Disclaimer: I don't own anything I've stolen from including Kingdom Hearts and several other stories and/or franchises. Yeah, I'm not creative enough to write something of my own. So This is to be in no way construed as claiming characters, lines, thoughts, or any other conceivable commodity of another as my own. Yeah, I'm in the clear. I guess

My apologies: Though I spent days on editing it I'm sure I've still left droves of typos, inconsistencies and grammatical errors that my stupid word processor won't help me fix. So, I'm sorry about that in advance.


3rd Act

X left the underground waterways behind without further event. When he finally passed through the exit he entered a strange place where waterfalls flowed upwards and rocky platforms floated in the air by some force. He did not recognize this place either. At first the brightness of the outside even in this kind of twilight hurt his eyes. He soon became accustomed to it though.

As he examined the area he found that he could walk on the water as if it was solid ground. He walked around and eventually made his way up via several platforms to a kind of castle. It was strange though, the castle was half taken apart and not far away there was a small walled town.

"I don't get it, why would they all take apart that castle just to live in some little town." X wondered, because after all a castle is a better fortified position than a town and the castle was easily big enough to house all of the town's people.

"I wonder what's so bad about that castle." X thought to himself. He decided to take a look and see for himself. He got onto a strange platform that carried him to the castle. He walked though the front entrance to find an old abandoned hall. The room was very austere but it was in great disrepair. X decided to move on since there didn't seem to be anything for him here. He walked up a staircase on the left of a fountain in the shape of some beasts head. He found a door with the Heartless emblem on it; he understood where he was then.

"So this is 'His' place." X said to himself looking around. He went through the door and found himself in a large shaft full of broken equipment and old elevator devices. X carefully proceeded through many rooms and halls until he reached a large empty decrepit chapel. X walked in and looked around, everything was overgrown with thick black thorny vines and the structure seemed to be coming apart.

X saw a tunnel which he assumed led to a higher floor. He made for the tunnel, but in seconds he was surrounded he multitudes of assorted Heartless. Every kind of heartless that could fit in the room had appeared in those short seconds. X glared at them, and then he grinned slightly as he drew not one but two blades. Both were styled like Chinese broad swords and both bore his characteristic flames as the gladius had.

With that he turned and cut a swath through the droves of enemies in a desperate charge towards the exit. With each swing he was brought closer to his goal but with every Heartless he destroyed two more were spawned to replace it. His charge slowed and eventually come to a halt. He had to destroy as many as he could, X had no idea why but this was the right thing to do. As the odds slowly but surely tipped away from his favor he fought harder only to find himself in a worse situation.

Suddenly, X stopped and to his amazement so did his attackers. They stood perfectly still as if waiting for him to catch his breath. X somehow knew what he had to do, but it would cost him his life and for some reason he couldn't give up, even without the fear of death that drives so many. He stood up straight and looked at the small shafts of light piercing through the ruined ceiling. He took in what he knew was his last peaceful breath before he died. He refocused and raised both swords.

-

"Section leader! Section leader!"

"What is now?"

"I just found this report you filed! That's what!"

"Oh, if that's all you can leave now."

"Why did you allow him to remember!?"

"It's not my job to disobey my superiors."

"What!? You are a superior only the top brass id above you…"

"…"

"So this is from them, eh?"

"…"

"Why didn't you tell us!?"

"…"

"Answer me!"

"Okay, yes this is from the top brass and I was ordered to let you figure it out. Happy now?"

"No! Why would I be happy!? Huh!?"

"You really should take those anger management courses we talked about."

"That's beside the point. If there is no trust in this Organization then we're going down, just like Section 13!"

"I don't think so."

"What!?"

"Well, for two reasons we will win where they failed. They happen to be standing in this room."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean Section 12 is superior to Section 13. This is because of us, we provide better plans and leadership, and we don't constantly strike each other down."

"Actually isn't that what's just happened?"

"No only pawns have been sent thus far, the real test will come in good time. After that I will die and you will take over. Please take care of the section for a friend."

"I thought you didn't have friends."

"Doesn't mean you don't."

"Thanks section leader."

"Just call me by my first name, it'll be less bothersome."

"Alright, Seagle."

-

"Huff, huff, huff." X panted just after he slew the last Heartless. He was surprised he was able to pull it off but he was thankful for it. He was alive and he could move on, to what he really was supposed to do. He rested himself as much as he could and walked through what he knew was the last door. As he entered the next room he suddenly felt cold. It was like and icy wind had begun to blow. This feeling did not relent even when he was resolved to move forward.

He had entered a dark laboratory of sorts. It was old and much of it was defaced, but most of the machinery remained intact. He ascended a small staircase to a raise part of the room. He saw a 'door' in the shape of a heart, but it was locked and none could progress further. As he sighed and turned around he saw standing before him Alice. She had either given up on or pointedly stopped using her prim and proper look.

She was dressed in a hakama with shin guards tying the lower legs down. She also wore a gi with the sleeves held down with forearm guards in a similar fashion to her pants. She smiled, not cheerily like before or even a smirk as X had expected, but a smile to cover up something. She was hiding something and X had to know what.

"What is it Alice? I will kill you this time." X threatened drawing his dual blades. He began circling to the left and she did the same.

"I was ordered to bring you in dead or alive. So if the last battle didn't show you anything I guess you're dead anyways." She smirked but the cheery taunt wasn't there, she was serious about this time. She drew her own blade, tossed aside her scabbard and leveled it out in front of herself.

"Okay, I guess you haven't been the one watching me all this time then. If you were you'd back off here and now." X said, his eyes narrowed he was looking for any sign of movement that would tip off an attack. He shifted from time to time to throw her off but she only looked at him her impassive glare hiding what she was thinking and feeling.

"I don't know or care what you're talking about" she finally announced. For what could easily have been ages they faced off circling and periodically shifting to throw off their opponent.

"It looks like 'he's' finally back" Alice grinned. With that last statement she threw herself at X. She flew through the air with astounding speed and control. She slashed at X where she had torn his coat in their first match. He quickly parried--too quickly. Alice was thrown by his extreme difference in skill that she paused; for only a moment but that one moment left her wide open to an attack. X swung both blades at her. The first she blocked and the second she jumped away from. She was matched. And by the one she used to toy with. She showed him her fury and that was enough for him.

She came forth flourishing her blade, swinging it in all directions. X stopped them all flawlessly. Her moves came to X's mind long before she applied them. Her emotions let her be read like an open book. She suddenly retreated. X stopped abruptly and stared at her. She closed her eyes and that's when X began his own assault. She collected herself quickly and regained her flawless skill. Her eyes snapped open and she easily parried and countered X's haphazard attempt at an attack. She caught him exactly where his fading cut was from the last fight.

X only smiled with satisfaction through all this. Alice wouldn't let him rule her, she smiled back- a menacing malicious one at that. X took no interest and tried a more put together offense. She was his equal in every aspect. Every move he made and every step he took she was with him the whole time. She never missed a block and likewise neither did he. After many clashes they separated and glared at each other. A long silence ensued, neither could move lest they compromise their position.

After a few minutes X shifted his weight back wards and imitated Alice's flying slash from earlier. She evaded so he missed with his first blade but he slammed against a wall and jumped off of it before she had a chance to reset. He made contact. After he passed her he quickly turned around to face her and saw a large tear in her right sleeve and a nasty cut was staining her gi crimson. Before he could even smirk she tore of the rest of the sleeve and tied off the wound.

X initiated another offensive. This time he made two small cuts. One on her lower left leg and another mirroring his own facial injury. He was sure of it now he had won. She messed up and he was in a perfect position to finish her. He raised his swords delicately and precisely. No error could be made. Just before he was ready to finish Alice sighed.

"I can't believe I'll have to go all out on you. This is pathetic. Oh well all it takes to win right?" Alice smiled, another façade.

"Huh?" X blurted out, perplexed thoroughly.

"Multiplicity" She only said one word that's all she needed. Suddenly X remembered it. He changed his stance, but it was too late. Alice began waving her blade around in an intricate pattern. X soon began seeing afterimages of her blade twirling around. She caught one of these after images and threw it at X. He blocked but by this time Alice was charging him a stream of afterimages following in her wake. She leapt into the air and swung downwards. All the afterimages suddenly became solid like before and crashed down like hail.

X had managed to block all of it by transforming his blade into an extremely broad and rather square sword. He removed it from in front of his face. He glared menacingly at her and leapt high into the air. He came crashing down tearing apart half of the far wall in the one swing. Alice easily evaded the slow strike but she was nearly crushed by the falling debris. X emerged from behind the pile of rubble and they began their fight again.

The lab was utterly destroyed in minutes but neither could prevail. Alice retreated back into the chapel area. X pursued swiftly. There they clashed hundreds more times, each time it was more apparent to X that he was going to lose this way. Alice also must have seen this and decided to finish it then and there. She swung her sword around like before, only this time she was faster and more deliberate. While X was still confused she jumped up to the ceiling and somehow stayed there. She then sent a veritable downpour of blades at X. He simply blocked them out as he had before. He couldn't keep it up for long his strength was ready to fail under the massive weight.

Soon it subsided and X looked out from behind his shield. Alice had amassed such a huge number of blades he could never hope to stand up to them all. X sighed and assumed a battle pose; he wasn't ready to die, not then. His dual blades replaced the blocky Broad Edge. Alice leapt down with tremendous speed and possibly millions of swords following. X leapt at the same moment. As the two met everything slowed down X bought up one sword and Alice brought down all of hers. X stopped the first and the rest began to flow past him, tearing him apart. But then his second blade slammed hard into Alice's first. The others were blasted by the shockwave and the one original shattered. Then things all stopped. Everything was at peace, nothing moved and with a rush life resumed X hurtled into the ceiling and was knocked senseless. Alice plummeted toward the ground as her swords began to dispel. She hit the ground, hard, and didn't move. X soon caught up. They both lay on the ground lifeless. After some time X stood, not without trouble but not with too much issue. X walked over and Alice was just lying there eyes open clothes ragged and face bloody. She turned her head to X and said something he hadn't expected,

"I hate you! Why can't you just come back?" By this time she was in tears unable to control her emotions any longer.

"I know." X replied tonelessly. Thinking of what to do.

"Stop that! Stop acting like that! You never did before." Her last sentence was reminiscent and her anger seemed to have burned itself out.

"I already said it once Allen is dead." X said letting his hair cover his face.

"No… You're not him." She said her sobs making it hard for her to speak.

"That's right, and this is over." X said walking away slowly.

"Oh and he wanted me to tell you this. Allen still loves you." X said calmly not quickening his pace.

"Shut up! What would you know about us!" She screamed after him.

"I don't lie, I only say what I know." X explained simply.

"Don't patronize me!" She yelled. Her own echoes were all that answered her as she finally expired. X walked out of the castle as he had entered, alone. He had accomplished nothing, but he didn't care. There was only one thing left for him to do.

-

As he reentered the dark plain he saw it, the end of the world. An infinitely long and infinitely high stone bastion lay not more than several miles away from him. He prepared himself for the final step and closed upon his final rest. After some time X reached the wall. A figure dramatically opened the rather ornate entrance doors. It was a well built man wearing informal clothes with many scars crisscrossing his face and hands. He casually walked with striking range o X and began to speak.

"I am Danso the gatekeeper of this fortification. What might you be doing here?" Danso asked looking at X like he was an alien. It didn't surprise X after all he was dressed in a raggedy black coat with blood stains all over it.

"I'm here to see the section leader." X said complacently.

"No, you're not here to do that." Danso said firmly.

"Then what am I doing here?" X asked raising an eyebrow.

"I've heard about you Allen. You're the traitor. And we all were given orders to kill you on sight." Danso said in a low voice neither anger nor sadness, something else.

"That's not what I heard." X said nonchalantly.

"What did you hear?" Danso asked in that same unidentifiable tone.

"I heard the superiors wanted me dead or alive. Is that wrong?" X asked feigning confusion.

"Well orders are orders and you didn't follow them." Danso said ending their conversation. Danso suddenly pulled out two metal gauntlets. He pulled them over his hands and flexed his fingers bending the rigid metals. X drew his gladius and prepared for the worst. Danso ran forwards swinging his arms like clubs. X dodged the rapid succession of punches but couldn't get in a hit through the flailing arms. X raised his foot and kicked Danso squarely in the forehead. He fell back and held his head. Danso was no fighter from what X saw. He was a clerk at best. X dismissed his weapon and offered a hand to help Danso. Danso only glared at him reproachfully. X withdrew his hand and made for the door. Danso suddenly smacked X in the back of his head. X turned around and held up his sword to Danso's face. Danso closed his eyes and shook from fright.

"Why are you here? You're obviously no fighter." X asked bluntly.

"Huh?" Danso asked in astonishment.

"I mean all the others the superiors have sent were way stronger than you." X explained as if it were obvious.

"I'm the strongest in my contingent and the section leader sent others after you?" Danso asked blankly.

"You must be really new here." X said sighing to himself.

"I got transferred here from Castle Obsidian last year." Danso said defensively.

"No wonder." X said everything falling into place. "You're from the fourth section aren't you?"

"Yes… but what's that got to do with anything?" Danso asked confusion overwhelming his obviously small mind.

"Get out of here now. This is about to be hell and you don't seem like a bad guy. So take my word for it ignore orders for once and think for yourself." X said suddenly serious.

"I…I…I can't the organization is all I have now and all I can do is follow orders." Danso said stuttering at first but gaining resolution with each passing word.

"You know that means I'll kill you right?" X asked to make his point clear. First Danso backed away but hen he collected himself and stood up tall.

"I'll fight to the death then." Danso said resolutely.

"I hate to kill humans and Nobodies but I will." X said adding extra intensity to his last words. Danso stood his ground this time. He tried to punch at X but he was run through before he could finish his first step.

"I warned you." X said simply.

-

"He is getting more powerful than even I imagined."

"Is that not a good thing?"

"Oh, you're here."

"I hate it when you refer to me as the 'gofer' or 'the little go between' or 'nose rag'."

"I don't remember the last time I called you any of those things."

"Last week, sir."

"Okay, well what're you here for anyways?"

"New orders from the top brass."

"Read them."

"Huhem, 'Section 12 Commander in Chief you are to destroy the Oblivion research and terminate all branch projects related to the memory beyond.'"

"That was short and to the point, for once."

"Don't laugh I know how much the Oblivion project means to you. You aren't the type to just give up like that."

That's why I call you nose rag you stupid little turd. Why do you find it necessary to bother everyone who has a real job?"

"You should know that I have more power than any of the Superiors when it comes to information."

"And you have no power when it comes to doing anything. That's why no one likes you. Not even your precious top brass really cares about you. You're the dirt beneath their feet."

"Where are you going Aurelia? Seagle stop her!"

"I've got to get going on myself. Don't touch anything and don't mess with anything. Yeah, you know what, just leave and tell Xanatos to stop sending over his discipline problems it's really putting a monkey wrench in my plans."

"Yes, sir."