Hello readers! It is I, the powerful and intelligent wizard, Morphumax, who has decided to take part in a Humans vs. Zombies game on the campus of Midwestern State University. Let it be known that I will continue to update this story, even though I am constantly under attack by the horde, but since I live off-campus, it shouldn't be too difficult. Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 11: Nobody

They fell out in Yen Sid's study. The room looked the way they had left it, with Master Yen Sid still sitting in his chair.

"Where are the other two?" he asked.

"Dead." spat Rytex, not bothering to hide his amber eyes.

"How was it done?"

"We got out of a fight with Vanitas and Dalen, me and Exsan did, through a portal. Vanitas and Dalen blocked the portal and killed him. Then Exsan vanished." said Rytex again.

"I see." said Yen Sid, appearing troubled.

"Why did Exsan vanish?"

"Why indeed. This information is something that will be of no consequence to anyone but Xemyli and Rytex. Ryet already knows about it. It will have a particularly great effect on them when they hear it." said the Master, looking at the two of them.

Xemyli looked shocked to be addressed by the Master. It was usually Link or Rytex after all.

"Yes. This will also explain what happened to Axel and Demyx."

This perked Link's curiosity.

"You five have a very special existence. If the world had been left alone, the five of you would never have been. If not for Master Ganon's mistake, Rytex would not be. However, if not for Ryet, Axel, Demyx, Exsan, and Xemyli wouldn't be. The five of you were never supposed to exist in the beginning."

Xemyli's eyes widened, but Rytex had already come to terms to this information.

"Yes, Xemyli. Your origins are in the girl Emily that you saw in Radiant Garden, the town surrounding Hollow Bastion. As for Axel and Demyx, they came from Lea and Myde in the town also."

"So, we're all just darknesses of other people?" she asked, sounding angry.

"Yes and no. You are nobodies. You are nonexistent beings. All five of you. As for Sean and Exsan, Exsan came from Sean when Rytex first began to break through. Because of this, Ryet began to come to the conclusion that, if he were to create friends for Rytex, he would be less likely to come back. He was right. Bonds with friends strengthen a person's identity, further solidifying it in what it is."

Rytex glared at Ryet, who pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Why!" he thundered.

"Because..." he managed to mumble.

"Because what!"

"You, being who you are, could not associate with people of light until your identity was completely your own. If I had let you be, your old self would've broken out."

"That doesn't sound half-bad anymore!" he shouted. His amber eyes' pupils began to elongate slightly.

"Does it? Think of your wife, Rytex. She wouldn't be if I hadn't done this."

Rytex's pupils resumed their normal size as he sighed heavily, letting his anger go. His amber eyes returned to their red color.

"I'm not trying to justify myself. I did what I did for you."

"But who did you take Xemyli from?"

Ryet gave a painful start before answering quietly.

"Emily."

The name startled Link.

"You mean-" started Link.

"Yeah. The one from Radiant Garden."

"Why?"

Yen Sid stood up.

"The heart is a complex thing. It is often unpredictable. During his frequent missions to Radiant Garden after he became a Master, he met Emily, Lea, and Myde. They became devoted friends, and Ryet and Emily began to fall in love. None of us could have predicted it or prevented it. When he finally revealed who he really was to them, while they were shocked at first, they accepted him. However, sorrow was bred that day."

Link looked at Ryet. Ryet's face was scrunched, and he looked in agony. A small tear ran from his left eye.

"It was shortly after Master Ganon had possessed Panadorf. He had come to protect his friends from Panadorf. Time in that realm flows differently than in any other realm. When you returned to me, hardly any time had passed since you left. The realm exists on a separate plane of reality. Ganon's foul magic caused time to flow normally there when he willed it to. However, a millennium can go by there, but not a second here, and vice versa."

Yen Sid closed his eyes momentarily.

"After centuries of trying to keep Rytex contained, Rytex burst. It was then that Ryet returned to Radiant Garden, after resealing him. He asked his three friends if he could take the darkness inside of them and use the resulting creations to help Rytex. They agreed. However, Ganondorf destroyed the city moments later. The three were killed, but their nobodies lived on. Eventually, he did the same with Sean."

"But if Exsan vanished with his real self, then why not Axel, Demyx, or Xemyli?"

"They are all tied to Rytex independently of their real selves' hearts. Their friendship is like that of Ryet's and Lea's, Myde's, and Emily's. If Ryet were to die, the four of them would vanish because they are tied so tightly together, and the last link in that deep chain would've died. Exsan was added to this bond very late. Sean had never bonded with the latter four, so his nobody would never have survived."

They sat in silence for a long while.

"But if Exsanvanished when he died, why didn't Axel and Demyx?" asked Link.

Yen Sid furrowed his brow.

"I do not know. Perhaps they did vanish, only after you buried them. But we cannot tell. Master Ganon is probably waiting for you to visit their graves, or to revisit the village, for whatever reason, so I do not advise going there to see."
More silence enveloped the conversation.

"Now what do we do?"

"In time, you will have to face Ganon. It is the destiny of all three of you. Especially now that dark counterparts of you have been created. For Ryet, Dalen is the counterpart. For Rytex, it is Vanitas. And of course for Link is Ganon. If you do not face them, they will destroy the world before they can revive it. Do you understand?"

"I do." said Link.

Rytex nodded, and Ryet grunted.

"Link, come to me." Yen Sid said.

Link walked over. Yen Sid put and hand on his brow and covered Link's eyes.

"I am going to put a memory into your mind. With this memory, you may use Corridors of Darkness and Light as you please. They will take you any place you have been before. I recommend you use Castle Oblivion as a suitable fortress until you go to face Ganon, Dalen, and Vanitas. Go now."

They nodded. Then Rytex opened a portal for them and they all walked inside of it.

As always, R&R.

Once again, only one review.

Tehepicnessoffail: I apologize for killing him, but I thought Rytex was your favorite…

Preview for next chapter: Link, Ryet, and Rytex return to a land that is dear to all three of them. While there, they visit Ryet's parents' graves, andRytex starts to forgive Ryet about the issues that developed in this chapter. Link, in turn, wonders about his own parents, and goes to inquire more about them. What he finds, he will treasure forever, but someone will be watching him, ready to confront him about is inability to stop the deaths of Axel, Demyx, Exsan, and Sean.