Chapter 2: An Explanation

***Please note that there will be spoilers for ALL Kingdom Hearts Games: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts II. Please read at your own risk.***

What a warm welcome! Larxene thought to herself. Even her own personal thoughts were riddled with sarcasm. At least she still had that to keep her together. She looked at Sora whose face was full of shock and contained just a hint of anger. Looks like this kid's got some difficulty letting go. It's not like I wanted Naminé to put him through all that. Oh, who am I kidding? I enjoyed it. Huh, I guess he does have a right to be angry. But Naminé put his memories back together, didn't she? And we all got what we deserved.

"Sora…" She didn't entirely expect him to recognise her: she had been told that in order for Naminé to restore Sora's real memories, she had to make him forget everything that had happened in Castle Oblivion, which now seemed ages ago to Larxene, who had met her downfall there at the hands of Sora himself. Now it was almost like none of it had ever happened.

"What are you doing here?" Sora demanded.

He knows who I am! Of course, Roxas must have told him about me, maybe the other members, too. And he probably told Sora about the Castle Oblivion mission. "I came to ask you for your help, you little smart mouth," Larxene snapped back.

"Oh yeah? Well what makes you think I'd want to help you? After all you've done to us! Forcing Naminé to mess around with Donald's, Goofy's, and my memories, Kairi's, too! I'm not helping you! You hurt my friends and me! Roxas and Naminé told me everything! Besides, didn't I finish you off in Castle Oblivion already?"

"I know that! And yes, I thought I was done for, too. But something happened. I'm not sure what, but here I am! And I want to fix what I did wrong. Give me a chance, Sora! Please!"

"NO!" Larxene saw that Sora was angrier than she had ever seen him. She was telling the truth—for once—but perhaps it was too late. Maybe she'd have to find somebody else—no, Sora was her only hope.

"Please, just listen to me! I'm not the same Larxene you knew in Castle Oblivion. I've changed, I swear! This is the closest to having a heart that I've ever felt! Please…" She couldn't go on. She started crying, something that was supposed to be impossible for a Nobody since they didn't have hearts. But when Larxene had come back from wherever she had been, she felt different. She was different. How else could she have cried after getting cut during the fight with Zexion? How else could she be crying now, as she begged for Sora to at least hear her out?

"You're—you're crying," Sora said in utter shock.

"Y—yeah," Larxene managed. "Not like you'd care!"

"But how? Nobodies don't have hearts. They can't cry or have any real emotions."

"I think I'm aware of that! After all, I am one! But something's happened to me. It feels like I have a heart, or something like it resonating within me. It's the strangest thing, but I—I like it. It makes me feel, I don't know, human.

"Somebody who couldn't feel emotion can't fake it. You are telling the truth!"

"Finally you believe me!" Larxene gasped. "I feel terrible for being a part of that whole scheme! But Naminé put everyone's memories back together, right? So what's the big deal? You put Organization XIII in its place, so there! Happy now?"

"Listen, Larxene…" Sora started to say. "I forgive you."

"Huh?" She couldn't believe he was being so reasonable. But of course, he actually had a heart, so maybe she just didn't understand.

"I said I forgive you, Larxene. I mean, I forgave Naminé, right? Sure, you, Axel, Vexen, and Marluxia made her do it, but if you're really sorry, it's just not in me to hold a grudge. Not to mention, I can't remember it. I only know what happened because Roxas and Naminé told me once we all came back home to Destiny Islands."

That's right. Larxene jumped at the sound of Roxas' voice. How could she hear him? He was one with Sora again, wasn't he? But he's Sora's Nobody. And I'm a Nobody too, albeit a really freaky one now.

Oh, come on, Larxene! You're not a freak at all.

"We can hear each other's thoughts!" Larxene cried. "Roxas and I, I mean."

"It's because you're both Nobodies, right?" Sora asked.

"I guess so, but we couldn't do that before. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

Larxene paused for a moment. This was all too crazy for her. How were she and Roxas hearing each other's thoughts? It must have something to do with how I've changed. I'm not a normal Nobody anymore and I always felt that Roxas was different, too.

It's crazy, isn't it? Roxas asked her.

"Hey!" yelled Sora. "Let me in on the conversation!"

"Sorry," said Larxene. "We're just trying to figure out what's so special about us that is allowing us to hear one another's thoughts. It's really creeping me out!"

"That is weird," Sora agreed. "But I'm sure we'll figure it out sooner or later. So what do you need my help with?"

"You're a really good guy, you know that? Thanks!" Am I really hearing this? He actually wants to help me when he hated my guts two minutes ago? Humph, guess I can't expect any less from the Keyblade Master. "Well, as you can see, my beautiful face has been marred. You wanna know how?"

"Um, sure."

"It was Zexion! He copied my kunai while we were fighting and he cut me! The nerve!"

"Wait, what were you two fighting about? And who's Zexion? He was an Organization member too, right?"

"Yeah. Oh, that's right! You never fought him, did you? Riku was the one who did that. You see, Castle Oblivion has twelve basement floors as well as the thirteen floors you were on. Zexion and Lexaeus were stationed down there. Axel, Marluxia, and I were in charge of the floors above ground, and Vexen travelled between all the floors. See, what happened was this, and pay attention 'cuz it gets a little complicated:

"Now, you obviously know a little bit about Organization XIII and how all the members are special Nobodies that kept a humanoid form, so let's start there. You know how a Nobody is formed, right?"

"Yeah," replied Sora. "When a person loses their heart, they become a Heartless, and when that happens, a Nobody is also created."

"Mhmm," muttered Larxene. "Very good, Sora. You're such a genius! But that's elementary knowledge—the basics! You know about all our members?"

"Yeah, there's Xemnas, 'The Superior.' He was the leader and I took him down because he wanted to take the power of Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. Then there's Xigbar, 'The Freeshooter.' I beat him in The World That Never Was. I defeated Xaldin, 'The Whirlwind Lancer' at Beast's Castle because he was trying to turn the Beast into a Heartless. Then there was Vexen, 'The Chilly Academic,' right? Roxas said I defeated him at Castle Oblivion but then Axel, 'The Flurry of Dancing Flames' finished him off. I actually remember meeting Axel shortly before I went to take on Xemnas. In fact, if it weren't for Axel's sacrifice, I wouldn't have made it to Xemnas at all."

"So it's true," Larxene lamented. "He sacrificed himself to help you get to Xemnas after all. Always such a trooper."

"Yeah, I really owe him a lot. Anyway, then there's Lexaeus, 'The Silent Hero.' You said he was in Castle Oblivion, didn't you? Roxas said that I never met him there. Same with Zexion, 'The Cloaked Schemer.' But Riku told me he did. Naminé didn't mess with his memories, it looks like. He also mentioned that Vexen made a Riku…Replica?"

"Yeah, that was the Riku that kept fighting you in Castle Oblivion. When Naminé planted those false memories in you, she put the same ones in the Riku Replica. It was all part of our plan to gain control over you."

"Naminé mentioned that—through Kairi," Sora said. He looked slightly in pain as he said Kairi's name. "Anyway, then there's Saïx, 'The Luna Diviner,' whom I beat in The World That Never Was; Demyx, 'The Melodious Nocturne,' whom I creamed in Hollow Bastion—sorry, Radiant Garden; Luxord, 'The Gamble of Fate,' and I remember beating him in the stupid little time game and finishing him off for good. Naminé said that I beat Marluxia, 'The Graceful Assassin' on the thirteenth floor of Castle Oblivion, and you, 'The Savage Nymph' in Castle Oblivion as well. And Roxas, 'The Key of Destiny,' is my Nobody."

"Very good!" Larxene congratulated Sora in a half-mocking tone. "You seem to already know a lot about what happened in Castle Oblivion and what we made Naminé do to you. Good. Do you know what happened while you were in that pod while your memories were being restored? Or why we were even in Castle Oblivion at all?"

"Not really. I don't know the whole story."

"Well then," Larxene said, sitting down on the beach, "pop a squat, kiddo, 'cuz I'm gonna tell you a story."

Riku and Kairi, with their Keyblades in hand, tried to smash away the boulders blocking the cave's entrance, but to no avail. "We're trapped!" yelled Riku. "And the Heart is gone! AAAAAAAAH!"

"Riku, calm down!" Kairi begged. "You freaking out isn't helping at all! Just relax for a minute and explain to me what exactly is going on."

Riku sighed. Count to ten, he told himself. 1, 2, 3—I know who did this! 4, 5—Lexaeus caused that earthquake, the scum! 6, 7, 8, 9—and that rose petal on the ground, who could have left it there? 10.

"Marluxia!" Riku spat all of a sudden, making Kairi jump. He stole the Illumina Heart! And then Lexaeus made the earthquake and blocked the entrance so we couldn't get out! But I thought I finished Lexaeus in Castle Oblivion! And didn't Sora defeat Marluxia?"

"I thought so, too," said Kairi. "But they're not actually human, are they? So maybe they can't die."

"But they can still be destroyed," Riku replied. "Just like any Heartless, Nobody, or human, they can still be destroyed. They just don't die like humans do, that's all."

"Well, what can we do? We're stuck here and we don't have that much food and water left. What if we starve? How far is this cave from the camp?"

"I don't think it can be that far away," said Riku, hopefully. "I've never actually been to this world before."

"Then why did we come here?!" Kairi demanded. "How could you know the Illumina Heart could possible be in a world you've never been to?"

"You couldn't sense it?" Riku questioned her. "You couldn't feel the Heart calling you, too? Come on, Kairi, you know you did."

"You're right. I just want to go home, back to Sora. I miss him, Riku! I mean, you wouldn't even let me say goodbye! It's killing me, Riku, and I'm positive it's killing him, too! Don't be so heartless!"

"Don't you dare call me heartless, Kairi!" Riku roared. "Sora's my best friend! You think it was easy for me to run off with you behind his back to find this thing? You couldn't be any more wrong! It's just as painful for me as it is for you! Don't you ever forget that!" He instantly regretted yelling at Kairi. He saw the tears welling up in her eyes again and felt his eyes watering as well. He still had feelings for Kairi himself, but she loved Sora so he had stepped aside. He wanted so badly to kiss her, to comfort her, but he knew it wouldn't be right. So he settled for hugging her and holding her tight as he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Kairi."

"I just feel like a bad person for leaving," Kairi sobbed. "I love him."

Riku still felt a pang of hurt whenever she said that, but he was getting better at suppressing his feelings. For the sake of the three's friendship, he had to keep his love for Kairi a tightly locked secret—forever. But this moment was too perfect to pass up. Riku stared longingly into Kairi's eyes, his passion for her slowly taking over his mind, his body. He leaned closer to her lips and held his breath…