Minato trailed behind Roxas and Xion s they headed for the memorial stone. As they got closer both teens could sense the reluctance growing stronger in the blond following them. Exchanging worried glancing, Xion suggested Minato go home since he didn't seem to be feeling well. He replied that he would see this 'mission' of theirs through, because after all it was for the good of the village and he wanted the best for his people.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," he said, trying to smile reassuringly. Neither teen was fooled.

At last they could see the stone in the distance. Along with two people standing nearby, backs to the group. Roxas easily identified Kakashi, since the other boy had silver hair, but the other person was unidentifiable. They were dressed in all black and had light-dark purple hair, cut short. He guessed it was also a Shinobi since they appeared to be decked out in the basic gear: throwing star pouch strapped to leg, short sword on thigh, headband tied around the waist.

"Roxas." Xion pulled on the boy's sleeve, drawing him back into the shadows. Minato stayed where he was, rooted in the middle of the road. "What are we going to do? If we get rid of the Heartless it might end up killing most of these people!"

"I know!" Roxas whispered back. Already he knew that the Heartless knew that they were there; he could feel evil intent settle over the village like a cloud. He bet that everywhere in the village, people were frozen just like Minato and the other two by the stone. "But we need to get rid of them. How…"

"Call Zexion!" Xion suggested. "Remember how he is always sending those letters to us and the king and Inezo? We can do that too I bet!"

Roxas thought about it. "Yeah, but what are we gonna tell him? Heartless have overrun this world and are slowly killing the people in it?"

"No, we'll just say we need help. He'll probably assume we got into trouble and need help out of it."

"Which we have, now that I think about it." Roxas nodded. "Okay. Get the paper out of my bag and write a quick note. I'm going to move Minato and those other two so we don't accidently hurt them while fighting." Xion nodded, already searching through Roxas' pack. He slipped away from the shadows and carefully made his way to the blond frozen in the road.

Minato just stood there, not even flinching when Roxas poked him hard in the side. "Uh-oh. Minato, listen, you gotta move. Away from here. Hey, stop being a zombie." He pulled on the older man's arm to no avail. "Not fun. Come on, you have to move. Do you want to lose your heart? Wanna lose your memories and become nothing? Think of your village, and the people in it. Think of Kushina." The last statement seemed to wake up Minato slightly. He shook his head and looked around dopily. "Yeah, that's right. This way, come on, Minato." Roxas pulled him back, and the half-dazed blond followed slowly. He tugged Minato underneath the trees near Xion and sat him down.

"There. Stay." Roxas ran down the road and to the clearing of the memorial stone. The black clad figure had moved since he had last looked; they had turned around to look at the road. Roxas looked into emotionless brown eyes that watched his every move.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked. Roxas jumped when she talked; now that she had turned around he could see that the unknown Shinobi was a female. "Have you come here to mourn the spirits of the dead?...No, you would have no use for that, would you?" Roxas shivered at the sound of the girl's emotionless voice.

"Well, maybe later, after I'm done with my work here. I've lost a few friends, but I don't think I have ever found a place like this, where you can carve a friend's name into stone to remember for all eternity." He waved his hand towards the pillar. "But now I suggest that you and Kakashi get out of here, because I'm about to start a huge fight and it would be horrid if you got caught in the middle."

The girl looked to the side. "Hmm…alright. I'll go. Good luck moving Hatake there, though. He's been weird like this ever since Obito died. I'm Anko by the way." Anko waved and walked out of the clearing. As she passed Roxas, he noticed a black mark on her neck. She ignored his look and continued towards Minato. Xion ran past her as she met back up with Roxas again.

"Alright, I sent the letter. I don't know if Zexion'll get it on time, but we can hope." Xion glanced around the clearing. "We have to get Kakashi out of here. I'm afraid that if he stays much longer he'll lose his heart."

"I know, but Anko said that he's been like this ever since his friend died." Roxas shook his head. "Ok, move him first, think about Heartless problems later." He reached out and squeezed Xion's hand. Slowly they made their way to the boy, stepping silently over leaves and branches that littered the clearing. Both froze when Kakashi shifted to one side.

"What are you doing here?" the silver-haired boy asked. "Came to hunt the Heartless, did you?"

Roxas shivered. Something was not right with the other teen. He was…off, somehow. "Yeah, I came to get rid of the Heartless. And I don't want you getting hurt so I suggest that you leave the clearing immediately. Please."

Kakashi smirked cruelly, and that was when Roxas figured out that the teen in front of him wasn't Kakashi. "I don't think I'll leave just yet, boy. It's been so long since I've been free to roam about the worlds that I can't help but want to stir up a little trouble."

Roxas backed away. "You're one of the ones who escaped from that valley of whatnot."

"Yes." Kakashi/not Kakashi laughed. The sound rang through the trees. "My name is Gilfur. I am called Arton's apprentice, but that seems so demeaning. We both prefer to be called companions, or acquaintances. Now, I can see well enough that you wield that dratted Keyblade. Care to test it out on my Erzo blade?"

"No, Gilfur, that will be enough." Roxas looked behind him; Zexion stood there, dressed in his Organization clothes again. He cradled his spell book in one arm, the other hanging down by his side, seemingly harmless. But Roxas could see Zexion's fingers twitching almost randomly; the man was actually preparing a spell to be thrown instantly. "Leave Roxas alone. Your fight is against the old Masters, not a young apprentice who can barely cast magic."

"I can use magic!" Roxas protested. Kakashi/Gilfur and Zexion ignored him.

"So then where are they, Ienzo?" The silver haired imposter sneered at Zexion. "Hiding, are they? Too scared to face their folly of sealing Arton and myself away?"

"I'll have you know that I am not Ienzo, Gilfur. I am Zexion, his Nobody. And since you've been asleep for twenty years or so I will fill you in on past events. Inezo is gone, trapped in an inescapable world. And most of the Masters, Keyblade apprentices, Erzo blade wielders, and magic users are dead. There are very few alive, and mostly because they either were born after that massacre or were lucky enough to get skipped over since they were very young. The only Keyblade wielders left are Roxas, Xion, Sora, and Mickey." Zexion gestured behind himself, where Sora, Riku, and Xion stood watching. Roxas noticed with a shock that he was in the middle of the clearing and trapped inside with Gilfur and Zexion by a light black barrier surrounding the three.

"Nobody? Never of them before." Gilfur made a motion with his hands, and his guise fell away. In the middle of the clearing there now stood a tall, dark green-haired man. His pale green/gold eyes scanned the clearing and the woods surrounding it once then returned to the two Nobodies standing in front of him. "But no matter. You all will be gone soon enough."

"You may think we Nobodies are nothing," Zexion replied, stepping back, "but you are about to find out how wrong you are." He smirked suddenly and swept a hand at the barrier. It crumbled as Gilfur growled out a counter-spell that sent a wall of fire racing Zexion. He didn't say anything, just narrowed his eyes as a shield protected him from the flames. Before they had even burned themselves out Gilfur was charging, a pale golden sword held aloft. It clanged as it slammed down on top of a Keyblade.

Gilfur turned to the side just in time to get tackled and thrown from the other side. Roxas ducked and felt Gilfur fly over his back. "Nice throw Riku! Warn me next time?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Riku jumped back and summoned his Shadow blade. "Damn. He's heavy. Sora, Xion, be careful. He could easily kill one of us."

"Riku's right. Stay close together," Zexion advised. He stepped back, closer to the trees, and opened his book. "I'll be fighting his magic and spells, so you four attack him directly. Be warned-that Erzo blade can cut through the Keyblade. Try not to bash blades with him."

"Right." Sora and Xion came up beside Riku and Roxas. Gilfur groaned and slowly pushed himself up off the ground. He waved a hand at his blade; it flew right into his hand as he straightened.

"Well, that was a nuisance. Who did that-you?" He pointed at Riku. "You're dead. All of you are dead. Get ready for your funerals!" With a sweep of his blade, Gilfur charged again. He aimed this time for Roxas who jumped back and to the side without thinking. This allowed Gilfur to twist and slash at Riku.

Erzo and Shadow blade crashed together. Riku was the one to jump back, cursing. Xion ran off to the side, Sora close behind. Roxas suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a thrown blade and fell backwards trying to dodge it. His head smacked into the memorial pillar and he fell down with a muffled groan.

"Roxas!" Xion turned and used her momentum from running to slam into Gilfur. She reached out and tried to grab his blade but he threw her off. Zexion caught her in a magic web before she hit the ground. He laid her gently on the ground and concentrated on casting magic to stop Gilfur.

"You have to be careful! Gilfur fights like no one you've ever met before. Use caution!" he shouted at the group of teens. Each nodded or shrugged. Roxas stood up and shook his head. He picked up his Keyblade as Xion also stood. She moved across the clearing to stand right in front of Roxas on the other side of the clearing. Riku saw what she did and copied her, standing across from Sora. The four exchanged looks, then all prepared to spring forward. Roxas slid one foot back and raised Oblivion. Xion lifted Oathkeeper with both hands and slid forward a step. Riku pulled his arm back, aiming the tip at Gilfur. Sora bent almost double, Keyblades held out to the sides. Then, they charged.

Gilfur had watched them prepare to fight, silently laughing at their preparations. 'It won't matter what they do,' he thought. 'They'll all die anyway, no matter how hard they try!' He smirked and lifted his own blade as they charged on some unseen signal. Behind him Zexion mouthed strange words, desperately trying to protect the teens.

What do they think they're doing?! They're going to get themselves killed!

"Hyaah!"

"Grah!"

"Heeya!"

"Haaa!"

All four charged. Gilfur let out a maniacal laugh as he imagined how he would kill them. He swung at the nearest one, aiming to slice Roxas in half. Closer and closer the blade came, then-

"Ha! Fooled!" Roxas was behind him, swinging one of Sora's Keyblades up and crashing it down on Gilfur's shoulder. He grunted and fell to his knees. "Figured you out. You can't actually see us, can you? No, you can only sense our weapons and our power. I thought so; your eyes seemed filmed over like you couldn't see out of them. But now that we know your trick, how are you gonna tell who's who?"

Sora grinned as he sidestepped Gilfur's blade. He traded Oblivion with Riku, who had Sora's other Keyblade along with his Shadow blade. Oblivion then switched with Oathkeeper and Oathkeeper for Roxas' weapon.

"Damn you brats!" Gilfur shouted. "Switching weapons, smart, but I can still sense your powers! You know my tricks but I will easily crush yours!"

"Not so fast, Gilfur." Zexion raised his hand and pointed at Gilfur, palm down. "Try anything and I'll have you stuck in a prison of past tortures."

"No!" Gilfur hissed. "How did you-"

"I told you, I am Ienzo's Nobody. I don't know why or how you watched him from inside your prison before, but you should have some clue as to the spells he could cast. And now all those spells belong to me." He curled his fingers slightly, raised up his other hand and did the same. His book floated beside him as his fingers made a cage, fingertips barely touching each other. "Now, are we going to play nicely, or I am going to have to complete the spell?"

Gilfur bared his teeth at Zexion. He clenched his fist and the Erzo blade disappeared. "Fine, you win this time, damn Nobodies. But you will be seeing me again. Mark my words." Raising his arm, Gilfur yelled out a strange word. A cloud of red dust billowed up around him, and when it dispersed he was gone.


A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit short, but I'm putting this story on temporary hiatus. I just can't write right now.

I've got too much crap to deal with at school and home, plus some old problems have come back to haunt me. Really shitty problems too, that just make life hell. Wish I could just kill my issues.

Hopefully I'll be writing again in about a month. I might put up another chapter before I'm good again, but don't get your hopes up.

AJ1ri: Crap, you're right. He does have one...hmm...hmm...oh well. I'll figure out how to fix that in my story later.

By the way, I'm going to go back in this story and change all the Inezos to Ienzo. Later. Sometime. Eventually.