Yuki did not like waiting. She didn't like not having something to do while she waited. Her thoughts would get too loud when she wasn't busy. And she didn't think she could handle those thoughts right now. Not with everything that had happened. Not with losing Axel, and seeing Roxas only to watch him fade away. And losing Naminé. It was all too much to think about.

Yuki paced around the beach, She didn't know where she was, but it was only the play island. She couldn't be too far from the group. Her feet kicked at the sand as her eyes scanned for seashells.

"You look worried, Your Majesty."

Yuki sighed heavily as she turned towards the voice. She glared at the red-haired Heartless who had leaned against a tree. She had a cocky grin as she examined a die in her hand.

"Great. We already have Xemnas to worry about, and now you're here," Yuki said. Aryum laughed, pocketing the die and looking at Yuki. Her golden eyes were filled with a playful light. Yuki had a feeling that wasn't good.

"Oh, Xemnas isn't a problem anymore. Your boys have already defeated him," Aryum said.

"What? Then where are they?" Yuki demanded. 

"By now, I assume the realm of darkness," Aryum said. Yuki felt her heart sink. "Fear not, I'm sure they'll return. Can't promise when though." Aryum gave a slight mock bow to Yuki. Yuki glared at her, crossing her arms.

"Why did you come here? What do you want with me?" Yuki asked. Aryum rarely made appearances unless she wanted something. And Yuki was beginning to be wary of what it was she wanted. It was never as simple as she first made it out to be.

"Did you hear her? While you were in The World That Never Was?" Aryum asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Her?" Yuki echoed.

"Yes, her. You don't have to answer. I know you did," Aryum said simply. Yuki looked down. It was that voice. The one that had screamed.

"Who is she?" Yuki asked.

"Good question. I don't think there's ever been someone who can answer it though. All that matters is someone can hear her, and this time it happens to be you," Aryum explained as she paced away from the tree. She stopped in front of Yuki, standing in front of her. They were almost equal in height, but somehow Aryum seemed taller.

"What is your point?" Yuki asked.

"Do you really think you can return to life here?" Aryum asked. Yuki took a step back from her. She grinned and turned her back on Yuki again. "Do you think after everything you've seen and done you can go back to a normal life? What do you plan on telling them happened? Where have you been? Why didn't you come back sooner? These are questions you'll have to answer. And how do you plan on answering them?"

She asked her questions one after the other, leaving Yuki no chance to answer. But it didn't matter. Yuki had no answer. She hadn't even thought of any of that. She just came back because the others had asked her to. Told her to.

"I- I don't know," Yuki stuttered out.

"Your friends have you fooled. You can't belong here again. You've changed too much," Aryum said. She turned back to Yuki and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Why do you care? What do you gain if I don't stay?" Yuki asked. 

"There is a way you could belong," Aryum said. "All you have to do is help us. We don't want to hurt anyone if we don't have to, all we need is you to help us."

Yuki frowned and looked down at the ground. She knew what that meant. It was all they ever wanted. Their hearts. The hearts many of them already had.

"I don't want my heart back," Yuki said before correcting herself. "I don't want her heart back. I will never be Kiu. And she was never me."

"Are you sure? Maybe you are her, you'd have no way to tell, would you?" Aryum asked.

"Roxas wasn't Sora," Yuki said simply. Aryum shrugged.

"Not in a traditional sense," she agreed. "But at the same time, he was."

Yuki frowned as she looked down. It was the thought she was trying hardest to run away from. Even with everything she had left, she wasn't sure she wanted any of it. She had her sister, and Sora and Riku. But it wasn't the same as having what they had on the clock tower. What they would never have again. She didn't fit here. She still had to tell them her whole story. And she wasn't sure she wanted to see what they thought of her in the end. She had helped Organization XIII cause all the damage they had. What if they hated her? What if they decided she couldn't stay? She would have nowhere left to go.

"It's hard, isn't it? Facing your past," Aryum said as if reading her thoughts. "In a world with no guarantees, the past is the only thing we can really hold on to. There is no proof of a god, there is no proof of a life after death. Even our futures can't be promised with full confidence. Our past is all we have."

"You can see the future though," Yuki said looking up.

"I see the most likely outcome. I have been wrong before. And I'm sure I will be again," Aryum said.

"What would you need me to do? Theoretically?" Yuki asked. Aryum smiled broadly.

"Well, since you're asking-"

"Yuki!"

Both jumped and turned towards the sudden voice. Aryum cursed under her breath as X approached them, his hands in his pockets. Y was beside him, watching Aryum cautiously.

 "What are you doing here?" X asked.

"Having a chat with the queen. Maybe you and your sister would like to weigh in," Aryum said, keeping her easy smile.

"What do you want?" Y asked.

"Where do you two plan on returning to?" Aryum asked. "Don't really have a place to go, do you? The Land of Departure is long gone, only a shadow remaining. Your home wouldn't welcome you. Where will you go?"

"It doesn't matter. We'll think of something," Y said simply. Yuki frowned. Did they really have nowhere to go?

"Even for you, the only thing left to hold onto is the past. Why do you shun us who so desperately chase it?" Aryum asked.

"Because it's not the past you're after," X said simply. Yuki frowned at his words. What else were they after then? Wasn't getting their hearts back just a means to become normal again? To go back to what they had?

"You're right of course," Aryum admitted. She kicked the sand in annoyance. "We're chasing something different. Our pasts are the only guarantee. In a world with nothing else, that one given promise is our God."

"I've never believed in any God," X said with a snort. Yuki had a feeling these two were speaking a totally different language. One only they understood.

"But you believe in the past, which is only your guilt. And that guilt is your God, Dark's Keeper," Aryum said with a smirk.

"Will you get to your point already?" Y asked, crossing her arms.

"I've already stated my point. Help us, please. Anything you want we could give you. All we need, is a little help from our highest royalty," Aryum said. She held her hand out to them. Yuki found herself staring at it, her heart racing as she bit her lip.

"No," Y said simply.

"In your dreams," X said, scoffing slightly. Yuki hesitated for a moment.

"I don't think it's a good idea to chase any kind of God," She decided, taking a backwards step. Aryum sighed and dropped her hand.

"Well, you are adept at giving the right answers," she said.

"You were trying to trick me?" Yuki asked.

"Easier than the other option. On both of us," Aryum said. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "The right answer is rarely the easy one. I'm sure we'll be seeing you again very soon." She smirked as she looked over at them again.

"So why don't you leave?" X asked.

"I'd like a private word with each of you. Don't worry, no tricks this time," Aryum said, holding up her hands to show they were empty. Yuki knew that could easily be a trick. She always seemed to make things appear out of nowhere.

"No w-" X began. Yuki cut him off before he could finish.

"Fine."

"Excellent. Dark's Keeper first," Aryum said, gripping X tightly by the upper arm and dragging him a distance away. Yuki never learned to read lips, but she doubted that skill would help her now. Aryum had her back turned to Yuki, and X wasn't reacting with anything more than his eyes narrowing further and further until it looked as if he was trying to kill her with his glare.

X turned away from her and stalked away. Yuki suspected the next person he saw was not going to be having a good day. She hadn't seen him so angry in a long time.

Aryum returned to the group holding her hand out to Y. 

"Light's Keeper," Aryum said. Y sighed as she took her hand and allowed herself to be led away.

Y's reaction was less angry than X's. Whatever Aryum said to her only made a look of worry cross her face. She crossed her arms as she walked away, looking at her shadow on the ground.

"And the Twilight's Keeper," Aryum said as she returned to Yuki.

"What words of wisdom do you have?" Yuki asked sarcastically.

"Do you still have that seashell?" Aryum asked. Yuki frowned.

"What?" Yuki asked.

"The one from Roxas, or, that other girl. I don't know her name. Only that she existed," Aryum said with a roll of her eyes. It seemed not knowing was vaguely annoying to her.

"Xion," Yuki breathed out.

"Is that her name then?" Aryum asked. "I'll do my best to remember."

"How do you still know her when everyone else has forgotten?" Yuki asked. Even if she didn't know her name, knowing she existed was better than anyone else.

"Something similar to why you remember. Tempus holds similar knowledge," Aryum explained. Yuki frowned. She still didn't know why she remembered. "However, it'd be best if you forgot."

"What?" Yuki asked quietly. Aryum smiled softly.

"If you want to try and make this place home again. Forget. The Nobodies. X, Y. Forget. Only the three here should remain in your heart," she said. 

"How could you even suggest that?" Yuki asked in disbelief. Aryum laughed.

"I never said it'd be easy. It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember. But, it's a lot less pain to forget," she said.

"I think I'll take the pain," Yuki said coolly. To her surprise, Aryum smiled again.

"You are a wise one. I hope that works in your favor. Good luck, Yuki," She said. She gave a wave before turning and walking away. Yuki frowned as she watched her open a dark corridor and leave.

"Look!"

Yuki was glad for another distraction when thoughts were surely about to fill her mind. And she knew they would be thoughts she didn't want.

Yuki returned to where the group was waiting by the beach. Looking up to the sky she watched as two streaks like falling stars fell from the sky and into the water. After a moment under the water, Sora and Riku resurfaced.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi called.

They both waved before swimming to shore.

Yuki stood back as Sora was hugged by Donald and Goofy and Mickey went to Riku. She smiled, watching the scene. She stepped forward and offered a hand to Riku and pulled him from the water.

"W-we're back," Sora said. Kairi smiled and held her hand out to him.

"You're home."