Kingdom Hearts; The Light's Keeper

Chapter XXXII; Sanctuary

Kiu opened her eyes again and found herself back in the Outer Garden. Lea was looking at her with concern. Kiu beamed down at him and hopped off the fountain wall.

"You ok kid?"Lea asked. Kiu nodded her head in reply. Lea laughed and shook his head. He held his hand out to Kiu as he stood up. "Come on, need to get you home before your grandma has a heart attack." Kiu laughed and took Lea's hand.

Kiu skipped along with Lea as he walked her home. She could still feel the stinging in her hands from her new friend. But it would be worth it so long as he was safe. Everyone needed a place to belong after all.

*<3*

The young blonde girl blinked open her bright orange doe eyes. She slowly twitched her fingers, being sure she could still move them. She blinked once again trying to place the dry, hot feeling under her skin. She was sprawled out her face pressed to the ground. There was hardly any sunlight where she was. But it was still hot. She realized the dry hotness under her fingers had to be dirt.

The girl slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her hair fell into her face, blocking her view of her surroundings. The long blonde locks had streaks of black. The girl had to stop and stare at the streaks for a moment. That wasn't her hair color. Or, she didn't think it was. The girl blinked again and reached to touch her hair. Her fingers ran through it effortlessly, clearing her vision for just a moment.

There were keyblades everywhere.

The blonde quickly forgot her hair and brushed it out of her face. Her orange eyes widened as she looked around. The barren wasteland was filled with keys. In front of her was a yellow gold one, stabbed into the ground. The girl reached out the hilt and gripped it tightly. Her small hand fit around the grip perfectly. On the back of her hand was a strange symbol she knew she had seen before. A gold heart with a silver outline and x crossing through it. Her gaze moved from the heart back to the key slowly.

This is mine.

The girl didn't know how she knew that, but she knew it nonetheless. She pulled herself up using the key as support. She was having difficulties remembering anything. Where she was. Why she was there. What her name was. It was all eluding her thoughts. It was hanging on the tips of her thoughts, but receded anytime she got close.

The girl looked around in wonder her lips parted slightly. She blinked slowly. She remembered this place. She had been here with her friends. The girl frowned looking down. Who were her friends? She slowly reached for her pocket on instinct. She was surprised to feel something cool and smooth in her pocket.

The girl slowly pulled out a pink charm shaped like a star. It looked like it was made of glass. In the center was a silver heart charm very much like the one on the back of her hand, but very different at the same time. The glass around the heart was a yellowish gold color that faded into the pink. The girl blinked as she ran her finger over the charm slowly. Her mouth slowly moved, shaping words that never came with sound.

Very suddenly the girl looked up and looked around.

"Aqua?!" The girl called out. She drew her keyblade from the ground and stepped forward, weaving her way through the keys. "Ven?!" She called as she continued walking. "Terra?!"

The girl paused for a moment to listen for a reply. She didn't hear anything. She looked up to the sky. She let out a grateful sigh seeing no blue heart-shaped moon above her. She remembered now. She remembered the battle and everything that had lead up to it. She knew who she was.

"Aqua?! Ven?! Terra?!" Y yelled out once again. "Guys! Are you here?!" She spun around, her grip tightening on the charm in her hand. There was no reply to her desperate cries. Not even the wind rose up. "Guys? Aqua?...Terra?...Ven..."

Y stopped in the center of the crossroads. The last place they had all stood together. There was nothing in sight. Not a living creature of any kind. Looking around Y saw a patch of red on the dirt. Her stomach clenched and she felt her chest heave. She knew she had nothing to throw up, but she felt that she would anyway.

"No." Y said softly. "It can't be. They can't be gone." Her voice was hardly above a whisper as she fell to her knees. She dropped her key beside her, letting it vanish in its ray of light. She clutched the pink charm to her chest tightly. She looked down and closed her eyes, fighting off the stinging tears. A lump formed in her throat as she began to give soundless sobs.

Tears soon rolled down her cheeks as her sobs continued. She felt the charm in her hand cut into her palms but she didn't care. Her grip tightened, clinging to the only thing she had left of her friends. The sound of her sobs filled the air as her tears fell off her face and hit the cracked dirt that had not seen rain in a very long time.

"How? How did this happen to us?" Y asked in between her sobs. She opened her eyes and looked up at the cloud-covered sky. "What did we do to deserve this?! What did we do?!" Y yelled to no one in particular. "How could you take them from me?! Give them back!"

"Give them back," Y whispered looking back down to the ground. She pulled the charm away from her chest and looked at it. One of her tears dropped onto the charm. "Where do I go now? Home is gone. They're gone. I'm, I'm not me anymore. What do I do?" Y asked. She let out a breath and pulled the charm close to her heart again, closing her eyes.

When Y looked up again she was surprised to see a black portal like the ones she had always seen Vanitas use. Y jumped back from the portal, rising to her feet. She watched the portal carefully, waiting for someone to come through it. After a minute Y relaxed slightly. No one had come through.

She slowly stepped toward the portal waiting for it to close or unleash an army of Unversed on her. When no such thing happened she took another wary step toward it.

"Am I supposed to go through it?" Y asked. She looked down at the charm before looking back up at the portal. She took a deep breath and stepped into the cool darkness.

Y took in a sharp breath as she exited the portal. She was in a pure white room. The heart symbol of her home decorated the walls. As she took her final step into the room the portal closed behind her. Y glanced over her shoulder before looking around the room. There was a large throne in the center of the room. Y was looking at the back of it.

Y slowly worked her way around the throne. Her eyes widened as she came to a stop beside it. Ven was sitting in the chair, his eyes closed. Y stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Ven?" She asked. She shook his shoulder lightly. "Ven, come on. Wake up." Y slowly removed her hand as she looked at Ven. She looked down slowly. "You won't wake up, will you?" She asked. Once again she felt tears prickle the back of her eyes. She blinked and sniffled, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "That's ok. I'll stay here anyway. Keep you company until you wake up." Y smiled up at Ven, closing her eyes as more tears fell down her cheeks. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the cat-like plush she always carried. She set it on the chair beside Ven and smiled despite her tears.

"Sweet dreams Ven."