Aqua frowned at the girl with dark hair. The girl was frowning at Aqua, a look of pity clear in her eyes. Aqua didn't understand at all what she had just said. It didn't make any sense. But then again, it validated what Ven had said about X. How he had attacked Ven and claimed to have no care for his sister.

"What does that mean? Why would X kill Y?" Aqua asked. She knew that Terra had faith in the young blonde boy who was apparently a Heartless, whatever that was. The least she could do was try to understand what was going on.

"That's just what happens. It's a long story." The girl explained sadly. She rubbed the back of her head like Kiran had. "If you don't mind sticking around we can tell you. Meet me in the castle courtyard if you're interested." She said. She turned and walked away heading toward the castle. Aqua watched her walk away with a frown before turning toward the direction Terra had left. Maybe she should find him and ask him to come with her. Then he could find out what was going on.

"Where could he be going?" Aqua asked calmly.

"Probably out to the forest. If X is here, that's going to be his hideout. He and Y know those woods better than anyone alive." Kiran answered. Aqua frowned and turned back to the boys. If that was the case it would take too long to find Terra again. She didn't want to run the risk of getting lost.

"Is it really that long of a story?" Aqua asked. Kiran nervously rubbed the back of his head once again. He seemed to do that a lot when talking about this topic. Or maybe he did it a lot in general.

"I can't really tell you much more. But Hoshiko can. She knows most of it already." Kiran answered. Aqua assumed Hoshiko was the dark haired girl who had been there moments before. It seemed if Aqua wanted to find out anything she'd have to ask her.

"Alright. Thank you." Aqua said. Jiran nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, good luck." Kiran said. He and Myde continued on their way leaving Aqua alone in the square. She looked toward the castle with a frown. She didn't know what the symbols in the stained glass meant, but she didn't like the way they looked. They seemed ominous and out of place in the town that was so obviously filled with light.

Aqua made her way to the castle courtyard as she had been asked to. Though she didn't know the city it was easy enough for her to find her way to the castle. And it was easier to find Hoshiko. the girl was sitting on a low wall that wrapped around part of the courtyard, separating the garden from the brick. She was looking at the sky with a frown. When she heard Aqua's footsteps she looked at her quickly smiling at the blue-haired girl.

"Glad to see you decided to come. If you know maybe you can save your friends." Hoshiko said getting to her feet. Aqua frowned and tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Save them from what?" Aqua asked. Hoshiko sighed heavily and began to walk toward the castle. She motioned for Aqua to follow her as she went.

"Well, as I've been saying it's a long story. So first, what do you know about the keyblade war?" Hoshiko asked while walking. Aqua frowned. That wasn't something she ever remembered hearing about. The Master had never mentioned anything about it. But it was seeming there was many things they didn't know.

"The keyblade war?" Aqua asked. Hoshiko nodded in reply. "I've never heard of such a thing." Aqua said. Hoshiko chuckled in reply.

"Well, then you're behind," Hoshiko said walking through the halls of the castle. The walls were decorated with tapestries of various ages. aqua noticed a similarity between all of them. Two children who looked like twins. One had a blue heart-shaped moon over a barren wasteland filled with keyblades. The sight sent chills down her spine. "I don't know why your master wouldn't tell you about it. It's pretty much elementary level here. It began a long long time ago. All the worlds used to be one." Hoshiko continued explaining, capturing Aqua's attention again. Aqua frowned. That was the story Kairi's grandmother had told in Radiant Gardens.

"I know that. But when people began to fight over the light the world fell into darkness. The worlds of now are what was saved by the light in the hearts of children." aqua finished for Hoshiko. The dark haired girl nodded.

"Oh, good. You know the very basics. You see, that fight people were having over the light, that was the keyblade war." She explained glancing over her shoulder at Aqua.

"What?" Aqua asked in confusion. It seemed to be just a fairytale. Not a tragic story of war. How did Kairi's grandmother even know that story? Worlds weren't supposed to know about other worlds.

"Yup. The story is actually a lot more complicated. But the fairytale version is told that way. But what we're going to talk about predates even the war." Hoshiko explained calmly. Aqua frowned in confusion. She didn't understand how any of this was relevant to what was going on. How did something that happened so long ago matter now?

"I don't understand. What does any of this have to do with Y?" Aqua asked. Hoshiko put up her hand to ask for patience. Aqua sighed but nodded. She needed to know how to save her friends. From whatever it was that was going to befall them.

"Back when the world was new there were three gods of a sort. There was Kingdom Hearts, the most powerful of the three. Then there were her two children. Light and Darkness." Hoshiko explained. Aqua frowned. She had thought darkness hadn't existed until much later than light. "Light was a kind benevolent force, people loved her. Darkness wasn't nearly as kind, so people feared him. He became so jealous and rage full that he killed his sister. Kingdom Hearts sought to punish Darkness, but Light was too kind. On her dying breath, she wished for her brother's salvation. Kingdom Hearts decided to reincarnate the two as human, until a time when Darkness lost his jealousy." Hoshiko continued explaining. Aqua gasped in surprise. Though she still didn't understand what this had to do with Y. All the same, it was a scary thought. That Darkness was a human. She could only wonder who it was.

"I'm still confused." Aqua admitted. Hoshiko laughed and stopped walking, turning to face Aqua. The hall had brightened up. Windows were open along one side and more tapestries hung on the opposite wall. Aqua didn't take the time to study them. She was too focused on Hoshiko.

"Well, fast forward a little bit. Keyblade war is looming. There's a traitor on the loose, no one can find him. All they have is a prophecy, on that fated land a great war shall transpire, darkness shall prevail and the light expire. War happens and there are twins on different sides, a boy, and a girl. The boy ends up killing his sister. Kingdom Hearts shows up." Hoshiko said. Aqua frowned. There was something important in that, but she wasn't sure what.

"What are you suggesting?" Aqua asked warily. Hoshiko laughed and continued walking. The laugh was bitter and filled with sadness. She didn't like this very much.

"I think it's pretty obvious. Light and Darkness are always born as twins. They usually end up in this world. And no matter what, Darkness kills Light, or gets her killed." Hoshiko explained. Aqua took in a shocked breath. If what Hoshiko was suggesting was true, things were only going to end badly.

"What proof do you have?" Aqua asked. Hoshiko sighed heavily.

"Well, there's this one right here." She motioned to a tapestry beside her. Aqua saw two children facing a hoard of people who looked sick and tired, but angry and spiteful. "There was a queen, pretty young for reasons we're not exactly sure of anymore. Her twin brother was her loyal servant. He tricked her into starting a war, and left her to be killed at the guillotine." Hoshiko explained.

"That's awful." Aqua said softly. Hoshiko nodded in agreement.

"There's another where darkness was spreading through this world. Light tried to save everyone by taking in the darkness herself. But her brother just kept spreading the darkness until she died." Hoshiko continued as they reached the end of the hall. There was a set of what looked like tarot cards in a glass case at the end of the hall.

"Does it ever end?" Aqua asked sadly. It was sad to think of twins constantly killing each other in various ways. It was like torture. And she was terrified to see Y die like all the rest before her. If the stories were true.

"I don't know. I hope one day it will, but as it stands it's still going. And they always die young. 14 is the oldest they get." Hoshiko said sadly. She was looking at the cards with a sad frown. She looked like she was in pain. Aqua supposed since she had known the twins it was even harder for her to imagine.

"Y just turned 14." Aqua said in shock. Hoshiko turned to her and nodded.

"I know. That's why I'm scared. Y is so sweet, she doesn't deserve it." Hoshiko said. Aqua frowned and looked at the cards. They looked completely ordinary. She couldn't imagine why they were in a glass case like they were.

"What's this?" Aqua asked motioning to the glass case. Hoshiko looked at it calmly. Almost like she had forgotten it was there. She smirked a little at the cards before turning back to Aqua.

"Another interesting story. They say Light made these before her death. They have the power of Kingdom Hearts embedded in them. Darkness killed her trying to get the cards, he knew they would have amazing powers. But when he touched them they went blank. They only respond to who they choose." Hoshiko explained calmly. Aqua looked at the cards in interest. That was something she'd never heard of anything but a keyblade doing. Choosing its master.

"Strange," Aqua said in thought. Hoshiko smiled a little and nodded.

"Yeah." She agreed. She glanced over at hall behind them. She seemed to consider the position of the sunlight before looking back to Aqua. "Well, I should get going. You can hang around here a little more if you like. And may your heart be your guiding key." Hoshiko said. Aqua smiled at her words. It was an old-time gesture keyblade wielders hardly used anymore.

"Thank you," Aqua said with a smile. Hoshiko smiled in return before walking down the hall heading back to the courtyard. Aqua frowned and looked back to the tarot cards. "I shouldn't stay much longer." Aqua said to herself.

"You know, Tempus says that's not all true." A lilting voice said, making Aqua jump in shock. She turned to a small girl with red hair and crystal blue eyes. She had a few freckles across her face and wore silver and gold but no shoes.

"Who are you?" Aqua asked, crouching so she was eye level with the girl. The girl raised an eyebrow at her which almost made Aqua chuckle.

"I'm Maru." The girl introduced. She turned away from Aqua, looking at the cards. "Anyway, Tempus says there's a lot of things missing in those old stories. Wrong facts too." She continued. Aqua frowned and stood up. She wondered how long the girl had been listening. She hadn't noticed they were being followed.

"Like what?" Aqua asked.

"Well, in the old keyblade war, Darkness didn't know it was his sister. The battle was too chaotic to know anything about who he was fighting." Maru began, motioning off to the side as she spoke, putting up a finger as she went through each story. "And that queen. She was really evil, without her brother tricking her. And her brother took her place at the guillotine. They looked enough alike they could trade places. The one who spread darkness, he tried to stop his sister, he died beside her because he tried to take the darkness from her and couldn't." She continued listing off. She must have been following them from the start from her knowledge of the stories Aqua had heard. It seemed strange that such a young girl knew these stories when no one else did. It was a mystery as to who had told the girl. Or if any of it was true.

"Who is Tempus? And how would they know that?" Aqua asked. Maru pointed at the cards causing Aqua to gasp.

"That's Tempus. Tempus knows everything. And by the way, Darkness is the one who created them. Light and Darkness were both killed by a thief who was trying to steal them." Maru answered.

"You talk to the cards?" Aqua asked in disbelief. Maru nodded and put her hands behind her back.

"I'm their chosen. They tell me lots of things." She explained. There was a short pause as Aqua did her best to understand what was going on. This little girl knew everything because of a deck of cards that spoke to Kingdom Hearts. "Do you want to know the future?" Maru suddenly asked catching Aqua off guard.

"You can do that?" Aqua asked. Maru smiled proudly and nodded.

"Yup!" Maru said. She skipped over to the glass case and carefully lifted it up. Aqua didn't think it should have been that easy to get to with how special the cards were. She wondered if Maru had just gotten rid of all other security already. As Maru touched the cards they changed. The backs turned black with a red x'ed out heart design. Aqua couldn't see the fronts of the cards but she assumed they had changed too. "So what's your name? And what do you want to know?" Maru asked sweetly.

"My name is Aqua." Aqua introduced herself. She frowned trying to what it was she wanted to know. With so much going on there were plenty of questions to ask. But Aqua soon decided what she really wanted to know. It was what was worrying her the most. "What's going to happen to my friends?" Aqua asked softly.

"Names please." Maru said simply. Aqua smiled softly thinking of her friends. She missed them terribly.

"Terra, Ventus, and Y." Aqua said. Maru nodded.

"Alrighty, Tempus, what's going to befall Aqua, Terra, Y, and Ventus?" Maru asked. It struck Aqua odd she was asking the cards, but she decided not to quest it. Maru drew a series and laid them out in a specific pattern that Aqua assume the little girl understood. Aqua did her best to study the cards but she had no idea what most of them meant or even were for that matter.

The first card the girl drew was a katana laying across the ground with a great black wolf standing over it. In each corner was either the Roman numeral for one or the x'ed out heart on the back of the cards. The next card was two bright red sai's surrounded by flames. The symbol from the first card was repeated with a roman numeral eight instead. It was followed by a strange charm that looked like it belonged to a keyblade with an orb of darkness. In either corner was a Roman numeral one or a strange blue eye. Next was a blue heart-shaped moon and a sword made of two keyblades crossed at the hilt. That card was followed by one that had all four of the wayfinders Aqua had made. The next card was a small shadow like creature in front of the x'ed out heart. The next was a gunblade with its tip stuck in a block of ice. The corners had the Roman numeral for six or the x'ed out heart. That was followed by a card with the image of the ocean at night with the strange eye and the Roman numeral for two. The last card was a broken wayfinder which could only belong to Terra.

 "Oh." Maru said quietly after studying the cards for a moment. Aqua looked up at her in worry.

"What is it?" Aqua asked.

"It's not going to be pretty." Maru said in a quiet voice. "I think, you're all going to lose, very badly. There's deception, and mistakes, darkness, that card that means nothing good." She explained pointing at the card with the blue heart and strange sword.

"What does that mean?" Aqua asked in fear. Maru swallowed nervously before continuing.

"There's going to be a fight. And it won't end pretty. Everyone will be lost, though in different ways. One will lose themselves to another, another will just lose themselves, one will sleep, and the last will become lost." Maru explained simply. Aqua didn't understand what that meant, but it worried her. All of them were going to become lost. Did that mean they were going to die? Whether it did or didn't, Aqua couldn't let that happen.

"Can I stop it?" Aqua asked. Maru smiled softly.

"The future can always change. You just have to choose your moves wisely." She said. Aqua nodded looking at the cards.

"I have to go then." Aqua decided. She had to find her friends before it was too late. "Thank you." She said looking up at Maru. Maru nodded and started gathering up the cards again.

"Of course." Maru said with a smile. As she placed the cards back on their pedestal they changed back to what they had been before. "Please, do try to save the twins, they're my favorites." Maru pleaded. Aqua nodded. She wasn't sure about X, but she'd do anything to save Y.

"I'll try." Aqua said. And she would. She couldn't lose her friends. They were all she had in the end.
~~~~~~~~~~*<3*~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: So, what do you all think of X and Y's homeworld? Pretty pleasant place, huh? This a bit of a confession. A lot of the stories mentioned in the chapter are not original. They're based on Vocaloid songs because I am trash. The story about the evil queen is based off an entire series of songs called the story evil, the song at the top of the chapter is my favorite song in the series, the song that got me into Vocaloid, and my favorite Vocaloid song in general. I always like to imagine X singing that for Y when they were little. The other story of darkness spreading is based off a song called Soleil, which is another of my personal favorites.
Let me know what you think and if you have any questions. Thanks for taking the time and reading this.