The little girl with red hair looked up at the sky with awe watching the twinkling stars. She stood on her tip toes as if trying to get closer to the stars. She was in the Outer Gardens standing on the edge of the fountain in the center. A bright smile was on her face, causing the light of the stars to be reflected in her bright blue eyes.
"Kiu, you know you're not supposed to be out here alone." A familiar voice said. Kiu turned quickly to see an older red-haired boy watching her with his hands behind his head. She smiled at him and giggled a little bit before looking back up at the stars.
"Lea, what do you think stars are?" Kiu asked. Lea sighed and crossed the garden to her sitting on the fountain beside where she stood. He leaned back and looked up at the stars with her. His bright green eyes locked onto one star as he thought.
"Well, your grandma says that all the stars are different worlds." He decided. He glanced to Kiu who was still staring up at the stars in amazement. He smirked a little before looking back at the stars. "She also says the light is from the heart of the world." He added.
"So they're kinda like us," Kiu said. Lea chuckled at the little girl and nodded. He didn't know how she had understood something like that so quickly. Or how that made any sense to her. He still wasn't sure he believed what Kiu's grandmother had said. But he wasn't going to spoil the kids fun. "Lea look! It's a shooting star! Hurry we gotta close our eyes and make a wish!" Kiu said suddenly pointing up at the sky. Sure enough where she pointed was a bright streak of light. Lea chuckled as he glanced over to see Kiu's eyes shut tightly. He sighed before closing his own eyes.
Kiu was surprised when she opened her eyes. She was no longer in the Outer Gardens. Instead, she stood on a stained glass platform. Light shined up through the floor. The glasses pattern was Kiu her eyes closed and a hand placed over her heart. Surrounding her was a large group of shadow like creatures reaching toward her. Behind the creatures looked to be a blue light of some kind.
Kiu, however, wasn't looking at the stained glass. She was looking at a strange orb of darkness floating in front of her. Kiu stepped forward and cupped her hands around the orb. It stung a little to touch, but Kiu ignored it and looked at the dark light in wonder.
"Oh, are you ok?" Kiu asked, her head tilting to the side in wonder. She looked at the orb a little closer trying to decide what it was. The stinging sensation in her hands remained as if her hands were numb. The pins and needles were uncomfortable, but Kiu decided helping this heart was more important.
"Annoying." A voice echoed through the platform. Kiu smiled at the orb as she recognized the voice.
"Oh! It's you." Kiu said happily. She looked over the orb again in interest. The stinging sensation increased causing Kiu to grimace. "What happened?" Kiu asked, still smiling.
"None of your concern Princess." The voice said once again. Kiu felt an extra sharp sting in her hands that almost made her pull them away. But she didn't. It was just his negativity. It would fade eventually.
"Ok, do you need help?" Kiu asked. The voice didn't reply, but she felt the sting in her hands fade. Uneasiness rolled off the orb telling Kiu all she needed to know. He didn't want to ask for her help. Just like before. But that was ok. Kiu laughed, moving one hand to cover her mouth. "That's ok! I'll help you, just like I promised. You need a place to stay, right?" She asked. Once again she received no reply from the voice. "You can stay here. I'll help you get better again." She said with a bright smile.
"Whatever Princess." The voice replied. Kiu smiled, then quickly dropped her smile. She returned her attention back to the orb.
"Oh, I don't know your name." Kiu said. There was a pause between the two. Kiu almost thought that meant she wasn't going to get an answer at all. She was surprised when he did in fact answer. She smiled and laughed once again. "Ok. Get better soon. I'll keep you safe until then." she replied to the voice.
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."