The Forgotten Traveler

by Curryfury13

Everything Hinata holds dear is put to the test. But sometimes, the only way to go is forward. The third book of a trilogy. Set during the timeline of KH2.

6. Discussions

Chapter 6

Discussions

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Hinata went up to the railing of the ship, watching Agrabah shrink in the distance as Ben piloted the ship away. She could hear Riku helping Sam down the stairs behind her, so he could heal the rest of her wounds. Hearing Sam's quiet whimpers and bitten back cries made Hinata bite the inside of her cheek as her heart sank. A cold metal hand on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts. She looked over and saw Ben beside her.

"Hey, Hinata." Ben greeted her, removing his hand from her shoulder and clasping his hands in front of him nervously. "I-uh, was wondering if Jack and I could talk to you about missions?"

Hinata frowned, looking back out to space and seeing the streaks of stars passing them by. "Ben… I really don't want you or Jack to get hurt. It's hard enough keeping an eye on Sam."

"I know… but," Ben scratched his head, trying to find the words to say. Jack nudged his shoulder and barked softly, making Ben clear his throat as he continued. "Jack and I… we can take care of ourselves. We've been on some pretty dangerous missions already and helped out a lot more than you might think."

Her eyebrows raised in interest as she glanced back at him. "Oh? Like what?"

"Well, we went down to Atlantis with you, for starters." He pointed out, "And we went down to Prydain, too! Jack even helped out with the fighting there."

"He did?" She asked, crossing her arms, fully turned towards them.

"Uh-huh!" Ben chimed, getting a bit more confident. "He can possess Heartless and make them fight each other! He did the same thing when we helped Riku find you back at Kamino." Jack barked, making Ben jump, "Oh that's right! Without us, Riku wouldn't have been able to find you as quick as we did! Jack was on your scent the moment we got there!"

Hinata looked up at Jack, her lips tipping into a smile as she reached up and scratched him behind the ears. "Thank you, Boy. I had no idea."

"Yeah, so you see, the point is," Ben put his hands on his hips. "Jack and I are a lot more competent than you give us credit for. And we can help!"

Relieving a long breath, Hinata mulled it over. After a few seconds she slowly nodded, "Alright… you guys can come on the next mission I go on, alright?"

"And the next?" Ben asked with a hopeful tone.

"Let's just see how the next one goes, alright?" Hinata chuckled, putting up her hands. "One step at a time."

Ben grinned as Jack's tail began wagging wildly. "We'll take it!" Ben grabbed her hand, shaking it wildly. "Thank you SO much! We won't let you down, we promise!"

Hinata pulled back her hand with a laugh, "Alright, alright! Don't make me change my mind." As Ben calmed down, she looked towards the stairway. "I think I'm going to go check on Sam real quick."

"Oh that's right," Ben's cheeriness immediately dialed back. "Did something happen in Agrabah?"

"Sort of… Thaanix was a bit stronger than we bargained for." Hinata explained with a sigh, running her hand through her hair. "She did a real number on Sam," her head twanged, making her wince, "And a bit on me, too."

"Gee," Ben's eyes dimmed. "I saw the recordings of her… but I can't imagine what she must be like in person."

"It's pretty terrifying, I'll tell you that." Hinata shook her head, recalling the memories. "We'll figure out what to do though…"

"I'm sure you will!" Ben piped up, his cheer already returning. "If anyone can figure it out, I know it's you."

"Heh," she scoffed, patting her hand on Ben's shoulder as she walked past. "Thank you."

She ran her hand along the railing as she descended the stairs, the events in Agrabah replaying in her mind. Thaanix's words rang through her head, and she momentarily wondered what sort of horrors she could have said to Sam. The thought made her stomach twist as she came to a stop in front of Sam's closed door. She raised her hand to knock, but was stopped as Riku opened the door.

She stumbled back a step in surprise as he came out and quietly shut the door behind him. "Oh, Riku." She greeted with a whisper. "I-uh, was just going to check on Sam."

His expression was hard to read as he shook his head. "That might not be a good idea right now."

Hinata glanced past him at the closed door, her heart sinking. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not you," he assured her, lightly grabbing her wrist as he walked her away from the door to their room to make sure Sam wouldn't overhear their conversation. He sighed as he released Hinata's arm and shook his head. "Thaanix said a lot of things to her and it's just hard for her to be around you.."

Hinata's eyes widened as the realization of his words hit her. Looking away, she walked over to the bed and sat down along the edge, her hands clasped above her knees. "I was afraid of something like this happening…"

"It's not your fault." He reminded her, pulling out the desk chair and sitting on it backwards.

"I know," she nodded, keeping her eyes downcast. "But that doesn't change how Sam's feeling…" She was silent in thought for a moment before asking. "Did she… tell you anything Thaanix said?"

Riku shook his head, "No, she refuses to talk about it. I have a feeling it was about James though."

Hinata clenched her jaw, her hands tightening in her lap. "Why does she have to do that…? Toy with our emotions like that?" She looked up at Riku and added, "She could have easily killed either of us, but instead she's just…" Her voice trailed off as she shook her head and looked away.

"She's going after your hearts," Riku explained. "It's the way I was becoming too, when I was falling into the Darkness."

"I… sort of remember that…" Hinata admitted, shifting her weight as she recalled, "The only time you were like that with me was on that clock tower in London… but you were never this bad."

"Yeah, probably to you I wasn't," he admitted, a bit of flush warming his ears. "But I was to Sora and other people I ran into… even to Maleficent a couple times."

Hinata let out a sudden laugh, "I would have paid to see that."

Riku laughed with her, before explaining, "Yeah, it didn't faze her much, but it really broke Sora down…" He slumped a bit in his chair, staring at the ground. "I thought if I destroyed his spirit, it would make destroying his body easier. He wouldn't put up as much of a fight and would be more… I don't know, gratifying, I guess." He ran his hand over his face, "Still hard to believe I thought like that for a while."

"It was the Darkness in you," Hinata reminded him, "It wasn't really you. You don't think like that now."

Riku met his gaze with hers, "Yeah, I guess, but I didn't fight it back then. And your Replica seems to be diving deeper into it than even I did."

"Sounds like me," Hinata sighed, leaning back on the bed. "Once I start to learn something or get an interest, I delve into it headfirst…. It's usually a good thing." She was silent for a moment, before adding, "This time though… she felt different than she did on Kamino. Not that I got a lot of time with her, I guess. But you saw the recordings of her. Before she was scared and angry, here she was… just cruel and toying with us. Then that blast of darkness and even controlling that creature you could summon. I don't know, just makes me think."

"I know what you mean," he agreed. "We were gone for almost a week in Montressor. Who knows what changed for her during that time? Or maybe it was something else controlling her, like the darkness taking over or something."

"Did that ever happen to you?" she asked.

He chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought about it. "Yeah. There were times the darkness was so overwhelming, it sort of felt like I lost control. And given how exhausted she likely was… guess it makes sense."

Hinata hummed in thought. "I don't think I like that… even if it sounds like you might be right."

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, I agree."

Their conversation fell to a comfortable lull. Riku looked her over, thinking over her words. He could see the obvious uncertainty in her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling, lightly chewing on her bottom lip. Taking in a deep breath, he glanced over to the desk, seeing Hinata's new journal on the surface. He picked it up, running his hand along the tree engraving in the leather.

He glanced back up at her and tried to lighten the mood. "You got a new journal?"

Hinata darted her attention to him, pushing herself up on her elbows as she nodded. "Yeah… Bought it this morning."

"You really like writing in these," he commented, flipping through the blank pages.

"I mostly started doing it to keep track of everything happening." She moved to sit up, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "But it sort of turned into a bit of a hobby for me, I guess."

"Yeah, they aren't like any other journals I've ever read. Not that I've read a lot of them..." He told her, closing. "It's almost like reading a book."

Hinata laughed a bit awkwardly. "I'm not sure why I write them like that. I guess… I wanted to try to get some of the emotion and events in there as close to how I remember them. Rather than just stating what happened. If that makes sense."

"I think it's great." He shrugged, placing the journal back on the desk. He gazed at it for a moment, before adding, "It makes me feel like I'm there." He chuckled as he stood up from his seat. "I'm looking forward to reading the next one."

"I'm glad." Hinata smiled as he left the room.

As the door closed behind him, Hinata fell back on the bed, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She stared up at the ceiling, a fanciful, yet confused smile on her face as she thought about Riku. His voice was still sounding the same to her, like it had been before he had changed. Something about hearing his old voice again made her want to smile every time she heard it. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stifle her romanticizing thoughts before she got carried away.

The remaining time of the journey passed swiftly, and it only seemed mere minutes before Ben was calling downstairs that they had arrived back to Twilight Town. Hinata came out of her room, sending Sam a soft smile as she noticed her coming out of her room as well. Sam tried to return the gesture, but ultimately averted her gaze. Hinata tried to swallow her disappointment as she turned and went up the stairs, watching as Ben flew the ship into the atmosphere of Twilight Town. She went up to the railing, feeling Riku come up beside her as they neared the mansion, but she kept herself from glancing up at him. The sun was beginning to set, golden hues covered the garden as they landed. Hinata felt her stomach rumble, realizing she hadn't eaten since that morning. A rose flushed her cheeks as she heard Riku snickering quietly beside her.

"I'll make some dinner after we're done talking with DiZ," Riku whispered, before he turned around to head off the ship.

Hinata looked after him, feeling her heart swelling, before she shook her head and forced the feeling back down. Taking a deep breath, she got off the ship, looking around at the garden as she went inside. Sam soon joined them in the foyer, her eyes downcast as she walked past and went up the steps towards DiZ's office. Hinata looked after her with a slight frown, feeling Riku's warm hand along her arm before he walked past her as well.

They quietly made their way to the office, sliding the door open and taking a moment to adjust to the darkness in the room. DiZ was already turned towards them, patiently awaiting them as they came into the office. Sam stayed near the back, her hands clasped in front of her, as Riku and Hinata went forward.

As the door slid closed, DiZ greeted them. "Welcome back… I understand that things did not go as planned."

Hinata looked up at him, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. "How did you know that?"

"The same way I knew about Thaanix's presence in Agrabah," he explained. "And simply by the way you three entered the room."

"Well," Hinata ran her hands along her arms, glancing over at Riku beside her "you're right… Things definitely didn't go as planned."

"It was my fault." Riku stepped forward, talking over Hinata when she tried to object. "Hinata wanted us to stay together, but I insisted we split up to cover more ground. Thaanix took advantage of that. I was able to take her down a bit when I showed up, but she was able to counteract my darkness and escaped."

"Counteract it?" DiZ repeated with intrigue. "She was able to turn your attacks against you?"

"Sort of," Riku admitted, crossing his arms. "With how exhausted she was, we think her darkness might have overwhelmed her and lashed out."

"It was also my fault she got away." Hinata stepped forward as well, returning the look Riku sent her. "I wasn't properly prepared to fight against her… she knows everything I'm going to do before I do it, and has more powers than me on top of it."

"So you need to learn something entirely new to take her on properly," DiZ surmised, getting a nod from Hinata in response.

"That's what Riku and I were thinking, too," Hinata agreed.

"Some Light magic would help," Riku suggested, motioning towards Hinata. "Hinata already knows some magic."

"I'm not sure if I could pick just anything up," Hinata ran her hand through her hair a bit nervously. "It came as a surprise that I could even manage water."

"To learn a new spell, let alone master an element without being properly introduced, can take months of practice," DiZ informed them, his hand to his chin. "With both of your powers and attunity to magic, there were special circumstances that gave you them. Without that, I fear it would take Hinata far too long to master them."

"I know someone…" Sam spoke up with a soft voice, walking forward. "Someone that's already mastered a ton of different types of magic." She came to a stop beside Hinata and Riku, her gaze fixed on DiZ, despite the others looking at her in surprise.

DiZ's visible eye narrowed as he thought over Sam's words. "You know of a mage?" he asked, "I had thought that magic was not present in your galaxy."

"It's not," Sam answered a bit shortly. "I didn't meet her in my galaxy. I met her on the first mission you sent me on. She runs a potion shop in Thebes, by the Coliseum."

DiZ took in a breath. "I am more than slightly trepidatious about bringing anyone else from another world to join our cause. We are already breaking the World Order by allowing you and Ben to be out of your galaxy."

"Yeah, but she isn't from Thebes, her ancestors weren't anyways," Sam pointed out. "She even knew I was from another world without me having to tell her, AND she has one of those Keyblade things you guys have talked about."

"That's right," Hinata said, noticing Sam immediately tensing up. Clearing her throat, she spoke a bit softer. "I remember you telling me about her. Her name was Velcia, right?" Sam nodded shortly, as Hinata looked at DiZ and explained, "The Keyblade is from her ancestors and helps her channel her magic. From what Sam told me, she's really powerful and already wants to travel to different worlds." She shrugged with a bit of a chuckle, "I know it sounds crazy and out of nowhere, but she might be just what we need."

"And we can learn more about why she has a Keyblade if she comes here," Riku added.

DiZ leaned back in his seat with a long sigh, rubbing his hand over the bridge of his nose. "How many rules must be broken…" he mumbled under his breath. Inhaling deeply, he looked towards Sam and resigned, "You may go to Thebes and see if this Velcia will come back here to join our cause."

Sam nodded, her hard to read expression unchanged as she turned around to leave. "I'll get going right now."

"W-wait," Hinata spun around. "It's getting late, don't you think it'd be better—"

"I need time away," Sam interrupted her, stopping for a moment with her hands clenched at her sides. "Figure out what you need to learn, I'll go get the extra help." Without waiting for a reply, she left the office, the door sliding shut behind her.

Hinata let out a breath, rubbing her hand behind her neck as she stared at the shut door. "Will she be alright on her own?"

"As long as Thaanix doesn't show up, she'll be fine." Riku assured her, smiling softly when she looked back at him.

"While Sam is gone on her mission," DiZ got back to business, "I will research possible options for Hinata. There are countless worlds out there, each with their own form of combat that may prove useful. I will narrow down any that seem promising and achievable."

Hinata nodded a bit slowly, thinking it over. "Is there anything I can do in the meantime?"

"Rest, recover," DiZ simply told her, turning his seat back around to his computer. "There is no point in pushing yourself over the edge when there is so much at stake. Ansem—"

"Yes?" Riku answered immediately, noticing the confused glance he got from Hinata.

"Make sure she rests properly tonight," DiZ ordered him, sighing. "I saw her in the garden throughout the night. It is no wonder she was not at her full potential today."

"I—" Hinata began to object, an embarrassed warmth on her skin.

"I will," Riku promised him, glancing over at Hinata as she looked away slightly defeated.

"Excellent." DiZ smiled relieved, knowing they could not see his face. "Was there anything else?"

"No," Riku shook his head, lightly grabbing Hinata's arm. "We'll be going."

"Actually," Hinata placed her hand over Riku's, gently pushing it off her arm. "There are a couple things I'd like to talk about with him… alone, if that's alright."

"Oh," Riku realized, clearing his throat. "I'll just get going then."

DiZ waited for the door to close behind Riku, before asking. "What would you like to discuss?"

"Well first, why are you calling Riku, Ansem?" Hinata asked, crossing her arms.

DiZ paused, turning around his seat to see Hinata borderline glaring at him. "It is the name he asked me to refer to him by. I'm merely following his wish."

"He just out of the blue, asked you to call him Ansem?" Hinata asked, entirely unconvinced. "Or did you ask him what you should call him, making him think he needed a new name?"

DiZ let out a low groan in his throat, looking away from Hinata. "I may have asked."

Hinata scoffed, running her hand over her face as she took in a deep breath to calm the frustration swiftly rising in her gut. "Well can you stop? His name is Riku. The way he looks doesn't change that. He already feels horrible enough as it is, he doesn't need a constant reminder of who he thinks he looks like."

"You're right," DiZ conceded, looking back at his daughter. "It is something I have been considering stopping myself. From now on, I will call him Riku."

"Oh," she smiled a bit triumphantly, shifting her weight. "Thank you, I wasn't expecting that."

"Despite what you believe, I am not completely heartless," DiZ remarked, making Hinata snort out a short laugh.

"Well, not all the time, at the very least," Hinata tried to joke back, sending him an uneasy smile.

DiZ shortly smiled back, before asking, "Was there anything else you needed?"

"Yes…" Hinata's expression fell as she took in a deep breath. "Um… while we were in Agrabah… I got knocked out by Thaanix, and when Riku found me and woke me up… his voice was different."

"Different?" DiZ repeated, leaning back in his seat.

"Yeah," Hinata crossed her arms, looking at the bright computer screens behind her dad. "Like from before he changed…"

DiZ blinked in surprise, bringing his hand to his chin. "That is peculiar…"

"That's what I thought, too," Hinata agreed.

"Has it changed back?" He asked.

"No, that's what's even weirder about it." Hinata shrugged, turning to pace the room. "He still sounds the same to me. I mentioned it to him, but he thought I was crazy." She stopped and held out her hands at her sides. "Do you have any ideas?"

"It is possible being unconscious may have triggered something in your heart…" DiZ began to theorize. "Especially since he was the one to wake you, therefore being the first voice you heard."

"So… just some chemical imbalance..?" She tried to figure out what he was saying.

"Well not exactly, it may be much more complex than that." He let out a breath, thinking it over. "The workings of the heart are almost beyond comprehension, there could be many reasons why you are hearing him the way you remember him… it's possible your heart is refusing to hear him as his new voice and is preserving him in his original."

"And for some reason my heart decided to wait until I was knocked unconscious before it made the switch?" she asked, continuing her pacing. "Well, actually, I guess that would sort of make sense. When I first saw him like this, it was when he healed me back on Kamino… I didn't know who he was right away. But by being knocked out, it's like a hard reset."

"Precisely." DiZ smirked. "That was very clever of you to figure out on your own."

"Heh," Hinata scoffed. "Thanks. You did most of the work."

"Regardless, it is the conclusion I was coming to as well," he told her. "I am unsure if his voice will change again or if we are even correct in our theories; there may be no logical explanation as to why it has happened."

Hinata nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah… but I'm glad it did."

"As am I." DiZ smiled softly as Hinata looked back at him, before clearing his throat. "If that is all," he began turning his chair back around, "I should be getting back to work."

"Of course," Hinata rolled her eyes with a smile. "I'll-uh, see you tomorrow then."

She waited for DiZ to reply, but when he remained silent, she made her way out of the room. As the door slid closed behind her, she startled to a stop, surprised to see Riku leaning against the far wall waiting for her. He looked up when he heard the door, his expression plain and difficult to read.

"Oh, hey," she greeted him, running her hands along her arms as she walked towards him. "Sorry, I didn't realize you'd wait for me."

"I…" he pushed himself off the wall, his gaze averted, "I'm not sure why I did. I was just worried, I guess."

Hinata looked up at him in surprise as he went up the stairs. "Worried?" she repeated as she quickly followed him up the stairs.

"Let's just get to the kitchen," he ignored her question as he left the library. "What do you want for dinner?"

With a slight huff, Hinata slowed her pace, realizing he wasn't going to answer her. "I don't really have a preference," she told him. "Just make whatever sounds good to you."

Riku remained silent until they got to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and began getting out ingredients, surprising Hinata when he handed her some veggies and a cutting board. "Can you slice them?" he asked her, not even looking her in the eyes.

She half-smiled as she nodded and went to a free countertop to get to work. They worked in a comfortable silence. Riku would randomly come over to give Hinata some tips, or even take the knife from her to show her how to properly cut the different types of vegetables. She looked up at him as he cut, his eyes so focused that they made her smile. He noticed her stare, clearing his throat to get her attention back to her work.

When she finished her job, Riku took the full cutting board and brought it to the stove, pouring the contents into a hot pan. He noticed Hinata standing beside him and held out the spoon for her. She looked up at him uneasily as she took the wooden spoon and poked at the sizzling veggies.

Riku watched her for a moment, before whispering, "Uh, you're supposed to mix them."

Her face flushed with embarrassment as she began mixing. "Yeah, well I'm not the chef around her," she snipped back, sending him a bit of a smirk.

He scoffed with a breathy laugh at the end as he went to grab a few seasonings. "Ben told me I used to give you cooking lessons."

"On simple stuff," she agreed, feeling him behind her as he reached over and seasoned the food. "Like making pancakes or eggs… not this stuff."

"Hmm," he hummed in thought, grabbing her hand over the spoon to help her stir properly. "That would explain why you're so bad at this."

"Wha—" she darted her eyes up to him, trying to glare, but couldn't keep it up as she saw the smirk plastered on his face. She lightly elbowed him behind her, making him laugh. "Excuse me, we can't all be like you and be amazing at everything."

"I know, it's a crime." He sighed, taking the spoon from her completely and gently pushing her away. "You better go sit down before you start a fire. I'll finish it up."

"I'm going to smack you," Hinata barely got the words out as she laughed, rolling her eyes. As she walked around the counter island, she watched him cooking, seeing a smile on his face that she hadn't seen since before he had changed. She felt her heart beginning to melt and suddenly walked back to him, hugging him from behind.

"W-what are you doing?" Riku stammered, his face warming considerably as he placed a free hand along Hinata's arms around his waist.

"Just wanted to hug you," she told him with a smile before freezing, realizing how tense Riku had become and that she had overstepped her bounds. Clearing her throat, she quickly stepped back and retracted her arms. "Sorry." she turned and rushed out of the kitchen. In the hall, she leaned against the wall and let out a groan. "What is wrong with me…?" She whispered, burying her face in her hands.

She stayed there for a few minutes, eventually sliding to sit down on the ground, her forehead leaning between her knees. The soft sound of footsteps approaching made her tense, until she felt someone sit down beside her. Glancing up, she saw Riku holding out a steaming bowl of veggies and rice, with a sweet scented sauce. She took it reluctantly, looking over at him and trying to read his plain expression.

They ate together in silence, the awkward air slowly transformed into being comfortable and somehow relaxing. Hinata could feel her heart racing in her chest regardless, trying to keep herself from continually looking over at him.

"I…" she eventually tried to speak up, her voice coming out a bit hoarse.

"Don't worry about it." Riku assured her, already knowing what she was going to say. He held out his hand for her empty bowl. "Do you want some more?"

She looked up at him with confused eyes, but nodded, handing him her bowl as he got up. He returned with a fresh amount of food and slid to the floor beside her, their arms brushing against each other.

"So," Riku took a bite, before continuing. "What did you talk with DiZ about?"

"Oh…" Hinata paused, unsure of everything she should say. "Not much… I guess."

"You don't have to tell me," he pointed out. "I've just been curious."

"Yeah, I get it…" She nodded a bit absently. "Um… well, I talked with him about… well, you, actually."

"Me?" He paused his eating, looking over at her.

"Yeah… I wanted to know why he was calling you Ansem, and—"

"I told him to," he interrupted her.

"Yeah, he told me." She nodded. "But he won't anymore. That's not your name."

Riku was silent for a moment, before telling her. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know." She shifted the way she was sitting. "I just… Don't want you feeling like that's your identity now, and I know that you're the one that told DiZ to call you that, but…" her voice trailed off as her eyes went downwards to the floor. "I'm sorry if I shouldn't have made it my business."

Riku stared at her with a thoughtful frown. Letting out a breath, he looked away and told her, "I guess… I'm just surprised you cared enough to say something about it."

Hinata chuckled. "If that surprised you, you're in for a big surprise when you read the next few journals."

"Yeah?" He smirked, looking back at her.

She slightly smiled back, before her expression fell. "Yeah." She looked away and took in a deep breath, a flush warming her cheeks. "I'm sorry I keep smothering you… I'm really trying not to. I'm just coming off as obsessive and weird."

Riku's eyes softened and he looked away.

"I just… everytime I'm around you, you have moments where you almost seem like you remember me," Hinata continued. "But then I take it too far, or you get uncomfortable… I mean, everything on Agrabah—"

"None of that was your fault, alright?" Riku interjected, his voice a bit firm. He waited for Hinata to look back at him, before he let out a huff of breath. He could feel the tips of his ears heating up as he swallowed hard. "I'm the one that needs to figure things out… It's like, whenever I'm around you, I can't control myself and it freaks me out." He shook his head as he stood up. "It isn't something for you to worry about."

"Would it be better if I gave you more space?" She looked down at her half-way filled bowl of food. "That way you could figure out how you feel in your own time." She ran her fingertips along the texture of the bowl. "I don't want to be taking advantage of the part of you that remembers me, even if…" She took in a deep breath, her voice trailing off. Shaking her head, she looked back up at him, a lost yet sweet smile on her face.

Riku looked back at her, his eyes giving away more of his emotions and thoughts than his ridgid expression. "How do you feel about me?" he asked her.

Hinata opened and closed her mouth a few times, her heart fluttering as a million things rushed to her mind to say. Shaking her head again, she laughed awkwardly. "I feel like you already know where I stand with you. I don't know if it would help anything, other than freak you out more."

"I'd like to know… hear it from you." He told her, his voice low and soft.

She looked away, chewing the inside of her cheek as she thought it over. Taking in a breath, she slowly nodded. "Alright then…" She stood up as well and faced him. Meeting her eyes with his, she smiled softly. "I love you."

Riku's breath hitched as his heart skipped. She was able to say it so easily, as if she had said those words dozens, if not hundreds of times before to him. "W-what?" he barely breathed out.

Her smile grew, while her eyes saddened a bit and she nodded. "See? I knew it wouldn't help…" She glanced down at her bowl, before turning to head back into the kitchen, but Riku's hand on her arm stopped her.

"Wait," he pleaded. "Keep going."

She looked back at him in surprise, her heart swelling from the way he looked at her. Swallowing hard, she turned back towards him and nodded. "Well, um… I was worried at first, when you had to change forms… especially when you came back and weren't talking to me and wouldn't let me see your face. I didn't know how we were going to work or how I'd be able to deal with it, but..." Her gaze went past him, a fanciful smile appearing on her face. "I'm not worried about that anymore. I still love you more than ever, the way you look hasn't affected that at all. In fact," she reached up with her free hand, pushing back his hair, her heart jumping as she saw him close his eyes from her touch. "I don't think you realize how much you still look like yourself. There's so much about this form that's still… you. It isn't just Xehanort, or-um, Ansem." She moved her hand from his face, suddenly feeling embarrassed as she realized she was getting carried away. "You're still you, and I love that…"

Riku opened his eyes, his heart in his throat as emotion was welling up inside of him. The loving look in her eyes as she had gazed up at him and the feeling of her cool hand against his warm skin, it was burned inside his mind.

"Sorry," she giggled lightly, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I hope I didn't go too far."

Without responding, Riku turned around and rushed to his room, slamming the door behind him. Hinata gasped at the sound, all the romantic feelings that had risen inside plummeted to the pit of her stomach. Emotion choked her throat, as she spun around and escaped to the kitchen. She gathered the dishes, trying to distract herself as she brought them to the sink and began to wash them. As the warm water covered her hands, she couldn't keep her emotions from bubbling over. She quickly shut off the water, and grabbed the edge of the sink as she sobbed softly.

"I'm such an idiot," she muttered between her cries.

Tightening her hands around the edge of the counter, she took in a few deep breaths to reel back her emotions. Once she felt calmed down, she went back to washing the dishes in silence. Her mind kept replaying everything she had just said, her words making her feel sick as she wondered what was wrong with her. Before she knew it the last dish was cleaned and she turned off the sink, looking around the kitchen. Riku was still hidden away in the room, she hadn't heard a single thing since he had disappeared.

Putting away the towel she used to dry her hands, she left the kitchen and slowed to a stop in front of Riku's door. She placed her hand on the doorknob, but couldn't bring herself to turn it. Swallowing hard, she turned away and walked out to the foyer pondering what to do. Her gaze went up towards the library and her feet went there without thinking. She browsed the shelves of books that she had seen dozens of times before, nothing catching her eyes as her mind was still bogged and distracted.

"I need someone to talk to…" she mumbled, looking down towards the door that led to DiZ's office.

She went down the steps and into his dark office, stopping short when she realized that DiZ wasn't in front of his computers. She stared at the empty seat in confusion for a moment, before hearing a loud clang through the other doorway on the far side of the room. Overcome with curiosity, she warily went through the door, entering a large room she had only seen once, when she had first arrived at the mansion. It was brightly lit and mostly empty, spare for DiZ in the corner working on a strange contraption.

She vaguely recognized the device as the Heart Encoder DiZ had shown to Hinata and Riku when they had inquired on the purpose of their past missions. Hinata smiled ever so slightly as she walked over, watching DiZ work in silence.

"You've found my secret lab," DiZ spoke up, knowing she was there. He let out a chuckle and looked over his shoulder at her. "Although, it does leave much to be desired."

Hinata's smile grew a small bit as she came closer and looked the large device over, careful to step over the scattered parts on the ground. "Is this the Heart Encoder?" she asked with a soft voice, going to the wall to be out of the way.

"Indeed it is," DiZ nodded, letting out a breath and stepping back to admire his work. "There is still much to do, but it is coming together."

"So is this what you do in the late hours of the night?" Hinata asked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall. "Do you ever sleep?"

DiZ went back to work, "I do get the occasional rest, yes. As for the Encoder, I have only begun building it within the last week." When Hinata only nodded in response, he asked. "Is there something you needed?"

"Oh… not really, I guess…" She shifted her weight uncomfortably, averting her gaze. "Just… wanted some company."

DiZ paused, glancing up at her, before getting back to work. "Is something the matter?"

"I… maybe," Hinata admitted, letting out a sigh as she slunk to the floor to sit. "I don't want to bother you with it though."

"I am a better listener than you may believe." DIZ informed her, stepping back again and wiping his hands off on a white towel. "But I will allow you to keep your problems to yourself, if you wish."

"Thanks," Hinata muttered, bringing her knees to her chest. She watched DiZ work in silence for several minutes. Occasionally asking a question about his work or making a comment.

Eventually, DiZ stepped away and let out a long breath. "There has been something I've been wishing to show you since you arrived here at the mansion."

Hinata looked up at him in confusion. "That… came out of nowhere… why haven't you shown me before? I've been here for almost a year now."

"It did not seem appropriate until you knew that I was your father." He explained, reaching into his sleeve and pulling out an old worn journal. He walked over and handed it to Hinata.

It was a dusty gray with gold lining and details engraved around it. A single leather strap tied it closed, keeping the loose papers and photos encased inside. Hinata looked it over, running her fingertips along the golden engravings as DiZ explained.

"Much like you do, I keep record of the events that transpire around me." He informed her, smiling uneasily. "This journal covers the past… particularly during the eight years you were gone."

Hinata gasped, darting her attention up to her dad. "W-wait, do you mean, you know what happened?"

He glanced away, slowly nodding. "If it were not for this journal, I would not have. I only recall bits and pieces during those years… however, they will have the answers you seek."

Hinata let out a shaking breath as she looked back down at the journal in her hands. "I-I can't believe it…"

"I took the liberty to bookmark the entries that will be of interest to you," DiZ told her, shifting his weight as he downcast his gaze. "I must forewarn you, however, you may not like what you read. It was not an easy time for me, and I did many things that I have come to regret."

"Are… you sure you're alright with me reading it?" Hinata asked, her hands tightly holding the journal as if for dear life.

"Yes," he simply answered. "There is much in there that will be difficult for you to swallow, but… I believe you have a right to know."

Hinata stood up, placing the journal beside her. Walking forward, she wrapped her arms around DiZ, giving him a hug. "Thank you…" She whispered, feeling her throat choking with more tears. "I-I don't know what to say."

DiZ reluctantly hugged her back, before pushing her away gently. "I would not thank me yet, child. But you are most welcome. I hope it will bring some closure."

"D-Do you mind if I read it in here?" She asked, wiping away a couple stray tears.

"Not at all," DiZ shook his head, getting back to his work. "Let me know if you have any questions."

"I will…" Hinata whispered, getting back to her seat and grabbing the journal. She gently untied the leather binding, opening the book to the first bookmark and seeing DiZ's handwriting filling the pages. Taking a deep breath, she began to read.

---

The Realm of Darkness is a place accurately named, if not creatively. It is a cold, dreary, black place as far as the eye can see. A name such as the "Land of Eternal Night", while more poetic, would be woefully incorrect — for the Realm of Darkness had no concept of night, or day, or indeed even time. It was a land devoid of anything resembling the beauty of night time — it had been a horrifying, terrible place for an eternity thus far; and the next eternity's future seemed perhaps even more more bleak.

The sky was dark, and the parts that weren't were darker still, scratches and gashes flickering across it. The land itself was dry and dusty, the few plants that were there permanently wilted and ghastly in appearance. Monsters of darkness roamed all corners of the land, gathering around pools of Darkness for reasons unknown.

In one particularly secluded area, atop an empty plateau, a man lay face-down in the dirt. His blonde hair and white robes were covered in a thin layer of dust, which was still settling around him. He waited a silent moment before rolling slowly onto his back, gazing up at the infinite blackness above him and grimacing. Yet another moment later he sat up slowly, deliberately, unsure if he had any injuries to be worried about.

This man was named Ansem, and until a few minutes before he had been the ruler of a land known as the Radiant Garden. He had, as far as he'd always known, always been well-loved by everyone in his domain — his people even referring to him as Ansem the Wise. But now, sitting in the Realm of Darkness, betrayed and banished by his own students and his protege, he felt exceedingly foolish.

Ansem coughed gently, staring ahead of him, imagining the sight of the dark portal he was thrown through, wondering if he would ever find a way back. He slowly turned his head to survey his surroundings, and his attention was caught by a small device face-down in the dirt nearby. He picked it up and turned it over.

It was a thin, round device with two smaller circles atop it reminiscent of ears. Ansem recognized the device immediately — not purely a machine, but an artificial assistant and friend of his. He gently rubbed the dust off the glass display, muttering solemnly "Oh, Toodles…"

A ring of lights around the perimeter of the device's screen faintly flickered to life, and a small face appeared in the display. The face smiled. "Ansem." it said kindly. "How can I help you?"

Ansem released his grip, and Toodles floated gently, if shakily, into the air. He watched his friend wordless for a moment, his face softening as he made further progress into considering their situation. "So, they have exiled you too." he said.

Toodles continued to flicker, but less now as he began to stabilize. "No, I followed you here on my own."

Ansem looked at Toodles with disappointment. "That was exceedingly foolish, Toodles. There is no way back."

Toodles floated a little closer. "I'm here to help you Ansem, in any way I can. I've brought some tools for you."

Ansem closed his eyes, considering for a moment laying back down upon the coarse, dusty earth. "Of course you have. I appreciate your loyalty, friend, though I do wish you had found another way to express it."

Toodles stayed silent, bobbing through the aether and eagerly anticipating hearing of Ansem's plans.

"Well, since you are here, let's see what you've brought." Ansem said reluctantly.

Toodles' face disappeared off the screen and four objects displayed for Ansem to see. Two caught his eye, the first being a book, and the second, a large question mark. Ansem rolled his eyes a little at the question mark, but moved his attention back to the book.

"Ah, that appears to be my research on the Realm of Darkness, if I'm not mistaken. Toodles, I will have that book please, and as usual I would very much appreciate your understanding in my desire to skip your usual rituals."

The lights around Toodles' screen spun around, and the book appeared in Ansem's hand in a quick flash of light. Toodles' face returned with a smile. "Here you are, sir. I thought it may be useful for you."

"Yes, I imagine that to be a very safe deduction." Ansem said absent-mindedly as he flipped through the first several pages. Resting his finger on the page, he began to read an excerpt. "In the Realm of Darkness, time does not exist. Living things trapped there do not age or grow, except for beings of darkness who live and thrive in an other-wordly fashion as if feeding off an unknown dimension. For creatures from the Realm of Light, this means that there is no need for food, or water, or even something as essential as air; this seems to grant a form of immortality excepting for cases where the being is torn apart or otherwise killed by the local creatures of darkness. The more pressing danger is thus: Extended time spent in the Realm of Darkness corrupts, if not outright destroys, the heart and soul of the beings of Light trapped there."

Ansem lowered the book, lifting his gaze up to gaze out over his surroundings again. "Well, then, it would seem that if I am to escape, we must work quickly."

Toodles' face brightened. "I'm here to help! Let me know what you need."

Ansem glanced over at him, expressionless. "I must ask why, in a situation this dire, you still choose to play games and hide one of the tools behind the intrusive veneer of mystery. You know well I like knowing everything I have to work with."

Toodles' face flickered momentarily, though his smile didn't change. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid I can't let you know about this item yet. It must only be used in a time of need for a very specific purpose."

With a gentle scoff, Ansem turned back around to look at what lay in the other direction. "I find this most vexing of you, Toodles." he stated. "I'm not sure how exactly your powers of foresight work, and I have long since gotten past the annoyance of that curiosity. Indeed, being able to see the tools you are preparing has in many cases helped me to prepare for a problem I could have otherwise had no way to anticipate. If this mystery item is of such grave importance, it must be tied to a rather sizeable problem."

Toodles blinked, his sides lighting up in a fashion reminiscent of a shrug. "I don't know what problems you're going to run into, Ansem, I can only see parts of the solutions."

Ansem glanced over the side of the plateau, observing the rocks and plotting his course down. "Indeed." he replied as he began his descent. "Then, let us go find the problems."

---

Hinata looked up from the book, noticing her dad glancing her way every so often. "Toodles…" She repeated the name she read. "I feel like I remember him…"

DiZ chuckled, "He was a gift, a contraption my dear old friend King Mickey gave to me to aid in my research. It was a wonder. He could see moments in the future and was always equipped with four items I would need for my work, yet for some reason —I imagine a joke from the King— one of the items was always labeled as a mystery tool." He turned towards her. "You would have only seen him a few times, I mostly kept him in my office."

"He must have been loyal though," Hinata glanced back at the journal. "He followed you into the Realm of Darkness, after all… I can't believe that's where you ended up…" She looked back up at him. "It must have been horrible…"

"It was…" He admitted, rubbing his hands together. "I thankfully do not recall all of my time there. Just fleeting moments."

Hinata was quiet for a moment as she flipped through the pages. "Did I end up there, too?"

"You should keep reading," he simply told her, getting back to his work.

Hinata frowned, feeling her heart twisting at the thought of being in the Realm of Darkness. Shaking her head, she tried to get her mind off the possibility and commented. "You write like I do… Or, I guess I actually write my journals like you do. Like a story."

DiZ smirked, "Hmm, I had no idea you had picked up journaling. It is something I used to insist you do, but you would rarely listen."

"Yeah," Hinata chuckled softly, "I didn't realize how helpful it would be, or how fun." She was quiet for a second, before telling him, "I'll-uh, get back to reading."

She continued to flip through the pages, towards the last bookmark DiZ had set for her, but then she stopped short. The handwriting was suddenly rougher and harder to make out. Smears of ink and torn edges were along the paper. She glanced up at the bookmark further back, but then began to read the entry.

---

Ansem stood in front of a large machine, inspecting it twice over. It was a large and complex device, and to any casual observer would look crude and unrefined. Useful materials were incredibly scarce in the Realm of Darkness, but Ansem was clever and resourceful and managed to make do with what little there was.

The machine was situated inside of a cave, a rather large cave with rows of cages lining both sides of it. In the open areas were makeshift tables of all sorts, one or two made with the intent of building a good, strong, traditional table, but the tables further in betrayed the need for function over form as they grew increasingly simpler. These tables were covered in materials, notes, and hodge-podge devices of all kinds imaginable, and a few harder to fathom.

The cages themselves were made of what could be found, and by all rights should have been incredibly shoddy, ineffective things; but their designer knew what he was working with, accounted for it, and made his prisons surprisingly resilient. Presently, the cages were all inhabited — a first, actually. Each one contained a creature of darkness, a Heartless, and every Heartless wore several metal collars — on their ankles, wrists, and necks. These collars were each attached to wires that ran up to the ceiling of the cave, and down to the machine that Ansem was now finishing his inspection of.

Ansem himself was now a different man than he'd been when he first was thrown into the Realm of Darkness. His once white clothes were now fully blackened by the dirt, his hair filthy and dishevelled, and his eyes and face wearing the fatigue of madness. He gazed up and down his notes again, speaking out loud to no-one in particular. "This had better work."

To the side of the machine was another cage, this one with a chair in it. The chair itself was surrounded by various tools, probes, emitters, and other machines of less discernible natures. The chair was occupied by a Heartless, this one much smaller and more feeble in appearance than its caged brethren.

Ansem stepped back, gave everything one final look, and threw a switch. The machine made all kinds of ghastly noises; snapping, popping, groaning sounds filled the air. But this soon was drowned out by a sound even more horrifying and indescribable, coming from the caged Heartless all around the cave. Electricity arced around the caged Heartless and the smell of electrical smoke filled the air as the cave filled with a thick smog of darkness. The chair by the machine, and its occupant, were no longer visible, but a bright purple glow came from its corner and illuminated the fog.

After a few moments, the shrieks of the heartless faded away, the machine began to wind down, the fog clearing, every cage empty now but for small sticky puddles on the floor. Every cage except one, the cage that mattered. The small, feeble Heartless strapped to the chair remained there, dazed, but still very much present.

Ansem screamed in frustration, throwing his notes away in fury. "Why?!" he demanded, seething at the Heartless. "Why are you still here?"

He turned his attention towards the machine, hands shaking with anger. A look of contemplation crossed his face and, much to the fortune of the machine, he turned away from it and slammed his hands on the nearest table, brooding.

"That should have worked." He said, trying to reason out loud. "That should have been enough magic to shunt the creature out into the Realm of Light. Why didn't it work? What am I missing? This was my last possible plan. I've tried everything else… this must work."

He stood there for a moment, trying to regain his composure. Once he felt he had done so, he walked outside the cave and called out. "Toodles!"

Toodles fluttered down from atop a nearby tree, or at least, the closest approximation of a tree the Realm of Darkness afforded. "All's clear, Mr. Ansem. It doesn't look like your experiment drew the attention of any Darksides."

Ansem's head perked up a bit, in his passion he'd forgotten about the Darksides. Looking out into the distance, he could see them roving about — massive Heartless, each one fifty or more feet tall. In a moment of sincerity, he thanked his good luck.

"That's very good to hear, Toodles" he said. "Thank you for keeping watch for me."

"I'm here to help!" Toodles replied. "Was your experiment a success?"

Ansem eyed Toodles suspiciously, still unsure how much foreknowledge Toodles had regarding any given struggle he had or would be going through. "No" he replied curtly. "Though I suspect you already knew that."

Toodles' lights blinked as he tried to process a reply. "I really didn't know" he said, finally.

Ansem huffed softly. "This was my last effort, Toodles. I don't have any more ideas. I hunted down and capture the most magic-rich heartless that I could find, my machine was built solidly — there were no malfunctions, breaks, or explosions this time. It just doesn't work."

"I know you'll think of something!" Toodles said brightly. "You always have."

"I have been trying for, by my estimation, three years now, Toodles. Every plan, every theory, everything has turned out to be ineffective. I am no closer now than I was when we were first exiled here. The tools you have given me have helped me out this far, but I am at my limit with what I have." Ansem took a breath, measuring his tone expertly. "Perhaps your final Mystery Tool is now required" he suggested.

Toodles looked at him, his lights blinking in slow circles. "I'm sorry, Ansem, it's not yet time."

Ansem's demeanor slipped for just a moment, a look of frustration flashing across his face for a fraction of a second. "Toodles, it has been almost three years since you gave me the last of the other tools. I've done all I can. This machine should have worked, but it didn't. There is no other option."

"The Mystery Tool won't help with this, Ansem" Toodles informed him gently. "It's a solution for a different problem."

Ansem threw his hands up into the air, and walked in a small circle. "If you could just tell me what it is, it could help put me on the right track. I understand that these tools are meant to solve problems, but perhaps this time the problem can be bypassed altogether. I do not have the luxury of patience here, Toodles, not like back home. I feel the Darkness gnawing at me. I cannot stay here."

Toodles floated silently, and Ansem stood there for several moments waiting for a reply, growing ever more impatient. Finally, the small machine spoke up. "It is not yet time."

With that, Ansem stormed off wordlessly back into his cavern laboratory. He opened a metal door on the wall opposite the machine, revealing several more prisons filled with Heartless. In a tranquil fury he began marching them into the cages hooked up to the machine, this time putting three in each. Toodles floated into the cave, worried by the sounds of clanging and stomping.

"What are you trying now, Ansem?" Toodles asked curiously, as if oblivious to Ansem's boiling rage.

Ansem slammed the last of the cages closed. "This is the last possible solution, Toodles!" he shouted. "I'm done playing your games. I am going to cram as much magic power as I can into this machine, and force myself back into the world of Light. No more tests!"

Toodles' alarm was evident. "Ansem, if you do this it is incredibly likely that you will be killed."

Ansem's face snarled in mockery. "That sounds like a really big problem, then, does it not?" He shouted, marching over to the machine and throwing the switch before quickly placing himself in the chair as it started up.

Toodles looked on in horror as the process started up, the room quickly becoming so filled with smoke, smog, and the shrieks of Heartless that a person's every sense would be overwhelmed beyond imagining. The purple glow from the chair was as bright and intense as a beacon, and suddenly over even the shrieks of the monsters could be heard Ansem's own screams of agony.

Toodles quickly flew towards the machine, trying desperately to find the controls through the thick fog. As he searched, the ground began to tremble ominously. Finally, the switch was found and the machine shut down. The smoke and fog slowly cleared from the room, but the ground continued to tremble.

Ansem lay unconscious in the chair, but slowly came to. He looked around in a daze, startling back to full attention when the rumbling earth shook with a heavy thud. He looked over at Toodles, floating by the controls and looking at him with concern.

"What did you do?" He asked angrily.

"The machine was going to kill you" Toodles said softly. "And it was making such a ruckus —" he was cut off by another large thud — "that it seems to have attracted the attention of a rather large Darkside."

Ansem looked around him, trembling in anger. "You had no right to do that. I was going to leave this place."

"You were going to die."

Ansem opened his mouth, about to yell, when a thud changed his mind. Instead he spoke lowly, angrily. "I don't know what your problem is, you infernal device" he spat, continuing, "Whatever it is you are hiding from me, you will give to me now."

"I can't." Toodles replied.

"I am at the end of possibility" Ansem hissed, taking a deliberate step towards the small machine. "You are going to give it to me, now."

Toodles floated up higher, out of reach, and repeated himself. "I can't."

Ansem curled his fingers in rage. "And why not? Do not give me those moronic sentiments about the time not being right. I have tried everything. There is a Darkside at my door. I don't know if you're just waiting for the last possible moment in an attempt to make grand hero of yourself, but I am finished with your games, Toodles. You either give me the tool, or a very good reason why not."

"The tool won't help you right now, Ansem. From what I've seen just now, if I give it to you early I fear that you would only use it to destroy yourself. I cannot allow you to destroy yourself." Toodles replied softly.

Ansem shivered with fury. "What I do is not for you to decide!" he objected. Turning his head down, he took a deep breath and tried desperately to regain his composure. "I thank you for your help thus far, Toodles, but I'm afraid it would appear that we've reached a point where you've become an obstacle in my efforts. I want you to leave immediately, and never return. I don't want to ever again be bothered by your insane notions of my future."

Toodles' lights flickered, his eyes wide in shock before his face slowly trembled into utter dejection. He started as if he were going to say something, but a stern look from Ansem stopped him. Slowly, reluctantly, he fluttered out of the room.

Ansem picked up a couple of his papers, looking towards the cave exit only minutes later, and returned to his work.

---

Hinata let out a trembling breath, forcing herself to stop reading the entry. She couldn't bring herself to look up at her dad as she closed her eyes. The shrieks of the Heartless back on the facility of Kamino echoed in her mind, she couldn't imagine a deafening chorus of them and the mere thought made her feel sick to her stomach. DiZ had warned her that she would find things that were unsettling and upsetting, but she wasn't prepared for him doing horrible experiments or losing his mind. Swallowing hard, she skipped a few pages and continued skimming the entries. She used her shoulder to wipe away any stray tears that fell down her cheeks as she read.

Toodles had not kept away from Ansem for long. He would come back regularly, asking Ansem if he needed help with anything. For months Ansem would do nothing but angrily send him away, but eventually he began to relent and let Toodles hang around him again. Their relationship never really mended properly, but at least he was not alone in the Darkness.

As the years in the Dark Realm passed, Hinata realized that her father only continued his downward spiral into Darkness. He eventually gave up on building a machine to force himself back into the Realm of Light, and instead spent all his time scouring the Realm of Darkness looking for another way out. He used a magic detector that Toodles had provided that could sense large fluctuations in magic, and using it, he roamed the land with a vague sense of purpose.

Something that made Hinata's heart sink was that her dad was not blind to his losing struggle against the Darkness. The only way he could keep himself from falling completely, was focusing on a singular purpose, something that would strengthen his heart and resolve to keep him from being consumed entirely. Toodles wholeheartedly supported his Master through it, until he discovered that this goal was complete revenge against his protege Xehanort and his followers. Yet, given the previous outbursts, Toodles rarely spoke up about it.

Hinata finally reached the bookmark, feeling empty and overly emotional at the same time. It was difficult imagining living a life like them a Realm that did nothing but try to destroy its inhabitants. Taking in a breath, she began reading the entry.

---

Ansem was following the magic detector with some enthusiasm. It had picked up a strong new source of magic energy that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. It was a longer journey than most that Ansem would embark on, but the uniqueness of the event lit a fire in his heart.

Toodles floated up beside Ansem as he made his way up a hill. "What do you think we'll find, Ansem?" he asked.

"I told you already, Toodles, I am Ansem no longer. That man was murdered by the treachery of Xehanort and his identity stolen. I am DiZ, and I would appreciate you to keep that in mind."

Toodles sighed, amending his question. "What do you think we will find?"

Ansem, or rather now DiZ, paused a moment, the fact of Toodles' subtle refusal to use his new name not lost on him. He let it go, however, and answered the question as he continued. "Truthfully, I have no idea. We have never seen a magic event this large since we've arrived in the Realm of Darkness. My hope is that this could be some sort of door or bridge to another world."

"What makes those appear?"

"I am unsure. I am not even certain that they exist, although my research seems to indicate that they must. We know firsthand that things can travel from the world of light into the Realm of Darkness, so the reverse must also be true. These creatures of darkness find ways into the worlds somehow, and so shall we." DiZ said confidently.

As they reached the top of the hill, they started to hear small yelps from Heartless. Out a short distance from them was a soft blue light surrounding a person, and a small gang of Shadow Heartless had surrounded it, trying to get at the person inside but stopped by the burning effects of a barrier of light.

DiZ's eyes shot wide open, and he ran towards the group. Yelling loudly, he swung a spiny branch at them, batting them away. The Heartless, more startled than defeated outright, ran away in surprise without much fuss. Diz turned his attention towards the person, a young girl who was lying unconscious on the ground. Her red hair and her simple outfit, a green tank-top with black shorts, struck a twang of nostalgia in DiZ's heart that he had difficulty placing. He knelt down closer, then found himself falling further as the realization hit him.

"Ansem, is that who I think it is?" Toodles asked as he descended closer.

DiZ blinked. "It cannot be… but I know it is. My daughter, Hinata."

Toodles bobbed in contemplative silence for a moment. "...How did she get here?"

"I do not know. I believe this spell around her may be the answer. I do not believe it is of her own doing, it seems to be keeping her unconcious. I don't believe she can awaken on her own. We need to bring her back to my workshop where she will be safe." DiZ said softly, feeling a twang of sadness in his heart he hadn't felt in a very long time.

DiZ reached out his hands to pick her up, but found the magical aura around Hinata made his hands tingle with a burning sensation and withdrew them curiously.

"What's wrong, Ansem?" Toodles inquired.

"I believe this aura is some form of protection spell to keep her safe from the Darkness. For any being of light it is harmless, but as we saw with the Heartless earlier, it repels beings of Darkness." DiZ said, still sorting through the information in his mind. "And so, my own discomfort when reaching into the field must mean that I myself have begun to fall prey to the evil of this realm." he finished sadly.

"Do you think you are becoming a Heartless?"

DiZ shook his head. "I do not know how the process works, Toodles. But if my heart has fallen into Darkness so much that it has begun to corrupt my physical form to this extent, I worry greatly at how blind I have become."

He looked up at his daughter, laying before him. "And it makes it all the more pressing that we find a way to get her out of here as soon as possible. I will not allow her to be tainted by the Darkness like I have."

Toodles floated down to Hinata, wedging himself underneath her to try and lift her up. After a few moments of fruitless struggle, he gave up and came back out. "I can't lift her, Ansem. What are we going to do?"

Ansem grit his teeth wordlessly, and in one quick motion reached out and scooped Hinata up in his arms. He groaned under the strain for a moment, but his eyes were focused and determined. "Lead the way home, Toodles" he said between clenched teeth. "I cannot see very far through the glow."

The journey back was long, but DiZ did not once falter. When they finally made it back to DiZ's cave, Toodles swept off a table and DiZ lay Hinata down upon it. He sat down in a chair, breathing heavily.

"Ansem, are you okay?" Toodles asked, his lights rotating slowly.

DiZ looked down at himself. His skin was bright red, and he felt like he'd gotten the worst sunburn of his life. Interestingly, the aura around Hinata had pushed all the dark grime off the parts of his clothes he had been touching, and so a part of his old robes were again as white as snow.

"I do not believe I am, Toodles." DiZ said solemnly after a moment's contemplation. "I believe my body will heal, this burn seems rather superficial and not severe, however…" he trailed off for a second, thinking over the words he knew he was about to say. "For the first time in years I have been shown how far I have fallen from the man I used to be. I can no longer deny that I have given in to the Darkness, and fear it is only a matter of time now before I am consumed entirely. I do not know how to turn back, or if indeed I can."

DiZ looked over at Hinata. "I will get her out of here if it is the last thing that I do. Perhaps partially to assure my conscious and find some redemption for myself, but my own personal ambition right now pales in comparison to my desire to make sure she does not have to go through this terrible nightmare as I have." DiZ looked up at Toodles, who was floating patiently beside him. "Oh Toodles, would you find it in you to forgive me, and help me save my daughter?"

Toodles' lights blinked rapidly as a big smile spread across his face. "Anything I can do to help, Ansem, sir!"

Ansem's first order of business was to learn more about the spell surrounding his daughter. He spent the next several weeks sitting by her side, feeling and studying the magical energies around her. Back in Radiant Garden, he had spent some time trying to teach and attune himself to the different kinds of energies that could be felt when magic was used, like studying invisible ingredients. He'd made some progress, but inevitably had always found himself too distracted. Here, now, he had a focus and a passion he'd not felt towards his studies in some time, and devoted himself to his lessons entirely.

He took hundreds of pages worth of notes in a mad frenzy, and Toodles help to organize them all and keep them straight, remembering what sort of information was where. At last, Ansem found himself in possession of his new theory.

"Toodles, I believe I now have an understanding of this spell." he announced with some satisfaction. "Would you please help cross reference my notes against my theory as I explain it?"

Toodles chirped in delight and quickly set to work laying out dozens of pages across the floor, then hovered straight above them. "Ready when you are, Ansem!"

"I believe that the primary function of this spell was to save the target from extreme danger, based on the magic properties I recorded on page YC-7, that this danger specifically is the destruction of a world, and the solution is to bring the target to a different world, as a sort of safe haven."

Toodles reviewed the notes rapidly. "That all seems to check out so far."

"However, evidence would seem to suggest that Hinata herself was not the intended target of the spell. The target components seem to be tailored towards a different person, so I presume that Hinata was likely in close physical contact with this other person when the spell was triggered."

After a quick confirmation from Toodles, Ansem continued. "I believe then that it is likely that Hinata somehow became detached from this person in transit, which likely left her floating in the lanes between, until eventually… she landed here."

Ansem looked down at her, sadly. "I do not know what happened to you after I was banished… I cannot even begin to imagine what you or your sister have gone through."

Toodles came over, gently nudging Ansem's shoulder in encouragement. "You can get her out, I just know it."

Ansem smiled softly. "Indeed, I believe I can. Now that I feel I have an understanding of how this spell works, I believe I can find a way to absorb the magic and with any luck cast a version of this spell re-tailored to Hinata and send her on her way again."

Ansem walked over to Hinata, holding a device he'd built over her. "This device will absorb all the magic in Hinata that was used to cast this spell, and retain it for later use. This should also wake her up. I do not know how she will react when she awakens, so be prepared, Toodles."

Ansem pressed a button of the device and the blue aura surrounding Hinata began to dissipate. He looked at a meter of the device with a small frown, but said nothing of it and kept going. Hinata slowly stirred gently awake, and Ansem set the device aside and spoke to her. "Hinata, it's me, your father. You're safe right now, don't worry."

Hinata lifted her head slowly, in a bit of a daze. She smiled as she looked at her dad. "Where are we?"

Ansem put his hand on her cheek. "That's not important right now. What happened to you, do you remember anything?"

Hinata shook her head softly. "Not really. It's all a big jumble. I just remember… a giant, black hole… and holding on to Aiko as tight as I could." she looked around the room for her little sister. "Where is she?"

Ansem forced himself to smile. "She's safe" he reassured her, though the sinking feeling in the pit of his heart made it very clear to him that he was worried otherwise.

Hinata lay her head back down. "That's good."

Ansem glanced back over at the device he'd used to absorb the magic, then back to her. "You stay here and get some rest. I have some work to do."

"Of course you do," Hinata laughed softly. "You always do."

Ansem stopped for a moment, the words stinging in a way he wasn't sure he wanted to understand. But he couldn't help it, and his mind raced to fill in the gaps. As far as he knew, this could very well be his last time seeing his daughter. The daughter that he'd always planned to someday spend more time with, after his work. That 'someday' had never come before the tragedy, and now, again, it seemed that it would have to remain absent. He looked back at her, so tempted to leave the spell alone and take her on a walk… but he couldn't. They weren't in Radiant Garden anymore. They were in the Realm of Darkness. To give in to his selfishness this once, he was sure, would lead to him procrastinating her return longer, and longer, until they both were destroyed by the evils of the land. His heart ached as he wordlessly picked up the device and went back to his notes, working in complete silence as he listened to Hinata quietly dozing in the background.

After a few hours, Toodles came over to check on him, wondering if perhaps the unmoving Ansem had fallen asleep. Instead he found the man sitting there, looking over the numbers with despair across his face.

"What's wrong, Ansem?" Toodles asked.

"It's not going to work, Toodles." Ansem informed him. "Too much of the magic was used up while she floated through the lanes in between for all these years. This spell requires an incredible amount of energy, both to bring her across space to her new destination and to shield her from exposure to the harsh environments along the way. We're nowhere close."

Toodles' lights around his ear began to spin, and he floated down a little closer. "I think it's time now for your Mystery Tool, Sir." he said.

Ansem shot upright, looking at him in disbelief. "Is that so?" he asked curiously, doing an admirable job hiding the flash of excitement he felt. "What is it?"

Toodles' face disappeared off the display and displayed a small device with an image of a shield on it. "It's a shield module, sir."

Ansem looked at Toodles, then back to the calculations. "Yes… that could work, but how are we to power it?"

Toodles' face flashed back into the display. "My power source should do the trick." he said evenly. "You can take it and build what you need."

"What?" Ansem said. "No, no, that won't do. I cannot take that from you."

Toodles smiled softly. "It's alright, Ansem. This is important."

Ansem shook his head. "No, I won't destroy you for this. If I install the shield module into you as a component, you can go on the journey with Hinata safely. There's no need to sacrifice you."

Toodles looked down at the power calculations. "The energy requirements for the shield are very high, Ansem."

"I am aware." he said, reaching out his hand for Toodles to land in. Toodles did so, and Ansem turned him over, opening a panel on the back of the small machine. The lights around Toodles' ears flashed and the shield module appeared on the desk, which Ansem grabbed quickly and wired into Toodles' systems.

Once he was finished, Toodles floated up into the air shakily. "Gosh, I'm a lot heavier now" he said. The shield flickered on for a second, creating a bubble around him momentarily. "Shield is online!" he reported.

Ansem smiled and turned to his spell, reworking it to remove the defensive portions. "That… is very close" he said. "I think we've got just enough magic to make it work now, if I remove the sleeping portion." He turned to Toodles again. "I don't know what it's like to travel through the Lanes in Between at high speeds with only a shield, but I imagine Hinata will find it quite frightening. Please take care of my daughter, my friend."

Toodles smiled at the word friend, and gave his best nod before floating back into Ansem's hands.

Ansem walked over to Hinata, and woke her up gently. "Hinata, I'm afraid it's time for you to leave."

Hinata sat up suddenly. "What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"Right now, you and I are both trapped in a place called the Realm of Darkness, but I have studied the spell that brought you here and with the help of Toodles, I believe I can get you out."

Hinata frowned, sensing there was bad news to come. "What about you?" she asked.

Ansem shook his head. "There is just barely enough energy to get you out. Do not worry for me, my dear, I will find another way." He handed Toodles to her. "Toodles is coming with you. On your journey you must pass through a strange dimension called The Lanes Between. Toodles has a shield that will protect you until you arrive at your destination. The journey may be frightening, but Toodles will keep you safe."

Hinata looked at Toodles, and then held him close. "I don't want to leave you, Dad." She said.

Ansem stood up, too choked up to know what to say. He grabbed the magic absorption device and opened the container, and began forming the magic spell. The energies swirled out of his hand and around Hinata.

"No, wait! Dad!" Hinata cried out as she realized what he was doing, but his determined eyes told her it was useless to object. Closing her eyes, she choked out, "I love you, Dad" The words left her mouth just before she was swooped away by the magic.

Ansem sat down heavily, alone. "I love you too".

---

Hinata looked up at DiZ, her heart stuck in her throat. "I-I don't understand," she stammered. "D-Dad, why did you do that?"

DiZ froze, hearing her calling him dad. Swallowing hard, he simply told her, "I had to get you to safety… At that point, I believed I was too far gone and you had so much potential, so much life left to live… I would have been a fool not to do it."

"But I—" her voice broke, "I don't even remember any of that! You… You were there for eight years… A-and I just showed up for a few weeks… you should have been the one to get out."

"I do not regret those actions," DiZ simply told her. "If there is one decision I will stand by during my time in the Realm of Darkness, it is that one." He allowed her to cry as he went back to work, after a couple minutes, he spoke up, "There is one last part you should read… It should be the very next entry."

Hinata looked up at him, sniffling. Nodding shortly, she looked back at the journal and began to read.

---

As Hinata and Toodles flew through the lanes between, Hinata was oddly quiet. She was still in a daze and everything was going too quickly for her to process. Toodles, however, was growing concerned for another reason — his power source was rapidly burning out, the rough travel burning through the shield's energy faster than they'd anticipated. He could tell she was having a hard enough time as it was.

"Ansem loves you very much, Hinata" Toodles informed her. "I hope you know that."

Hinata nodded. "I know. I just wish I could have spent more time with him."

"I hope that you can someday." Toodles said. He sat there for a second, watching the power reserves nearing critical. "I'm, uh, there's no good way to let you know this, but I'm just about out of energy here. If we don't arrive soon, my shield isn't going to last. I know it's not good to hear, but… I felt like you should know."

Hinata's eyes glazed over, tears forming at the corners. "It's okay" she said. "You did your best. And I know that my dad only did this because he thought he was saving me."

The two sat there for a moment, waiting to see what happened. The shield made a popping sound, and then as suddenly as an explosion they were hit with the tremendous force of travelling through the Lanes as the shield broke completely. The forces rocked Hinata's body, and she passed out as they continued to fly. Then, there was the sound of another massive burst around them, and they were in the sky above a world.

Toodles looked down as they fell, seeing an ocean far below. He looked quickly at Hinata, who was still out cold, and despaired. Seconds later they hit the water, and Hinata woke up in a frenzy, kicking and gagging as she tried to tread water. Toodles did his best to float up, but his energy was too drained from the trip and his body too heavy, and he began to sink. He looked up towards the surface as Hinata too began to sink under the waves.

"We were so close" he thought.

But then, as the light began to dim around him, he saw a shape. Another person had swam out and was rescuing her. She was safe. Toodles smiled one last smile, his face flickering away off the screen as he sank to the ocean floor below.

---

"Toodles…" Hinata brought her hand to her mouth as she read the last few words. "He was on the island the whole time… I had no idea…" She shook her head, feeling her emotions already rising again. Clearing her throat, she asked. "But… wait, how did you know this happened?"

DiZ put down his tools and walked over. He sat on the floor beside Hinata, and clasped his hands in his lap. "Toodles remained on the island until that world was destroyed. By some miracle, he ended up in a world called Traverse Town—"

"Traverse Town?" Hinata repeated, turning towards him. "I know that world."

DiZ nodded, "It only exists when there are wayward hearts without a world to call their own. And even though Toodles did not have a heart —to my knowledge— he was taken to Traverse Town and placed into an accessory shop. After I escaped the Dark Realm, I found he was there and bought him, but he was no longer functional."

"You can't fix him?" she asked.

He took a deep breath. "Truth be told, I do not know… I've kept him by my desk, but cannot bring myself to work on him... Perhaps once all of this is over, I will try."

"I think you should," Hinata told him, sending him a small smile.

He smiled back ever so slightly, before explaining, "But back to your question, I was still able to access his recording archives, and that was how I knew of his fate."

Hinata nodded, leaning back against the wall as she let out a long breath. "I'm… not really sure how to process all of this."

DiZ chuckled, "Yes, I suspected as much. It is a difficult subject to accept, but that is the world we were thrown into."

"How did you get out of the Realm of Darkness?" She asked, looking over at him.

"I discovered Riku floating in the Realm Between, similar to how you were when I found you." He explained, "But he was near this Castle of Oblivion that I was able to follow him into, and by posing as Xehanort's Heartless, I was able to follow him out of castle and into the Realm of the Light."

"And this mansion was just sitting here?" She asked.

"That is a story for another time," DiZ chuckled. "There is much to explain, but I believe you should give your mind time to digest everything you've just learned."

Hinata yawned, "Alright…" She stared at the Heart Encoder absently, her thoughts distracted. "I hope you fix Toodles… I'd like to thank him."

DiZ smiled, leaning back against the wall. "As would I."

"And… thank you, for saving me." She looked over at him. "It means… well, I can't really put it into words right now."

His smile grew as he nodded, "I understand. And of course, you are my daughter. It is my job as a father to protect you… even if I do a poor job at it."

Hinata smirked, letting out another yawn. "Can I keep reading this journal?"

"Of course," He nodded, looking back to the large device he was building. "Read and learn as much as you'd like."

"I will…" Hinata closed her eyes, her mind drifting. "I'm suddenly… really tired."

"I will go find Riku to carry you back," DiZ told her, about to stand. "After little to no sleep last night and learning everything you just have, I can only imagine your exhaustion."

"Actually," Hinata reached out, stopping him. "I think… I'd rather stay in here, if that's alright. You can… go back to work."

DiZ's smile fell, realizing her reasoning for coming to see him really did originate with Riku. Letting out a short breath, he nodded. "Of course. I'll fetch you a blanket."

Hinata smiled sleepily as DiZ got up to leave the room, already falling asleep before he came back.

---

***Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed it! I have been so SO excited to bring Velcia onto the team, she's been planned since the first time she appeared in "Third Beginning". It's going to be fun!

ALSO! The journal entries were written by none other than my husband! It wasn't a planned thing to have him write them. I've had them planned since I started "True Friends", but then my husband had this crazy idea to include Toodles in them. If you don't know, Toodles is from the Preschool show, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"... Our toddler is obsessed with it right now. I vetoed and laughed off the idea rather quickly, but then he wrote the first journal entry and sent it to me… I instantly fell in love with the idea and told him I was going to need the rest of the entries that week lol! So yes, we did the unthinkable and included a Preschool show character as a canon character in this series. Although, in this story he's a bit different than his Preschool counterpart. It's the Kingdom Hearts version of him, a bit more mature and subdued. It wasn't stated in the story (yet), but he's a dulled copper with visible gears in his round ears. The lights come through the rim of his glass face that connects to the copper. So he's not the bright colors and kiddie voice from the show, but definitely inspired by.

Speaking of my husband's writing, he has two guest chapters coming up! They are the only two planned for this book, although, as seen with the journal entries, he may write more. They will be covering Velcia's backstory and why she deserves a spot on the team. We'll be segwaying into it in the next chapter, and I'm really excited! It was these chapters that convinced me that Velcia needed to be in the story more. (My husband wrote them for fun about a year ago and I told him they needed to be in the official story)

Then before the end of this Author's Note, I wanted to let you guys know that I have a Tumblr account! I'm finally beginning to be active on it and I share lots of KH art and art from this series. I'm HinataOC on their. And if you have a Tumblr, I'd love to follow you!

That's it for now! I'll see all of you next time, have a great week!***