A/N: Yep, Yen Sid shows up this time! The meaning of the chapter's title will be obvious once you read it. And yes, I do intend to go into the history of the Keyblade War a bit, starting with this chapter. I am well aware, since it's been pointed out to me, that according to BbS, the Keyblade War occurred thousands of years before the events of BbS. However, for my story, it needs to be more recent; and at the time I started writing this, I didn't know that. I guess you could say I took a bit of artistic license with the dates of that war for the purposes of this story. Oh well.

Disclaimer: As much as I'm butchering the actual storyline, it's probably for the best that I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 9 – The Cockroach and the Snake

"Yen Sid!" Donald was excited to hear the Master's voice. "Where are you?"

"In my office at the top of the tower. Please, all of you, come up. There are no Heartless or Nobodies in your way this time." The gang shared glances with each other, before all of them who had met Yen Sid took off for the door at the top of the stairs. Kairi and Riku looked at each other as well, then shrugged before heading after the others at a slower pace. Marrik sighed and shook his head, bringing up the rear.

As Yen Sid had said, there were no enemies along the path to the tower. Indeed, groups of enchanted brooms like those that Mickey employed at Disney Castle were the only things the gang saw as they ascended. Kairi and Riku were amazed as they looked around at the stairway within the tower. They'd never seen anything like this room.

Despite the ease of ascending and assurances of the Master, Sora and the others nonetheless paused before entering Yen Sid's study. Finally, Mickey and Sora each took one of the double doors and pushed them open, allowing everyone entry. Yen Sid sat behind his desk, as he had the previous time Sora had seen him, and smiled at the gang as they entered. "Welcome to my humble abode."

"Hello, Master." Mickey smiled and nodded to the man who had once taught him magic.

"Your Majesty." Yen bowed to the king in response. This drew a bit of a chuckle from Riku, which drew the attention of the old wizard. "Ah, you must be Riku. It is good to finally meet you face to face."

"Thank you, Yen Sid." Riku bowed slightly to the master. "It's an honor, sir." Kairi giggled at Riku's sudden proper attitude, which drew both men's attention to her.

"Ah, Princess Kairi. It is truly an honor to be graced with the presence of a Princess of Heart."

"Uh, thanks, Master Sid." Kairi blushed at the attention. Despite everything, she still wasn't used to the idea that she was actually a Princess of Heart.

The old wizard's smile faded once he saw Marrik, however. "I thought you were probably still alive. It'd take more than a simple ambush to kill a cockroach like you."

"Well, coming from a silver tongued snake like yourself, I'll take that as a compliment." Marrik bowed slightly, though it was obvious by his tone and his expression that he wasn't serious in his show of respect. Other than Mickey, however, everyone thought that it was just banter between the two. That thought was soon banished when Marrik's smile turned into a scowl and he began speaking once again. "I suppose you were jumping for joy when you heard about Alden."

Yen Sid's scowl deepened in response to Marrik's comment. He turned around and walked back to his desk before replying. "No, Marrik, I did not. As much as I dislike the philosophies, teachings, and general culture of Alden, to see that many lives lost to the darkness is still a tragedy."

Marrik looked at Yen Sid for a few seconds processing what he said. "Sure you didn't." His comment only served to further infuriate the wizard, but Mickey stopped the two from arguing any further.

"Hey, look, we came here for some help and advice. Why don't we take care of that first, and worry about our differences AFTER we've dealt with the Heartless?" The two men paused in their argument and looked at the King before nodding in agreement. Sighing heavily, Mickey muttered to himself quickly before speaking out loud again. "Master Yen Sid, how did you get the Heartless to stop attacking Twilight Town?"

"I extended the barrier to include the rest of the world, rather than just the main city. Unfortunately, the barrier is only temporary, without the walls and runes that the rest of the town has, the spell will eventually wear off."

"Gawrsh, then what do you know about why they attacked?" Goofy's question was a good one, one that was on everyone's mind.

"Not a lot, unfortunately. Initially I thought they were after the Heart of the World, but their attack pattern didn't fit their normal strategy." Yen sighed as he summoned an image of the initial attack. "They attacked from space, something they've never done before, as far as I'm aware."

"They did in Alden." Marrik muttered from where he was leaning against a bookcase. This drew everyone's attention, which prompted a further explanation from the Wielder. "They sent in a fleet of ships to attack our sector. The initial attack wasn't aimed at any specific world, rather it was spread between all of them, except Alden." Marrik sighed as he thought about it. "We realized too late that we'd left the world defenseless, not that it would have mattered. The Heartless sent in a gigantic creature which swallowed the planet whole. We managed to damage it, but... it, and Alden, disappeared into the Darkness before we could stop it."

This worried everyone, including Mickey and Yen Sid. It was Sora who asked the next question, though. "If the Heartless have a creature capable of that, then why not send it here?"

"This is the first I'm hearing of such a creature, Sora. As for why it wasn't brought here, I can only assume it's because the Heartless wanted whatever they were searching for intact. Or, it's possible that Marrik's fight with it damaged it to the point where it needs to recover." The master shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know what is going on."

"Wow, there's a phrase I never thought I'd hear." Marrik had tried to keep his emotions in check, but obviously, his anger toward Yen Sid was getting the better of him anyway. "The all knowing and all powerful Yen Sid actually is clueless about something?"

"Why you..." Yen Sid's anger was been only barely contained, and having one of his rivals mocking him caused a release of emotion from the old man. "You DARE defile my tower with your presence, then insult ME in my own room?"

"Well, I had initially intended to ask for your help with something, but looking at you now, I can see you haven't changed a bit." Marrik shrugged and looked at the wizard. "It's a shame, really. I had thought that with all the lives lost that are on your hands, perhaps you'd like the opportunity to try to save a couple. Seems I was wrong though." He pulled out the device designed to return him to his ship. "I'm not going to waste my time in a place where I'm not wanted. If you need me I'll be in my ship. That said, I do have other things to do, so I won't be waiting forever."

"Wait, Marrik!" Mickey tried to catch the wielder, but he'd already found a spot to warp back to his ship. Sighing, he turned back to Yen Sid. "I was worried something like this would happen. There's too much bad blood between you two."

Sora was concerned about something else, however. "What was all of that about?"

Yen Sid sighed and sat back down at his desk, rubbing his temples. Suddenly he looked quite old and worn out. "I have long despised the teachings of those on Alden, and I never made it a secret. Marrik always felt insulted by my disdain for their world, and we have had many arguments during the war over our differences of opinion. Eventually, Mickey did his best to keep us separated." He shook his head. "I guess Marrik still holds a grudge over it. I suppose I'm no better, though."

"All right, so what did he mean about the lives lost on your hands, Master?" Goofy was a bit concerned as well, though obviously for a different reason.

"During the Keyblade War, our side was betrayed by a powerful wielder, a Master named Xehanort." This revelation got the attention of the three teens. Yen Sid held up his hands to stop the torrent of questions that he was about to face, wanting to explain further first. "After the War ended, Xehanort escaped into the Realm of Darkness. A few years later, he resurfaced, doing battle with a trio of wielders who'd survived the War on the same grounds as the final battle.

"Xehanort emerged victorious, but severely weakened. I managed to arrive too late to stop him from winning, but I had a chance to stop him from going further in his plans. Now, I must tell you, I had sworn once to never take a life if it wasn't necessary, a vow I still hold to this day. So, as he was lying there, wounded, helpless, I had a chance to end his existence." The wizard shook his head. "I couldn't go through with it. Despite everything he'd done, my vow to not kill prevented me from ending his life."

"What'd you do?" Sora was concerned more now than he had been before. Donald, Goofy, and even Mickey were listening intently on Yen Sid's explanation, as they hadn't heard this story either.

"I used a series of powerful spells on him. These spells sealed away his ability to summon the Keyblade, and wiped his memory. The strain of the spells also changed his body, giving him a younger appearance. I believed that by sealing his abilities and his memories, I had neutralized the threat, rendered him harmless." He suddenly looked at Kairi with a sad expression on his face. "When it was over, I dropped him off at what was, at the time, a fairly insignificant world known as Radiant Garden."

Once again, everyone gasped in shock at the revelation. "So then, you..." Kairi couldn't finish.

"Yes, the Xehanort that Mickey knew as Ansem's apprentice was the reformed version of the old Keyblade Master." Yen Sid bowed his head in shame as he finished speaking. "Had I known what he was still capable of, perhaps I would have killed him when I had the chance. All the same, that is one of the few regrets I have in this life. I am sorry, to all of you, for my mistake."

"Aww, don't feel too bad about it, Master Sid. After all, if you had killed Xehanort, none of us would have ever met each other!" Sora smiled to the wizard. It was fairly obvious he was trying to cheer the old man up. It was just as obvious that it was working, as Yen Sid smiled back to the Wielder.

"Thank you, Sora. Though one thing still troubles me. What did he mean when he said I had an opportunity to save a couple lives?"

"Oh! I think he meant us." The voice came from Kairi, but it definitely wasn't her. In fact, the Princess had begun to glow white once again. Soon after she started glowing, Sora did as well. When the glowing subsided, the two Nobodies were standing in the place of their Somebodies. Now it was Yen Sid's turn to gasp in shock.

"Namine? Roxas? How?"

"Ansem's experiment wasn't completed." Roxas shrugged as he explained. "At least that's what Marrik said."

"He said that the experiences that Roxas and I had while we were separated from our Somebodies caused us to develop our own souls. When Ansem tried to put us back together, he failed to take that into account and left us as we currently are."

"And what is that?"

"Separate personalities stuck within the minds of our Somebodies." Roxas sighed slightly. "We are independent entities that exist within the minds of Sora and Kairi, but we have no control over the body unless they grant it to us."

Yen Sid thought about this for a few seconds, looking at the two Nobodies in curiosity and confusion. "It is no way to live a life, having no free will of your own. But I don't know of any way to separate you two, nor do I have any desire to finish the job. What would Marrik possibly have thought I could do?"

"Maybe you should go ask him, Master." Mickey's voice was calm, as if he was requesting it, despite it being a statement.

"Perhaps I should, though at this point, I doubt he'd listen." Yen Sid sighed. "I have been a fool, haven't I?"

"You and he both judged each other based on your past, not the present. As such, you never gave the other the chance to explain themselves." Riku's comment caused Yen Sid to nod in thanks.

"I'll go see what I can do, then. Make yourselves at home in the meantime, I'm sure you're probably all quite hungry after the climb, and the kitchen is just one floor down." Yen Sid teleported out of the room before anyone could ask about how to get to the kitchen.

"Hey, over here!" Goofy had soon found a staircase that led down into the floor. "Maybe this is how."

"It wasn't there earlier, maybe Yen Sid had it hidden." Donald suggested.

"Wouldn't be a surprise." Mickey smiled and led the way down the steps. He was quickly followed by Roxas and Riku, who bowled over the other two animals in their eagerness for food. This brought out a laugh from Namine, who helped the others up, and followed them into the room below.

Yen Sid appeared on the lower level of Marrik's ship when he arrived. Walking up to the cockpit, he found the wielder sitting in the pilot's seat, working on the computer. Glancing around, Yen noticed that the ship itself was quite old, though he actually had expected this, knowing that Alden had been isolated for so long.

"Am I not far enough away from your tower yet?" Marrik hadn't even looked back to know the wizard was there. Yen continued looking around for a bit before replying. He noticed that Marrik was in the process of refueling the ship, and that according to the computer Marrik was using, it was 78% complete.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

This got the wielder's attention and he turned around to face his nemesis. "And what would you like to say?"

Yen Sid sighed and sat down in one of the other two chairs in the cockpit, fully aware of Marrik's glare on him the entire time. Sighing slightly he decided to get right to the chase. "I may have been a bit hasty when I took exception to your presence in my tower. Perhaps I should have let you explain yourself first."

The wizard's comment got a slight chuckle from Marrik. "You saw Roxas and Namine, didn't you?" Yen Sid didn't reply, and Marrik realized he was right. Smirking he continued. "Well, I suppose I should learn to leave the past in the past."

"It may not hurt." Yen Sid looked at Marrik, as if he was trying to study the man. "What do you intend to do with them?"

"The Nobodies?" Yen Sid nodded at Marrik's question. "Well, it's not right for them to exist as they currently are. And if we try to finish what Ansem started, we will destroy their individuality. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one choice TO make, separate them."

"I thought you would say that. However, I must tell you, I have no idea how to do so."

"I figured you wouldn't. The work is more similar to what Xehanort did than anything you'd ever try yourself." Marrik punched a few buttons on the computer behind him, and pulled out a small data stick. "This item holds information that may be useful to us in that endeavor. I will explain more once we return to the surface, so I don't have to waste time repeating myself." He sat there thinking for a second. "Do you know what is happening in the old mansion?"

"I am aware that something is, but no, I don't know what. I've never seen something like that before, to my recollection."

Marrik nodded to Yen Sid. At that time, the console behind him began beeping, which caused him to turn back around and work on it. "Ah, the fueling is complete, and the supplies are loaded. My ship's ready to go." He worked the console a bit longer. "And the Highwind will be within ten minutes." He turned back to Yen Sid. "Let's go back to your office. We all have much to discuss."

"Very well, Marrik. This should be quite an interesting discussion." Yen Sid stood up and opened a corridor for the two of them to travel through. Marrik nodded and passed through it first, followed by the wizard, leaving the ship on autopilot.

A/N: So, yeah, there'll be one more chapter before the group leaves Twilight Town. Don't worry, they'll be coming back to this world more than once on their adventure. Next chapter will be Marrik explaining what he wants to do with Sora and company, and the risks involved. In the end, it'll be up to them to decide what to do. Of course, I've already decided how that's going to go, but I can't spoil EVERYTHING now, can I?

As always, please leave a review or comment! If I didn't mention it before, I'd like to hear suggestions for Marrik's ship's name. I'd also like some opinions on where to send some of the characters after they leave the next world! I'm going to have two groups, and I've only decided on one world.