" Aerith said with a laugh.

"Right," Aqua said, a touch of humor to her voice.

"So, let's go check out your rooms!" Kairi told Xion and Roxas excitedly. "Who gets which one, though? Left or right, Roxas? Xion?"

"Uh...it doesn't really matter to me?" Roxas said, shrugging as he followed her into one of the empty rooms.

"Me neither," Xion stated quietly.

Kairi eyed the two of them as she gave a twirl around the room. Now it wasn't just Roxas getting attached to Xion - it was Xion taking her cues from him in return? Well, at least it was better than letting Xion get herself attached to the likes of Riku.

"Look at this view!" Kairi exclaimed, leaning out the open window. "You can see the entire fountain plaza from up here!" It was a high, sixth floor view, to be sure - but it might come with one problem Kairi could think of. "Though, it might be a little hard to get some peace and quiet if you're always hearing people running around down there..."

Roxas strode over to the window, joining her in looking out of it. A smile came to his face. "We're higher up than I thought." He sounded happy about it.

"I'm glad you're not scared of heights," Kairi giggled. "You too, sis," she added to Xion.

Xion smiled at her, hurrying forward to look out the window as well. Her eyes roamed the Fourth District's fountain square. Then she reached out to point below. "You can see all the art on the walls."

"Yeah, you can," Kairi agreed, giggling. "It's great art."

Xion smiled, then frowned as she turned to Kairi. "I don't want you to leave yet."

Kairi blinked with surprise. "Xion, I'm not just going to up and abandon you in the next minute or two!" she exclaimed. "It's not like I'm itching to get you out of my horribly damaged hair! We're all sticking around for a few more hours, okay? We'll give it till the end of the night. Stop worrying so much, please."

"Ok...sorry."

"It's okay. I know this is a big, scary step. But life's full of big, scary steps," Kairi said quietly.

"Yes," Xion whispered. "It's scary."

"Just remember that you won't have to be alone with it. Even if it's not me, you'll have others around you the whole time. And I'll be back."

"I'll try," Xion said, nodding.

After a couple of hours, it was time to leave.

It was probably one of the hardest things Kairi had ever done. Or at least, one of the most nerve-wracking! Leaving Roxas and Xion behind...entrusting them to Aerith and the others... But that was just it: Kairi trusted Aerith. She trusted all of them. She had nothing to worry about! And she was sure that by week's end, both Roxas and Xion would come out better for the experience - they'd be glad they got to have it. And besides, nothing terrible could even happen in Traverse Town. Nothing...too terrible, anyways. But Roxas and Xion could handle it!

Still...over half an hour since departing from Traverse Town, and Kairi's stomach was still tied up in knots.

Kairi slung herself over the Purple Pestilence's railing, gazing out into the Ocean Between as they soared across it into the vast unknown.

It wasn't long before she was joined by Master Terra.

She straightened up quickly, grabbing the railing tight - and then forcing herself to relax again, damnit (was her body ever going to stop doing that around the man?).

"Sorry if I startled you," Terra said immediately. He was always like this about it - even now. Kairi guessed he couldn't break the habit of feeling guilty any more than she could. At least they had that in common.

"It's okay," Kairi said automatically, turning to give him a smile. "What's up?" she added casually.

"Oh, nothing," he assured. "I just couldn't help but notice how down you looked, over here on your own. Are you still worrying about Roxas and Xion?"

"Yes..." Kairi said, dejected.

"But you trust Aerith and the others? You like them - know them? Know that they'll take good care of-"

"Yeah - in my head - but my Heart's still twisting itself into a tangled mess," Kairi interrupted.

Terra grinned at her, crossing his arms slowly. "Well...I hear that's normal for every parent - first day of school, first day out and you have to leave them with a babysitter..." he quipped.

Kairi glared, then leaned off the side of the ship again with a loud, long-suffering groan. "Oh my gosh you're right!"

"If you want something to distract you, how about you help us find a new world to help?"

Kairi pushed off the railing and stood tall again, growing serious now. "Okay," she agreed, nodding. "But we're not losing this one."

"We'll always do everything in our power to make sure we don't," Terra replied, gentle.

Kairi sighed, brushed her hair behind her ear and readjusted her hat on her head. Then she shut her eyes and placed her hands over her Heart...searching, reaching out to the stars...

It didn't take long before she felt something. A pulse, a warmth, a pull...

She opened her eyes again. She took a deep breath. She raised an arm to point off to the right, into the distance. "Tell Aqua we need to be going in a more...that way...direction."

"Right away - Captain Takami," Terra responded, turning away with a smile on his face.

Kairi stared after him in surprise...but a smile grew on her face as well.

It had been a while since anybody had called her Captain.

It still felt good.

After landing in a new world - in a clearing in the middle of a great, stretching forest in all directions - the group disembarked from the ship together.

Boots on the ground, as it were.

There wasn't much to look at - but there was a lot of noise. Birds chirping and squawking, bushes rustling, and other far off sounds that indicated a real bustling ecosystem.

All in all, Kairi loved it. It was a real breath of fresh air - literally.

"All right, boys and girls, time for round two! Let's not screw it all up this time!" came Elrena's high, almost sing-song voice next to Kairi.

Just about everybody in the group looked at Elrena at the same time.

"What?" she said, rolling her eyes. "Just trying to keep everyone motivated..." she muttered on, her cheeks flushing now.

"I think we're all sufficiently motivated already, thank you," Aqua said, in a restrained voice.

"We appreciate the thought, though," Terra told Elrena quickly, flashing a smile.

"Ugh...don't- don't smile at me - it's way too creepy," Elrena murmured, turning away. "It's like my old boss got an extreme makeover and is now hitting on me...eugh!" Her whole body shivered.

Terra laughed loudly, along with most of the others. Even Aqua managed a smile, though she tried to hide it in the name of looking all-business.

"Well, I'm extremely sorry - and I want you to know that I would never do anything of the sort. That's just...entirely out of the question," Terra responded seriously.

"Thank fuck!" Elrena emphasized, with a swift glance at Lauriam (that the woman probably thought was subtle or something).

"Now that we've cleared that up, can we get on with what's important?" Aqua said.

"Of course," Terra said, nodding. "Lead the way."

Aqua made an exasperated noise, but did exactly that anyways, moving out ahead of the rest of the group. Her head was on a swivel, her every step firm and confident, her hand ready and itching to summon her weapon at a moment's notice.

Kairi hurried up beside her Master, falling into step with her, letting her Heart guide her through the trees.

The group trudged their way through the seemingly endless forest, around fallen trees, between other trees, past big boulders - it was tough going. But they got somewhere, eventually. They reached another clearing - an incredibly large one - within which sat a considerable sized village. It had stone and wooden buildings, and there were people milling about, or walking this way and that. It seemed like this world was another one of those that wasn't necessarily as far along as others, developmentally. Either technologically or societally...

Kairi had never really thought about this before, but it might have had something to do with the whole revelation of time passing differently in different worlds. Maybe, for some worlds, it took longer than it did for others to-

"Kairi."

Kairi glanced at Aqua. "Yes - Master?"

"Do you feel that?"

"Feel what..." Even as Kairi spoke, she did, in fact, feel it. And what she felt was overwhelming.

It was darkness like nothing she had felt before. But, at the same time, it was familiar, strangely...in some...way. It was on the air, it was thick and oppressive - weighing on her Heart. Around her entire body, it was a...a pressure surrounding it, trying to squish it down into a tiny little point. It was the coldest of winds, making her shiver on the spot. And it was...

"It's over there," came the unexpected voice of Sora.

Kairi turned to look at him. He had an arm raised - was pointing to the trees on the far side of the village. "Huh? Sora, can you...feel it too?"

Sora nodded, frowning. "Yeah. I know I'm not some Princess of Heart, or even a really powerful Keyblade Master - like you or Aqua - but if even I can feel that...what does that mean?" he said worriedly.

"It means we're going to find the source of this darkness: now," Aqua stated, and she started off swiftly through the village.

The group quickly passed homes and other little buildings, managing to reach the other end of the vast clearing without attracting any undue attention.

Then it was back into the trees, into the deep, dark woods - that seemed to get darker the further they went in.

Soon, there wasn't even light peeking in from above. It was...an unnatural darkness.

Kairi and Aqua both went to make light at the same time, practically. But Aqua gave her a look, and told her to save her power for whatever might lay ahead.

Kairi reluctantly obeyed her Master's order.

And they continued on.

For minutes on end, it was just a silent, strained hike toward some unknown source of doom. A heavy dread in the air. Until they got confirmation of just what they were headed toward.

As they passed between a cluster of thick, tall trees, they entered another clearing. A smaller one. One with scattered boulders as tall as Kairi herself, surrounding a tree that looked as if it had been sliced clean in half vertically; the left side of the tree was missing. There were broken branches and dying leaves all around it. It was one of the stranger sights Kairi had seen. It was just...unsettling.

"I don't want to meet whatever did that," Sora joked nervously, gulping.

"Let's hope not," Aqua muttered. She eyed the strange sight a moment, then began moving around it - passing between the boulders.

Kairi hurried after her, racing to her side again. And then she stopped as she heard a noise ahead and to her left. She summoned her Keyblade in a flash, peering into the trees in this all-consuming darkness. Only the pulsing blue sphere of Aqua's hanging overhead gave light to this place. And even then, it was dim, it was a struggle to...

She saw some bushes rustle, and then a pair of glowing yellow eyes emerged - followed by a whole Neoshadow.

The Heartless crept forward across the uneven terrain, its head down low, its body hunched over. It stopped, and then those glowing eyes found Kairi and the others.

Aqua held her weapon tightly in her hand, her eyes fixed on the dark creature. Master Aqua, more than any of them, knew never to underestimate even the smallest of Heartless...

Kairi took her cue from her Master, waiting to see what the creature's plan of attack would be. A leaping strike, a rush and slash? Diving into a dark portal in the ground and emerging in a furious spin (she hated that move of theirs)?

But the Heartless didn't attack - not in any way. What it did was turn away from them and start walking its way back to the edge of the clearing again.

Kairi's Keyblade almost slipped out of her grasp. Aqua gave a small gasp beside her, staring.

Was it...ignoring them...?

Kairi got her answer, as she watched the Heartless approach the nearest tree, and promptly begin to bash its face into it. Hard. Painfully, if Heartless could feel pain. Every strike caused a puff of black smoke to rise - but the Heartless continued regardless of damage. Just...over and over again, claws digging into the tree...like that was its undying urge...

"What is it...?" Sora gasped.

"What is it doing?" Riku asked.

"It's...hurting itself," Terra answered slowly, as if he couldn't trust his own eyes.

"Aqua, have you ever seen a Heartless act like this before..?" Ven asked quietly.

"No - never," Aqua said shortly. "Not in all my time...No."

"Hey, Kairi, could you-" Sora began, coming up beside her carefully.

"Could I what?" Kairi whispered, unsure why she was whispering now.

"Uhhh..." Sora frowned in deep thought. "Could you do that thing you do - the Princess thing? Maybe you can find out what's going on in there...?" He gestured at the Heartless.

"Right - I'll give it a go, Sora...but no promises." Kairi nodded, stepping forward, past Aqua. Slowly, she approached the lone Heartless. Closer and closer she came, until she stood only a few feet away. It still was ignoring her existence. Her: a Princess of Heart! Kairi raised a hand to her chest, taking a deep breath. She shut her eyes, and reached out for this lone Heart...

Cutting through that darkness was easy - finding the person within it, the light at the center, burning bright even if faded...that was the easy part.

But the hard part...

It was the sudden rush of feelings, thoughts, and memories that flooded her own Heart - filled her up to the point she felt like she was going to just overflow! It was all...based around the same emotions, the same experiences over the course of life: Sorrow. Grief. Loss. Loneliness...

These intense feelings that seized the Heart and squeezed it in a fist - and wouldn't let it go! A never-ending parade of isolation, of abandonment, of despondency and yearning and... And there was something else, more, it was like another layer, or a current washing over- surrounding this mind, this Heart, and even pervading this dark shell that was the mindless Heartless itself...pervading the darkness itself...

Kairi gasped. She opened her eyes again, realizing only then that there were tears streaming down her face. She brought up a quivering hand to brush them away, letting a breath go from trembling lips.

"Kairi..." Sora came right over to her, no fear of the Heartless still bashing itself against the tree. Hurting itself, tormenting itself...outside as much as inside... "What's wrong?"

Sora had a hand on his Heart too, and a troubled look on his face. For a moment, Kairi thought it was almost the same as the look she must have had on her own face right then. As if, right then, he was feeling the same things...

Kairi shook her head, and then she looked at him, and she reached for his hand. He started, but then he squeezed her hand, smiling at her softly.

Suddenly, glowing, scarlet tendrils of energy surged out from the trees. Sora pulled Kairi back, pushed her back behind himself as he raised his weapon to those dark tendrils - but as sweet (if annoying and condescending) as it was of him, it wasn't necessary at all.

Those pulsing scarlet tendrils didn't go for Kairi or Sora - or anyone: they went for the Heartless. They pierced its body in two different places, lifted it up, and then caused it to explode in a flash of bright red light!

"Okay, what in the hell was that all about?" Elrena exclaimed, looking shocked. "I swear, ever since I met you people, everything I thought I knew about the World's been turned upside down, slapped silly, and thrown out the window!"

"I have to agree with Elrena," Lauriam said, seeming rattled as well by the events that had just transpired before their very eyes. "Things once thought impossible don't seem so unlikely as of late..."

"That darkness..." Riku murmured.

Kairi whipped around, staring at him. "What about it?" she demanded. Though, she thought she knew. She had a feeling, it was on the edge of her mind...

"Uh- it's...I think it's-" Riku began cautiously.

"Nysa," Sora said softly. "That looked like the kind of darkness she was using...right? When she ran off, after we saved her from Ansem?"

Kairi looked between him and Riku. She bit her lip as she looked to her Master. "That was Nysa's power, wasn't it?"

"It...seemed to be, yes," Aqua said hesitantly. "Kairi, if she is here - if what's ahead of us is-"

"What?" Kairi glared at the woman.

"If it's her, then we're all going do whatever we have to...to save her Heart," Aqua went on, her eyes holding a rare, deep gentleness. But not a rare kindness.

"Oh...Right. Of course we will. Thanks, Master!"

Aqua smiled, nodding. "I told you before, didn't I? I know...what she must be going through. And I could never blame her for it. For any of it. And, luckily for us, from what we just saw, it seems as if there might be a part of her that isn't as lost in it all as we might have thought. So, I have even more of a hope, Kairi...for her."

"Let's go, then," Terra said. "I think we can all sense where we need to go, on this one."

Kairi nodded, and strode fearlessly into the trees once more.

The last leg of their journey took them past many more Heartless, of all kinds - but, like that Neoshadow, each and every one of them flat out ignored their party's existence. And, like that Neoshadow, it was never long before those extensions of Nysa's darkness appeared to destroy them. To clear the path for them...

But what were these Heartless? How was this possible? How as Nysa doing this? These Heartless, these feelings - were they hers? Hers, being pushed into the Hearts of others, and then on to the mind of the Heartless they became...? And then, when that darkness spread and took more Hearts, it spread those feelings as well? Her emotions...carried on the currents of this darkness? Of her darkness? Her flavor of it, infecting the darkness of others? Darkness infecting darkness...?

Was that even possible?

Hadn't Riku said something nonsensical and stupid once before, about "Ansem's darkness" and "his darkness" being different? About Ansem's darkness trying to take his Heart over, but Riku's had been used to fight it?

Could all of this, then, be Nysa's own darkness, unique to her?

Was that how darkness worked? Was that the way to understand it?

Kairi could never really know - not like other people could. Not even like Sora...

And in that instant, for a moment that she would never tell anyone else...she felt an inexplicable kind of...jealousy, or envy.

She liked to think she prided herself on thinking things over - on trying to know, learn, and understand things in the world around her. But this...darkness...and people's darkness...

It was something she would just...just always be incapable of understanding. Because darkness could never touch her Heart, never exist inside it, never grow there. She would never know. Not really. Not like Sora, not like Nysa, or Master Aqua, and not like Riku. She would never, ever...be able to truly understand their struggles with it all. Because she never had - and never would.

And for an insane moment, she wished she could. Because that was a whole other part of life, of Heart, that was forever cut off from her.

But if she could have walked a mile in their shoes, if she could have experienced what they had, even if it was terrifying and painful and awful...

Was it even more insane to think that it could bring them closer together? That it would have made her...feel closer to them?

Oh...there were those fears again. Still present in her Heart, she guessed. The fear of growing apart, a distance by experience, of growing up... Friendships drifting...

"Kairi - we'll find her."

"Huh?" Kairi startled, turning to see Sora staring at her as they walked.

"We'll find her," Sora said again, firm and confident. "And then we'll help her, and- and then she won't have to keep feeling this way anymore. And if she does, she can share those feelings with us instead of all these other people here."

Kairi stared right back at him, taking in what he'd just said. So he really...felt it too? He knows...? He...

"Yeah," Kairi nodded, smiling at him. "We will."

After a few more minutes of walking, they came to the heart of things. The source of it all: Nysa.

Or...the thing Nysa had to be inside of.

It was a massive, pulsing, scarlet cocoon of dark energy, just...right there in the middle of the woods. It had cut a perfect swathe through the trees and rocks around it. The ground was flat and charred where the bottom of the cocoon met the dirt. It was like melted glass. Trees had been cut down by a third, or half, or even more, where the cocoon curved inward on itself on the sides. The top of the dark cocoon was up above the trees, exposing open sky. A ring of light, the only light...

Surrounding this cocoon, were Heartless. All of them, like the ones glimpsed throughout this forest before, were paying no mind to the group of Keyblade wielders right in their midst. They were just...well, they might have been sleeping, or resting, or-

Was it crazy to wonder if a Heartless could be depressed? Because to Kairi...it almost looked that way, in a way...

They were just sitting around, bodies slack and drooping. Some of them leaned up against the trees.

But at least none of them were trying to hurt themselves.

But neither was Nysa's darkness seeking them out for destruction, either...

Not here.

It was just quiet - silence - calm.

Like that moment before, with Nysa herself, when they'd saved her from Ansem. When that raging storm of power had become something calm and almost...almost sickly beautiful in a way...before...

Nysa...I'm here. We're all here for you.

Kairi raised a hand, calling on her Princess powers of Light-

Riku shook his head, starting forward and reaching for her arm- "Kairi-"

Kairi smacked his hand away, glowering at him. "What?" she hissed.

"That's not going to help her," Riku said quietly, raising his hands in a gesture of peace - and non-threatening (not that he was threatening to Kairi in any way!).

Kairi froze, her lip trembling. "Then what will, huh? Tell me, smart guy," she responded.

Riku turned back toward that mass of swirling darkness. Powerful, intense, washing all over the area...

Almost absently, he reached up and pulled off his blindfold, letting it fall to the ground at his feet. Then he stepped forward, slowly and unsteadily on the rough ground. But he kept going, approaching the dark cocoon.

"This darkness...it's different from Ansem's," Riku spoke, more to himself than to anyone else, it seemed (typical Riku, Kairi thought with a snort). "Different from mine, too. It's its own thing, its own form. But even though it is...it's not- unrecognizable..." He raised a hand to the barrier from a distance, as if he actually did intend on touching it. "But, more than just the darkness... It's the qualities within the darkness. Infused with it, spread throughout its essence...I know them...I know this..."

Kairi startled. Did he know know? Like Sora? In his own way, could Riku actually feel...the same...?

"Riku, what're you-" Sora started.

"If you're about to do something stupid again-" Kairi snapped, her Heart seizing.

Riku laughed. "Thanks, guys - but I've...got this."

They all watched as the dark mass began to swirl ever more violently...and then a gap began to form in it. Strands tore off, bits and pieces floating into the air to disappear.

Then it suddenly sealed itself shut again, strands connecting like a healing wound, and a beam of red dark energy flew out to strike Riku in the chest. He gasped, falling to a knee. But his arm was still raised, and his body suddenly began to glow with a bluish aura. His dark aura... He stood again, arm still extended out - certain and strong again. Despite...

"I see..." came Terra's soft voice, suddenly. Then he was striding out to join Riku before the dark barrier. He raised a hand, too, just the same, purple dark tendrils wafting from his entire body. A pool of pure darkness forming beneath his feet...more tendrils rising up around him like licking flames on a burning hunk of meat...

A red stream of darkness flew for Terra - but he gritted his teeth, remaining on his feet. And then that stream of energy continuing to strike his body...it began to waver, to grow thinner and thinner, until it vanished completely. A red light briefly pulsed around Terra's body - and then, around Riku's. Riku made a gasping noise, his body shivering.

"What are they...doing?" Kairi whispered, totally nonplussed. She really had no clue. All she knew was that whatever it was...seemed to be working?

Several dark red tendrils erupted from the barrier, surging for Riku and Terra again with a new kind of fury.

Riku's blue aura exploded outward, blasting them away. Terra's darkness flared briefly as well...but dark tendrils of his own met the red ones, merging with them and then...seeming to draw them in, right to his chest, before breaking them off completely from the barrier they'd originated from!

Riku turned his head, giving a small laugh of what sounded like disbelief. "How did you just...?" He fell silent. Then- "I think I get it. That's...the way to do this, isn't it?"

"It seems to be," Terra replied, nodding. "Can you handle it?"

"I've felt worse," Riku answered, to Kairi's bafflement.

Just what where they actually doing?

"Okay..." Terra breathed.

When Nysa's darkness lashed out again, Riku did as Terra had; his blue aura seemed to grow, flickering, and the red energy was sucked into his chest. Right where his Heart was...

The dark barrier began to waver again, to slow and shrink - several openings began to appear all over it, slowly expanding like ripples on water. They were...they were...?

"It's dangerous...to fight darkness with light..." Aqua whispered from Kairi's left. She glanced at Kairi in the same moment as Kairi looked at her. Then, Aqua took a breath, put a hand to her chest, and strode out to stand with Terra and Riku.

"Aqua?" Terra did a double-take. "You should stay back from-"

"It's okay," Aqua said quietly, gazing at him with what looked like the greatest struggle of her life. The most conflict ever felt. But at the same time...like something had just dawned on her. "I understand now what the Fairy Godmother meant. I see it...I see...what you're both doing for this girl. And I..." She raised a slender arm, reaching out for the barrier. "I'll do the same for her. I promised Kairi - whatever it takes to save this girl-"

Nysa's darkness attacked Aqua - striking her, and sending her to her knees with a gasp. It wrapped around her, swirling to form a cyclone that nearly completely hid her from view!

"Aqua!" Terra cried, lowering his arm and turning toward her with fear and concern.

The scarlet cyclone suddenly slowed, and evaporated...revealing Aqua, standing on her feet again. Aqua...who looked like she had when she'd fought Kairi and Riku. That blue hair tipped with white, those yellow eyes, tattered tassels around her legs and shredded arm sleeves. A darker palette to her whole outfit...

Now Riku did a double-take, gasping. "Oh shit," he emphasized, stumbling backwards. "H-hey, I'm just going to go and be...standing way over this way while you-"

"This despair..." Aqua spoke quietly, turning her head from Terra and Riku to gaze upon the dark barrier. A barrier now completely resealed again - and now seeming to thrum with energy. "All of this fear, and loneliness, and desperation..."

"Aqua..." Terra said slowly, taking a step forward. His hand at his side was a clenched fist now...trembling.

Aqua glanced at him, rolling her neck, as a...a flat out smirk came to her lips. "Have you ever experienced anything like it before, Terra? Do you know...what this is like?"

Terra eyed her strangely. Then his eyes widened. He nodded. "I have - and I do," he spoke carefully. "More...than I think I could ever express to anyone - you, Ven...the Master. The ten years that I spent as just a Heart, trapped inside Xehanort's darkness, inside my own body...I had no hope of rescue, of ever being me again. Being free of him. All I had was...clinging on by my fingertips, day after day, moment to moment. Loneliness, despair, misery, and the knowledge of the horrors my own body was committing out here in these worlds."

Aqua's smirk evaporated. It became a frown that bordered on a kind of...almost ugly, angry look? She straightened her head out sharply, gazing at the barrier again with narrowed yellow eyes, glowing in the dark forest. "Really? Hm. Then I would have expected you to do better at this than you currently are."

"What?" Terra said, his eyes wide. Mouth falling open almost comically. "Aqua...are you...in control of yourself?"

"More or less, let's go with..." Aqua stepped forward with slinking steps and shoved her hand against the surface of the barrier. Her fingers clawed, and then they began to sink into the barrier...passing through that darkness, inch by inch...until she was in up to her wrist.

"Aqua," Terra said, with a half laugh of sheer amazement. "If it's less, we need to-"

"Never mind me - what are you doing? Nothing, I see...The same for you, Riku," she added.

Riku blinked rapidly, looking as shocked as Terra. His cheeks flushed intensely. "Ummm...not sure if I should still be terrified or...?"

Terra beckoned Riku, moving up to join Aqua, placing his hand flat on the barrier. "Come on, Riku. Let's get through this - together. Place your hand right up against it."

"Yeah - okay!" Riku hurried forward, doing as told.

Three different dark auras erupted into existence, and dark tendrils rose up the barrier, coating it and splitting apart like veins, or tree branches. Overlapping, intertwining, in some places...

"I know I'm going to massively rethink this course of action later," Aqua spoke again, with a sidelong look at Terra, her lips quirked in amusement. "probably get myself all tied up in duties and moral conundrums and personal ethics - but right now, I don't mind telling you that I don't find it all that disagreeable..."

"Good to know..." Terra said neutrally, and still with an air of care. A delicacy.

"Hey, so is this what she'd be like if she got drunk, or...?" Riku spoke up hesitantly. "Cause I've got to say-"

"I'd advise against saying whatever you're about to," Aqua cut him off, her eyes flashing. Literally: they briefly lit up a bright yellow.

"Agreed," Terra said firmly. "Riku - let's just not talk right now, all right?"

"Okay...got it," Riku stammered, nodding swiftly. "Probably smart..."

Kairi and the others watched as Riku, Terra and Aqua spread their darkness across the cocoon - until they'd enveloped the entire thing. Another layer on top of the layer. Then, their dark powers sank down into it, merging with it...and then, in one, single, sudden burst of bluish-purple light, the whole cocoon blew apart, leaving nothing behind.

Leaving a single, human figure visible in the middle of the woods before them all. A girl of dark hair and dark skin, just...sitting there on the forest floor, slumped over. Arms hanging at her sides, her legs drawn in.

"NYSA!" Kairi cried, starting forward.

Sora grabbed her arm suddenly, holding her back. "Wait!"

"Why?" she said, rounding on him in disbelief.

Sora nodded past her. Kairi looked to see Riku breaking off from Terra and Aqua. Riku...going to Nysa's side, stumbling and looking idiotic about it...but he reached her and he got right down with her and...he started talking to her.

Nysa raised her head and looked at Riku. Her expression didn't look at all encouraging. It was just...empty. Tired. Sad...

Kairi stayed where she was, just watching.

Watching Nysa - and watching Riku very closely as he continued speaking with her, in tones so quiet Kairi couldn't even hear it.

After a minute or two, something on Nysa's face changed again. It was sharpness, it was anger. She glanced over at Kairi with those furious eyes - but then it drained away, and her eyes widened. Started to shimmer, and then- they changed to brown. Her normal, dark brown colored eyes. Then, she threw herself at Riku. But she wasn't attacking him: she was clinging to him, hugging him. Riku almost fell over from the unexpected pouncing. He sat there awkwardly with his arms held away from him, and Kairi wanted to scream at him for being such a pathetically insensitive little- but then he was hugging her back. Holding her. The way he'd once held Kairi, when they were younger...

There wasn't anything about it that was...nothing like that at all. It was just real, true, pure, just...giving someone what she needed in the moment...when it mattered most...

"Phew. See? Knew you could do it." Riku's relieved tones drifted over to Kairi. "Now, um-" He fell silent again as Nysa buried her face in his chest, as she cried in this way that was silent and breathy. It was almost like she was choking. Now Riku's head turned, and he called out helplessly and awkwardly: "Kairi?"

A stupid, desperate plea for help from an idiot guy!

But Kairi answered it.

She broke from Sora, starting forward. She reached Nysa, dropping down beside her. Right there with her. With Riku, too. "Hey, Nysa," she said quietly, smiling at the girl.

Nysa let Riku go, pulling away from him, and turning to meet Kairi's gaze. "Kairi..." she started, hesitant.

"Way to go, Riku - it looks like she's back to normal!" Sora said, coming up to them all. "Thanks to you!"

"No - thanks to herself," Riku said quickly, his cheeks flushing.

"But you helped," Nysa spoke. "You showed me I could do it. You...pulled me out of that place..."

"Y-yeah, well, most of it was still just you," Riku insisted. "Anyways, uh - you want to go back to your home world, right? Why don't we- get you there?"

"Oh my- RIKU!" Kairi exclaimed. "I had no idea you had even less tact than Sora!"

"Hey!" Sora and Riku said simultaneously.

"Listen, Nysa, you can stay with us for a few days if you want - so you can relax for a while. Come to grips with things. Then, if you want to go home, we can take you. Your world's safe from falling to darkness; we sealed the Keyhole ages ago. Heartless can still pop up there, but they shouldn't have too much interest in the place anymore. And if they do show their faces...well...you can never have too many heroes, right?" Kairi concluded lightly.

"Kairi..." Nysa gasped. "You're a hero, Riku's a hero - I'm not. I can't do what you all do. I can't make weapons out of thin air, I can't...I'm not strong, or fast, or anything."

"But you could be," Kairi said simply. "Spend a few days with us - learn, train. Hercules didn't become a hero overnight, did he? It took him years to get where he is. It's hard work, but it pays off. If that's still your dream, Nysa...we can help you make it real. And you can even help protect your world. You can have your day in the coliseum, fighting in front of the crowds!"

"Oh, Kairi!"

"Oof!" Kairi gasped as Nysa hugged her now - really hard. She hugged the girl back just as tightly, managing a strained smile.

"Aqua..." came Terra's voice, causing Kairi to pull free of Nysa and snap her head around.

Aqua was standing there, still, looking completely...submersed in darkness. She was facing Terra and Ven, looking...almost like a statue. She was rigid, her face was hard and taut. Her eyes were narrowed. Her lips pressed tight. Her hands were shaking fists at her sides. Darkness itself was drifting off of her body, smoldering now...

"Aqua, c'mon - come back to us now," Ven said, reaching out to seize one of her hands.

Aqua stared down at him, then tore her hand free and stepped away. She turned away, marching off away from them all.

"Aqua!" Terra said firmly, striding after her. "You did a good job here - you did a good thing - you helped and I don't think we could have done it without you...but the mission's over now. You need to let it go now. Just like Riku, just like me, and just like Nysa just did. Or do you need help, like we helped her?"

Aqua stopped dead. She looked at him over a shoulder. "Help? What makes you think I need help? I'm exactly how I want to be!"

"Are you?" Terra responded. He gave a little scoff, then smiled at her. "You know, I'm wondering what the point of our lessons in controlling darkness were for if you were just going to ignore them the first time you actually had to put them to use."

Aqua's expression flickered. Her lips parted.

"Come on, Aqua - I know you're stronger than that," Terra spoke, stepping forward and reaching out a hand to her. "Take control, shut it down, and-"

"Your mistake is assuming I want to," Aqua laughed, shaking her head at him. It was unlike any laugh Kairi had ever heard from her Master before. "What if I like it this way?"

"I know the feeling," Terra said. "That power, the rush. But more than that - letting your emotions run wild. Letting your feelings out into the world in a tangible form. Not having to hold it back, or worry, or care. It's liberating, in so many ways. But if you let it get too out of control, if you let it start controlling you, then we have a problem. You need to learn where that line is, and how to not go over it."

Aqua's lip curled at him. She scoffed right back. "I suppose you're going to tell me that I'm crossing that line as we speak? You don't like me this way, do you? Any of you." Her eyes found Ven - and then it roamed the others. "No, you want your...strong, proper, 'Keyblade Master' back. That woman who can't even let herself...What if I want to let myself be weak for once? What if, for once in my life, i don't want to have to hold it together or risk falling apart?! What if I want to let you, Ven, everyone in this world know the depths of my misery and despair, my loneliness - ten years of it!"

Darkness began rushing off of her form, spilling out onto the world - blasting at them all.

Kairi jumped to her feet at the power of it, gazing at her Master with fear and worry.

Riku stood too - and Kairi noticed he put himself right in front of Nysa, one arm thrown out to the side...to shield her.

Terra stood facing Aqua, unflinching, even in the face of that rush of power. He was a statue, staring at her. Forcing her to hold his gaze. "Then be weak. Let yourself fall apart. Let us know...exactly how you feel. What you've felt...for ten years now, Aqua. But do it the right way. You know this isn't that. Come home, hang on for one minute more...and you can scream, and yell, and hit...as much as you like. As much as you need to in order to get these feelings out there. To make us understand, Aqua... But don't do it here, and don't do it like this."

Aqua gazed at him for a long time. Then...her head fell, her hands uncurled...and the darkness evaporated from her form in one burst. Leaving her...herself, standing there now. Blue hair, blue eyes...

She strode forward, almost robotic, automatic - and then she just walked right into Terra, pressing against his body.

Terra wrapped her up in his arms and held her, letting out a single sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry..." Aqua said, in a flat, emotionless voice.

"Don't be," Terra said softly. "Let's just all go home now."

"Pathetic!" a familiar voice suddenly echoed.

Everyone turned to see a dark portal swirling to life - and out of it...came Vanitas.

His black visored helmet scanned them all, one by one. It lingered on Lauriam and Elrena a bit longer...before snapping back to Aqua and Terra. He leaned against the nearest tree, crossing his arms with a laugh, high and cruel.

"You know, for a moment there, I was actually impressed with you, 'Master' Aqua," Vanitas went on. "No lies! But then you just had to go and reel it all back in. You were so close!"

"Close to what?" Aqua snapped, pulling free of Terra and whirling to face Vanitas. Her face was full of hate and disgust. Immediately, she conjured her Keyblade to hand again.

"To tasting true freedom," Vanitas replied. "The freedom and the power the darkness has to offer you. It's nice, isn't it? Not having to give a damn about all those little things in life...always holding yourself in check, keeping your emotions buried. Must be exhausting, being you. I don't know how you've even kept it up all these years."

Aqua's face changed, her emotions bleeding away. Leaving her vacant and tired again. She bowed her head, and her weapon vanished. "You know...you're right..." she murmured.

"I know I'm right," Vanitas mocked. "And you - you were almost right, too. But then you went and fucked it all up. Guess that's all you're good for, huh? Just like you fucked up by saving Xehanort's life after your battle with him."

"I was trying to save Terra-" Aqua began.

"And you failed," Vanitas cut across. "All of you failed. That's all you people are: a pack of failures and fuck-ups."

"Okaaaay, who's this edgy little shit now?" Elrena spoke up, sneering as she stepped forward, summoning her weapons in crackling lightning. Multiple yellow knives between her fingers.

"You call him a little shit too!" Kairi exclaimed, beaming at Elrena.

"I call every kid I meet a little shit," Elrena stated. "And this one takes the cake, just - right off the bat here. I can already tell."

"His name is Vanitas," Ven spoke, in a tightly controlled voice of anger. "He's made of pure darkness - my darkness, ripped out of me by Master Xehanort."

Lauriam gasped beside them, his hand going to his head. "Darkness...from inside y-you...?" his ragged voice came.

"Yeah," Ven said, oblivious. He only had eyes for Vanitas in that moment. Most of them did. "He-"

Lauriam's arm fell away, and suddenly a light and a swirl of rose petals flashed into being. He teleported forward in a flicker, a Keyblade held tightly in his right hand now. He let out a guttural scream and slashed for Vanitas the instant he reappeared behind him.

Vanitas took the blow full on, crying out with rage, shock, and pain. He staggered forward, then spun around - and blocked another furious blow from Lauriam. An overhand strike of crashing power and splashing pink energy that rose up into the sky. "What the hell-"

Lauriam raised a leg and kicked Vanitas's knee - causing the boy to scream and fall. Lauriam's free hand shot out, seized Vanitas's throat, and then he lifted him up and slammed him down onto the ground. He planted a boot on his weapon arm, pinning it, and then he raised his own purple Keyblade and stabbed it straight down at Vanitas's visor. No ceremony, no words, no hesitation.

The Keyblade shattered the black visor, and embedded itself several inches deep down past it.

Vanitas's entire body seized violently, and then went still.

Black smoke hissed from his broken visor, from where the Keyblade was still...

Lauriam's face was split by a wide, almost mad grin. His eyes glinted as he tore his weapon free and staggered backwards. "It's over now," his voice came, sharp and trembling, like a hissing snake. There was venom, and there was pure elation. "Now, my sister, you can rest in-"

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet..." said Vanitas, his voice agonized and hoarse, as he sat straight up again, his face exuding thick tendrils of darkness, obscuring...even as bits and pieces of the rest of the helmet began to fall away, crumbling, littering the ground around him...

Lauriam froze, staring down at him in pure shock. Much like the rest of them were.

That had been a fatal blow, it...how could Vanitas still be...? How could anyone...?

That black smoke hissed and evaporated as Vanitas climbed to his feet again...

Kairi could only stare at the dark boy's face, horror and disbelief coursing through her.

A familiar, if slightly older, face smirked broadly back at them all - with long, spikey black hair, and burning yellow eyes.

"W-what- what is this?" Sora breathed, his voice rising high. "What are you?"

Identical eyes met, and that smirk became a twisted, ugly sneer that never should have been on that kind, loving, wonderful, amazing face...of the boy that Kairi- "Hey, I'm not any happier about this than you are. Do you think I like sharing my face with some worthless little moron who thinks he can play hero? Some backwards islander, some idiotic piece of-"

"HEY!" Kairi yelled, starting forward and raising her weapon. "Leave Sora alone, you fucking freak!"

Pure rage contorted that face further, into something that wasn't even human. "You know what? I think there's one good way I can put this idiot's face to use - I can make you look into it while you die, while he kills you!" Vanitas snarled, and he teleported in a cloak of darkness instantly.

Kairi turned herself into pure light instantly, ready for his trick, and she moved herself two feet back and to the right...the moment he reappeared with weapon raised to strike at her. Instead, she drove her Keyblade straight forward, from hip height, right through his backside.

He yelled out in pain and shock, his own weapon almost falling out of his grasp.

Kairi pulled her weapon free and kicked him in the back, sending him stumbling forward.

"That- isn't going- to kill me either," Vanitas gasped out, straightening up and turning to her with murder in his eyes.

"I don't really care about that - it was just catharsis," Kairi retorted, narrowing her eyes at him.

Vanitas stared at her, his eyes widening a fraction. Then he laughed roughly. "Man, if I didn't know you were a Heart of Pure Light..."

The others began to move now, surrounding Vanitas. Flanking him. Except Riku, who stayed with Nysa...

Vanitas eyed them all, one by one - and then he fled completely, disappearing into darkness.

Vanitas was gone - but Lauriam whirled this way and that, his weapon vibrating from how hard he was holding onto it. His face was taut, his blue eyes were wide and gleaming with almost a frenzied madness. "COME OUT, COME ON, YOU COWARD! DO IT, SHOW YOURSELF TO US AGAIN! YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED, HAVE YOU?! ALWAYS SNEAKING AROUND, ALWAYS HIDING IN THE DARK!" he roared out to the world.

"Ven, what is he-" Aqua started, turning to the boy in shock.

"I- I don't know!" Ven said quickly, looking shocked himself.

"It sounds like he's met Vanitas before," Terra remarked. "And it wasn't a pleasant meeting."

"Yeah, I got that too, but when would he have...?" Ven said, staring at Lauriam with worry.

Kairi started off across the grass, coming up beside Lauriam. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. "Lauriam-"

He spun toward her, half raising his weapon, his lips drawn back into a snarl- and then he froze, gazing down on her.

"He's gone," Kairi said softly.

Lauriam sucked in a shuddering breath, and lowered his weapon, blinking at her rapidly. He looked around, really looked, this time. His gaze found the others.

"Hey, look, you summoned your Keyblade," Kairi said, gesturing.

Lauriam looked down at the weapon as if he hadn't even realized it was there. That he even had summoned it back finally. He brought it up before him, staring at it in confusion, amazement. Then, the weapon vanished, and his arm dropped to his side. And then the rest of him fell too, right to the ground. He hit hard on his knees before Kairi, his shoulders sagging. His head falling forward.

Kairi knelt down with him, touching his arm again to comfort him.

He didn't speak - and neither did she. He began to cry - sobbing. Horrendous, gut-wrenching sobs. But Kairi stayed there for him, doing what she could.

"H-he killed her..." Lauriam's hoarse, dark tones came. "He killed her..."

"Vanitas...? Who did he- kill?" Kairi whispered.

"Strelitzia...my Strelitzia...he did it, Darkness, he took her from this world...my little s-sister..."

"Darkness? Vanitas?"

"He hid himself inside of Ventus...and now he's shown himself again, he came back, he's..."

"Wait, are you saying Vanitas isn't Ven's darkness?" Kairi said hesitantly. "He's not...a half of his Heart? He- he existed before? On his own? And he went into Ven? Like Ven did with Sora?"

Lauriam finally raised his head, turning to look at her. His blue eyes were vacant and haunted. "He killed her, he helped bring the end to our world...and he'll do the same now to yours - to the ones you love, to these worlds you cherish. And we can't- allow that!" He climbed to his feet, raising a fist before him. His fingers unfurled, and his Keyblade reappeared in a flash and raining rose petals.

"Strelitzia..." he breathed, quavering. His eyes closed. "I made the mistake of losing myself to the anger and hate before - I misplaced it onto Ven, when he was never the culprit. But even then, I shouldn't have lost myself in the first place. You reminded me of my greatest strengths, my true nature - kindness and love. And you'll always...remind me. I won't forget, dear sister. I'll never forget again...for you, and for my friends, and for the worlds."

Lauriam released a long, steady breath, and let his weapon vanish again. He looked over at the others again - at Elrena. He slowly strode over to her, right up to her. Then, he reached out and grasped her shoulder. "Elrena..." he said softly.

"W-what...? What are you-" the woman stammered, her cheeks flushed, her green eyes wide.

"If I can do it, so can you. Don't give up hope - and don't lose sight of who you truly are," Lauriam spoke, a smile on his lips. A deep kindness to his voice.

"Y-yeah...well...wh-whatever!" Elrena stuttered. But her glare was half-hearted, and she didn't even try to shove his arm away. Instead, she looked down at the ground, and she joined her hands at her waist. "Uh...I mean- thanks," she said quietly, in a mutter.

"You're very welcome," Lauriam told her. He let her go and stepped away. His gaze found Ven, next. "Ventus..."

"Yeah?" Ven whispered, looking extremely troubled. Almost pained. He winced, then looked away from Lauriam. His hand found his Heart. A shaking breath was released...

"Do you remember?" Lauriam asked gently.

"Do I- remember...what?"

"Do you remember 'Darkness?'"

Ventus looked down at himself. His hand clutched at his chest. "I...no. I don't remember. What were you saying? Vanitas isn't- he wasn't made from me? He was never part of me?"

"I'm certain he was Darkness," Lauriam stated quietly.

"Who or what is this 'Darkness' you keep talking about?" Aqua spoke. "What do you mean?"

"When our world fell, right at the very end, my friends and I - Ventus included - encountered an entity of pure darkness," Lauriam spoke on. "Not like the Heartless - this being had a mind, could think and plan for itself. And it planned...to plunge our world into darkness, and spread to many others. We fought it, all of us, but we failed to stop it. But it had passed through Ventus's Heart, and that...changed it. It changed Ven, too. Ven was able to contain it within his Heart, because of that."

"So you think Vanitas and this 'Darkness' are one and the same person?" Terra mused.

"The coincidence is too great," Lauriam said, with a hissing anger to his voice now. "A being of pure darkness, ripped from Ven's Heart? From inside of him? Where that very Dark being itself had stowed itself away, hoping to escape the end with us? What else could it be?"

"Okay," Terra nodded. "It would be an incredible coincidence."

"But you doubt it."

"Grief and anger can do a lot to a person - I know that from personal experience," Terra said evenly.

"Even if they're unrelated, if some dark half of Ventus is running around causing trouble, he has to be stopped," Lauriam insisted.

"On that, we're agreed," Aqua spoke firmly. "The next time he shows himself, we're going to end him - once and for all. We're not letting him slip away again."

"But for now," Terra said, giving her a look. "Time to go home. Nysa needs her rest. And so do you. We all do," he added, with a look at Sora.

Aqua's mouth twisted. But she nodded. "Yes..."

"Sora," Kairi said, moving to stand next to her best friend, reaching out for him. "Are you going to be okay?"

Sora stared at her, troubled. He looked to the spot where Vanitas had once been. Then, he looked at Ventus. "Ven...whether he's your darkness or not - how is- how is this possible? What we saw? I don't get it..."

"I...I don't get it either...I never have..." Ven muttered, looking away.

"Wait, you mean you already knew-" Kairi started.

"We all knew," Aqua spoke loudly. Firmly. "We vowed to each other that we'd have no more secrets - and we all kept that promise. Ven told us a while ago, when Riku and Terra first met up with us again."

"Well, he didn't exactly tell this 'me', but..." Terra shrugged.

"And you guys all just kept this from us?!" Kairi yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you people? You didn't think we needed to know something like that? Like Sora didn't deserve to know-"

"Kairi, it's all right," Sora said. "It doesn't make much of a difference, does it? We still have to fight him - we still have to take him down. So that's what we'll do - even if he looks like...like me. I don't know how or why he does, but it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does matter! What else are they keeping from us? What other crazy important shit are they not telling us - that involves us!" Kairi shouted on furiously.

Aqua stared at her, her face hard. Then, she sighed, shoulders falling. "I guess I can think of one more thing, at least..."

"Great, thanks for telling us now!" Kairi said sarcastically.

"All right, enough," Terra said sternly. "Let's go home - let's rest up - and we'll talk later. Everyone will get to say their piece. But not now. Not here."

Kairi fell silent - but she glowered hard at her Master. And at Terra, too. She pulled free of Sora and crossed her arms.

"Sora..." Ven said hoarsely. "I'm sorry...I just- didn't know how to even- how do you tell someone something like that...? I didn't wanna freak you out or anything. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Sora replied, firm. "I am pretty freaked out here. But I had to find out sometime. I'm just glad I know now - and it's over with."

Ven looked at him in astonishment. Then he looked away, nodding. "R-right..."

"Soooo...I'm not having auditory hallucinations here?" Riku spoke up. "I really just heard you guys saying that that- guy- had Sora's face...?"

"Wait till you hear what he was wearing," Kairi snarked - entirely honestly. "And, hold on a second, how do you know what 'auditory hallucinations' are, Mr. I-Never-Pay-Attention-In-Class?"

"Do I want to ask what he was wearing?" Riku wondered aloud, ignoring her jab at him (to her disappointment).

"Probably not," Sora advised, with a small grin.

"Yeah, okay: I've officially got no idea what the hell is going on in the world anymore - everything's gone topsy-turvy," Elrena groaned, clutching her head. "All I know is I have a killer migraine - so let's move it before my head explodes."

"That makes two of us..." Aqua murmured.

And for a brief moment, the two women shared a look of pure understanding.