Chapter 1: Xsirch: Organization.

"It's quiet here." The man sitting on the log said, watching the silence of the empty world of nothing. It was a quiet beach, and the waves lapped the eternal evening setting.

"Who are you?" I asked. The man responded quietly.

"I'm what's left." He looked out over the waves. "Or maybe, I'm all there ever was."

"I meant your name." I was impatient.

"A meaningless noise." He looked at me. "What about you? Do you still remember your true name?"

The man got up, and walked past me. However, as he passed by me, he placed his hand on my shoulder for a second and uttered one word.

"Chris."

* * * * * * *

"Let us welcome our fourteenth member. I am honored to announce another of the Keyblade's chosen." I looked down. There, standing where I had stood, was a girl. However, the hood of her coat was down, obscuring her face. "Xion." I looked down to where the newcomer stood. I remembered my initiation six days ago. Was I really that brain-dead...?

…"I would like to welcome into our midst our thirteenth member, Xsirch, Wielder of Darkness, and the Key of Destiny. Let us feel honor, at having one among us that is chosen by the keyblade." Xemnas intoned all of this from his chair that stood high above all the rest.

I pushed back my hood, revealing my black hair and my brown eyes. I couldn't remember ever being here… But then, my entire life was a blur.

"Axel," the superior intoned, "For the first few days of his training I am placing him under your mentorship. Please do not disappoint me." He said. Looking around the room, I saw the man that Xemnas had identified as Axel. He had on a bored expression, and was sporting a spiky red hairdo.

"Please take your seat, Xsirch." Xemnas motioned towards another tall chair. I teleported into it.

I remembered the feeling of satisfaction as I found a place where I thought I belonged. Later that day, I lay back on my bed. I heard a knock on my door. I walked over and opened it. Saix stood there, holding a small parcel.

"Lord Xemnas told me to give you this." He held it out. "Try to use it every day."

I took the parcel and nodded at Saix. I could talk if I really wanted to, but I wasn't comfortable using my voice yet. Saix seemed to understand this, and left. I opened the parcel. Inside was a diary.

Why would he give me a diary? I wondered. Shrugging, I opened it to page one.

Saix said to write in it every day, but I don't know what to write! I chewed on the end of a pencil for a moment, and then I started writing.

"It's been a week since I got here. Saix told me to keep a diary, but he said nobody would check it. What am I supposed to write about? Today they told us to go to the Round Room, Where we met our new member, No. XIV. Was I like that when I first got here? I think I was. But I don't remember too well. I don't know what to write in this thing!" I put down my diary and lay down to sleep.

* * * *

I woke up the next day still tired. Disregarding my feelings, however, was the alarm clock. I woke up, and turned it off. I then got up, showered, and entered the Gray Area, a room that served as a hub. Scattered around the room were various members of the Organization. Standing off alone was Saix.

"Slept all right?" the man who I remembered as Axel stood there. I nodded.

"For the next few days, I will get you started on your training. When you are ready to go, speak with Saix."Axel went to the edge of the Gray Area and sat on a lounge couch, drinking coffee.

I went over to Saix. He called Axel over. "Today, Axel will teach you the point of your general mission." Saix opened a dark portal, and Axel ushered me through.

"This is Twilight Town." Axel gestured to the buildings around us. "Today I'm gonna teach you your main mission. Can you summon your keyblade for me?" I nodded and summoned my weapon. That was one thing that I remembered how to do. My keyblade looked like a pair of wings furling around a central beam of thorns, and I could feel that it contained some type of power.

"Your keyblade has this power." Axel explained. "It is used for taking out heartless. Heartless are the hearts of people that have been taken over by darkness."

"Why?" I asked. It was the first time I had used my voice.

"For every heartless you destroy, you release its heart. Every heart that you liberate with your keyblade will go to Kingdom Hearts. And once enough hearts have been attained, we will each get hearts of our own."

"Don't… Don't we have hearts?" I wondered.

"Unfortunately… false." he shook his head. "We are Nobodies. We have none! Anyway," he pointed to a small black creature that had appeared a little way away, "That is a heartless. That specific breed of heartless is known as a Pureblood. Purebloods are not made in the way that the rest of the heartless are made, but are merely extensions of the darkness. Generally, you shouldn't bother with them, but they do make good practice." He summoned a chakram. "Why don't you try out your combat skills on these Purebloods?"

I summoned my keyblade, and ran at them. Somehow, it was as if a combat system was wired into my brain. As long as I was holding my keyblade, I had skill at fighting.

"Well, you're shaping up finely!" Axel noted. "Usually, your mission will be to collect hearts, although occasionally you will get a more specified mission. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah." I nodded. I felt comfortable talking to him.

"So now we can go home. I need a nap." Axel opened a dark portal. "It's important not to overwork yourself in these first few days. You're only just getting used to life as a nobody."

"Okay." Somehow, my response made Axel stop.

"Don't you want to do anything while we're outside?"

"Such as?" I asked.

"The castle is boring, man!" he laughed. "The only fun times are when someone has a party. Me, I like to go get a little icing on the cake after a successful mission."

"Huh?" was my clever response.

"Just come on." He pulled me away. Minutes later, we were sitting atop the big clock tower in Twilight Town. Axel pulled out two sticks of ice cream.

"Here" He tossed one to me. "Eat."

"What flavor is it?" I asked nervously. Somehow, the blue color made me think twice about eating it.

"Sea salt ice cream!" he said with obvious enthusiasm. I took a bite. It was salty… yet sweet. And somehow, the odd combination tasted good.

Later that day I lay in my bed, thinking. There were sounds of music coming from nearby. Demyx had his room right next to mine. That music…. It sounded… familiar. Disregarding it for the moment, I grabbed my diary.

"Axel and I went to Twilight Town today. He taught me a lot. Before we RTC'd (Returned To the Castle) we swung by the clock tower and had some sea-salt ice cream. Axel called it the "Icing on the cake" after a successful mission. Well, except there was no cake- just the ice cream." Someone knocked on my door. I turned around. It was Demyx.

"Hey man, can I hide here?" he seemed out of breath and terrified. "Larxene is trying to kill me!" I nodded, and Demyx dived under my bed.

Larxene ran in moments later. "Hey, did you see which way that watery creep went?!" she demanded. I pointed down the hallway away from my room. Larxene ran off.

You could have said thank you. I muttered. I returned to my room and evicted Demyx.

"Thanks, man!" Demyx said cheerfully. Then he ran out to his room. "I'll be sure to invite you to my next party!"

Axel said that some members have parties… What's a party? I wondered. Shrugging off my questions for the moment, I lay down and slept.