The group of four ran past Y with loud laughter. So loud it was almost obnoxious. But the blonde didn't mind. Y watched them run past silently, holding a stack of flyers to her chest. She felt her orange eyes fill with tears as she watched them pass. The girl with brown hair and green eyes wearing an orange shirt. The boy with blonde hair and brown eyes, who was the unofficial leader. The heavier boy with dark hair and brown eyes. And him.

He looked a lot happier than Y remembered seeing him in a long while. His bright blue eyes were filled with laughter. Y found herself believing he did have a heart, just from one look at his eyes. His blonde hair was the same messy spikes she had remembered too. He wore something different now. No longer did he wear the black coat she was so accustomed to. He wore a cream jacket with a checkered pattern around his sleeves and a red collar over a black zip up shirt. The pendant hanging from the zipper resembled an x, looking at it made Y smile.

But it hurt to see who he was with. He wasn't with his real friends. Just these fake place holders until Naminé completed her job. It would only take a few days. Seven at most. It wasn't enough time. Not nearly enough.

Y wanted so badly to save him. He didn't deserve death. He should be given just as much chance to live as Sora. But how could she separate them from each other? Their memories had become so entangled within one another's. Only Naminé could fix it now. But she wasn't allowed to interfere with Naminé's work. She just had to stand guard over this town until the time came. The time for his life to end and Sora's to continue. She couldn't fix him. Another one she couldn't save.

Y let out a soft sigh turning to go back to the job she had. It wasn't worth doing, but anything to keep her mind distracted was useful at this point. It prevented her from worrying about them. Where they were and what they were planning. Things had fallen apart between her and her friends so quickly. Like a tower falling when one brick was removed. Now they were all on their own.

Axel had to have returned to the organization. He had no where else he could ever think of going. Y had to be sure he couldn't find this town, and if he did he couldn't get him. Axel had to be, eliminated before he could interfere too much.

X, he could be anywhere. He planned on helping Sora, but he didn't specify what that plan entailed. He could be just wandering worlds, waiting to chance upon the now sleeping hero. Or he could be in a world he somehow knew Sora would go to. Y didn't know, but she was already worried. Her brother had been misguided before, maybe it would happen again.

And Yuki. The little princess, as X called her when she wasn't around. Y really worried about her. She had no clue what to do. She had never been alone before. She was so confused and scared. She didn't even know who to side with. The fight amongst the friends must have torn her up the most. They were all she could remember most of the time.

Y was jolted out of her revive when someone bumped into her, making her drop everything she was holding. Without thinking Y dropped to her knees to pick up the scattered papers. The person who had bumped into her dropped down as well.

"Sorry about that Y." Y glanced up to see the blue eyes she knew so well. The blonde boy offered her a small smile as he helped her gather the flyers. Y forced herself to smile back.

"It's alright Roxas. My fault for zoning out like that." Y replied. Roxas smiled a little more at her. He glanced down at the flyers the two were picking up.

"You excited for the struggle tournament?" Roxas asked. Y glanced at the flyers she had been holding. That's what they were for. Y smiled as she stood, having gathered all the flyers.

"Only if you win." Y stated simply. Roxas laughed nervously.

"I don't know about that." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You'll do great." Y said encouragingly. "I'll see you around." She said before turning away. Roxas looked up at her surprised.

"Yeah, see ya." He said. Y couldn't look back at him. Her eyes were too filled with tears. She looked up at the sky with a heavy breath.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She muttered as she walked.

*<3*

Yuki looked out over the town she had grown used to. It was her home in most senses of the word. Except, she didn't live there. She didn't really live anywhere anymore. She had lost any right to a home when she choose to turn her back on the other Heartless. That was the only place she really belonged wasn't it? In the darkness where her kind were born. That's all she was ever told.

Yuki sighed looking down at the ground from her place on top of the clock tower. It was a far drop, she guessed. The people that did cross the ground beneath her did look small and inconsequential. But Yuki suspected secretly they were all very important. To someone, somewhere, somehow. After all, everyone was. Even those that most couldn't remember.

Yuki sighed leaning back. It was surprising her, just how quickly some of her memories were returning to her. It seemed now everything that had been lost was coming back, piece by piece. Mostly she could remember Kairi. There were somethings about Riku, but not much yet. As for Sora, well, she knew his name. Those memories were the hardest to recover it seemed. But Yuki took that as a good sign. It meant Roxas was still ok. For now.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" A familiar voice asked. Yuki turned see Axel leaning against the corner wall. He was grinning softly at her.

"Guess I'm just that predictable." Yuki replied softly, smiling at him with a small bit of caution. Axel was still in Organization thirteen. He could very easily have been sent to eliminate her.

"Maybe." Axel agreed. He slowly made his way over to Yuki and sat down beside her. He was trying to seem relaxed, but Yuki could tell he was far from it. His shoulders tensed just a bit too much, and his eyes were darting about quickly.

"What's it been like back at the Organizations?" Yuki asked. Axel let out a nervous chuckle. Yuki suspected that meant not pleasant.

"There's a bit of an uproar, you know." Axel said almost jokingly. "No one's happy all the keyblade wielders ditched on us. Orders are if we find you, to drag you back." He continued. His gaze had settled on the sunset, like it used to when they all were together.

"Are you following those orders?" Yuki asked. Axel was quiet for a moment, considering his answer.

"When I find Roxas I will. But not for you guys. The Heartless can handle their own problems." He finally decided. Yuki frowned looking down at the ground. She kicked her feet back and forth a few times, thinking.

"Axel, what's going to happen to all of us?" Yuki asked very suddenly. Axel jumped a little, looking at her in surprise. He frowned looking away trying to find an answer. It was a question he had been wondering about himself lately. He wasn't sure he had an answer he could give her. But he couldn't not answer her. She was scared and he could tell.

Axel had to mentally scold himself once again. He always did that around them. He'd label emotions that weren't possible. None of these feelings were real. Just made up to pass the time. But they felt so real sometimes. He would really feel like he was happy, or angry, or anything in between. It amazed him and worried him all at once.

"I don't know Snowy." Axel answered honestly. "It really is going to depend on how things go. And honestly, if things keep heading the way they are, it's not going to end pretty for anyone of us." He said. Yuki nodded sadly.

"Do you think we can change it?" She asked. Axel looked at her again.

"We can always change it." He stated simply. Yuki looked up at him with a soft smile. Axel grinned at her in return. "Got it memorized?" He asked. Yuki laughed a little, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Yeah." Yuki answered. "I've got it memorized."

*<3*

X frowned looking out the window of Yen Sid's office. The sorcerer sat at his desk, flipping through a book. He had been pretty much the entire time since X had been here. It didn't really surprise X. They didn't have much to talk about. Yen Sid was still convinced X was a monster.

X wasn't sure if he really was a monster or not. He knew he had done wrong before. A lot of things were his fault. Maybe not entirely, but he had a hand in it at least. And he was a Heartless. Those were supposed to be monsters no matter what. But he had seen Heartless that were so human it was alarming.

Of course he was thinking of his sister and the little princess. Both of them were all but human. He'd seen his sister cry several times since she had lost her heart. Out of frustration, or sadness, or laughter if it was a good day. Sometimes it almost convinced him he hadn't completely destroyed her life. But in the end he always remembered he had.

As for the the little princess. She radiated emotions. Anger and happiness. Sadness and laughter. Hope and despair. X frequently forgot she was a Heartless. Nothing so human could be a monster of the darkness. But she was, somehow. X always wondered why she had given up her heart. What a child could gain by becoming a monster.

"I am curious, creature of darkness, do you know what befell those you seek to redeem yourself to?" Yen Sid asked, suddenly jarring X from his thoughts. X looked at the chair slowly.

"Probably more than you know about the matter." X said calmly. Yen Sid made no verbal reply, but X suspected he might have nodded.

"Organization XIII is making their move. But what of your kind? Are there more?" Yen Sid asked. X chuckled and looked back out the window.

"I suppose you mean more who look like me?" X asked. Yen Sid had to know of the countless number of smaller Heartless. But the elites kept to the shadows for the most part. "Yes, there's more. But not all are threats. Depends if the Lady of the Shadows is still helping her old friend." X continued.

"Lady of the Shadows?" Yen Sid asked curiously. X smirked and returned his gaze to out the window. He was amazed Yen Sid had no idea who he was up against. The Heartless organization had existed for far longer than the Nobodies had. Some of the organization members had to be older than Yen Sid. Unless the old wizard had seen the ancient keyblade war.

"That's the leader. Tayressa." X explained simply. "She's an old friend of Master Xehanort's. Trained together, if I do recall correctly." He continued. Yen Sid was silent for a time after X's words. He was processing the new information.

"And do you believe she will act?" Yen Sid finally asked. X frowned and paced away from the window to the front of the desk. The wizard that was seated there looked at him calmly.

"No. I think she'll wait." X said simply. "But, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the others make an appearance. They're kinda nosey." He walked away from the desk to the bookshelf on the opposite wall. The titles were all obscure and strange. "Do you have a reason for all your questions, or just trying to annoy me enough to walk away?" X asked.

"I worry this may only be the beginning." Yen Sid replied. X laughed and shook his head.

"You really are the wise one, aren't you?" X asked, looking over his shoulder to the wizard. "This is only the start, and it's only going to get worse."