A figure stands at the end of the next Castle Oblivion hallway, the pitch black of their coat a marked contrast against the surrounding white. A hood covers the mystery person's face, but everything about their figure suggests they're female.

"Uh, hi there!" Telary greets the stranger, trying to be friendly despite the odd situation.

"You must be with Axel, and that other guy," Azlyn says, looking them up and down. "Or was there a sale on stupid-looking coats?"

"Oh, very clever," the stranger says, her voice feminine but with a harsh edge. She pulls back her hood with gloved hands, revealing her sharp features and blonde hair. Her mouth is twisted on a cruel sneer. "Name's Larxene. I came to ask how your stay in Castle Oblivion is going. I do hope it's been pleasant."

"It really hasn't," Sora says, shaking his head. "Mostly I'm just confused. And getting more all the time."

"The memory-losing thing isn't so hot, either," Azlyn adds.

"Really?" Larxene asks, drawing back ad laying a hand on her chest as if shocked. "I'd think it would be nice, having all the useless little memories stripped away. Finally let the true memories awaken."

"True memories?" Sora repeats. What are the odds that such things would come up twice in so little time?

"What's really important to you," Larxene explains. Her sneer grows more amused, crueler as well. "But, of course, there is still one little thing you haven't been able to remember yet, isn't there? The most important thing."

"Her name." Sora closes his eyes, this last piece of information about his old friend almost causing physical pain at the lack of it.

"That's right." Larxene shakes her head, like a teacher with a disappointing student. "Oh no, that poor girl. Why, when she hears that you've forgotten her name, she'll be, heh, heartbroken! Just devastated."

"You know her?" Sora runs forward a few steps, his mouth dropped open in shock. "Have you seen her? Is she… Is she here in the castle?"

Larxene nods, taking a step forward herself. "Sure is. Though I'm afraid she's not enjoying her stay as much as you all."

"Why?" Sora demands, a sudden irrational anger sparking inside him. "What…?"

"The bad guys are holding her captive," Larxene explains, relishing the shocked and fearful look her words bring to Sora's face. "Deep within the castle, where she waits for her hero to come rescue her. That's you, by the way." she taps her chin, the essence of nonchalant. "There is one little catch though…"

Larxene's demeanor changes without a second's warning, the blonde diving towards Sora with a manic grin on her face. She covers the distance to the Keybearer quickly, striking out with a pointed jab. The boy sidesteps, immediately having to dodge an attack from the left. It leaves him off balance, the perfect target for a swift kick to the gut.

Sora falls back, an object flying from his pocket on a high arc through the air. He takes note of it, five points in the shape of a star, constructed crudely of shells and glittering a mother-of-pearl color… Then a flash, sudden blinding light obscuring all vision. When it fades, the object's appearance has changed. A solid yellow pendant in the shape of a star falls neatly into Larxene's hand.

"I'm a bad guy," the black-cloaked woman declares. "Which means you have to go through me!"

"No problem!"

Azlyn strikes, her fist sailing though the air at the other blonde's face. Larxene brings right her arm up for a perfect block. Her other hand, the free one, reaches out to grab Azlyn's leg where it comes up for a kick. With no apparent effort, the black-cloaked woman flings her opponent aside. Azlyn flails through the air, spinning sideways, until she falls to the ground with an audible smack!

Larxene looks down at Azlyn, sniffs contemptuously, and turns to saunter back towards the staircase. She plays idly with the star charm as she goes, dangling it from its chain.

"What's that?" Sora grunts, raising himself up on his elbows. "Is that… Mine?"

"What?" Larxene stops in her tracks, spinning around and once again regarding the Keybearer with a sneer. "You mean you…? Oh, Sora, how could you have forgotten? And after carrying it around for all this time…"

"What are you talking about?" Telary demands, kneeling next to Azlyn as he helps her rise at least to her knees. He looks at the charm, his stomach churning at the sight of it for some unknown reason.

"It is mine, then?" Sora asks, slowly regaining his feet.

"You must have some idea," the sadistic blonde says, shaking her head like a disappointed schoolteacher. "A memory that precious would have to be ingrained in your heart. Think about it Sora. Who gave this to you? What's her name?"

Sora's breathing quickens, a sudden intense pressure seeming to surround his entire being suddenly. He reaches back, deep into the mysterious haze his memory has become. There, an answer begins to finally take shape. A name for the face.

"Na…" he breathes, struggling and straining to access his deepest, most true memories. "Na… Nami…"

"C'mon, Sora," Larxene encourages him, her voice silky smooth and overbearingly sweet. "It's right on the tip of your…"

"Naminé!" Sora declares, his brain practically sparking from the sudden release of feelings, associated with that one name. The pressure around him ceases to exist, leaving nothing but an intense rush of relief.

A shy blonde girl stands on the beach of Destiny Islands, holding out her hand to a young boy with spiked brown hair. He reaches out slowly to take it, looking upon the object with as much reverence as a five year old can possess.

"Well done, Sora!" Larxene practically cheers, her harsh voice cutting through Sora's incredibly vivid recollection. It's incredibly jarring, grating on his ears like nails on a chalkboard. "It seems you've finally gotten your head out of your ass. Yep, Naminé gave you this cheesy piece of 'good luck charm' trash. Not that you bothered to remember."

The Keybearer winces, reacting as harshly as if the black-cloaked woman's words had been a physical blow. How could he have forgotten something so important, essential to who he is?

"I guess it's no surprise," Larxene continues, shrugging. "Considering you didn't even remember her damn name. Talk about heartless, I mean come on!" She stops mid-rant, regarding the star charm in her hand with a cool eye. "Come to think of it, shitty behavior like that deserves to be punished. You need to learn how to treat your friends, Sora! As a matter of fact…" The blonde raises her arm in the air, the yellow star charm clearly displayed. "It would serve you right, if I smashed this piece of junk!"

Sora sees red. Before he can even think, the Keybearer is charging forward with his blade held high. He swings it upwards, smashing into Larxene's hand and forcing her to release his precious charm. It flies up in the air, where Sora can easily leap up and snatch it.

"Don't you touch this!" he declares, tightening his grip on the object despite the sharpness of its edges and points. "Naminé gave this to me! It's very precious!"

"Oh, bull shit!" Larxene shoots back, shaking her hand to clear the pain. "How can you say that shit with a straight face? Ten freakin' seconds ago, you didn't even know what the damn thing was!"

Before Sora can find a way to refute that statement, Azlyn is once again charging at Larxene, full speed. The other blonde smirks, lightning crackling around her fingertips. It fades out in a second, leaving three small yellow knives in both of her hands, one stuck between each knuckle. She slashes at Azlyn, who barely has time to duck beneath the attack.

Sora rushes in next, swinging the Keyblade directly for Larxene's stomach. She backs up a step, power flickering in her hands. As as Sora makes a downward slash, the blonde raises her hand. Suddenly lightning surrounds her, Sora getting a pretty direct taste of it. Stunned, the Keybearer stumbles backwards.

As soon as the electricity clears, Azlyn dives for Larxene's back. Her enemy's focus elsewhere, the knight manages to get her arms around the other blonde. They go diving to the floor, but at the last second Larxene manages to turn around. Azlyn hits the ground with an impact that rattles her whole body, loosening her grip on the black-coated woman.

Larxene stands, just in time to get a face full of blizzard spell. She stumbles back, spluttering as the cold energy engulfs her.

Sora, having worked off the shock from the lightning, dives in with a strong slash. Larxene sees him coming, scowling as he throws three of her knives at the approaching Keybearer. Shocked by the move, he's forced to go to his knees in a long slide across the floor. The knives pass over his head, Telary only barely avoiding a skewering himself.

The wizard gathers his focus for another magic spell, fire this time to really bring the pain. But Larxene is on the move, leaping up and dispatching him with a high kick to the wrist. Telary feels his whole hand go numb, his staff fumbling from unresponsive fingers.

Larxene's hand darts forward, stabbing the knives held there straight for the wizard's face. He falls back gracelessly, back smacking the floor in a hard landing. But on the bright side, he still has his face intact.

Sora attacks Larxene's back, landing a solid hit. She grunts, turning and lashing out again with her knives. But the Keybearer's reflexes are too quick, blocking the blades and turning them aside. Another slash lands against the blonde's torso.

Then Azlyn comes up, unleashing a spinning kick in the same spot. Larxene stumbles to the side, but manages to reach out and grab Azlyn's shoulder. Grunting with effort, she shoves the knight into her friend.

The pair slam into each other, nearly losing their footing. Azlyn even catches her foot on Telary, eliciting a pained groan from him, and sending the knight to the floor herself. Sora barely manages to stay upright.

"Would ya look at that teamwork!" Larxene taunts. Still wearing a cruel grin, she flicks three blades at Sora.

He swings the Keyblade in a fanning arc, deflecting the knives. Leaping over his fallen comrades, the boy slashes down Larxene's central line. She sidesteps the blow, but can't dodge or deflect Sora's next horizontal slash. She stumbles back, lashing out with the blades in her left hand. But Sora ducks that, landing a three-hit combo directly on the black-cloaked woman.

The Keybearer keeps stepping, not willing to lose momentum. This woman is going to pay for what he said to him, and for holding Naminé. If she falls, maybe Sora can get her to talk more about where his childhood friend is being held.

But Larxene is having none of it. She waves her hand, surrounding herself with a spherical shield of crackling lightning. Sora's step only leads him straight into the wild energy, shocking his body severely enough to bring him to his knees.

Larxene performs a standing backflip, landing a few feet away at the edge of the floor's stairs. She stands there and sneers at the heroes, not even breathing hard.

"Not bad, I guess," she admits, giving Sora a nod that might mean some kind of approval. "Maybe you really are the big hero after all. A heartless hero!"

"Who… asked you?" Sora growls, weakened and out of breath after that fight. It appears his full abilities haven't quite returned yet.

"Truth hurts, Sora," Larxene declares, shrugging nonchalantly. "Best if you just grow up and accept that."

The Keybearer gathers himself for a charge, but only gets two steps before Larxene stops him with a sudden lightning bolt only a few feet away, close enough for him to feel its heat.

"Or not, I guess," the blonde sadist says, sighing. She reaches into a pocket in her coat. "Anyway, if you're gonna be a baby, why don't I give you some toys to play with." Larxene produces four cards, bundled together in a stack. With an almost negligent flick of her wrist, she tosses them to Sora.

"More cards?" he says, catching the stack and peering at them closely.

"Created from the rest of your memories," Larxene explains, rolling her eyes. "Hows about a thank you?"

Sora doesn't get the chance to toss out a defiant quip for that one. Azlyn's shield flies through the air, Larxene only barely dodging it. Scowling, she looks to where the knight is back on her feet.

"How's that for a 'thank you'?" Azlyn practically snarls.

"Oh please, bitch." Rolling her eyes, Larxene disappears in a flurry of black energy.

"Wait Larxene!" Sora yells, suddenly regaining his vigor. He rushes the fading woman, swinging his Keyblade at empty air with wild abandon. "Come back here and tell me where Naminé is! Don't you dare hide from me!"

"Sora!" the voice of Jiminy Cricket cries out, jumping up and grabbing the boy's hood. He hangs on to the wild ride for a few seconds, all the while yelling for Sora to calm down.

"Hey!" Telary's voice is uncharacteristically authoritative, and the hand that clamps down suddenly on Sora's arm is firm and unyielding. "Relax, Sora!"

Finally, the boy stops his mad flailing. Sora looks back to his companions, breathing heavily as he dismisses the Keyblade.

"I can't believe…!" he mutters angrily, clenching his fist hard enough to hurt the fingers. "I hate her so much! She has Naminé…"

"I know, Sora," Telary says, reassuring and understanding as usual. "But it's okay."

"At least you remember your friend's name now," Azlyn chimes in, forcing a bigger smile than she'd normally ever display unless munny was involved. "That's something."

"But it's only because of her I remembered!" Sora declares, shaking his head. "It shouldn't have happened like that. Naminé is too special for that."

KH-KH-KH

Larxene emerges from her dark portal, heaving a dramatic sigh as she mimes wiping sweat off her brow. As usual, she looks smug and satisfied.

"That was actually pretty fun," she declares, shooting a grin over to where Axel is leaning against the white wall. "But forcing myself to take all those hits sure took effort."

"Yeah, right," Axel says, rolling his eyes. "Looked to me like he was putting you to the ropes at the end there, Larx. That lightning cage just screamed desperation to me…"

"Aw, shut your damn mouth, shithead," the blonde snarls, narrowing her eyes at him. "Just because you don't understand the nuances of…"

Her upcoming rant is cut off by the sound of a portal opening. Looking to the noise's source, they see another black-coated man emerge. His hood is down, revealing dirty blond hair that falls to his shoulder in a perfectly straight, if rather greasy, wave.

"Axel is right, Larxene," he states with open disdain. "A pitiful performance. You shame yourself, and the Organization as well."

"Asshole," Larxene murmurs to herself, glaring at the man, her arms tightly crossed.

"Well, if it isn't ol' Grandpa Vexen," Axel says with a gleam in his eye, straightening up and walking over to the newcomer. "Not often we see you topside. Have you come to tell us to turn our stereo volume down?"

"I came," Vexen answers with a pointed glare, "to lend a hand."

"Well, aren't we just so flattered," Axel chuckles, dipping into a sarcastic low bow.

"I remain unconvinced that this 'hero' of yours is worthy of your indulgence," the older man explains, still glaring at his younger co-worker. "I thought that perhaps an experiment would put my mind more at ease."

"Big-freakin'-surprise," Larxene declares with a scoff. "Everything's always 'experiments' with your decrepit ass."

"I am a scientist," Vexen says simply, shrugging. "Experiments are what I do. It's a bit of a compulsion, honestly."

"Yeah, well I get 'compulsions' too," Larxene shoots back. "Right at this very moment, I'm ignoring one that's telling me to kick your over-the-hill backside."

"All right, that's enough you two," Axel says, stepping between the bickering pair. "Just own up to it though, Vexy. Testing Sora is just a cover for trying out your little… valet."

"I would hardly call that an appropriate description," Vexen declares with a scowl. "I'll have you know that he is a staggeringly clever product of copious, strenuous research!"

"What it is, is a toy," Larxene says disdainfully. "Your own little plaything." She places a hand on her hip, smirking. "I can only imagine what other kinds of tests you've been running on it, you sick old perv."

"Oh yes, I'm the sick one, you psychotic little tart," the scientist snarls right back.

"Can it, both of you," Axel snaps at his fellow Organization members, a harsher tone than they're used to from him. The redhead reaches into his pocket, turning to Vexen as he draws out a single card. "Have your fun, Gramps. But take this with you."

Vexen takes the offered card, examining it with a curiously raised eyebrow. It takes him only a second to determine its value. The realization brings a gleam to his eye. "What an interesting gift."

"Hey, never say I don't respect my elders, alright?" Raising himself a bit higher on his toes, the redhead looks over his comrades shoulder. "Well, what ever do we have here?"

Naminé, watching from her chair in the corner, shudders as she sees the silver-haired new arrival.

KH-KH-KH

Sora rushes up the stairs, so fast that Azlyn and Telary find themselves hard-pressed to keep up. The Keybearer shows little sympathy for them, either.

"Hurry up you two!" he calls over his shoulder, the very picture of impatience. "We've gotta get Naminé back!"

"Sora sure is gung ho about all this," Telary mutters to his counterpart.

The knight shrugs. "Yeah, but I get it. He just gets the memory of this Naminé chick back, and boom, he finds out she's in trouble. A prisoner? Think if it was the king who was in danger. You'd be messed up to."

"Messed up, right," Telary says, slowing to a stop as they reach the next floor.

Sora's already at the door, but he appears to have dropped all the cards due to his eagerness. The Keybearer drops to all four, grumbling as he gathers them.

"This whole situation is messed up, if you ask me," the wizard continues, shaking his head. "Something is seriously wrong, and it doesn't have anything to do with kidnapping plots. We're being set up, mark my words. I just don't know what for."

"Didn't think you were one to go in for paranoia, Tel," Azlyn says, ignoring Sora's manic attempts to wave the pair over to him.

Telary sputters, raising his hands defensively. But before he can even speak, Azlyn has a hand held up to stop him.

"I'm not saying you're wrong," she clarifies. "I mean, I'd trust your word over anyone, Tel. But I don't think this is something to bring up to Sora just yet."

"Would you two stop making stupid goo-goo eyes at each other and get a move on!" Sora calls impatiently. Looking over, the pair semi-amusingly note that the Keybearer is actually tapping his foot, like an irate schoolteacher with a pokey student.

"That," Telary says as he and his counterpart make their way over, "is probably a very wise idea."

Writing Larxene really is the most fun of all. I've long figured that if anyone in the KH series would have a potty mouth if the games were not rated E10+, it would be Larxene.

Another shout out to Cinder-Kat, for her great reviews of the last two chapters. Until next time where, ironically since I'm just finishing an adventure there in Life Goes On, I invent a COM-appropriate version of Deep Jungle.