On a dark moonlit beach a cloaked figure walked up to another figure sitting upon a rock.

"I've been to see him." The seated figure turns his head toward the other. "He looks a lot like you."

"Who are you?"

"I'm what's left. Or...maybe I'm all there ever was."

"I meant your name." The figure on the rock grumbled. "My name is of no importance. What about you? Do you remember your true name?"

"My true name is..."

"You have been with us for six days now."

The seated figure stands and removes his hood. "The time has come..."

He walked past the other and placed a hand on his shoulder. Time seemed to pass slowly and all sound dropped.

Xemnas whispered, "...Sora."

The hooded figure stands and watches him leave. In my bedroom, I lay on my bed, watched over by Xemnas and Saïx. "Naminé must have begun her work..." Saix looked at the tall grey one beside him. "Will he wake from this?"

"I am told he will-provided she strips the hero of all his memories."

"Then much hinges on Castle Oblivion."

"We needn't stop collecting hearts. Number XIV has gained power over the Keyblade, just as we intended. Xion can fill Roxas's shoes for the time being.

Xemnas nodded. "And the chamber? Have you found it?"

"No, sir. I would say progress is slow...if we had actually made any."

Saïx left the room, and Xemnas looks back at me as I slept.

"So, sleep has taken you yet again..."

On day 49, Xion stopped by after a mission to visit me while I was asleep. "I went to a new world today. Roxas, you should've seen it. It was so beautiful." She placed twenty sea shells by my pillow with a smile. "Well, I'll visit you tomorrow, okay? Bye, Roxas..." After she left, another dream came into sight.

It was a boy with spiky brown hair in a white pod or something. He was holding something in his hand as he slept. I couldn't tell what it was.

I woke up a few days later with a pounding headache. The air smelled of salt for some reason. I looked over and by my pillow were sea shells. Smiling, I collected them all and put them in the drawer beside my bed. Xion must have left these for me. The thought made me smile more.

I got out of bed and changed into some fresh clothes. It's kinda weird how all we wear are our coats all the time. Even when we sleep. I shrugged and left the small room.

There weren't many people around today. They were all either on missions or at Castle Oblivion. Or, of course, sleeping the day away. I walked up to the blue haired man that stands by the windows each day. "No missions for you today Roxas. Enjoy your day off."

This made me frown a bit. How am I supposed to enjoy my day if Axel's in C.O and Xion's out on a mission?

I decided to just go back to my room since no one besides Saïx was in the Grey Room. I opened the drawer beside my bed and pulled out the shells, lining them up on my sheets. They were all different colors and sizes. They had a bit of sand on them, but that was alright. They made the room smell like the ocean. That's probably why it smelled of salt when I first awoke this morning.

I spent some time rearranging the shells just for the heck of it. The rest of the time I devoted to writing in my diary and sleeping. It was really lonely being in this big castle with no friends around to share your day with. Maybe when Xion gets done her mission we can go to the clock tower and eat I've cream.

So I waited. I just sat on my bed, waiting. Sooner or later I fell asleep, falling over onto my pillow.

Xion came into my room while I was in this state and put a few more shells by my bed. "Roxas..." She whispered, gripping my hand. "Wake up soon." Then she left.

"Is that all of them?"

"I hope so."

It's been a few days since I woke up. It's my first day back on the job and Xion and I are teamed up. We're in Agrabah today killing a big sand heartless out in the desert. We got side tracked by some heartless, but we got them outta the way.

"I'm a little rusty." I said swinging my keyblade in my hand. Xion chuckled and wagged her finger at me. "Just goes to show you can't be taking a snooze while there's work to be done!" We both laughed and went up to our usual spot to eat some ice cream.

After a long while of silence, I asked, "Xion... What happened to me?" She looked over at me and frowned a little. "You were sleeping-a long, long time. Saïx told us not to get our hopes up. That you might not- Well, you're awake now. That's what counts." I nodded and shook my head. "Ugh, I feel like a zombie. Guess there's some things a nap can't cure." We laughed again and looked toward the sun. It was just starting to set, painting the sky with warm colors.

Xion scooted closer to me and held something up for me to see. "Here, I brought you this. It's a seashell." She handed it to me and I began to examine it. It was kinda big. A conch I think. It was a pale pink color. "I've been picking one up every time I go out on a mission. Hold it up to your ear." I did as she told. At first I didn't hear anything, but then the sounds of waves crashing on a beach formed.

Then I had a flash of a boy and girl on a dock on an island. It was the boy from my dream, with the spiky hair. He looks younger here though. And he's with a girl with short red hair, kinda like Xion's. Then the vision was gone and I found myself staring at Xion.

"Something wrong Roxas?" I blushed a little and shook my head. No, everything's fine. Just a little tired I guess."

"Do you want to RTC then?" I nodded and we got up, opening a dark corridor and stepped through.

-Day 50-

I must have missed a lot. It's like I had the longest dream. I woke up to find a bunch of seashells by my pillow. I counted them-one for each day they said I was asleep. I was wondering who left them there, but then when I got to the clock tower, Xion gave me another one. I held it up to my ear, and I could hear the ocean... Why did it sound so familiar?The stuff I dreamed about felt strangely familiar, too. I remember being in a white room with somebody the same age as me wearing red clothes...and then he sort of disappeared into the white. And there was a girl's voice-she said I knew I'd be "snoozing." Why would she know that? The voice was a little like Xion's.

I woke up the next morning and dressed myself in the usual attire. Then I walked out into the Grey Area and stood by the window, peering out of it. The same old blank sky.

"Well, good morning, sunshine. During your beauty nap, we found out the whole Castle Oblivion team is toast." A voice said behind me. I turned and saw it belonged to Xigbar, who wore a smug look on his face. I paled a little and walked over to Saix for answers. "Did you ever find out what happened at Castle Oblivion?" He nodded. "We're looking into what befell them." My chest began to feel strange. "'Them'!? How many? You still don't know?"

" What I know is that I don't owe you any explanations. Now get to work. You'll be on your own for a while. Wherever our other members are, they're certainly not here to help." Saix snapped, turning his back to me.

So I went to Agrabah, but there was really nothing there, so I went to Twilight Town and sat on the clock tower ledge. No one else is up here.

I really hope Axel isn't dead. He's my first friend. I don't know what I'd do without him. And I hope Xion's doing okay on her mission...

I waitied up there. And waited. And waited.

But no one showed up.

-Day 51-

It sounds like the worst has come to pass: the whole Castle Oblivion team, wiped from existence. It's hard to come to grips with the idea that Axel is gone. I feel...choked up? I don't know what you'd call it. I've never had this kind of sensation. I went up to the clock tower to have ice cream, but nobody else showed up.

-Day 52-

I sit up on the clock tower, but no one comes. Not Axel, not even Xion. That weird lump in my throat won't go away. Something else is bothering me. This is gonna sound crazy (good thing this is a private diary!) but these pictures keep flashing through my head. Not all the time, just sometimes... Ever since I collapsed. It happens when I'm awake, too-on missions-so I don't think it's a dream. Where are the pictures coming from?

Up until Day 71 I did missions alone. And they were hard. Each day I went to the clock tower and waited. And still no one would come.

That day I had a mission in Twilight Town. I had to eliminate some shadow glob things all around town. Once I was done that, I was about to RTC when a voice spoke up behind me.

"Hey, Roxas!" I turned around and saw my ginger friend with a smile on his face. I swear my eyes buldged out of the sockets I was so surprised. When I didn't respond, Axel said, "How's it hanging?" He walked closer to me. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Axel? But...I thought you were gone! Castle Oblivion-the whole team was annihilated..." Axel wagged his finger in my face and smirked slightly. "Correction: the weaklings were annihilated." I shook my head and grinned at my friend. "You had me worried." Axel only laughed, ruffling my hair up with his hand. " Worried? Well, that's a neat trick, considering you haven't got a heart to feel with." A though came to mind and I ran towards the ice cream shop. "W-wait here. I'll go buy us some ice cream!"

We walked up to the clock tower together and sat on the ledge, our ice cream dripping down our hands as the sun set over the hill. "I gotta check in with the boss, or he's gonna let me have it." I looked over at my friend, who was taking a bite of his treat. "You haven't RTC'd yet?" Axel shrugged. "Hmm? Nah."

"Well why come here?"

"Guess I needed some time to sort out my feelings."

"Whatever, mister-I-don't-have-a-heart." We laughed and I shoved Axel playfully, making him almost fall off the tower. "Hey, you're ice cream's melting. Eat up." I raised a brow and looked at my ice cream. It was, indeed, melting. I bit into it and licked up the melting part. "Thanks." We stared at the sun for a while.

"You know, I started inviting Xion up here while you were gone." I said suddenly. The sun had reminded me of her. I wonder where she could be. It's been a while since the two of us ate ice cream. And now that Axel's back, we can all eat ice cream together. "Xion? Really?" I nodded. "Yeah. I promised her the three of us could have ice cream together-you know, once you got back. Me and her are friends now." Axel grinned and nodded. We finished up our ice cream and headed back to the castle.

-Day 71-

After work, Axel turned up. Just like that, out of nowhere. I didn't know what to say. I thought we'd lost him for good. We went up to the clock tower and talked for a while. I told him about Xion. The choked-up sensation has gone away.

Axel and I were partnered up for a mission to Agrabah. We ended up following some fat cat guy who found a secret entrance to the cave thing out in the desert. When we finished, we went to the clock tower, like always. Axel handed me an ice cream bar and took a bite of his own. "You're more outgoing now, you know that?" I looked over at him. "Yeah? Well, you are too." "Me? You think? Guess he musta rubbed off on me..." He? "Huh? Who did?" Axel shook his head and bit into his ice cream. "Heh. Let's just say you can thank yourself that we get to sit here again and laugh like idiots over ice cream." I laughed and bit into my ice cream before looking around the corner with a frown.

"I guess Xion's not going to show up today."

"Don't worry bout it. I'm sure she's having fun on her mission."

"But it's been days...10 I think. I'm starting to worry." Axel laughed and ruffled my hair. "Like I said yesterday. You don't have a heart. You can't worry." I only nodded and stared into space. We were silent for a while then. I didn't know what to say really. I mean, Axel's right. We don't have hearts. We can't feel emotions.

So I shouldn't worry...right?

-Day 72-
Me and Axel went to Agrabah. He seems different now that he's back from Castle Oblivion. Ice cream was just the two of us today. I wonder when me and Axel and Xion will all get to have ice cream together.

On Day 73, Saix sent me to a new world. It was really cool, because it was a giant castle. Not as big as ours, but it was a lot more elaborate. I think it's called Beast's Castle.
I arrived on the bridge and immediately, I hear a roar from inside the building. It startled me, causing me to take a step back. "What was that roar? It came from inside... Maybe it's the Heartless I'm after? I guess I'll find out. Time to head in and take a look." I went to the Courtyard and walked up to two very large white doors. This must be the entrance. I tried to open it, but they wouldn't move.

"It won't budge... Must be locked from the inside."

I ended up walking around the entire Courtyard until I found a hidden passage in the wall by the door. I made my way through the rooms and found myself in the middle of the castle. The inside's far more beautiful than the outside. Paintings and draperies hung from the walls, and metal soldiers lined them in neat was a bit dark though, for my taste at least. "It's awfully quiet... Is nobody home?"

I walked toward the stairs and my target, Sergeant appeared. Sighing, I willed my keyblade to appear and destroyed it will only a few hits. "Mission accomplished. Time to RTC." The roar I heard before on the bridge was louder here. "Huh!? What was that? Another Heartless? Or...something besides the Heartless? Hmm... Well, Saïx's orders were to RTC as soon as the mission was done. I'd better call it a day." The door I originally tried to go through had a bar on the side I was on. That must be why it wouldn't open. I unhinged it and made my way through. I opened a corridor and went through, going to the clock tower.

I sat down on the ledge with my ice cream. After looking around a bit, I concluded that my pals weren't here. "Where's Axel? I hope Xion's okay..."

-Day 73-

After I finished my mission I wanted all three of us to have ice cream, but I couldn't find Xion. It's been at least ten days since I've seen her. Axel said he'd ask Saïx what was going on. Speaking of Axel, I didn't see him at the clock tower today.

The next day I walked into the Grey Room. Luxord was sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the table with Demyx sitting beside him, strumming away on his sitar. Axel made his way over to me from the window as soon as I walked in. He rubbed my head and smiled. "Rise and shine sleepy head." I yawned a bit and rubbed my eyes. "Sorry...I was up late. Couldn't sleep." I couldn't stop thinking about Xion and how much I miss her. I really hope she's okay...

"I asked Saix about Xion." I stared up at my friend with hopeful eyes. "And?" Axel didn't look too happy. He averted my gaze and sighed heavily. "Your friend was sent out on a mission, but never RTC'd." My face fell. She...she never came back...? "But...why not? Shouldn't the mission be done by now?"

"I dunno. But we'll find out what happened soon enough." I didn't want to wait. I wanted to find out what happened to my friend. "Why's that?"

"You and me get to go track Xion down. That's our mission today." My eyes widened once more.

"You mean it?!"

" No, I made it all up. Go back to bed... Yes, I mean it! Hurry up and get ready, will ya?" I nodded."Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be! Let's get going!" Axel grinned at my enthusiasm. "Alright! Come one then!" Axel opened a corridor to Twilight Town and we stepped through, appearing on Side Street. I looked around a bit then at Axel. "Where do you suppose Xion is?"

"Well, the mission in question was to take out a giant Heartless."

"That could be anywhere."

"Let's start by digging up info around town. If we can find that Heartless, there's a good chance we'll find Xion, too."

"Right."

Axel and I walked to the sandlot and saw the kids I saw the day I got my name. There was a girl with honey brown hair, a boy with blond hair, and a chubby kid with black hair. "You sure you heard that right?" The blond asked the girl. She nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I'm sure. I told you!"

And you heard it where again?"

"The tunnel! I was just there, and I heard a weird, low moan."

" Did ya see what was making it?"

"Are you kidding? I was scared! I got out of there as fast as I could." I looked at Axel and he looked back at me. "A low moan?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Could be our heartless." A scary thought came to mind. "Or it could be Xion-injured, unable to make it back to the castle..." Axel put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure Xion is just fine. C'mon, let's go check it out." I could only nod and hope for the best.

I couldn't tell Axel about how worried I am about her. He would just say that I'm emotionless and that I'm not actually worrying. But I am. And I'm feeling other things too. I need to ask Axel about them sometime soon...

The brunette and blond kept arguing as Axel and I made our ways to the tunnels. It was where Axel had taken me on our first mission. Something caught my eye as we walked in. "Something's scribbled on the wall: "IT'S THERE... IT'S HUNGRY... DON'T TURN AROUND!"" I shivered a bit and we entered the tunnel.

It was kinda dark. Smelly too. But there was something missing. "No Xion..." I whispered, disappointed. "No heartless either." Axel pointed out. The chubby boy from outside came down behind us. "Huh? What are you guys doing down here? You lose something?" Axel and I froze. Organization members aren't to be seen on missions. And this boy, has indeed, seen us. Axel rubbed the back of his head, turning around to face him. "You could say that, yeah. We heard rumors of a strange moaning sound?"

"Strange moaning... Oh! Are you talking about that vent up there? The wind coming through it creates a lot of echoes. It sounds kind of like a moan." Axel rolled his eyes and I sighed. "What? Ugh, for crying out loud..."

"So...you guys said you lost something?"

"Some-ONE. A friend of ours." I snapped. I didn't mean to, but I'm getting annoyed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Hope you find them soon." I nodded. "Thanks"

"So what's your story? Why are you down here?" Axel asked. "Me? Heh heh, that's a secret. Hey, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Pence. If you ever need anything, I'm always happy to help." Pence grinned. I nodded again. "Uhm, thanks."

"Sure. I'll catch you later. Hope you find your friend." Pence ran back out of the tunnel. "Well, that was a dead end." Axel muttered. "Yeah, all we really learned was that guy's name." I shook my head. If there's anything I hate more, it's a wild goose chase. I just want to find Xion so we can all have ice cream together and be friends. "Time to hit town again..."

We walked out of the Underground Passage to the Tram Common and yet another note has caught my eye. "Somebody scribbled something here: "IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU ARE A NINJA"" Wonder what all these notes are about. They're kinda random. Actually, they are random.

We went to the sandlot again. The blond and girl were still talking. Axel and I hid behind some plants and listened. "Olette, what's Pence up to?" The boy asked. "He said he was off on another of his "investigations today."

"He's been acting pretty dodgy lately-all this sneaking around?I wonder what he's up to."

" Beats me. He freaked out when I swung by the usual spot yesterday. Whatever he was looking at, he hid it in a hurry."

" Hmm, now why would he do that?"

I looked over at Axel and whispered, "I wonder where the usual spot is."

"I guess we'll have to hunt around."

The boy spoke again, "Aw, crud... I think I forgot to shut the fence outside the usual spot." Olette rolled her eyes. "Hayner, it's on a side street. Who's gonna go anywhere near it? Whose idea was it to have the usual spot be under the tracks? You need earplugs in there."

Axel and I exchanged looks before sneaking around them and up to Side Street. We found a gate with a cloth on the inside and peered inside. It was a messy place, but pretty cool I guess. We began to investigate.

"These crates were just thrown in a pile here. They're all empty, too... This stepladder's ancient. It squeaks like crazy. I see the dartboard, but...where are the darts. This sofa's seen a lot of use. Some of it recent, too. Huh? There's something behind this oil drum." I reached behind the barrel and pulled something out. "Hey, I found a piece of paper." Axel peered over my shoulder. "It's some kind of map." I scanned over it quickly and pointed to some places. "Somebody's scribbled some notes on it."

""Spooky Steps"? "Friend from Beyond the Wall"? Hey, this one about a moaning tunnel..."

"Sounds familiar, huh?"

"There's more. "The Doppelganger"... "The Animated Bag"..."

"A ghost train, a haunted mansion... There's seven altogether."

"What's it all mean?"

"I think we know just the guy to ask. If nothing else, he seemed to know a lot about the town."

I led Axel back to the tunnels and found Pence there, eating an ice cream bar. He looked at us and waved. "Hey, guys. Something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, actually. We had a question." said Axel. Pence tilted his head a bit. "Okay, shoot. Let's see if it's anything I know."

"Is anything...weird happening here? You know, in the town. I mean, there are lots of little quirks and mysteries, right? Like, say...the Spooky Stairs..."

"Ohhh... So you guys are like me, investigating the town's Seven Wonders?"

"Uh, yeah, something like that."

"Hmm... I wasn't planning to talk to anyone about it until I'd finished up my investigation, but... All right. I'll tell you what I've got so far. That is. IF you can answer the following questions!" I shook my head. "What?" Pence only grinned more. "They're about the town. I want to see how serious you are about investigating this place. What's at the top of Station Heights?"

"Station Plaza" I said. "What's written on the bulletin board in Station Heights?" I rolled my eyes. This is too easy. "Scoop up some sea-salt ice cream."

"How many cars are in the train you can see from Station Plaza?"

"Just one car." Pence laughed and patted me on the shoulder. "Correct! All right, a promise is a promise. I'll tell you what I know. So, I've been digging around, and I've learned that the town's Wonders are all linked! In...the sense that they're all made-up. Nothing but stupid urban legends and rumors."

"What?"

"Like those stairs you mentioned? Total sham. The truth about that one is just embarrassing." Axel looked at him. "Just another sleepy town, huh?"

"Sorry, guys. You're wasting your time. Well, except maybe for the Eighth Wonder..." I raised a brow. There's only seven on the map..."There's an Eighth!?"

The one about the tree. Out in the woods? There's one tree where, if you shake it, the whole place starts to rustle. Swish, swish, SWISH! ...Weird, huh? I still haven't seen it firsthand, so I can't tell you much. But people have said they feel like they're being watched there-even though it's deserted."

" Pretty strange."

"Wouldn't be much of a Wonder if it wasn't! I'm planning to go figure out the trick behind it later." Axel smirked a little. "Good luck with that." Apparently Pence didn't catch it. " Thanks! Well, I should get back to my investigation. Try to keep this to yourselves, yeah?" Then Pence left without giving us to say good bye. I looked at Axel. "That was uninformative." Axel was rubbing his chin again. He must be thinking real hard. "Maybe, maybe not." I tilted my head. "Huh?"

"He said people have been feeling some kind of presence in the woods outside of town, right? Maybe that's Xion's target." I nodded and started walking. "Right...Let's go check it out." We made our way across town to the forest, where we inspected the tree Pence told us about. It looked like any other tree in the forest. At least, I thought so, until I heard the rustling. "Is...Is something there?" Something jumped out of the tree. At least, I think something did. It was invisible. But you could still see the distortion of the scenery. The blob escaped to the old mansion. "Hurry Roxas! Don't let that thing get away!" I nodded and ran after it.

We came to the mansion, which was very nice, but very old. I would've looked at it more, but I was too focused on the blob in front of me."You think that's the one?" Axel nodded. "No wonder Xion had trouble. It was blending right into the scenery."

"So, where is Xion?"

"Still out trying to find it, probably."

"What do you suggest?"

"Well, a target's a target. Doesn't matter who takes it out. I say we do it now, before it vanishes again."I nodded and summoned my keyblade. "Right."

"Here we go!"

The creature turned visible for a moment. It was a giant lizard thing. I guess it doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's destroyed. Axel and I attack it for a while, throwing some fire and swinging our weapons at it's tail. I was about to charge it when a figure ran across the field toward the lizard. "Xion!" The figure stopped and looked at me. It was Xion! Oh god she looked like a mess. Her hair was messy and her eyes were drained of life. "Roxas?!" While Xion was distracted, the lizard lashed out it's tongue, sending Xion flying across the field, knocking her unconscious. I gasped and started to go to her. "Xion!"

"Focus Roxas! We have to take that thing out first!" I turned and faced the creature, pulling my hood up. I have to destroy it.

For Xion.