The castle was a maze that reminded him of Ultimecia's place. Without the map, he's sure he would've gotten lost. There were a few random Heartless like he had faced earlier but overall, they were easy to dispatch. When he finally made it up to the study, it was about midnight, based on how the moon looked through the window at least. On top of the desk was a journal, which Squall immediately opened up.

Entry 1:

Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge.

That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that.

I am blessed with people's smiles and respect. But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand.

I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times.

Darkness...Darkness of the heart. How is it born?

How does it come to affect us so?

As ruler of this world, I must find the answers. I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness.

Entry 2:

It is my duty to expose what this darkness really is. I shall conduct the following experiments:

Extract the darkness from a person's heart.

Cultivate darkness in a pure heart.

Both suppress and amplify the darkness within.

The experiments caused the test subject's heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment produced no signs of recovery. I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the castle.

Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight. Creatures that seemed born of darkness...What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?

Entry 3:

The shadows that crawl beneath the castle... Are they the people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something entirely beyond my imagination?

All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples. They are multiplying underground even as I write this report. They still need a name. Those who lack hearts... I will call them the Heartless.

Entry 4:

The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace.

I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The hearts taken by the Heartless become Heartless themselves.

Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also study their behavioral principles. Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How to communicate with them?

It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?

Entry 5:

To study the Heartless behavior, I picked one out for observation. It wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a target, headed deep into the castle. In the deepest part of the castle, its antennae began vibrating, as if searching for something. Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never known of its existence.

It had a large keyhole, but didn't seem to be locked. So I opened the door. What I saw on the other side mystified me. What was that powerful mass of energy? That night I observed a great meteor shower in the sky. Could it be related to the door that I have opened?

Entry 6:

A massive core of energy lay beyond the door sought by the Heartless. It may be the ultimate goal of the Heartless. But what is that energy? I have devised a hypothesis, based upon my observations of the Heartless.

The Heartless feed on other's hearts, and they yearn for that energy core. That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too-the heart of this world. There is no proof, but, having felt that immense energy, I am certain. That was the heart of the world.

The Heartless are trying to take hearts not only from all living creatures, but from the planet itself. But what do they mean to do with the heart of the world?

Entry 7:

I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily. None of the records even mention such a substance.

Was it introduced to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out! Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow.

But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place.

Entry 8:

There is no doubt that the Heartless are deeply connected to the people's hearts. Further study may unravel both their motivations and the mysteries shrouding the heart.

As a start, I have built a device that artificially creates Heartless. By recreating the conditions that spawn the Heartless naturally, I should be able to produce them artificially. This device is the culmination of all my research thus far. The machine's test run successfully created a Heartless.

This may be a step toward creating a heart from nothing. The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly identical traits. But the two types remain distinct for the purpose of the experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially.

Entry 9:

Simply astonishing! Today I had a guest from another world. He is a king, and his vessel is built of the material that composed the meteors. He called the pieces "gummi blocks". It seemed that my opening the door has opened a path to interworld travel.

We talked for countless hours, but one story in particular caught my interest: that of a key called the "Keyblade". The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power.

One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it. I must know what this Keyblade is. A key opens doors. It must be connected to the door I have opened.

Entry 10:

Just as people have hearts, so do worlds. The same can be said of stars in the night sky. And deep within each world lies a door to its heart. The Heartless desire those hearts. Born out of darkness in people's hearts, they seek to return to a greater heart.

Yes that's it. The Heartless come from people's hearts, as does the darkness. Is the core of the world's heart the world of the Heartless? I will pursue the answer there and become all knowing.

My path is set. I shall seek out the wielder of the Keyblade, and the princesses. My body is too frail for such a journey, but I must do this. I will cast it off and plunge into the depths of darkness.

Entry 11:

Opening the door to a world's heart causes its walls to crumble.

These fragments are seen as shooting stars

This explains why these "gummi blocks" can travel freely to other worlds.

I know the catalyst of this collapse—the appearance of the Heartless. However, it will take time search out the worlds' doors and to retrieve each heart.

Furthermore, the doors can be locked using a Keyblade, making the heart forever unattainable. I must take action before the wielder of the key appears in this world.

If the princesses and the Keyblade are connected, they should resonate.

I've chosen a girl. I don't know if she holds the princesses' powers, but I will find out. She may lead me to the key bearer.

I shall set her free and observe.

Entry 12:

The body is gone; the heart should have returned to the Heartless. And yet, nothing.

This one is unlike any other. Its memories remain and it has yet to take the form of a Heartless.

A close eye must be kept on the situation. Much is still unknown.

To get to the realm of Darkness, one must go through the doors of Kingdom Hearts, the place where the world's hearts connect.

Beyond this world is a place in which darkness reigns. (Details shall be archived in a separate report.)

There are many worlds in existence, some of which we know nothing about.

The world in which we live. The realm of Darkness. The realm of Light.

And the world in between.

Wherein lies true Nirvana?

Entry 13:

Where does the body go when it separates from the heart? If the soul remains within the body, is it still considered to be deceased?

When the heart returns to the Heartless, the physical form disappears. But that is merely true in this world. Perhaps the body exists in another form in another world.

If that is the case, then it is possible for one to exist in two worlds.

A being that is neither darkness nor light; belonging nowhere; abandoned by its heart; a mere shell of its former self.

The relation between the heart and body is complex. However, I am certain that if your self exists here, then by definition, the other cannot truly "exist."

The other, the one which does not exist, shall be dubbed, "Nobody."

It was a lot to process. He wasn't quite sure what it all meant, but he knew one thing for certain; he needed to get his hands on a "Keyblade" if he was going to save this world and any others. He also needed to look into these "Gummi blocks" if he was going to be able to travel to other worlds to kill the Heartless across the galaxy. Squall began looking through every nook and cranny for more information or something useful. Inside of the desk was a key labeled "Armory," which Squall immediately pocketed. There was also a book titled "On Surpassing the Limits of Human Potential" which he opened and began reading.

The human body, barring augmentations, has very limited potential for strength and speed when compared to the animal kingdom. For example, chimpanzees, our closest evolutionary relative, are nearly four times as strong as a human proportionally. While this does come with certain drawbacks, it does pose an interesting question: how can a human go beyond their species' seemingly limited potential? I have done extensive research on the topic and will be discussing the primary methods of doing so. The first method is performance-enhancing drugs; the second is biochemical augmentation; the third is bio-mechanical augmentation; the third is genetic modification; finally, there is magical augmentation.

Performance-enhancing drugs are most often used by high-level athletes and occasionally militaries in order to recover faster and fight for longer periods of time than is otherwise natural. However, prolonged use takes a heavy toll on the body. This is in addition to taking the longest amount of time, usually several weeks, before it noticeably affects performance beyond simple recovery. They are the simplest to make and apply by far.

Biochemical augmentation in this case, refers to modifying the body's organs to produce new or more hormones, often to increase muscle mass, bone density, and/or reaction time. In short, the effects are similar to those of performance-enhancing drugs while being less harmful long-term as well as faster. However, it does require potentially dangerous surgery.

Biomechanical augmentation, also referred to as bionic augmentation, is the artificial alteration and modification of the human body and its abilities and limitations by mechanical and bionic means. Historically, this was most often limited to prosthetic limbs. However, recent advances in technology have allowed for the plausibility of replacing organs and enhanced prosthetic limbs. The effects are nearly instantaneous; however, biomechanical augmentation requires very dangerous and invasive surgery.

Fourth is genetic modification which, most often is applied via a virus that modifies the subject's DNA and by extension, protein synthesis. These enhancements can take several weeks before the effects are noticeable, and years before the changes are complete.

Finally, magical enhancements to a person is the fastest method of increasing performance. It is also the most complicated. Based on observations of certain residents of the planet Hyne, magic can be used to give people superhuman abilities. The residents of Hyne accomplish this by using gods as a "junction" to allow the magic to properly interact with their bodies. The residents of Gaia accomplish something similar using a substance called "Materia." However, when cut off from their gods, the residents of Hyne become mere humans, albeit, very athletic ones near the peak of human potential. The residents of Gaia on the other hand, generally have more subdued enhancements except for those who have taken Mako and Jenova cells directly into their bodies. Since Materia and Mako are directly connected to that planet's "Lifestream" (possibly the planet's Heart?), it is currently unknown what would happen if something were to happen to the said Lifestream. I hypothesize that it is possible to synthesize a Junction catalyst, allowing for magical enhancements on any person without requiring attachment to any deities. I will continue my research in my laboratory.

Squall immediately left the study and headed towards the lab.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Rinoa asked.

"I don't have any GFs. I need to get strong," he answered.

"Jesus, Squall, did you even read those notes? That stuff is dangerous!" she said.

"So is losing."

"This isn't healthy," she said.

"Neither is getting impaled."

"Oh, come on, Squall! Just because I'm dead doesn't mean that doesn't hurt," she pouted.

"You left me," he whispered.

"I didn't leave you, Squall. I died," she pointed out.

"It should've been me. I swore I would be your knight. Some hero I turned out to be," he said.

"You saved the world from the Sorceress that took the powers of every Sorceress in history," she pointed out.

"With a lot of help. And the world ended anyway," he countered.

She sighed, "You're impossible, do you know that?"

He shrugged and opened the door to the lab. The place was a wreck, but at least the lights worked. Squall sighed at a seemingly dead-end. He had no idea how to even begin repairing the equipment in here. Or even which one was the right one. Rinoa was gone again. Before he turned to leave, he saw something moving in a corner, so he moved to investigate, Gunblade at his preferred medium guard.

When he drew closer, he realized that the movement was a very wounded canine that had gotten trapped under some rubble. The dog growled at him when he got too close. I'll either help it out or put him down if I have to. He may be cold, but that was no reason to let things suffer if it could be avoided. Squall put the Gunblade back in its sheath and slowly approached the dog. When the dog didn't try to bite him, he lifted the rubble off its back. The dog slowly crawled forward; its hind legs trailed uselessly behind it. Squall double-checked his supply of potions, he had two strapped to his leg and four more on the belt around his waist. He opened one and poured it onto the dog's injuries. The dog barked happily and ran off. Since he was already here longer than he'd expected, he decided to search the lab for anything useful.

There were a lot of notes and schematics that he couldn't make heads or tails of, as well as a few vials with faded labels, but nothing that he could make use of. Maybe one of the others can help fix these machines. At least the right one if they can figure it out. Zell had been good with machines. At least good enough to get them to work most of the time. Though considering that his "repairs" usually consisted of simply punching it until it worked, he doubted the martial artist would be of much help here.

Frustrated, he made his way towards the armory. Wondering what exactly had happened to this place. There were a few straggling Heartless, but nowhere near enough to overpower an entire castle full of people. So, what caused so much damage and made this king disappear?

He half-expected Rinoa's ghost to show up again. Was she really a ghost? Or is my subconscious fucked? Questions like that would have to wait.

Cloud's head was ringing. That explosion had knocked him across the street. He tried getting his bearings and saw the limp bodies of Tifa and Aerith several yards away from him. Then he saw Sephiroth walking away towards some kind of dark portal. "Sephiroth! Get back here!" he screamed as he gripped his sword and ran after the man.

"Squall! Where were you?" Yuffie asked when he returned. He hadn't found anything he could bring back from the armory but there were a few interesting war machines in there.

"…What?"

"The others. They're gone!" she yelled.

"Who?"

"Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith were looking around the place but now Cloud and Tifa are gone and Aerith was hurt?"

"What happened?"

"I don't know, Aerith is still a little out of it," she looked at him, pleading for him to make it better.

"Where is she?"

"She's lying on Merlin's couch," she answered.

"Man, you just can't save anybody, can you, puberty-boy?" a sneering voice said behind him.

Squall immediately turned around, weapon drawn and ready at the medium guard. He found himself facing an all-too familiar face. Though something seemed off about him.

"Your friends, your girlfriend, and now these people? You're pathetic. How were we ever rivals?" Seifer said.

"Squall, who is that?" Yuffie asked.

"You didn't tell your new friends about me? I'm hurt, Squally," he taunted.

"Get back to Merlin's," Squall said to Yuffie.

"But-"

"Now," he growled. Intimidated, she listened and ran off as fast as she could.

"That isn't very nice; bullying a kid like that," Seifer taunted as he drew closer, Gunblade at his preferred high guard. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said then lunged at him.

Squall parried and took a step back. Squall had definitely gotten weaker since their last fight. But Seifer seemed as strong as ever.

"A little soft, are we?" Seifer said as he threw a downward slash that would've split Squall in two if he hadn't parried and moved to the side. Squall quickly thrust at Seifer's neck, but his attack was casually brushed aside by the other man's Gunblade.

"Man, it's like fighting a normal person. I was so pumped for this fight too," he said. "I guess she was right."

"Who?" Squall asked as he feinted and struck Seifer in the leg. Seifer grunted but kept upright.

"The Sorceress, of course," he said as if it should have been obvious.

"Sorceress Ultimecia is dead," Squall said.

"Not Ultimecia. The Sorceress of Darkness," Seifer said as he threw another powerful downward slash. Squall only managed to get mostly out of the way as his Gunblade was knocked aside and the blade grazed his sternum and lower ribs. Squall took advantage of Seifer's overcommitted strike and slashed his arm. Seifer punched him, sending him flying into some building.

Dazed, Squall got back to his unsteady feet and got back into a guard before Seifer could finish him off. Shots rang out and suddenly Seifer was gushing blood. "This isn't over!" he howled as a dark portal materialized behind him and he stepped through it. Squall looked over to see Cid holding an AKM.

"You all right, kid?" he asked.

He nodded and stumbled after the man as they made their way towards Merlin's house. When they got there, Cid asked if he wanted a beer. Squall nodded and looked for a first aid kit. His cut wasn't deep enough to justify the use of a potion and they didn't work on concussions anyway.

"What happened to you?" Yuffie said as he sat down at the table.

"Seifer," he answered.

"Did you beat him? Who was he?" she asked.

Squall shook his head, "an old rival."

"Rival, huh? It looked like he was kicking your ass," Cid said, handing him a beer.

"Somehow he kept his power. Or found another source," Squall answered.

"Where's mine?" Yuffie asked indignantly.

"You're too young," Cid said.

"But Squall is only seventeen!" she said.

"Seventeen going on forty. Besides, it'll help him feel better," he answered her. "Anyway, Squall, I'm gonna need you to explain that bit about keeping his power."

Squall took a drink. "On Hyne, there are these creatures called Guardians Force, or GFs. They're essentially gods. SeeD fight these gods and become allies with them so that they allow us to junction magic to ourselves. It's a very complicated process but they allow us to mimic the powers of a Sorceress, on a lower level most of the time, and give us superhuman abilities. When our world got swallowed by the Heartless, I was cutoff from them. I assume they're dead. Somehow, Seifer is just as strong or even stronger than the last time I fought him."

"Are you sure they died?" Cid asked.

"Pretty sure. I watched a few of them get overwhelmed by Heartless."

"So how did he keep his power?" Cid asked.

Squall shook his head. "Ansem was studying it, but his lab was destroyed."

"Fuck. Sephiroth, this Seifer dick, and the Heartless. The fuck are we going to do?" he asked himself.

"How good are you with machines?" Squall asked.

"Ain't found nothin' I can't fix, why?" he asked.

"I found some notes and schematics, but I can't even figure out what it says," he answered as he pulled the books out of his belt. And Rinoa said it was ridiculous to wear so many belts.

"Fucking hell, man. Use a potion!" Cid demanded, having realized that Squall was cut deeper than he'd thought.

Squall glanced down. Oh. It was a miracle that he didn't have a sucking chest wound. He must have underestimated how deep he'd been thought. He grabbed one off of his belt and watched the bone and flesh mend themselves. It stung but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Anyway, can you take a look at that stuff and see what you can do?"

"Yeah I'll look over it. I'm guessing there's some magic mixed with the tech so I'll see if Merlin can't help," Cid responded.

Squall nodded, finished his beer and made to head upstairs before he remembered something that Cid had mentioned. "Who's Sephiroth?"

Cid and Yuffie stopped dead in what they were doing.

"He's a monster," a feminine voice said behind him. Aerith had sat up from the couch. "A super soldier who went crazy, tried to become a god, and destroy the world. We thought Cloud had killed him, but he showed up again just before the Heartless did and…" she broke down into tears. "They were just kids…"

"…I see. Sorry."

"And then… again… Now they're gone too!" She said between sobs.

"What do you mean? Sephiroth attacked again?" Cid asked.

Aerith nodded, "Cloud… went after him. Tifa gave me a potion and went after Cloud… They went through some portal."

"Portal… did it look like it was made of shadows?" Cid asked. Aerith nodded again, Yuffie went over to hug her. "Squall, are you thinking the same as me?"

Squall nodded, "They're all connected." He was sure of it.

"Yeah and those two bastards were probably scouting the area before the attack, trying to pick some of us off before the big push."

"…Looks like it worked. We probably have a few days at most," Squall said.