The mansion was empty of all inhabitants, it had been for years. Or at least, that's what everyone in the town thought.

A woman in a white coat approached the gates of the mansion, a younger woman beside her. The woman stopped and stared up at the manor, her red eyes narrowing.

"My Lady?" The younger woman next to her asked. The younger woman appeared to be in her late teens, possibly just entering her twenties.

"We're close. She's hidden in this mansion." The woman said calmly. A small smile spread across her lips. "You thought you could hide her from us. How wrong you were." The woman said under her breath, talking to someone who was not there.

The younger woman beside her looked to the gates. Her lime green eyes studied the gate calmly, assessing the strength of the gate. She took a step forward and grabbed hold of one of the many locks on the gate. She calmly investigated it not saying a word.

"Well?" The woman demanded, brushing her white hair tipped in red aside.

"He must have had great faith that we would not think to look here. The locks are nothing special. More than likely put here by a human." The younger woman said releasing the lock and stepping back.

The woman smiled and laughed a little. "How foolish of him. To think we wouldn't search for our own kind." She shook her head and looked at the young woman. "Remove the locks."

"Yes, My Lady." The younger woman said. She reached into her coat and drew a gun. The gun was a sapphire blue with a thin barrel. The base looked like a crescent moon and had needles sticking up out of it. The guard around her hand formed the shape of a heart. The girl pointed the gun at the lock and squeezed the trigger. A bolt of lightning shot from the barrel and hit the lock. The lock fell from its chain. The younger woman took aim and repeated the process until all the locks fell from the gate. She tucked the gun away again and bowed to the woman.

The woman stepped forward and pulled the chains from the gate. With the chains carelessly thrown to the ground, the woman pulled open the gates. The gates screeched as they opened, the rusted hinges fighting every inch they moved. A flock of birds erupted out of a nearby tree flying away from the sound.

With the gates now open the woman entered the front yard of the manor. Old statues crumbled on either side of a path overgrown with weeds. In the center a fountain sat, worn by time. Ivy climbed the walls of the mansion unchecked. The place had quite obviously been abandoned long ago, and no one had bothered to take care of it since then.

The woman walked briskly through the yard to the front door. The younger woman followed behind flicking her red bang back out of her face mixing it with the rest of her hair, which was blonde. The woman pushed open the front doors and stepped into the dark manor.

The entrance once was an elegant room. With beautiful drapes, a fine chandelier, and expensive rugs. Now only a shadow of that grandeur remained. Dust clung to the walls, dulling the color of everything. Cobwebs hung off the ceiling.

The woman walked through the room without glancing around. This was not what she came for and she was not going to be detained by it. She climbed the stairs quickly and soundlessly. Surprisingly for the stairs age, they did not creak. The woman turned to the right taking another set of stairs into the east wing of the manor.

The woman walked down the hall, her eyes narrowing again. She was getting closer, she could feel it. The woman turned a corner and stopped. The hall was filled with Neoshadows. They all turned and looked at her. The woman smirked.

"Stand down." She said. The Neoshadows bowed their heads and moved aside to allow the woman through. At the end of the hall was a large set of doors. Carved into the doors was a phoenix with its wings spread out. The woman walked down the hall stopping in front of the door giving her companion time to catch up.

"This is the room?" The blonde woman asked, looking at the woman. The woman nodded.

The blonde pushed open the doors and stood aside to let the woman enter first. The woman walked in slowly as if enjoying her victory. In the room, there was no light besides what came in the door. The corners of the room were filled with Heartless. From Shadows to Armored Knights, Deserters to Loudmouths. The room was large, it probably had been a master suite at one point. On the other side of the room was a bed.

The woman crossed the room drawing closer to the bed. The bed was made with black sheets drawing all attention to the pale skin of the girl lying asleep.

The girl on the bed appeared to be a teenager, not much more than fifteen. Her raven black hair fell around her shoulders blending into the sheets. Her skin resembled porcelain, pale and nearly perfect. No color was in her cheeks at all making her appear dead.

The woman smiled and gently touched the girl's hair.

"Finally, we have found you, little princess." The woman purred. The blonde woman stood beside the woman and stared down at the girl.

"How do we wake her?" The blonde asked. Her eyes did not leave the girl as she spoke. Something about the ravenette demanded attention.

"Once she has left this manor she should awaken. They would not want her to sleep forever." The woman said, her hand still running through the girl's hair.

"Should we leave a message for him?" The blonde asked.

"Her being gone will be message enough. We have won." The woman said.

"It is unwise to make such statements until they are confirmed, My Lady." The blonde said sullenly.

The woman sighed, "You're right Aysui, I should be patient."

The woman gently picked the girl up, holding her bridal style. The woman turned away exiting the room. Aysui followed silently. The Heartless in the room watched then followed slowly and cautiously.

The woman took the girl outside setting her down just outside the mansion's gate, leaning her against the wall that surrounded the grounds. The woman brushed the girl's hair from her face, a smile touching her lips. Aysui stood nearby watching, all the other Heartless gathered behind her as if watching as well.

"Wake now, your time for slumber is over." The woman said soothingly, "Come now my princess, it is time for you to wake."

The ravenette's eyes fluttered open slowly. They opened and closed several times before finally remaining open. The girl's eyes, though open, remained heavy, ready to flutter shut again in an instant. The Heartless gathered behind Aysui bowed their heads avoiding eye contact with the girl.

"Hello, little princess." The woman said, running her fingers through the girl's hair.

The girl blinked, "Where am I?" She asked slowly putting her words together.

"That is not important. You will not be here long." The woman replied.

The girl nodded slowly. Her eyes drifting shut again. Whatever spell had put her to sleep was still taking effect.

"Stay awake, my lady." The woman said to the girl.

"Sleepy." The girl yawned, "Very sleepy. Do I have to stay awake?" The girl turned and cuddled closer to the woman. The woman smiled and ran her hand through the girl's hair.

"Just a little longer my princess. Tell me, what do you remember?" The woman asked.

"The darkness calls, the doors are yet to open, the key is not found." The girl muttered. The woman tensed up a little.

"The creatures formed from the darkness in hearts. Watch them carefully though they will cause you no harm. You do not hold what they seek. They see you as a comfort, a leader." The girl continued saying half asleep. She was clearly quoting something else. Something from a dream more than likely.

The woman looked the ravenette interested. "Do you know where the key is?" She asked.

"Many of them. Scattered across many worlds. Where the true key is is a mystery. No one knows." The girl answered. She yawned again, "sleepy."

"My princess, do not sleep yet. We have more to ask." The woman said.

"Who are you? What are your names?" The ravenette asked suddenly, sounding almost hostile.

The woman smiled, "My name is Tayressa, Lady of the shadows. My companion is Aysui, The quick shot. Do you remember who you are?"

"Yuki, just Yuki." The girl said sleepily. "Time to sleep." Her eyes closed and refused to open again.

"The spell is stronger then I thought it would be," Aysui said calmly.

"It's of no importance. It will wear off the further from this place she gets. We must take her back to the castle." Tayressa said standing.

"She's different. Do you think the others will notice?" Aysui asked.

"Of course they will. But so long as they don't question we won't have problems." Tayressa replied as she picked Yuki up. Aysui nodded.

With a flick of her wrist, Aysui summoned a portal of blue, purple, and black smoke. Tayressa walked through silently. Aysui turned to all the Heartless gathered by the mansion.

"Be gone. We will take care of her." Aysui said, her voice full of authority. The Heartless stood motionless for a moment before vanishing. Aysui glared towards where the Heartless once stood before going into the portal.

*<3*

Yuki stood in the white room staring at the little Shadow walking in front of her. Her face was emotionless, there was no light in her eyes. From above Aysui and Tayressa watched.

"What are we waiting for exactly?" Aysui asked calmly. Her eyes were trained on Yuki. Even when the girl was in a zombie-like state, barely able to respond to anything, she called the attention of all others of her kind.

"We are waiting to see if her weapon will appear," Tayressa answered, her eyes too were trained on the young ravenette. Yuki was still watching the Shadow. The Shadow kept staring back at Yuki its head close to the floor showing submission to Yuki.

Yuki tilted her head to the side. Watching the Shadow was boring. Why was she even here? Was she supposed to do something?

Flick your wrist. A familiar voice said in Yuki's head. She'd heard that voice before, but where? Yuki sighed and looked down at her left wrist. She flicked her wrist as the voice had directed. There was a beam of dark light, then suddenly a key appeared in her hand. Yuki stared at the key shocked. She lifted it up to study it closer. She heard gasps from above her. This impressed even the boss.

The key was black with what looked like clawed hands up and down the rod. Like heartless were attempting to grab onto it. The teeth looked like antenna off a heartless with a fleur di leis in between the antenna. The guard around her hand was shaped like a heart. A chain hung off the end, though Yuki couldn't it see well.

The Shadow in front of Yuki hissed. Yuki glanced up at it. The Shadow moved like it was agitated, eyes locked on the key. The Shadow hissed again, then lunged at Yuki. Yuki jumped back and swung the key forward. The Shadow hissed and dissolved into shadows. Yuki stood panting starting at where the Shadow had been.

"Will all Heartless do that?" Aysui asked, her eyes now locked on the keyblade in Yuki's hand.

"Maybe at first, but I think once she learns to control her abilities she'll be able to stop that," Tayressa responded with a smile.

"Will you teach her to control these abilities?" Aysui asked. Yuki was swinging the keyblade around learning how to handle it. Aysui watched curiously.

"And become subject to her will? I think not. She has her uses even without full control of her abilities. Let her be the pawn, not the queen." Tayressa said with a smirk.

"Don't you think she's a little too valuable for a pawn?" Aysui asked. Her eyes widened as Yuki flicked her other wrist and summoned another keyblade. This one was mostly blue and silver. There was only half a guard, shaped like half a heart. The teeth were silver and looked like an eight-pointed star. A bright blue star was inlaid at the top.

"Perhaps you're right there. Let's think of her as our king. Without her, we lose the game. But we really don't want her involved." Tayressa said. The smirk on her face seemed to grow.

"The others sensed her power. Will they just stand by?" Aysui asked concerned.

"So long as she obeys me, the others will follow. Our hierarchy will still stand." Tayressa said calmly. Her red eyes narrowed at Yuki. "She will not interfere."