"Welcome to the Organization, Xenan. So, are you ready for your initiation?"

I stared at Axel blankly. I'd been introduced to everyone, learned about my job in the Organization, and discovered my element was metal, but I hadn't heard anything about an initiation. Me, Axel, Demyx, Xigbar, and Roxas were all in Axel's room, supposedly for a 'secret meeting.' From the eager looks on their faces, they all seemed to know why we were here.

"What initiation?" I asked, sitting stiffly on the edge of Axel's bed.

"The initiation for everyone who wants to be awesome!" Demyx answered. Like that helped any. At least I could guess that it wasn't official. "We decided you might be okay enough to join our group. Why's your hair so lame, though?"

"Huh?" My hair was plain brown, shoulder length, and wasn't neon, spiky, or gravity-defying in any way. …Come to think of it, I guess that did stand out here.

"Your hair. It's weird." Demyx stared at it, mesmerized. I stared back awkwardly.

"Err…" I mumbled, scooting farther down the bed. If anything was weird, it was them.

"Anyway." Axel rolled his eyes and whacked Demyx upside the head. "Being initiated means Demyx won't make you do all his work, we won't prank you, and we'll save you a spot in line for the bathroom," Axel explained. "You'd think with a castle this big there would be more than two bathrooms… Oh, and we won't steal your food if you're late to meals. Got it memorized?"

I nodded. With all the work I'd heard I'd be doing tomorrow, and not to mention every day after that, I'd hate to be hungry. I'd already had my dinner stolen by Xigbar today, and he'd teleported away too fast for me to hit him with my mace. I supposed I could do that now, while he was hanging from the ceiling behind Axel, but that would probably ruin my chances of getting 'initiated' and protecting my food for the future.

"People stole my food for days before I got an initiation," Roxas said, somewhat sulkily. "And Demyx left me all alone on our mission."

Demyx smiled sheepishly. If he was so useless, why was he even in the Organization? I mean, he hadn't seemed very tough when I knocked him unconscious earlier today – long story short, he and Axel were the ones who found me after I woke up as a Nobody. How was I supposed to know their Dancers and Assassins were different from the Heartless?

"What about you?" Axel asked. "Before we decide for sure on your initiation, we need to know if you'll be useful to have in our group."

I paused for a minute, wondering what counted as 'useful,' but I wasn't too worried since they let Demyx in. Maybe he had some secret strengths and his… Demyx-ness was just a cover-up. "Well, I don't mind extra work. I'm used to working a lot," I remembered the days when I had to work all day with Dad in the forge to make more weapons to fight off the Heartless. We hadn't even had time to eat, which reminded me… "But I'd have to get extra food." I looked over at Demyx, who had a grin like a kid who'd just been told he didn't have to do his chores. Which, in a way, he kind of was.

"Yeah, let's let her join!" He cheered

"We could always steal Vexen's food to give 'er. Not like the old geezer needs it," Xigbar said.

"Takes one to know one, Xiggy," Demyx joked. Xigbar punched him in the gut.

"Actions speak louder than words." Xigbar grinned evilly. Demyx groaned. That would be another lesson to take to heart – Uh, wrong choice of words. Take to memory, whatever.

"Save it for the Heartless," Axel rolled his eyes, then turned to face me. "Since we've decided to let you join, we'll need to decide on your initiation."

"Mine was to poke Zexion's lexicon without getting killed," Demyx said, still a little winded but perky as ever. "I ended up stuck in that thing for days!"

"We would've gotten him out of there sooner, but we thought he was just skipping work somewhere. Then we found out the candy stockpile in his room was still full." Axel laughed.

"What was it like in there?" I asked, curious to know about another member's weapon.

Demyx shuddered, eyes widening. "Like death. Lots and lots of death."

Okay, maybe I didn't want to know. I'd seen lots of death already.

Axel motioned for everyone but me to huddle in a corner of the room. They whispered for a little while – well, Xigbar, Axel, and Demyx mostly, Roxas just kind of sat there and listened. He was a pretty nice kid from what I could tell. He sure didn't seem as crazy as most of the Organization, even if his hair was just as gravity-defying.

Eventually they finished talking and looked at me.

"Your initiation is to shave Xaldin's sideburns. Without getting your head chopped off, of course," Xigbar said, smirking.

"While he's sleeping," Demyx clarified, then rambled on, "otherwise you wouldn't have a chance. I mean, you still don't have a whole lot of a chance, it's Xaldin. I tried to get them to let you do Luxord,but hey, they don't listen to me."

"Xa-Xaldin?!" I stammered. He and Larxene were the only two I was really scared of- well, and Xion, maybe, since I had no idea what she was like under her hood. But Xaldin? I could tell from his face he could kill me without a second glance, and he controlled wind. That probably made him faster than I'd expect. Plus he had six spears. That would be five more to kill me with! Not to mention he and Zexion were the cooks. What if they starved me to death? …Then again, Xigbar had stolen my food today, so I'd better hear him out.

I realized my blank stare had been boring into Xigbar's eyepatch. Of course, the thoughts in my head didn't translate into emotions.

"What? Something else happen to my face?" Xigbar joked.

"Are you in or not?" Axel asked seriously. Guess there was no reason to waste his sleeping time if I gave up that easily.

"Yeah, sure," I said, my voice emotionless. Being a Nobody, it wasn't a problem – I was just remembering fear.

"Great," Axel's expression was creepy- he looked like he was going to watch an enemy get sacrificed to the Heartless. He grabbed a weird metallic box out of his coat pocket. "Here. I nicked this camera from Vexen's lab. You'd think he'd get some better security after everything I've taken. His ice traps have nothing on my hotness." He smirked arrogantly. Reminded me of my brother… no, not going there. "Record yourself shaving Xaldin's sideburns with the night vision setting."

"Camera?" I asked, confused. What in the worlds was a camera? Maybe I was overly paranoid or too used to weapon-making, but it sounded dangerous.

"You don't know what a camera is? Where did you live before, under a rock?" Demyx laughed.

…Well, yeah. Me and dad had lived partially underground in one of the only dens in town that had decent ventilation, so that the smoke from the forge didn't smother us. Our world would've been doomed much sooner if it had.

"You turn it on with this button." Demyx took the camera from Axel and pressed a button marked POWER. I flinched, but a light just appeared on the back side of the camera, which then showed Demyx's boots through the strange, bright window. A cylinder extended about an inch out of the front of the camera, too, like a short telescope. That must be where light went into the window, but it didn't magnify anything. What was the point of that?

"What does it do?"

"Takes pictures," Demyx said. "Videos, too." Like I knew what a video was. He turned a dial at the top of the camera, making the image through the window clearer, with a slight greenish tint. I looked at the space behind it, but it looked normal. "There. Now you just press this button to record. It'll save the image of whatever you point it at, so you can see it again later."

"Like… being able to watch a memory?" Well, this world did have magic, after all. Maybe this camera device was normal.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just record your initiation as proof-"

"Won't Xaldin on a rampage be enough proof?" I interrupted, bouncing slightly on the bed in an attempt to mimic nervousness. Heart or no heart, I should at least be allowed to look worried about getting stabbed to death.

"-But mostly so we can laugh at it later. Don't mess with the dial or any buttons except the record and power buttons. It's easy."

"Who knew our friendly castle idiot could explain technology?" Xigbar laughed.

"Don't worry, Xiggy, we all know they didn't have cameras back in your day," Demyx replied cheekily. I figured if I knew not to joke about Xigbar's age by now, he should know. I mean, Xigbar was old, probably around forty – the same age my dad had been – but he was strong enough to back it up. Also like Dad.

At least this time Xigbar didn't punch him. "Not too old to pin you to the ground and feed you vegetables."

Demyx hid behind Axel. "Not vegetables!" He squeaked like my five-year-old sister. How was she holding up without me? I had to stop thinking about my family; I didn't know how to navigate the dark corridors to get back to them. And most of them were beyond the reach of corridors, anyway.

"Okay, that's enough," Axel said. "Sheesh, you're making me feel like a babysitter. I already had to go through that once, right, Roxas?" Axel nudged him in the side with his elbow, and they both laughed.

It seemed like the four of them laughed a lot for not having hearts. They were probably trying too hard to fake it, like me... Don't think about that; better to think about things that would be helpful, like all the Heartless I'd get to kill tomorrow, and making sure I got enough food to stay alive.

"So, sneak into Xaldin's room, shave his sideburns, record it, and don't get caught. Or killed. Got it memorized?"

I nodded. Not getting killed sounded important, if redundant.

"Xaldin's room has the number III above it. It's in the last hallway to the left from the Grey Area, across the hall from my room," Xigbar said. My room was in the opposite direction; from what I saw earlier they were split up into numbers II-VI, VII-XIII, and XIV-XV. Clearly they didn't completely plan out their numbering system, since Xion and I were shoved into a hall that looked like it wasn't meant for bedrooms. "Good luck. You'll need it." He opened a portal and disappeared.

"Get it done tonight if you don't wanna starve tomorrow," Demyx said, handing me the camera.

"And you'll still want to get there early if you want bacon. Some things are too delicious to share." Axel leaned back on his bed, since it was his room and he didn't need to go anywhere else.

Roxas just looked at me like I was condemned. I'd seen that look on the healer's face when my mom had been brought in after a rough fight with the Heartless.

I left the room after Roxas, wishing I was home.

XXX

The hallway was almost silent that night. Technically, everyone was supposed to be asleep by now (curfew was at eleven), but that didn't stop Demyx from singing and blasting music out of his room. The sound carried all the way from the opposite hall. I had no idea how he played that loud or what instrument he used, but at least it was harder to hear my footsteps.

It felt like a long walk, trailing my fingers across the walls so I didn't get lost, but I found the door with the letters III above it and turned the knob. Locked.

I summoned my mace. It was fancier than the one I'd had as a Somebody, and lighter, too. Lexaeus had forged it today. Normally it took me a good week to smith a decent weapon, let alone something with such intricate, nobody sigil-shaped spikes. However amazing it was, it still felt odd to hold a weapon I hadn't made myself.

I concentrated on the metal, imagining it melting, forming a moldable clay-like substance. I directed it into the lock, letting it mold to the mechanism inside. It took a few tries to perfect, but soon I had a spiny key. I turned it inside the lock and took the camera out of my pocket, pressing the power and record buttons. Hopefully the glowing light from the device's window wouldn't wake Xaldin.

I opened the door and took out my mace-key. It would be best to get this over with fast.

The room was impossibly clean compared to Axel's room. In fact, even mine was dirtier, and I hadn't been here for a full day. When I crept inside, I noticed the gleam of weapons hanging from the walls. Most looked like different kinds of spears, but I saw a few swords and even a metal bow. Had I been a Somebody I might have felt scared, and memories of fear were trying to surface, but my main thought was how many Heartless I could kill with all of them.

Finally, I dared to inspect the bed. Xaldin looked creepily peaceful asleep, his long dreadlocks – another weird hairstyle, and a word I had learned from Demyx – falling over his pillow. Thank goodness he didn't sleep on his stomach, or getting to his face would've been a nightmare. Not that this whole 'prank' wasn't already.

I concentrated on my mace again, and one of the spikes flattened out into a thin, sharp blade. I pointed the camera at Xaldin's face with one hand and held my mace in the other.

I also held my breath, delicately pressing the sharp metal against his cheek. When Xaldin's neck twitched, I nearly dropped everything and ran. The fight-or-flight response wouldn't help me now. Carefully, I finished shaving the left sideburn and moved on to the right. It was too quiet now; I couldn't hear Demyx's music. Someone must've finally made him quit playing. The silence made me feel more paranoid, and I found myself wishing Xaldin snored to mask my breathing.

After a few smooth strokes, Xaldin's right sideburn was gone, too. My mace melted back into its original shape, but I didn't put it away. I pointed the camera at my face and gave a thumbs up and a nervous smile. Now I only had to get back to my room, and-

A sudden loud noise startled me, and both the camera and my mace thudded to the ground. Did Demyx have to start up his ear-piercingly loud music again now?

I barely had time to think. Xaldin grunted and started to sit up, rubbing his face. I melted the camera to erase the evidence and bolted out the door, summoning my mace when I reached the hallway. I sprinted the whole way back to my room and didn't look back.

XXX

"Hey, Xenan! Do you have the camera? Did you pass the initiation?" Demyx asked me the next morning on the way to breakfast.

"Err, well…" I didn't want to tell him about how I'd panicked last night. It was partially his fault, anyway. We walked into the Dining Hall of Non-Existence (what was with the stupid names in this place?), and I stopped in my tracks. Xaldin was leaning against a wall, arms folded across his chest and glaring at Axel, who was sitting with his feet propped up on the dining table. Demyx immediately burst out laughing at the sight of Xaldin without his sideburns, who in the light reminded me of a lion with a shaved mane. Xaldin turned his attention at us, and Demyx coughed to cover his laugher, failing miserably. He quickly found his seat and scooped out a heap of scrambled eggs. Xaldin then glared at me, and he must have heard my squeak of sheer terror – I thought I wasn't supposed to feel that, what gives? – because he stalked towards me. I backed up and bolted out the door. I ran like my life depended on it (which it did), glancing over my shoulder, until I slammed into Xigbar.

"Nice work. Thought you'd be dead by now." Xigbar smirked. He grabbed my arm and opened a dark corridor, dragging me through and away from Xaldin, who had just summoned his spears.

XXX

"Where are we?" I asked, swallowing my nausea from the corridor. We had stepped out in a dim room with boxes stacked to the ceiling. Reading the labels, I saw SPARE COATS, MICROWAVE REPAIR KIT, and TWISTER MATS. The stench of rats and underwear that had been marinating in a vat of moldy cheese nearly knocked me over.

"The Basement That Doesn't Want to Be. A kind of joke," Xigbar said, not seeming to notice the smell. Again, Xemnas needed help in the Naming Department. "Sit tight and try not to choke on too much dust. Axel's gonna bring you a plate." He left again, leaving me alone in the dark.

A few minutes later, Axel arrived carrying a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Did someone order a breakfast with a side of eau-de-Basement?" He asked, pinching his nose.

"Thanks," I said, taking the plate. My own nose had adjusted enough by then to want to eat again.

"You're welcome. Nice to know someone has manners around here. I stole it off Larxene." Axel grinned mischievously. "Xaldin was ranting about being woken up and finding a metal puddle in his room, besides, y'know, the shaving job." He chuckled. "He nearly Boss Battled me earlier, but he must've remembered your element, and seeing your face this morning proved it. So what happened?"

I explained how Demyx's music had woken Xaldin and that I'd had to melt the camera.

"That's too bad. We were going to use that camera to try and find counter-blackmail on Larxene. Quick thinking with melting it, though, Xaldin technically can't prove anything."

"Well, that's good." I bit off the end of a piece of bacon. However scary they were, Xaldin and Zexion were amazing cooks. "What do I do now?" I asked through a mouthful of food.

"We'll need to teach you how to open dark corridors so you can escape if Xaldin tries to kill you again. Until then, you'll be safest in here." He opened a portal, gave a lazy salute, and left me alone again.

Wonderful. Stuck in a dark, dingy room. Just like home, but without the warmth and weapons to make, and with an extra hundred or so stomach-turning smells.

But at least I had some food.