Kingdom Hearts: The Forgotten

by Varijex

Set during the events of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, a newly created Nobody is found and recruited by the Organization. With this being their fourth new member, the Organization has increased to eighteen members, much to the dismay of most of the members. These four "forgotten" members story is now told, through the eyes of their newest member, Number XVIII.

13. Chapter 12: Betrayal

After the mission that went astray, Xeros and Varijex go and seek audience with Xemnas while Xaik and Scyrux rest to recover from the incident. Xeros continues to suspect that this was no mere accident and so they go to the Altar of Naught to find Xemnas...

"I'm telling you, Xeros, you're blowing this all out of proportion!" Varijex exclaimed as they continued to walk to the Altar of Naught.

"I don't care what you say. That was no accident, we were not supposed to come back from that, I'm sure of it."

"Quit being irrational!"

"I'm never irrational, Jexy." Varijex then pouted as they reached the Altar of Naught. They walked up the stairs as they then saw Xemnas, staring at Kingdom Hearts. Xemnas then turned slightly to them, but resumed looking up to Kingdom Hearts.

"I see you've finally returned." He said, his voice as monotone as ever.

"Lord Xemnas, we have just returned from the Realm of Darkness." Xemnas then turned, his expression now curious.

"The Realm of Darkness?" He asked as Xeros walked up to him.

"On our way to our respective missions, our travel in the corridors was interrupted. We then ended up in the Realm of Darkness." Xemnas puzzled for a moment.

"How strange..."

"I agree. Which is why I came to you. Has this ever happened to anyone else in the Organization before?"

"No, this is the first. I am sorry you had to suffer that, but it is over now. You need not concern yourselves with what has passed." Varijex then stormed up to Xemnas.

"We almost got killed! You expect us to just forget?!" Xeros then held out his arm.

"Varijex, enough!" Varijex then took a deep breath and looked to Xemnas, who seemed displeased.

"Pardon me, Lord Xemnas."

"You should rest. After today, I imagine you are exhausted. I will look into this accident." Xeros and Varijex then turned and walked away as Xemnas then opened a portal. He walked through and Xeros stopped. Varijex then looked to Xeros, as Xeros then began to walk to the portal.

"What are you doing?" He exclaimed as Xeros gestured him to follow. Varijex groaned as he then walked into the portal with him. They both then appeared inside the Round Room, where they stood in the center. Xeros then noticed that someone was appearing on their throne, so he grabbed Varijex and dragged him behind one of the thrones. They both stood behind the throne, peering around the side as they saw Saïx as he appeared on his throne. Then Xemnas followed and they both looked at each other.

"Saïx, it seems you've gone against my orders once again."

"What do you mean, Lord Xemnas?" Saïx responded as Xemnas' expression turned sour.

"Our newest members had all returned from the Realm of Darkness. Their travels to their missions were detoured and they were all nearly destroyed."

"I do not see the problem here." Saïx said as Xemnas leaned forward.

"And that is how I know you were the one responsible. You attempted to have them killed."

"Accidents happen, Lord Xemnas. And besides, they have grown troublesome as of late." Xemnas then sat back in his chair.

"Explain."

"The four have seemed to grow rather curious about their memories. Especially our newest recruit. I've learned that she believes she has feelings." Xemnas leaned his face on his fist.

"She came to me with this concern, yes."

"Well, the others are also beginning to question."

"What? Since when did we start thinking this?" Varijex whispered in anger as Xeros hushed him as they continued to listen.

"If they continue this path, Lord Xemnas, they may not serve our purposes any more. And we can't run risk of another rogue faction in our Organization, like the traitors in Castle Oblivion." Xemnas then pondered to himself as he looked to Saïx.

"I suppose we do not want that, no. Next time, do not take matters into your own hands, like when you took number eighteen into the Dark City to be destroyed by Heartless before she could be discovered. I will consider what to do with them myself." Saïx once again grinned with content as Xeros and Varijex both were shocked to hear this. Xeros then opened a portal and left but Varijex stayed behind as he watched Xeros leave. He then continued to listen to their conversation.

As Varijex continued to listen to Xemnas, Xeros had gone and left to go find Xaik and Scyrux to warn them of Xemnas' plan to dispose of them. Xaik, still resting, finds herself awakened to unpleasant news...

I was fast asleep, trying to recover from our mission that had gone awry. But soon enough, I felt a presence in my room. I opened my eyes slightly to see that Xeros was standing over me. I sat up and he got closer to me.

"Xeros...?" I said as I rubbed my eyes. "What are you...?" He then held his hand on my mouth and quietly hushed me. He then whispered.

"I fear that it is no longer safe in this world. We should leave." Xeros then took his hand off of my mouth. I was nervous as to what he meant and why he was coming to me in the middle of the night. He then held out his hand, opening a portal in my room. I got out of bed, and he gestured me to walk through. I looked out my window to see Kingdom Hearts, the glow was so bright. And I wondered if I might ever see it again. I turned and then walked through the portal. Xeros followed me as we walked through. We appeared in Twilight Town, in a back alley. As we stepped out, I saw the portal disappear and I turned to face Xeros.

"Xeros, what is going on?" He looked at me, with a serious and yet concerned look.

"It seems we may have been right. I believe that Xemnas is trying to dispose of us." I grew frightened by the thought of this.

"You can't be serious?" He looked at me, with a look unlike any look I've seen on him. It was almost fragile, but he then went back to being serious.

"I'm afraid I am. Varijex and I overheard Xemnas and Saïx talking in the Round Room. We must go to the Train Station. Scyrux is already there, waiting for us."

"And what about Varijex?"

"I left to get you as soon as I heard enough. He didn't follow me. I assume he also left the castle." He then began to walk away as I followed him. We went through a small tunnel and continued on to walk through the alleyways until we made it to the streets. We walked through the streets, up the hill towards the Train Station. As we walked up, I noticed Scyrux was waiting for us.

"Hey, guys. Glad you made it out." He said as he then began walking with us to the Train Station. "So, what's the plan?" As he asked, Xeros looked to me then back to him.

"We have no other choice now. We have to fight."

"Fight?" I asked, not understanding how Xeros could propose such an idea.

"It's either them, or us."

"Xaik is right. Against the entire Organization? Do you think we can pull that off?" Scyrux actually seemed afraid. Something I'd never seen in him before.

"We don't need to destroy the Organization, just Xemnas and Saïx. The rest may fight us, but who knows? Perhaps we can convince the others of their plan and how they might be destroyed as well."

"We don't even know the other members," I responded with concern. "How do we convince them to fight with us?" Xeros remained silent as we then arrived at the Train Station. We stood in front of it, as he puzzled. He then looked at Scyrux, then back at me. He exhaled sharply as he shut his eyes. He turned around, facing away from us.

"I don't know. But we can't just sit and let them take us." In that moment, I noticed that Scyrux was looking around. He then looked at Xeros, seemingly confused.

"Hey, where is Varijex?" In that moment, we then heard a call from above.

"I'm right here!" We all looked up to see him at the top of the clock tower, and he began to laugh. "So, you're all here! That makes things easier for me!" Xeros then walked in front of us and yelled back to him.

"What are you going on about, Varijex?" He continued to laugh atop the tower, and then yelled down to us once more.

"What do you think I'm talking about, Xeros? I'm talking about destroying the three of you!" We all were shocked by his words. Xeros then seemed to grow upset. But more so, as he then yelled back up.

"You are going to do what?! How could you do this to us?!"

"It's simple, Xemnas wants you all gone, so I offered to do the work for him!"

"You traitor, Varijex!" Varijex then jumped up and fell down as he landed on the stairs in front of us. It was strange, that he could jump from that height, but without hurting himself. I could see it in him, he seemed a lot stronger now than he was. He spoke once more.

"You dare call me a traitor? You're the traitors, for plotting to destroy Xemnas!"

"He was going to destroy us, and you as well! You merely are doing this to spare yourself from his wrath!" Varijex cackled as he then responded.

"It's called self-preservation, Xeros. Something you would not understand about me." Xeros then seemed to grow even more upset.

"Why Varijex? How could you do this to us?!" Varijex's expression turned serious.

"I'm loyal to the Organization." Xeros then seemed to calm down a bit for some reason. I looked as he unclenched his fist and took a deep breath.

"I'm surprised Jexy," He spoke as Varijex stood confused. "I know you don't care about the Organization. You don't even care about getting your heart back."

"Is that so?"

"I know it is. You don't even have memories from your past, and so, you said to me before, you don't believe you were any different from what you are now. Why would you need a heart?" Varijex just chuckled to himself. Xeros now seemed confused.

"I only told you that I did not remember. But I do. I have memories from before. And no, I don't want a heart. What I want, is its power. I do not want to be that person I was before I became a Nobody. All those memories, they were so pathetic. I was weak, but once I have a heart, I will make sure that it will not control me."

"You're a fool, Varijex. To think Xemnas will spare you." Varijex then crossed his arms.

"We will see about that. Oh, right. You won't." Xeros then summoned his weapon to him, Scyrux followed in his example. I figured that we were going to fight, so I summoned my hammer. Varijex just stood there, arms still crossed. He did not stand ready to fight, he did not summon his weapon. He just stood there. I was confused by this, but I did not let it phase me.

"You can't beat us all." Varijex just laughed. He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, we were surrounded by Dusks. There were dozens of them appearing all around us, and they kept coming. I looked around as they all stood still. I looked to Xeros who was just looking at Varijex. Not breaking eye contact. He must have been really upset with Varijex for his betrayal. "Do you really think all these Dusks can help?"

"I'm not quite finished." He once again snapped his fingers and from underneath him, a pool of darkness appeared. It was similar to the pool that the Heartless came from in the Dark City. But I noticed as it then began to move to his side that it was different. I watched as a dark figure appeared before us, from the pool it rose up. It was so oddly familiar to me as it continued to rise up. Finally, it had risen and I became afraid. I shook in my coat as I looked at it. I did not know why, but it frightened me with great intensity. "You're looking a little nervous there, squirt." Varijex commented as I began to back away. Xeros turned to me and noticed me, as I stood horrified.

"Xaik, what's wrong?" I couldn't even speak, I was so terrified. This Heartless he just summoned, I knew it. I recognized it. But for some reason, where I knew it from was escaping me.

"Imagine my surprise when I talked to Xemnas, and he told me he knew how some of us were created. And he told me that he knew where my Heartless was. Right here, in Twilight Town." He then looked a me. "Want to know something funny? My Heartless, Reivaj, seems familiar to you, doesn't it? That's because it was the one who stole your heart, Xaik. It was the one who made you a Nobody." He began to laugh as Xeros turned to me. Scyrux also looked to me as I then looked back at his Heartless, whom he called Reivaj. Soon enough, this tingle began to grow in my head. It grew until it went from a tingle to a high-pitched noise. It was like white noise. It increased in volume in my head, to the point where that was all I could hear. It hurt my head so much, I dropped my hammer and held onto my head. I closed my eyes in pain.

I began to see images flashing in my head. It was all so fast, I couldn't quite figure it out. But soon enough, the images began to slow down. They became clear. I was walking with a few people, it was just me and some other kids. I looked as I was walking down a path with them, the very same path from my dreams. I looked at the sunset and for some reason, I felt this odd sensation. It was an upsetting sensation.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" I turned to see this other girl, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm..." I spoke but I was not really speaking. The words were just flying out of my mouth. "...I'm alright."

"Are you sure? I know you and him liked to go here a lot. I hope it's not bringing back memories." She continued to look concerned as another boy behind us also looked concerned.

"You miss him, don't you?" The boy added. I looked forward and just kept walking down the path with them. I turned back and smiled.

"It's fine. Everything will be alright." We then got down to the sandy shore of the beach. The sand was warm on my feet, as they followed me to the water. We all stared off into the distance, hearing the roar of the waves as they all collided and washed up along the beach. I turned to them and they were smiling. I smiled as well as the boy then turned to the girl.

"Let's go get some ice cream."

"Get me some, please." I asked as they then began to walk away. I then turned to the horizon once more. But as I turned away from them, my smile faded and I looked to the ground. I saw on my chest that very same necklace from my dreams and I gripped it with my hand. I shut my eyes and I thought I was going to cry. I then heard screams as I opened my eyes and turned around.

"Look out!" The girl called out as I then turned around. I saw this black figure rushing towards me. It jumped up and knocked me down, the sand couldn't even cushion my fall. I couldn't even scream I was so afraid. This dark creature had me pinned down, as it stared at me with its haunting yellow eyes. Then this pain came over me, I looked and watched it reaching into my chest with its hand. It then pulled it out as it held this glowing object and suddenly, I couldn't keep my eyes open. My head fell and my eyes closed as I then saw nothing.

I opened my eyes and I remembered. I remembered Reivaj, the Heartless that stole my heart and made me a Nobody. Varijex then grinned at me. I looked at Reivaj as it stared at me, tilting its head as if it recognized me. It then stood in a crouched position, like a Shadow. It would not keep its eyes off me. It then began to walk forward and I panicked. But then Varijex summoned a large thread of thorns, which wrapped itself around Reivaj's neck. It then began to struggle as it tried to continue to move forward, but it couldn't.

"Down, boy." Varijex laughed as Reivaj then became complacent. I then picked up my hammer nervously, as Varijex continued to grin. "That's not the only surprise I have for you, Xaik. Xemnas not only showed me where to find my Heartless..." Then a small figure appeared behind Varijex's coat. It gripped onto him with red claws and peeked around him, towards me. It seemed to be a Heartless, but it looked like a little girl. It had a pink dress, darker pink hair and it had markings on its face that made it appear like it was sad. "...but also where to find yours." My eyes widened as I looked at it and then back to Varijex.

"You don't mean..." Xeros then spoke as Varijex looked at him, smiling.

"Yes. This, is Xaik's Heartless." I looked at it, so small, like the size of a Soldier. It then walked over towards Reivaj and it jumped on its back. A large, spiked mallet then appeared in its hand, somewhat resembling my hammer. I then saw as Varijex he gave me this look. "Sick her, Reivaj!" He then released his grip on the thorny leash and Reivaj then rushed after me, my Heartless on piggy-backing on it. I ran away because this fear just came over me. As I was running away, I could hear Xeros as he called out to me.

"Xaik, no!" I then watched as I ran from Reivaj, Varijex snapping his fingers and the Dusks all attacking. And Varijex rushed Xeros and they clashed as I turned back around and kept running away from Reivaj. I ran down the street as I heard the sounds of Reivaj running fast behind me. I was able to stay slightly ahead of it, but it was gaining on me. I then took a turn and ran towards the Tram Common. I could still hear it behind me, its presence was striking such fear into me. I then turned and threw my hammer at it, to try and slow it down. But my Heartless batted it away with the mallet. My hammer then fell. I held out my hand as it then flew back into my hands and I kept running.

I made it down to the Tram Common, where I looked behind me and began to charge up my hammer. They were not as close as they were before, so I took this opportunity to wait for offensive move against them. I waited until I could see them both and then I was going to strike. Soon enough, I saw them pop out from around the corner and then I slammed my hammer down into the ground, creating a large shockwave. But they jumped into the air, and Reivaj came down with full force. I dodged as it slammed into the ground, creating a dark energy blast as it landed. I took this opportunity to run and hide behind a nearby shop, planning my next move. I peeked around to see it just creeping around, my Heartless looking around for me as well.

I got back up against the wall and began to think. How was I going to beat these two? I could not get them from a distance, because Reivaj seemed to be able to avoid any attack I had, not to mention it is a very powerful Heartless. And my Heartless was also able to deflect and projectiles I could throw at them, like my hammer. I had to think of something, because I didn't have Xeros or Scyrux to count on. I peered around once more to see that they were slowly walking away from my position. I thought maybe if I stayed hidden long enough, they might go to another area of the Tram Common, giving me enough time to regroup with Xeros and Scyrux, and help them out so we could face Varijex, Reivaj and my Heartless together.

But as I thought that to myself, my Heartless turned around and noticed me behind the shop. It then pulled on Reivaj's head and they immediately charged towards me. My plan of escaping was not going to work. I only had one choice. I needed to face them head on. Though I was afraid, I had to charge in and fight them. As they charged at me, I also began to charge them. We all rushed at each other and I swung as they got to me. My Heartless jumped up and Reivaj creeped down as my hammer passed in between them. I turned and swung again, but they were too far to hit. Reivaj then got on all fours and stabbed its claws into the ground, making them turn. It then got up and rushed at me again. I ran and swung at them, but my Heartless blocked every blow with the mallet. Then, as I was knocked back by a block, Reivaj swung at me with its claws and scratched my arm. I yelped in pain as it then swung again, but I ducked and rolled out of the way. I pulled a Potion from my coat and drank it. No longer in pain from the scratch, I charged once more. But again, the same thing happened. I swung, but each hit was blocked by my Heartless, then countered by Reivaj. I was taking a lot more hits, and they kept going on and just kept attacking. I was starting to get tired, as they were relentless. I lugged my hammer and tried to strike them overhead, but my Heartless just blocked it. Then Reivaj held out its hand, a dark orb of energy began to form. It then fired a blast of dark energy at me, sending me flying. I slammed into a nearby building and then fell down.

The pain was excruciating. As I got up on my hands, I could barely even see, my vision was so blurry from taking all those hits. And that last one really got to me. I wasn't sure if I was going to win this battle. They were a force to be reckoned with, together they seemed unstoppable. Then it hit me. Together they were able to keep me at bay and do damage. My Heartless stopped any strike and Reivaj would counter everything. If I could separate them somehow, I might stand a chance against them. I stood up to see them both just staring at me. I reached in my pocket again and pulled out a High Potion this time. I drank it quick, and tossed the bottle.

"Well...?" I said as I was panting. "Come on!" They both charged at me again. I ran at them again, and tried to strike them in the same manner as I did where I missed them as my hammer passed in between them. I did so and my Heartless jumped up and Reivaj creeped down again. But this time, in stead of just swinging, I spun around with my swing. I aimed slightly higher as I spun around, and struck my Heartless as it was in the air. I knocked it really far away. Reivaj then turned around and I don't think it even noticed my Heartless was no longer on its back. It then charged after me, but this time, I swung and hit it right in the shoulder, knocking it back. It shook itself and then charged again. I did the same as last time, as it apparently did not know my Heartless was not there to block my hits. This time I knocked it far forward as it charged me.

It then stood up slowly and I noticed as it began to surge with dark energy. Dark static began to come off of it and then it stood up straight. Not like a monster or a Heartless, but like a person. The claws on its fingers retracted as they appeared more like normal hands. It then held out its hand and in it appeared a rather large black sword. It turned around and I noticed the eyes were no longer as large and bestial as they were. They were more like a persons eyes now. It then took a stance, similar to Varijex but slightly different. It seemed oddly familiar, but I had no time to think about that. It then ran towards me and started to swing aggressively. I blocked most of the hits, but it still nicked me here and there. I attempted to counter some of the hits, but it blocked all of them. It then jumped back and created even more swords. They all appeared in the air and it pointed towards me. The swords all began to fly towards me. I rolled, ducked and jumped out of the way of each one as they stabbed into the ground. But they then exploded in a dark explosion and knocked me back.

As I fell on my back, I watched as Reivaj jumped up and lunged at me with the sword. I held up my hammer and blocked it, as it stood over me. The flashback I had earlier returned to me in quick images. Reivaj on top of me reminded me of my heart being stolen. I shook myself to keep myself focused. But I couldn't help but see the images. Then, this new sensation came over me. Thinking about losing my heart, and being faced with the culprit just made me upset. But even more-so than that. There was this fire inside me, growing larger and hotter until I finally clicked. I then pushed Reivaj off of me with great strength. I jumped up and rushed at it with such intensity, I could barely keep track of my movements and attacks. It tried to block my hits, but I was too strong, as I also added some of my power to each swung. It kept getting knocked back and I kept taking its guard down as it tried to keep it up. I finally took one massive swing at it. I lugged my hammer so hard, put so much power into it, I shattered the sword on impact and followed through all the way to its head. I struck it and sent it flying into a wall and it slid down onto the ground.

I approached it slowly, my hammer still in hand. It was shaking from the vibrations and I looked at Reivaj as it tried to get up. It looked up to me, its blank yellow eyes just staring back at me. No longer was I haunted by this monster and what it did to me. Now, I was to get justice. I lifted my hammer up and it tried one last time to get up. I swung downward and vanquished it. It dissipated in a cloud of black smoke and I lifted my hammer once more. I turned around to see my Heartless, standing there, the mallet still in hand. It then dropped it for some reason. The mallet just disappeared and it walked up to me. It looked up to me, tilting its head. I was confused, but I did not think much of it as I raised my hammer again.

"I will no longer be haunted by my past." I slammed the hammer down and struck it. It disappeared in black smoke, but from inside a heart appeared and rose up into the air. My heart flew away into the sky. I figured it might just go back and turn into another Heartless. I knew I could not just reclaim it. It was lost to me. In that moment, I feared that will all that was going on, I may never get a heart after all. But there was no time to think about this. I had to return to Xeros and Scyrux, who were still dealing with Varijex and the Dusks.

Meanwhile, Scyrux was fending off a horde of Dusks, leaving Xeros to fight Varijex alone, as Varijex had wanted. Varijex, now empowered by Xemnas, was toying with Xeros, confident that Xaik would be destroyed by Reivaj and her Heartless and Scyrux would soon be overrun.

"What's the matter, Xeros?" Varijex said as he cackled, slowly approaching Xeros who was breathing heavily and holding himself up with his weapon. "I thought you were the better fighter here!"

"How did you get so strong, Varijex?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" As he said those words, he swung at Xeros with his sword and Xeros jumped back. Xeros then shook himself and rushed at Varijex, with a few quick slashes and thrusts. But Varijex blocked each hit, laughing manically as they fought. Varijex then rose up into the air.

"This is gonna hurt!" He then slammed down with his sword, creating a small shockwave and knocked Xeros back. Xeros regained his ground and then jumped up over Varijex as Varijex attempted to swing at him. As he jumped, he poked Varijex's sword, causing it to suddenly get heavy and making Varijex drop it. Varijex then turned as Xeros landed behind him, growling in anger. He then summoned more of the thorns and wrapped them around Xeros' weapon. He pulled it away and disarmed Xeros, as he then grabbed it and laughed. Varijex then began to swing at Xeros with his own weapon, but Varijex did not use it as well as he thought he could. Xeros then grabbed hold of it as Varijex thrusted it at him, pulled it out of his hands and then jumped up and kicked him as he propelled himself off of Varijex's back. Varijex turned in anger as Xeros smirked.

"You're not worthy of this weapon."

"Fine then. I like mine better!" Varijex then held out his hand, calling to his sword. As it returned to him, he then held out his hand, summoning swords made out of nothingness, that resembled his greatsword, but smaller in size. Then, with each swing Varijex made, the swords also swung. Xeros attempted to block all of them, but he could not. They struck him, and then Varijex kicked Xeros back, causing him to go flying into a wall. Varijex laughed loudly as Xeros groaned in pain. He reached for his weapon, but he was so weak. He stood up, but fell over and knelt. Varijex slowly approached him, as he tried to catch his breath.

"You...won't win..." Xeros said as he was panting heavily.

"Give it up, Xeros. I've won. I told you we'd have that rematch. Now..." Varijex said as he raised his sword up in the air. "...DIE!" As he swung down, Xeros blocked it with the staff and knocked Varijex back. Xeros then began to glow as he floated slightly above the ground.

"No, I'm going to end this!" Xeros then swung his staff over his head as a huge surge of energy surrounded the both of them. As it grew, everything within began to float in the air, as if there was no gravity. Varijex then struggled as he floated in the air, looking at Xeros. There were some pots, rocks, and other miscellaneous items that were on the ground floating around as well. Xeros then struck the ground with the bottom part of his staff and everything then suddenly slammed into the ground. Varijex slammed down face-first and cracked the ground beneath him. Xeros then landed on the ground, panting and holding himself up with his staff. Then Varijex began to get up and chuckled to himself. As he stood, he stretched and shook himself. He wiped off the dust from his coat and looked at Xeros. Xeros, shocked that Varijex seemed to only sustain minimal damage from his Limit Break, then tried to ready himself for Varijex's next attack.

"That was impressive, Xeros. But not good enough."

As Varijex stood, ready to strike down Xeros, Xaik had just returned to the Train Station to rejoin Xeros and Scyrux after triumphantly defeating Reivaj and her own Heartless.

I ran as quickly as I could back to the Train Station. I needed to return to Xeros and Scyrux and help them as much as I could. I feared that Varijex was too strong for them to handle, if they were even able to dispatch all the Dusks. I rushed up the street, and saw Varijex standing in front of Xeros, who appeared weakened and Scyrux was taking care of the Dusks. I saw Varijex as he raised his sword to strike Xeros and I then panicked. I spun around and threw my hammer as he then turned to see me. Xeros also looked to see me, and got up. As Varijex dodged my hammer, Xeros then got up and pushed him back, causing him to suddenly become heavy. He had made Varijex's gravity greater to keep him still. My hammer came back to me and I rushed to Xeros' side.

"Xeros! Are you alright?" I exclaimed as he then looked behind me. I turned to see Varijex, as he was right behind me, using all of his strength to raise his sword above his head. Even with his gravity increased, he still was able to get up behind me. As he was about to swing, I saw Scyrux' whip wrap itself around his sword. I then turned to see Scyrux had finished off all the Dusks, and he pulled the sword out of his hand. I then looked at Varijex, who was angered by this. I then swung up and struck him in the jaw as he then flew up in the air and Xeros got up and jumped into the air. He floated above Varijex and pushed him into the ground. Varijex groaned in pain and then Xeros landed in front of him. I walked up to Xeros' side and Scyrux did the same. We all approached Varijex as he was on the ground. He then sat up and knelt in front of us. Scyrux then got behind him and wrapped his whip around Varijex's neck. Varijex choked as he gripped the whip and struggled with it. Xeros walked up to him and pointed the end of his weapon at Varijex's neck.

"It's over, Varijex. You've lost." Varijex then coughed and laughed.

"Have I, though?" He then snapped his fingers as we turned to see a large Heartless appear behind us. As we stood, panicked, Varijex then grabbed Scyrux whip and pulled him forward. He threw him to the ground, loosening the whip and then creating a portal behind him. "Don't worry, I'll be back! If you guys make it out of this alive!" He then laughed as he ran into the portal. Xeros attempted to run after him, but the portal closed before he could go after him. Xeros then turned back to us, as Scyrux got back up and the huge Heartless stood before us. It was definitely pureblood, with "hair" that covered its face, tiny wings on its back and a hole in its torso shaped like a heart. This Heartless was one of the largest we've ever faced, and in our weakened states, we wouldn't win this battle.

"Xeros! Open a portal! Now!" I yelled out as he then nodded. He held out his hand and opened a portal. He walked through and Scyrux and I ran behind him. The Heartless then raised its hand, and just as we made it through, he smashed it into the ground. The portal closed behind us and we appeared in a strange new place. Although I had no idea where we were, I was glad to just be away from the Heartless, safe enough to hopefully regain our strength. But I feared that Varijex would soon regain his and come back after us. I hoped that would not happen, as we then continued through this world, needing to figure out what to do next.

As Xaik, Xeros and Scyrux were venturing through this new world, Varijex returned to the Castle That Never Was, weakened and furious with himself.

"I was so close! But I will get them next time..." Varijex said as he then heard someone behind him.

"There will not be a 'next time'." Varijex turned to see Xemnas behind him. He then began to walk over to Xemnas, confused.

"What are you talking about? I must destroy those three as you commanded!"

"Those traitors will be dealt with soon enough. But you on the other hand..." A portal appeared behind Varijex as Xemnas looked towards it. Varijex turned back as Saïx then walked through the portal, his claymore in hand. Varijex's eyes widened as he turned to Xemnas once more. "You will be dealt with much sooner."

"You can't be serious?! I follow you! I am with you!"

"You seem to believe yourself so great, but you are nothing. And I have no further use for you." Varijex growled as he summoned his greatsword to him.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GET RID OF ME?!" He screamed as he rushed towards Xemnas. Xemnas merely squinted his eyes in disappointment as he then hit Varijex's sword out of his hand with his Ethereal Blade. He then struck Varijex in the chest, causing him to go flying backwards. Xemnas then stood over Varijex, his face now full of rage.

"I can. Did you not find it odd how I knew of your past? How I knew of your Heartless?" Varijex then knelt as Saïx then approached him. Xemnas turned away as he then started to walk. Varijex held out his hand in anger as Saïx placed his claymore on Varijex's shoulder. Varijex looked back to see Saïx scowling at him, then raising his claymore in the air. "It seems you were not worth the trouble of recruiting...Javier..." Varijex's eyes widened as he turned to Xemnas. Xemnas then waved his hand and Saïx then struck Varijex down. As Varijex's body faded into nothingness, Xemnas turned to Saïx.

"Lord Xemnas, will you have me search for the others?"

"No. They will come soon enough. They will come soon enough. They have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide." He turned away once more as he began to walk out of the room. Saïx then called out to Xemnas.

"Shall I dispose of them, then?" Xemnas then spoke, walking into the shadows of the corridor.

"I shall handle them myself." Saïx then made his claymore disappear as he then put his hands behind his back and walked away.