As the doors to the previous floor creak closed, Azlyn lets out a deep sigh. Caught by surprise, the boys stop to give her concerned looks. When she notices, she stops in her tracks as well, turning away from their questioning gazes.

"C'mon, Az," Sora encourages the knight. "Don't go keeping things from us. What was that sigh about?"

After a moment of internal debate, Azlyn sighs again and turns back to her companions, arms dropped to her sides. "I was just, kinda, thinking about the king. Y'know, how much I hope he's okay and stuff."

For some reason that makes Sora raise a curious eyebrow. "Okay. So, uh, what's got you bringing that up?"

She shrugs. "Just making sure I hadn't forgotten him."

"Oh, Az." Ever the comforter, Telary puts a reassuring hand on his counterpart's shoulder. "But, at least you know now that you do still remember."

"Yeah," Azlyn agrees, letting out a relieved puff of breath. "I know that we're on a quest to find him! 'Cause he got left behind. In, um, on the uh…"

"The Door to Darkness!" Telary provides, nodding as he reviews his own recollections. "Yeah, he had to stay on the other side, the dark side, to get it closed for good."

"Riku was with him!" Sora chimes in, happy at how easily the memory slides into place. "He had to stay on the dark side too." The boy smiles, lacing his fingers behind his neck in his usual casual pose. "Well okay! That was easy. I guess we really do hang on to the memories that are most important."

"Yeah," Telary agrees. As the trio move on to the next floor, though, he can't help but add a silent I hope so.

KH-KH-KH

Axel stands in the center of a white room, observing a large sphere of transparent white glass. In the orb's center, Sora and his friends keep making their way up. The only sound in the room is the tinny recreation of their conversation, and the sound of colored pencil scratching against paper. Until suddenly that sound stops, a new one replacing it. The sound of an opening portal.

A woman emerges, wearing the same black coat as Axel. Hers is a bit more tight-fitting, the caps of her sleeves looser. All that is background, though, compared to her most distinct feature: the cruel sneer of her full lips.

"Answer me honestly now, Axel," the woman asks, her voice playful and mocking. "Have you even moved from that spot since I last saw you?"

The fiery redhead rolls his eyes, before turning to face his compatriot. His face is skillfully arranged into abject boredom.

"You certainly are interested in this boy," the blonde continues, sauntering closer. The swing of her hips is exaggerated, obvious. Trying too hard. She always is, if you ask Axel.

"He's better than sitting around and marveling at the architecture, Larxene," Axel replies, shrugging. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Larxene returns his shrug. "Perhaps. Haven't quite made up my mind yet."

"Maybe this will help," Axel offers. "He became a Heartless, you know. I'd imagine even you know what that means for a person."

She nods casually. "Complete loss of memories, feelings, identity. Nothing left but mindless darkness." Her eyes are closed halfway through the recitation, her sneer ticking up into the realm of a grin.

"Usually," Axel agrees. "But not our Sora! Oh no, he was able to hold on to his sense of self. Quite a feat for anyone. Never mind someone so young. In fact, I can only think of one person who's ever done the same."

"So, that's it," Larxene says. "It's the strength of his heart that interests you. You wanna know what makes him tick?"

"Don't we all?" Axel shrugs, a small grin forming on his face. "After all, isn't studying hearts the Organization's mission? Unlocking the secrets within?"

"Axel displaying a work ethic," Larxene says bemusedly. "I never thought I'd live to see the day."

KH-KH-KH

Another floor, looking exactly the same. Not even the spotless white decorative sculptures are different. The fourth floor, if Telary is counting correctly. Not that counting is big on the wizard's mind at the moment.

"You asked last time, so this one's on me I guess," Azlyn quips to her counterpart, though there's clear sincerity in it. "What's got you thinkin'?"

"Just trying to go through what I remember," he replies, shrugging in an attempt at nonchalance. "Far as I can tell, it's all there. At least, I hope so. Still, I know we must have forgotten something!"

"But, if you don't know what it was," Sora says, sounding like he's puzzling out a very complex equation, "then I guess it wasn't that important."

"Maybe…" Tel allows. He isn't so sure though. There is something missing, he's sure of it. Something big.

He winces, a sudden spike of headache pain coursing through his skull.

"The big things are gonna stick around, we know that!" Oblivious to Telary's situation, Sora reaches into his pocket and pulls out a star-shaped charm attached through thin cord. "See, look at this."

Telary flinches again, the pain only getting worse. It's a strange feeling, hard to explain. Like an old wound being reopened…

"Uh, what is it?" Azlyn asks. She frowns at the object, scratching at the top of her head. Suddenly, it's like her scalp feels itchy for some reason.

"A good luck charm Kairi made," Sora explains cheerfully. He gazes lovingly at the object, too wrapped up in its significance to notice the discomfort his friends are displaying. "When she gave it to me, it came with a promise. That we'd see each other again. That I'd come back to her."

The image of Kairi rises up in his mind, smiling at him. He reaches for her unconsciously, longing to touch the face that smile is gracing. To feel her hair, silky and blonde… He gasps, his hand snapping back like it's been burned. This isn't right, what he's seeing here. This isn't Kairi.

"Uh, Sora?"

The sound of Azlyn's voice jolts the Keybearer back to reality. Shaking off the incredibly vivid mental picture, he turns to his companions. They both look concerned. Uncomfortable, too.

"I'm, uh, I'm fine guys," he reassures the Disney Castle pair, shrugging it off. "Just spaced out for a second."

"I swear, all these bright lights are doing brain damage," Azlyn mutters dejectedly. She and Telary make their way to the doors at the end of the hall.

Sora doesn't follow just yet, still thinking on the sudden change in his mental picture. If that girl wasn't Kairi, then… Who is she?

Okay, so, hey everybody! So sorry that I forgot to do shoutouts! Okay, so, thank you to Spiderfan626, MediaMaster 263, and anonymous guest for your continuing reviewing patronage. A welcoming shoutout to Heartless, KidFlash, and Chirithy564 for their first series reviews. If you haven't, I welcome you to read the 1st and 2nd Keys to the Kingdom stories (Well, maybe not the second if you want to avoid "spoilers". Though, really you can read all through KttK II without missing much, unless you have no idea about COM's story either). And a big one to Cinder-Kat, who has long supported this series at KHInsider and kindly left a review on EVER FREAKIN CHAPTER! Much love for that. Though, of course I love all reviewing efforts. Really makes this endeavor seem worth it.

Anyway, until next time!