KHA: Mwah! The beginning of the two chapters a day week! FEAR IT!
Akyra: EEK! (faints)
KHA: O.o I didn't mean it...
Audience: The return of... GARLIC SODA!
KHA: (sigh)
Roxas: (ish spiking his hair with hair gel)
Akyra: O.o
Roxas: My hair MUST be spikier that Sora's!
KHA: (eye twitch) Hair gel? H-h-h-h-h-h-h-hair gel? AAH! (dives for hair gel)

Disclaimer: (eye twitch) I don't own... Kingdom Hearts... Akyra's mine... and... hair gel... hair gel...

Since Sora had no more world cards, the group was forced to continue their journey in Castle Oblivion by climbing countless staircases mindlessly. For some reason, the appearance of the castle from the outside didn't seem THAT big. Or maybe it did and they forgot about it. Just like the rest of their memories. The picture would be clear until they climbed the last stair of a staircase, then it would warp and disappear like a cloud of smoke.

"Where's Riku? I thought he'd be here waiting for us," Donald quacked.

"Guess he finally got fighting out of his system," Goofy remarked.

"I sure hope so…" Sora sighed, grabbing the railings of the next staircase.

Vexen stepped into a darkened room. It was, once again, the same dark room everyone else gathered in if they had information worth sharing. But there was slight difference to the room now. The crystal orb emitting the shapes of four walking figures was still there but it wasn't the only source of light anymore. The entire room seemed a tad brighter, bright enough to see a smirk forming on Vexen's face as he saw the figures of Axel and Larxene.

"Now what, Vexen?" Larxene asked sharply, "Looks like your little toy isn't taking orders anymore."

"Now Larxene... Shouldn't we give Vexen the benefit of the doubt? Riku could be hiding as part of some elaborate plan to lure Sora deeper into the castle," Axel suggested.

"Oh, of course!" Larxene said with fake enthusiasm, "Why didn't I see it before? Terribly sorry, Vexie. I guess I'm just used to you and your research being more funny than formidable."

"Hold your tongue!" Vexen spat.

"Aww, are you sulking? Ha ha, you are so half-baked."

"You're hardly one to talk, you conniving little —"

"That will do!"

Larxene and Vexen stopped arguing and turned their heads to where the new voice was coming from so fast they could have been victims of whiplash.

"Marluxia!" Vexen called as the stranger stepped into the room.

Although Marluxia was probably the bottom rung of the ladder, he had great power in Castle Oblivion. Everyone listened to his instructions and did their best to stay on his good side. By everyone, I mean Larxene and Axel. Vexen, as well as Zexion and Lexaeus, weren't too fond of him. Marluxia had deep eyes and long, spiked brown hair. He looked no older than Larxene.

"Your project has failed, Vexen. Do not disappoint us again," he said.

"Disappoint YOU?" Vexen argued, "You presume too much, No. 11. I am No. 4, and I will not stand for your snide remarks!"

"Yes, you will," Marluxia spat, "This castle and the girl Naminé have been entrusted to ME. Defy me, and you defy the Organization."

"Unless I'm mistaken, treason is a CAPITAL crime..." Larxene added in with a grin. She and Marluxia were aligned so she was always sure to get the benefit of the doubt.

"This is absurd!" Vexen pouted.

"In the name of the Organization, I pronounce your project a failure. This lapse must be reported to the Superior."

"No…" he said in horror, "Please, don't! I beg of you! Leave him out of this!"

Marluxia shifted his gaze and thought for a moment. Vexen was putty in his hands now. How can he use him to his advantage?

"I will, under one condition."

"What condition?" Vexen pleaded.

"You must eliminate Sora personally," Marluxia said calmly.

"Eliminate him!"

"And Akyra as well."

"BOTH?" Vexen cried.

"You refuse?" Marluxia asked simply.

"No… I mean… but… Why would you want that?"

"Just do it!"

Vexen wore an evil glare on his face. But there was nothing he could do. Marluxia was the keeper of the castle and Vexen was not allowed to defy him. Gritting his teeth in anger, he summoned a portal of darkness and stepped through it, leaving them to complete his assigned task.

"He'll really do it, you know," Axel said, approaching a young, teenage girl who was sitting in the corner, "He's got no choice."

"Neither do we…" Marluxia sighed.

"You really think Vexen can eliminate both little brats?" Larxene asked sarcastically.

"No, I don't expect it," Marluxia answered, "But the girl MUST go. She's been here far too long."

"Goodie. You can take care of that…" Larxene muttered.

"Are you sulking because you couldn't get rid of two teenagers, Larxene?" Axel asked sweetly.

"Shut up! You never fought them, you coward!" she spat.

"Cease your babbling!" Marluxia ordered, "If we can't eliminate the girl in battle, we'll just have to seep into her mind and break her from inside."

As soon as he said this, the blonde, teenage girl gasped and raised her head. He couldn't be serious, could he?

"Taking some lessons from Zexion lately?" Axel asked.

"Hardly. You may not see it but this battle against those two is a lot simpler than it seems…"

Marluxia slowly paced towards the young girl in the corner, who lowered her head in fear, hiding her dark sapphire eyes behind her long, blonde bangs.

"What to do?" he asked sweetly, "Your hero is soon to be wiped from existence. But he made a promise to you, didn't he? Isn't that right, Naminé?"

She slowly shut her eyes and turned away, wishing he weren't speaking with her.

"… Yes…" Naminé muttered.

"The tenth floor already... We've come a long way…" Donald sighed.

"And we've lost ten floors' worth of memories," Jiminy added in a panicked tone, "Sora, it's not too late. We should turn back."

"No, I can't do that," Sora answered firmly, "That would be breaking my promise."

"Promise? What promise is that?" Akyra asked, slightly confused.

"When we were little," Sora began, "I made a promise to Naminé. I told her I'd always keep here safe, no matter what. But I didn't remember until I started forgetting everything else. I can't believe I forgot something that important! But I can still make up for it now. From now on, I'm keeping my promise."

"Okay, Sora. We understand," Jiminy said happily, tugging onto Sora's hair as the group advanced.

Akyra stared at Sora for a long time. She couldn't believe her ears. Was he really saying all this nonsense? And did he really believe it?

You know, Sora, you're really starting to tick me off… she thought.

At first, she thought it would be funny to see his reaction when he figured out that Naminé wasn't real. But now… that happiness seemed to have faded, along with the rest of her memories. Akyra watched with a hurt look as her best friend, the one who grew up with her, was pacing down the hallway with a huge grin. He actually did believe that there was a Naminé; he actually did believe that she was their friend and he actually did believe he made a promise to her.

"I said I had faith in you, Sora," she whispered to herself, "I said I'd support any decision you make. But seriously…" Her sad look quickly changed into a glare as she formed a strong fist with her right hand. "How do you expect me to support this?"

Sora, who noticed Akyra wasn't with them, spun around and called, "Hey, Akyra, is something wrong?"

She was quickly snapped out of her dream-like state at the sound of his voice. Slowly but surely, she walked towards him with a blank expression. He didn't seem to notice because the cheerful grin on his face never fell.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she whispered to herself, following her three friends to the next flight of staircases.

Another empty hallway. What else was new? Well, there was the fact that a man dressed in a black robe was waiting for them at the end of the hallway. The four of them darted towards him, glowering. A man in a black robe only meant that he was another member of that weird association.

"Who are you?" Sora called.

"That's no way to greet a stranger, Sora," the tall man answered, "I am Vexen. I've come to collect your debt."

"Gawrsh, do you owe him something?" Goofy asked.

"Of course not!"

"Oh, but you do. You owe me for reuniting you with your former friend," Vexen hinted.

"Former friend?" Sora asked, his eyes growing wide with shock, "You don't mean…"

"Yes. I am the one who brought Riku to you."

"You must be the one who's been controlling him!" Akyra concluded, "What have you done with him?"

Vexen smiled a pitifully evil smile and summoned his weapon. The room suddenly seemed much colder than before.

"I see no need to tell you. Why trouble in your final moments?"

"Splendid! As expected, you don't die so easily," Vexen said after a quick yet brutal battle. The group managed to pull through and emerge victorious from the battle.

"As if we'd ever lose to you!" Sora yelled, tying to make a point.

"You'll yet have your chance," Vexen explained, "As we fought, I delved deep into your memory... and look what I found. This is a card crafted from memories locked in the other side of your heart. If you want to fight me for real, then step into the world within this card!"

Vexen summoned a card in a plume of darkness and tossed it to Sora, who easily caught it. He grinned evilly at the group and vanished, leaving them with their confused thoughts.

"Come back!" Donald quacked loudly, running around in circles where Vexen once stood. Sora, on the other hand, looked at the world card intently. It resembled every other card he owned but it still seemed as if he had never seen it before.

"Other side?" he asked himself, "What's he talking about?"

"Is it just me, or has Vexen finally lost it?" Larxene asked in her usual, apathetic tone of voice, "Now he's done something REALLY rash...What now, Axel? The show's over if Sora finds out about the other side."

Axel thought quickly, not letting any time for this problem to grow. "If he just passes through without catching on, we can patch things up later. But if not..."

"Let Naminé handle this," Marluxia commanded, "In the meantime, Axel, you know what to do."

"No, I don't," he answered, cocking an eyebrow, "Maybe you could spell it out for me."

"Rid us of our traitor."

"Done," he said simply, walking towards the exit of the room, "There's no taking that order back later."

The four friends stood in front of the door that would bring them to other worlds. They were always eager to see what the next world had in store for them but this time… they were just worried.

"A card made of memories from the other side of your heart...I wonder what it does?" Jiminy thought out loud.

"Only one way to find out. Besides, it's the only card we have left," Sora concluded, raising the card up high in front of the door. A familiar bright light engulfed them as the door opened, opening up a pathway for them to an unknown world.

KHA: Rid them of their traitor... Ooooh... What will happen next? You''l have to wait. HAHA!
Akyra: What is it with you and hair gel?
KHA: Read my profile. O.o Not explaining it.
Roxas: It's finished!
Akyra: Roxas... you dyed your hair pink.
Roxas: Yeah, doesn't it look sassy? XD
Everyone: O.o