*** Author's Note ***

It is ALIVE! Hey, if anyone is still reading this, I bet you thought it was dead. I thought it was dead too, myself. But, for some reason, people kept reviewing the darn thing and I thought "Y'know, if people are still reading this I should have the decency to finish it." So, here we go again. If you threw your hands up in disgust and walked away from this story, it's cool, I understand. But anyway, a short of review of where we are and how we got here, so you don't have to wade through nine chapters to remember what's going on...

The Three Fairies sought the aid of Holly Short to save Sora from Organization XIII since they themselves could not enter Castle Oblivion. Mulch Diggums and Holly both agreed to help them and enlisted Artemis Fowl and his bodyguard/mentor/friend Butler to help them as well. The Three Fairies took them to Castle Oblivion and then left to try and find Master Yen Sid.

After a short encounter with the Heartless, the group entered Castle Oblivion and met Namine, who helped bring them up to speed on what was going on. Axel then attacked the group and was finally stopped by Namine who warned him that if they didn't save Sora he would lose someone named Roxas. Axel agreed to help the group but warned them that he wanted something in return.

And with that The Curtain Rises

Artemis's eyes darted quickly from Namine to Axel. Connections were forming rapidly in his mind. He could almost see the electric blink of his synapses as they fired all at once. Everything he knew about Nobodies and Heartless was tumbling through his head. When Darkness consumes a heart. The Will left over. No hearts. No emotions. Sora. Roxas. Unlocked his heart...

"Sora is a Heartless," Artemis said quietly.

"Say what now?" Holly said, Neutrino still trained on Axel. Artemis could tell she wanted to turn around and stare at him but that she didn't dare take her eyes off the fiery-haired Nobody.

"He unlocked his heart, along with Kairi's. If Namine is Kairi's Nobody, I would bet even money that Roxas is Sora's."

"Yes," Namine said with a small smile. "Roxas is Sora's Nobody. But I wouldn't call Sora a Heartless since Kairi purged the Darkness from him. More like a Heartful."

Artemis nodded to himself. "I see. I know what you want," he said, turning to Axel. Well, he had a good guess at what he wanted. And if he was right, that would hopefully gain a little respect from this man- Nobody who was going to have to be an ally if they wanted to continue their mission.

Axel grinned at him. "Do you now, short stuff?" he asked putting a hand on his hip. "Do tell, what do I want?"

Artemis raised his chin and locked eyes with Axel. "You want your heart back."

Silence fell in the room. For a tiny micron of a moment, Artemis was worried that he might have been wrong. Then Axel's grin widened and he actually began to laugh softly. "Clever," he said. "Yes, I want my heart back."

"How did you even begin to come to that conclusion?" Holly asked, slowly lowering her Neutrino but not putting it away. Axel may have stopped his attack for now, but he was still an enemy who could quickly pull back his weapons from wherever he had put them.

"Simple," Artemis said, tugging on his jacket. "When Namine remarked that Axel would lose Roxas without Sora it occurred to me that a Nobody without a Heart cannot exist. At least not for long. "

"Well, why didn't you just think he wanted you to do something to help Roxas?" Holly asked, cocking her head to look at Artemis.

"Because, like I said, he's clever," Axel said, walking across the room towards Artemis. Butler soundlessly shadowed him, his holstered Neutrino quickly in his hand again. "He had already agreed to help with Roxas by saving Sora. What I wanted had to be something more." He reached forward and mussed Artemis's hair. Only a quick glance from Artemis stopped Butler from dislocating Axel's shoulder.

"Indeed," Artemis said, waving off Axel's hand. "So some of us will need to stay here and help Sora and some will need to look for your heart. Wherever that may be."

Axel was turning now and eying the group critically. "You can't stay here like this though," he said. "I found you within minutes. It won't take Marluxia much longer." He snapped his fingers suddenly. "I got it!" he said, the Corridors of Darkness blooming open behind him again. "Don't move I'll be right back!" And he disappeared, the Darkness enveloping him.

"He could be going for help," Butler said as the portal closed behind him.

"He could," Artemis agreed. "But I don't think running will help us. If all the members can use these Corridors, they'll be able to find us anywhere."

"True," Holly said, coming over and joining them. "But that doesn't mean they have to find us here."

Before anyone else could say anything, the black portal came to life behind them again and Axel stepped through holding a small book. "It was a little tricky, but I managed to filch this from Zexion's work space without him noticing." He tossed it to Namine who caught it. She looked at it curiously sifting through the pages.

Mulch, who was standing next to her, looked up curiously. He whistled after a moment. "Holly, you might want to see this," he said, pointing at the book.

Holly walked over, trailed by Artemis. Butler kept himself between the group and Axel. Axel, noticing this, grinned at him. "No worries, we're all friends here now."

Butler raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"It looks like the language of the People!" Holly said.

"Magic," Artemis breathed.

"Why did you give this to me, Axel?" Namine asked looking up from it. She looked slightly confused.

Axel shrugged. "You're the one everyone calls a witch. I figured if anyone was going to be able to use Zexion's book of zingers to hide these guys you would."

Namine shook her head. "My magic is based in memories. Specifically Sora's and those connected to him in the memories. The best I could do is make Sora and his friends think they had always known these people."

Axel sighed dramatically and sagged. "Well, I don't know what to do then. I can throw a fireball but I can't cast deceptions like Zexion can. And I really doubt he would help us."

"Hmm," Artemis said, taking the book from Namine. He could swear he felt a tingling in his fingers as he held the book. "So, you have a magic based in fire and Namine in memories. What is this Zexion based in?"

Axel shrugged. "I dunno. Knowledge maybe?"

Artemis's eyes lit up at that and he looked down at the book again. "I wonder," he said softly.

"I know what you're thinking Mud Boy," Holly said. She reached over and knocked lightly on Artemis's forehead. "Yes, humans used to have magic but it died a long time ago."

"Then where did this come from?" Artemis asked. "Nobodies are at least partially human. Wouldn't someone who is Complete be able to wield this better than someone who is not?"

"Why don't you let me try and use it?" Holly suggested, reaching for the book. "At least I have experience with magic."

"Because if this works, I can actually defend myself," Artemis said, somewhat testily. "I appreciate yours and Butler's efforts to keep me alive-"

"And thank you too," Mulch said, grinning.

Artemis ignored him. "But it would be nice to be able to do something besides hiding behind the handiest solid object when a real fight breaks out."

Holly glared at him, hand still held out for the book. Butler turned slightly towards Artemis. "Artemis, while being able to protect yourself would be a plus, there is no guarantee you will be able to control this magic, even if you can use it."

"Guys, come on," Axel said, starting to sound slightly nervous. "We need to decide what to do and fast." he glanced over his shoulder. "Okay, look. I'll go and distract them. Go challenge Sora to a battle. I won't hurt him," he added immediately as Namine began to speak up. "Just make it serious enough so everyone is focused on us and not over here. You'll need a plan by the time I get back. And a decision on who's going to look for my heart." He put two finger to his forehead and flicked them out. "Got it memorized?" he asked.

"Yes," Artemis said, closing the book with a snap. "Perfectly."

"Later then," Axel said with a last wave and he dove into a Corridor of Darkness.

There was silence for a moment after Axel left. Holly still held out her hand for the book but Artemis made no move to give it to her. Holly sighed. "Alright, Artemis. At least let me pick a spell for you to try out."

Artemis gave a clipped nod. "Fine," he said, handing her the book.

"Deception," Namine said quietly, looking from Butler to Artemis.

Mulch looked up at her. "You sound like you have the inkling of an idea."

"Only if he can use the book," Namine said quietly as Holly paged through it.

"Well, while we are waiting, who is this silver-haired boy then?" Mulch asked, pointing to one of the pictures on the wall.

"Riku, Sora's best friend," Namine said. "They were very close. But, Riku accepted the Darkness into this Heart. But it didn't overcome him, like most people. You could almost say he mastered it. But he invited something worse than Darkness into his heart a short time afterward."

"What?" Mulch asked, intrigued. "What could be worse than the Darkness that turns you into a monster?"

"The one who flooded us with it," Namine said, as Holly handed the book back to Artemis.

"Okay," she said. "This spell should create a small orb of light in your hand."

"Truly handy if I ever need a reading light during a blackout," Artemis said. He turned to Butler. "Where did you put the dimensional ration case?"

Butler pointed at a table on the side of the room. "Underneath there," he said.

Artemis walked over to it and rummaged inside. After a moment he pulled out the C Cube. Setting the book on the table he held the C Cube over it. "Now a quick scan, and quick decode," he muttered. "And done!" He looked at the C Cube for a moment and then nodded. He took a deep steadying breath and then began. "A small light to guide for when other lights of died." Artemis looked to his hand expectantly but nothing appeared there.

Holly and Butler both released a sigh of relief at the same moment. "You see?" Holly said. "It won't work for you."

Artemis frowned for a moment. He had hoped when he had felt the tingle in his fingers... He lightly slapped himself on the head. "Of course," he muttered picking up the book. "I should probably try doing the spell while holding it." He felt the tingle enter his fingers again and with renewed confidence he said the spell again. "A small light to guide for when other lights have died." Instantly a small orb of light appeared in Artemis' right palm. "Yes!" he said triumphantly, holding his hand up.

"Great," Holly muttered, pinching her nose between her fingers

"Perfect!" Namine said. "You can use his spells! You could be him!"

"Who? Zexion?" Artemis asked, curiously. He shook his hand a few times and the light went out.

"Yes and Lexaeus," Namine said, pointing to Butler. "They stick together just like you two. And you have similar builds and looks."

"What good will similar do us?" Butler asked. He paused and then looked slightly uncomfortable. "Wait, Axel said Zexion could cast deceptions. Are you suggesting Artemis use that book to make us look like those two?"

Namine nodded.

Artemis was hurriedly flipping through the book. "We're going to have to give this back," he said. "I can't imagine he would want to leave it alone for long. Especially if he needs it for magic too." He stopped at a page that had a picture of two pieces of fruit, one of them surrounded by a glowing nucleus that was attached to the first fruit by a small strand and stopped. He scanned it. "Yes, duplication," he said.

"Be careful, Artemis," Holly said, looking over the page. "Duplicates normally don't contain the same power level as the real deal."

"Well, I can't keep the original, Zexion would probably noticed if I replaced his book with a fake," Artemis said. He placed a hand on the book as the spell indicated and began "Rend the essence and make anew, where once was one now is two." The book glowed brightly for a moment. Then, the brightness slid to the right of the book and congealed into a roughly book sized shape. When it faded, a duplicate of the spell book stood there. Artemis picked it up. He could still feel the tingle, but it was definitely less powerful. He tried the light orb spell again. It worked but he could feel it pulling more energy from him then the when he used the real book. "It will have to do," he said with a sigh, shaking his hand again.

"How old school," a voice from the other end of the room said.

Artemis jerked his head up and Butler and Holly already had their Neutrinos out. Axel leaned against the wall on the far side of the room grinning. Mulch offered him the two fingered salute that Axel had departed with earlier. "You missed your calling. You should have been a burglar," Mulch said. "You've certainly got the silent entrance down."

Artemis snapped the book shut. "And just what do you mean, old school?" he asked a little testily.

"Reading out the whole spell like that," Axel said. "Zexion hasn't had to do that in years." He stretched. "So what's the plan?"

"Namine has suggested that Artemis and I take on the likeness of this Zexion and someone named Lexaeus," Butler said, putting his Neutrino back in the holster.

Axel looked from Artemis to Butler and nodded. "I can see it," he said. "You do look like them. Even have something of a similar dynamic. Hmm." He stared at them for a moment and the grinned, a bit unnervingly. "Yes, I think that would work out just perfectly." He turned to Holly and Mulch. "Guess that nominates you two to find my heart."

"Peachy," Holly said, rolling her eyes. "And just where should we be looking?"

"Well, I'm from a place called Radiant Garden," Axel said. He stopped himself and shook his head. "Was called Radiant Garden anyway. It goes by Hollow Bastion now."

"Charming," Holly remarked.

"The thing is though," Axel said, "If you just blast it with that little doohickey you've got, my heart'll just float around for a bit and then reform as a Heartless."

Holly put a hand to her forehead. "Pray tell, what are we supposed to do then? Tie it up and bring it here?"

"That'd be nice if they couldn't just fade back into the Dark," Axel said with a smirk. "You need two things. You need a containment unit from the basement laboratory at the Castle at Hollow Bastion and a Keyblade."

"What, that thing that Sora used to beat up the Heartless? This thing?" Mulch asked, pointing to the large Key in Sora's hand in one of the pictures."

"That thing," Axel agreed. "I've got a, uh, friend," he said, stumbling over the word. "Roxas actually. He's back at our base and he's got a Keyblade of his own we can use. If you can find my heart you can trap the Heartless in a containment unit. It won't be able to escape."

"How do you know?" Holly asked.

"Believe me, I know. From experience," Axel said, rubbing his chest. "If you get the Heartless to him and have him whack it with the keyblade that should stop it from reforming into a Heartless. And as long as you keep it contained, you can bring it back to me. Easy."

"So easy you haven't done it," Mulch observed.

"I have my reasons," Axel said.

"How do we know which Heartless is your heart?" Holly asked.

Axel shrugged. "That's for you to find out."

Holly sighed. "Alright, I need you to injure yourself slightly."

Axel just started at her for a second. "Come again?"

"I can heal people with magic. If I heal you, I'll get a sort of base reading on you and how my magic interacts with you. It'll help me find your heart."

"Heh. Works for me," Axel said. He called forth one of his weapons. Gently he poked it against his left hand until it tore the skin slightly. "Heal away," Axel said holding out his hand and dismissing the weapon again.

Holly passed her hand over the wound, green sparks dancing between her palm and Axel's. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling, the way the sparks ricocheted wildly, almost as if they themselves had caught on fire. And then the wound was healed and she opened her eyes. "Okay," she said, "that should do it." She turned to Artemis and Butler. "I really don't like us splitting up though."

"I must admit, I don't like it either," Butler said crossing his arms.

"I don't care whether you like it or not," Axel said, leaning forward into a slightly more combative stance. "I'm being nice here. The people I can introduce you to won't be so generous."

"Indeed," Artemis remarked. He turned to Holly and smiled slightly. "I assure you with Butler at my side I couldn't be safer. And I know you can take care of yourself." He cast a sidelong glance at Mulch. "You might have to look after the dwarf though."

"The dwarf," Mulch said, "has been looking after you lot for so long he won't know what to do with his free time when he gets some." He cracked his jaw and turned to Holly. "Come on, let's get going. It's getting boring here."

Axel reached in front of himself and opened a Corridor of Darkness. "Alright, listen. This will take you to our base in The World That Never Was."

"So, a Nobody World?" Mulch asked, stepping up to the corridor.

"Yeah, literally," Axel said, pushing his hair of his forehead and grinning. "The room you'll end up in is a wayport of sorts. There should be a portal to Hollow Bastion marked in there. You can also find Roxas in the base. He's a blond-haired kid about fourteen years old, yay high." He held his hand about five and half feet off the ground. "He's quiet and kinda loopy. Didn't take to the Nobodification very well. Tell him I sent you and he should help you out." His grin became slightly more predatory. "You'll probably want to avoid anyone else though. Organization XII doesn't take kindly to visitors."

"There's no one else in there we can trust?" Holly asked, stepping up behind Mulch, Neutrino at the ready. She remembered the Heartless in the other Corridor all too well.

Axel appeared to seriously think about it for a minute. "Well..." he said. And then he shook his head. "No, not anymore."

Holly cocked her head at him. Flora had said Nobodies didn't have emotions, but she could have sworn Axel sounded sad just then. She shook her head. It didn't matter, not right now anyway. She had a stealth mission to enact. And if there was anything her kind was good at, it was definitely stealth. "Let's go," she said, gesturing into the Darkness. She turned back to Artemis at the last second. "You'd better be in one piece when I get back Mud Boy," she said.

"It's not me who will be in pieces when you return," Artemis said with a knowing smile.

Holly turned back to the Corridor with a smile of her own and for just a moment, actually felt pity for Organization XIII. And then she and Mulch where engulfed in the Darkness.