Yuki blinked open her eyes adjusting to the darkness around her, and the light that came from under her feet. Slowly she looked around, looking for any sort of sign. There was nothing, only black. She sighed as she looked down, finding the strange source of light. 

The ground was a familiar stained-glass plate. The image was of a red-haired girl, young probably only a child with her hands clasped over her heart and her eyes closed. Shadow Heartless surrounded her, and even a few Neoshadows in the mix reaching towards her. Behind that was a strange blue light that was familiar, but at the same time, Yuki wanted to gag.

Yuki looked up again, seeing the red-haired girl depicted on the glass standing not so far away. In her hands was a small black orb. A heart?

"What's that you've got there?" Yuki asked as she slowly walked over to Kiu. Kiu smiled, looking over her shoulder at Yuki. Her broad grin didn't lessen as she turned back to the black orb.

"This is my friend!" Kiu said, holding the heart up a little higher. "He's just a little grumpy. I don't think he likes asking for help."

"Really? What sort of help?" Yuki asked, looking at the heart. She could feel the emotions that rolled off of it. Anger and spite.

"Well, he's hurt and he needs a place to stay until he's strong enough again. I'm going to let him stay here," Kiu explained, lowering her arms. She winced as a sharp wave of emotion burst off the heart. Bitterness, fear.

"Here? In your heart?" Yuki asked.

"Yup!" Kiu said, nodding her head. "Why don't you say hello?"

Yuki frowned. The emotions rolling off the heart only strengthened. And not a single one was good. A girl with such a bright heart couldn't be a good place for this heart. Why would it stay here? Would it even stay here? Yuki crouched getting more eye level with the heart. Should she introduce herself?

Tch, as if princess.

Yuki gasped, falling back from the heart, the familiar voice ringing in her ears.

Bolting up her hand rested over her heart, a stinging sensation spreading from her chest down her arm. Her heart raced against her hand, the familiar beat reassuring that she was alive. 

Why would Kiu have done something so dangerous? Of all the hearts she could offer shelter to. Why did it have to be his? One that brought nothing but pain and misery. Vanitas.

Yuki shook her head, glancing around. It was a white room, one of the rests after completing a floor. Had they stopped to take a break after the last floor? Which floor was that again? Neverland? No. Her eyes wandered the room slowly this time. 

Y was curled up beside her, chest rising and falling with each breath. Her hair fell around her, the black and blonde strands tangled and messy. Yuki chuckled slightly before continuing her scan of the room. Her eyes fell on the corner farthest from them, a small form curled into a ball there. He shook every so often as if he were in taking a breath that wasn't going down easily. His hair was tousled more so than usual, and he was covered in dirt. His face was hidden in his knees that he had pulled to his chest tightly.

"X?" Yuki asked, leaning forward slightly. He looked up slowly. The dirt on his face was still present, save what looked like lines from his eyes that had been washed away. Yuki swallowed nervously as his purple eyes looked her over. They were bloodshot. He couldn't have been.

"Oh, you're awake." His voice sounded different. Strained and scratchy. He coughed slightly, looking off to the side.

"What, what happened?" Yuki asked. She looked down at Y again. She hadn't moved an inch. How long had they been here?

"What do you remember?" X asked. Yuki frowned. Typical of him. Answering a question with another question. She shook her head, hand resting over her heart. What did she remember?

"Um, the keyblade graveyard," Yuki said. "We uh, we had to fight that creepy bald guy and, Vanitas, and, you were, you were against another Y. Um, I don't know what happened to you guys, Y got knocked out I guess. I was at a draw? And you, you were crying."

He had been. It was something she didn't think she would ever see again. X got angry, not sad. He screamed and snapped. He didn't, he couldn't cry. Her eyes wandered down to Y, still sleeping peacefully. Maybe there was one thing that would make him cry.

"You beat the shadow, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," X agreed. He sighed as he rested his forehead against his knees again, hiding his face. "And, I guess I forgot they were just shadows."

Yuki nodded, looking down at the white floors again. Her mind raced trying to piece together the memories of the last floor. The last shadow, Xehanort. He had been strange, in more ways than one. The things he had said. What had he said exactly? Darkness? No, Light? X-blade? Belong to, belong to X?

"What, what did all of that mean? What the old guy said?" Yuki asked.

"Yuki, please don't tell Y what happened," X said, his voice still shaking. Yuki looked up at him, frowning as her hand rested beside Y.

"What do you mean?" she asked. What had happened? There was a fight. And Darkness. So much Darkness.

"I don't want her to know. I, I lost control there. I almost killed you both," X said. He shuddered, the way his body shook was as if he had been hit by an earthquake. Yuki shuddered as well, the memory turning sharper in her mind. X, what was he really capable of? 

"She's not ready to know yet."

The small words jerked Yuki back to the present. X hadn't moved, still hiding away from her as best he could in his corner.

"X," Yuki began. A sharp sting from her chest stopped her. Though no words accompanied it she knew very well what it was. "Ok. Ok, I won't ask, and I won't tell."

"Thank you." X breathed out.

Silence again filled the room as X fell back into his thoughts and Yuki was left with hers. They couldn't move until Y was awake. And no one knew how long that would take. Looking over her, Yuki found no injuries. Even she had no outstanding injuries. A bruise here and there but nothing that would cause lasting damage. If anything Y was in even better shape. Not even a scratch on her.

Yuki frowned as she looked at the scar on Y's back. It had to be a scar. She lightly traced her finger over the lines like cracks, careful not to disturb Y. At the center of the scar, Yuki's hand stopped. Its center was different, not red or raised. Only a faint silver mark, hardly half as long as Yuki's pinky. It looked like a keyhole.

Yuki's gut twisted, the silver keyhole all she could see. That meant, it could only mean. But who had done it.

"It's a birthmark," X said calmly. Yuki looked up, locking eyes with X. His cheek rested on his knees as he watched Yuki. "I have one just like it."

"But, it looks so much like a scar," Yuki said. She looked down again, the cracks in porcelain skin.

"Well, yeah," X agreed. "They say birthmarks are just how you died in a previous life. Guess we just had real bad luck. To be left with such a nasty scar even in the next life."

"Putting it mildly," Yuki muttered, pulling her hand back and resting it in her lap. She leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. Her eyes traced the crown molding around the edges, making circles and circles around the room like the thoughts inside her head.

Every so often her eyes jumped down to X. He was hiding his face again, his arms shaking as he pulled his legs closer to him. She had never seen him so shaky. Was he scared? Or was it something else. His skin was pale too. More so than normal. Like there was no longer blood in his veins. Maybe it wasn't scared. Maybe he was just tired.

Y groaned loudly, pulling Yuki from her thoughts. She sat up slowly, stretching and rubbing her back. She twisted her neck as she blinked a few times.

"What hit me?" she asked, groaning again at the sound of her own voice.

"Can only assume that old man," Yuki said. Y groaned again as she rubbed her head. A frown crossed her face as she pulled her hand away seeing the tangles that had wrapped around her fingers.

"For an old guy, he was really tough," she sighed. Glancing around she quickly spotted X. Her frown only deepened as she prepared to push herself to her feet. "What's wrong?"

"You've been passed out for well over an hour. Excuse me for worrying," X said, looking up. He had managed to erase the evidence he had been crying. Save for his scratchy voice anyways. Yuki had no idea how he had done that so quickly.

"By well over an hour, how long is that exactly?" Y asked, still frowning as she looked over X. He was in much worse condition than the both of them.

"I don't know, I haven't been up that long," Yuki said. Y turned to her with wide eyes. Yuki chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Vanitas got the drop on me."

"Wow, she was trying to kill us with that card," Y said, looking at the ground. Her fist clenched as her frown returned.

"So it seems," X agreed. "You both were out for, hm, maybe four hours."

"Four!" Y said, jumping to her feet. Yuki felt her heart drop. That long? Why hadn't X said something sooner? They didn't have that sort of time to spare. Four hours in Castle Oblivion could be a whole day somewhere else. A week in some places. "We have to get moving then. We wasted way too much time!"

"Wait, before we go," Yuki said, getting to her feet as well. "Was that, what Yen Sid meant? Is that old dude the one Sora and Riku are preparing to fight?"

X and Y were both silent, looking at the ground. Yuki had wondered since the first time seeing the old man's shadow. Something had felt wrong about him. The same name, but a different person. Almost as X had said. And, if he vanished there, where X and Y's story had ended. That would have been twelve years ago. Maybe more. Just as Y had insisted.

"Yeah, we think," X confirmed, getting to his feet as well. He brushed his bangs aside, looking at the ground.

"How?" Yuki asked.

"I'd like to know that too," Y said, crossing her arms. "And why?" Her words were forceful, to the point X flinched back slightly.

"The reason he's always fighting," X said. "He desperately wants Kingdom Hearts. And, this time, I think he means to do it the right way."

"The right way?" Yuki echoed. Her stomach churned at that. She fought the urge to shudder at the thought. She knew it was dangerous for him to do it the wrong way. But at least it was better than the right way. The right way. That would end only in disaster.

"What you just saw, was an impatient attempt to gain Kingdom Hearts. A short cut," X said, looking up. "He thought having a simple one pure light verse one pure dark would call forth the X-blade and Kingdom Hearts. It was a lesser version of the true pieces." He looked away again. Yuki frowned. The true pieces, those were.

"Which are?" Y asked.

"Seven hearts of pure light, and thirteen of darkness," X said. He looked towards the door that led onwards. "The X-blade had shattered into twenty pieces. I assume this time around, he intends to have all twenty."

Yuki bit her lip. Something was still missing. Twenty, it wasn't the right number. But, she didn't know what was missing. Or why she was so sure. Maybe Vanitas knew more. And he was trying to clue her in. For some reason.

"Let's go," Y said, breaking the silence. "Our friends are going to need us. So let's get this over with. There are bigger problems than these guys."

Yuki and X both nodded. X slowly walked over to them, the three meeting in front of the doorway into the next room. X held out the card deck to Yuki, letting her take the next card.  She took a deep breath before holding it above her and letting the light take the card. The doors swung open and they stepped into the next world.

The familiar crashing of waves jarred Yuki from any thought she might have had. With how long she had been on the island she would have thought that the sound of waves wouldn't even register anymore. But it was almost deafening.

"I always liked this world," Y said, lightly kicking the sand. Her eyes fell on the bridge connecting the smaller island to the play island.

"Don't think I've been here enough to make a decision," X said, his eyes staring out into the ocean. Yuki glanced around, taking in the sight. The familiar greenery, the sand that was already somehow in her shoes, the waterfall not so far off.

"It's nice enough," Yuki said with a shrug.

"Something wrong?" Y asked, leaning forward slightly as she looked at Yuki.

"Nothing, just what Myruai said awhile back," Yuki said, shaking her head slightly. The words had been echoing in her head almost since Myruai had said them. "She's right."

"About what?" Y asked.

"This island, it's a prison now. I don't belong here," Yuki said, wrapping her arms around herself. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried. They had all tried, Riku, Sora, and Kairi too. But they knew too much. They had seen too much.

"You belong wherever you want to. Don't let them get to you," Y said softly.

"Right. Sorry," Yuki said blankly. "Let's just get through this."

Yuki hardly made it a few steps along the shore when the first shadow appeared. She looked younger, with her hair cut shorter and wearing much less pink. She had on a white tank top with a purple skirt. What she had worn before their journey had even started. She smiled when she saw Yuki, waving her over.

"Yuki! Hey. Riku wanted me to check on the progress," Kairi said as Yuki approached her.

"Uh, progress?" Yuki asked.

"You know, making the plan? You two are the ones who keep saying we need to get off the island," Kair said, crossing her arms and grinning at Yuki. Yuki frowned, rubbing her shoulder as she racked her brain.

"We are?" she asked.

"Jeez, forgetting everything again?" Kairi asked, chuckling as she put her hands on her hips and leaned forward.

"Sorry, have a lot on my mind right now," Yuki said, grinning sheepishly. Kairi smiled softly, leaning back a little.

"Really? I guess that makes sense," she said. Her eyes wandered, looking over the shore, just as X had been doing moments ago. Her smile turned slightly wistful as she watched the waves. "This is pretty close to where we woke up, you remember that, right?"

"Yeah," Yuki agreed.

"If we had never come here what do you think would have happened?" Kairi asked, turning to look at Yuki again. Yuki frowned, pushing down her thoughts. Kiu would be standing here, not Yuki.

"Wouldn't have the slightest clue," Yuki lied. "Certainly wouldn't be the same."

"I sometimes wonder if there was a way we could change it and stay wherever we were before," Kairi said, taking a few steps along the beach and passing Yuki. Yuki turned to watch her, head tilted to the side.

"Why would you want that?" she asked. "Then we never would have gotten to meet Sora and Riku. And we'd never really have that adventure in our life." Kairi laughed, stopping where she stood, though she didn't turn to look at Yuki.

"You're right," she agreed. "But I get the feeling we lost a lot before coming here. I'd like to have that back."

"I guess I can understand that," Yuki said. They had lost everything. Their home, their family, their friends. It was so much that they could never get back. "But I don't."

"Not even our memories?" Kairi asked, looking over her shoulder at Yuki. Meeting her blue eyes Yuki chuckled.

"Not even those. I'm happy here, that's all that matters."

"You were always the smart one," Kairi stated, smiling as the shadow blew away with the sea breeze.

"You ok?" Y asked, taking a step towards Yuki.

"Yeah, they're just starting to get a little repetitive aren't they?" Yuki said, turning to face the twins. "Chasing the past."

"Must be running out of things to say. Don't know how to get to us except for our pasts," X said, shrugging.

"Yeah, maybe," Y agreed.

"I would think Aryum was a little smarter than that," Yuki said, crossing her arms. Aryum would have a better plan unless there was a meaning for all of this. Aside from wasting their time.

"She's not the one calling the shots. She's just playing along," X said.

"Right," Yuki sighed, shaking her head once again. "Well, let's see who else is here." 

Yuki led the way along the beach, walking up the steps towards the bridge to the connecting island.  She stopped at the base of the tree they had always sat on together. The Paopu tree that so many stories were told about. Sora was standing at the base as well. Like Kairi he was dressed as he did before their first adventure, red and white.

"Hey Yuki. Taking a break?" Sora asked, crossing his hands behind his head.

"Seems like," Yuki agreed, leaning against the tree.

"That's a surprise. You and Riku are always going on about how you need to get off this island. Didn't think I'd ever see you take a break," Sora said, laughing slightly. Yuki nodded slowly. Had they really once been so desperate? She couldn't really remember.

"Well, I guess it happens," Yuki said simply, rubbing the back of her head again.

"Do you remember why you wanted to leave so bad?" Sora asked.

"No, not really," Yuki admitted. It had been so long ago. Everything had changed. "Guess I just felt this world was too small for me. I don't belong here."

"You don't?" Sora asked.

"Yuki," X said softly, almost in warning. Yuki ignored him though, smiling softly as she looked up at Sora.

"No, I don't," she said. "No real reason either. I just, this isn't home. Not anymore."

"Then where is home?" Sora asked, tilting his head to the side. Yuki chuckled, the answer came to her almost immediately. She didn't even have to question it.

"Twilight Town."

"Where's that?" Sora asked.

"Not too far away. It's a pretty neat world. I think you'll enjoy it when we get there," Yuki said, holding back her chuckle at Sora's broad smile.

"If you say so!" Sora said. He glanced over his shoulder suddenly, looking back towards the island. "Riku wanted to see you, he's by the secret place."

"Oh, thanks," Yuki said.

"Yeah. I hope you find home again," Sora said, smiling as he looked at Yuki again. He faded away just as Kairi had, leaving the trio standing in silence.

"To the secret place, I guess," Yuki sighed, turning to face the other two.

"The secret place?" Y echoed.

"Know that by me showing you this, you are sworn into secrecy and can't tell a single soul where it is. Being taken to this place is the utmost honor," Yuki said, suddenly very serious as she looked down at the twins.

"Sounds fun," X said with a crooked grin.

"I'm in. What is this place?" Y asked. Yuki chuckled, looking towards where she knew the secret place was.

"Just a cave. But we liked to have a place we could hide no one else knew about. Riku showed it to me after about a year on the island. It was his and Sora's spot at first, then we got brought in," she explained.

It didn't take long to cross the island and enter the cave. Yuki dragged her hand along the wall, the familiar scratches and drawings putting a smile on her face. Y and X looked around in wonder, eyes wandering the drawings. They came to a stop beside the star Riku had carved into the wall. Riku himself stood not far away, in his old yellow and blue clothes.

"Oh, there you are," Riku said, turning to face Yuki.

"Yeah, Sora said you wanted me," Yuki replied, crossing her arms.

"Yeah," Riku agreed. "I was thinking. How far do you think a raft will take us?"

"No idea," Yuki said, shrugging. Probably not far. After all, it's not like all worlds were connected like they once were.

"Hm, maybe. Maybe we could wait, just until we have a better plan," Riku said, tapping his chin as he crossed his arms.

"Is something wrong?" Yuki asked. "You don't usually hesitate so much." Riku sighed, looking down at his hand he now held in front of him.

"In your hand take this key, and if you have the making, then through this simple act of taking its wielder you shall one day be," he said, his voice soft. It was almost as if he was quoting something. Something he had heard a long time ago.

"What's that?" Yuki asked.

"That story I told you about. The man with brown hair. That's what he said to me," Riku said, looking up again.

"Huh. Sounds fancy. What's that got to do with you hesitating?" Yuki asked.

"I want to find him, and prove he wasn't wrong to trust me. I don't want to disappoint him," Riku said firmly. Yuki smiled, watching him silently. She wished she knew how to prove the man wasn't disappointed. But she had no way of knowing. Not when she didn't even know who the man was.

She jumped feeling a tap on her shoulder. She glaned over to see Y, smiling gently.

"Tell him the man is definitely going to be proud of him," she said softly. Yuki nodded slowly turning back to face Riku again. Whatever it was, she had a feeling she shouldn't doubt Y.

"I'm sure he's going to be proud of you, whatever happens."

"I hope so," Riku said. "What about you? Do you still want to find the people you can kinda remember? I know it's all hazy, but you're going to try, right?"

Yuki's frown returned as she felt an ache in her head. People she could kinda remember. Who were they again? Did she ever find out?

"I, I don't know," Yuki muttered, closing her eyes. For a brief moment, she thought she saw someone, but it vanished too quickly to identify.

"You should. They might be key," Riku said. Yuki opened her eyes again and looked at him with a narrowed gaze.

"To what?" she asked.

"I think you know," Riku said, smirking as the shadow faded away.

"People you could kinda remember?" X echoed with a raised brow as Yuki turned to look at the twins.

"At this point, I don't remember what that was about at all," Yuki admitted with a shrug.

"I thought you got all your memories back?" Y asked.

"Yeah, most," Yuki nodded in agreement. It was like any childhood memory. There were some things she still couldn't remember in detail but she assumed that was normal. "But some stuff is still fuzzy. I think it was fuzzy before too. I just kinda figured they were people Kiu knew. But, I wonder if that's really it."

"What else could it be?" X asked.

"No idea," Yuki admitted. "Probably overthinking. Let's go."

She ducked out of the secret place heading back to the beach. She sighed heavily catching sight of the next shadow. This was the last person she wanted to deal with right now. She glared as she approached the bandaged man standing on the beach, staring into the ocean. He turned his orange eye onto her as she got closer, a glare forming on his face to match her own.

"And the queen arrives," he said, distaste clear in his voice.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Yuki asked, crossing her arms.

"Remove you from the situation. You are far too dangerous," DiZ said calmly. Yuki rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Listen, leave me here or take me away. Either way, I am going to find a way to get back at you," she said. " Can we just talk like normal people?"

"But you are not a person," DiZ said as if it were obvious. Yuki narrowed her eyes, clenching her fist tightly on her sleeve. She could feel her nails digging into her skin through the fabric.

"What did I ever do to you?" Yuki asked. "I get the organization. They were your apprentices and they betrayed you. But what did I do? Kiu adored you and never turned on you. She gave up her heart to protect her sister. What did I do to make you hate me?" She glared at DiZ harshly, waiting for his answer. His words always stung more than she wanted to let on.

"You are proof of my foolishness," DiZ said.

"What does that mean?" Yuki asked. What did he even have to do with her? He had known Kiu, that was all.

"Allowing Xehanort to learn under me. His experiments led to the kidnapping of Kiu. Taken to stop them from taking her sister," DiZ said. Yuki froze, her mind blanking entirely. 

"What?" she said softly. She heard a soft gasp behind her from Y.

"You do not remember Kiu's end? Your own beginning?" DiZ asked. Yuki shook her head, searching her memory. All she could ever remember was screaming for Kairi to run. She had always assumed it had been telling her to run from the Heartless. Not people.

"It's been a bit fuzzy," Yuki admitted. She closed her eyes, trying to focus. All she could see was the man named Xehanort in front of her. "That's what he meant in Radiant Gardens."

"You are just a creature that shouldn't have existed. You can not bear the weight Kiu did," DiZ said. Yuki sighed, opening her eyes and looking at DiZ again.

"Well, looks like I have to now," she said firmly. "So get out of my way."

DiZ smirked as the shadow faded away, leaving not a trace behind. Yuki frowned, tightening her crossed arms again.

"Something wrong?" Y asked.

"He had to be the last shadow but," Yuki began, glancing around them again.

"There was no fight," X finished for her. Yuki nodded in agreement.

The ground shook, knocking Yuki off her balance. She managed to steady herself as an eerie howl filled the air. X and Y had turned weapons drawn, facing a giant wolf that seemed to be made of shadows itself. On its chest was a heartless emblem. It looked almost like Yuki's own, though it was clear after a moment the red was too dark.

"Oh," Y said simply, repositioning her grip on her keyblade.

"Yeah, this definitely didn't happen," Yuki muttered, summoning her own keys.

"Tayressa, it has her emblem," X said.

"Well, let's kill it," Y said. Yuki and X nodded in agreement.

X and Yuki charged ahead, letting Y fall back to cast her magic. Yuki wove between the wolf's feet, slashing at its paws and avoiding its claws. X staid at the front distracting the wolf, blocking each bite with his daggers and jumping back again.

After a time the three were able to defeat the Heartless Amarok. It let out one last howl before falling to the ground on its side, releasing its crystal heart to the sky.

"Running out of things to get in our way I guess," Yuki said, banishing her keys as she watched the heart fade away. She shook her head turning to look at X and Y. The doorway out opened not far away.

"So it seems," X agreed.

"Onto the next?" Y asked.

"Onto the next." Yuki agreed.