Prologue
Rubie glared back at the Eternal Kingdom behind her as if daring it to follow her. The marvelous white granite city loomed over the horizon, sparkling innocently. It doesn't look like a city of stuck-ups and fools, she thought bitterly. But you could never judge appearances. Never.
She strode moodily, shoulders hunched, for the outer wall, making for the silver gate that led to the outside worlds. When she got there, she noticed a man in a black coat leaning against it, arms folded.
"I've been waiting for you," he said.
"Who are you?" Rubie asked warily, shifting her shoulder bag to free her right hand, which she rested on the handle of the short sword – a kodachi – at her hip.
"The name's Axel," he said, lowering his hood to reveal a shock of red, spiky hair and emerald-green eyes. "A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"
Rubie raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"
"I've been sent for you," Axel said. He held out a black-gloved hand. "You're the new one, right? Rubesia."
Rubie grimaced at the use of her full name. "It's Rubie."
Axel grinned. "Is it really? After giving up your heart, can you really keep that name?"
"How do you know that?" Rubie demanded.
"Why else would I be here?" he wondered aloud. "I'm just like you… Rubie. Ugh. What a lame name. Here."
He put his hand out so his palm was facing her, and letters conjured themselves out of thin air. Her name…
RUBIE
As she watched, the letters flew in a complex pattern, rearranging themselves. There was a flash of light, and Rubie shut her eyes to block it out. When she opened them, the letters read:
BRUIXE
"That's better," Axel commented. "Bruixe. A fitting name."
She blinked. "I don't understand."
"Your new name," he told her. "For your new life, with the Organization."
She didn't answer, lost in thought. A new life? she thought. I can deal with that.
She stepped forward. "Bruixe it is."
He smiled, and together Axel and Bruixe set out for the worlds ahead.
Bruixe opened her eyes groggily, every inch of her body throbbing. There was sand in her mouth; she turned her head to the side to spit, and a bolt of pain split through her body like lightning.
Dimly she registered that there was blood in the sand, and she wondered if it was her own.
Where am I? she wondered. What happened to me?
She remembered walking towards the beach with Xaldin and Saïx after arguing with Xemnas. He had been angry because… why? Bruixe's head hurt.
That's right. She had taken her Rogues and left the World That Never Was, setting out for the Eternal Kingdom. She had known full well that she had been ordered to intercept the Keyblade bearer at Hollow Bastion.
When she'd returned, Xemnas had been furious. He had been forced to send Demyx, who had been destroyed. Xemnas' fury had been like none Bruixe had ever known.
She'd come down to the beach with Saïx and Xaldin… they had orders to kill her. She'd summoned her Rogues… they turned on me, she remembered. And then, nothing.
Why then, was she still alive?
Bruixe tried to sit up, but her battered body wouldn't let her. She closed her eyes. Only for a little while, she reasoned, and let her head drop back against the sand. Soon sleep overcame her, and she fell into its comforting grasp.