Riku and I went out to the Woods again after Hayner came to watch Kairi. Hayner's reaction to seeing me was almost the same as Sora's, even though Sora had warned him about me beforehand. I felt a mix of urges, one to laugh at him and his facial expression and the other to smack him on the head and scream, "Why don't you remember me?" Sadly, I did neither.

I stop walking when we're out of sight of the mansion. Riku takes a few more steps, looking off into the distance vacantly. His back is facing me. I cross my arms, waiting for him to speak. It takes him awhile, but eventually he does.

"You're not gonna let me stop you, are you?"

"Of course not," I smirk. "So you can tell me what I need to know or let me blindly wander back into that castle and get into even more trouble. It's up to you." I know I'm being harsh on him, but I'm anxious to get Roxas back and start looking for clues as to why everyone forgot me. I realize that waiting to go back to the castle would probably be a better idea so they're not expecting me, but I can't just sit around for days or weeks. It will drive me nuts.

"Alright," Riku sighs, giving in to my obnoxious and stubborn will. "Remember when you were a Heartless and you learned to open up the Corridors of Darkness?" I nod. "It's just like that. You should still be able to access them. It will just take a little more concentration."

"OK…" I say. I hold out my hand in front of me and try to conjure up some of the feelings I had when I used the Corridors as a Heartless.

"Sometimes it helps to close your eyes," Riku informs me. "It'll keep you focused on the darkness."

I don't like the sound of that, but I close my eyes anyway and take in the sheer lack of light. I feel that dark twinge in my heart again, like I used to when my Heartless instincts guided me, and I focus all my attention on that: the dark feeling. Before I know it, I hear a rush of air, and, upon opening my eyes, I see a Corridor of Darkness swirling before me, inviting me into its depths. I wriggle with excitement and look to Riku for an impressed smile. He nods in approval at my work.

"Now…where does this lead?" I ask.

Riku grins to himself in amusement. "That's the tricky part. You know how to direct them to specific places, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but that time I forgot to pick a place…" I admit, scratching my head in embarrassment.

"Well, then it could lead anywhere."

"OK, well, next time, I'll be more specific. Now, how do I get through the castle without being spotted?"

"Well, first of all, keep that cloak and those gloves on at all times, hood up. Those help to shield you from detection." I listen attentively, making mental notes of everything he says. "Second, act normal. If your face isn't visible, you shouldn't rouse too much suspicion. But destroy any Nobody that spots you if it notices you're not like the others and tries to alert them. Even if it can't sense you right away, you may seem suspicious, especially if you're towards the back of the castle. The members hardly go over there."

"Okay," I nod. "What if one of the members sees me?"

"Then you're screwed."

"Okay, don't get seen. Got it. What else?"

"Get to the sleeping quarters. They'll be hallways lined with numbered doors. Look for the one that says thirteen. That's where Roxas should be."

"OK, but I have no idea how to navigate that castle…" I bring up.

"I can open a Corridor near that hall for you, but not too close. There are too many Nobodies around that area. There might be quite a few members in their rooms or near them too, so you'll have to be incredibly careful. If anything at all goes wrong, get out of there."

"Got it," I nod confidently. "Thanks."

"OK, you ready to go?" Riku asks, holding out a hand to summon up a Corridor of Darkness. The dark portal snakes into existence beside me, its ominous depths warning me of the dangers ahead. I wait for a moment in the silence.

"Riku…" I look right at him. "You never answered my third question." I could see in his eyes that he hadn't forgotten. He was just avoiding it. "How did you get this black cloak for me? And the one for yourself?"

"It's not important. Now, go. You don't have all day."

"Well, actually, it sorta is important. I mean, only the people in that castle wear these and Roxas had one too. It must mean something-"

"Go, Katie."

"I want to know!"

"There are more important things right now. Roxas is waiting for you."

"Yeah, I guess so," I admit. "But don't think you're getting out of this one! I will bring it up again!" I turn toward the Corridor. I inhale slowly, putting myself into an instinctual mindset, trying to let go of the questions I'm leaving behind. I stare into the portal, determined to come back with Roxas this time. I can't fail.

"Roxas, here I come," I swear solemnly, stepping forward. I try to focus on nothing other than my mission, but another thought suddenly begins nagging at me. As the darkness starts to envelop me, I stop abruptly. I whip around and yell, "Riku, wait! How did you know all that about the castle and the Nobodies?"

He doesn't answer before the Corridor collapses and swallows me up.

I stand among the nothingness of the blank castle walls. Everything seems quiet and there are no Nobodies to speak of. I slowly walk down the hall and turn around the corner, trying to behave as normal as possible. There are doors on either side of the hall, just like Riku described. I scan the numbers, searching for a XIII. The doors only range from II to VI. There is a staircase straight ahead. I climb it.

It leads to another hallway that is almost identical to the one below. These doors start from VII. I keep walking, watching the numbers as I go. VIII, IX, X, XI, XII…

I finally reach XIII.

I pause when I realize that I don't have a plan from here. I only charted out the infiltration part in my head. Now that I'm actually here, mere moments away from seeing Roxas again and helping him escape, I'm not sure what to do. I stand still for a minute, staring at the empty, colorless door. The XIII stares back, boring into me. I start to become paranoid and I'm afraid someone else may come up here or emerge from one of the rooms at any time, so I raise a fist to knock on Roxas' door. The tap is hesitant and quiet and, at first, I'm not sure it can even be heard from inside. I'm also not certain if he is even in his room. However, after a few moments, I hear movement.

The doorknob turns swiftly and my heart races. I don't know why I'm so nervous, but I suddenly get an unsettling feeling that this isn't going to work out how I planned. The door swings open and Roxas is standing in the entryway with a sullen and slightly confused expression. Upon seeing my shadowed face, he tilts his head and his confusion doubles.

"It's me!" I whisper hoarsely. "It's me! Katie!"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, Roxas' face changes to one of complete surprise, followed by anger. He grabs my collar and pulls me into the room, throwing me behind him. I stumble over and land uncomfortably on the ground. My hood falls, revealing my face. I look up at him and I can tell something is different.

"What are you doing here?" he demands.

"I-I came to bail you out!" I explain. "I'm here to help you escape…"

"Escape?" he repeats, confusion setting in again. "Why?"

"Don't you want to get out?" I ask slowly. "The others are waiting for you…"

Roxas growls in frustration. "What do you mean, others? Who are you talking about?"

I cringe at the harshness of his voice. "Everyone. Hayner, Pence, Olette, Riku, Sora…they're all waiting for you."

He grits his teeth. "I don't know who they are."

Something catches in my throat and I have to croak out the rest of my sentence. "You don't remember them at all?" My eyes start to water. "Roxas, you don't remember me?"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME?" He explodes at me and a dark shadow forms around his hand. Within moments, the Keyblade, Oblivion, is pointed at my throat. I slide back against his bed, shaking. The weapon is mere inches away from me and his dead-set gaze never wavers. His eyes are cold and distant, unlike the heart-warming smile I remembered in them. "How do you know that name? Tell me. Tell me what you know about my past."

I begin to tremble even more until I break down and the tears start falling like stars. "You…you really don't remember…How could you forget me, Roxas?"

His eyes ignite into a fury that can't be controlled. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he screams, rearing back with the Keyblade to thrust it through me. I inhale sharply. "Roxas, don't!" I jolt to my feet, but there's nowhere to run. The blade shoots toward me.

Suddenly, there's a blur of white in front of me and a cling! of metal that deflects the key. My eyes widen in disbelief. "Co!" I cry.

"Leave at once," my ally commands. I hear a Corridor open behind me. Roxas throws another strike toward Co, which is easily deflected. The Nobody retaliates with a flurry of quick slices that Roxas struggles to counter.

"Don't hurt him!" I cry, running forward to break up the fight. Co briskly stops me with its arm while parrying another attack from Roxas.

"Go, Master!"

"Please don't hurt him, Co!"

"I will not. Now flee!" Co thrusts his arm toward me and an invisible force shoves me backwards into the dark portal. Roxas yells, "No!" and leaps toward the Corridor, but it closes between us before he can reach me. The face I see as the darkness blocks us from each other is the face of a total stranger.