Rox ambled along on his way, mostly looking at the snowy, trampled path before him. In the face of Larxene, he'd been pretty confident that he would choose the right path once he reached the fork. But now he was feeling unsure about the whole thing...

He was never that bummed about not being adopted. Sure, he had seen a couple good friends leave with nice looking families, and he'd been happy for them. They deserved to have families that loved and wanted them, not some stupid old lady that liked to beat them upside the head whenever she was in a bad mood. It was just...

The blonde paused. He thought he had seen a little clump of snow hopping towards him. But when he looked around, there was nothing. He shook his head and continued on his way...

When he wasn't shivering, he was fiddling with the bracelet on his left wrist, mostly hidden under his sleeve. When he first came to live at the orphanage, he'd learned pretty quickly that people there weren't just weird about stealing whatever food they could get. This black and white cuff looked nice; he couldn't place the exact material of it or where he had gotten it, but he knew it had to be made of something valuable. And because it was nice, he'd had to fight and get it back from the older kids a few times; even Seifer had stolen it once.

The bracelet was important to him for more than just that, though. It was the only thing he'd had when he first arrived at the orphanage; cold and alone and missing most of his memories. He held onto it dearly for all these years, hoping it could shed some light on who he was or where he belonged, but so far, nothing.

He didn't want to be adopted by some family. Not because he was ungrateful or that he wanted to be alone, but because he had faith that out there, somewhere, there was a family waiting for him. Maybe a mother and a father, possibly a brother or a sister. In his mind, anything was better than nothing. But there had to be something, and so he couldn't accept a bunch of strangers taking him in...

But that raised a whole other set of questions in his mind. If he did have a family, why weren't they here? Why had he been found and taken to the orphanage, if someone was out there for him? Larxene and Seifer teased him about these questions all the time, and while he tried not to let it get to him, he couldn't help but feel a little bit bitter. Rox believed firmly that every child deserved a loving family, himself included, and now that he was legally free of that rundown old orphanage, he was free to go out into the world and find his answers. He was going to prove them wrong and settle his own doubts as well. Somehow...

But where to look? The blonde stopped when he came to the fork in the road, pausing a moment to pull his bracelet off and look at the inside. There were words inscribed on the inside, and, over time, Rox had worked out that the capital "D" in the word "Destiny" was probably referring to Destiny Islands. But that was so far away; practically a continent away! And he had no money!

And, as an extra, personal fear of his, what if he did manage to get there, but found no one there waiting for him?

Looking up at the sign post, Rox knew he had to make a decision now.

Is it the left or the right?

To the right was an uncertain future, depending on what he found in town. But to the left was certainty and, almost worst, mediocrity. He'd live out the remainder of his life, possibly never figuring out who he was before. He'd be a nobody forever...

"Oh, boy," he groaned, rubbing his forehead in frustration. All this stressing. He wasn't even getting the chance to enjoy his newfound freedom.

"Please, somebody up there! Send me a sign, would you?"

It was at that moment that a small, round ball of fur attacked him from behind.

"What the h-" was all Rox managed to get out before he hit the ground face first, forcefully inhaling a bit of snow in the impact. He spluttered indignantly, as whatever it was moved off of his back, and Rox pushed himself up quickly, glaring around.

"Hey, what's the big...?"

A small, brown dog was sitting in the snow beside him, its little tail wagging a mile a minute and its tongue hanging out in light pant. It looked up at him with big expectant blue eyes, while he looked down at it with confusion. Rox usually liked animals, so he shrugged off the attack as harmless, and knelt down a bit so he was more level with the dog.

"Hey there, little guy," he said softly, reaching out and petting the fluffy head softly. The dog gave a happy little yip and leaned up to lick his hand, making Rox smile wider.

"You sure are friendly, aren't you? But who do you belong to?" He didn't see a dog tag or a collar at all. The little dog had big, floppy ears and thick, matted brown fur. It looked a bit unkempt, so maybe the dog didn't have an owner. But then, how was he so tame and friendly?

Rox didn't have much time to wonder about this, though, because suddenly the dog jumped forward, took hold of his scarf in its mouth, and started running around in circles with it. The blonde yelped as he was dragged to his feet, and the little dog gave a bark before pulling him in the direction of the right path.

"Whoa, whoa! Hold on!" he cried, grabbing part of the scarf and tugging back towards him. All think yanking was bad for his neck.

The dog stopped and looked back at him, barking some more. Rox rolled his eyes.

"Okay...You want me to go to Twilight Town. That helps a lot, universe! That really helps a lot!"

But then again, why not? If this really was some sign from a higher power, maybe he should take it. Rox sighed, brushing a bit more of the snow off his clothes before he looked up the path to where the little dog now stood. He looked at it thoughtfully for a moment, shivering a little as the wind picked up around him, reminding him of the chill. The wind rustled the branches of the trees all around, and it seemed that all the branches were bending to face the right path. Rox sighed.

"Fine. I can take a hint. Lead on, you...?" Come to think of it, if this dog was in it with him for the long, he should probably give it a name. Rox looked at the dog intently for a moment, and a name just seemed to pop in there. The dog was hyper, goofy, clumsy, a little bit aggravating. He didn't know where the name came from, but in his head, he thought it suited the little ball of fluff perfectly.

"How about I call you...Sora." The dog gave another happy yip, and then turned around and bounded through the snow. Rox couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"I'll take that as a yes...Hey, wait up!"

The blonde picked up his feet and ran through the snow, laughing like a kid again when he leapt over fallen logs and rocks in his path. He was so excited; he finally had a chance to find his family. And if nothing came of it, then at least he would find somewhere better to live than that awful home. Sora barked every now and again, hopping in and out of the heavy snow and disappearing when he jumped into the white. Rox chuckled at his antics. Despite all his silliness, he really was pretty cute.

"Come on, Sora," he finally said, stopping long enough to scoop the dog out of the snow and into his arms. "Let's get there before we freeze."

The journey didn't take too long, but once they reached the town, Rox was...a little disappointed, to be honest. The town had a rather dingy, grey look to it, and the people he passed on the way to the train station were all filthy and ratty looking. He was shoved frequently in the crowd, which annoyed him greatly, not being nearly tall enough to push some of them back. Curse his late growth spurt!

But as he walked, the boy took in his new surroundings with a kind of interest also. Most of the old buildings were being renovated or taken down, but a lot of the architecture was beautiful. It was certainly from a different time, but to Rox, it could have been a different world entirely. It was such a contrast from the boxy-looking factories; there were elegant arches and domes all around the town, the colors faded but still standing out against the dinge greatly.

He passed a man who was sitting on a bench reading a newspaper, and he almost stopped for a moment as he read over the headlines. Living at the orphanage, most children didn't concern themselves with what was happening in the outside world, but having been so isolated for so long, the boy was curious. When had there been another revolution? Or was that just political wording?

After the first one, he knew a new government had taken power, but he didn't know that there had been any more. Weren't those supposed to make things better? Looking around him once more, Rox didn't think this town looked very nice at all. The older buildings hinted at a long-forgotten beauty, but perhaps everyone thought it best to discard their past and move forward. Rox couldn't ever do that...

Rox reached the train station soon after, setting Sora down on the trampled-snow paths where he could walk on his own. He moved up to the ticket counter, but then stopped. How was he supposed to pay for this?

"Hey, kid." He looked up at the fat, grumpy looking lady with a mole on her cheek, who sat behind the counter. "You going to buy a ticket or what?"

"I-I..." Larxene hadn't given him anything but the clothes on his back, which weren't doing that much for him in this weather. Damn it!

"Look, if you're not gonna buy a ticket, move over there. I got customers waiting."

"Oh. Y-Yeah, sorry..." He moved off to the side quickly, trying to think of what to do. He had neither a passport nor any money, so did that mean he was stuck here forever anyway?

Rox moved until he was far out of the crowd and sat down in the snow by a lamp post, burying his head in his knees for a moment. His dog followed and sat in front of him, his tail still wagging happily.

"What am I going to do, Sora?" He had no money to feed either of them. Rox looked up at the mutt and gave a sad smile. "You probably want to find someone else to follow, buddy. I don't have any food for either of us."

The dog cocked his head to the side slightly, but his tail kept wagging. Rox sighed heavily and extended his arms, pulling the dog up into his lap.

"Alright. But don't blame me if you starve."

Sora nuzzled him and curled up against his chest, letting out a little yawn. Rox felt a small smile spreading over his face, and he ruffled the fur on Sora's head. A quick nap might not be so bad after all. He was cold and tired after all, and no one was just going to come up and offer him a place to stay. At least he could feel a little heat being emitted from the nearby shops. That alone warmed him and encouraged him to give in, as his eyelids fluttered lightly, sleepy.

So, against his better judgement, the boy curled in on himself as much as he was able. He fell asleep shortly after, oblivious to the crowds and the dinge and the cold, if only for a little while...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Meanwhile, in another part of town, a young, eager redhead was sitting in a rundown, old mansion bedroom, throwing heaps of clothes into a suitcase sitting on his rumpled bed. A blonde man watched him from the door, shaking his head lightly.

"Don't you think we should actually find the kid before we pack for the trip? I mean, we can't leave until we find him anyway."

"Demyx," the redhead chided, shaking his head with a smile. "Where's your enthusiasm? All we need to do is pick up some blonde and we're good to go!"

"By that logic, I could play the part."

The redhead pushed the suitcase shut, but it wouldn't close all the way. He began trying to sit on it to get it closed.

"You look nothing like Cloud, Demyx."

"Right, so we have to actually look and take our time. Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit?"

The redhead shot him a slightly annoyed look. "When did you become such a worry wort? I thought that was usually my job."

Demyx shrugged. "You're not playing it very well. Someone has to be the voice of reason here."

"That hurts, man."

The blonde sighed, watching his friend move to the bedside table where a small stack of papers sat. The top one held a picture of the royal family, and the redhead picked it up carefully and looked it over, humming to himself.

"Axel...I'm all about getting out of this crap city. But do we really need to go through with this scam?"

"Of course we do!" Axel defended, snapping back at him. He turned the picture over and set it back on the table, face down. "Don't you want to be set for life? If we can pull this off, then we'll never have to work another day! We can do what we want!"

"But what about Cloud?"

The redhead wrinkled his nose slightly, sitting down on the bed. It sagged heavily under him, the springs beaten and broken out of place long ago.

"What about him?"

Demyx rubbed his temples for a moment, as he took a step out of the doorway.

"He's been searching for years. Don't you think he's in enough pain already? If we give him the wrong person..."

Now it was Axel's turn to sigh. "Demyx, you need to learn to keep your bleeding heart out of this."

"It's not just that," the blonde said, taking a seat beside his friend. He took the picture and looked at it carefully, gazing at the small, round, smiling face. "What if he gets mad when he finds out it's not really Roxas? What if he orders his guards to beat us up?" Demyx shivered, setting the old photo down to rest on his knees. Axel rolled his eyes.

"He can't do that, Dem. He doesn't have that power anymore. Besides, Roxas is dead. We've all known it, even with these stupid hopes and rumors. Who's to say we can't profit from that a little bit?"

Demyx sighed again, more sadly this time. "I know. It's just...I feel bad for the guy...Don't you?"

The redhead shook his head firmly.

"Hell no. He's loaded and living it up on Destiny Islands. He has everything he could ever want and more. Why should I feel sorry for him?"

Demyx had heard this all before. He loved his friend like a brother, but he couldn't deny that Axel had some serious issues with his confidence and worth. All his life, he had envied the Strifes, while he worked and slaved away all his childhood for them. He didn't seem to mind it much when he was younger, but as time went on, he had grown exceedingly bitter about it. He no longer cared about anything but money, and living the good life. Demyx wouldn't mind living it too, sure; but he felt there were more important things out there. He dreamed of finding true love and spending time with friends, not living in a mansion with nothing but his cold, unfeeling money to comfort him.

He looked up at his friend earnestly, relenting and giving the best smile he could manage.

"Well, I'm with you, Axel. But let's take our time and find a good 'Roxas,' okay?"

The redhead grinned back at him, his good humor returning.

"Yeah. So, auditions?"

Demyx sighed again, standing up and brushing his pants off.

"Sure. Let's hurry up and do that so we can get back here and eat."

"Sure, Dem."