So here's chapter two, I hope you guys are liking it so far. Don't forget to tell me what you've thought so far, and please stick with me! Love you guys!


Natalie's eyes fluttered open and she sat up. She noticed that her side didn't hurt and that she could move around easier. She started to stand, but was pushed back down by Xentalia.

"You need to stay until Lana gets back to take care of your wound. Then you are free to get up." She said coldly. Natalie nodded and slipped back into the spot she'd been laying in. It was silent, until Natalie broke the silence.

"Look, Xentalia...I'm sorry if I offended you by not knowing what a Nobody was. I didn't mean to upset you." Xentalia shook her head.
"You can't upset me, Natalie. I can't feel anything." Natalie nodded, shifting.
"Yes, but...you understand the feelings, don't you?" Xentalia's eyes turned on her, almost menacingly.
"What has Lana been telling you?" She asked. Natalie sighed.
"I asked her to tell me. I understand better now and that's why I'm apologizing. You understand the feelings even though you can't actually feel them. That's fine. I understand that. I'm sorry it offended you." Xentalia shook her head and brushed it off.
"It's fine, Natalie. You shouldn't stress over something like that. You need to focus on getting better so we can keep moving. Our plans have changed while you slept."
"What do you mean?" Natalie asked, shifting again.

"Castle Oblivion, one of Organization XIII's headquarters, is being manipulated strangely by their members. They have someone working for them that's messing everything up. And you'll want to know that both your friend and brother are involved in that castle and are being manipulated by it." Natalie gasped, throwing her covers back.
"What? Both Riku and Sora? But...but how?" Xentalia shrugged.
"They both found their way into the castle somehow. I knew you would want to go and help them out. So Lana and I will help you, though we can't guarantee where in the castle you will end up. Riku started in the basement. Sora started at the front door. For all we know you could end up somewhere in the middle." Natalie sighed, shifting to sit up on her knees.
"Won't you be coming with me?" Xentalia nodded.
"Yes, but the castle doesn't manipulate the Heartless and Nobodies. Both entities are there, but it's the people like you who are manipulated. It's very dangerous if they're expecting you. But I've found a way to get you inside undetected, and Lana and I are going to mess everything up with you. It's the best way to save your friend and your brother." She said, her arms crossed. Natalie nodded and Lana entered the room.

"Well, well, looks like sleeping beauty's finally awake. Here, let me take care of that and see how you're doing." She said, lifting Natalie's shirt and taking off the bandages.
"Hmm, it seems you're fine. No more bleeding, not even a scab or a scar. You're healed. It's a great thing." She said. She went to the far end of the room, where a wardrobe stood, and took out a pile of clothes.
"You'll have to wear this. Your sweater was ruined and your capris were covered in blood. This may not be what you're used to but...at least it's something." She said, setting them down on the table.
"You can shower, if you like, and then we can be on our way whenever you're ready. Take your time. There's no rush." Lana said with a smile. Natalie nodded, standing and walking into a bathroom after being directed by Lana to where it was. When the water started, Xentalia looked at Lana coldly.

"You know that we're on a tight schedule. Time is of the essence. We need to be leaving as soon as possible so we can dispose of the rogue Organization XIII members." Lana shushed Xentalia, cooing to her softly.
"I know, Xentalia, I know. But we can't pressure her. She's been through a lot. And what she's going to find in that castle isn't going to make her happy. How are we supposed to tell her that her brother doesn't know anything about her?" Xentalia's features changed to a look of surprise.
"What? He doesn't remember her?" Lana shook her head.
"No. There are no memories of her at all. He's only got memories of some girl named Namine. And I think she's our culprit." Xentalia sighed.
"And what of Riku?"
"His memories are that of the darkness. He is being led in nothing but darkness. Natalie was with him, her memory was, until after his visit to Monstro. Now she's gone and he's upset." Xentalia nodded.
"I see. This is more serious than I'd ever thought." Xentalia said.

"Yes. And they've both got many floors to go before they emerge from that place. We can get to them both in time, if not Riku, we can get to Sora. I know Natalie won't like that, but...she needs to know that her brother needs her help more than Riku does. She will understand. She's a smart girl, and her heart is always telling her what's right. We can't go wrong with that kind of logic." Lana said, drawing Natalie's pack from the bedside table. She set it on the bed so that Natalie would see it and grab it before they left.


Natalie let the water run down her body, it's heat nearly searing her skin off. But it helped to calm her and clear her head. She could only think of Riku and Sora, how they were both in trouble. She knew Sora could handle himself, and Riku could too, but...she was still worried about them nonetheless. What would happen if Sora was seriously injured or if Riku again succumbed to the darkness? It would really hurt her to see that happen to him. She felt tears, hotter than the water, run down her cheeks. She put her head in her hands and sobbed, crying softly, her heart hurting because she'd figured something out about herself and was finally willing to admit it, and it scared her so much.

She was in love with Riku.

She knew that from the beginning she could never be his best friend. They were too close for that. She loved him too much for that. It was all or nothing...and it seemed like nothing was outweighing everything else. And now that she'd lost him to the darkness he seemed completely out of her reach. She needed to find him and set things straight. She couldn't lose him again after that. There was no way.

She wiped her eyes and slowly finished her shower, her mind clouded and hardly clear, so far from what she'd hoped would happen.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around herself. She went to the mirror and wiped away the condensation on the mirror, looking at herself. She saw how thin and pale she now looked, how frail she seemed, and hadn't realized that something like getting injured make her seem so fragile. She opened the towel on her healed side and sighed, noticing that, after the hot shower, the heat had caused three long, white lines to appear, the signs of her scars. She shook her head and dried, dressing in the clothes given to her by Lana.

The pants were patent leather, stretchy and tight-fitting. They were low rise and barely went to her hips. On the sides of her upper thighs she had to tighten thin red laces to tighten the pant legs. The laces only went to the knees and wouldn't closed all the way, leaving her legs exposed. It was attractive but not something she'd ever thought of wearing. The pants were much too big and much too long, but she had a belt to keep it up. She put on the shirts that she's been given, and red tanktop with one sleeve. The other one was black and had one sleeve for the other shoulder. The shirts rested nicely low enough to show a small inch or two of her midriff. She slipped on black leather boots and black and red leather fingerless gloves. She then pulled on the cloak she'd been given, a cloak identical to the ones Xentalia and Lana wore, then started to dry her hair. It didn't take long and she was glad when she was finished. She looked herself over again.

She felt completely different, like she wasn't the same person she had been before. She looked different, felt different, maybe even acted different. She walked out of the bathroom and saw that Lana had her pack in her hand. Xentalia was nowhere to be found.

"This must be important to you, Natalie. Put it on and keep it close." Natalie nodded.
"Yes. It's got something very special in it that I need to finish...which reminds me, can I do that really quick? It will only take a few minutes." Lana nodded with a smile.
"Sure. Xentalia can wait. She won't mind." Natalie nodded and sat on the bed, pulling out her engraver and finishing her locket. She had Riku's name on the back of hers. She started on Riku's, engraving her name into the back of it. It was a way that she could make sure he didn't forget her. If this journey didn't end soon, then they were going to be separated time and again—

No. Once she found Riku she wasn't letting him go on alone. Not again. It wasn't going to happen.

Her name was on the locket in beautiful script in no time at all. She buffed everything and made sure the white gold was completely flawless, then put her pack on underneath her cloak. It wasn't bulky and didn't show through.

"Alright, let's go." She said, following Lana out the door, her mind thinking only of finding Riku and making sure he was safe.


Walking with Xentalia and Lana was really boring for Natalie. They weren't the talking types when they were busy and had stuff on their agenda. She understood that Xentalia didn't really have feelings and wasn't into small talk, but...Lana did, so why not? She only shrugged her shoulders inside her head and walked with them in the silence.

When they came over the top of a hill, the presence that loomed before them shocked Natalie and made her stop and take a good, long look at what she was seeing. The castle was easily twenty stories high, if not taller. It was configured in a very weird way and had so many different oddities hanging from it that Natalie couldn't really figure out if it was just decoration or if they really had some use. It was then that Xentalia spoke.

"There are ten floors of the basement, fourteen regular floors, and six tower floors. Nothing occupies the towers except Heartless and Nobodies. The fourteenth floor is where all of the Organization members are stationed. They don't know we're here, but once we touch those doors they'll know instantly. We have to find Riku and Sora and get them out. That is our goal. Anything else doesn't matter. If there are Organization members, I will eliminate them and catch up with you guys. Natalie." Xentalia said, looking at Natalie with her molten gold eyes.

"Yes, Xentalia?"
"I want you to listen to me very carefully. I know that you are interested in making sure everyone is safe, but one thing you must do for me is make sure that if I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to move on without me, you must do so. Is that clear?" Natalie's eyes widened.
"Yes, Xentalia, but—"
"No buts. I need you to do it without question." She said, before continuing down the path. The other two continued on after her, all of them thinking about what lay ahead of them.

The doors to the castle opened with a very loud groan. Walking in, a bright light shined forth from the doorway and all three girls were sucked into the castle without much time to think about what had happened. When they opened their eyes, they were inside the castle with some stairs in front of them going downward. There was nothing behind them, only a bright white wall decorated with flowers. Many of the assorted podiums and vases were filled with white flowers as well. The place was eerily quiet as they all tried to focus.

"Well, well, well, it seems we've got intruders. It's funny how you'd walk right into our trap so willingly." Natalie looked up towards the stairs and saw a man standing there, hair redder than fire, eyes as green as her own, with purple tattoos on his face.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Natalie shouted. He laughed.
"The name's Axel, got it memorized? And I'm here to make sure you don't interfere with our plans." Natalie summoned her blade.
"I don't think so. I'm getting my brother and my best friend out of here, even if I have to destroy you all myself!" Natalie said. Xentalia and Lana stood next to her, their weapons out. Xentalia had her daggers while Lana was crouched, like a cat, claws out and fangs beared.

"My, my, my, Xentalia, I didn't think you would be so foolish as to lead her here. It really is a shame that you don't work for the Organization. You and I could have a lot of fun." She gritted her teeth.
"You know damn well that we can't feel things like that. And I don't agree with the policies your Organization uses. So my answer is still no." He sighed.
"Tsk tsk tsk, so sad. I was so looking forward to having you all to myself. But we needed a rematch anyway. So let's get this party started!" He said, whipping out chakrams with fire. Xentalia stood in front of Natalie and started to defend her.
"Do you remember what I said, Natalie?"
"Y-yes, but, Xentalia, I—" The brunette cut her off.
"Then I'm telling you now to run! Get out of here as fast as you can! I'll distract him and catch up with you later." She said, launching at Axel before Natalie could protest.

"You heard her, Natalie. Let's book it!" Lana said, grabbing her hand and avoiding the fight as they ran down the steps to the next floor.


Well, there's that chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to tell me what you think! Love you guys, have some cookies!