And I do not own Golden Sun or Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter XIV

Heresy

Jenna awoke in a cold sweat. Her hands were gripping the blankets, seized in subconscious panic. She was shaking violently.

She immediately took in her surroundings, a instinct learned by her two years of travel across Weyard. Though it was dark, she was quickly aware of where she was. The bedroom of her and Isaac's apartment in Kalay. Her fiancé was fast asleep beside her, his chest gently rising and falling. Nothing seemed to be amiss.

Jenna became aware of her dry and sore throat. She hesitantly rose to a standing position, which was rather difficult because she felt dizzy and her arms and legs were weak and shaky.

Side effects from the pregnancy, she figured. Conjuring a small psynergetic flame in her hands for illumination, Jenna made her way through the bedroom to the kitchen. There, she lit a lamp and prepared herself a glass of water.

After a drink and a few minutes of quiet rest in the living room, Jenna felt considerably better. Her hands went to the growing bump of her belly, thinking about the child developing inside. They still had yet to settle on a name.

She took a look at the window. Though it was still dark outside, the morning sun was just barely beginning to peak out from the eastern horizon. Jenna figured she would just wait for Isaac to wake up. She probably wouldn't be able to fall back asleep anyway.

And the thought of nightmares… did she even want to sleep? She could never remember them, but it wasn't the first night in recent memory she'd been troubled by them. Jenna wasn't the kind of person to have nightmares. Even after the incident with the boulder nearly five years ago, she'd only had unpleasant dreams for a few weeks before they had faded away. The grief had lasted longer than that, but the dark images went quickly. She had Isaac to thank for that. Without his support, it would have been far worse.

Best to focus on something else. She considered breakfast, but decided she wasn't hungry enough. Better to wait for Isaac and enjoy it with him. She decided to just relax on the couch and process her thoughts.

She missed Felix. She missed Garet and their other friends, as well. Though they at least had a stack of letters from most of them, and the wedding to look forward to. Even Kraden wrote. The only members of the group who hadn't been writing regularly were Felix and Mia. Garet had only left for Imil about three or so weeks ago, but she was eager to hear from him.

Some of the developments were rather interesting. Piers had sailed to Champa after dropping Sheba off in Lalivero, and he and Briggs were now sailing together. Sheba had spent some time with her adoptive family in Lalivero, but she'd recently went to Tolbi to visit Kraden. The girl had apparently taken a liking to adventure after being cooped up in the small desert town for so many years. Piers and Briggs, and Sheba and Kraden. Odd pairings, for sure.

Jenna hadn't heard anything from Mia since she'd left Felix, and she didn't really care either. Her opinion of the girl had dropped considerably after she had abandoned Jenna's brother. She didn't hate Mia, but she was more than comfortable with the silence.

But Felix… she wished she could hear from him. Every day that went by was torture. She wouldn't believe he was dead, but not hearing from him made things difficult.

Jenna sighed. If she wasn't pregnant and engaged, she would have just packed her things and went out to find him herself. Growing up was such a pain. So many responsibilities. She enjoyed some parts of it, namely Isaac's company and their child she bore, but she missed the freedom of her youth. The thrill of travel and adventure. She was almost envious of Sheba and the freedom she had.

She must have been more tired than she realized. Jenna found her head nodding and her eyes growing heavy. She passed out right there on the couch despite the golden sunlight now pouring through the window.

Jenna jumped awake at the sound of the front door bursting open. A man clad entirely in black leather stepped through. Strips of leather wrapped around almost his entire body, the only visible part of him being his eyes, which were yellow and slit like those of a cat.

Jenna rose to her feet, but her knees gave out underneath her. She collapsed on the ground, shaking violently. The leather-bound man stepped towards her with a dark, lustful intent. The only thing she could see were his boots.

"Get away from her, bastard!"

Isaac charged into the room wearing only his shorts, though his sword was in his hand. Isaac swung his blade at the leather man, who simply stepped back to avoid the swing as one avoids an insect.

The leather man casually reached out as Isaac swung his sword again, catching the blade dead in his gloved hand.

Jenna tried to climb to her feet, but her body was immobile. Every inch of her felt the way one feels when their leg falls asleep and seems prickled by many small needles. She could only watch helplessly as her fiancé fought this terrifying man.

With his free hand, the man in leather reached up and unclasped a buckle beneath his ear, freeing the strip of leather that covered his mouth. Isaac pulled back to free his blade from the man's grip, but his grip was as strong as an iron clasp.

The man in leather smiled an awful smile with his exposed lips. They were pale blue, like those of someone suffocating.

In horror and confusion, Jenna watched as the man in leather leaned forward and took the struggling Isaac in a forced kiss. Reacting the only way he could, Isaac let go of his sword and pushed the man back. He spat on the floor in disgust.

"You sick fucker!"

In response, the man in leather took Isaac's sword and plunged it into Isaac's chest. Jenna screamed.

The man in leather turned to Jenna and smiled again, one more awful than the last. His yellow cat-eyes offset his blue lips. He reached up and unclasped another buckle at his head, unwrapping the remaining leather around his head.

Though consumed with a mixture of grief, panic, and disgust, Jenna felt all but the last drain away as she beheld the man's revealed face. It was truly the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. His skin was decayed, like a corpse left out in the heat. He had hair, but it was thin and white. He had not eyebrows.

"…" The man in leather growled inhumanly. He then began to approach her.

Jenna wanted to scream, but her breath left her lungs. Her mind felt hazy. It was getting harder to form thoughts.

The man in leather took one step, two steps, three… He never got farther than four…

Four…

Five.

It was getting harder to think… who… who was the man dead on the floor…?

The man in leather was stopped at five steps. It would take ten for him to reach her. He was halfway there.

His smug grin remained. Usually it turned to anger by now, but today he was satisfied. He had gotten farther than he had before.

Jenna woke in a cold sweat. She was shaking. For a second, she was confused as to why she was on the couch, but the memories of her first awakening came back to her.

"Oh, you're up." Isaac said from the kitchen. "It didn't want to wake you. You looked so serene."

Serene…? Not quite. She'd been having nightmares again. She struggled to remember what she'd been dreaming about, but it was already gone.

Issac went to her and kissed her forehead. "How's the little one? Is he kicking yet? I hear they do that."

Jenna touched her belly, her worries about the nightmares fading with the return to reality. "No, no kicks yet."

As usual, Twilight Town was stuck in a state of perpetual dusk. The conflict between the orange sunlight and the heavy shade was strong. As Ixma emerged from a dark corridor in the empty marketplace, she looked around at the various shops and market stands, disappointed to find that they were all closed.

"Is anything here ever open?" She asked her companion once he joined her.

"Not when we arrive." Alex said as he stretched his shoulder. "The Organization always makes sure to send us when the streets are empty. I don't think I've ever been here when the market was open."

"Do you ever actually see anybody?" She asked.

"Not really." Axel told her. "Roxas and I would see this group of kids every now and then, but that's about it."

Ixma nodded. "So what's the job today? Recon again?"

Axel shrugged. "There's not much else to do. Without a Keyblade wielder, collecting hearts is a waste of time. They don't send us out much, but that's the only reason they really would."

Ixma wandered around the streets a bit, examining the different stores and stands. While she wandered, Axel reached in his pocket and looked over a slip of paper.

"Why do we have to do so much recon?" She asked him from afar. "Haven't you and the other members already checked out these worlds?"

"We have, but we have to keep our information up to date." He replied. "Things do change, you know."

"Oh, I see." She said. She turned around and noticed Axel reading the note. "What's that you're reading?"

"The mission details." Axel told her.

"On a piece of paper?" She said, confused. "What, did Saix leave that for you?"

Axel nodded.

"Well that's odd." She pointed out. "What's he doing that he's so busy he can't tell us in person?"

Axel shrugged. "Who knows what goes through his head?"

Ixma went back to Axel's side and read the paper over his shoulder. "It says we should split up, to cover more ground."

"And I'm wondering if that's the best idea." Axel muttered.

"Well, what's the worst that could happen?" Ixma asked him, clearly thrilled at the idea of doing a mission on her own. "And besides, if we get the mission done quickly, we'll have more time for ice cream."

"Yes, but don't forget about the Heartless." He reminded her. "Can you take care of yourself if they show up?"

"I have that ice magic I can do." She said, with a wave of her hand. "Even if I don't have a weapon, I can take care of myself. You worry too much, Spiky."

Axel sighed. "Alright, I guess. Just be careful. Meet me at the clock tower as soon as you're done."

She nodded, and gave Axel a big hug. "Thanks! You won't regret this, I promise!"

Axel watched her as she practically skipped away, her long blue hair trailing behind her. For someone who was supposed to have no emotions, she sure showed a lot of them…

Ixma had only been in Twilight Town a few times, so she quickly got lost. The area she found herself in resembled a park of some kind. It was large, and there were benches at the edges. Perhaps they played some kind of sport here?

She spotted something in the distance. A small, insect-like creature. It was solidly black, and it had glowing yellow eyes. A Shadow Heartless.

Ixma grinned. This would be her first Heartless kill. She cracked her knuckles and prepared her psynergy.

As she hurled small spears of ice at the Shadow, it turned and noticed her. It sank into the ground, and her psynergy stuck the ground uselessly.

The small creature emerged. Panicking, it ran past her. She chased after it, but stopped dead when she looked up.

A much larger, much more fearsome creature stood before her. This Heartless, while similar in color to the Shadow hiding behind it, was humanoid in shape. It's glowing eyes stared straight at Ixma.

She stepped back, but the Novashadow had already set it's sights on her. It went after her, the smaller Shadow following. Ixma ran, hurling ice psynergy as she fled. But her efforts were stopped when she spotted two additional Novashadows emerge at the alley she had been fleeing towards. Turning back to the first Novashadow, she also saw a small army of normal Shadows close behind.

"Where did so many of these come out of nowhere?" She exclaimed. The ice psynergy she cast barely scratched the Novashadow, but it eliminated masses of the Shadows behind it. Still, more appeared to take their place.

The two Novashadows from the alley had noticed her, and sank into the ground they way their kind did, quickly closing the distance between them.

"Look out!"

A figure emerged from the shadows, cutting down the approaching Novashadows in a single blow. Before Ixma could get a good look at him, her attention was forced back to the Novashadow behind her. She conjured a wall of ice to block its attacks.

The new arrival rushed past the block of ice and cut down the other Novashadow. Ixma blinked. This man had moved so fast she hadn't been able to follow him with her eyes. How could someone be so fast?

With the Heartless gone, the man stopped and turned to her. He wore the black coat of the Organization, but she was sure she had never seen him before. His hair was long and silvery-white, and he wore a black cloth to cover his eyes. Was he blind? His combat skills were amazing for a man who could not see.

"Who… are you?" She asked him. "Are you a member as well?"

"What do you think?" He replied without smiling. "And you're welcome."

Welcome…?

"Oh, the Heartless!" She realized, shaking her head. "Yes, thank you. Sorry, I'm usually more polite…"

"Are you?"

He sent away his blade before she could get a good look at it. He turned away from her, examining the sandlot around them despite the blindfold covering his eyes. Perhaps he was using a sense other than sight. Or maybe he could simply see through the cloth.

"My name is Ixma." She said.

"No, it's not." The man said.

She blinked. What did he just say?

"What do you know about me?" She demanded. "I think I would know my own name before some stranger."

"I would think so as well." He said, sitting down at one of the benches. "No, I'm not a member of the Organization."

"Then why do you wear our coat?" She asked.

"I have my reasons." He reached up and lifted the cloth from one of his eyes for a second, examining her. "You're very beautiful. But you'd look better in something else." He moved the blindfold back over his eye.

Ixma stood uncomfortably in the middle of the sandlot. "Who exactly are you?"

"I feel like I'm getting into a pattern here." He said with a sigh. "So I'll just come out with it. My name is Riku. The Organization is evil. They've been lying to you. My friend can't wake up without his memories. Castle Oblivion, Keyblades, Nobodies."

"W-what?"

Riku cracked a smile. "There's a lot of back-story, but we can't cover all that right now. Besides, I don't feel like explaining all this again. I already went through this with Xion already."

She took a few steps towards him. Her fists were unconsciously clenched. "They've been lying to me…?"

Riku nodded. "About Kingdom Hearts and all that. You don't need that to get your heart back. Xemnas just wants to use the power it contains."

"Kingdom Hearts…?" Ixma rubbed her temples, trying to make heads or tails of all this. "What is that?"

Now it was Riku's turn to look confused, if just for a second. "You don't… Wait, then what have they been using you for?"

"Using?"

Riku stood up. "Haven't they been sending you out on missions?"

She shook her head.

"I thought you were the…" He scratched his chin, thinking. "Can you use the Keyblade?"

"I don't even know what that is."

Riku sat back down. "You're not the replacement… Then what do they want with you?"

Ixma stepped closer to him. "If they've been lying to me, then are they the reason I can't remember anything? What should I do? How do I know I can trust you?"

Riku's head turned suddenly towards one of the staircases in the corners. He rose in alarm. "He's coming."

"Who?" She didn't see anyone.

"Axel. Listen to me," He said, demanding her attention. "Roxas is locked up somewhere in the castle."

"He is?"

"Yes." Riku continued quickly, glancing back at the stairway. "Find him and speak with him. He can tell you what you need to know. You'll see him locked up, so you'll know they've been lying to you. Don't tell them you met with me. Keep this to yourself. And don't arouse their suspicion. Will you do this for me?"

"I-I suppose."

"Find the truth." Riku said, and he turned and ran off, disappearing behind a corner as quickly as he'd arrived.

The sound of footsteps drew her attention. She turned to find Axel emerging from the exact staircase Riku had said he would.

"Hey, how are you coming along?" Axel asked. "No troubles with the Heartless, I hope?"

"No." She muttered, looking at her feet. The encounter with Riku had thrown everything in doubt. Who could she trust now?

"Oh, well. I got enough information to satisfy Saix." Axel said, scratching his head. "What do you say we head to the clock tower and see about that ice cream you were so excited about?"

She nodded slowly. Riku's words came back to her. Don't arouse their suspicion. She had to play things safe until she knew who she could trust.

Axel put his hand on her shoulder and led her to the clock tower. He was grinning, but the change in Ixma's attitude hadn't gone unnoticed by him. What had happened?

As they disappeared behind the corner, Riku watched as they left from a dark alley. Once they were gone, he summoned his blade and held it ready.

He had made contact with Ixma and planted the seeds of doubt. The first step of his plan was complete.

Next, to find Saix…

"…too badly. Check the bags, Kr…"

As she returned to consciousness, Xion's head was struck with a stabbing sharp pain and her entire body was aching and sore. She opened her eyes, but everything was so hazy and disjointed that she just closed them again. It was dark, wherever she was. Her vision was blurred and her head hurt when she tried to focus on anything.

"Hey, are you awake? What's taking so long…?"

Trying to focus on anything just hurt her head more. Someone was there, next to her. She could tell that enough. She didn't recognize the voice.

"Finally! Here, drink this. It'll help."

Xion felt cold glass being pressed to her lips, and a sour liquid pouring from it. Not considering any other possibility at the moment, she swallowed the drink.

She lay there for a few minutes while the first voice and another deeper one exchanged conversation she didn't hear well enough to understand. As the pain and confusion slowly faded away, she became dimly aware of her surroundings. It was extremely dark, and very cold. The only thing she could see as she opened her eyes was dim torchlight a few paces from where she lay.

She moaned as she slid to a seated position. Noticing this, someone ran to her side.

"Hey, you shouldn't try to move yet." A small girl said as she reached Xion. "You took a heck of a fall, or at least that's what we think happened. Tell you the truth, we aren't quite sure how you got down here."

Xion held her aching head, trying to remember what happened. The last thing she remembered was kissing Felix, strangely enough. But no, that had been to get him to drink the Hermes' Water, right? Then she'd left Imil… and gone north. North, instead of south like they'd planned. So he wouldn't follow her. And then night had fallen…

Xion looked over at the girl at her side. She was small, with a heart-shaped face surrounding by short blonde hair. She looked vaguely familiar, but Xion was sure she'd never heard that voice before.

"Yeah, so…" The girl muttered, unsure of what to say. "How are you feeling?"

"Uhh… better." Xion muttered. "Pain's going away."

"That's great." She girl said with a grin. "I'm Sheba. And that old fart behind me is Kraden."

The torchlight drew closer and she saw the man holding it was a bearded old man.

"Where… are we?" Xion asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Ancient ruins of the Anemos." The old man Kraden spoke, surprising her.

Ancient ruins? That's not what she had in mind. Ignoring the pain in her body, Xion slowly rose to her feet, with Sheba helped her. She examined her surroundings, as her eyes adjusting gradually to the darkness. The moonlit sky was visible above them, though the edges of her vision were blocked by the edges of the ice sheet she had fallen through. Xion was reminded of the chasm where Vale had been, when she had met Felix.

"This place was underground before." Kraden explained to her. "We spent days traveling through tunnels beneath the ice to find this place."

"We were inside the ruins, when we heard a sound like an earthquake." Sheba continued. "So we ran out here, and found the stars were visible."

"That was because of me." Xion muttered. "I accidentally caused the ice to crack when I was fighting a monster. Sorry."

"Sorry?" Sheba laughed. "Don't be! You've done us a huge favor. This is going to make getting out of here much easier."

Xion scratched her head, trying to remember where she'd seen this girl. The old man looked familiar, too. "You said there were ruins here?" She asked.

Kraden nodded. "Yes. An ancient underground city of the Anemos. It's rather hard to see from where we're standing now, due to the low amount of light, but if you'd like we'd be happy to show you…"

"Kraden, the girl just fell a couple hundred feet." Sheba told him. "I'm sure the last thing she cares about are those dusty old ruins."

Finding herself dizzy from looking up at the sky, Xion sat back down on the ground. Sheba and Kraden joined her.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Sheba asked.

"No, just dizzy." Xion replied. "Head hurts. And I feel tired, too."

"Well, it's no wonder considering what you went through." Sheba laughed, looking back up at the hole she'd fallen through.

"You might have a concussion." Kraden said. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"Kraden, don't bother the poor girl." Sheba hissed. "If she does have a concussion, I'm sure Mia can take care of it when we go to Imil."

Imil…! "No, I don't want to go to Imil." Xion said suddenly.

"Why not?" Sheba asked.

"I just…" She didn't know what to say. Wait, did they know Mia? Should she tell them what happened?

Too much for now, she figured. Best to wait for a better time. These two seemed trustworthy enough, but Xion wanted to get a few things straight before anything else.

"Well, I'm sure you have your reasons." Sheba said with a smile. "So… do you have a name?"

She hadn't introduced herself yet? "My name's Xion."

"Nice to meet you, Xion." Sheba grinned. "I already told you this, but I'm Sheba and this is Kraden."

She nodded.

"So what to do now?" Sheba asked. "We were going to go to Imil after we explored the ruins. But since you don't want to go there, I'd be willing to give you a quick lift wherever you need. It'll have to wait until we're done though. Is that okay with you?"

Quick lift? "Uh… I guess."

Sheba beamed. "Great. It would probably be best if you came inside the ruins with us. That way, you don't have to wait outside in the cold."

Xion nodded. "Yeah, sure."

They rose and the two led Xion over the rough terrain. There wasn't much snow on the ground, but it was quickly building. It was dark and hard to see, due to both the night and the snow-fall, so Xion relied on Sheba's balance as they walked.

A large horizontal spire came into view, which Xion noticed had a large pool of blood around it. Looking up, she noticed the body of a large brown beast impaled through the chest.

"Oh, my sword!"

She broke from Sheba and ran to the dead mauler. Her katana was still stuck in the beast's shoulder. She grabbed the hilt and, after a few attempts, freed the blade from the beast, stumbling back as she did. Sheba caught her to prevent her from falling.

"You killed that thing?" The girl asked in awe of the large monster.

"I think the fall killed it." Xion said, wiping the blood off her blade on the mauler's fur. "But I guess I triggered that, so…"

"It's still impressive." Kraden said. "To even wound such a monster."

Xion returned her blade to its sheath. She winced as she took note of the very-pointy top of the spire, which emerged a good three feet from the penetrated mauler's chest.

"I'm just glad I didn't land on that." She said, pointing. The tip was covered in the monster's blood.

"Speaking of impressive, are you an Adept?" Sheba asked. "To kill a mauler and survive a fall like that. You'd have to be."

Xion shook her head. "I'm not."

Sheba raised her eyebrows. "Then you're one tough normal. Seriously though, good job. You sure you didn't get hit in the head with a Psynergy Stone?"

Xion shook her head. "No, I'm definitely not an Adept. But I'm guessing you two are."

Sheba grinned. "Just me."

A few minutes later, Xion found herself at the entrance of a large building built within the stone of the underground earth. The entrance was large and ornate, though dull and tarnished from wear over time.

"So when Kraden first passed through Imil, he heard about these ruins from a friend of ours." Sheba told her as they stepped through the gate. "He wanted to explore them right away, but he was pressed for time. There's a lot of back-story, but I'll just stick to the important stuff. They had to go quickly, so Kraden decided to come back and check this place out later. I wasn't around at that time, but this is what he tells me."

"True." Kraden said. "Could I not? These halls have been all but unexplored. An ancient city, built underground to hide from monsters. This must have been where they lived as they built the lighthouse."

Sheba chuckled. "You'll have to forgive Kraden. He's an alchemist. He get's all excited over this boring stuff."

As they stepped through the already-opened doors, Xion was surprised to find the long hallway brightly-lit by torches that extended down farther than she could see.

"How are all these torches lit?" She asked her new companions.

"An ancient lost trick." Kraden explained. "It's not uncommon in these old ruins. Fueled by Psynergy, no doubt. The ancients had a lot of tricks and tools that we have no access to in this day and age. And the release of Alchemy still has yet to yield any new discoveries, although it's only been a few months since the lighthouses have been lit."

"Kraden, I'm sure Xion here didn't survive that fall so she could be bored to death by your exposition." Sheba flashed her a grin, which she just couldn't help but return.

Their voices echoed in the small, long chamber as they walked, Sheba continuing her story.

"So here I was, with the teleport lapis and an itch for adventure. And here's Kraden, stuck in Tolbi with all these places he wants to explore. And I went to him one day and was like: why not?"

"Teleport Lapis?" Xion asked.

"Yeah, a psynergy-channeled item we picked up on our adventures." Sheba explained, showing her a strange blue stone she wore around her neck. "It let's me warp instantly to places I can picture in my head. In a nutshell, it lets me warp me and my friends anywhere in the world."

"That's pretty cool." Xion said. The idea of traveling instantly to places reminded her of the dark corridors she could no longer use.

"We thought about heading to Imil first, but Kraden said we simply had to come here." Sheba continued. "So we did, about two days ago. We spent the first two days traveling through tunnels. We had only just gotten through the front door when we heard the sound of the ice breaking, and rushed out."

"Sheba." Kraden said with a slight smile. "Perhaps you should not accuse me of boring our guest with exposition when you have done nothing for the past ten minutes but that."

"What!" Sheba exclaimed, turning on Kraden in mock anger.

Xion laughed. "No, really I don't mind." She enjoyed the playful atmosphere between these two. She tried not to think about having to tell them about Mia.

They emerged from the long hallway into a large, dome-shaped area. Lighting came from several hundred torches that lines the distant walls of the dome ceiling, as well as high street post-like torches at ground level. Many building structures were visible, with a large castle-like building at the far end. Many areas were overgrown with plants and ivy, grown through the bricks after centuries of neglect, though elsewhere untouched. The bricks of which it was built were not made of gold, though they had a golden texture that the bright lighting drew out.

But despite all this intriguing scenery, what immediately drew Xion's attention was the massive statue in the center of the city. A man upon a tall throne, not unlike the ones the Organization members sat upon, with a long flowing robe that reached the bottom of the throne. At the base of the throne were large unreadable runes, as well as several much small statues of men kissing the floor. The statue's head was noticeably gone, but the majestic nature of the image was not hindered.

"Who is that guy supposed to be?" Xion asked Kraden, pointing at the statue.

The scholar approached the large statue. As he drew near it, its size became truly noticeable, as Kraden did not even reach the bottom of the man's robe. Kraden reached the bottom of the statue, and inspected the large runes craved at its base.

"Lunos." Kraden told them in a clear voice. "He was the emperor… or perhaps god… of the Anemos. Funny, I've studied the Anemos extensively, and I've never heard of him."

"It doesn't say if he's their emperor or their god?" Sheba asked.

Kraden inspected the runes closer. "I'm not sure. There are several ways this could be translated. It's possible that he was both."

Sheba and Xion descended the steps and joined Kraden at the base of the statue. "How could someone be both?" Sheba asked him.

Kraden turned from the statue to face them. "If he was truly a tyrant, he may have forced his people to not only serve him, but to worship him as well. Although this all depends on whether or not I'm reading this right."

"Lunos…" Xion muttered. Hadn't she heard that name somewhere before?

Sheba stepped back from the statue so she could look up on it. "Not so tough now that he doesn't have a head."

Xion stepped back to where Sheba stood, also looking up at the statue. As she was thinking, something suddenly clicked.

Sheba was Felix's friend. She was one of the ones he'd traveled with for his adventure, as was Kraden. Lunos was the name Luxord had screamed as he'd died.

Xion fled from Imil north. She just happened to forget to find shelter, causing her to encounter the mauler, causing her to spontaneously attempt to use her new powers, causing her to crack the ice she just happened to wander over. This led to her running into two of Felix's friends, out in the middle of nowhere for no sensible reason other than to explore the ruins that just happened to be down there. Which led to her discovering a statue of the being that had possessed Luxord.

Not to mention her surviving a fall that, by all laws of physics, should have killed her. She had landed on frozen stone after falling at least two hundred feet. She should have died on impact, rather than suffer a minor aches and possibly a concussion that caused some convenient amnesia. And the encounter with the mauler? She should not have survived that, nor would she have if it had not impaled itself after it had fallen. It would have simply got up after landing and feasted on her unconscious corpse.

And she wouldn't have been there at all if she hadn't made the spontaneous decision to north to Prox instead of south to Tolbi as she had planned with Felix. In fact, she wouldn't have even met Felix if she hadn't felt the strange and unexplainable urge to go to the edge of the Vale Chasm in the first place.

What the hell was going on?

Something wasn't right. Things shouldn't have been happening like this. There were way too many coincidences, way more than to be pure chance. Something was happening.

Xion suddenly felt very exposed. She felt like someone was watching her, even though she saw no one when she looked around. She felt like some kind of invisible force was manipulating things. Lunos… was that what had possessed Luxord at the lighthouse?

Fear wasn't an emotion she was familiar with. A slight worry, perhaps. Occasionally anticipation or concern. But fear was one of the more advanced emotions, beyond those of her and the other Nobodies.

But now… she felt it.

Riku watched from as close as he could get, having to lift his blindfold to see through the dim streets and the heavy rainfall. It wasn't unusual for the streets of The World That Never Was to be empty, but today they felt especially bare.

He could just barely see Saix in the distance, just standing in the middle of the street. He had been standing there was at least two hours, not moving an inch or doing anything.

What was he waiting for?

His question was answered when a Nobody appeared. Not one of the Organization members, but one of the faceless white ones. It simply emerged out of the shadows, approaching Saix in it's unusual way of walking.

The Nobody stepped up to him and handed him an envelope. The Nobody then left, disappearing as quickly as it came.

Saix unfolded the envelope and read the letter. His stoic face gave no indication as to what it said. He simply read its contents, then crumbled them in his hand. Saix tossed the boll of paper in a distant garbage can and summoned a dark corridor, vanishing inside.

Once he was certain Saix was gone, Riku emerged and went to the garbage can. He quickly located the discarded envelope and carefully unfolded its contents. Written upon was only a single line of text.

Weyard. Kalay. Seven days. Tell no one else. Bring your weapon.

Riku stared at it for a moment. Interesting. It didn't surprise him that Saix had his own business, but he would have liked to know who it was with.

Riku crumbled to paper back up and tossed it in the garbage. Weyard… that was the world Xion had fled to. It looked like he was going to have to go there anyway, despite Namine's warning.

Once he got what he wanted out of Ixma and Roxas.

Riku turned a street corner, and vanished into the night.