"Interesting…" Merlin mumbled, rubbing his bearded chin as he surveyed Simba carefully, while Simba looked back at him with apprehension. "Yes, very interesting indeed…"

"What is it, Merlin?" Aerith said in concern.

"This is not good, I'm afraid." Merlin said in a weary voice, sitting down in his chair and pouring himself some tea. "Usually it's a simple matter to magically change one's form for short periods- Sora, Donald, and Goofy used to rely on such magic all the time to be able to go to Atlantica. However, this young man's transformation is quite as baffling as the disappearance of his world. I can't make heads or tails of it!"

"You mean, you can't change me back?" Simba said. He looked tense and worried.

"I'm afraid not- at least not until I find out what sort of magic is responsible for this."

"It's okay, Simba." Yuffie said encouragingly. "Mickey, Riku, Roxas, and Leon are all staying down at the hotel- you can stay there too until everything gets figured out." She grinned. "In the meantime, we have someone else to help us with the reconstruction projects!"

Simba looked surprised at her take on things but smiled a genuine smile- the first they'd ever seen from him.

"We can show him the way- it's about time we all turned in anyway." Mickey said. "We'll check tomorrow and see if the situation's changed any."

This was the moment Roxas had been dreading- the moment when Mickey and Riku would surely question him about his recent behavior…it probably did not help that he'd been quiet all evening, either.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired." Riku said, yawning.

He, Roxas, Simba, and Mickey (Leon had decided to linger a little longer with the rest of the committee) walked out into the dry, mild night air. Mickey walked ahead, cheerfully talking with Simba, while Roxas and Riku walked behind. Roxas was looking anywhere but beside him.

The night air was warm, but the breeze was pleasantly cool. Roxas couldn't keep his mind from drifting back to his conversation with Axel earlier. The whole thing had been so…tense, as if it was ready to combust at any given moment. There was no doubt about it, Axel had always been a hard one to figure out. He'd seemed so angry- fiercely, bitingly angry- and yet he'd helped him.

Did he want Roxas to be burdened by the decision of helping Sora's friends or abandoning them? Or did he simply want the best? Somehow Roxas had a hard time believing that. After all, Axel could have easily left well enough alone, let them keep going on this fruitless quest, let Roxas stay ignorant of the truth and remain in this comfortable illusion…

it's just like Riku said. You like happy lies way better than cold truth. How pathetic. He thought savagely.

"If you could turn back time, take everything back…everything about the Keyblade and DiZ and Sora, the Organization- if you could live back in Twilight Town with your friends…would you?"

"If I said no…that would be a lie."

Did Axel know that about him, hate that about him? Roxas knew that his old self had wanted the truth, was so determined to find the truth that he turned his back on his fellow Nobodies.

He almost laughed. Surely Axel didn't miss that quality in him!

But he'd seemed bitter when he talked about Roxas' "new friends." This was a thought even more ridiculous…could he be jealous? Resentful that, after repeatedly trying to reach out to his former best friend, Mickey and the others had been the ones to save him and take him in?

Roxas did not like this train of thought- it rose up a deeply embedded fear within him, a fear that was older than his own existence. The concept was far, far too familiar.

"Roxas." Riku said in a low, rumbling tone from beside him. "We were on the Gummi ship today, and we told the Castle about the Pride Land's disappearance. Minnie asked about you."

"Me?" Roxas said, distracted. "Why?"

"You were overpowered by the darkness." Riku reminded simply.

"Oh…right. I guess that's kind of stupid, isn't it, seeing as how I'm a Nobody and all…"

"She was worried." Riku said. "Aerith is worried too, she told me that you seemed to be withdrawing into yourself."

Roxas could tell that Riku wanted him to say something, to explain. But to lie, or not?

"It's nothing for everyone to be all concerned about." Roxas muttered. "It's just that…a lot of things have changed for me in the past week. Memories have have been coming back- I suppose what started happening in Twilight Town is keeping on. That's all. It's just hard trying to sort through everything."

"Well then, maybe it will help you to learn how to master the darkness." Riku said. "Aerith told you, right?"

"Yeah." Roxas said, slightly uncomfortable. "But…well, no offense, but…I would have thought that teaching me the easiest way to escape would be dead last on your priority list."

"Escape?" Riku said, sounding frustrated. "You're not a prisoner! This isn't Twilight Town, where DiZ is marking your every move!"

"Oh, so that means you're not my jailkeeper anymore?" Roxas said, bristling quickly. "You don't care at all if I just decide to leave? Somehow I doubt that."

Mickey and Simba had stopped and looked back, hearing their voices getting louder and louder.

"Leave if you want to!" Riku said. "We don't need you. But where will you go? This is the only place you can survive, and as long as you're here, even if you won't help, I won't let you slow us down. You're weak if you can't use your natural control over the darkness. Frankly I doubt that you could even put up a fight if someone from the Organization showed up."

Roxas was forcefully reminded of Axel's attitude- them or the Organization. That's how it had to be.

"Why?" he burst out. "Why do I automatically have to fight them, just because I'm with you? Why can't I be neutral? They're after me, yeah, but some of them were my friends."

"Roxas." Mickey said gently, walking toward him. "You need to unravel your past. A Nobody's self is determined by his memories. It would be dangerous to pick any side now. You need to have every memory in place, to see everything clearly. That's the only way that you're gonna know what to do."

Simba was looking at Roxas silently, a strange and unreadable glint lingering in his tawny eyes.

"If you don't face your past, they'll use it against you." Mickey continued. "Everyone has to crawl before they can walk. How can you figure out anything when you don't even know about yourself?"

"We got something we thought might help, actually." Riku said, turning and pushing a folded-up black garment into Roxas' hands.

Disbelief flitted visibly across his face. Had the world turned upside down? Roxas could not understand. How could they possibly be stupid enough to not only promise to show him how to use the darkness, but also give him this, a coat identical to their own? They were practically begging for him to betray them to the Organization, and yet, did they know that that was something that he never had any intention of doing…?

Roxas gripped the black coat tightly.

"I was born walking." He said.

Ones born of the heart and darkness, hunger

For every heart until

The dark door opens.

Footsteps echoed across a vast and dark expanse of low ceiling and tiled walls. The place looked like an abandoned parking garage, and Roxas walked around warily past every shadow.

"For the heart of light shall open the path."

Roxas whirled around quickly.

The shadows drifted and changed form like smoke. Was it a real voice he heard, or one spoken in his mind that only he could hear?

A noise sounded nearby, and Roxas jumped. He squinted into the impenetrable darkness.

Something was there… a white vertical line… and as he looked he saw that there were more lines; they formed two parallel rectangles as if light was streaming through the cracks of double-doors. As Roxas started to walk closer, he saw that that was exactly what it was.

Good, now I can get out of here. He thought with relief. He went over to the doors and tugged on the handles.

Naturally, nothing happened.

"Hey!" he called, pounding on the door. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Roxas?" a bright blue eye appeared in the tiny crack in the middle, squinting. "How did you get out there?"

"Out here?" Roxas said. "I guess that means that you're not outside…"

"Well, anyway, I don't think this door opens." Sora said. Roxas heard him give an experimental pull on the handles. "I already tried it. How did you get out? You just suddenly disappeared."

"I…don't know." Roxas leaned back on the door and slid down to the ground. "I don't know."

There was silence for a little while; Roxas stared out into the darkness and tried to figure out what was going on here.

It was too damn perfect. He was stuck in the dark- Sora was trapped in the light. Sora was oblivious, and he knew too much.

The heart of light shall open the path. He turned the phrase over and over in his mind. That's ominous…is it some plan for Sora that we don't know about? What path? Mickey said something about paths of light…

"Roxas?"

"What?"

"Oh. Just seeing if you were still there." Roxas heard Sora move and his voice became closer, as if he'd sat down behind him. "Hey, if you remember how to get out of here, could you tell me? It's boring here. Oh yeah, have you ever tried something called Sea Salt ice cream?"

"What? Where did that come from?" Roxas said in surprise.

"I don't know. Just wondering…earlier today I thought I'd try to figure out what foods I like, and that popped into my head. Do you know what it's like?"

"Yeah, it's good." Roxas said. "Salty and sweet at the same time."

"That does sound good."

Roxa crossed his arms in slight puzzlement and did not answer.

"I know! When we find a way out of here we can go try some! Have you remembered how to vanish yet?"

"The only way out of this place…" Roxas said slowly, coming to a realization, "Is to wake up."

"Wake up? We're asleep?"

"Yes. We're asleep." Roxas said quietly. "And you're going to wake up soon."

"Really? How do you know?"

"Someone told me." Roxas said. He added uneasily, "Um, but, when you do wake up, don't tell anyone I told you that. In fact, don't tell them anything about seeing me. And if anyone asks, lie."

Sora was silent for a moment, as if pondering that.

"Why?" he asked. "Do you think someone will ask?"

"I don't know," Roxas said truthfully. "But if anyone does, don't tell them. If they knew…" his voice trailed off slightly. As strange as it was, he didn't want to tell Sora anything that could potentially put him in danger. Or Naminé for that matter. He knew who would be blamed if Sora knew too much.

"I just need some time to figure this out," Roxas started again. "Just a little more time."

"Okay," Sora said after another pause.

Roxas could see the world around him fading rapidly.

"I'm waking up," he realized out loud.

Roxas sat up in his bed, arms folded on his knees as he thoughtfully watched the weak morning light creep across the opposite side of the room. His gaze returned to the black coat again and again. It rested atop a neatly folded pile of clothing to comlete the outfit; black gloves rested on top and boots sat on the floor.

Resisting the wardrobe change was, he admitted, largely due to irrational stubbornness. Clothes were clothes, after all, and Mickey had told him that covering every inch of the skin did wonders for traveling through the Dark Realm more comfortably, if nothing else.

He still couldn't help but feel they were mocking him, though. At least, he couldn't help but feel Riku was. Riku probably remembered more about Roxas from his Organization days than Roxas himself did. Was he hoping he'd revert back to the way he was so that he could take him out again without feeling guilty about it? Roxas shook his head. That was too paranoid, even for him. It really couldn't hurt to have better armor against the darkness… but Roxas could only imagine what Axel or one of the others would say if they saw him.

Roxas moved over to the side of the bed and put his feet down onto the wooden floorboards, shivering slightly in his boxers and T-shirt. Hollow Bastion tended to be cooler in the mornings than Disney Castle, and as he went over to the window, Roxas could see a thin mist hanging over the village.

He yawned, ruffled his hair, then glanced back at the dresser. A diamond-shaped mirror hung above it, and he thought that his reflection looked almost startlingly clear in the clean glass and fresh new light. His eyes drifted to the black clothing once again.

A small irritated growl escaping his lips, Roxas walked over to the dresser, brushed the gloves aside, and picked up the long coat. He held it up in front of him, examining its all-too-familiar details. The sun glinted off the zipper and the decorative tassels and made everything it touched a lighter shade of black.

Roxas turned and laid the coat out flat on the bed before separating the rest of the pile. Everything was set out around him, just waiting to be put on. He hesitated.

Don't be stupid, it's just clothes. He told himself. Stop them from nagging. Who cares what the Organization thinks?

He picked up the pair of pants.

Yeah. Stupid.

He stepped in; one foot, then the other; he pulled them up, zipped the fly, buttoned the button, and fastened the thick belt.

Well, that was easy.

Roxas bent down and fished around inside the boots- in the right one he found a rolled-up pair of black socks. He picked up the boots and sat down on the bed, laying them beside his feet and unrolling the socks.

The socks were long and made of some thin, light material- they extended to his knees comfortably. Next came the boots, and Roxas got them on by forcing his foot down into them then pulling. This was somewhat difficult, but eventually he got it, and Roxas then tugged his pants legs over the boots. He knew that most members of the Organization like to wear their pants tucked into their boots, but he'd always found that it looked idiotic on him.

He stood up again. He was already half-way transformed into his old look. No turning back now.

Roxas quickly peeled off his T-Shirt and tossed it aside. With the air of one about to lose his nerve, he took the thin long-sleeved black shirt and wriggled into it. Then he pulled on the gloves, securing them tightly and making a big fuss over making sure they fit perfectly.

Roxas glanced in the mirror. He already looked so different.

Now for the last touch, right?

He turned around to looked down at the coat.

To a being without a heart, memories became the sole acting force in what they believed and felt. When every memory of his time as Number XIII returned, how would that change Roxas?

How could I possibly be like that again?

Maybe that was really what he was afraid of. He hadn't seemed to care about anything really- just his obsession with finding a purpose. To suddenly not care, to not be moved by loss or inspired by the efforts of the people of Hollow Bastion, seemed horrible and unbelievable. But was that only because his memories now made him into someone with a realistic imitation of a heart?

What about free will? Roxas shook his head. You still have that, don't you? You can choose which memories to believe in.

Struck with a sudden idea, Roxas strode over to the desk beside the bed and pulled the drawer out. Inside the drawer were some leafs of paper and a few fountain pens. He took a sheet of paper and a pen and scribbled for a moment.

Satisfied, Roxas folded the paper and walked back in front of the bed. He flipped the coat open and tucked the folded paper into an inside pocket. He drew his hand back slowly, trailing it along the long zipper.

He lifted the coat up by the collar and slipped his right arm in, then his left, and then he shrugged the coat on, pulling it straight. Its weight was warm and familiar, and he felt an odd sense of contentment, like from the embrace of an old friend.

Roxas hooked the zipper together under his chin and zipped it most of the way down, ending it near his knees to ensure full mobility.

He stood to look in the mirror again.

Did he feel different now? Roxas considered.

No. He laughed. He was still Roxas. It was like they had said– he could choose what memories to follow. And right now, everyone here seemed to accept him. It was nice thinking he could just stay here and help with the restoration. He could train with Leon and Riku and get his skills back. He could help Riku and Mickey investigate– wait. There was no point investigating Ansem the Wise anymore if he already knew exactly where he was.

Roxas frowned as that unpleasant thought intruded on his optimism. How could he feel good about the other accepting him? Sooner or later they'd have to decide what to do with him whenever they managed to save Sora. The only way to delay that day was to do something that surely make them turn on him if they knew. Roxas suppressed a chill that had nothing to do with the cool morning air. Why couldn't Axel just have let him stay blissfully ignorant?

"Morning!"

Simba turned to see Yuffie sitting in the chair beside him. He had been sitting out in front of the hotel, beneath an awning, to watch as the people went by.

"Oh, hi, Yuffie." Simba smiled, before looking back out into the street. "This is a busy place, isn't it?"

"Compared to lots of worlds, no." Yuffie said. "But it does come to life in the morning. Are you just watching the crowds?"

"Thinking, mostly." Simba said. He tried to smile, but didn't yet have the skill to hide the sadness that flashed across his face.

Yuffie frowned a little and looked away from him.

"It's weird how the Heartless have become a common problem here." She said quietly. "We deal with them all the time, like it's nothing. We've come a long way. Ten years ago, when the Heartless first came…we didn't stand a chance. Leon still won't let himself have his old name back. It's horrible, having your world swallowed by the darkness."

"The darkness? Do you really think that's what happened to my world?" Simba's lined eyes stared intensely out in front of him.

"Could be." Yuffie said. "I can't think of what else could make a world disappear like that. But if that is what happened, things could get pretty serious. We'll have to figure out what happened so we can reverse it and keep it from happening here."

"It was collateral." Simba said softly.

"Come again?" Yuffie looked confused.

"I remember when the Heartless invaded my world too." Simba said in his regular voice, smoothing the moment over. "This wasn't really like that. I don't think Hollow Bastion has reason to worry, as long as all of you are here to protect it."

"I hope so." Yuffie looked out into the street, watching the crowds like Simba. "Hey, have you had breakfast yet? Feeling hungry?"

Simba thought for a moment. "Is there anywhere here you can get grubs?"

Yuffie looked at him with a mixture of revoltion and incrediluty, uncertain as to whether he was joking or not.

"Grubs? I could go for a few flies, myself."

Simba and Yuffie looked up as Roxas plopped down beside them.

"Really?" Simba said.

"No." Roxas replied, raising his eyebrows. "I guess you were serious. But I'm not sure how well your human tastebuds could handle grubs. I suggest pancakes with syrup."

"Roxas! You look like Riku and Mickey!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Yeah." Roxas said with a small laugh.

"Why? Are you all forming a cult?"

Roxas closed his eyes and rubbed his head in slight agitation. "No."

Simba turned toward him a little. "Are you going to try to infilterate the Organization?"

Roxas opened his eyes and looked at Simba. He hadn't thought of that.

"I don't know if I could." He said truthfully. "But you know about all this?"

"Mickey filled me in on everything." Simba explained. He hesitated, as if unsure if he should say what he was thinking. "If…if anything happened to you…what would happen to Sora?"

"What do you mean?" Yuffie said. "You mean you think there's some kind of…connection between them?"

"I don't think it would matter." Roxas said abruptly. "I don't think that Nobodies can 'die' in the way you'd usually, anyway."

"There you are. Are you ready?"

They all looked up to see Riku standing there, his arms crossed.

"For what?" Roxas said roughly, looking at Riku as if daring him to make a smart remark at Roxas' decision to take their advace and wear the coat.

Riku's lips quirked in a smile. "We're taking the Ship out. You're feeling up to it, aren't you?" there was no mistaking the taunt in his voice.

"I'm sure I'll be fine." Roxas said stiffly. "Thanks for your concern."

"Well, let's hope you'll be fine." Riku became serious. "If you can't travel with me and Mickey then it'll be harder to keep the Organization from getting at you. Disney Castle wasn't impenetrable, and neither is Hollow Bastion."

Roxas knew that it was too much to think that Riku would accept the risks involved with helping Roxas regain his abilities out of pure desire to help him. It was to keep the Organization from being able to reach him as easily as they had at Twilight Town. Roxas did not feel the need to mention that Axel had done just that the day before.

"Can I go too?" Simba said unexpectedly. "I want to help."

Riku looked at him uncertainly. He didn't really know that much about Simba; then again, he'd fought alongside Sora, so he could probably be trusted to hold his own in a fight. And Riku knew that if he was in Simba's place, he'd be wanting to do everything he could.

"Okay." Riku said. "I don't think Mickey will mind. Alright- you guys grab some breakfast and meet us at the Gummi ship."

They nodded and Riku walked off toward the reconstruction site, perhaps to tell the others of the change in plan.

"Hey." Roxas said. "I hope you're able to get your world back soon."

Simba did not smile. He just looked down at his unfamiliar hands.

"Me too." He said quietly.

Please review on your way out and I'll see you later!