Castles seemed to be a common theme in every world they had been to. X looked around the gear-filled room, a place specifically meant for Gummi ship docking. It looked almost like it was overdone, more there than needed to be. The grind of the gears filled the room with more sound than necessary.

"So this is your castle," Sora said as he looked around. "Must be nice to be home, huh?" He asked turning back to Donald and Goofy. The two were looking around, their hands over their mouths. "Well," Sora prompted when they didn't answer him.

"You know, somethin' just don't feel quite right," Goofy said.

"Yeah," Donald agreed. X couldn't think what it was. This world seemed to be like any other. He could feel some kind of darkness, but compared to other worlds it actually seemed like a small amount. Not at all the usual. Was the world supposed to have even less darkness?

X was pulled from his thoughts by two chipmunks sliding down the railing to stand in front of the group on top of some kind of gear stack. They wore aprons and had spots of grease on their fur. It took X only a moment to recognize them. They had been the two he and Terra had met in the town. The ones who needed Unversed chased off the race track. He looked away, hoping they wouldn't recognize him. He didn't want to have to explain that.

"You're back!" the black nosed chipmunk said jumping up. X remembered he had been called Chip the last time he had been here. The only one whose name he really knew.

"Move it! Let's go!" the other chipmunk ordered motioning up the stairs to the rest of the castle.

"Queen Minnie needs to see you!" Chip explained.

"The castle's in danger! Hurry! To the library!" the other said.

He didn't need to say anything more to have the group rushing through the castle to the library following the two chipmunks. Inside the library was bright, like everything else in the castle. The walls were covered in bookshelves that reached the ceiling. They were needlessly tall. X had a feeling no one had been able to look at the books on the top shelves for a long time. A desk was in the center of the room and a dog bed as well. Beside the desk was the queen mouse, Queen Minnie as the chipmunks had said.

"Your Majesty! Queen Minnie! We're back!" Donald announced as they entered the room. She turned to them quickly, her hands pressing together in front of her.

"You're here!" she said happily.

"Your Royal Highness, did ya happen to summon us?" Goofy asked. Queen Minnie nodded.

"Yes," she said.

"Where's the King?" Sora asked putting his hands behind his head. X sighed heavily putting his hand in his face. Donald jumped up, grabbing Sora's ear and pulling him down closer to his level.

"Excuse him. This is our friend, Sora," Donald introduced. Sora brushed him off, managing to pull himself free of Donald's hold.

"Oh, Sora! The King told me all about you in his letters. He said you're a very brave young man," Queen Minnie said smiling at Sora. Sora smiled in return, rubbing his ear where Donald had grabbed it.

"So, do you know where he is?" Sora asked. Queen Minnie shook her head, lips pursed together in a frown. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all sighed slumping forward. X rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to do next.

"Oh, we should introduce you to X too. He's our guide from Master Yen Sid," Goofy said looking up suddenly. X jumped a little looking at the group, who no longer looked so down, they were all looking at X now. He turned to Queen Minnie who smiled at him and chuckled.

"It's been a long time since you've come to visit," Queen Minnie said.

"Indeed it has your majesty," X said bowing slightly to the queen. He hadn't expected her to remember him. He had hardly spoken to her. In fact, he didn't think he had said anything to her. Only spoken to Terra. "I hope you forgive my intrusion again."

"You know the queen!?" Donald shouted jumping back from X. He nodded, cringing back from the excessive loudness.

"We met very briefly while a fri-" he paused for a moment before continuing. "While someone I knew was helping in the town."

"Whatever happened to those four? Mickey never seemed to know for sure," Queen Minnie asked.

"It's a long and difficult story. I think there are problems that must be addressed first," X said quickly motioning back to the other three with him. He could feel their eyes on him. The same looks he always managed to pull from them. Questions they won't ask out loud, though they certainly should.

"Your Majesty, what are the Heartless doing in your castle?" Donald asked.

"Oh my... So those are the Heartless," Queen Minnie said looking around. The room was empty of Heartless, but the castle must have been filled for her to call for help.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of 'em!" Sora said proudly, placing his hands behind his head as he grinned broadly. X was again struck with how much he seemed to be like Ventus. The similarities seemed only to be mounting the longer he knew Sora.

"I know I can count on you, Sora. Now, there's something I'd like all of you to come and see. Would you please escort me to the audience chamber?" Queen Minnie asked. The group all saluted, standing straighter than they had been previously. The queen laughed, but it quickly turned into a gasp. "I forgot to warn everyone else in the castle about the danger! We must be sure they're hidden somewhere safe!"

"Ok, we'll go tell them!" Sora said.

"The whole castle!?" Donald complained.

"We just gotta split up, Donald," Goofy said calmly.

"I'll make sure that everyone knows what's going on," Sora said. X sighed hiding his hand in his face. Great optimism, but not a great plan.

"Sora, if either of us tried that, we'd just get lost," X said earning Sora's attention. "We can stay with the queen while Donald and Goofy search the castle." He nodded at the two in question who both nodded in agreement.

"Good," Donald said.

"All righty then, see ya later!" Goofy said. He and Donald quickly left the room off to search the castle. X wasn't sure how long it would take, nor did he know how many people were in the castle. The town hadn't seemed to have all that many people in it, so the castle had to be similar.

"Um, the audience chamber, right, ma'am?" Sora asked. Queen Minnie nodded.

"Yes, Sora. Let's be on our way," she agreed.

The queen pointed the way for the most part. The castle was relatively straight forward, they had passed through the hall that led to the audience chamber, they had walked past the doors while going to the library. The halls were filled with Heartless, and all seemed intent on attacking the queen. Fortunately, unlike the other times X had to guide someone, the queen was capable of fighting on her own. Though she didn't fight as much as Sora and X did, her magic attacks were powerful enough to clear out Heartless from the immediate area.

They soon were in front of the doors to the audience chamber. X kept his back turned to the door watching for more Heartless as the queen and Sora opened the door. The Heartless were giving them a wide berth, kept back by X's glare.

"Just one moment," Queen Minnie said. There was a sound that X had learned was barrier magic of some kind being brought down. "As soon as the trouble started, I made sure to seal this room. Now then...shall we?" she asked. There was the sound of a door opening. X turned to see a small door opened in the bottom of a much larger door.

They entered the room slowly. X glanced around with a frown. The air felt heavy, like there was something else in the room with them. Glancing up, X froze calling his daggers to his hands. The queen and Sora both stopped looking back at him. Their eyes followed his and soon Sora had his keyblade in his hands.

"Not here, too!" Queen Minnie gasped, as she saw the Heartless descending from the ceiling.

"I got 'em," Sora said racing into the Heartless group. X stayed beside the queen, keeping the Heartless from doing her harm before she could show them whatever it was.

"Come on, gimme a break!" Sora complained from across the room. The queen was now at the throne, X standing at the foot of the steps that led up to it. Sora was surrounded by Heartless, clearly about to be overwhelmed. A sudden rumbling sound had X whipping his head around. The throne was receding back from its position. A strange glow was escaping from underneath it.

A bright flash of light burned X's eyes as he attempted to look away. The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared. When X opened his eyes the Heartless were all gone, the room completely empty. Sora stood looking around in awe.

"Whoa..." Sora said looking around as he joined X at the foot of the stairs.

"The room below is called the 'Hall of the Cornerstone.' Our castle has always been safe from worlds that are evil thanks to the Cornerstone of Light which we keep down there," Queen Minnie explained.

"The Cornerstone of Light?" X asked looking down the stairs in the floor. He had heard of that before, somewhere. A great power to have under your control, something that could ward off most of the smaller Heartless. That would easily explain why the queen seemed so surprised to see Heartless.

The queen led the way down to the Hall of the Cornerstone. X immediately saw what was wrong. The room, though bright, had dark thorns growing around the great glowing orb that had to be the Cornerstone. Minnie came to a halt not far from the Cornerstone waiting patiently for Donald and Goofy to arrive. When they did she began her explanation.

"This is the castles cherished Cornerstone. But look. The thorns, they must be the work of something very evil. I wonder what this could mean," she said. Before anyone could suggest an explanation a pillar of green flames appeared beside the Cornerstone. When the flames died down, the figure of Maleficent stood. X paled seeing the fairy, one he hadn't seen in some time. At least not where she could see him.

"Maleficent!" Donald said in shock.

"No way!" Sora gasped.

"You have got to be kidding me," X muttered under his breath. He seemed to be walking through a minefield of old acquaintances. And none of them seemed to be very helpful to him. Sooner or later Sora would suspect him. If not Sora one of the others.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? If it isn't the wretched Keyblade holder, and his pitiful lackeys!" Maleficent said. X felt her eyes land on him and narrow. A smirk spread across her face as she recognized him, X glared at her, hoping to keep her silent.

"What!? Now you're gonna deal with me!" Donald snapped. He jumped at Maleficent, but passed right through her. X frowned. She couldn't fully step foot here yet.

"All in good time. I promise you'll be able to partake of my vengeance. But you must be patient," Maleficent said, not turning her attention to  Donald who was pushing himself up behind her.

"Just what are you doing here, Maleficent!?" Queen Minnie demanded, stepping forward her fist clenched in anger.

"Ah, Queen Minnie. Radiant as always," Maleficent said with a bow. The smirk plastered on her face suggested the bow was far from respectful, but X supposed he would expecting too much for respect from this fairy. "I'm here on a property venture. I want this castle for my own. However, it's a bit too 'bright' for what I have in mind. I suppose I'll just have to fill every room with my personal touch of darkness," she explained turning to the Cornerstone. She reached out to touch it but was unable to, her hand being pushed back by an invisible force.

"You'd better stop right now if you know what's good for you," Queen Minnie warned. Maleficent laughed.

"Ooh, how frightening. Very well. I'll stop...just as soon as the castle belongs to me!" She spread her arms out and was engulfed in her green flames. An evil cackle remained in the air as the fire faded leaving nothing to show she had been there.

"What a hag," Sora said as he crossed his arms. X chuckled looking away.

"Not my first choice description but I suppose that works too," he said turning back to Sora. Sora grinned back at X, seeming to catch on what he meant.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before. I looked through all the records in the library, but I couldn't find a single clue," Queen Minnie said worriedly. The group fell silent trying to decide what to do next.

"Ohhh! We should go ask somebody who knows lotsa stuff that ain't in any book!" Goofy said suddenly, pulling the others out of their thoughts. X wasn't certain who that meant. He was sure there were plenty of people who fit that bill.

"Merlin the wizard!" Donald suggested.

"Yes! That's perfect! Merlin just might know something about this mess. Let's ask his advice!" Queen Minnie agreed.

"We saw him in Hollow Bastion, right?" Goofy asked. Sora nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go," he said. X rubbed the back of his head. As fun as it sounded to go on another adventure to Hollow Bastion, it didn't seem like a good idea to leave the castle unattended. Too much was going wrong, and Maleficent wasn't likely to give up.

"I'm going to stay here and be sure nothing happens while you guys are gone," X said. Sora turned to X, thinking for just a moment. He smiled and nodded.

"Right, be sure to protect the queen," he said. X chuckled and saluted to Sora.

"On it."

Though he had said he would protect the queen X and the queen didn't leave the room at all, making it unnecessary to protect her. He could feel her casting him unsure looks every so often. Like she wanted to ask him something but for some reason was unable o say it. Likely, it was something about the ones who were gone now. X only leaned against the wall picking at the underside of his nails with his dagger.

Beside the Cornerstone, a puff of smoke appeared. X jumped hissing as his dagger sliced his finger. He quickly stuck the finger into his mouth sucking off the blood as he glared at the group who had just appeared. Merlin stood with the other three, Donald in mid-sentence.

"Perhaps I'd better just see for myself," Merlin said as he approached the Cornerstone. He paced around it, inspecting every inch as he did. X sighed joining the group, muttering a healing spell as he did. "Mm-hmm...interesting..." Merlin said.

"What's happening Merlin?" Queen Minnie asked.

"This is not good. In fact, I'm afraid, it's quite serious," Merlin said stepping back. He cleared his throat rolling up his sleeves. With a wave of his arms, a door appeared in front of him. It was a simple white door, with nothing but a grey fleur de lies on top in the molding.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"My boy, that is a gateway to a special world. Someone in that world is responsible for what's going on in this castle. Of that, I'm certain," Merlin explained turning to face Sora.

"Oh boy!" Donald said excitedly.

"Then we should go get him!" Sora said as he approached the door. He went to pull open the door, only to be stopped by Merlin.

"Wait a moment! The perpetrators must be stopped, of course. But there's something else to do first," he said gaining Sora's attention. Sora stopped with his hand on the handle looking over his shoulder at Merlin. "Somewhere in that world, there should be another door that's identical to this one. I believe our enemies are utilizing that door. As long as it remains open, the castle will be in grave danger. Listen carefully, Sora. You must find that door. And when you do--lock it with your keyblade," Merlin said while he had Sora's attention. Sora nodded in understanding.

"Got it," he said.

"You can count on us!" Donald said, giving a sort of salute to the older wizard.

"Now, one more thing. You're heading into a very special world. While you're there, the nature of that world may tempt you to do something dark. You must resist that temptation at all costs!" Merlin warned.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked tilting his head to the side. X frowned looking at the door with new interest. He hadn't thought much of the special nature of the door, but hearing that worried him. There could be something very dangerous through that door. Something he didn't want to face.

"You'll know soon enough. I have faith in you, my lads!" Merlin said. X shot Merlin a nervous glance before looking at Sora with an eyebrow raised. Sora didn't react, turning to the door and pulling it open. He stepped into the door, disappearing to the other side they couldn't see. Donald and Goofy followed him without a second thought. X stood at the edge of the door. He had a bad feeling about where this led, but seeing no other choice he took a deep breath and stepped through the door.

They landed in a pile on the other side of the door. X groaned as he pushed himself up. Luckily being the last one through meant he was not crushed under the other three. Looking around, he knew there was something wrong. Everything was monochrome, the color drained from everything. Looking down X saw his own hand seemed off.

"Hey, look! There's the Cornerstone of Light!" Goofy said. Looking up X saw the Cornerstone, sitting on a hill with nothing around it. Sora approached it looking at his hands and the world around him.

"What's going on? Everything's black and white," Sora pointed out. X glanced at Donald and Goofy, both of whom looked just as strange as Sora did.

"Hey, this is kinda like...um..oh..." Donald said trailing off as he tried to think of the word.

"Deja vu?" Goofy suggested.

"Yeah, that's it!" Donald agreed. X frowned as he continued to look around. Everything around them had changed, but they were still near the Cornerstone. Which should have been in the castle. Unless there was more than one Cornerstone. X dismissed the possibility, crossing his arms and tapping his chin.

"Really? Have you been here before?" Sora asked. X's frown deepened as he continued running through possibilities. It could have been an alternate reality, but that was a long shot. There had to be an explanation. His eyes widened as he reached his conclusion, though it was as crazy as everything else he had thought of.

"It's a door to the past," he muttered. He glanced up to the group looking to see if they had drawn the same conclusion, or even if they had just heard him. They instead were focused on the appearance of a cat wearing overalls. The cat was large, much like the one they had fought previously. In fact, with all the strange things that were happening to them, it had the possibility of being the same person.

"Hey, you! Seen any bad guys around here?" the cat asked approaching them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all pointed toward the cat. X gave a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"Why I oughta..." the cat said rolling up his sleeves as if about to pick a fight. X prepared to move, regardless of if this was an enemy or not he couldn't let Sora be attacked. "Bah! I don't have time to waste on punks like you! So, I guess I'll go easy on ya!" he decided, turning and walking away from them towards what was likely the water.

"Well, there's our villain," Sora said, turning to Donald and Goofy. X frowned.

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. Let's just see what he's up to," X suggested. The group went to the docks, easily locating the cat again. They were easily spotted by the cat, who was quickly angered.

"What's with you squirts? You got some kinda bone to pick with me?" the cat snapped turning on them.

"More than one!" Sora snapped back, waving his fist. X deadpanned at Sora.

"Them's fighting words!" the cat said pulling back his fists. X tried to step between the two. There was no need for a fight.

"Ok, no need for that. Sora, I thought we discussed jumping to conclusions." X said shooting Sora a glare. Sora frowned and stepped back. There was a sharp whistle gaining the attention of the group. X wasn't too familiar with boats, but his brief memory suggested the whistle might have had something to do with a boat.

"Huh?" the cat said jumping to his feet. He turned to go back toward the hill they had been on but was stopped by the trio. X sighed heavily as they drew their weapons.

It was only a few moments before a full fight broke out. X attempted several times to get the groups attention, but it was not working well. Sighing heavily he crossed his arms and tapped his foot. He had already called Sora's name several times, insulted Donald and Goofy, and called out their very obvious attack patterns. None of which seemed to stop them.

"I'm just the guy Yen Sid sent to keep you in line. Not like my word means anything," X muttered to himself, still waiting for the fight to end. Maybe he should step in, get in between them. Of course, that might make it seem to them that he was siding with the bad guy, which he didn't want.

Before he could make a decision the fight ended. The cat was on the ground glaring up at the trio.

"What's you punks' beef with me anyway? Hmm, who are ya? You new around here?" the cat asked holding himself up with his arms. Sora spun his keyblade and pointed it down at the cat.

"Cut the act," Sora said. In the distance, they heard the whistle again. The cat cried in shock and tried to get up, quickly falling over again as his back seemed to give out. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all frowned at the action.

"You know, somethin' doesn't seem quite right, here. Are you sure you're Pete?" Goofy asked. X made a mental note that the cat finally had been given a name. It had been getting annoying not really knowing what was going on. X would have to have Jiminey fill him in on everything later. He was missing too many details.

"Well, of course I'm Pete. I'm the captain of the steamboat. So stop botherin' me, see?" Pete complained waving his fist at them. His back gave a loud snap causing him to collapse onto the ground again. He didn't stop in his rant, however, and propped himself up. "So hit the road! I gotta go find the little runt what stole my boat!"

"Gawrsh, maybe we made a mistake," Goofy said turning to the group, his hand covering his mouth as if to keep Pete from hearing him.

"I'm starting to think the same thing. He hasn't even called any Heartless," Sora whispered in agreement. X sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That's what I tried telling you from the start," he said. Sora looked at him with a pout nodding slowly. Usually, he would have listened to X. But it seemed he had decided not to for some reason. X didn't think Sora had reason to disregard what he was saying. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe Sora was starting to add the pieces together and realize X was not exactly who he claimed to be. X pushed down the thought, Sora would have said something then, he wasn't subtle.

"Sorry we attacked ya like that, Capt'n Pete," Goofy said turning back to Pete, who had finally managed to bring himself back to his feet. He huffed crossing his arms.

"Oh yeah? Well, if you're really sorry, then go find my steamboat," Pete demanded.

"Y-yes, sir!" Sora agreed.

"Not a problem," X said calmly. They turned away going back to the hill the Cornerstone rested on. Behind them, X heard Pete complaining about his back as he went toward the docks. The group formed a small circle beside the Cornerstone. Sora frowned his arms crossed.

"I thought for sure Pete was the bad guy," Sora said.

"Aw, that would be too easy," Donald said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Donald's right," X said, words he never thought he'd say, as he looked over his shoulder at the Cornerstone to be sure it was still there. "Nothing is ever as simple as it first seems."

"C'mon, fellas. Let's try to find that steamboat," Goofy said. Sora sighed dropping his arms.

"I guess we did say we would..." he said trailing off.

"Hey, we've got a door to find!" Donald said putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, yeah!" Sora said jumping up.

"So we multi-task," X said simply, motioning with one hand while the other rested on his hip. Donald ignored him, looking around the immediate area. X rolled his eyes dropping his arm.

"I don't see any doors," Donald said.

"Huh? What's this?" Sora asked. X glanced over to see Sora in front of a window of sorts with a curtain hanging over it making it seem like a stage. This really wouldn't have been so strange if it hadn't been floating in mid-air. "I can't see a thing." He reached out and pulled on a drawstring beside the window. X flinched, almost certain the window was about to explode. He was surprised when all that happened was the curtains parting.

The window played a short video. X didn't catch all of it in great detail as he stood trying to look over Sora's shoulder, which required a long time on the tip of his toes. But he saw a set of doors and Heartless, followed by what looked like them being spit out by the white door Merlin had created.

"What was that?" Sora asked as the curtains closed.

"Heartless goin' out," Goofy said.

"And us, coming in," Donald finished.

"What does it mean?" Sora asked. Donald reached up and pulled on the string again, but nothing happened this time. A one time only deal then. X glanced over his shoulder surprised to see a set of doors was now behind them. He tapped Sora's shoulder and nodded at the doors.

"Let's get rid of those Heartless!" Sora said.

"Then what'll we do?" Goofy asked.

"We'll worry about that later!" Sora said leading the way into the first door.

The first door led to a construction site of some kind. Heartless seemed to be wreaking havoc. A small thin mouse seemed to be the only one trying to fight off the Heartless. Or perhaps he was the only one who couldn't escape. It took X a moment to realize that the mouse was the King they were searching for. And he only realized because the other three made several remarks.

It took only a few moments to get rid of all the Heartless. After they were all gone Mickey ran up to Sora and wrung his hand quickly, shaking Sora's entire arm. Mickey then preceded to run off and wave to them before disappearing. X blinked a few times staring where the King had vanished. He had to have missed something.

Before X could ask he heard the sounds of another set of curtains opening. Looking back X saw Sora and the other two in front of another window. X didn't see any of the video it showed, which X suspected was some kind of memory, but he heard both Maleficent and Pete. It sounded like some kind of argument.

The group returned to Cornerstone hill scratching their heads at the current situation.

"What--?" Sora asked. He stopped seeming to realize he had no idea what he wanted to ask. There were far too many questions.

"Somebody sure was angry," Goofy said.

"I don't understand," Donald said.

"Does anyone?" X asked.

"Let's just try to clear out the Heartless first. This place is ok, but we've got three more spots to check," he said, turning to the other three doors.

The next door led to a mini town they had to protect from the Heartless with the help of the same Mickey as before. Completing the task was easy and soon Mickey was wringing Sora's hand and running away again. They again saw a window and were shown some kind of memory. This memory showed a door very much like the one Merlin created appearing before Pete.

They had a short conversation trying to piece together what they could, but it was clear without more they wouldn't really have a chance of figuring things out. They continued through to the next door, which led to a building on fire. They took out the Heartless there and saved the building. Mickey once again helped them and ran off as soon as the job was done. Once again they saw a memory, this one of Maleficent being shown the door by Pete.

"Maleficent!" Donald said in shock.

"She must have known all along!" Sora said.

"Let's see...if that door's connected to the past..." Goofy said looking at his hands as he tried to figure things out. X frowned. He had already mentioned that they were likely in the past, but it seemed they had ignored that small detail.

"No, no, no! It comes here," Donald said, shaking his head.

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"Then that means we're in the past!" Goofy said.

"Are you guys just not listening to me today?" X asked.

"Wow. If we're in the past," Sora said looking between Donald and Goofy.

"We can change the future!" Donald finished excitedly. X sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Yup, not listening," X said to himself.

"Hold on, fellas! Remeber what Merlin said? He's got faith in us. And we have to resist temptation no matter what!" Goofy said. Donald turned away crossing his arms.

"Aw, I was only joking," he said.

"Who'd want to change the future anyway?" Sora asked. He turned away putting his hands behind his head. X looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Sora smiled briefly catching sight of his look before dropping his arms and returning to the matter at hand. "So, what are we gonna do?"

"Doors, bad guys. Gawrsh, my brain hurts!" Goofy said, putting his head in his hand for emphasis.

"Well, we know we're on the right track!" Donald said.

There was one more door they had to go through. This time it was stopping Mickey and everything else in the room from being swallowed by a black hole that was for some ungodly reason in the middle of the room all while fighting off Heartless. After finishing the task and Mickey giving his usual goodbye they were able to see the last memory, which revealed Maleficent had ordered Pete to destroy the Cornerstone, and Pete deciding to steal his own boat from the past version of himself.

"It was Pete after all!" Sora said.

"Why, he tricked us!" Donald said angrily. X frowned crossing his arms.

"I'm not so sure about that," he said. The Pete they had met seemed to be looking for a bost that was missing. Perhaps stolen by the future version of himself. X rubbed his temple in annoyance. Time travel was a headache.

"Still, something doesn't seem right," Goofy said.

"Hmm, the Pete we met here had kind of an attitude, but he didn't seem like a bad guy," Sora said crossing his arms behind his head again. X nodded in agreement.

"Look!" Donald said suddenly pointing. Standing by the path to the waterway was Pete, who looked much more like the version they were used to.

"Now that castle's as good as ours!" Pete said with a laugh before disappearing down the path. X frowned. Why did he still look the same?

"That's the Pete we know!" Sora said.

"Bad, bad, bad!" Donald agreed.

"Oh no!" Goofy said pointing to the Cornerstone. Or, where the Cornerstone had been. The hill was now empty, no sign of the light orb that had been there only seconds before.

"The Cornerstone's gone!" Sora cried in shock. X looked from the waterway path to where the Cornerstone had been and back again. This repeated a few times as his mind raced.

"How did we miss that?" X asked.

"But that means," Donald said. His voice trailed off as he seemed to realize what that meant.

"They're gonna fill the castle with darkness! We gotta hurry!" Goofy said.

The group ran to the waterway. They encountered Pete, but this was the same one they had met earlier. Or at least it looked like the same one. X was no longer sure what was going on in this world.

"Hey, hold it right there!" Sora ordered drawing his keyblade.

"No way, small fry! I finally found the pipsqueak what stole my steamboat!" Pete snapped back.

"Yeah! It was you!" Donald said pointing to Pete.

"Right, me!" Pete agreed, pointing at himself. It took him a moment to realize he had made a mistake. "No! NO! It wasn't me! It's just somebody who looks like me!" he insisted, waving his arms. He turned his back on them and went to the water. Sora sighed in exasperation dropping his arms.

"Aw, which is it!?" he asked. With no answer to give X led the way to the waterway. There they found a scene that was enough to confuse them even more, which was seeming to become a challenge. Pete was fighting himself for the steamboat, which had the Cornerstone on a raft behind it.

"The Cornerstone!" Donald yelled.

"After him!" Sora shouted.

"You mugs couldn't follow me if you wanted to!" the Pete of their time yelled as he directed the steamboat downstream. "Later, losers!"

The group quickly began to launch magic at the boat to slow it down and deflected projectiles that Pete threw at them. They managed to knock open the cage holding the Cornerstone, which stopped the entire boat. Pete jumped from the boat and took off running.

"The Cornerstone!" Donald said.

"Donald, we'll come back for it later!" Sora said watching where Pete had run off.

"Pete's heading for the doorway!" Goofy said.

"I'll stand guard over it," X offered. Donald seemed to accept that and the trio chased after Pete.

It wasn't long until they returned, the door locked. X stood back as they apologized to the other Pete. In return Pete allowed them to pilot the boat closer to the Cornerstone hill, where they returned the Cornerstone to.

"I betcha the castle's safe now," Goofy said as they stood back to look at their handy work.

"Guess we should head back," Sora said.

"Wait! As long as we're here," Donald said. He turned to head away from the hill into a town X assumed wasn't too far away.

"Donald!" Sora, X, and Goofy said in unison. Donald stopped in his tracks looking between the three as they drew closer to him.

"Huh? What? No, no, no!"

Sora grabbed onto the back of Donald's shirt and dragged him to the door. He threw Donald through the open door and followed after. X cast one last look around before following Sora back.

They returned back to the castle and with just one look around X could see things were back to normal. At least all the thorns were all gone.

"Welcome back! Because of your bravery, the castle is safe and protected again. Thank you so much for all you've done!" the Queen said clapping her hands together with a bright smile.

"Good work, you guys!" Chip and Dale said jumping up and down.

"Now boys, I hope you didn't do anything reckless while you were there?" Merlin asked crossing his arms. His eyes landed on Donald in a knowing way that made X snicker.

"Of course not!" Donald insisted. Sora and Goofy chuckled while X only snickered again.

A female duck like Donald entered the room. X watched as they had an interaction but he didn't pay it much mind. Only enough to learn the female duck was named Daisy and was someone special to Donald. Though Donald was in trouble with her. While she was chasing Donald around the room Sora performed the lock on the world, opening the gate to the next world.

"Daisy, we need Donald for just a little longer," Sora said, stopping her as Donald hid behind Sora.

"How much longer?" Daisy asked crossing her arms.

"Um, well," Sora said scratching the back of his head.

"I'll be back soon Daisy!" Donald promised coming out of his hiding place.

"Don't you worry, Queen Minnie. We'll return," goofy promised, saluting to the queen.

"Please tell the King that we're still looking for him!" Sora said as they turned to the door.

"I will!" Queen Minnie said.

"See you soon!" Chip and Dale said waving. X guessed they'd see the two of them for something about the Gummi ship sooner or later.

"Think wisely!" Merlin cautioned.

The group finished their goodbyes before heading back to the Gummi ship docks. X fell a little behind the group his hands in his pockets as he watched them walk in front of him. They were laughing and talking, already telling the story of the world they had just seen. Sora loved to recount his journey's almost as soon as they happened. He made mental note to ask him about his journey before this one, the one that started everything for him. That would probably be something Sora would be proud to tell.

Sora and the group suddenly halted, making X almost run into them. Peaking around Sora X saw Chip and Dale panting in front of them, their arms waving to keep their attention.

"Sora! Come quick!" Chip yelled.

"Something bad has happened!" Dale said jumping into the air.

"To the Hall of the Cornerstone! Hurry!" Chip said before he ran off. The group exchanged a quick glance among them before following the chipmunks to the room they had just left. The Queen was nowhere to be seen, probably handling royal matters at this point thinking the trouble had passed.

Beside the Cornerstone was a strange black portal, much like a dark corridor. X slowly approached it the others hanging back. He pushed his hand against it, easily slipping through the dark smoke. The other side had some sort of wind, but X couldn't tell much else as he turned back to the group.

"Look! The Cornerstone of Light! Before you know it, it'll be surrounded!" Chip said.

"I think it could lead somewhere, but..." Dale trailed off. X assumed they didn't want to risk seeing where it led. And he couldn't blame them. He had a bad feeling about what was waiting for them on the other side.

"Do ya think it's connected to that door to the past?" Goofy asked.

"It could be a trap by Organization XIII," Donald suggested. Sora frowned crossing his arms.

"Either way, we should probably check it out," he said. He glanced up to X who nodded and motioned to the black portal.

The group stepped through the portal and were greeted by a gust of wind. X turned, shielding his eyes. The portal closed behind them, blocking off their return. X held back his urge to swear. Turning back he saw the cracked ground that spread out before them. His head snapped around as the others stepped forward looking around.

"Where are we?" Sora asked. A gust of wind engulfed the group in a cloud of dust, their arms coming up to cover their eyes. When the dust was gone they lowered their arms, finding themselves face to face with something they had never seen.

Kneeling on the ground was a suit of armor a large keyblade stabbed into the ground. The armor was bronze and red, the wearers face blocked by a pane of black glass. A cape hung behind him, moving in the gentle wind.

X froze in his tracks, eyes wide and all colored drained from his face. He stepped back, stumbling back from the familiar armor. Armor he knew all too well. His mind whirled with memories that haunted him, practically screaming over top one another.

I'm not sure what that means, but I don't think it's that big of a deal.

Alright, we'll fix that.

Hop on, we'll stick together.

Well, what's your dream?

I assure you, though a dark creature X is not evil.

You know it was wrong, and you want to change it.

Do you ever regret accepting the darkness?

What do you think X?

Nothing. Just asked me to give you up.

I know.

What? X! Why are you doing this!?

The creaking haunting voice echoing out of the armor startled X out of his thoughts. He didn't know when, but he had fallen to his knees, his three new companions standing in front of him with weapons drawn as if to protect him.

"Aqua...Ven...Y..." the voice scratched against the armor, harsh like dust pelting the metal in the never-ending wind storms. Even so, it was still the exact same as X remembered it. "A keyblade...Who are you...? I can feel it. We've met before. When-- No...It isn't you...You're not the one I chose...Why are you not him? Xe...ha...nort--Is that you? Xeha...nort...Xehanort!" The armor pushed itself to its feet pulling its keyblade from the ground. It launched at Sora with a type of fury X had never seen.

He was too much in shock to make any move to help. But it was clear Sora was at the disadvantage. The Lingering Will was hitting him with everything he had. Using the keyblade glider X had sat on the back of many times to run over Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Transforming the keyblade into a canon of sorts that crossed the wasteland easily. It was chaos, and the heroes were losing.

X shook his head forcing himself to his feet. He swayed unsteadily, unable to truly find his footing. He was lucky, the Lingering Will hadn't seemed to notice him yet. It was focused on Sora, who wasn't who it thought he should be.

"This isn't good," X muttered as he watched Sora get thrown into Donald. He could see bruises and a flash of bright red that made his stomach turn. X turned his head away focusing on the armor that was preparing another attack. X swallowed down the bile that had crept up his throat and whistled loudly. "Terra!" The armor stopped and turned to face X slowly, though there were no eyes, X could feel a burning glare from the helmet. "They're not Xehanort. Nothing to do with him."

"You...traitor," the Lingering Will said stepping towards X.

"Yup, that's me, the traitor," X said holding his arms out to the side, showing he was unarmed like he always was when he dared approached the Lingering Will. "Now leave those three alone, it's me you're mad at." He took a step forward, ignoring the looks from Sora and the others. He kept his eyes even, looking at all that was left of who had once been his friend.

"I trusted you... Y..." the Lingering Will said taking another step toward X. The keyblade in his hand shook, from anger or something else X didn't know. And he didn't care. He deserved whatever it was.

"I know," X said softly looking down to the cracked ground. "I know," he repeated. "Come on, give it your best shot."

X didn't move when the armor shot at him. He made no move to defend himself from the harsh blows. His daggers remained hidden away. Rolling across the ground he tasted blood in his mouth, felt it running down his arms and sides. The same place Aqua had hit him the last time they had met. He still didn't move, laying limp on the ground. He stared at the sky waiting for the next blow, that one would surely knock him unconscious. But it never came.

The harsh sound of metal on metal had X glancing up, his vision blurry. Sora was holding back the Lingering Will, pressing their keyblades together. X was covered in a green light as Donald and Goofy joined Sora. He felt his bleeding slow and eventually stop, but the bitter metallic taste lingered.

Sora fought with new vigor, managing to push the Lingering Will back away from X, eventually back to the place he had knelt. The armor stopped staring at Sora, who looked still ready to strike at any moment.

"That's it. Your power," the metallic voice said. "That's what I felt within you." The Lingering Will stabbed its key back into the ground kneeling down again. X slowly pushed himself back to his feet as a dust storm returned and took the Lingering Will away, back to the place it had rested before. The dust storm engulfed the entire group, their eyes closed, but they did not see only blackness.

There was a dark sky with a heart-shaped moon. Four figures in armor fought against a trio, not nearly as armored. There was a flash of each in the armor falling, and the armor they had just fought stabbing its key into the ground. Memories X had hoped to never have to see. The things he had run from.

When they opened their eyes again they were back in the Hall of the Cornerstone. X stumbled a little, bile rising in his throat as he saw the few bloody cuts Sora had. He forced himself to look away and find his footing.

"What, was that?" Sora asked looking to X.

"A long story," X responded.

"You have a lot of those, don't you?" Sora asked softly. X nodded.

"More than I can count," he said.

"So, why don't you tell us that one?" Sora asked taking a step toward X. The blonde boy stepped back quickly, keeping the distance between them. He couldn't force himself to look up. All the words he tried to form died in his throat.

It was a mistake. He was a fool. He was sorry. He was so, so, sorry. That was where everything went wrong. That was why Sora had to fight. He had started it. He shouldn't have been so stupid. He hadn't meant to do it. He was wrong. And he was sorry.

"I can't. Please, just don't ask," X pleaded. Sora nodded looking over his shoulder back to where the portal had been. It was gone now.

"Well, if you can't tell us that one, can you tell us about the Organization? You know them, right?" Sora asked looking back to X.

"I know of them," he confirmed.

"You knew the one in Beast's Castle before Beast said his name," Sora said softly. X was surprised he had noticed, but he held back the comment. "And the one in Hollow Bastion called you a traitor and you agreed. The one in Olympus Coliseum knew you too." Sora listed off. His voice was soft, and far from accusatory. He was only a curious child. But each question struck X in his chest, where his heart was.

"He wasn't wrong, the one in Hollow Bastion," he said. Traitor. That's all he was. Every time. He was a traitor to everyone who mattered. And even those who didn't. It was his nature, to turn on the one who he stood beside.

"If you don't want to tell us that, can you maybe tell us how you knew some of the people we've met. Like Belle, and the Queen. Or Hades?" Sora asked. He was filled with questions. All questions X couldn't stand. Questions that reminded him he was a monster. All the things he had done wrong.

"It's all part of one very long story that Master Yen Sid doesn't think you need to know yet," X said. His gaze was still firmly planted on the ground. He refused to look at Sora. He would break then. He would say everything he didn't want to yet. And lose his ability to help.

"C'mon X, can't you just tell us?" Sora asked. "We're your friends, you can trust us." X held back a laugh.

"Sora, I don't trust anyone."

"What about yourself?" Goofy asked. X scoffed at that.

"Myself least of all," he said. He shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets walking away from the group. "I get it. Trust is a two-way street. I think you guys can manage on your own. I'll see ya around, maybe."

He didn't give them time to respond. He quickly exited the room leaving the group in a state of confused silence. Sora was the first to break out of it, running up the stairs back into the throne room. X was out of sight, despite the immense size of the room.

"How'd he get away so fast?" Sora asked looking around in silent awe.