It ended up being Marluxia who released Trinity from her cell the next morning, much to her surprise.

"No Zexion?" she questioned as they began walking.

"He's already at the place where you two have been experimenting," he answered. "So are the others."

"The others?"

"Saïx isn't the only one watching today."

"Who else is?"

"All the members who are leaving tomorrow."

"So you and Axel and Larxene—?"

"—and Vexen and Lexaeus," he finished for her. "Yes," he then confirmed. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"Kinda just made it all a bit more nerve-wracking," she admitted.

"And that's a problem?"

"Shut up! Yes, it's a problem!"

"Calm down. It's not like Xemnas is going to off you if you fail today."

"How can you be so sure?"

"First of all, VIII wouldn't even let him near you if he tried coming at you," he stated. "Second of all, Saïx would get to you first."

"Not helpful."

"Wasn't trying to be."

What was left of the walk was spent in silence. And when they arrived at the plus sign floor shaped room, all the members who would be leaving the next day were in fact there and waiting.

"It's about time," Larxene greeted them first. "We were growing impatient."

"Oh, don't say that," Axel replied.

"Why?"

"Because impatience is a feeling," Trinity stated. "And you can't experience emotions." She turned to the blue-haired man, grinning. "Isn't that right, Saïx?"

"That's why," the redhead said.

"Let's just get this done and over with," Vexen cut in.

"Trinity, if you please, to the middle of the room," Zexion spoke up. "As for the rest of you, please move off to the sides of the room."

Everyone did as they were told. Trinity stood in the centre, taking deep breaths. She knew Zexion would start without any sort of warning so she had to keep herself on her toes. Especially now that she had an actual audience.

An audience that included Axel.

"There will be three short rounds," Zexion then announced. "First, she will figure out which character is real."

The lights went out and when they returned, she was surrounded by not one Lexaeus and not three, but five of him. She turned in place to get a good look at each of them. Almost right away she was able to eliminate two of the options and she did so silently. Then she focused on the other three. After a couple more close examinations, she was able to eliminate one more. So now she was down to only two. She circled each of them, looking them up and down. Lexaeus was a member she rarely ever saw, which made the process more difficult, but she knew Zexion had obviously done that on purpose. Why would he have made it easy?

Finally, she figured out. She returned to the centre before facing the one that was her choice. "This is the real Lexaeus," she declared. The other versions of him disappeared, leaving only the one she was facing.

"Correct," the Cloaked Schemer confirmed. "And thank you, V, for participating in that round." The Silent Hero only nodded in response. "Next," he went on, "I will search for two different people from her subconscious and bring them forth and she will decipher whether or not they are actually here. And they, of course, will have no memory of this place or incident once they are gone."

Trinity's body went numb at this. She had a strong feeling one of those two would be Axel, but she didn't know how the others would react to that. Or how he would react to it. But there was nothing she could do at this point.

She could feel Zexion tampering with her mind. Each time it was an odd sensation. Not necessarily uncomfortable, but just odd. Then two people appeared before her. One man and one woman. The man was her father. The woman was…unrecognisable. She was at first, at least. But she soon remembered her to be her mother.

"Trinity, sweetie, what is this place?" her mother questioned, looking around.

"Not gonna lie, kid, I'm surprised you've lasted this long away from home," her father admitted.

"Trinity, sweetie, you can't be happy here."

"You are still alive, right? I mean, this isn't some sort of weird dream I'm having."

"Trinity, sweetie, come with me."

"Damn it, of course you're still alive. That's just my luck."

"Trinity, sweetie, I promised I would return. And now here I am."

"Either way, you gotta come back eventually. And when you do…" he chuckled, trailing off.

Trinity clenched her fists at this. She didn't say anything just yet, though. She just kept looking back and forth between the two.

"Plus," her mother continued, "you're old enough now where you can make your own choices. So you can choose to come with me."

"Well? What are you waiting for?" her father asked. "Get your ass back here."

"Trinity, sweetie, what's wrong?" Her mother looked and sounded genuinely concerned. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"Don't just stand there," her father went on. "Get moving, for Christ's sake! Or are your legs suddenly broken?"

"Trinity, sweetie, I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry. But I can still tell that you're not okay. So talk to me, dear."

"No," Trinity spoke up, finally managing to use her voice.

"No?" her mother repeated.

"You're not really here," she declared.

"Damn it!" her father then exclaimed. He closed the distance between them. "What do you think you're doing? Ignoring me, are you?"

She focused her attention on him now. "No," she denied.

"Sure as hell seems like you are."

"I'm not."

"Don't talk back to me."

"I'm not," she said again.

Just then, she felt the back of his hand whip across her cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut, absorbing the pain. Once she recollected herself, she looked back to him.

"Of course, you really are here," she stated. "And that's just my luck."

Then both her mother and her father were gone. And as soon as they were, she fell to her hands and knees before bringing one hand up to cover her throbbing cheek.

It wasn't long before Axel was kneeling beside her. "Are you okay?" he checked.

"I'm fantastic," she replied sarcastically.

"Hold on, did that actually just happen?" Marluxia wondered. "Were you actually just slapped?"

"Yes," she confirmed as Axel helped her back to her feet.

"Who was that man?" Saïx questioned.

She swallowed hard. "My father," she then answered. "Maybe now you can understand why I'm not afraid of you or Xemnas."

"Trinity—" Axel started.

"Let's just keep going," she cut him off, though he remained by her side. "I mean, there's only one more round so might as well."

"Wait, did she get that last one right?" Larxene checked.

"She did," Zexion confirmed.

"How is it he won't remember that?" Vexen wondered.

"As an illusionist, I have my ways."

"Okay, this is all great," Trinity cut back in. "Last round now, please."

"Right. Well, the third and final round is actually a question provided by the Superior," he said.

"Let me have it."

"How did Nobodies come to exist?"

She chuckled, shaking her head. She should have known that that was going to be the question.

"You'll only pass if you answer it," Saïx added.

Now she nodded and really thought hard about it. She ran through all the information she had been given since her very first day in the Castle. Nobodies. Missions. Feelings. Emotionless. Nonexistent. Heartless. Kingdom Hearts. Ultimate goal.

"You were never supposed to exist," she spoke up again, mumbling.

"Come again?" Zexion replied.

"None of you were actually ever supposed to exist," she said more clearly. "That's why you're called Nobodies. That's why you're considered nonexistent beings and thrive in the darkness. You're created from literally nothing."

"Explain," Saïx ordered.

"Heartless are creatures are darkness that steal the hearts of people," she went on. "When those hearts are released, though, the heartless don't turn back into people. Instead, they become empty shells. Then those empty shells become Nobodies, thus being created from nothing. And the Nobodies who make up the Organisation," she gestured to the present members, "are the ones who were strong enough to keep some of their memories of their past lives." She paused, going over what she had already said. "That's also why none of you have hearts," she then added in conclusion.

Saïx nodded his head once before vanishing.

"Does that mean I got it right?" she questioned.

"Only one way to find out," Zexion replied before also disappeared.

"Guess that means we're all dismissed," Marluxia figured.

He, Larxene, Vexen, and Lexaeus departed. Trinity and Axel both stayed put, though.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he checked again.

"Are you still going on about that?" she asked in reply. "Stop worrying about it."

"It actually happened, though. Your father was actually here and he actually hit you."

"Now do you understand why I don't want to go back? Why I believe I'm actually better off here?"

He sighed, thinking. "Never supposed to exist, huh?" he then changed the subject. "That was a bit harsh."

"But it was true nonetheless, no?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps." He paused. "Head to the Grey Area and I'll meet you there soon enough."

"Okay."

With that, they departed. And Axel made his way to the Round Room, meeting up with Xemnas, Saïx, and Zexion.

"What are you talking about?" he heard Zexion ask as he appeared in his assigned seat. "She passed with flying colours."

"Why are you so keen on failing her, Saïx?" he cut in. "Don't you want her to be useful to us?"

"I'm surprised to hear you say that based on how close you've gotten to her," Saïx said back.

"How did she answer the question?" Xemnas then wondered.

"She answered it thoroughly," Zexion declared. "She's definitely been giving it a lot of thought. I mean, it's not like she only just thought about it today when it was asked. It was made obvious that she's been contemplating it for a good while now."

"Is this true, Saïx?"

He paused. "It would appear so."

Xemnas thought for a moment. "Then it seems we'll be able to use her to our advantage after all," he figured. "Dismissed."

From there, Axel and Zexion made their way to the Grey Area. Trinity was already there, sitting with Demyx. They walked over to them.

"You passed," Zexion told her.

She smiled. "So what does that mean?" she asked. "What happens next?"

"Xemnas will let us know once we return."

"Great!"

"Let's go meet with Roxas and Xion," Axel then suggested.

"Actually, I'm kinda exhausted," she admitted.

"I'll walk you back—"

"No need," she cut him off. "Zexion can take me. You go meet with Roxas and Xion."

He simply nodded and left. Then she and the Cloaked Schemer started their way back to her cell.

"Thank you for not involving Axel in the test," she said.

"I almost did, but then I realised that it'd be better not to."

"You almost did?"

"Well, I was originally going to use three people for the second round," he explained. "But then I assumed Axel would end up being the third person and I didn't want to unintentionally create a problem."

"Ah, right."

"Why didn't you go with him?"

"Like I said, I'm exhausted."

"He's leaving tomorrow, though."

"I figure he'll say goodbye to me before he goes."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then he'll face my wrath when he returns."

He shook his head at her. "You're ridiculous."

"I'm either ridiculous or too clever," she thought aloud. "I just can't win."

"Don't let Saïx hear you say that."

She laughed. "Of course not."

They arrived at her cell. Zexion opened it and Trinity stepped inside.

"Thanks again," she said before he closed it.

"For?"

"Everything." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't thank me just yet," he replied. He then closed her cell. "When I return, we'll go over what we've been doing for the last few days. Then from there I'll start training you in battle."

"Sounds good," she said. "I'll see you when you get back."

He nodded and left. She sat down in the middle of the cell and hugged her knees. She thought back on the test, focusing on the second round. She couldn't believe she didn't recognise her mother at first. After all, she was nine when she left; old enough to be able to remember her. For some reason, though, it just didn't register right away. And she hated how much that bothered her because she felt that it shouldn't have. Then there was her father, who she obviously recognised instantly. She rubbed her cheek, which still stung a bit from the slap. What she hated most about that was the fact that it happened in front of some of the members. Especially Axel and Saïx. She wished they hadn't witnessed it, but they had and there was no point in fixating on it now.

With a heavy sigh, Trinity lay back in the cell. Her fingers were still lightly touching her tingling cheek. She thought about Axel's initial reaction and smiled. That smile quickly fell away, though, when she thought about the fact that he would be leaving the very next morning. He would be gone and she would still be stuck here.

At least she wouldn't be totally alone. Though, that didn't make up for him leaving her behind.