AN: Huge new chapteeeeeeeer, lol! Some big shit I've had set up for a WHILE is finally coming to fruition. Get ready for some curveballs! If there's one thing anyone's gonna say about my fics, I want it to be that I DO NOT PLAY IT SAFE! xD Canon railroading can go to hell lol. It's my worst pet peeve. So...I am breaking it into little tiny pieces today.

SHATTER THE CANON! xD Muhahahahaha!

Lol sorry for going nuts with uploads btw, this is the last one I upload within the same 24 hour time period. xD Probably. I HAVE A BACKLOG OF HALF-DRAFTED SHIT I'M SORRY!

End of AN!


The next day, after the whole Xehanort revelation, and finding Skuld's friend, Amaya, Kairi and friends took their (almost daily now) trip over to Radiant Garden.

Kairi was surprised to see that new woman, herself, was there in this world.

Amaya was standing in the ruined square, gazing to the four corners - where the newest flowers were seeded, and growing.

Kairi watched the woman approach one of the flower beds - watched her kneel down, and reach out with a gentle hand to caress one of them.

Kairi smiled, and decided to approach her.

"Hey..." Kairi greeted quietly.

The woman didn't startle. She just slowly turned to look at who had called out to her. Who had stepped up behind her. Had she somehow sensed Kairi was there, or...was she just that unconcerned...? Not so easy to startle, in general?

"Hello - Kairi?"

"Yeah." Kairi knelt down beside the woman, closely examining the flowers herself. "I didn't think I'd see you around here so soon. Are you...trying to get familiar with other worlds?"

Amaya glanced over at her, a small smile on her lips. A kindness to her deep, brown eyes, even now. Even still. Even after yesterday...after everything...

"It was Luxu's suggestion," she answered, slow and contemplative. "He told me that Xehanort has been spying on the inhabitants of this world, because there's something he might want from them. He said that if I wanted to see Xehanort again...my best chance would be to place myself here - to show myself off for him." There was a slight quirk to her eyebrows. A tinge of amusement - or humor. She sighed, looking down at the flowers. "I just have to hope that he'll see me, and come running back into my arms, like he always used to..."

Kairi focused intensely on the flowers, as well, willing herself not to make a remark of any kind. Not to let anything show on her face. "So, Luxu basically told you to be bait," she said with disdain.

"I'm willing to be. I have nothing to fear from Xehanort."

Again, Kairi did her best to not comment. She chose to make another comment instead. Probably an equally stupid one. "I wish I could say that, too."

Amaya looked over at her again. Kairi saw it, from the corner of her eye. Saw the emotions on her face... "I'm-"

"-sorry - yeah - I know. I think we're all sorry about a lot of things," Kairi cut across, heaving another sigh. She stood, pushing her hair out of her face. She turned and walked away quickly, her fingernails digging into her own palms.

She looked to Sora, who was animatedly chatting with Yuffie and Leon already.

She looked to Xion - watching the girl taking the stairs on the path up to the castle's front gates, on the hill above. Was she going to see Even? Kairi smiled at the thought. It was nice to see the girl taking some initiative - knowing what she wanted.

But what did Kairi herself want? She shook her head, glancing around herself again. Her gaze found Roxas and Namine together. Namine was standing rigid. She was paler than usual. She looked...like she was on the verge of panic? Clutching that sketchbook of hers to her chest.

Kairi swept the area again, alarmed, but she couldn't see anything that would-

"Ah, good morning, young Kairi!"

Oh... It was that.

Kairi saw Ansem The Wise striding down the street, emerging into the plaza in good spirits.

Kairi rushed to meet him, feet pounding on the stone ramp as she stepped back up to ground level again. "Good morning," she greeted him with a polite smile.

He looked down at her with fondness - a smile of his own. A genuine one. "It is fortunate that you've come to visit us again today; there has been some excellent news."

"What news?" Kairi asked.

"Several more of the Organization's members appear to have been restored to humanity yesterday evening," explained Ansem The Wise.

"Really?! Which ones?"

"Wait - did you just say some of the Organization is back?" Roxas's voice, as he came hurrying over to them. "Was Axel with them?"

"What about...Demyx?" Namine's voice came, unusually subdued, and hesitant, as the girl herself followed slowly in Roxas's wake. She kept her head down, her eyes down...like she was just- trying to make herself seem as small as possible.

If Kairi hadn't known a bit about the possible, unnatural cause of such behavior in the girl, she would have been extremely concerned, and asking a lot of questions of Ansem The Wise. Probably at Keyblade point. King of Radiant Garden be damned.

Ansem gazed down at them all, raising a hand. He gave a shake of his head. "The man called Axel - now Lea, if I'm not mistaken - was among those Recompleted, yes. He's recovered well, and has been up and about for a while now. With him was Dilan - I suppose you would know him better as 'Xaldin' - as well as Ienzo...or, Zexion, rather." He sighed, looking to Namine. "The remaining two - Demyx and Luxord, I believe they are called - are believed to have been restored, but not here."

"Where...where are they?" Namine questioned, tightening her arms around her sketchbook.

"They were not residents of this world, as the rest of my apprentices were," Ansem said. "Where they are now, I cannot say - but doubtless they have returned to their home worlds of origin, somewhere out there, among the stars."

"I have to find him..." Namine whispered to herself.

"I'm sure you will," Kairi told her. "If he's your friend, then you have a bond with him - and you can use that bond, along with your powers, can't you?"

"Yes..." Namine sucked in a breath, turning away and hurrying off across the plaza. She went all the way to the outer edge, before sitting down in the corner, where the city's outer wall met one of the damaged houses. There, resting pages and pencil on her lap, she bowed her head in concentration.

"Where's Axel now?" Roxas asked of Ansem, stepping forward.

"Somewhere around the city, I'm sure," Ansem answered. "I apologize for not being able to be of more help, young man."

"It's fine; I'll find him myself," Roxas said. He nodded to the man, then turned and started off across the plaza, disappearing down the street.

"And what of you, dear girl?" Ansem addressed Kairi lightly.

Kairi gazed at him. She looked up to the castle. "If he's up to it, I'd like to go check on Dilan."

Ansem smiled again. "I think he would welcome such a visit."


After navigating the basement hallways, Xion stepped inside the study room finally.

But it wasn't as quiet or empty as she expected it to be.

"...I'm not going to use my illusion powers to annoy him!"

"You're not fun, then, got it. You're boring, and your powers are boring, and you use them for boring things instead of fun things."

"Hold on a moment, that isn't true! I'm capable of having fun! I just don't think a good idea of that is to-"

"Hi..." Xion said, quiet and high.

The two people turned to look at her.

One of them was familiar: the other one wasn't.

Kana was sitting on the desk, swinging her legs.

A man who looked young was standing next to her, his arms crossed. He had blue eyes and blue hair, with a long lock that hung over his face. He was wearing a white lab coat - like Even did. The man uncrossed his arms quickly, surprise on his face. He blinked fast, half raising a hand before dropping it again. "Oh! Uh- hello there! You're...Xion, isn't that right? I'm Ienzo."

"Yes, I'm Xion," she answered hesitantly.

"Xion! You're capable of having fun," Kana said, hopping off the desk and stalking forward. She had a wide grin on her face. She bent down and grabbed Xion's hand in hers. "Let's go have some - together. And without him."

"What are we going to do?" Xion asked, afraid of the answer.

"Have fun with Even."

"That's not a good idea at all," Ienzo said, exasperated.

"Like you would know," Kana said to him. "Come on, Xion."

"Ok..." She had no choice as Kana dragged her away down the hallway into the lab. "What are we going to do with Even?" she asked anxiously.

Kana glanced down at her. She tossed her head of shimmering purple hair. "Nothing that's going to hurt him."

"But you could still compromise the quality of his work," Ienzo's voice came again. He had followed after them, worry on his face.

Kana stopped, looking back at him. She looked down at Xion again. She frowned. "Why does everyone here worry so much? How do you get anything done if all you do is worry and whine about everything? Relax and have some fun! It's not that hard."

"I just don't want to make Even mad at me," Xion said.

"It's fun to make him mad, though," Kana replied.

"Is it?" Xion and Ienzo somehow said at the same time.

"Okay, forget both of you." Kana let out a huff, letting Xion go and spinning away to stalk off down the hall. She slowed at the end, lightly stepping out onto the transparent walkway of the giant laboratory chamber. She stopped behind the corner, right at the entrance into the computer room. She peered around the corner, then withdrew. She grinned and raised a hand, swirling with ice magic.

"Shouldn't we stop her...?" Xion asked of Ienzo.

Ienzo shook his head. "I don't think this woman would be the type to let us...but, at least we'll be able to say we had nothing to do with it-"

Kana leaned out from behind the wall again and thrust her hand forward.

A chunk of ice the size of a tennis ball shot through the doorway into the lab - and smacked into Even's backside as he hunched over the computer, typing away at it.

"What the-" Even straightened up and whirled around faster than Xion would have thought; icy mist swirled around his arm, and in a flash of light he had a large blue shield with spikes on the top of it in his grasp. "Whoever saw fit to attack me, show yourself this instant!"

Kana darted out from behind the wall, into his view. Laughing, hard and loud, with an arm raised to point at him.

"Wh-what - Kana...?" Even lowered his shield, letting it vanish. He stared at her for a moment. Then his expression turned thunderous. "Kana - you go too far this time! How dare you strike me like that in the middle of my work! Do you not have enough to do in this entire city that you had to come in here like this and-"

"I was just- having some fun with you," Kana gasped out.

"Oh, I was involved, was I? Am I laughing? It wasn't funny!" Even snapped out. "You juvenile, immature, impulsive little-"

"I'm sorry; I tried telling her it was a bad idea!" Ienzo spoke up, hurrying forward.

Xion ran forward too, holding her hands to her chest.

Even looked at them both in surprise. "The two of you had nothing to do with this, did you?"

"Nothing at all!" Ienzo said firmly.

"Of course you didn't. You, after all, possess common sense," Even said with satisfaction. "Unlike some others I could very well name."

Kana stared at him, her laughter fading. Her arm fell to her side. She looked at Ienzo, then at Xion. Her eyes narrowed, anger flooding her face. She turned and strode past them out of the lab quickly.

Xion sighed with relief.

"Now then, is there anything either of you need from me?" Even said politely, tugging at his lab coat.

"Well, I was planning to ask you if you needed an extra pair of hands..." Ienzo said slowly.

Even gave a smile. "You always did learn quickly, didn't you. A pair of deft, intuitive hands would be useful to have again, yes."

Xion looked at Even. She looked at Ienzo. Back to Even. She stepped forward, her shoes clacking on the glass floor of the walkway. "Can I help, too...?"

Even gazed back at her, startled. "I...suppose you could as well, yes. You haven't proven yourself to be a hazard to life and property, as far as I'm aware. But - you must do exactly as I say, when I say it! And you are to observe and learn from your time here! This is not a vacation; it's science and education. You, Xion, will be both an apprentice and my latest protege, which means you will pull your weight in this lab. Your conduct and intellect reflect upon me. Understood?"

"Yes - thank you!" Xion beamed.

Even gave her a small smile before turning back to the computer again.


Namine reached out with her mind, her Heart, her powers.

She focused on the memories of being with Demyx.

The music they played together...

The times when she'd talked to him, tried to get to know him, asked him questions...

She sank down into her own Heart.

She gazed around her at the darkness...and she found the thread so easily it almost made her laugh! It was just - there, shining for her nearby. Nothing like all the trouble she'd had to go through just to track down Amaya's.

Namine grasped the thread, and then the black void flashed white - and she wasn't floating in darkness anymore.

She was standing in a white void.

Like when she had talked to Kairi, Heart to Heart, once before.

A familiar person was standing in the void with her. Facing away from her.

"Demyx!" Namine exclaimed, starting forward.

As she hurried toward him, the white void faded away, being replaced with an unfamiliar city. A place of high, black towers and lights and holograms. There were shining vehicles flying every which way, too, in the air.

Demyx spun around. "Huh? AHHHHHHHH!"

Namine tried to hug him - but she went right through him instead! She blinked, turning back around to face him again. Demyx did the same, his hands covering his face for protection.

"Demyx - it's me, remember?"

Demyx slowly lowered his arms, staring at her. "Xikira? Dude - how're you doing this...and how do I make it stop?!"

"It's Namine, now," she replied, beaming. "I used my memory powers to find you, after I heard you got Recompleted."

"Recompleted? Is that what it's called?" Demyx said, looking down at his hands. He shrugged, then reached up to push his hair back. He gave her a smile. "All I know is one minute my whole non-existence was a lie, and then, suddenly I existed again! Emyd is back, baby! Heart and all! It's totally crazy, but sooo awesome! I even got the band back together, literally! We've been on a great tour these past few days, rocking out, you know? Uhhh, but hey, enough about me: how've you been lately? I knew you got out of the Organization and all, buuut..."

"I've been great, thanks," Namine said happily. "I've been living with Roxas. We have a house and everything. I go to school now, and I have a new friend."

"Sweet!" Emyd said empathetically. "You were always pretty gutsy, and I guess it really payed off for you; it sounds like you've been living it up, too! But man, between you and me, I never could've done what you did...Heart or not, I was way too scared!"

"Oh, yeah, we had Hearts, by the way. I'm pretty sure you did, anyways, at least," Namine replied.

"Say what now?"

"Nobodies can grow their Hearts back over time, by connecting with others again," Namine said. "Even the time you and I spent together was probably enough for you to start getting one again."

"No kidding?!" Emyd exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead. "I did really start to wonder, sometimes..."

"So, are we still friends?"

"Huh? Oh, sure, totally!"

"Then I can come visit you sometime?"

"Whenever you want," Emyd grinned. "Okay, not whenever, but you know what I mean? I could show you around my world, you could meet the band - hey, I'll even give you a free, front row pass for life!"

"That sounds so cool! Thanks, Dem- Emyd! I'd love to come and watch you play."

"Right on, Xikir- err, Namine! Uh, so, it was nice catching up, but speaking of, I've gotta prepare for the next performance...Sooooo: see you around?"

"Yeah. See you around!"

He nodded to her, and gave a wink and a thumbs up.

Namine let the thread go, letting her mind unfocus - and in a flash, she was back in Radiant Garden, sitting on the stone ground.

She smiled to herself, looking down at her sketchbook, and started a new drawing while it was fresh in her mind.

After finishing it, she turned her thoughts to Luxord.

She'd liked him more than most of the others - she'd liked talking with him on training missions, and she'd liked playing card games with him. Well...the one game...

Still!

She missed him, and she wondered how he was doing now. Where he was now.

If he was a person now, with a Heart and everything, then they could be friends now!

Namine flipped to a new page, and went back into the world of Hearts and memories, starting the search again.

This one was a little harder than finding Demyx- Emyd again. But she got there, after a few minutes of drawing up memories, and squinting into the void.

The new thread, not as bright or strong as Demyx's- Emyd's! But still there!

So Namine followed it to its source.

She came upon Luxord's Heart, staring at the stained glass platform critically.

These were important, she knew now. It was important to...analyze them.

They told a story - the story of each person's Heart. What was important to them, or what had had the biggest affect on them in life. The places they thought of as home.

Luxord's was new and interesting, compared to others Namine had seen by now. Not as strange as Amaya's, but...

It showed a city with tall skyscrapers of glass, and cars on the streets below, with a sunrise. There was a tall, central skyscraper, emblazoned with the numbers: 104.

Layered over this all-encompassing image were smaller images.

There was Luxord himself, surrounded by floating cards, wearing some kind of suit, instead of the Organization cloak. He looked a little different to Namine, too, but...well, Lea had looked a little different from Axel, and so had Isa, and even Emyd. It wasn't as totally different as Roxas or Namine herself were from Kairi and Sora, but it did seem like Nobodies still had some changes from their originals.

In a smaller image to Luxord's right, there was the face of a young man - a boy. Namine thought for a second that it was Riku, but - this boy was different. For one thing, he had two different eye colors! Namine had never seen that before in her life. But apparently it was a thing that was possible?!

There was another image, to the left of Luxord, that showed a woman with messy blond hair that hung down over her face. She looked to be laughing. She looked happy.

Then there was the specific image of a specific vehicle - a sleek black car? And another image that showed...something Namine couldn't really even guess at.

It looked like a room? A chamber? With a strange walkway to a platform in the center, over a pit. There was an archway on the platform, with glowing lines on it, and strange lights.

The final image, down near the bottom, was a book - the cover of a book, with a symbol on it. The symbol of a Heart? It was blue and fancy. Stylized?

Namine shook her head and focused her Heart. Hey, Luxord? Can you hear me?

She waited, holding her breath. Concentrating.

Then, in a flash, her world changed.

She was suddenly in that city from Luxord's Heart Station!

She looked all around her, up and down busy streets, assailed by all sorts of noises and smells!

There were crowds everywhere, cars zooming by.

Streetlights were flashing-

And then it all froze. It just...suddenly stopped.

The noise was gone.

People were stuck, mid-step. Mouths open. Some of them had phones to their ears.

"Xikira...? Well, this is most definitely a surprise I could never have bet on..."

Namine heard echoing footsteps behind her, and turned.

Luxord was standing in front of her! Or - whoever his Somebody was? His original self now. His human self now.

He had that suit on, from the Heart station. His hair was a little different. But besides that...it was just him.

Namine beamed at him, opening her mouth to speak-

And froze, as nothing came out of her mouth. Not a sound!

She moved her lips, she forced air out - but her voice...there was still nothing!

What was happening to her?!

Luxord gazed at her with sympathy. "It's best to not try to speak - the distance is already too great, even for one such as you, and your remarkable powers, it would seem."

Namine tried to scream, to swear, to demand answers- but her mouth moved like a fish, giving nothing! She stared at Luxord, then at the frozen world around them again. She breathed, she tried to calm down. And she reached for her powers, and she thought.

What the FUCK is going on here?! Where are you? What world is this? Are you okay? Xehanort, he-

Luxord's face showed surprise. Then he gave a soft, small smile at her, holding up a hand. Truly remarkable, Xikira! I'm touched by your worry, but you needn't fear for me, my dear - I'm perfectly fine, and back where I belong. He spoke back to her without his mouth moving - from Heart to Heart.

But WHERE? Can I come visit you? I found Demyx, too - Emyd - and he said I could come watch his concerts. You know, for his band. Are you in a band?

Luxord laughed, rich and loud, a hand to his chest. Oh, Xikira, as precious as ever. And as persistent. I'm afraid that my world and yours are simply too far apart, dear girl. Visiting me here...will not be possible for you. But I appreciate the-

My name's Namine now. What's yours?

Lourd. Now, Namine, not that it isn't wonderful to see you free and well, but I haven't the time for catching up. So if you would please sever this connection-

But I want us to be friends now! I want to play card games with you again! Namine exclaimed passionately.

Luxord blinked at her. He gave her a sad look, shaking his head. That's very sweet of you...and I would like that as well...but sometimes what we want in life is not always what we get. Please, Namine, there are lives I am working to save in my world here, and every second not spent on the task is-

If you wanted help, you could have just asked! The words surged across the bond, welling up from Namine's Heart - a place she couldn't even...Huh?

Luxord gazed at her, looking her up and down, that surprise on his face again. Then he softened. I see...that would be from HER, no doubt. Time is a precious commodity - and to have some of it back... He trailed off, glancing away, suddenly unsure. Frowning. Then he looked Namine in the eyes again. Perhaps I could have, you are right - but a hero's true worth is only seen under the greatest of pressures, in the most harrowing of situations. And when whom the hero is, is itself, uncertain, how is one to find the person capable of saving the world? Of making the sacrifices? How do you determine who is the correct choice - the right one to gamble everything on? To place all your hopes on? For that hero must be capable of saving not only their own world...but others as well. Worlds they could never have dreamed of...

Luxord sighed. I want you to know that there was never any malice in my actions - and that I regret the harm I was required to stand by and watch happen to others. I suppose some would call that a necessary evil...but inaction in face of injustice is rather the same as aiding it, isn't it? And so I am equally guilty, regardless.

What are you even talking about? Namine demanded.

You wouldn't believe me if I told you, my dear.

Try me!

Luxord laughed softly. You play so recklessly, Namine. So unpredictably. It's rather refreshing, honestly! Exhilarating, even, to face someone who you could never guess what they'll do next. But take care not to make a move you might come to regret. I would hate to see you harmed.

Fine. I'll find out myself.

Namine-

Namine let the connection go - the world flashed white - and she was back on Luxord's Heart Station again.

She glared down at it, then knelt down and placed a palm to the surface of the glass.

"Show me who you are. Show me your memories. Let's see what you're-"

Her words were cut short, as the platform suddenly retreated from her, shooting down into the darkness, like someone had just yanked it away from her!

The darkness closed in around her rapidly-

And then she found herself startling back to reality.

She was laying flat on her back, her sketchbook beside her.

Namine sat up, holding a hand to her head.

What was that?!

She centered herself and tried again - she really did - but...for some reason...she couldn't even find Lourd again!

She searched and searched in the dark void, for any thread, for any sign of his Heart...but...

She just couldn't anymore.

It was like...like it didn't exist anymore?

Like it had just- disappeared from reality?

Namine tried and tried, every way she knew. She tried indirect paths, tracing from other Hearts she knew - but nothing led back to Lourd's!

Why?

What had happened to him?

Or...maybe...what had happened to her?

Between him and Amaya, Namine was really starting to think...

Maybe her powers weren't working so well anymore.

Maybe they were...starting to freak out?

To fail her...

But why?

Namine worked herself up into frustration and worries - and then decided that that was stupid and useless, and got to her feet again.

She huffed, picked up her sketchbook, and raced off down the streets where she'd seen Roxas go earlier.

It surprised her when her searching didn't take more than a few minutes to yield results!

She came upon them standing together in front of a food shop with an open window and a little counter.

Roxas, Saix, and Axel. Or- Roxas, Isa, and Lea.

Lea exchanged some munny with the shopkeeper, taking sticks of ice cream and handing them out to Roxas and Isa.

"Hey, dick!" Namine called out to Isa, rushing forward and waving, giving a big smile.

Isa spun toward her, his face full of shock and anger- then he froze, and it all vanished. "Oh... Hello, Namine..." he said, quiet and awkward.

"So you're Namine now, huh? I'm Lea now." said the red-haired man. He flashed a bit of a grin, scratching his hair. He took a swift bite of ice cream, brandishing the treat at her. "But you already knew that one, didn't ya!"

Namine grinned too. "You remember!"

"I remember all of it," Lea replied. "Never thought you'd turn out to be right - on all counts - but here we are. Honestly, I couldn't have believed it, even when I first woke up here, but...you were telling the truth that day."

"Aren't you happy I was, now!"

Lea gazed at her. Then he laughed. "Y-yeah - yeah. I'm REAL happy. And I never thought I'd get to say that again. I guess I should say 'thank you' or something, right?"

"You're welcome," Namine said simply. She smiled at Roxas, then gave a wave to Isa and spun away on her heel. "Bye, jerk!"

"Mmmm..." Isa hummed out incoherently as she ran off.

"You know she's trying to bond with you, don't you?" Namine heard Lea say quietly, behind her back.

"Of course I do; I'm reserved, not dense," Isa muttered back. "Hence why I didn't say anything about it."

"Just checking that you didn't lose a few marbles in the whole Recompletion process..." Lea responded.

"Hmph. If anyone lost something in the process, it was clearly you.." Isa said, amusement in his voice.


Amaya moved through the streets and districts of this walled city, taking note of the state of it and its citizens.

It was a heavily under-construction city, due to the devastation of the Heartless in the past.

The people were hurt, grieving - but hopeful, and determined to rebuild. To move forward.

Amaya adjusted her jacket, a part of her wishing she had her favored cloak instead - but she pushed the feeling away.

She had nothing to hide anymore. Not in this life, she reminded herself firmly.

In fact, it was quite the opposite: being nothing but open and honest, with her body and her Heart, was essential.

She moved around large construction machinery, entering what looked like an industrial district.

Tight, narrow walkways between buildings, machines and pipes running every which way.

She walked them alone, going up steps and around corners. She ran her hand along old, rusted railing.

She danced her fingers across massive, blue shipping containers stacked on top of each other.

She took another flight of stone steps, and came to the top, stopping there.

Surrounded by stone walls and rooftops, there was a spacious platform with a transparent floor - underneath which she could see huge brass pipes, which curved down the sides of a pit, filled with a blue liquid or mist of some kind.

Amaya walked out onto the vast platform, looking down into the pit, examining the pipes closely. Following their path out across the area. Trying to guess at their purpose.

She sighed, raising her head to gaze up at the sky. She looked over to the castle, damaged and ruined, looming over the rooftops of nearby buildings.

She had been walking around this city for hours now - and there was no sign that Xehanort was indeed watching. That he had seen her. That he had even recognized. Or, perhaps he had, and he had simply chosen not to reveal himself. Chosen not to speak to her...

He wouldn't wish to, would he?

After she had disappeared from his life without warning or explanation...

She knew she had given her life to drag a Darkness into oblivion and off those islands for his sake...but he obviously didn't.

He could never have.

He had been a child, left alone - probably thinking himself outright abandoned.

No, she had abandoned him. There was no getting around it.

A fourteen year old boy...left all alone...and the only person looking after him - gone with no trace...

Perhaps that simple act had done more harm to his Heart than what may have come later.

Perhaps it was not the Darkness, or the tragedy of losses, that had damaged his Heart - but her own actions.

Amaya bowed her head, closing her eyes.

Perhaps...she deserved to die again - and this time, to not return...

Why had she been worthy of not only a second chance at life - but a third?

What force of fate or destiny had seen fit to keep returning her to this World, again and again?

Or was she returning, somehow, under her own, unconscious power? Was it some ability or aspect of her Heart and circumstances that she had forgotten?

She had regained many a memory of her past lives, it was true - but countless more must lay out of her reach, as well. Memories she wouldn't even remember she was missing. How could she know, without knowing, after all?

Even after her third return, awakening in that alley, being taken in by the care home for lost and troubled children...Amaya had always felt...tired. Weary. Older than she was.

She had known, somewhere, somehow, even at the start: she had not been a normal fifteen year old girl.

And as she had grown, when she had discovered her Keyblade - or, rediscovered it - and when the memories had begun to return to her again...and then, when the Heartless had come to that world several months ago now...

She had begun to understand the full scope of her existence.

But not the reason behind it.

She knew that, in her first life, she had been offered a choice - but that should only have accounted for the second chance, the second life.

After dying on those islands, sacrificing herself for Xehanort, after a very long, second life...why was she back again for a third?

Why?

And how could she get it to stop?

She didn't want this blessing. This gift was wasted on her. It would have been better served being given to someone else - someone who truly deserved it.

Did she still have a purpose? Was there something she had left to do here? Would she finally be able to rest, after she had achieved it?

Was it Xehanort?

Was it a test, or a punishment?

A mission, or a condemnation?

Heaven or hell?

Amaya drew breath, letting it go again. A precious breath of air - of life...

And then, suddenly, she felt the brush of darkness, and heard the noise.

She opened her eyes again, and saw a portal of darkness in front of her.

She saw the figure step out from it.

A figure in all black - a hooded coat, gloves and boots.

A young man, perhaps a year or two younger than herself, with tan skin, silver hair, and golden-yellow eyes.

Even if he was nearly a decade or so older than her last memories of him...Amaya recognized that face immediately. She knew it in her Heart, in her fragmented dreams, in her most precious...cherished...

"Xehanort..."

He stared at her, his eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" he spoke.

Amaya moved - striding forward. She smiled at him, blinking quickly. "You don't recognize me, child? I suppose we are both younger than we expected the other to be..." she said, light and teasing.

Xehanort stood frozen, rigid, his eyes reduced to slits now. His hands curled at his sides. Then they uncurled, and his eyes went wide, blinking back at her. "N-no, you cannot be-"

Amaya continued to walk, closing the gap between them. She slowly raised her arms to him, holding his gaze. Trying to convey everything with her eyes alone... "But I am."

"No!" Xehanort stepped away, and with a flash of light, a Keyblade was in his hand. Anger contorted his features, as he fell into a combat stance, holding his weapon parallel to his eyes. "This is nothing but a cruel trick by the witch - she's using my own memories against me. Clever - but I am not so easily fooled!"

They were twenty feet apart...fifteen...ten...

"Xehanort...I'm not a trick; I'm real. I'm here."

"Silence!" he shouted at her.

"I'll prove it to you, Xehanort."

"I said: silence!" Xehanort lunged in the blink of an eye, slashing his weapon down for her, shrouded in purple darkness.

Amaya twisted at the hip, stepped aside, and then stepped in the last few feet. Her left hand moved to seize Xehanort's wrist, while her right hand shot forward and came to rest against the side of his face. She pulsed a powerful magic through the hand holding his wrist; blue light traveled down his arm, stopping at the shoulder.

"What did you- what are you-" Xehanort gasped, trying to struggle against her magic - but his weapon arm refused to move. It was caught in mid-air, mid strike. And only the arm. As if he'd wedged it in-between an invisible door.

"Xehanort - you can feel me. You feel this. I'm here - I'm real!" Amaya said firmly, holding onto his face as he tried to move it away. "You know this. Or tell me I'm wrong."

"You- are not- you can't be!" Xehanort brought up his free hand, brimming with an orb of burning orange flames.

Amaya's hand flew down from his face, smacking into his wrist and redirecting the attack; the blast of triple Firaga flew past her, striking the far wall with consecutive flares of light. She rotated her hand and seized that arm, too, casting the Time Spell again. That arm was now frozen, down low, awkwardly outstretched.

Amaya reached both her hands up now, and took his face into her grasp - holding it firm - staring into his eyes intensely. "Look at me! Listen to me - now!" she ordered firmly. "I'm sorry, Xehanort. I'm so sorry for leaving you on those islands - alone! I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep being in your life! I'm sorry for what happened to you in Scala Ad Caelum! To your friends! I failed you - I failed you so terribly. I failed to keep my promise to your mother, and I failed to keep my promises to you! I wasn't there to protect you, to keep teaching you, and I never got to take you back there to see her, myself! I promised you that you would see her again, when you were strong enough, old enough, and I never-"

She felt the powerful, rushing darkness behind herself!

Amaya spun around and threw out her arms, casting a barrier wall with a thought.

The Dark Fireball slammed into it, barely scratching it.

Amaya summoned her Keyblade to hand, finding herself facing a strange sight.

A man who looked like the Keyblade Master, Terra, only...silver-haired, and yellow-eyed.

He held a Keyblade in his hand - simple, and blue and silver.

"Impressive speed," the man spoke, in a deep voice, filled with hate. "And an even more impressive illusion. But neither I nor my younger self are so easily fooled. I presume this is the Princess's Nobody at work, drawing this up from our memories. Yet you do seem to be corporeal, don't you? An illusion layered over one of my enemies' physical form? Luxu, I would surmise. No other could have reacted that quickly to my attack, let alone countered it so successfully."

Younger self...?

Then this man was also...Xehanort?

The Xehanort the others spoke of? The one of this...this era?

Then that meant-

Amaya turned back around, gazing on the visage of the Xehanort she knew. "You are my Xehanort, aren't you? It's some form of time travel - like Skuld and the others," she breathed. "When are you from? You're older than I last left you, but not decades older. A single decade, I would guess. You must be from some point after what happened to you in Scala Ad Caelum."

"Enough," came that harsh, quivering voice from behind her. "This farce is over."

Amaya paid that voice - that Xehanort - no mind. She kept her eyes locked to the one before her. She moved again to place her hands on his face. She brushed his hair from his eyes. "What happened to your eyes, child? They were always so beautiful - sparkling in silver, alight with inquisitiveness...with care, with happiness, with passion..."

"Release me!" the young man hissed, his eyes burning at her with such malice...

"No. I left you once before - I will never make that mistake again," Amaya answered, coming to her decision.

The young Xehanort's eyes flitted away from her face - looking past her. Beseeching the other - the older. His...present self. "Destroy this figment already!" he snapped out harshly.

He steals bodies...

Of course that made so much sense now.

Such a terrible sense.

But that Xehanort...

And this Xehanort...

Amaya heard the shift of a foot. She felt the change in the wind right behind her. She heard the singing of the blade.

She hurled herself forward with all her strength and speed, taking Xehanort down to the floor. As she did, she did two things. One: she sent a massive pulse of magic through his body, shrouding it in blue particles of light, casting the most powerful Sleep Spell she knew. And two: she called on the darkness in her own Heart, and wrapped both of them in it, shifting them out and away from that world.

"WHAT...?" she heard that voice echo in her wake, in complete shock and confusion.

Amaya wrapped her arms around her Xehanort, watching his face as his eyes fluttered, and he went slack in her grasp. Taken by sleep. She sank into the darkness with him, entering the eternal realm of darkness itself. She landed on a stretch of sand - near large boulders, and a gentle ocean. She lifted herself up, summoning her Keyblade and casting a beam out, opening a portal of light in the middle of the darkness. She picked Xehanort up in her arms and rushed through it - spilling out into a world of light once more. Into the Land of Departure's castle.

"What the-!"

Keyblade Masters Terra and Aqua stopped their training in the middle of the throne room, both turning to face her.

"What are you doing? Why is he here?!" Aqua erupted, stalking forward with Keyblade in hand. "You brought him straight to us!"

"He's unconscious," Amaya stated, meeting the woman's gaze with pure steel. "And I was not going to leave him - not again."

"Amaya, if you had some kind of plan, you should have-" Terra began.

"When were any of you going to tell me that there were two versions of Xehanort in this World?" Amaya interrupted, anger flooding her voice and body. "That there was a much younger version of him here - a version who hasn't gone on to do all of the things the current one has. A version of him-"

"Who would be easier for you to reach out to, and connect with?" Terra finished. "Honestly, you only came to us yesterday, and we didn't have the time to go over all the exact details of what's happened over the course of our lives. That, and most of us weren't thinking in terms of 'saving' Xehanort, so it wasn't exactly a particular detail anyone felt like they might want to bring up to you..."

"MOST of us?" Aqua turned to Terra, her lips parting. "What are you saying, Terra? That you were? That would be complete nonsense, even from you!"

Terra gazed at her. Then to Amaya. And then, down to Xehanort. He sighed, closing his eyes. "Then you'll be happy to know it wasn't from me."

"What are you talking about?" Aqua demanded, a sharpness to her voice now.

Terra opened his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't think we can keep this a secret any longer, can we? And at this point, would you want to? There seems to be a lot of possibilities open to you now, if you would only be open to taking them..."

"Terra, who are you talking to?"

"I think it's time. I'd really hate to see you waste such incredible second chances...Master."

"What...Terra?"

Terra strode forward, slowly raising a hand, his eyes locked with Amaya's. His hand came to fall, trembling, onto Xehanort. "It truly is you...Xehanort..." came the young man's voice. But it was not only his voice: there was another, layered atop it. A different, older voice.

"Terra-"

Terra's body glowed with a golden light, and then a swirling orb of energy - a Heart - emerged from his chest. It drifted out to one side, and then a glowing figure materialized around it.

An aged man, with long black hair, and a scar down his face. He wore a tunic with straps crossed over it, and a long white robe.

"N-no - it can't be..." Aqua gaped, stumbling back. Her Keyblade vanished from her grasp.

The man turned to look at her. There was a sad smile on his face. "Aqua...it is good to see you again with my own eyes."

"M-Master..." Aqua hesitated, her hands fumbling with one another, her lips working soundlessly. Then she threw herself forward, her arms going around the man's neck. "How - why - this whole time, you've been with Terra...?"

The man returned her embrace, holding her gently, before pulling away. His hands grasped her arms, as he gazed into her eyes. "Yes, I have. It isn't something I expect you to forgive me for..."

"But- but- why?" Aqua asked again, her eyes watering now.

"At first, after my...passing...and finding myself within Terra's Heart, I devoted all of my time and power toward the task of keeping Xehanort's darkness at bay - ensuring that Terra's Heart never fell to it completely," the man said, slow and careful. "However, after a powerful light freed Terra from the darkness, and gave him a human form of his own once more...all I had time for was to sink into the depths of my own shame and failures. With Terra, with you, with Ventus, and with Xehanort. My past, my wasted life, my many and great mistakes. I was...ashamed, Aqua, to show myself to you three. My own pupils - whom I had attempted to harm...to- to kill! Ventus, for what he could not help, and Terra, simply for rightly protecting his friend's life..."

"So it's true..." Aqua whispered, pulling out of his grasp. "A part of me never believed it - a part of me still hasn't wanted to believe it...but it's the truth?"

The man's aged face was etched with remorse, and guilt, and pain. But he gave a grave, slow nod. "It's true, Aqua."

Aqua took another step back. Her hand curled to a fist - and then her weapon appeared again in her hand. She didn't seem to have realized it. She blinked, and suddenly her face was a mask. Frozen, cold. Etched in its own way. "I'm going to ask you a question, and you are going to tell me the truth, Master. Answer this: if I had been there that day instead of Terra - or, if I had been there alongside him - would you have decided to kill me, too?"

For a long minute, there was silence. But then, the man gave his answer. He did not do her the disservice of not meeting her eyes as he did. "I think that on that day, in the grips of such fear and panic - sheer madness - yes...yes, I would have cut down anyone standing in the way of what I thought must be done. Even you."

Aqua's eyes lost their light, becoming dim orbs of blue. Her lips pressed together.

"Aqua...?" Terra said, cautious.

Aqua didn't respond - or react. She stood there, like a statue. As if she had gone somewhere else entirely...

Amaya looked down at Xehanort, stepping away. "Can I find a place for him here?" she spoke urgently to Terra. "I understand if it's too dangerous for you to-"

Terra summoned his Keyblade, turning and creating a light portal. "Take him to Twilight Town - to Luxu. He should be able to do something to render him relatively harmless - at least with the Keyblade, and probably magic, too. After that, you ask him to take Xehanort to some out of the way world none of us have ever heard of, for safekeeping. The first place that- present Xehanort is going to look for his younger self is probably going to be here, after all. And I don't think the defenses I've set up will be enough to keep him out for any good amount of time."

Amaya nodded, rushing off through the portal without another word.


"Only your Heart is hollow enough to be a demon's."

"-cannot let someone who would use it for evil...learn how to use that power."

"You think I'm evil?"

"Heavens no, Aqua. I think you are a very good person-"

He had lied to her.

He had lied to her.

He had lied to her.

She was a demon. She had always been a demon.

She would always be a demon.

He had known that. He had always known.

He had lied to her, telling her otherwise.

Made her believe differently.

Lies.

Because he lied to himself the same way.

He had tricked her into thinking she could be human - be good.

"...Aqua...you're starting to scare me now..."

That voice, so far away.

Aqua blinked.

And everything rushed back into sharp clarity.

Her eyes found the man again.

She slowly raised her arm, gazing at the Keyblade in her hand.

The Master's Defender.

"This Keyblade..." she spoke, flat and quiet.

"Aqua..." Terra's voice came again, an edge to it now.

Aqua looked at her Master. She drew her arm back-

And tossed the weapon down at the man's feet.

It hit with a clatter, echoing through the chamber.

"You can have that back," Aqua spoke again, a burning feeling in her chest. Spreading out through the rest of her. "I can't stand to carry the weapon of such a coward for even a second longer."

Eraqus looked at her, then, down to the Keyblade. "You're right, Aqua..."

"Coward," she hissed, feeling the surge of vindication, of pleasure. "I can't believe that the man who taught me to be so brave was, himself, nothing but the worst sort of coward! The man who promised me- the man who showed me how to care, how to love-" She strode forward, shoving out with her hands viciously. She was surprised, but very pleased, when those hands made contact with solid matter, and her Master stumbled back.

He recovered his footing, looking at her in shock. "Aqua! I understand your feelings, but this kind of behavior is-"

"Is exactly what you always wanted from me, isn't it?" Aqua said, breathless and harsh, as her hands (streaming with purple smoke now) sought a new target: the man's neck. "You always wanted me to be vulnerable and open with my Heart, didn't you, Master? Have I made you proud now?! Aren't I doing what you wanted from me for all those years! TWELVE YEARS OF MY LIFE?! How could a man with such a pathetically weak Heart ever teach someone to be strong? How could a man who can't even get up the courage to face his own fears and weaknesses teach someone else to do the same? TELL ME!"

"Aqua, ENOUGH!" Terra said loudly, stepping in and grabbing her wrists. He used overwhelming strength to pry her hands off of Eraqus's throat, and shoved her backwards. "Get yourself under control, and-"

"Save it, Terra - I don't want to hear a thing out of you, either!" Aqua snarled. "You're just as much of a worthless liar as he is! You and him - both of you - you...I spent TEN YEARS trapped in that HELL OF A PLACE where I learned I could NEVER trust my own Heart! My mind, my eyes and ears. All of it...just lies and tricks! The darkness of that place, SCREWING WITH ME at every turn! Even my own weakness taking form, a mirror of myself, fighting against me! And you two...both of you...you lied to me, and you tricked me in the same way! After I broke Riku's Keyblade, after I wanted to give up my Keyblade and my title...YOU BOTH let me think that he was some hallucination, some desperate conjuration of my own Heart and mind! But he wasn't, was he? It was really him! And you kept that to yourself...for MONTHS! WHY?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME, TERRA?!"

"It was wrong of me," Terra said. "Wrong of us both. But I had to choose between keeping the Master's secret, and-"

"And lying to me? Making me doubt myself, now? Now that I know?" Aqua interjected. "It isn't only that...that I'm doubting now. It's- everything! Everything that that man taught me, promised me, all of it...Every achievement, every goal, every conversation...every scrap of praise, every encouragement, everything that he RAISED ME FOR!"

"I'm sorry, Aqua..." Terra whispered.

"If you hadn't tricked me that night, both of you...I would have done it. I wouldn't even still be here," Aqua went on harshly. "And now I'm going to do what I would have done that night: I quit. I'm done. This...it's OVER."

"Aqua, you cannot mean to-" Eraqus gasped.

"Oh, I mean it," Aqua cut across, laughing in a way that bordered on the hysterical. "Why should I continue being a Master when that title is a lie? It was a privilege and a status given to me by a pathetic coward of a man, who dishonored the legacy of the Keyblade with his own actions, and who hid a weak Heart behind the illusion of strength, of wisdom, and true light!" she went on furiously. "Really, isn't it so funny how you could get up the courage to try to kill your own students, but never the strength to fight against your dear old friend Xehanort? It's clear who you really loved more - and it wasn't us! So why...why should I keep on being a Keyblade wielder at all, when if not for your disgusting lies that roped me into this life...I never would have been? Why should I continue to care when you don't - when you never did?"

"Aqua, you know that isn't true-" Terra started.

"Don't you dare say another word!" Aqua snapped. "I'm not letting you trick me into staying again - not this time. I'm finished, Terra! I'm leaving. Don't look for me, don't come trying to convince me back into this life. It was never for me anyways..." she finished, in a murmur. "He just had me believing it could be. But even he had to know from the start...that was a lie, too. The biggest lie of all."

"Aqua, please just calm down - breathe - get the darkness back under control," Terra said quickly, raising his hands to her, palms up. "You wouldn't be saying this if you weren't overflowing with it right now."

Aqua looked at him, narrowing her eyes. "Oh I wouldn't, would I?" She laughed at him, scornful. She shook her head, whirling away. She squeezed her fists together, raising her arms. She breathed, and she closed her eyes, and she breathed...

In and out.

Tame the darkness.

Calm the storm.

Her darkness, her light.

Her Heart.

An empty Heart, fitting for a demon...

She felt the burning recede.

The ringing in her ears faded.

She let her fingers uncurl, and opened her eyes again.

She drew in a long breath, and let it go again.

Then, she turned to look at Terra.

"So you know I'm telling the truth - that this is really me: I'm. Done," Aqua said, clear and cold.

Terra gazed at her, silent, for a long moment. Then, he gave a solemn nod, a tear falling from his eye. "Okay. I won't try to convince you to stay," he said softly. "I'll only tell you...to be safe out there. And that I'm more sorry than I've ever been, for how I've hurt you. My friend. And if you don't want to be that anymore...I understand. I lied to you, I tricked you, and I kept secrets from you and I hurt you, for months. I broke your trust. And if I broke our friendship too...I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back. It was terrible of me, and it was unacceptable. Even if I thought I was honoring the Master's wishes, or encouraging you to stay on as a Master yourself that night, I-" He stopped himself, looking down. Tears fell in earnest, hitting the floor at his feet.

Aqua's Heart softened by a sliver. "Thank you, for being a better man than our Master ever was. But I am still so furious with you that I can't even trust myself right now. With my bare hands, I could just...It's for the best that I leave. So goodbye, Terra. Tell Ven that I'm happy he found his real friends, and that I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye to him, too."

She turned, starting to walk away.

"If you ever do decide you want to come back - you'll be welcome," Terra's voice, quiet and emotional, behind her. "You always will be."

Aqua stopped. But she didn't turn around. She raised her hand to her chest. To her Heart. She let her head fall a few inches. "I don't think I will, Terra. Honestly. It's not just the Master - it's not just you, and this. It's...I think now it's finally realizing how much I've lost to this life - of my life. I'm supposed to be twenty-eight years old - I've lost TEN YEARS OF MY LIFE, and I...I don't want to waste any more of it on a lie."

Funnily enough, it was Elrena...who showed her that - started her down the road to this revelation. Taking her out for drinks, for games, sharing stories. A time when Aqua could just be Aqua - a woman. A woman doing adult things she...maybe should have been doing all along. Things she had missed out on. She'd been so out of her element, and Elrena had been so...casual and confident in it all. In that world.

"You spent ten years in the Realm of Darkness; I spent ten years in a dungeon; and Skuld over there spent ten years as a human vegetable," Elrena had said, in that crass, blunt way of hers. "So why the hell shouldn't we try and take back what was taken from us? All the things we should have gotten to do during our lost ten years."

And she had been right.

Exactly right.

And now...Aqua just...

Terra's voice came again, tearing Aqua out of her thoughts. "I understand that. You know I do. I'm supposed to be thirty by now. I lost ten years to Xehanort, too. And a part of me would like nothing more than to wash my hands of all of this, and just...live. Be a man. Be Terra. Not a Keyblade Master. Not...someone running around, saving worlds, battling Xehanort and his incarnations. If we're being honest.

"This responsibility we've taken onto our shoulders - being Masters, training apprentices, being the sole protectors of the universe - it's nothing we were ready for, nothing we were equipped for...and I could never blame you, or Ven, for not being able to bear that weight any more," Terra continued. "And you should never be made to. None of us should be. The life of a Keyblade wielder was never one that was forced onto people - that's always been clear from the start. It's the one, most sacred rule. We can always back out, we can always leave, we can always hang up the Keyblade and find a new path - or even take it with us when we leave. And that rule isn't only true for apprentices - it's for Masters, too. So...

Terra sighed. "So if that's where you're at, if this is your decision for your life now, then you make it, and I'll be fully behind you on it. You can go, find your own way out there, and there'll be zero hard feelings. I promise you. Not from me, and not from Ven. And you know Kairi and the other kids will understand, too."

"You really understand?" Aqua said, daring to look over her shoulder now.

Terra met her eyes, giving her a smile. A nod. "Being honest, if I could just put my feet up and leave it to someone else...I'd do it in a heartbeat. But, he has my body, he tricked me in the first place - it all started with me, because of me. And that's why I, at least, need to keep going...until the moment I see him fade from this world for good. I have to see this through to the end, to make up for my failures. My mistakes."

"Okay."

Terra hesitated. "Would you be comfortable telling us where you're going, out there? In case you get into trouble, or..."

Aqua looked at him. "I'm going to the one place I told myself I'd never go back to: home." Her gaze found Eraqus's once more. One last time... "Open a portal for me. Do one, honest, good thing for me in your life, and send me back where you found me."

Eraqus gazed at her silently, tears staining his face. It made Aqua want to scream at him again, to tell him that he didn't get to pretend to be heartbroken after he'd tried to kill them. After he'd tricked her. After he'd lied to her. After he'd shown that he cared more for Xehanort than he did for them. But, really, all Aqua felt now was...nothing. So she watched, in silence of her own, as Eraqus nodded, and called his Keyblade into his hand. He turned, holding it with both hands - and a portal of blue light and crackling energy appeared in the throne room before her.

Aqua took one last look at Terra...

And then she swiftly entered the portal - with no more looks, and no more words.

There was nothing else to be said.


"And this will work?" Amaya spoke.

Luxu gazed back at her. He looked to the sleeping form of Xehanort on the old, weathered bed. He nodded. "Yeah. If I put a strong enough lock on his Heart, he won't be able to call on the Keyblade, on magic, or even the darkness. But I couldn't say how long it would hold. Even with my power, compared to his...there's no question that it's going to fail at some point. Or, hell, with all the impossible shit I've seen lately, he could even find some way to break through it on his own, on sheer willpower. I wouldn't put it past him. I've learned not to underestimate the guy by this point, honestly."

Amaya's eyes found the weapon laying across the rickety old nightstand. She stood from the chair, and picked it up in her hands. She stared down at it, caressing it. She looked to Xehanort's sleeping face. She looked to Luxu. She held the weapon out to him. "If we can permanently take away one weapon in his arsenal, we should take it."

Luxu blinked in surprise. He considered her. "Are you sure about that? I'm not going to complain - and I have enough power in me to do it - but-"

"Yes. It's probably...for the best."

"Alright." Luxu took the blade by its handle. "I'll see that it's destroyed. But first, let me just put that lock on him...in case he wakes up sooner than we expect."

"He shouldn't wake for hours."

"Underestimating him..." Luxu warned.

At this, Amaya felt a small smile tug at her lips. A part of her was, perhaps twistedly, proud at the notion. "Do what you must," she responded. She hesitated, looking again to Xehanort. Her eyes roamed his face...his ears. She recalled those golden eyes... "What happened to his eyes - his ears? He didn't look like this before. His eyes are-"

"They're gold now - I know," Luxu said, nodding. He gazed down on Xehanort, as well, a look of thoughtfulness coming to his face. "And they're supposed to be silver. They were. But the fact that they're not anymore... For the Xehanort of today, it's a sign of heavy, prolonged use of darkness in his Heart, over the course of decades. It influences your appearance, to some degree or another. But for this Xehanort, only a handful of years after the days in Scala, when I fought alongside him, to look like this...he can't possibly have stained his Heart with that much darkness in so short a time period, to have achieved the same results. It would have killed him, or drowned him. Even he couldn't last long without his Heart just collapsing, and falling to the Realm of Darkness. So I wonder..."

"What?"

Luxu summoned his own Keyblade to his free hand, raising it up to point at Xehanort.

Amaya stepped to her right, placing herself between him and Xehanort in a heartbeat. Unthinking. Instinctive.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I think his current self might have placed a piece of his own Heart into his younger self. I was going to remove it, if it's there. It should do good for his Heart, and cause his appearance to revert to what it naturally is. Not to mention, it should also prevent Xehanort from influencing or even outright taking control of the younger version, if he gets the idea to."

"You could have explained that before raising your Keyblade to him..." Amaya uttered, stepping away again with hot cheeks.

Luxu sighed. "Sorry - old habits. I'm not really in the habit of explaining things to people, still."

Amaya simply nodded, watching him.

Luxu focused his attention on Xehanort - and then a thin beam of light flew from his weapon, striking Xehanort in the chest.

Amaya watched a small, swirling orb of light emerge from Xehanort - with tendrils of darkness encircling it.

Luxu gave a small grin. "Heh. Knew it." Then he flicked his weapon upward, and the Heart (or, a piece of one) flew up into the ceiling and disappeared. "Now...I'm going to place that lock there - alright?"

"Do what you must," Amaya said once more, turning and heading for the door.

"Sure - where are you off to?" Luxu asked.

Amaya stopped in the doorway. "To remind him of who he is."

"Vague and cryptic parting lines - a girl after my own Heart!" Luxu remarked. "I'm something of a master at it, myself."

Amaya left the room, a single laugh escaping her.