By: whitewingedsoldier

Rated: T

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Square-Enix, Disney, or any of their characters.

Information: This chapter summarizes Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.

I haven't forgotten about this fic, I've just been out of ideas for a long time. Hopefully updates will go a bit faster now.

Kingdom Hearts

"Somebody"

Roxas' Story

09//reunion

Somewhere inside of himself, Roxas knew that within the next five minutes, Sora would awaken. And Roxas had to remove himself from Sora's presence, quickly. He slipped away out of the door he had come through and ran back through the mansion, finding the open portal Axel had disappeared through. This still looks usable, he thought. Slowly, testing to see whether or not he still had the power, Roxas put out a hand and activated the darkness.

The next instant, Roxas found himself standing in rather a familiar place; one of the back alleys of the Dark City. He smiled to himself. The closest place I can be to home. The illusion of Twilight Town was already out of his mind; his former friends mere shadows. He had no cloak with him but could always get another, and so he walked leisurely down the street with nothing to fear. Hopefully he would be able to explain his situation to the Superior: he had been kidnapped by Riku and DiZ and had been placed into a town of DiZ's creation to throw off Organization XIII's attempts to recover him.

But then he realized—if they had been trying to get him to come back, then they already knew. And if they knew, he was all right. It hadn't been his fault, and they understood. Hopefully. Roxas felt fresh and raw, having just regained his memories of the time he had spent here, and wondered if he would fit in as he had before. I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms, but I was accepted, he thought, as his feet brought him down a dark alleyway.

"Roxas!" a voice suddenly said, and Roxas tensed, summoning the Keyblade in case it was an enemy. But as he turned around, he saw a flash of unmistakable red hair. "...Axel?" Lowering the Keyblade, Roxas approached his best friend, who was beckoning hurriedly to him. "How did you get here? I thought you were...gone," said Roxas to Axel, who shook his head. "I came straight here, but there's no time! It's not safe here anymore!"

"What are you talking about?" queried Roxas, puzzled. The World that Never Was has always been safe. "I'll explain everything later. Come on! We have to get out of here!" Axel stretched out a hand, but Roxas stepped back, wary. "This is just like before! I want to know what's going on...now." Axel sighed. "Fine, have it your way. But you won't like what I'm going to say."

Roxas looked into Axel's green eyes. "I won't run away." "All right, then..." Axel sighed. "Sora is awake. You probably knew that already, but I thought you should know anyway. Now that he's regained consciousness, you'll be affected. You won't be able to do some of the things you could do before." "I don't care about that!" Roxas pointed the Keyblade directly at Axel's throat. "Back there—in the fake Twilight Town—that bandaged man, DiZ or whatever, wanted to use me for something. He wanted me...to turn against you and the Organization."

"See, that's the thing." Axel shook his head. "The Organization...they're not the people you used to know." "What?" Roxas blinked. "What do you mean?" "Now that Sora's awake, they're going to be heading anywhere and everywhere to get their hands on him and chain his powers for their own use. Some of their methods are a little...extreme. Even now, they're planning on throwing Sora a little... 'surprise party' when he reunites with his friends. I'm not gonna have any part in it."

"Just what is it that they're trying to do?" asked Roxas. But before Axel could answer, a Dusk materialized from out of nowhere, heading threateningly towards the two of them. "Roxas, c'mon! I'll explain everything!" Axel's voice carried a definite pang of fear. Realizing this, slowly, Roxas nodded. "Okay." "Let's go!" Axel grabbed Roxas' wrist and pulled him into a dark portal, which closed behind them.

The world seemed as if it was spinning all around them. Roxas shut his eyes tightly, his stomach churning perilously. But just as soon as the journey began, it was over, and he collapsed to the ground in a familiar-looking place. Panting, Roxas got to his feet, looking around. "...the mansion in Twilight Town?" Axel nodded. "But this is the real Twilight Town, not that data one. We can talk here. No one will ever know we even passed through these doors."

"All right." Roxas took a seat in a nearby crimson armchair. "First question...who exactly is this...DiZ?" "It stands for 'Darkness in Zero', because the person behind the name ended up in the zero world—where Nobodies like you and me live. DiZ is Ansem's codename—Ansem the Wise, former ruler of what's known as Hollow Bastion. That's where Xemnas and the others are headed," said Axel. "Xemnas?" Roxas asked. Axel nodded. "The Superior's name."

"Okay. Ansem. And the hooded man that's with him?" Roxas folded his hands in his lap. "You of all people should know that. It's Riku...in a different body," answered Axel. "When Naminé worked her magic on Sora, he fell asleep—you've seen that. Riku wanted to help Sora wake up, but he and Ansem had no idea why he was asleep in the first place. To know that, they needed Naminé. Before he got to her, we had her. Then he took her, and she switched sides."

"So Naminé's working for Ansem?" asked Roxas, incredulous. No way! But... "When I met Naminé in the fake Twilight Town, it was like...like she was being enslaved by Ansem. He could call her back anytime he wanted. And he dragged her away when she talked to me, to stop her from telling me something important. The last thing she told me was that I wouldn't disappear, and that we'd meet again." He sighed. "I don't understand anything that's been going on."

Axel looked sympathetic. "I know what you mean. It's possible that Ansem's only got Naminé because he promised her something in exchange for her work. See...when Marluxia had her, she unchained the memories in Sora's heart. Now that Ansem's got her, she's putting them all back the way they were. You have to remember...I tested Sora when he was in Castle Oblivion." "Oh...right..." Roxas nodded. "What did you learn while you were there?"

"Well...Naminé...she got into Sora's heart. She replaced his memories of Kairi with memories of herself. And...me, and Larxene, and the others that were there...we knew the rest of the Organization was bad news from the start. Even then, we were plotting against them. But to finish the job, we needed you, and no one knew where you were until now. I volunteered to come and get you." Axel ran a hand through his hair. "But you resisted. You were confused...you had no idea what was happening, since Ansem had erased all your memories of us and replaced them with fake memories of Twilight Town."

"And the others...what were they there for?" asked Roxas. "Well, while Sora was in Castle Oblivion, Riku was there too. It was the job of Zexion and Lexaeus to keep an eye on him, while Larxene and I watched Sora. Vexen was kind of like the wild card; he'd flip to both sides. And he created the replica Riku, meant to coax the new memories that Naminé created out of Sora's heart, to confuse him. Those were basically the roles we played. And in the meantime, while she was unchaining Sora's memories, Naminé was trying to figure out how to include you in it all...and why she and you were different. I think she's got it now, though."

That's right, she told me...Sora and Kairi...the way they lost their hearts were different. So we're different from the other Nobodies, thought Roxas. "But there's something you ought to know," said Axel quietly, and Roxas looked up. "What?" "The replica of Riku didn't work...all it and Sora did was fight. It got Sora mad, sure...but then Marluxia took over. Xemnas had put him in charge, and Vexen wanted to helm the project. Marluxia ordered him to destroy Sora, so that Xemnas wouldn't find out that the project had gone wrong. I knew that was when I had to step in...I needed Sora. You needed Sora."

"And then..." The information was intriguing now. "Vexen nearly told Sora about you. And he couldn't know yet; it was much too early. Vexen crafted a memory version of Twilight Town—where you were as Sora was racing around in the castle. We couldn't let Sora find out about you, or Twilight Town, or the 'other side'...so just as Vexen was about to spill the beans, I stepped in and finished him off." Roxas' eyes bugged out. "You killed him?" "I had to, Roxas! He betrayed us all! He would have ruined the entire plan! Don't you understand...it was for the greater good."

Roxas was nearly out of his chair before he changed his mind and sat back down. "Okay. Okay...I understand. Go on," he said calmly, and Axel nodded, though he looked slightly surprised. "Well, by that time, Marluxia was in on the plan with Larxene and I. We were going to overthrow the Organization once and for all...but I didn't trust him. Not yet. I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't turn on us like Vexen did. I sent Naminé to finish the job even though Marluxia hadn't ordered it...I made her go back and reveal the truth to Sora. You see, Roxas...if everything had gone the way Larxene and Marluxia had wanted it to, Sora would have been bowing down to us by now. He would be our puppet to command...but I couldn't."

"So...so...let me get this straight. Marluxia had Naminé under his control. But when he wasn't looking, you sent her to Sora and had her tell him that everything she'd done was a lie...something she created. If you hadn't done that, Sora would have thought that his fake memories were true...and then you would be free to pull the strings from the shadows," deduced Roxas. Axel smiled. "Exactly. But that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was getting Naminé to do anything. She didn't want to hurt Sora...he was connected to you, and she didn't want to hurt you, either. Marluxia had to coerce her into tampering with Sora's memories...it was either that, or stay locked in Castle Oblivion forever."

Roxas nodded. "Go ahead. I won't interrupt anymore," he said. "Right. So...it was all a huge mess then. We were all calling each other traitors, Larxene was destroyed by Sora...Naminé escaped. Marluxia had found out what I had done and was absolutely furious...without Sora, and without Naminé, he couldn't overthrow the Organization. I had to pretend I was still under his command, and then turn on him at the last minute. But he was the traitor, really...he wanted to overthrow Xemnas and the others loyal to him. In the meantime, Sora had obsessed himself over Naminé, thinking she was someone he had to protect."

Axel rubbed his head wearily. "He turned against me, even though I said I was on his side. But even though he bested me, my job wasn't done. I disappeared...from what I heard, that fake Riku and Sora took on Marluxia...a projection first, and then the real thing. By then, nothing mattered anymore...everything had been turned upside down. Marluxia was still hanging on to those last shreds of hope that somehow, everything would turn out all right...Sora felt like he needed to keep Naminé safe. He assigned that role to the fake Riku and went to finish Marluxia for good."

The story-telling seemed to be taking a lot out of Axel. Roxas nodded attentively, showing that the tale had his full focus. "After Marluxia was gone, Sora had to make a choice. He could either keep the new, false memories, or get back the old ones at the cost of forgetting all about Castle Oblivion, Naminé, the Organization...everything. He chose to reclaim his old memories, which Naminé agreed to wholeheartedly. Sora remembered who Kairi was...he was going to sleep for an entire year, to allow Naminé to rearrange his memories the way they had been before. It was only at the very end that he was able to remember his friends."

"So Sora went to sleep, and only just woke up," said Roxas thoughtfully. "That was a year ago. But Riku...what happened to him, if the Riku that Sora met in the castle was only a fake?" "Ah, of course...Riku. It's a bit complicated. Remember, Zexion and Lexaeus were in charge of him. But they didn't know he was there straight off the bat...Ansem got to him first, and guided him through the castle. As he was there, Riku met Xehanort's heartless...you know...Ansem's apprentice. But the king came to save him, and for the rest of Riku's time in the castle, they were together."

"Anything important happen?" asked Roxas. "I'm coming to that. See, as Riku was running around the castle, Sora was, too—they just kept missing each other. Now, remember how I told you I disappeared after Sora defeated me? I didn't go anywhere special—I went to see Zexion. Then Marluxia fell to Sora, and Riku...Riku realized that the only memories he had left were dark ones. He was still struggling with the darkness inside him. But he embraced the darkness...in doing so, he was able to gain mastery over it. He realized that the Ansem that had been following him was actually DiZ—our Ansem—in disguise."

Axel released a deep breath. "Ansem showed Riku the way to Naminé, who showed him Sora...who was, by then, already asleep. Naminé told Riku about everything that had happened, and offered to lock his heart...but Riku refused. He wanted to be strong on his own. By locking the darkness inside him, Naminé could have kept Xehanort's heartless at bay...Riku would have forgotten all about him. But Riku wanted a chance to defeat him. The king was there...Ansem was there, as DiZ. He watched over Riku, as he defeated Xehanort's heartless. But a fragment was still left in his heart, and that fragment was what allowed Riku to take on the heartless's form."

Roxas knew that this story was drawing to a close. "So what happened after Riku won the battle?" "The king went with him to a crossroads...one with three paths: light, dark, and twilight. DiZ was there too, to watch over...and so Riku took the twilit path. That was the last anyone heard of him, for a while...and then it was found that he had DiZ had picked you up and put you into the data version of Twilight Town. And then you know the story."

A slow silence passed as Roxas absorbed this into his memory. "Okay. Now Sora is awake, and all of his memories are restored, as well as mine. Larxene, Vexen, Zexion, Lexaeus, and Marluxia are all gone, right? And he's forgotten everything about Naminé and the Organization. So...where do we come in? What can we do?" he asked. "We can't do anything. Xemnas is out looking for us with the people he can still trust—mostly, Saïx. He hasn't got many left. Those still loyal to him are probably going to be deployed to get Sora to join them. Their old plan is still in action...with some new twists." Axel sighed.

"Axel...is...is it possible for me to see Naminé?" Roxas asked. "Do you know where she went after Sora woke up?" "I'd tell you if I knew, but I don't. I don't think Ansem's got her anymore, though. He only wanted her powers as long as they were of some use to him. She's probably somewhere else by now," said Axel. "I'm sorry, pal. If we've got time, I'll do what I can to help you find her, okay? But now's not the time. We have to get Sora to listen to us. If we can do that, we can save him—Roxas?!"

For Roxas had fallen to one knee, clutching the spot in his chest where his heart would have been. "Roxas, hey! Are you all right?" Axel jumped off his chair and hurried to his side, but Roxas waved him away. "I'm fine, I just..." He shook his head, getting to his feet. "Now that Sora's awake, I'm feeling whatever he feels. He must have been hurt by something..."

"You have to be careful," said Axel, looking worried. "It's only us two against all of them. If you're hurt...I don't know if I can do it on my own." "Don't say that; it's not true." Roxas painstakingly rose to his feet. "Sora will finish them off; sooner or later he'll find out that they're out to do him harm. It's only a matter of time." Roxas summoned the Keyblade and held it up above his head. "We have to find Naminé. I don't care what happens after that...I just know that we can't do anything without her."