Okay, so some of you must be thinking, "What the fruitcake? Why did the rating go up to T?" ...Okay, Maybe you aren't, but since the characters will be talking about certain KH-related things, and Xion's existence is one of them... You guys know about this, right? Xion's... clone-issue?

By the way, warning for a sudden mood-whiplash. (Hello, tropers!)


Return to the Kitchen


Roxas couldn't help but stare intensely at the black-haired girl across him as they waited for the pizza. It wasn't because he was captivated by her beauty or anything equally ridiculous, but rather, it helped him think. He would look at Xion's face and run it through his memory, trying to see if there was any sliver of her existence in his past. He only ever ended up with a copy of Naminé's face, no matter how long or deeply he searched. He'd look at her eyes, nose, ears, mouth and even her forehead, and still have the same result. Physically, her dark hair was pretty much the only thing that set her apart from the blonde girl that Roxas met sometime ago in Twilight Town. And aside from that, there was her voice – Kairi's, technically – and her cheerful, warm personality. She was clearly a different person.

Someone completely new to him.

Well, she did give me sea-salt cream, Roxas reminded himself. Yes, somehow, Xion knew Roxas liked sea-salt ice cream, but it could've been a coincidence. Though, her expression while she gave it to him hinted otherwise. Perhaps someone told her somehow. Naminé, maybe? They must've been related somehow, since they have the exact same face.

He groaned and put his face in his hands. This was going nowhere.

Xion took notice. "Something wrong, Roxas?"

"I can't remember anything," he answered.

"What's that mean?"

Roxas looked up. "I can't remember anything about you. My whole life was pretty much Hayner, Pence and Olette, until Sora and the Keyblade came along. You and Axel both say you've been friends with me sometime before, but I can't remember anything about it." He blinked. "Do you know Axel?"

Xion smiled nostalgically. "Yeah. I know him as well as I know you."

"That means... The three of us were friends, right? What happened? Why did I forget?"

The replica bit her lip. "...Well, there's me. I was forgotten by everyone. And then, things... went downhill for you. DiZ and Naminé had to awaken Sora, and your memories of the Organization were getting in the way of that, so they had you forget everything." She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and sighed. "Axel was probably confused as to why you left all of a sudden, since he doesn't remember me. He and I missed you, Roxas."

Roxas shook his head, trying to piece this all together. He had to take these details one by one. "You... everyone forgot you, Xion? How?"

"It's a long story. Practically my whole life." Xion's hands clenched each other on her lap. Part of her was hoping that Roxas could see that she was uneasy, but another part of her was hoping that he didn't.

Roxas didn't see it. "You and I both have all the time in the world. And I have to know."

Xion hesitated, but she could see that Roxas meant it when he said that he had to know. She blinked and after carefully choosing where to start, slowly began, "Organization XIII, a group of thirteen Nobodies led by Xemnas, worked to complete Kingdom Hearts, something that would supposedly turn them into complete beings by giving each of them their own hearts. But without the Keyblade, no matter how many Heartless they slay, they wouldn't get any closer to their goal. Then they found you, Roxas. You were number thirteen, and a Keyblade wielder. With you around, they could finally get somewhere."

"Wait," Roxas interrupted. "So I get that I'm there, and now I know what I was doing with them, but how are you connected to all this?"

"It's a long story, remember?" Xion answered. "Let me continue. Organization XIII taught you how to use the Keyblade and told you that your purpose was to complete Kingdom Hearts so you could get a heart of your own. But apparently, you weren't enough."

"What does that mean?" Roxas had a hint of disapproval in his tone. Xion acted as if it wasn't there.

"The Organization started the Replica Program. They wanted to make a replica of the Keyblade weilder, Sora, and they created me out of his memories. But I was imperfect. Before I met you, I didn't have a face, or a voice. All I had was my purpose, and my number: i. Later on, I met Riku, a friend of Sora and Kairi's. He told me that my Keyblade wasn't real, and was just a copy. I had to choose between being with being with you and Axel, or returning to Sora."

"And you chose to return to Sora?"

Xion shook her head. "Not at first, but yeah, I did. I learned that I was stopping Naminé from restoring Sora's memories just by existing, since I was made out of them. As I time went by, I absorbed Sora's memories faster, and I became stronger by absorbing your power, Roxas. I didn't mean to, but that's how the Organization created me, so I had to put a stop to it. Before I could rejoin with Sora, Axel captured me and brought me back, and then Xemnas reprogrammed me. After that, we had to fight. Even If I was still stronger than you, I was beaten, and well, returned to Sora."

There was an awkward pause. Roxas had gotten every word memorized, and Xion just stared at nothing in particular, waiting for Roxas to say something.

"That's your life story?" he finally asked.

Xion shrugged. "That's the gist of it. Long story short, I put you in danger by living, and I had to kick the bucket to save you."

"Not too different from me," Roxas commented. "I had to go to Sora, too, since he needed to wake up."

Xion looked elsewhere. "Yeah, about that," Xion said quietly. "Well, it's kinda my fault, too."

"Huh?"

"When I was absorbed into Sora, some of the memories I took from him made their way into you, so you sorta went in the same position as me, except without the part where you absorb someone else's powers." She hummed a bit. "Sorry 'bout that."

"So you mean I could've continued existing if I hadn't taken those memories?" Roxas asked, his tone rising slightly.

Xion laughed nervously. "Yeah... yeah... yeah." She caught Roxas's fists clenching in anger. Uh-oh. "But hey! It's the Organization that made me, so it's not really anyone's fault."

His fists loosened. Xion sighed – this time, in relief. No one wants to lose their best friend over something out of their control.

"So, what do we do now?" Roxas asked.

Xion pulled a red, rectangular object from her pocket. "Use this thing."

Roxas took it. He opened it, finding two screens, one on the top and bottom. The lower screen had four buttons on one side, labeled A, B, X, and Y, while the other side featured an odd cross-shaped button. It looked familiar.

Xion gave him an odd look. "You do know what that is, right?"

"It's called a DS," Roxas answered. "What are you giving it to me for?"

When he looked, a wooden signpost had taken Xion's place. It must've been that ninja trick that he was told about in the kitchen. Knowing what to look for, he picked up the note sitting at the bottom of the sign.

Dear Roxas,

That thing I gave you has your life story in it, believe it or not. Play through it, and ask questions later. Until we can find a better source of information, you'll have to rely on what I can remember and that game to fill out the holes in your memory. A majority of the answers can be found in the secret reports that you can unlock after the endgame, so try to get them. Don't ask me how your life story was turned into a game. I have absolutely no clue.

Have fun.

-Xion, duh

P.S. Sorry 'bout the spoilers. You said you had to know. Man, you're lucky you got your own game.

Roxas looked at the object in his hand. My life story, huh? He switched it on.

It seemed Xion was more than just a trickster.


Ventus counted in a steady beat. "Forty-five, forty-six, Forty seven..."

"You're doing squats to pass the time?"

The blond looked at the boy lying comfortably on the bed, sparing a moment of his time to retort. "You're answering sudoku puzzles. How's that any better than squats?"

"For your much-needed information, solving puzzles like these improves critical thinking, creativity, attitude, and focus."

"So you admit that you're dull, uncreative and impatient," Ventus remarked. "I can see you're focused, since you haven't noticed that Xion's been holding a banana over your head for the past three minutes."

"I'm not – wait, what?" Repliku checked above to confirm what Ventus told him. Sure enough, a banana peel was being held up above his head by a certain other replica. It was pulled away.

"I ate it, too," Xion said. She took a space next to Repliku, ignoring his dismayed expression, and used him as a pillow. "It was kinda hard to eat it while holding it above your head."

"Why do you do these things to me?" Repliku asked the smirking girl.

"Your reactions do often please me, my friend," she answered. "Anyway, you guys seen Ciel anywhere? I've been trying to find the little rascal for..." She paused to check the clock. "...twenty minutes."

Repliku his puzzle book and left it on the bedside table. With her around, it didn't seem like he'd be able to continue. "Pretty ironic that you're calling him a rascal after all you've been doing," he commented. "But yeah, I haven't seen him around, either."

"Same here," Ventus said, sitting next to Repliku, forcing the three of them to be squeezed together on one bed. "We got him out of the duct tape, right?"

"Yeah, we did," Xion said. "All four of us helped, and it took quite a while, so I doubt anyone would forget so quickly."

"You think he stuck around to clean the kitchen up when we finished?" Ventus suggested.

"Knowing him, he probably would." Repliku made his way out of the space between his companions, making them fall and bump each other's heads. "I'm gonna go check. You two should do me a favor and stay here." With that, he left the room.

Ventus rubbed his head. "Am I the only one who heard coconuts when that happened?"

Xion mimicked Ventus. "Funny, I was about to ask you the exact same thing." She propped herself up. "So, Repliku's gone and looking for Ciel out in the kitchen, and Roxas is probably somewhere by himself doing whatever. What do we do now?"

"He told us to stay put." A smile grew on Ventus's face. "You know what that means."

"Loophole?"

"Bingo."


"Hey Ciel!" Repliku called for his Heartless friend as he walked through the hallways, using his eyes, ears and nose to find Ciel. He was supposed to look in the kitchen, but he thought beforehand that he should be careful and look wherever he could.

His sharp nose detected Roxas at a corner. "Roxas?" he called.

Roxas turned his head from the painting he was looking at. "Oh. Hey, Repliku. What's up?"

"You seen Ciel anywhere?"

"Nope," Roxas said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Haven't seen him since we got him out of the tape. Why?"

"We haven't seen him either," Repliku said. "Oh, and has the pizza arrived yet? It's been what, half an hour?"

They walked at the same pace toward the kitchen. "Not yet. Who makes the pizza anyway?"

Repliku paused in consideration. That was a good question. He knew that the laundry and dished took care of themselves, but the food was lazy, and had to be prepared by hand. "I've got no clue. Think Ciel might?"

"It depends," Roxas said. "Can he cook?"

Repliku chuckled. "Doubt it. Heartless don't eat normal food, do they?"

"No clue."

It didn't take them more than ten seconds to reach the kitchen. When Repliku opened the door, he and Roxas were greeted by an unwelcoming sight.

A wide puddle of red liquid stained the floor.

Roxas didn't quite know what to say. "Is that..."

"Hey, guys!" a cheerful voice called from nowhere. Ventus appeared in a puff of smoke on the other side of the room, drawing the pair's attention. Though they often used the kawarimi technique to get away from him, Repliku had never seen them use it to come to him. "Neat trick, huh? Whoa!" He pointed at the puddle. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Ven!" Repliku said. "Why are you here? I thought I told you to stay in my room!"

"Oh, Xion has something to say about that. Want me to go get her?"

"Yeah."

Ventus then did a number of hand signs – one of which resembled a shadow puppet butterfly – and vanished into another cloud of smoke. The cloud dissipated to reveal Xion, eating another banana. She raised a brow when she saw the confused stares she was being given, and muttered a closed-mouth "oh". Her hand gestured to the dissipating smoke as she swallowed.

"Don't worry, it's actually mist, not smoke," she explained. The stares did not disappear.

Roxas blinked. "Did Ventus just transform into you?"

"Did he – No! No way would he do that!" Xion tossed the banana peel into a nearby trash bin. "He just used me instead of a signpost."

Roxas's nod of understanding was accompanied by a silent "oh," while Repliku's stare turned into one of dissappointment, reinforced by foot taps and crossed arms.

"Why did you follow me even when I specifically told you to stay in my room?" he asked, a mild venom dripping from his voice.

"We did stay in your room," Xion said, "for about three seconds. Then we came here."

Repliku brought a hand to his forehead. "Look, when I said–"

"Hey, Xion," Roxas cut in, "do you know what that stuff on the floor is?"

Ventus then arrived in another puff, this time with a trenchcoat and a bubble pipe. "At first glance, it seems to be blood."

"Yikes," Roxas commented.

"But," Ventus continued, "we are not sure whose blood it is."

"Not to defeat the purpose of your coat and pipe, Ven, but that isn't blood." Xion squatted next to the mess. "If it were, then judging by the color, it's pretty fresh. But none of us have lost that much blood in the kitchen lately."

"What about Ciel?" Ventus asked. "What if there was some other guy that we don't know who came in here and attacked him?"

"Ciel's a Heartless," Xion said. "Have you ever seen a Heartless bleed?"

"Actually, I've never seen a Heartless before I met Ciel, but if they're anything like Unversed, then I see your point."

"So if it's not blood," Roxas said, "what is it?"

"Well, it smells kinda funny," Xion noted, "but I can't put my finger on it."

Repliku let out an exasperated sigh as Ventus, Xion and Roxas discussed the strange substance that stained the kitchen floor. His companions seemed to be rather dense, though it was probably just his sensitive nose that made him think that. He knew immediately what the puddle was made of when he cought its scent, but he didn't get an opportunity to tell them without a puff of smoke – mist, he corrected himself – appearing out of nowhere. He finally spoke, "It's tomato sauce, guys."

Ventus slapped his forehead in realization. "Of course! Tomato sauce! Brilliant! How did you know?"

"It smells like it, of course," Repliku answered.

"How do you know what tomato sauce smells like in the first place?" Xion asked.

"Forget that." Repliku waved the question off and looked around the kitchen. Besides the puddle, the whole place was spotless. Ciel must've cleaned it, but the tomato sauce still posed a question. "Why the heck is there tomato sauce on the floor, anyway? It's not like any of us can cook, right?"

"Maybe someone did try to attack Ciel," Roxas suggested, "but with a can of tomato sauce. He missed, and Ciel ran away."

"That just brings up more questions," Xion said. "Where would Ciel run to, if not to us? And that's if someone actually used a can of tomato sauce as a weapon."

"Agh, we're making such a big deal over this thing," Ventus said, in an unusual display of sense, "why don't we just clean it up and find him? Then we can ask him all the questions we want."

Xion considered it. "Alright. Seems like a good idea. Now where can we find a mop?"


As they were cleaning, Roxas stopped to think aloud. "You guys think that someone tried to make pizza in here? People usually use tomato sauce for pizzas, after all."

Ventus brought out his bubble pipe and made a laughable thinking face. "Hmm..."


And here is where I answer a reviewer question. *pulls card from pocket*

Flightfoot: Why does Leon know everything? Kairi didn't.

I'm glad you ponder such a thing, Flightfoot. In the original KH, Leon was the one who told Sora about the Keyblade and the Heartless. Since Team Sorta-Sora is in Sora's heart, the sticks and their respective personalities are affected by Sora's opinions of the characters. That's why Kairi seemed to be all about Sora in that chapter, because, there is evidence in canon that Sora likes Kairi and he hopes she returns his feelings. Leon seemed to know the important things, so naturally, Sora would think that Leon knows a lot of that kind of stuff, or is at least his go-to person. Hence, Leon knows stuff.

I haven't played the original, but I like to watch walkthoughs and read the wiki, along with TvTropes.

But wait! What about Yen-sid? He's smart, too! Well, Sora didn't know Yen-sid at the time.