AN: Oh hey, look, a new chapter! Isn't it nice when we can just smoothly continue a story lol? xD How convenient.

End of AN!

Xion stood on the pier of the mainland, staring out across the water at the play island.

She stared down at a large, pink and yellow seashell she held in her hand.

Kairi had helped her find one just like it, weeks ago; she'd said it was "a rare one". Special. From special mollusks that lived in specific parts of the ocean here, who went through a whole process of growing and...well, a lot of science stuff Even would probably be happy about.

Xion sighed, closing her fingers around the shell. This one wasn't that one - it wasn't the same, even if it looked the same...

It had only been seven days now, but she missed Kairi so much already. She didn't know what to do without her. Kairi was always so helpful and knew everything, and they'd had fun together, and now...now she was gone, and Xion hadn't realized how much she really did enjoy just being around Kairi until she wasn't there anymore! Just sitting with her at breakfast, or laying on the beach, or asking another stupid question just before bed and having a pillow thrown at her as Kairi's groaning voice told her to "just go to sleep already"-

"Hey, you!"

Xion startled, turning.

Two girls were walking out onto the pier toward her. One with a black-haired ponytail, and the other, with short, messy blonde hair that hung in her face.

She knew about them from Kairi - Midori and Keiko. Kairi had told Xion to never listen to anything they said and to try to stay away from them. Kairi had called them "mean girls" and "bullies", and had told Xion of a few times before when these girls had hurt her feelings...insulted her, ruined a really important island festival night for her...

It had been easy for Xion to never meet these girls before, since she was always either at home or on the play island, but now...

She'd started wandering around on her own, hoping maybe she'd see Kairi again or- something. She didn't know. She just had felt like it was better than just...sitting around?

But that was a mistake, apparently...

"...you actually that stupid? I'm trying to talk to you here."

Xion shook her head, jumping off the side of the pier into the shallow waters of the beach. She started off down the beach, away from the pier.

"Unbelievable - hey, where are you going?!"

Xion kept walking, keeping her mouth closed. She clenched her seashell tighter in her palm.

She heard splashing water and fast footsteps, and then a hand was grabbing her arm and pulling her backwards. One of the girls spun Xion around, staring at her. The black-haired girl - she was Midori, right?

"Why are you so weird?" Midori said, letting Xion go and shaking her head. "Kairi was always weird, but you...you're weirder. I guess now we know why; she wasn't even from another island, she's not even from this world!"

Xion stared silently at the girl. What was she even supposed to do? They'd probably grab her again if she tried to walk away. But Kairi and dad, and Terra - everyone - had told her she could never use her Keyblade to solve problems...to hurt people. It was for Heartless or other "real" enemies only. Like Xehanort or Maleficent. But-

"Jeez, are you always this spaced out?" spoke the other girl, Keiko, stepping forward and putting her hand in Xion's face. She waved it up and down. "Is everyone like that in your freaky other world, or what? Where are you even from?"

Xion knew she shouldn't respond. She should just try to leave again. Kairi had said these girls just liked hurting people because it made them feel good. She said if you gave them attention, they'd just "run with it" and be even worse. But her chest was tight and she missed Kairi so much already and she felt lost and alone and- "I'm a Replica. I'm from a world with science and magic you can't even understand! I was created by an amazing, extremely smart scientist who could- make your heads spin! You're - you're the stupid ones!"

She felt proud, she felt pleased. She felt good for a moment again-

"Oh, god. So that's why you haven't even blinked once: you're not even human, are you?" Midori exclaimed, laughing. "You're just some freaky science experiment - a weird little toy somebody made in some lab!" She held her hand to her mouth, her face turning red. "They didn't do a very good job, did they? You're not even close to being real. Are you even a girl? Do you even have anything under those clothes?" She gestured her hand sharply at Xion's whole body. "Or are you like a little plastic doll you swap the cute outfits off of? Ooh, let's try makeup next - I bet you'll look awful with your face smeared with lipstick!"

Xion stood there, her arms shaking. Her whole body. She looked down at herself, at her hands that were fists-

She turned away and ran, a burning feeling spreading in her chest.

She ran all the way back to Sora's house. His mom was letting her stay with him, since her and Kairi's house was gone now. Dad was staying with one of his own, adult friends; he had a lot of stuff to do for his job - for the whole town. Some important papers had gotten lost with their house, too, she'd heard him saying once.

Dad had asked her if she wanted to stay with him or somewhere else - until they got a new house ready. Xion had seen how upset and sad he'd been since Kairi's...accident...so she'd chosen to go stay with Sora instead.

Dad always looked even worse when he looked at her now.

Her having Kairi's face just made everything worse.

She'd seen it from Sora once, too, but...

Xion slowed down as she realized she was already at Sora's house. She opened the front door and walked in quietly.

"Hello, Xion."

She stopped. She looked toward the kitchen, seeing Master Terra sitting at the table with a cup of some hot drink.

Terra kept visiting her a lot now. Almost as much as dad did. He'd come over to Sora's house, or find her outside, and try to talk to her, or play a game with her, or...

"Hi..." Xion said quietly. She shuffled into the kitchen and sat down across from him, putting her hands in her lap. She dropped her head to her chest. She took a breath and raised her head again. "Why do you keep doing this?" she asked, not really caring if it made him mad with her right now.

Terra took a long sip from his drink, then set it down. He leaned forward and lay his arm out on the table. "Is it too much? Too annoying?" he said, casual and quiet.

"...Kind of..." Xion admitted.

"Sorry," Terra replied, sighing and sitting back again. "I just feel like I haven't been a very good and - present - Master to you...or Roxas. Not just being around to instruct you when you come over for training sessions, but...emotionally. Mentally. And, honestly, I figured you'd need that support now more than ever."

Xion looked down again, curling her fists in her lap. "I just want Kairi back..."

"We all do. And we've all been working as hard as we can to look for her. Ven and I have been going out to all the worlds she's been to before, Yen Sid's been searching the stars themselves, and Namine's been giving herself migraines trying to find Kairi in her own way, with those powers of hers," Terra listed off.

Xion knew all this. She knew. So why did she still feel...angry? "Can you take me to Radiant Garden?" she interrupted.

Terra paused. "Of course." He sighed, standing up and drawing his Keyblade. He opened a portal in the middle of the room. "Want me to come with you?" he said.

"No." Xion stood, striding toward the portal quickly.

She passed through it, and stepped out on the other side into the city square of Radiant Garden, in front of the gates to the castle up on the high hill.

She turned back to watch the portal vanish, then started the long walk up to the castle.

She took the alternate path that led around the lower side of the castle, and entered the basement levels.

She made her way through the halls until she came to Ansem The Wise's study. It was empty today - but the lab entrance was open. She went inside, entering the control room for the former Heartless manufactory facility.

Even was leaning over the computer, peering out of the glass window. His hand came down to smack a large button. His voice suddenly echoed out through the entire chamber. "No, no - space them out by at least five feet - thank you, Dilan! Aeleus, would you kindly connect the- take the cable to your left and put it into the great big thing to your right!" He lifted his hand from the button with a flourish, straightening up again and whirling away from the computer. He stopped, his gaze finding Xion. His face flushed strangely. "Oh...Xion. Welcome. I wasn't expecting- well - welcome," he repeated, glancing away.

Xion walked over to his side. She tried to get up on her toes to look over the computer, like he had. "What's happening?" she asked.

Even's hand reached out, coming to rest on her shoulder and firmly pushing her back down flat on her feet again. He removed his hand, shaking his head. "I finally had the breakthrough I needed to go from research and development to actual production," he began, in high and pleased tones. He even smiled as he glanced at her again! "A flash of inspiration came to me last night, and I realized what I'd been missing - the final pieces of this little puzzle! I did some rudimentary experiments this morning, drafted up some models on our systems here, and it all proved...perfectly sound. Stable. Flawless, really!"

"So - you can make these new bodies now?"

"Yes. I can. I'll want to create a prototype batch, first, simply to make sure things will be in order - that they are indeed viable constructs - but if they are successful, I should be able to produce another, final set by week's end," Even spoke on, quick and excited.

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I'll be devoting all of my time to my...masterpieces," Even concluded breathlessly.

Xion frowned, ducking her head. She clasped her hands at her waist.

"Hm? What's the matter, child?" Even spoke again, in confused tones. "I wasn't expecting whoops of joy from you, but I did think you'd be a little more enthused by the news..."

Xion gritted her teeth, turning away. She reached up and put her hands over her face.

"What in the world-" Even gasped. "Xion! What is wrong?" He sounded actually worried about her...

Xion dropped her arms, then hugged herself. She turned her head to look at him. "Am I a girl?"

Even froze. "Pardon...?"

"I was created by you - made to look like Kairi - so am I even a girl, really?" Xion went on.

Even's face flushed again. He stammered and tossed his head, then spun away from her. He breathed in, then out again. Then he turned back to her, his face calm. "You are very much...a girl, Xion, yes."

"Am I? My body isn't real. Not this one. Right?" Xion pressed, dropping her arms and stepping forward. "It looks like a girl's body, but it doesn't do anything a girl's body does - right? Nothing about it really works right."

Even's calm face twitched. He shut his eyes for a moment, his hand rising - then dropping back down again. "Yes, it's certainly true that you are not exactly a- biologically physical human female, but biology and physicality are not all that matters! Mind and Heart matter just as much, if not more, in these...these matters. If you feel as if you're a girl, then that is all the proof you need to validly be known and called as such. Even if your body were a- a six-eyed squid's, it wouldn't change what's in your Heart."

"But I'm not real. I'm...superficial. I don't need to even eat or sleep or anything. I'm a freak, a lab experiment, a-"

"Where in the world did you get such ridiculous ideas into your head?" Even cut across, staring down at her with wide green eyes. He paused. Then- "I'm impressed you used the word 'superficial', though I despise the context in which you used it. To apply such a word to yourself is-"

"But it's true!"

Even sighed loudly. He turned back to the computer, crossing his arms. "I suppose it is true, yes. Your body's appearance is merely surface level - magic and mirrors. But why should that matter, Xion? Who you are matters far more than what you are made of. You are a person, you are a Keyblade wielder, you are a fledgling scientist, and you are also a- a sister, and a daughter. And you are most certainly a girl. Unless, of course, you don't feel that way...?"

Xion looked down at her feet. "I don't know - I never thought about it before," she admitted softly. "Am I only a girl because you made me to look like Kairi, though?"

Even sighed again. "These are quite complicated questions to be asking, Xion - even for scientists and philosophers...I'm not sure whether I can answer them for you. But you're no different from the rest of us in that regard, you know."

"What?"

"Every person is born looking a certain way, and so being seen and thought of as one thing or another, by those around them. And for most of us, that is perfectly fine. But sometimes, people feel differently. The Heart and body are not quite...well, aligned, I suppose. In such instances, we do what we feel is necessary to become more comfortable with our own...appearances, and physical...attributes. It's not my area of expertise - I am not a doctor, or psychologist, I am a scientist - but..." Even shook his head, looking to the ceiling. "Regardless of your origins, Xion, are you comfortable with being seen and known as a girl?"

"...Yes?"

"Then what is the problem?"

"They said I wasn't! They said I'm-"

"Who said such things about you?" Even demanded, huffing.

"These girls from the islands..."

"What, exactly, did these idiotic children say to you?"

Xion frowned. She opened her mouth again, and for some reason found herself just telling Even about the whole thing. She was angry all over again by the end.

"You truly said that about me?" Even spoke, gazing down on her with an odd smile.

"It's true..."

"Well, what's also true is this little saying, Xion: what applies to the creator, applies to the creation. If I am so amazing for having created you, then you are so for being the one I created."

"I am?"

"Of course! You are a marvel, Xion. A wondrous, incredible person - simply because you are. Have pride in yourself, and never let anyone - certainly not foolish, cruel teenagers - tell you otherwise!"

"But I still can't do all the things humans do - what girls do. I-"

"If you're really so worked up about this, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about by week's end, should you?" Even interrupted her firmly. "I will make you human - a girl - in every way, such that it will be biological fact. Inarguable by anyone around you. You will be as you want to be - in body and Heart. Problem solved. Or do you doubt my intellect and scientific expertise?"

"No! I-" Xion stopped herself. "This is really going to work?"

"As a scientist, I cannot make any such claims before I've even made an attempt...but I believe that it will, yes. And for your sake in particular, I hope so."

"...Ok." Xion hesitated. "Can I do something to help again today?"

"If you'd like - take the elevator down to the manufactory floor, and await my instructions with the others," Even responded airily.

Xion nodded, hurrying to obey.

This had to be some actual kind of hell, Kairi thought.

She wasn't really sure how long she'd been here - but she thought it had to have been a good while now.

She'd been here, in Traverse Town, alone, fighting off random, endlessly spawning waves of various cute but deadly monsters for...a while.

In-between doing that, she'd been exploring the town again, visiting shops, helping herself to foods and drinks, and sleeping in the empty hotel building.

Why was she here? Why was her life like this now? Why hadn't anyone found her yet, in the most obvious place to ever look?

And why hadn't she seen a single other person around?!

She swore she was going to go crazy if this kept up.

She'd already started talking to herself.

It was honestly the dead silence that was getting to her the most.

Just this big, empty, silent town of a world.

She woke up, alone, in the silence, for another day.

She left the hotel and stepped out into Second District, her Keyblade in hand.

She wasn't getting jumped by evil, giant blue panda monsters this time. Or the swarm of purple bats that had chased her into the waterways, once...that had just been kind of embarrassing.

Kairi jumped the stone railing and landed in the plaza, heading toward the alleyway that led into Third District.

Just as she reached the mouth of it, a new enemy appeared.

A large, feline monster with huge fangs. Some kind of tiger or lion, maybe? It had a black body with green swirls on its front legs and sides. Its huge fangs, the horns, and its tail were dark purples and blues.

It didn't even look kind of cute: it just looked dangerous.

Were they just seriously going to keep getting worse?!

Maybe she really should have done what the other Princesses had, and given up her powers...

It'd been manageable with the Heartless - she had always had friends by her side - a group to beat them back with. But now, here...

It was just her.

If they just kept getting bigger and more terrible, she'd be overwhelmed soon enough. Like that massive light monster that had caused her to end up like this in the first place...

The tiger monster opened its mouth and roared, and a wave of dark energy rippled out across the ground around it like a shockwave.

Kairi jumped straight up into the air and hurled her Keyblade down at it.

It jumped to the left, surprisingly fast, dodging her strike!

Then it leapt up at her with its claws outstretched, shrouded in darkness.

Kairi crossed her arms in front of her to summon a barrier-

But the monster smashed through it, lowering its head and slamming into her with its big horns.

Kairi flew back through the air, hitting the stone ground hard. She gasped as she lay there. She hadn't expected it to be that strong. For the hit to be...that bad. She rolled over and started to push herself up again, reaching out a hand to call her Keyblade back to her-

Only to see the monster come rushing at her, each stomp of its paws on the ground causing little waves of darkness.

Kairi yanked her arm back and tried to throw herself out of the way, but she knew she wasn't going to clear it in time.

The tiger barreled into her again, took her up on its horns, and drove her back to slam into the stone wall on edge of the plaza.

Kairi's world darkened as the monster stepped back, letting her fall face-first to the ground again. She tried to breathe, tried to think, to move...

Everything was spinning...darkening, returning, darkening...

She heard a strange, whining noise, thought she saw a flash of blue...then the tiger monster was turning away and racing off away from her.

But Kairi was still just...just...

She closed her eyes, and let everything go completely black.

"...Hey...you okay?"

Kairi suddenly found herself awake again. Aware. Cold stone. Air.

She opened her eyes again, blinking up at night stars.

"...there you are. Phew. Thought you were in real trouble there for a second."

Huh...?

Kairi pushed herself up to sit, turning toward the voice, her world swimming.

She blinked blearily, squinting at a boy. A boy her age, with blue eyes and a scraggly mess of silvery hair?

Kairi groaned, looking herself over and focusing on casting a Healing spell on herself. Relief filled her body, and things steadied again. She breathed in, then out. Then, she raised her head and looked at the boy again. "Sorry if this sounds weird," she began. "but you're not some figment of my imagination, are you?"

The boy stared at her. Then he shook his head, a small grin coming over his face. He sat back, cross-legged, his hands loosely hanging in his lap. "Definitely not weird - this is sort of the place for that, right?"

"Um...sure..." Kairi trailed off. Then the realization truly hit her. "You're real!" she exclaimed, lunging forward and seizing the boy by his shoulders. "Finally - god, I thought I was going to die alone and insane here!"

"H-hey - take it easy!" the boy stuttered, reaching up to pry himself free. He fell backwards awkwardly, bracing on an arm.

Kairi pulled her hands back, embarrassment and regret rising in her. "Sorry - I'm sorry! It's just- you have no idea how great it is to see another person again!" She paused. "Oh god, this is probably what Aqua went through, but she had it a thousand times worse. I don't even know how long I've been here, but it has nothing on her ten years."

"Uh - right." The boy straightened up again, adjusting the little black jacket over his white shirt. "What's this about a friend named Aqua?"

"Oh, she's my- she was my Keyblade Master, but- she was trapped in the Realm of Darkness for ten years before I ended up helping her get out again," Kairi went on swiftly. Excitedly. She knew she was being an idiot, making a fool of herself, but she couldn't help it!

"Wow. Really? You must be someone pretty special to do that," the boy responded, smiling at her. It was earnest. She could see it in his eyes. "That's not an easy place to escape from."

"Yeah - so I've heard," Kairi agreed. She sighed with joy, with relief, with amazement, just drinking in the sight of the boy before her some more. "So, hey, why are you the only person I've seen around here in...I don't even know how long? I've been alone this whole time, fighting off those- monsters. Did you- save me from that thing?"

The boy smiled again, holding up his hands. "I'm just here to visit some friends - people I made a promise to look after - that's all. But, yeah, I did save you from that Nightmare - with a little help from Pragma. Sheesh, that was one nasty Keeba Tiger."

"Nightmare? Keeba Tiger? Pragma?"

"Yeah. You- hold on, do you not know where you are? How'd you end up here?" the boy questioned.

Kairi stood, stepping back. "Thanks for saving me, but I have questions too," she replied, setting her hands on her hips.

The boy stood slowly, nodding to her. He held up his hands again. "Okay. Ask away."

"Well, for starters, who are you?" Kairi said.

"The name's Ephemer - what's yours?" the boy answered, lowering one hand and extending it out to her.

Kairi startled, narrowing her eyes at the boy. "What did you say? Your name is - Ephemer?"

The boy cocked his head at her. He set his fist to his hip, nodding. "Yup. Figured it'd be a name you'd recognize, since you have a Keyblade and all, huh?"

"Ephemer."

"Yes..." the boy said slowly.

"Skuld and Amaya's friend? That Ephemer?"

The boy's mouth fell open, his eyes fluttering. "How do you know that...?"

"From Skuld and Amaya themselves," Kairi said, giving a wide smile. "I met Skuld a few months back, and Amaya was found a little more recently. It's a really long story, but-"

"So they did make it out after all!" the boy exclaimed, elation filling his face. His eyes starting to shimmer on the edges. "I hoped Skuld would, but Amaya...hold on, then she found a way to beat the Darkness inside her? And found some way to escape the Data World, afterward? How'd she-"

"Okay, hold on a second here, yourself!" Kairi said loudly, huffing. She pointed a finger at the boy. "You're really Ephemer? Their friend?"

"Of course I am."

"Well - how are you here, then? And, you know, my age?" Kairi went on. "I was told that that Ephemer guy went on to found Scala Ad Caelum, and grew up to have a family and stuff. So why are you here, looking like you're fifteen or something?"

"Uh, I should look sixteen, actually," the boy refuted mildly, raising a finger.

"Whatever! Answer me! Explain it! I mean, there's been some crazy stuff lately, so I suppose it could be some kind of time travel again - that's become annoyingly common in our lives, apparently - but how? Who brought you here? Or did you come here yourself somehow?"

"Do you want to breathe a bit and let me explain?" the boy said, light and joking.

Kairi glared a little. She folded her arms and raised her chin at him. "Okay. I'm listening."

"Okay, well, it's sort of like this..." the boy began, bringing a hand to his chin.