A/N: In case anyone was wondering, I know full well how similar Jason's character design is to Axel. All I'll say right now is that this was a deliberate choice on my part. Today's chapter also sheds a little light on this. So enjoy, my fair readers!

Scene 10: Jason vs. The World That Never Was

Xemnas had told Jason that the next morning, the training that would shape him into a member of Organization XIII would begin. So he probably should have expected to be woken up at the crack of dawn, this time by a member of the Organization he hadn't seen before: a man with shoulder-length blue hair, an X-shaped scar on his face, yellow eyes, and pointed ears like Xigbar. Unlike the other members of Organization XIII Jason had met so far, this man didn't seem to emote in the slightest.

"It's time for you to wake up," he stated. "You have ten minutes to report to the gray area where you will receive your training assignment for today."

When he asked the Nobody his name, the man said it was Saix. "Will I be provided transportation to this gray area?" Jason asked, rubbing his eyes.

"You will not," Saix answered. "If you are to be under the employ of the Organization, you will learn how to open the Dark Corridors or you will find an alternate way. Regardless, tardiness will not be tolerated."

He left the room without another word. Jason made a mental note about the voids being called Dark Corridors, as well as the implication that anyone could open one.

Saix didn't strike me as a liar – he didn't seem to care enough to lie. And since I have this cloak they gave me, these portals seem pretty low risk. So how would I go about opening one of these things?

After putting on his assigned cloak, Jason tried to form a mental image in his mind of those mysterious purple voids, visualizing what they looked like, and willing as hard as he could that a portal would manifest inside his room.

The very next instant, a Dark Corridor erupted a few feet away from him.

Did….did I do that? May as well see where it goes.

Feeling apprehensive, Jason walked through the portal.

That feeling lasted exactly as long as it took for Jason to cross to the other side – for waiting there was none other than the 'doppelganger' known as Axel.

"It's you!" Jason exclaimed.

"Hello to you too, kid," Axel said. "I thought I told you to forget all about us."

"Believe me when I tell you that I didn't want this," Jason said. "Now I'm just looking for a way back home."

"Unfortunately for you, that's not happening anytime soon. You can't even open a Dark Corridor yet, so I had to drag you here. But at least you have a game face going for you."

Jason didn't know what was worse, the fact that Axel had opened the portal, or the perpetually amused air with which he spoken of Jason's plight. Everyone in the castle seemed to delight in his suffering.

"Hey now," Axel said, taking on a more casual air. "That's what I'm here for. I've been assigned the task of getting you into shape today. So long as you keep up you should be fine. Got it memorized?"

"I suppose so," Jason said, feeling uncertain all over again.

Axel shook his head. "I have a feeling today's going to be a long day."

Jason touched ground on the same world that he had visited with Larxene before. He was once again in awe at the nonsensical nature of his surroundings. He leaned in to study a yellow flower roughly the size of his head.

"It's rude to stare, you know."

These words emanated from inside the flower itself, causing Jason to leap so far back he crashed into a wall of reeds. After a few minutes Jason felt it was safe to get back on his feet, rubbing an aching shoulder.

"Wow, you really don't get out much, do you?" Axel said, looking at Jason with a mix of fascination and pity.

"A few days ago my biggest concern was finishing an essay for English class," Jason told him, doing his best to control his frustration. That wasn't quite accurate, but bringing up his parents was not something he wanted to do at the moment.

"Well, I can guarantee that what you'll learn today will serve much better than anything you get in a classroom," Axel said. "So make sure to pay attention."

As it happened, Jason was paying attention; the turn of phrase that Axel used made Jason think that he must remember some things about what it was like back when he was a human. Jason was still processing Xigbar's explanation of the nature of the castle's residents, but the more these beings told him, the more clues Jason had to figure them out.

"As you may have already been told, all Organization members are sent to different worlds on different kinds of missions," Axel explained. "The kinds of missions vary on the capacity of the individual member."

Translation: members of greater importance are given missions of equal importance.

If Axel noticed the gears turning in the head of his young ward, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he continued his explanation.

"As for you, there are only two kinds of missions you probably need to worry about: recon and heartless extermination. I believe in hands-on learning, so follow me."

The two redheads made their way through the warped woods, until they came upon a small clearing where several Heartless were mingling. There were the Shadow Heartless that Jason had seen several times at this point, and then there were a few bell-shaped Heartless in bright colors floating about. Of course, the moment Jason walked into the area all Heartless immediately converged on him, forcing the boy to go on the defensive.

Ducking and weaving through the horde, Jason still tried to pick out any details he could catch. So he was at least on the lookout when the bell shaped Heartless began casting elemental spells at him.

Each color seems to stand for a different element. Red, blue, and yellow for fire, ice, and lightning respectively. But then what do those green ones do?

Jason fiercely struck one of the Shadow Heartless, which caused it to stumble about weakly. One of the green heartless rushed towards it and sprinkled green sparks on it, and the wounded creature sprang back up at full health.

…I feel deeply ashamed of myself for not thinking of that. At least I know which of these Heartless to kill first.

There was a brief mental stutter at how easy it was to justify killing the Heartless, but Jason's desire to survive overpowered the thought. Before long, he managed to clear out all the Heartless. The task left him tired, physically and emotionally, and for a moment he wondered how this could be done on a daily basis.

"But you already know why," Axel said, reading Jason's expression. "And you should also know that this is what you have to keep up with if you plan to stick around for the long run."

"I can manage to maintain this pace," Jason said, his words belied by the way he was panting in exhaustion.

"You did manage to finish this mission, at any rate," Axel said, emanating a much friendlier and casual demeanor than anything Jason had seen so far. "So I think you've earned the right to a treat."

It seemed like a genuine offer, and gaining a potential ally was high on Jason's priority list. Axel almost seemed sincere…

Except that in every member of the Organization Jason had met so far, there was a sense of inherent wrongness deep inside them, including Larxene. When it came to Axel, Jason had that same feeling, but only at ten-fold.

"I think I'd rather go back to my room, but thank you for offering," Jason said, treading carefully in case it was still possible to offend a Nobody.

"Hey, I was just asking," Axel said, putting his hands up. "Maybe another day, then."

An awkward silence hung in the air during the trip back to the Castle. Jason didn't allow himself to think about all the bridges he may have burned just now. He would deal with whatever consequences resulted from this as they revealed themselves. More importantly, there was more training in the days ahead of him…

When awareness came back to Jason, he found himself in his bed, trapped in a world of pain. His sternum felt like it was nothing but small shards scattered about his chest. His mind tried to recall what had happened, but the only thing that occurred to him was that he must have collided with a small locomotive.

"Wh-what happened to me?" Jason wondered aloud.

"Lexaeus, kiddo. Lexaeus happened to you," Xigbar's voice echoed from somewhere outside the cell. He sounded amused, and it was that much more insulting when Jason remembered he was doing it on purpose.

Maybe I should have asked to train with Axel again…

"This should be a good place."

Ever since Eileen read the letter left to her by her father, she was discovering just how little she truly knew about her parents. Her current location was a perfect example of this: a small shack just outside the borders of Twilight Town. If it weren't for the fact that it's location was described in the letter, Eileen wouldn't have even known that it existed.

Up until recently, Eileen had never even given a thought to what existed outside the town's walls. Now here she was, seeing her entire world outside the window of this shack. Outside the town walls, there was a road that led off to some unknown destination. Just... what existed at the end of that road?

Eileen shook her head to clear her mind. None of that mattered right now. Judging by the various blueprints for spaceships that dotted the walls and the workbench, this shack existed as a place for work. Leaving her body here, along with the excuses she gave everyone back home, would guarantee that she had at least a good month and a half before she had to go back. Her spell would keep her body in suspended animation, but it would still require food and water.

Even so, her little brother needed her. Eileen wouldn't let anything stand in her way.

A/N: I couldn't help but sneak little references to 358/2 Days in this chapter. The scent of conspiracy is thick in the air, so these various threads will begin to converge soon. I hope you all look forward to the following chapters. See you next time! Please review.