Prologue

—

The black Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sped down the slicked highway, reaching speeds over twenty miles of the posted speed limit. Dimmed headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the icy road, while the windshield wipers were in a frenzy trying to shoo away the flurrying snow. The maniac driver of the vehicle, golden eyes narrowed to slits, focused entirely on the road ahead. The passengers next and behind him might as well have not existed, despite their loud and obnoxious whooping and celebrating.

And celebrating they were.

The loudest of the bunch was a fiery redhead with bright green eyes, ringleader of the caterwauling. A sandy haired boy with bright blue eyes and a black haired girl with a timid smile sat beside him. They were lively cheering and singing any of merry Christmas time songs that they could remember, until—

"Will you please be quiet?" snapped the driver, glaring into the rearview mirror. It was the first time he had spoken since they had entered the mountainous highway. "I'm trying to get us to the designated checkpoint in one piece, if you don't mind."

The ringleader snorted and clapped his hand on the driver's shoulder. "Relax, Saïx, we're just trying to get into the mood." The driver's glare only darkened.

"Remove your hand from my person at once, No. VIII. You run the risk of singlehandedly killing us all."

Axel rolled his eyes but otherwise sat back down.

"And please put your seat belt on," Saïx added.

The occupier of the passenger seat, a young boy with steel blue hair thrown messily over a single oceanic blue eye, lifted his gaze from the countryside map spread out across his lap.

"Maybe that's the reason why Superior assigned us this vacation," he remarked listlessly. "He was sure that Axel would kill us all before we even got to the hotel."

"Kill a guy once and he'll never let you hear the end of it." Zexion turned and glared at the smirking Nobody. Axel stuck his tongue out. The black haired girl giggled mirthfully as the boy sat back down and stared angrily at the map again, retreating into silence.

"I think he just got tired of Demyx's begging for a break," she chortled, gesturing at the back seat where another sandy haired boy rested as he battled with car sickness. "Kingdom Hearts knows I was tired of it."

"Hey, I'd put up with his whining for three months if it meant getting some time off," said Axel. "And a whole week, too. Superior must be getting into the whole Christmas-y spirit."

They heard shifting in the backseat and in the next second the boy's head popped up over the headrest. There was a sickly tint to his cheeks as he rested on the seat for support. "Are we there yet?" the boy groaned softly.

"No, we are not there yet," Saïx called back. His glare sharpened. "And put your seat belt on."

The girl laughed. "Wow, Demyx, you're greener than a Christmas tree!"

He turned a sharp, pained eye to her before collapsing again into the backseat. "Shut up." The snowstorm continued to shake the van, making him groan even louder as they hit a sharp bump in the road. "OW!"

After a moment of silence, the wind pounding on the walls of the vehicle, the sandy-haired boy sitting in the middle seat gently elbowed the girl. "So what're you going to do first when you get to the hotel, Xion?" She shrugged.

"I don't know, haven't thought about it," she admitted shyly. "I just want to take a bubble bath and go to bed, honestly. I hear they have the softest of pillows."

"Roxas and I are going to hit the slopes first thing after breakfast tomorrow," said Axel, staring out the window. He shifted and looked down at the pained Nobody, smirking. "You're welcome to join us, Demy. If you're not too busy being a pansy, that is." The three Nobodies in the middle seat sniggered. The van rattled, and Demyx groaned even louder.

"Are we there yet?"

"Very nearly, if that was the Maverick Pass we just crossed," Zexion replied. He flipped the map onto its side, narrowing his eyes. "Or unless that was Cardigan's Cross…in which case we're about 1000 miles North of where we're supposed to be." The vacationers groaned in unison, Demyx the loudest of them all.

"Where even are we anyway?" said Roxas, trying to make out the foggy shapes as they speedily passed by. "I've never seen so much snow before."

"We're in World #73, or Earth, as the residents call it," said Saïx, his voice deadpanned.

"Here." Zexion passed back the worn map to Roxas. "Our location is about seventy kilometers north of the eastern boarder."

"We've been driving for hours; I'm starving," Axel wailed as Roxas unfolded the map, him and Xion leaning in for a closer look. There was a blotchy circle near the center, their destination; along with several curving lines that they assumed were routes.

"If you hadn't taken so long packing we would have been there hours ago," Saïx scorned, eyes glinting in the rearview mirror. "Even Demyx was ready long before you were." His mouth twisted. "Did you put your seat belt on yet?"

"Dinner's over by now anyway," Zexion commented, earning another grunt from Axel. "Shame too, they were serving grilled salmon cascaded with lemon flavoring tonight."

"And just how do you know that?" said Axel. He was promptly passed a silver pamphlet lined with gold that had a picture of a smiling family on the front. He opened to the sample menu and his mouth instantly watered at the sight. "Hey, that does look good." Roxas plucked up the pamphlet, scouring through the suggestions with a furrowed brow.

"Pickled fish? Grilled Octopus liver?"

"We are in France, after all," said Zexion matter-of-factly. "They're known for their adventurous taste."

"They're probably just pseudonyms," Xion remarked, taking a closer look at the menu. "Who knows? Maybe fried cat gut really is just a fancy term for a cheese steak."

She would have gone on, but at that moment the van passed over another sharp bump in the road that threw nearly everyone out of their seats.

"ARE WE THERE YET?" Demyx wailed from the backseat.

All at once, Saïx slammed his foot on the brake, smacking Axel into the back of the passenger seat. The car skidded to a sharp stop, the wheels groaning as they screeched against the ice. Demyx had rolled off his seat and crashed onto the hard floor, earning a small moan of pain. Everyone else remained intact if only slightly bewildered.

"I told you to put your seat belts on," Saïx said smugly, undoing his own seat belt. Muttering many a foul curse while supporting a bruised nose, Axel swallowed his comeback when he looked outside the window. Everyone had fallen silent, gazing with an awed expression.

Outside, coated with a fresh blanket of snow, stood the magnificent Grandhotel Bellissimo. It appear to look more like a small castle rather than a simple hotel. Darkened windows were stacked neatly upon the walls, the occasional light of a resident peaking through. Recently adorned bright Christmas lights twinkled merrily, making the whole building look as if though it were glowing, cutting through the darkness of night like a beacon. Light Christmas music floated from the hotel's intercom system.

Silver bell, silver bells, it's Christmas time in the city...

Saïx opened the car door, letting in a refreshing winter breeze. "We're here."

Zexion glanced at his wristwatch. "1 AM."

Everybody groaned.

"Out of the car," Saïx ordered as he slid outside. Axel dove out of the van door like a rocket, Xion and Roxas quick to follow after. The snow crunched underneath their fur-laced boots. Before they could even begin crafting their first snowball, unfortunately, Saïx suddenly barked, "Stop wasting time, we're late enough as it is. Remove your bags from the back seat and meet in the hotel lobby."

"Oh, come on Saïx, lighten up," Axel whined. "We just got here."

"That's just it. We were supposed to be here hours ago," said Zexion, grunting as he yanked open the rear door of the van. A few of the bags tumbled out. "I wouldn't be surprised if they canceled our reservations by now."

Saïx's glare sharpened. "Bags. Lobby. Now."

Axel groaned, but otherwise wiped his hands on his jacket (concealing his hastily made snowball). As he strolled over, however, another white flurry knocked him square in the back of the head. Grunting, he whirled around to find a lonely Xion giggling silently to herself. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Something you need Axel?" she asked innocently. Axel smirked, but before he could take action Zexion loudly complained, "Sometime today, people! It's freezing out here."

"Axel, your bag is stuck at the bottom," said Roxas, waving them over. "Help me to pull it out."

Indeed, it was rather chilly, Axel decided. Frost was already clinging to his spiky hair from the assault. Allowing one last simmering look, Axel turned his back to Xion and helped to yank his bag out of the truck, the girl snickering the whole time.

String of street lights, even stop lights, blink a bright red and green...

It took about several minutes to unload everything in the truck, from food wrappers to mittens, but soon enough everyone had their own suitcases and carryon's, the truck empty. Saïx was about to slam the door shut when Roxas suddenly said, "Wait, where did Demyx go?"

Something shifted in the backseat. "Here," moaned a pitiful voice. Demyx's head popped over the headrest again. His face was now entirely green and he seemed beyond movement. "Nice of you to remember me."

Roxas rubbed the back of his neck, shamefaced. "Sorry."

"Come on out, Demy, it's really nice out here," Xion coaxed. Demyx shook his head tiredly, and ducked out of sight again. Saïx suddenly gripped the handle to the door.

"If you do not exit the vehicle within the next seven seconds," he said calmly, "I will lock it, and then shall not unlock it until next we leave."

There were a few moments of silence before Demyx clumsily scrambled over the seat and crashed face first into the snow. He was still for a moment, and then quietly moaned. "That's much better."

Saïx shook his head, and slammed the van shut. Zexion tossed the stricken boy his suitcases before making his way over to the glowing hotel. Everyone else followed suit.

"Hey, Xion, can I talk to you for a sec?" Axel said casually as Roxas yanked Demyx onto his feet. She strolled over and joined him in the back of the tangle.

"Sure, what's up?"

"I think I found something in the snow just now," he said offhandedly. "It might be a gemstone or something."

"Really?" Xion gasped, having possessed a fondness for gemstones. As she leaned in closer to his outstretched hand, though, Axel suddenly shoved her face into a snowball. "Mfftmphft Axel, ffou juuer-k!" He took a few extra seconds to smear her face before darting towards the hotel, chuckling. An angry, laughing Xion charged after him, snow clinging to her eyelashes.

As they rushed in through the entry door a blast of warm air rushed past them, melting the icicles in Axel's hair. A scene of ceramic beauty met them. Classic Victorian paintings decorated the domed ceiling. Fine tapestries lined the walls. The interior of the hotel was lost to the eighteenth century. Demyx uttered a low whistle.

As it was such an ungodly hour, the front lobby was virtually empty save for the concierge whom was chatting lightly on the phone.

Saïx turned to face them all like a drill sergeant. "Now that we have arrived, it is time to go over basic protocol. Proceed with caution and draw as little attention to yourself as possible. This world is foreign and strange to us, and these earthlings are not our friends—"

"C'mon, Saïx, save it for tomorrow," Axel pleaded, rubbing his eyes. He gestured to the yawning Demyx, who was having trouble keeping his eyes open, accompanied by a sleepy Xion and Roxas, who were swaying back and forth. "We barely have any fuel left, give us a break."

"They'll better retain any orientation when they're more attentive anyway," Zexion commented, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes. He yawned. "Come on, before they really do cancel the reservations."

They wheeled over to the front desk. The concierge, a blonde woman with a caffeinated smile, greeted them warmly, hanging up the phone. "Bonjour! Bienvenue sur le Bellissimo Grand 'Otel. Est-ce que je peux vous aider?"

"Domo arigatou, Mr. Roboto," Axel said promptly, smirking. The concierge quickly grew confused.

"Pardon?"

Saïx, glaring at Axel, cleared his throat.

"We made reservations here a week ago," he said simply, handing the girl a strange card. "It should be booked under the name Xemnas."

"Ah, yes, you must be zee group from America," she said happily, taking the card and sliding it through a slot. "Yes, two rooms, six guests total…" As she hurriedly typed something into the computer, Roxas leaned over and whispered, "What's an America?"

"It's a country on the other side of the world," Zexion softly replied, who had been responsible for making the reservations. "I figured it was far enough away to avoid anyone trying to recognize us."

The girl smiled again and handed Saïx back his card, along with two new white ones.

"Zeese are your room keys," she said kindly. "If you lose one zee staff vill be more zen 'appy to provide new ones. Your rooms are on zee fourth floor. 'Ave a vonderfull time 'ere at our 'otel."

She waved them goodbye as the group made their way to the elevators. Saïx helped up the two white cards, each adorned with a looping black strip and a picture of the mountains. "We shall split up into two groups of three, the youngest and the oldest." He handed one of the cards to Zexion. "No. VI, you will be in charge of XIV and XIII. Axel and IX shall remain with me."

As Zexion tucked the card into his pocket, a smirking Roxas nudged Axel in the ribs. "Figures I'd have to share a room with two girls."

Axel sniggered. "Beats sleeping in the same room with Saïx. He snores like a monster."

As they crowded into the abnormally small elevator they were entertained with light, instrumental music and Axel doing poor impressions of the concierge's accent. The elevator chimed sweetly and then slowly parted. The Nobodies were greeted with a long hallway that seemed to stretch on for miles.

"Room 406 and room 408," Zexion listed off as the others shot down the hallway. The aforementioned rooms were towards the very end of the building, and they slowly made their way down. They all were greeted with an embellished door with a golden door knocker. Axel, Demyx, and Saïx on one side with Zexion, Roxas, and Xion on the other, the Nobodies slid the key cards through the slot and entered their respective rooms.

Zexion closed the door and flipped on the lights.

"Wow," Xion exclaimed. Roxas nodded concurringly while Zexion just looked appreciative.

The room was a standard two queen-sized bed suite with a single bathroom, along with a sofa facing an outdated television. The walls were painted a nice albeit dizzying red and gold with a large window on the far side of the wall that offered a lovely view of the snow covered mountains, which would have been grand if it weren't so dark. The electric clock, resting on the nightstand that stood between the beds, glowed in the darkness.

"1:26 AM," Roxas read. He placed a tentative hand on the nearest bed while Zexion sauntered further into the room.

"Forgive me, I hadn't put much thought much into sleeping arrangements" he apologized, staring at the two beds. A finger rested on his lip. "I guess I'll just sleep on the sofa to avoid any quarrelling."

"Don't worry about it, Zexy, you don't have to do that," said Xion, smiling as she tossed her suitcase onto the mattress.

"Yeah, me and Xion are practically the same person anyway," Roxas added, throwing an arm around Xion's shoulder. "So we can just share the same bed. Problem solved."

Zexion smiled appreciatively. "Well okay then, it's settled. I'll go change and get ready for bed. I suggest you do the same."

As he vanished into the bathroom, a door next to the TV that the tangle hadn't noticed before suddenly burst open. Axel, as loud and obnoxious as ever, even when sleep deprived, came gallivanting through.

"Hell—o!" he hollered.

"Hey Axel," Xion and Roxas remarked in unison, focused on unpacking their suitcases. Axel glared, his annoyance apparent.

"C'mon, guys, we just got here after hours of driving, it's time to party!"

"What exactly do you have in mind, Axel?" Xion humored. "It's 1 AM, almost 2 in the morning."

He pursed his lips stubbornly. "Well...they had a coffee maker downstairs..."

At that moment, Demyx appeared in the doorway, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He had already changed into his pajamas, a bright orange shirt and pants that seemed two sizes too big. "VP said lights out in ten minutes."

"We need to go to bed Axel," Xion remarked as she pulled out her blue nightdress. "That way we can get up early tomorrow."

"And just how early is early?" Demyx asked tentatively.

"I think Zexion said that breakfast ends at 9 o'clock." Roxas pulled out his toiletry bag and examined his toothbrush before continuing. "So we have to wake up at at least 7 o'clock. That gives everyone enough time to get up get ready and eat."

Demyx groaned while Axel rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, I'm friends with a bunch of losers," he grumbled as he spread out on the adjacent bed. Reaching for the remote he flipped on the TV and idly scanned through the channels, already bored with his company.

"It shouldn't be too bad, Dem-dem," Xion remarked comfortingly. "We'll be sure to wake you up last so you can get the extra sleep."

The boy thought about it for a second, before shrugging. "Better than nothing. Umm, I mean," his face went red, "thanks, Xion."

She smiled. "No problem."

Just then Zexion strolled out of the bathroom, attired in his classy smoky gray pajamas. "Bathroom's yours. Chop-chop, another moment wasted now is another less we have for tomorrow."

"Yessir," Xion saluted before venturing into the bathroom, toiletries and a change of clothes tucked under her arm, and closing the door behind her. With the only female presence in the room gone, Roxas took the opportunity to change out of his winter traveling clothes.

"This is going to be so much fun," he commented as he struggled to get an old shirt over his head. He pulled it on with an audible pop. "I've been looking forward to this trip for weeks."

"We all have," Zexion replied as he readjusted the contents of his suitcase. He suddenly snickered. "Remember the look on Larxene's face when she found out she couldn't go?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Demyx groaned. "I still have nightmares about it." They chuckled.

"Just imagine, though, a whole week of Larxene," Roxas commented.

"Let's just be glad that she was so far behind on her missions she couldn't afford to go on vacation," said Zexion darkly. They all suppressed a shudder.

A moment passed. They looked up when they heard a knock in the open doorway.

"Lights out," Saïx promptly demanded. He, too, had already changed in to his black, long-sleeved nightclothes. He disappeared again into the other room. Demyx's face nearly split in half as he breathed a deep yawn.

"Well, g-g-good night everyone," he uttered, trying to suppress the yawn, as he walked back into his own room. The door to the bathroom opened and Xion's smiling face greeted them. Roxas was already curling up on his side of the bed.

"You heard him, VIII. Bed," Zexion ordered as he turned off the TV. "As in get out of my bed." Axel ignored him; or rather he didn't hear him. Suddenly, Zexion exclaimed, "I don't believe it—he actually fell asleep."

Indeed, the red head's chest rose and fell as deeply and steadily as anyone caught in a deep sleep. His head slumped against the pillow, and his eyes might as well have been glued shut.

"Honestly, the people I have to deal with," Zexion muttered angrily. He paused for a moment, thinking, before gripping the bed sheet covers and yanking them back. A moment later, Axel audibly crashed onto the ground. He jerked awake, blearily tossing his head from side to side.

"Wh—wha happen…?"

Zexion's glared as he pointed sharply at the open door. "Out."

Shaking himself, Axel lurched to his feet, patted his jeans and dazedly returned to his own room. Xion and Roxas were in stitches as Zexion slammed the door shut, even taking the time to lock it. "They won't surprise us tomorrow morning," he mumbled.

Now that the Nobodies could finally take the time to relax, they suddenly realized just how tired they were. The two sunk into their pillows like rocks in a pond. "They really do have the softest pillows," Xion mumbled under her breath.

Crawling into his own bed, Zexion flipped off the light switch. They were thrown into total darkness. A few moments of silence passed, sleep tugging at them all, when they were suddenly jolted awake by a pounding on the door.

"GOODNIGHT, EVERYONE!"

Xion and Roxas sniggered, before jovially shouting back, "GOODNIGHT, AXEL!"

Zexion muttered a few choice words before he tugged the pillow over his head. The two laughed again as they heard some more shouting (presumably an irritated Demyx), before curling back underneath the comforter.

Xion nudged Roxas with her elbow. "Goodnight Roxas…"

He nudged her back. "'night, Xion…"

It was almost a half hour later when the last of them (Demyx) had finally fallen asleep. The snow drifted peacefully outside, blanketing the mountains outside in a crisp winter wonderland as the Nobodies' winter week vacation begun.