And here is chapter three, very quick! It's kind of short, but it works. :) Enjoy!

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The Longest Night

Chapter III

Meet Namine

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"Sora is almost here. Our plan continues apace."

Larxene put Marquis de Sade back on the coffee table, groaning. "Marluxia, sometimes you sound exactly like Xemnas."

Axel leaned on a nearby wall, crossing his arms. "Or Saix."

"Well now, if I didn't have their inherent leadership qualities, I would not be the lord of this castle, now would I?" Marluxia walked over to Axel. "I will welcome our guest. In the meantime, you are to introduce the children to their new friend."

Axel raised his eyebrows. "Is that really necessary? She's going to be staying up here most of the time."

Marluxia shook his head. "Namine will be moved to the basement as soon as possible. Her old room will be repurposed as a meeting area."

Axel blinked. "…Why? What's the point?"

"Firstly, it will make her harder to find, and the longer we delay Sora and Namine meeting, the better. Second, part of the plan hinges on Roxas and Xion befriending her."

"And what exactly are you planning?"

Marluxia snorted and turned around. "Why so reluctant, Axel? Surely, you aren't jealous of a little girl, hmm?"

Axel hesitated for just a split second, but no more. "Of course not. I'll bring her downstairs in a sec."

Of course, a split second was all Marluxia needed. He made that little creepy laugh. "Very good. I'm certain that they'll all get along swimmingly. Now, then…" He opened a dark corridor. "I'll be off."

When Marluxia was gone, Larxene snickered. "He does have a point about jealousy."

Axel walked off to Namine's room. "Shut your mouth, or it'll freeze that way."

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*BZZT*

"You are the one who will open the door."

"I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

"The Keyblade you have…that's what the Heartless are looking for."

"I hereby dub thee junior heroes…"

"My heart is telling me that you're on the wrong side!"

"It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me."

"But now I know, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts is light!"

"There will always be a door to light!"

*BZZT*

…

In this place, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find.

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Xion shot up in bed, screaming her head off. When her head hit something, the screaming got louder. Then she heard a thump, turned around and noticed that Roxas had fallen off the bed, and was now sitting on the floor, wrapped up in the blanket that completed the makeshift tent, looking dazed. That's when she remembered where she was.

She covered her mouth and took a few deep breaths, then got off the bed and sat down next to Roxas. "I'm sorry," she said, grabbing his hand. "I had a really bad dream, I didn't mean to—"

Roxas raised his hand and shushed her. "It's okay, I forgive you…actually, I'm more worried about how you feel right now than how I feel."

Xion held her head. "I don't know, there was too much, too much…"

Roxas got up and pulled her back onto the bed. "It's okay. You're safe now."

Xion sighed. "No. I'm not safe here. Not in this stupid castle. I hate this place so much…"

"I'll keep you safe."

"I know…"

There was a knock at the door. Roxas looked up. "Who is it?" he called.

Axel's voice came through the door. "I need to introduce you to someone."

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "Send them in.

Xion held Roxas' arm. "Let him come in. I want him."

Roxas looked at Xion for a second, then sighed. "Okay, both of you can come in."

The door opened, and Axel walked in, followed closely by a small blond girl in a white dress. He looked down at her. "Namine, this is Roxas and Xion. Trust me, they don't bite."

Namine bit her lip, staring at the Keybearers from behind Axel. Xion smiled a bit and waved. "Hey. It's nice to meet you."

Namine stayed firmly planted behind Axel, looking up at him. "I don't want to talk to them."

Axel scratched his head. "Why not?"

"…I don't know. Just because."

Xion smiled a little more. "It's okay. I was shy too once. I still am, kinda. But I like you already."

Namine looked into her eyes. "You like me?"

Xion nodded. "Yup! And so does Roxas. Right?"

It took Roxas a second to register the question because he was still giving Axel a cold stare. He jumped. "Oh, uh, yeah!"

Namine giggled a bit, let go of Axel and walked towards them, sitting on the bed next to Xion. "It's nice to meet you, too."

Axel made a small smile. "Oh, Kingdom Hearts, this is adorable…okay, Namine is going to be staying in this room until further notice. Can you make room?"

Roxas and Xion both nodded. "Okay!"

"All right. I'll let you three have fun then. Don't burn down the room."

Axel walked off, closing the door behind him. Xion sighed. She had hoped Axel would stay a little longer. But then again, that would probably mean him and Roxas interacting, which would probably be out of the question for the time being. Even now, Roxas was staring at the door like it was the bane of his nonexistence.

Namine looked at him. "Do you hate him?"

Roxas blinked and looked at Namine. "Um…it's a long story. Don't get involved, okay? It's kind of messy right now."

Namine looked down. "Sorry…you'll be okay, though, right?"

Xion held Namine's shoulder. "We're friends with him. Sometimes, friends get mad at each other, but they work it out. It'll be okay."

"So…friends don't stay mad at each other?"

Xion nodded. "Not unless they did something really bad." Which I don't think he did, she chose not to say.

Namine thought about this. "…Can I be your friend?"

Xion's grin became huge. "Of course you can!"

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter four! And yes, my author notes are going to be kind of short. :P