The sun hung low in the sky casting an orange glow to the sky. It wasn't low enough for the reds to come out. The reds were Y's favorite part of the sunset. She sat up in one of the taller trees the forest outside of town had to offer. Her eyes stared out into the orange sky her lips pressed together in a thin line. DiZ had been up to something strange, and she had of course been doing her best to help. But it was hard when she wasn't sure what he was planning. She didn't know what this object was supposed to even do. But she was certain it wasn't anything good. It seemed to be dangerous, but Y hadn't been able to convince him otherwise.

The calls of birds taking to the air took Y's attention back to the warmth of dying sunlight. She looked over the side of the branch she was perched on. She had been waiting for some time now. Riku had said he would send the person she wanted her way. But she wasn't sure he was keeping true to his word. She had been waiting for what seemed like forever. Maybe it was just her nerves.

Y was caught up in a torrent of thoughts once again. She wasn't sure this was a good idea. Not really. She had no guarantees that this would at all work like she wanted it to. Maybe she would find herself in a battle she couldn't win. Maybe she would lose a friend. Or worse. She was so lost in thought she almost didn't see the figure walking beneath her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes leaning to the side. She fell from the branch landing lightly on the soft forest floor. She smirked slightly at the figure. Though he wore a black cloak with his hood up, there was no mistaking who he was.

"You know, those ears aren't fooling anyone," Y said placing a hand on her hip. Mickey spun around his keyblade appearing in his hands in a flash of light. Y jumped back holding her hands in front of her. Mickey stared at her for a moment before slowly lowering his blade.

"Who are you?" Mickey asked. Y felt her heart clench, the smile on her face becoming very forced. She guessed it had been a very long time. And she was a very different person now.

"I'm a messenger," Y said simply lowering her hands. She clasped them together in front of her, her eyes lowering to the grass beneath her feet. "My Master wanted me to talk to you, since we both have a common goal."

"And what would that be?" Mickey asked.

"Stopping Organization XIII," Y said. Mickey frowned waiting for her to continue. Y let out another heavy breath forcing herself to look at Mickey. "You've seen Riku, right?" she asked tilting her head to the side. Mickey nodded.

"I have. His darkness has consumed him," Mickey said looking away. Y nodded. Riku didn't look himself, but he was already a step ahead of his master. He was still himself under it all. Y smiled at the thought. Terra would be proud of him.

"That is rather unfortunate," Y said keeping her smile. It was, but at the same time, he was growing so well, so quickly. "But he's got a good plan in place. He's going to lead Sora to the truth." Y said. She kept her eyes on Mickey, who was staring at the ground. He looked up at her in confusion.

"The truth?" Mickey asked. Y nodded.

"Yes, the truth about Roxas," she said. She looked away and rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know when exactly. We haven't spoken on exact details." She chuckled again and looked back at Mickey.

"What's this got to do with me?" Mickey asked. Y sighed turning away and pacing a few steps back.

"My master, he thinks that the Organization is after Kingdome Hearts, and he wants to be sure we're all on the same page," Y explained reaching out and pressing her hand into the bark of one of the trees.

"Kingdom Hearts? Do ya mean the place Ansem tried to open up?" Mickey asked. Y frowned and shook her head.

"No, not exactly," she said. She glanced over her shoulder at Mickey. He was clearly confused, his mouth slightly opened. She laughed a little and looked away again. "There are multiple versions, so to speak. That was the Heart of Worlds," she explained.

"Then, what version is the Organization after?" Mickey asked.

"The Heart of Men. A slightly more difficult version to summon, but the number of keyblade wielders as of late have actually made it much easier to assemble," she turned back to Mickey leaning against the tree, her hands behind her back.

"And this version, what does it look like?" Mickey asked.

"A heart-shaped moon," Y answered. She watched Mickey's face fall visibly. She smiled softly as he looked away to the ground. Maybe he really did remember what had happened to them.

"Oh no," he said softly.

"It's not that one," Y said. Mickey looked up at her in shock.

"Huh?" he asked. Y offered a smile and looked up to the sky. The reds were starting to appear. The bright orange was streaked with lines of red. Soon the moon would take to the sky.

"It's not blue," Y said. There was a slight pause between them. Y assumed Mickey was watching her waiting for her to explain herself. She didn't though. She wondered if they would be here long enough to see the first star. That would make this worth the effort.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Mickey asked. Y shrugged looking back down at him. She hoped maybe he would realize who she was. But she doubted it would happen at this point. Even with losing her heart she hadn't changed that much. Though she had changed more than X had.

"Good guess," Y said softly. She took in a steadying breath. Her chest was heavy, like a stone had taken the place of her heart. "If you combined the Heart of all Worlds and the Heart of all Men, then you'd get the true Kingdom Hearts. The one Xehanort tried to summon all those years ago," she explained. She didn't realize what she had said until it was too late. She looked away, her face flushing red.

"How, how do you know about that?" Mickey asked. He took a step towards Y. She felt her face grow warm. She shouldn't have said much past what DiZ had asked her too. The Organization was operating in a world that hung in the in-between like Castle Oblivion, and they were searching for Kingdom Hearts. Sora needed to be ready to fight them. He needed to be able to keep fighting no matter what they said. She had only covered one topic and was not looking like she would get much farther.

"Xehanort, he did a lot of damage," Y said simply. Mickey nodded and looked down for a moment. He looked back up at Y with a frown.

"You know hearing the name out of you, it really is kinda scary. You look a lot like an old friend of mine," Mickey said. Y smiled and nodded. He really did know.

"I know," Y said. Mickey looked up at her confused again.

"Huh?" Mickey asked.

"It really has been a long time hasn't it Mickey. What eleven years? Give or take a month or two," Y said. She looked away from him and rubbed the upper part of her arm. She glanced at Mickey out of the corner of her eye. He was staring at her with his mouth agape. Y guessed he really didn't know what happened to her. She didn't remember seeing him during the fight. But she had been focused on X.

"Y?" Mickey asked. Y nodded and looked back at him, still keeping her soft smile.

"The very same," she confirmed. She frowned as she looked down at herself. "Well, mostly."

"But, your brother, he-" Mickey said.

"Ripped my heart out of my chest," Y finished for him looking back up at  Mickey. "Yeah. That he did," she said looking away.

"So you're," Mickey began trailing off quickly, looking away to the ground. Y didn't finish his thought for him this time. "You're not really human anymore," he said looking back at Y. Y nodded again.

"I'm a Heartless. Just like my brother," Y said. Mickey raised his keyblade again stepping back away from Y. His eyes hardened as he looked at her. Y supposed she should have watched her wording. After X had told her his story, she knew X and Mickey had not met on great terms on any occasion.

"Then, how do I know I can trust you?" Mickey asked. Y frowned and looked down. That was a good question. She knew it was one she should have expected, especially when she was so willing to admit what she was. She didn't have a good answer off hand. She knew she was the same, but she couldn't really prove it to him.

"Do I seem that different to you?" Y asked. Mickey looked at her in shock, lowering his keyblade.

"Well, no," Mickey said.

"When I saw X the first time. He was obviously different," Y said. He had seemed so strange and foreign. Like an entirely different person was in her brother's body. And she had brushed aside until it was too late to save him. "I knew there was something wrong with him. I get the feeling. If we change at all, you can always just kinda tell," she explained.

"Well, I hope you're right," Mickey said banishing his keyblade. "I'm going to trust you." Y smiled.

"Thanks," She said closing her eyes for a brief moment.

"So, what happened to the other three? Do you know?" Mickey asked. Y frowned and nodded looking down.

"Yeah. I think you know too," she said softly. Mickey frowned and looked down. Y could see his mind working in overdrive. It was probably the last thing he expected, one of his friends being a Heartless.

"I wish we had a way to save them," Mickey said before looking back to Y. "I've seen Aqua," he admitted. Y looked up quickly with wide eyes.

"You have?" Y asked.

"Uh-huh. When I was in the Realm of Darkness I saw her," Mickey answered. Y let out a soft breath and looked back down.

"I used to look all the time. I never found her there," Y said. X had once. It hadn't ended well for him. He had been hurt. And Aqua, well, Y didn't know. She had run before Y could get there.

"I'm sure she's ok. Aqua's got a strong light," Mickey said. Y nodded.

"Yeah. You're right," Y agreed. There were few who had as strong of a light as Aqua. "But I still want to save her. I want to save all of them," Y insisted, her fist tightening at her side.

"I'm sure we can one day," Mickey said.

"Right," Y said. "One day."

One day couldn't come soon enough.

*<3*

Yuki paced the empty white room of Castle Oblivion her hands pulling at her hair as she held her eyes tightly closed holding in the tears the threatened to spill over. She didn't need to watch where she was going. She knew. She had paced the same path for what seemed like hours to her, dragging on and on as she fought a war within her own mind. She knew Naminé was watching her, but she couldn't be sure of from where anymore. She had lost track of which direction was which.

"I don't want to remember him. I don't, I don't," Yuki said shaking her head again as she walked.

"Yuki," Naminé said softly. She had watched Yuki pace for quite some time at this point, though this was the first she was speaking.

"Why is this so hard!? Why do I have to choose between them? They're both my friends, why do I have to tell Roxas he can't exist!? Why does it have to be Sora?" Yuki asked her voice steadily rising. She didn't expect an answer. No one could have an answer to such questions.

"Yuki, please," Naminé said stepping towards Yuki as she turned again to retread the same path.

"How am I supposed to do this!? Everything just falls apart every time! I lost my sister and Riku and Sora! Now I have to lose Roxas and Axel and Xion and X and Y! I'm going to lose you! What if I get them back and I just lose them again! What did I do to deserve this!? " Yuki asked, shouting at this point.

"Yuki!" Naminé said as loudly as she could muster. Yuki froze opening her eyes and looking in the direction of the blonde Nobody. She slowly lowered her gaze leaning back against the wall she stood beside.

"Sorry," Yuki said. She sighed as she slid down the wall leaning her head to look up at the ceiling. She pulled her knees tightly to her chest as she sat on the floor. "Sorry. I'm just tired of losing people," she said burying her face in her knees. Naminé sighed and walked over to Yuki sitting beside her on the wall.

"You haven't lost anyone yet," Naminé said softly.

"I haven't?" Yuki asked with a bitter chuckle. "It seems to me I've lost everyone," she said.

"As long as you remember them, you never lose them. And even if you forget, as long as the links of the chain of memories still exist in your heart, then you haven't lost them. Forgotten maybe, but not lost," Naminé said. Yuki frowned and looked at Naminé. She was looking at the ceiling of the room, her blue eyes not looking at Yuki. It looked like she was trying to remember something important herself.

"Forgotten but not lost?" Yuki asked. Naminé nodded.

"It's what Sora learned here," she said. Yuki frowned and looked away. Naminé hadn't said much on what Sora had done in the Castle. She rarely really acknowledged anything that had happened in this castle before she and Yuki had decided to hide here.

If Sora learned forgotten didn't mean lost, what else had he learned. Who had he forgotten? Did it really matter? How could you not lose something you had forgotten? Yuki reached into her pocket and pulled out the seashell. It was the same type of seashell Kairi used to bring home from the beach all the time. The kind she said one day she was going to turn into a lucky charm if she could find some that matched enough for her. She had brought Yuki a pure white one once. It would probably still be in Yuki's old room back on the island if she went to look for it.

Did Xion have some tie to Kairi too? Yuki frowned, everyone had forgotten Xion. But, if what Naminé said was true, then even if Yuki was the only one to remember her she wasn't lost. Was that some subtle clue they could save her?

"So what about Xion?" Yuki asked. Naminé tilted her head to the side looking at Yuki. Yuki chuckled and shook her head. "Right, everyone else forgot her," Yuki said.

"But you didn't?" Naminé asked. Yuki nodded.

"It's either that or I made her up. At this point, I'm sure that's in the cards," Yuki said. She wrapped her hand around the seashell, the only thing left of her. It was so strange to think the others could so easily dismiss her memories, lose them to the depths of their minds. Could that happen to any one of them?

"She was someone important to you?" Naminé asked. Yuki nodded.

"Yeah, one of my best friends. But she had to die for Sora to wake up too," she said. She sighed heavily pulling her knees as tightly as she could to her chest and lowering her head, her hair acting as a curtain that hid her from view. "This would be so much easier if I didn't remember Sora," she said. Then she could act. Then she could have taken his heart and saved Roxas like she had wanted to.

"If you didn't remember him, you would kill him, only to one day realize who he was and regret your actions," Naminé said. Yuki looked up at her slowly. "You would really lose everyone then."

"Is this a guess, or something you know?" Yuki asked, tilting her head slightly.

"A little of both," Naminé said. She gave Yuki a soft smile. Yuki sighed, finding herself smiling softly too. Naminé always seemed to know what to say. She knew how to calm Yuki's mind even better than her friends had been able to.

"Alright, what do I do then?" Yuki asked.

"What do you want to do?" Naminé asked. Yuki sighed and pushed herself to her feet.

"I want to save everyone. Roxas, Xion, you," she answered. She held her hand out to Naminé. Naminé took her hand slowly, her head tilted to the side curiously.

"Me?" Naminé asked. Yuki nodded as she pulled her to her feet.

"It's not a secret you're not going to be around much longer the way things are going. How do I save you? How do I save all of you?" Yuki asked. Naminé smiled softly her hands going behind her back.

"I think you know where to start," she said. Yuki sighed heavily, her hand running through her hair.

"Right. This whole queen thing," she said. Naminé nodded, causing Yuki to sigh heavily yet again. "Alright then, I guess it's back to work," she said turning to the center of the room. She called her keys to her hand. She felt more confident with them in her hands, more prepared to face whatever challenges she was presented with.

She had learned quickly how to manage the smaller Heartless. But with no teacher getting farther than that was proving to be very difficult. The last time she had tried with anything much bigger, well, it didn't end so well for the Heartless.

Naminé watched from the sidelines as Yuki called Phoenix to her. The great black and white bird settled on the floor its head lowered so it was eye level with Yuki. Yuki brushed her hand over its beak, smiling as it chirped at her. Yuki could understand what those chirps meant, though Naminé couldn't. It was a good starting place for Yuki, somewhere she knew she had control.

"One day, you'll have to come to terms with our fate," Naminé said softly. Yuki hadn't heard her, but that was alright. It wasn't something Yuki was ready to hear. "Because without Sora, you can't begin what must be done. Sora is the key, you have to accept that."