Kingdom Hearts; The Heartless Keeper

Chapter XV; Returning Hearts

Castle Impia was a huge castle just as Castle Oblivion had been. Though it didn't share the same structure as Castle Oblivion and looked somewhat normal, with no parts of the castle sticking out sideways. It resembled the castle Yuki had seen in Hollow Bastion with towers coming off of the main part of the castle and the Heartless emblem on the front. The castle was well hidden in the landscape of the realm of darkness. It was black with faint glowing blue lines marking the front helping it blend into the surrounding area ensuring no one would be able to find it. Not that anyone besides the Heartless came to this place. The inside of the castle was just as grand as the outside, with high vaulted ceilings and a complex layout. The halls and rooms were a lighter grey color with a silvery sheen to them. There was a meeting room identical to the one at Castle Oblivion and the rooms the Heartless had were identical as well. All of this made it easy to settle down and adapt to the new castle.

Yuki sighed looking out the windows of the common room. The view had changed from the sky of stars to empty blackness broken only occasionally by blue. Heartless moved freely through the land. They blended into the landscape though and their movement made it seem as if the land itself was moving.

"Are you ready to depart?" A calm voice asked. Yuki looked over her shoulder and nodded at the woman with light purple hair and pink Heartless emblem outlined in black. "Then let's go." The woman said. She summoned a dark corridor and strode through it. Yuki followed after her.

The world they ended up in was dark. There were clouds coating the sky making it seem darker than it was. The town gave off an eerie feeling. The entire town square was made of dark brick. A fountain of some green liquid was in the center of the town. There were buildings that looked rather strange and lopsided. Tombstones could be seen not far away.

"This place is called Halloween Town according to our intelligence thus far. Besides that, we don't know very much." The purple haired Heartless said. Yuki nodded then furrowed her eyebrows.

"Uh, Zakey?" Yuki asked. Zakey turned around and looked at Yuki with her pink eyes. Never before had Yuki seen pink look so threatening.

"What is it?" Zakey asked calmly.

"What's Halloween?" Yuki asked. She didn't look at the older Heartless guiding her. She thought it was a stupid question but curiosity once again had gotten the better of her. Zakey laughed a little only confirming Yuki's thought.

"I had forgotten how young you are. It's no wonder you don't know what Halloween is." Zakey said mostly to herself. Yuki glanced up at her cautiously. Zakey sighed walking farther into town. "Halloween is a holiday celebrated by Somebodies. It's said to be a night where the dead come to life once again."

"Really?" Yuki asked suddenly very interested in this topic. Zakey chuckled to herself.

"That's what they say, but from what I have seen it's really just a night where little kids dress up and get free candy from neighbors. And older children usually cause trouble that night as well." Zakey explained. Yuki's face fell a little. "But in this world, it might be different."

Yuki nodded her head thinking. What a strange thing for Somebodies to do. But at the same time, it sounded like fun. A night to be something completely different. That wasn't such an unappealing thought. Zakey glanced over her shoulder at Yuki watching her think.

"We had best get a move on. One of the townsfolk could come out at any time." Zakey said snapping Yuki out of her thoughts. Yuki nodded and followed Zakey into the town.

Zakey led the way through the town. Her eyes scanning the area. Yuki followed her lead taking note of everything she saw. There was a path that led up to a gate. It looked to lead to another part of town. The buildings around this part didn't look inhabitable. But then again, maybe the residents were different than others Yuki had seen. Other than that there weren't many markers or interesting things in the town that gave away any information. Zakey made a motion with her hand that looked like a follow signal then went down the path to another part of town. This area looked something like a graveyard with a few tombstones around the edges.