Hey hey, gorgeous! What's this? Am I updating twice in one week! It appears to be! So I got a beta reader :3 finally! So this is hopefully the last chapter you'll ever have to deal with my raw typos in!

So I guess quite a few of you aren't liking the whole sci-fi thing :/ I'm so sorry to disappoint you, I guess maybe I should have labeled it "sci fi" instead of adventure. But I DID want to address one anonymous reviewer who asked why I was simply tossing out ideas at random. PLEASE have a little more faith in me than that. I've been designing and redesigning this plot for MONTHS. Every little bit has its role to play later. BE PATIENT, LOVES.

Disclaimer: Since KH has replaced Axel with Lea, I got his rights! WHOOPIE! ... lol jk. still not mine...

Stop it, Roxas thought sharply, Stop making me feel safe. Stop being so damn warm, and so nice to be around. Stop making it impossible for me to hate you!

"Can't you at least see where I'm coming from?" he asked, lifting his head up from the redhead's shoulder. They were still in the cafeteria, and everyone was still around. Thankfully the edge had left his voice though, and people were trying to talk again. He detached himself from Axel and sat down on the bench next to him.

Axel just stood up, however, offering his hand, "Come on, we're going to talk about this somewhere else."

Roxas became aware of all the people subtly staring at him and nodded, ignoring the hand he was being offered (what could he have done with it, anyway?)

"Bye," he muttered before exiting the room, "Do you even know where we're going?" he asked Axel.

Axel shook his messy red hair, "Nope. Not at all. We're gonna go exploring."

Roxas wasn't sure if they were actually allowed to do that, but that wasn't really an issue that concerned him. They didn't walk hand in hand, given Roxas didn't even have access to his hands. They didn't know where they were heading, they were wearing torn clothes, and they were covered in dirt and dried blood. Axel had a red welt on his cheek, and Roxas had two or three cuts on his forehead. But somehow that was all okay.

"I do know where you're coming from," said Axel quietly. Oh hell, he was brushing his hand against Roxas' again as they walked, just often enough for it to pass as unintentional, even though Roxas knew damn well he was doing it on purpose. Secretly, he sort of liked it.

"I'm confused," said Roxas bluntly. Not in a distressed manner, or a guilty manner; he was simply stating a fact. "I couldn't tell you what I'm feeling right now. I-I think maybe the only reason," he was starting to break down a bit, "The only reason I c-care so much now is because she's g-gone."

He took several shaky breaths in an attempt to compose himself. He swallowed thickly, "And that makes me feel like a terrible person. It makes me feel all the more guilty for liking you—don't act all surprised, you know I do. Even though I shouldn't, not anymore.

"If it's any consolation," Axel muttered, "you're not the only one that feels like total shit. I wish things didn't happen like they did, I probably could've handled it way better. 'Cause I really like you too."

Roxas turned to meet green eyes. "You say that, but how am I supposed to trust you? You told me one that you weren't a slut. Evidence of that is against you, my friend."

"I know that, but really, I'm not," said Axel unhappily, "I'm not gonna be that guy and try telling you that Demyx meant nothing to me, because that's not true. I loved him for a long time, that's why this is so hard for me. Surely you can relate? You're not entirely innocent yourself, kid, it takes two to tango."

Thinking about it, he most definitely could relate. What Axel was saying was pretty much verbatim to what had been going through his own mind as of late. He was at fault, but he still felt justified in being angry with Axel, because he was also angry with himself.

"I think..." he began steadily, biting down on his lip, "that we can work through this. But I'm gonna need some time, Axe, okay?"

Axel's expression brightened almost imperceptibly, "I can give you time," he agreed, "take all the time you need. I'll be here."

Through the situation wasn't exactly ideal, Roxas was glad to be given hope. Hope for himself, and for Axel. Even if it was false hope, he needed it to hang on to. Perhaps at least one aspect of his life, eventually, would turn out okay.

They turned a random corner by mutual agreement and Leon, of all people, greeted them with a pile of folded clothing.

"There you go," he said flatly, "I have a change of clothes for each of you. Come with me, Axel, if you're going to go to Hollow Bastion with us today. Roxas, there's a conjoined bathroom between yours and Sora's room that you can use."

Roxas replied, "Alright. Where's my room again?"

Leon pointed in the direction opposite of whence they came. "Take a left at the end of the hall, then take the third right. Your room number is 13. The castle is set up in a similar manner to Poir, if you hadn't noticed."

He hadn't noticed, but given the drastic difference in size and decoration he didn't feel like that was too degrading.

"Okay, thanks."

"See ya, Roxas," said Axel, turning to walk away.

Roxas followed him on a whim, "Hey Axel?"

The redhead turned around. "Hmm?"

Roxas linked one of his arms around Axel's neck and pulled him down for a kiss. It was a nice kiss; short, sweet, and to the point. The point being, 'I will try for you.'

It felt good.

It felt right.

When they parted, Axel flashed him a dorky smile before turning around to follow Leon down the hallway and out of sight.

Roxas raised two fingers to touch his lips where Axel's did.

I really shouldn't be doing this; he thought to himself, it's like an insult to her memory. He knew it really wasn't; that Naminé would have wanted him to move on, and be happy. It's what he would want for her, and that's what he'd want for Axel. He just felt so incredibly guilty, he felt like being with Axel would be like replacing her, like forgetting about her. It was cruel; what kind of person would wait for her to die, and then just move on? He never wanted that.

Room 13... Room 13, where are you? He repeated to himself as he walked. He made it a priority to become friends with Sora; out of everyone else in this place, he was the most likeable in Roxas' opinion. He liked Zexion too, but if Demyx would be spending lots of time with him, then it would probably be best to avoid them both when possible. He was still intimidated by Demyx, and with good reason, he thought. But really, he didn't know anything about him except that obviously that he'd been dating Axel and was in some way acquainted with Marluxia.

He found his room finally and flopped down onto the bed that had been provided for him. Now, where was this bathroom? Looking around, he spotted a door near the closet on the far left wall. He knocked on it gingerly, perchance Sora or Riku was in there. When no response came, he swung the door open to reveal a pretty spacious bathroom.

The first thing Roxas noticed once inside was his reflection in the mirror, like most people did when in the presence of one. He wasn't purposefully looking into it, nor did he ever, really, aside from that passive look every time he passed one. It was like even though he knew exactly what he looked like, it was still intriguing to see his reflection, a perfect replica, staring back at him.

Roxas, now, was especially intrigued, and slightly mortified, by the young man staring at him. He didn't look like himself at all. His hair lie matted and flat, for once, and he could now see clearly the full extent of the damage inflicted on him.

His face was gaunt and sullen, and covered in blotchy tear streaks in a thin layer of grime, from all the crying he'd been doing since yesterday. He stared at himself through heavy lids, trying to find himself somewhere in the face he was staring at. He looked so dead, almost zombielike; which was only further enhanced by the layers of dusty cement, dirt, and blood he was covered in.

When he couldn't bear to look at himself anymore, he shook out of the torn clothes he was wearing without much difficulty, and attempted to take a shower.

Have you ever tried showering without the use of your hands? Don't. It's next to impossible. He wasn't sure at first, if it was even okay for him to get the bandages wet, but decided it didn't even matter to him and that he'd rather be clean. Leon didn't say anything, so it must be okay. The water soaked right through them, stinging him, but the pain was manageable. The tricky part was actually washing himself.

There was a lavender loofa hanging from the rack, but Roxas was a decent enough person not to use it, regardless of how much easier it would have been. This meant that in order to lather himself in shower gel, he'd have to squeeze it out onto his leg and spread it around with his elbows. It was a frustrating and tedious process, and shampooing was even worse. He couldn't reach the top of his head with his elbows, so he had to very carefully try to lather it into his hair with his stiffened, covered fingers.

After he'd gotten all of the dirt and other scum off of him, and deemed himself, 'clean enough,' he gave up and decided to instead take a soapy bubble bath.

It felt good to soak in the hot water. It saturated into his pores and loosened his tense, aching muscles. It was much easier like this for him to pour soap onto him and was ten times more relaxing. At some point he even decided to sing a little (after listening very closely for hints of movement on either side of the walls of the room).

He alternated between singing songs at complete random and mourning his dead girlfriend until the water got cold; about a half an hour. After which he stood up, drained the tub, gave himself a final rinse from the overhead spout, and set to the task of drying himself. Aside from getting the towel wrapped completely around himself, it really wasn't that hard. He sat on the toilet and enjoyed the warm air for several minutes before attempting to get his clothes on.

That was far worse that either the showering or drying off. The tee shirt wasn't too too hard to shimmy over his head, nor was it too challenging to wriggle into his boxers, as ridiculous as it probably would have looked to an outside viewer. The jeans, however, were murder. The stiff denim fabric clung to his damn skin, and no amount of kicking or wiggling could get them to move. He ended up lying on his bag, sticking his legs up vertically, and yanking them down by shoving his immobilized thumbs through the belt loops and drawing them towards him.

It worked for the most part, until they stopped at his butt. He solved the problem by setting his legs down, and arching his back to pull them over that way.

He didn't even attempt to do his fly.

Just as he was scooping up the wet towel to hang over the curtain rod, there came a knock on the door.

"Be out in two seconds!" Roxas called shortly to the knocker. It came from Sora and Riku's end.

"Oh, okay! No worries, Roxas!" Sora's voice called back to him.

Roxas threw the towel carelessly over the rod and went to open the door. "I'm done in here," he informed Sora with a forced smile, "and I borrowed your soap," he admitted.

Sora laughed at him. 'Well I'd assume so!" he said, clapping him on the shoulder, "you're one of us now, right? My soap is your soap and all of that."

"Thanks."

At least the relationships between roommates would be harmonious.

"Do you want to hang out? After I go to the bathroom, I mean," Sora asked him. He wasn't regarding him pitifully, or with concern, fascination, or any other kind of looks the people here had been giving him. If anything there was only mild curiosity and genuine friendliness.

Roxas gave him what he hoped was an appreciative look as he nodded. 'Sure. I'll let you use the bathroom now."

He left the room on his side, gathering up the ruined shreds of his old clothes as he went. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with them, so he just bundled them up and threw them on the floor near the foot of his bed.

Within a minute, Roxas heard the toilet flush, the sink running, and then, a tentative knock on the door...

"Come on in," he replied.

Sora poked his head through the door.

"Hey," the brunette greeted, crossing the room to sit on the swivel chair Axel had used the day before. Even after he was seated he swung left to right, like a child, though he was careful to keep facing Roxas.
"Is there anything you want to talk about? You've had it pretty rough. Some people like to get it all out; I'm like that, anyway, I don't know about you."

It became immediately clear to Roxas that Sora was a talker, and not much of a listener. That was okay though, he was more interested in what Sora had to say instead of his own traumatic life. He wanted to try and move on. Talking about it was lingering. Lingering was deadly.

"I don't want to talk about me," he said gravely. He looked at Sora, who was perfectly at home and relaxed in that little chair of his, 'Could you tell me more about the Keyblade?"

He didn't know what possessed him to ask about the wretched thing, especially since he didn't believe in such things. But this was what these people seemed to base their lives on. So, madhouse or not, it would probably be best to know the story.

"Sure," said Sora easily, "It's a weapon of the light, but that doesn't mean it can't be used for bad, too. I mean, the universe almost got destroyed because of it. Like the name implies, it looks like a key. I can wield it," he added quietly, "Because I'm an indirect descendant of Ventus."

It occurred to Roxas that he'd probably said it so quietly because Ventus had become quite a touchy subject with Roxas. But he was also intrigued. "Oh yeah? So you and me—?"

"Yep! We're kin, you and me. We're kind of like brothers! So, do you want to see?"

"See?" Roxas asked, confused.

"I can summon it, the Keyblade," Sora clarified.

Roxas wasn't sure what Sora meant by 'summon,' but if what he said was true, then he would be able to prove to Roxas that there was some sort of basis, factual basis, behind this crazy story. The trick that Zexion had done was cool, but the same thing could probably be achieved with trick mirrors. Needless to say, Roxas was very skeptical about the whole thing.

"Yes," Roxas said, "yes, I would like to see."

Sora nodded. "Okay. Stay where you are though, 'cause it's pretty big."

Roxas sat obediently on his bed and watched Sora. The brunette extended his hand, shut his eyes, and flexed his fingers as though he were trying to grab hold onto something invisible in midair. But before his fingers could close in on themselves, a giant key materialized out of nothing.

It looked like a skeleton key, the kind you could purchase at a hardware store. The base had a handle going through it, though, and that's where Sora held it. It was gold at the base, and the neck of the key was silver, as were the teeth. The teeth were interesting; they extended down into the shape of a crown.

"Wow," Roxas breathed. It had come, literally, out of nowhere. "Why is there a keychain hanging from it?"

That wasn't the question he'd meant to ask first, but it was the first logical question to appear in his mind. There was a bulky chain hanging down from the handle, and it looked like it would be quite an inconvenience in battle.

Sora picked up the object at the end of the chain and held it up for Roxas to see. "This was King Mickey's crest," he explained, "he was a Keyblade wielder himself; Xehanort taught him during his attempt to overthrow the kingdom. I don't know why mine looks like this. My dad's was the same though, 'cept his handle was silver and the neck was gold. I think they were just forged that way so that we of the resistance could identify each other. I'm told we were a lot bigger group back then..."

"So mine will look like that?" Roxas asked hopefully. It was pretty cool.

Sora shrugged. "It's hard to say. If you are who we think you are, it could look like anything. We don't know much about the three, but we know their names: Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Ventus is recorded to have backhanded his Keyblade, which I found to be pretty interesting. I've tried it, but..." he trailed off, as though perhaps he were afraid he was talking too much.

"Records?" Roxas asked, unaffected by the talkative brunette. He was curious. "You have records of this stuff?"

'Well, not really records," Sora clarified, "But reference points and stuff. Like pages from the King's journal, old depictions of what the key-bearers looked like, and of course, everything that's been researched by our leaders; some five, six thousand years' worth of knowledge."

"I have a question..." said Roxas slowly, "this all happened in biblical times, right?" Sora nodded, "Is there any kind of reference to this in the Christian bible?"

"You're Christian yourself, right? No there isn't. There wouldn't be, see, because all this happened in Hollow Bastion, and Christianity and Judaism all originated in Agrabah, and was spread and popularized by Radiant Gardens. It didn't spread to Hollow Bastion until the discovery of gummi blocks, not until a thousand years ago. The men that recorded the bible didn't have any knowledge of the affairs around here. I hope that doesn't affect your decision to believe in us." Sora finished.

Roxas appreciated Sora for being able to tell him all of that without completely writing off his religion. While Sora's take on Christianity was unclear, Roxas was grateful that he at least had respect for it.

"I see..." said Roxas, "So, you have the cells, right? Can you do anything weird, like Zexion?"

"Not really," Sora admitted, "I'm still learning new things about the Keyblade, but I don't have the kind of psychic power to do anything but summon it. Which I don't mind, really, I think it's pretty rad. There are only four people here that can do other things. So far," he added, "I can't speak for you and your friends. If Axel is the child of Ariel and Eric, then he probably has them. I know they did."

"What can everyone here do?" Roxas asked quickly. He didn't want to touch the subject of Axel just yet.

Sora shifted on his chair so that he was sitting on his knees. "Well," he began, "You already saw Zex; he's an illusionist, so he can create pretty much any image for you to see if he concentrates hard enough. Lexaeus, you know they're brothers, right? He's an earthshaker; he can manipulate stone, and dirt, and other naturally occurring structures. We call Xaldin Windwaker, because his element is air, which could be really deadly for anyone that tries to pick a fight with him."

"Is that all?" Roxas asked.

He shook his head. "Not completely. Riku is very special. He was trained with all the other nobodies, he can use what they call dark Gaia. The only thing is, doing that requires him to take the life force of his enemies. It's hard to explain..." he scrunched his face up in concentration, "like, he takes the power slash energy away from his opponent, and turns it into like, this dark ball. It makes it really hard for him to train, because if he lets it get out of control, he could easily kill one of us. I've offered to help, but, you know..."

"Yeah," said Roxas, "I wonder if I can do anything cool," he mused.

"Oh, I'm sure you can!" said Sora enthusiastically. "We'll find out soon enough; as soon as your hands start to heal up. Do you wanna, like, go to the library with me or something? I could show you some of the 'records' we have. Like, the pictures and stuff. It would probably help you to understand better, cause I know this all probably sounds like insane, freaky-ass bullshit to you."

Roxas laughed hollowly, not because of the bullshit, but because he was actually beginning to believe the bullshit. "I would like to go, thanks. If I'm going to be here for a while, I might as well know what I've gotten myself into."

Sora hopped out of his chair with a grin on his face. "Cool! It's about time we gave you the tour anyway."

The castle, it turned out, was not nearly as complicated as Roxas originally thought it would be. It was set up in a similar was to Poir; there was one main hallway, and all of the rooms were accessible through smaller hallways. The library was on the second floor, and the stairs going up and down were pretty much right across with wing with all of the bedrooms.

"Alright, here's the library, and the hall of records is right next door," said Sora, pushing open the large, ornate doors. The library was huge, bigger than any Roxas had ever seen. Were there any actual sun streaming through the stained glass windows, it would've been magnificent. The entire thing was magnificent, with the exception of one small detail: those who inhabited it.

Demyx and Zexion were both seated in some of the many ploofy arm chairs spread across the library. Zexion was reading, naturally, and Demyx was across from him, lightly strumming an acoustic guitar. According to Sora there was a musical based room somewhere in the depths of the castle, from which Roxas assumed Demyx acquired his instrument. Neither of the two had noticed his presence yet, and he really wanted to leave before they did; he didn't want to make trouble with Demyx.

But Sora, being Sora, did not seem to notice the tension between them, and he immediately shouted, "Hey Zex! Can me 'n Roxas join you? I'm gonna show him some stuff about Ventus."

Demyx stiffened in his chair, but he did not miss a chord. The song transferred smoothly to its melancholy bridge.

Zexion looked up from his book, unperturbed. "I don't mind," he said quietly, as if interring that somebody else would mind.

"Could I have a word, Roxas?" Demyx asked suddenly, slapping his hands down onto the strings harshly, silencing them.

"Umm, yeah, I guess so," Roxas replied uncertainly. What was he supposed to do, say no? He was too nervous to meet Demyx's eyes, to see if they were angry or not.

He let Demyx lead him through the massive hedge maze of book shelves until they came across a pair of isolated chairs, accompanied by a work desk. He and Zexion must spend a lot of time in here for him to know his way around already.

"Relax. I'm not going to bite you," said Demyx, dropping down onto one of the chairs and motioning for Roxas to do the same.

"Yeah? Then what are you going to do?" Roxas asked, settling hesitantly in his own chair.

"Talk," he replied simply, "I want to know a few things."

This was ridiculously uncomfortable. Surely he would ask about Axel, and then Roxas would have to awkwardly explain how he'd been clueless the whole time, and then about how they planned be to together in the near future. What would happen then? Assuming that Demyx would be staying the TWTNW, he would forever have to feel like the ex-boyfriend. Roxas didn't want to inflict that upon him.

"Okay," Roxas greed numbly, "I'll answer any questions you have for me." Were he in Demyx's place, he'd want himself to do the same, after all.

"Do you buy it? The whole Jenova story?"

"Is that what you wanted to know?" Roxas asked incredulously. "I don't know... I think I'm starting to. I saw Sora summon a Keyblade out of nothing. Like legit, nothing. I don't like the idea of being reincarnated from some kind of warrior, and the whole pull thing seems really sketchy to me"

Demyx listened attentively, and despite the discomfort of the situation, it was nice to be able to vent and proclaim his suspicions to someone who would hear it. Someone who understood, by some level. He and Demyx weren't really that much different, Roxas realized.

"I see..." said Demyx, "Would you tell me what happened—what is happening between you and Axel? I'm not gonna freak out or anything, I just want to know"

"Saw that coming..." Roxas mumbled. "Yeah, sure. I have to have things in black and white, too. I get it. What do you wanna know?"

"What do you know about me?" Demyx inquired through suspicious eyes.

"Umm... well. I know that you told Marluxia that Axel fucked Larxene?" he offered weakly. "Serious, before yesterday, all I knew about the person named Demyx was that he was acquainted with both Axel and Marluxia."

"So you don't know that he and I were in an open relationship?"

Now this information surprised Roxas, and it also angered him a little bit. "Absolutely not. He said he'd only sleep with someone he cared about."

"Uh-huh. And was that before or after he slept with you?" said Demyx, tapping his foot against the floor.

"We never had sex," Roxas retorted hotly, "I mean, we sort of kissed and stuff, but he never made a pass at me like that. Actually, to be honest, I found him to be quite a gentleman."

Demyx's expression, surprisingly, softened at that. "Yeah, that sounds like my Axel," he said, almost wistfully, "But tell me this: You're just as guilty as he is—"

"I told you, I didn't—"

"Let me finish. You supposedly didn't know about me. I got that. But didn't you have a little lady of your own? If you didn't have a problem sneaking around behind her back, why should I believe that you wouldn't do the same to me? You don't even know me."

"My girlfriend is dead," said Roxas through gritted teeth. "I planned to leave her, before I knew you were around. Obviously after that, things changed. I went home, and before I could even come clean to her, she died. Died. I'll never be able to atone for that. I know how bad I look to you, how bad I should look to you. But I am a human being. It was never my intention to hurt anyone; hell, it was never my intention to be with Axel at all. Things shouldn't have turned out the way they did, and for what it's worth, I am sorry for coming between the two of you."

There was a short pause in which Demyx looked torn. Apparently, he had come for a fight, after all.

Finally, he said, "I'm not heartless, either. I choose to not believe it was your fault. And... I guess I don't want things between us to be too harsh or complicated. Axel and I are over. But, if you don't mind me asking, do you guys plan to, err—continue in the future? Now that I'm out of the picture?"

Roxas, though uncertain of what was going through Demyx's head, decided that it was best to just be truthful. He'd find out eventually, anyway.

"I want to be angry at him," said Roxas. "I really, really want to be angry at him. And I am. But...I don't know, it's like it's impossible to stay away. That's probably not good. But to answer your question; yeah, probably."

Demyx furrowed his sandy brow. "I'll tell you what, kid, I don't like you much. But that's probably just the green eyed monster coming out of me. If Axel's happiness didn't matter to me, I'd probably punch your lights out. But... it does." He bit his lip, wet them, and then continued, "Congratulations, kid, you got yourself a fucking blessing."

"Really? Wait so, we're like, okay? You're okay with this?" Roxas asked.

Demyx shrugged. "Not really. But Axel never exactly denied having feelings for you, and that's gotta count for something. If I'm gonna be a bitch about this nobody is gonna be happy. I'd rather just try to let go. Isn't that what all of us are doing? Just... go about it discreetly, yeah? I already feel like crap about this. Not to be an ass or anything, seriously, but I don't need to see you two being all happy couple together just yet, okay?"

Roxas nodded immediately. "That sounds very reasonable to me. Thank you, Demyx."

The brunette nodded and mumbled a response. They simultaneously stood up as a common agreement that the conversation was over.

He was grateful to Demyx, truly, for being so calm about this whole situation. It was a long shot that Demyx would even listen to anything Roxas had to say, let alone believe him, let alone give him a blessing. Hopefully, after this conversation things wouldn't be so tense between them. Either that, or they'd have that kind of relationship where you take extra measures to simply avoid the presence of the other. Only time would tell.

It was astounding, really, how quickly life moved, with or without you on board; how quickly Roxas was adapting to the new world around him. The fact that he'd never be able to go home, that he had no home to go to; it took a commendable effort to be able to wrap his head around it. Never was such a funky concept.

He followed He followed Demyx out of the book maze and back into the main atrium, where Zexion and Sora were now chatting in hushed tones. They stopped as soon as the two came into sight, and Sora stood up.

"Hey…" he muttered as soon as Roxas was within earshot, "Zex explained what was going on, do you want to leave?"

"Nah, it's fine," Roxas muttered back, not wanting their conversation to be overheard, even if what they were discussing couldn't be more obvious, "I think we're okay."

Sora's voice went back to a more suitable volume for speaking when he replied, "All right, cool. I pulled out some photographs of these old murals that people'd made inside the bastion, as well as some of the king's old records."

"Sounds good," said Roxas agreeably, eager to get away from the subject of his relationships.

The first piece of paper he picked up was a thick scroll of ancient papyrus, covered in the sloppy scrawl that he assumed to be King Mickey's handwriting.

Maleficent has requested an audience with me again. She says it's urgent that I hear what she has to say. All I know is that witch can't be up to any good-14 M

Today, I heard the prophecy with my own ears. Maleficent rumors in strange tongues that Terra, one of our three legendary Keyblade wielders, lies entombed beneath the hollow bastion. It gives me the heebie jeebies. She claims that Ventus, bless his soul, I'd known him since he was a small child, would come again, and defeat Master Xehanort once and for all. My toes sweat at the possibility that the most dangerous entity known to man lies so close to my people. Tonight, I attempt to beat myself rid of these fantasies, but it is indeed a test. She has never been wrong in the past.-15 M

Roxas swallowed and set aside the ancient scroll, turning instead to look at the photographs.

It was something of a shock, seeing the depictions of the Keyblade-wielders on paper. Some of them were very crudely done, others reflected age-old craftsmanship, the kind one would expect to see in a history museum. But that wasn't what really got to him. No, what got to him was how remarkably similar the drawings looked to himself.

Not all of them, of course; a fair few showed a tall man and woman, often joined by the hand, brandishing their weapons. The man had dark hair and a wise, stony face, and the woman had bluish hair and notably bright colored eyes in the majority of them. The one that stood out the most to Roxas was a photograph of the inside of a large cathedral, in which the object of the rich, stained glass windows, was him. Or Ventus, rather. It must have been, since Roxas hadn't existed at the time of its creation. The boy who so closely resembled him was depicted holding a magical blade in his hands, as he stared below.

"You okay?" Sora asked, concern edging it voice. It was a lot to take in.

A question suddenly arose in Roxas' mind: How had they found him? After millennia of searching, surely they had more to go by than a picture.

"How was it that you guys figured out who I was?" Roxas repeated his question to Sora, "I'm sure you didn't just happen to see me walking down the street and think 'oh my god it's Ventus!'"

"That was all down to chance, really," said Sora, "Somewhere along the line, we lost track of your bloodline, one of your ancestors must have left us at some point… Anyway, we weren't the only ones tracking you. The nobodies found you first, according to our little friend in Twilight Town. The rest was fate, really. Maybe you don't believe in fat, that's okay. But to me, the odds of you coming here, to Hollow Bastion, and applying for a job at our cover base of operations; you coming right at us like that, are probably right next to the odds of our sun exploding right this second," he paused, "Does not happen. Leon found your file with like, twenty other applications he'd narrowed down his choices to. He had us run some backup checks. Later on, we knew that you were the one being trailed, and you are of direct bloodline to Ventus."

"And how was it that you deduced me to be Ventus himself?" Roxas asked, crossing his arms.

Sora shrugged. "They don't tell me everything, man. I'd assume that if you can summon the Keyblade all on your own, without a parent passing down the method to you, you must be him."

"What about Cloud? Does he have a part in any of this?"

"Cloud is your half-brother," said Sora, "I ran his background myself. You have different mothers, correct?"

Roxas nodded uncomfortably; it was strange, to say the least, to have a stranger know so much about you.

The brunette continued, "Since Cloud's mum is from Midgar, there's a very, very good chance that he has the cells, but your heritage traces back from your mother's side of the family."

Roxas suddenly thought of his own father. The man was tall, not like him, but he had the hair. The crazy, spikey, blonde Strife hair. He had the greatest sense of humor, even though, being a schoolteacher, he was relentless about Roxas' education. Would they ever even see each other again?

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" said Sora. "I can see it in your eyes. You don't have to worry about him; he's safe and sound in Twilight Town. We have him under our protection. You'll see him again," he promised, "He doesn't even have to know about any of this."

"I know," said Roxas. "It's just… I think—I've been running away from the question I really want to ask. What's gonna happen to me now? Just tell me that. Nothing else really matters anymore…"

Everything was changing; he needed something to hold on to.

"That's up to you, really," said Sora, shrugging, "It'd be the most convenient for us if you agreed to stay here and become our agent, but of course you're at liberty to leave if you like. But just know that they will be hunting you, at all times. They know that Ventus is supposed to come again and kill Xehanort, and they already suspect you of being the one. The best case scenario if they find you is that they'll try to recruit you. But they know you've been here now, so, in the worst case scenario, they'll torture and kill you."

Roxas chuckled nervously, edging hysterics. "T-torture and death wasn't exactly on my list of things to do this month."

"We're not gonna let anything happen to you," said Sora determinedly, "We'll teach you self-defense, how to fight with the Keyblade, and our history. You can make a life here."

"And all of this is to fit your own agenda?" said Roxas skeptically.

"Essentially," Sora replied neutrally, "But this isn't just about all of us. This is also what's best for you. You are, first and foremost, a human being. Like I said, we can't and won't stop you from leaving, but if you do choose to leave, bad things will happen to you, and that I guarantee. They won't give up. No pressure, though."

As much as Roxas didn't like the idea of becoming an object to them, or a weapon, the fact stood that there were people out to get him. It was in his best interest to stay in the castle, to join the craziness. His life here would be hard, but it was his best option. At least he'd never be bored.

"It seems like I don't have much of a choice," said Roxas miserably. He never wanted this. He didn't opt to become some kind of warrior or fighter. He just wanted to take pictures...

"I know this really sucks for you," said Sora, "But it doesn't have to. I mean, you could be just as much a part of this as we are. I mean, me and Riku are in charge of maintenance; in other words, we keep the place up. Tifa handles the financial affairs; Xaldin's our chef... we all have lives, either in here or out there. Leon used to maintain Poir so that we could afford this. Sure, we don't pay property taxes, but…"

"And what would I do?" asked Roxas, "You know, day to day?"

Sora turned his palm upwards, "I don't know. It depends. Zexion and Lexaeus haven't had much to do at all since Poir burned; they were doing a lot of the management. A lot of times there isn't really much to do. Half of us used to live in the city, and keep normal jobs. I guess for a while you could find other people around and see what they need help with. You can learn a lot that way. Nobody expects you to just right in; first you need time to heal. After that, we'd probably focus a few hours a day on your physical training, and after that, it's all basically what you want to do."

Damn, does Sora talk a lot.

"I think… I think I'm done here," said Roxas plainly, pushing the neat little pile of records back to Sora. "Sorry. I know you went to a lot of trouble to dig it all up. It's just so overwhelming, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," said Sora, stuffing it all into a manila folder. "Well, it's always here when you want it. Do you wanna go to the rec room or something? There's a ton of interesting things on this floor. We got a crafts room, and a greenhouse, and a planetarium. And let's see… there's the storage for Poir, but I can't imagine why you'd want to go there. Oh, and we have a sanctuary. Riku's got a ton of DVD's in the rec room."

"That sounds great," said Roxas honestly, "I'll check out the other rooms some other time, but a movie sounds perfect, seriously."

Sora brightened considerably, probably happy to see Roxas actually being enthusiastic about something.

"Follow me," he said.

The recreation room was more or less like the recreation hall. It was the size of Roxas' entire apartment, and it included (but was not limited to) a pool table—which was currently surrounded by Tifa, Kairi, Xion, and Cloud— a foosball table, a dartboard, a giant flat screen (no cable though, as Sora sadly informed him) a full bar, a popcorn maker, and a karaoke machine.

"Leon is a firm believer that in order to work hard, one needs something to look forward to at the end of the day," Sora explained, "He's the one that invests in all of this stuff. Go pick out a movie, and I'll start the popcorn."

"Oh hey, could we watch too?"

The group across the room were making their way over. New clothes donned Roxas' crowd, and they appeared almost completely unharmed, with the exception of the cast that now covered Xion's leg; he hadn't noticed it earlier in the morning.

"Of course you can!" said Sora, prancing over to the popcorn maker, "The more the merrier."

"Have you been okay, Roxas?" Tifa asked, her big brown eyes full of concern.

"You guys don't need to keep asking, you know. I'll be fine," said Roxas, forcing a smile. He hated when people worried about him. He didn't need to be babied, for goodness sake. He was a grown man, and he could take care of himself. "I appreciate the concern," he added, not wanting to sound like an asshole, "But mostly, I'm just numb; waiting for all of this to catch up with me, you know?"

Tifa smiled. "Of course. We just want you to know that you're not alone."

Cloud sat next to him as they watched some really generic spy movie. It was a strange thing, getting a taste of the 'normal' life after so much had changed. TV still existed. Food, technology, even the people were all the same. Hollow Bastion would need restoring, but his mom and dad; Hayner, Pence, and Olette; everyone in Twilight Town; life was going on for them, just as it always had. He'd have to go back to the outside world at some point too. He could find a satellite phone, and call them from there.

For the first time ever, he found himself questioning the legitimacy of the film. Crazy movies like this used to entertain him because they made the impossible possible. But what if some of it was real? Not the storyline, obviously, but the advanced technology. With a self-sustaining, life supporting castle out in the middle of space, it was hard to not believe in the impossible. It didn't all seem so insane anymore.

About thirty minutes in, the door to the rec room busted open, causing them all to jump.

"Sorry!" Zexion apologized quickly, being among the intruders. "All I said was that I smelled popcorn and we couldn't keep them away."

"Damn straight," said Cid, who was the ring leader. He marched right into the room, in all of his engine grease-covered glory, and started shoveling popcorn into a plastic cup. He was wearing a pair of goggles on his forehead, and he had a utility belt secured to his waist.

"Our apologies," said Xaldin in his deep baritone, stepping in to help himself as well. "We'll let you get back to your movie in a sec."

Demyx was among them too, but he stood shyly behind Zexion. The poor guy probably felt so out of place here; he was just a tag along. He didn't have anyone here, not even a brother.

Kairi seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Roxas, because she said, "Why don't you two join us?" she gestured to the quite ones in the doorway. "I can assure you, Demyx, none of us are going to bite. Except maybe Sora. But he doesn't usually do that unless we give him caffeine."

Now that was a bit strange. Kairi knew of the situation between them, surely, with Xion's help they could definitely piece things together. So what was she playing at? As far as Roxas knew, the only ones that knew of his and Demyx's agreement were the two of them, and possibly Zexion.

He wondered how Xion felt about all of this. Naminé was her best friend; it wouldn't surprise him if she were enraged by the affairs between himself and Axel. She should be, but Roxas wasn't sure if she even had the capacity to hold any amount of anger beyond slight irritation. He'd never seen her throw a fit before. Not a serious one, anyway.

At that moment, however, she looked unperturbed. In fact, she was nodding and smiling warmly to Demyx, and she, too, was beckoning for him to come sit with them.

In all honesty, Roxas didn't mind Demyx so much, and the guy certainly didn't deserve to be all alone in a situation like this. So he gave what he intended to be a meaningful nod of the head, a message from him to Demyx, saying, "It's okay, I don't have a problem with you."

And so, as Cid and Xaldin stepped out, Zexion and Demyx came in.

"What's the deal with Cid?" Cloud asked, before Roxas could, "Is he as crazy as I think he is?"

Tifa shook her head. "Nope. He's crazier. But he's brilliant. He's our top gummi engineer now. Almost all of the ships we have, he built himself. He is crazy, though," she added for emphasis, "He gets up in the wee hours of the morning to go tinker about in his workshop, and build new prototypes. We had to blastproof the entire basement, because if he blew something up, and that hit the boiler, oof."

"What do you mean, 'all the ships we have?'" asked Roxas. Apparently there was still a lot more things about the place he had to learn.

"There's a hangar in the basement," she informed him, "For when we need to go places other than Hollow Bastion, or like now, when the hangar in Hollow Bastion is out of commission."

Or like several years ago, Roxas thought. He had noted the "now" in her sentence as she'd described Cid and it clicked in his mind that he must have been the successor to Axel's parents. He felt strangely sad for the redhead.

"I see…" he mumbled numbly.

When Zexion and Demyx were seated comfortable on the loveseat, which had previously been empty, Sora tactfully pushed the play button, resuming the voluptuous basting and shooting and over accentuated spy music.

Roxas found himself thinking involuntarily about Axel for the umpteenth time. He wondered how he was taking all of this. It was pretty obvious by now how Roxas was, what with all the yelling, fainting, and crying he'd been doing. But Axel, with the exception of this morning's outburst, had kept a pretty steady composure. Out of the group, besides ever happy-go-lucky Xion, Axel was definitely the one that seemed the most stable. Finding out that this place was here, that's hard enough, but to find out that throughout his life, the people he loved were involved, must have been unbearable. Maybe Roxas had been being a little bit selfish.

And what of their relationship? He seemed to remember waking up infuriated with Axel. How had he gone from that to kissing in the hallways in such a short amount of time?

Maybe it's the pull, a sneaky little voice toward the back of his mind hissed, After all, most of the other things they've been telling you have proven true, perhaps you don't have a choice in the matter.

Don't be stupid, I would have noticed, he countered, playing along with his mind's little banter. It's not like I took one look at him and it was love at first sight, that's crazy!

Yet think about how much he's changed you, the sly voice replied, You had an affair, you cheated on Naminé, you enabled all of that.

That all was me though! He argued, My fault, because I made the choice. I did bad things because humans. Make. Mistakes. Just because I fell in love—

He stopped short. He did not just think "I am in love," did he?

He leaned his head back against the couch and scoffed at himself in disbelief. He was not in love with Axel.

Was he?

Sorry guys... just deal with the filler chapters for a LITTLE longer, okay? I have a little treat for you coming up next :3

P.S. Perhaps I haven't reminded you in a while, but j'adore reviews!