Welcome back! This is a short chapter, but it has plenty of drama, and I need something to get my momentum back up. I hope you enjoy!

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Unforgettable

Chapter XXV

Reality Check

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"The Project did quite well, Master. It should help quite a bit in our plans."

"Ah, so Lumaria's machinations weren't a fallacy. I suggest we give it it's true name, now that we know it works."

"I think the Project works just fine."

"Are you afraid it will go the way of Xion? Because don't worry about that. Naming something does not make it animate. Boats have names."

"If it started considering itself a person rather than a thing…"

"You worry yourself far too much, Isa. Even if it did develop its own identity, I would have not only accounted for that, but worked it into a scheme even greater than the original."

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The digital version of Castle Oblivion, despite having more people in it, somehow felt even lonelier than the real one.

Lea walked down the empty halls, with Mickey tagging close behind. It annoyed him a bit that Data Roxas hadn't dropped them a little closer to their destination, but he figured that was probably because of the whole 'Real Thing' deal. He would just have to prove to him that he wasn't out to get him.

Finally, they reached the double doors to the pod room. Roxas was already waiting for them. He had his hood up as usual, and he mostly didn't look like he was about to decapitate a Real Thing and mount their head on the wall. Mostly. Lea signaled Mickey to stay outside, then shut the doors behind him. He had already decided that this would be a private conversation, and besides, if Roxas was going to decapitate anyone, it was going to be the mouse who he thought was trying to kidnap his girlfriend.

Lea sighed and turned to Roxas. "Hey. It's been a while."

Roxas gave the impression of rolling his eyes without actually doing so—one of Saix's old tricks, actually. "We've never actually met before."

"But you have the memories, right? I think that counts."

Roxas turned to the center pod, as if it where the person speaking to him. "Those are the shattered memories of someone who exists no more. I am all that remains of Roxas now."

Lea shrugged. "So, for all intents and purposes, you are Roxas."

"No. I'm fake. I'm an impostor." Roxas stared to the right, like he was about to turn around. "You Real Things take your own existence for granted. Only you get to do that."

Lea shook his head. "Not when you've been a Nobody, you don't."

"At least you can actually hold Nobodies. I'm just zeroes and ones."

Lea walked up to him, cautiously laying a hand on his shoulder. "I can hold zeroes and ones."

Roxas jerked away. "Only Xion gets to touch me. Understood?"

Lea sighed and nodded. "Speaking of which…can I see her? Please?"

"Why?"

"I want to know how she's doing." Especially with the brain hijacking, he chose not to add.

Roxas was silent for a moment. Then he snapped his fingers. "Come."

Xion appeared in front of them with a smile on her face that looked suspiciously forced. Maybe she was still fighting the control. But how do you fight your own programming? Lea shuddered, then took a deep breath and walked up to her. "Hey…Xion."

Xion made a more genuine smile at the sound of her own name, but it faded quickly and she shank away. "Don't hurt me…"

Lea blinked, then turned to Roxas again. "Did you make her afraid of everyone but you?"

Roxas did the eye-rolling thing again. "That would be idiotic, considering she's surrounded by other people all the time. She just remembers all the bad things you did to her. And I anticipate the bad things that you're going to do to her. You're not very popular, really."

Lea sighed, turned back to Xion and got down to her eye level. "…I'm sorry. About everything."

Xion kept her head down, like a scared little kid. "Even beating me up?"

"Especially beating you up."

"Even saying you hate me?"

Lea blinked. When had he said that? It was the bad memories that were the most vivid, so he probably should have remembered that. Still, he nodded, just in case. "Yes."

"Even tearing my hair out?"

Lea definitely hadn't done that. Lea nodded, which seemed to reassure her, even though she still didn't move, then stood up and turned to Roxas. "Uh…I'm pretty sure I would have remembered tearing her hair out," he whispered.

Roxas stared at Xion, who seemed to have gotten lost in some absent-minded game she was playing with her fingers. "What do you know? Your memories of her are just as wrecked as everyone else's. Even I struggled to hang onto her."

"…Nope, still not ringing a bell."

Roxas sighed and walked over to Xion. "Are you sleepy?" he asked her.

Instantly, Xion dropped her hands to her sides, and her eyes drooped. "Uh-huh…"

"You can sleep."

Xion closed her eyes, and her head dropped. She still had a creepy smile on her face. Roxas walked back to Lea. "Look, you came to talk about it, so whatever. I altered Xion's memories."

Lea's eyes went wide. "You what?!"

"Only to make her happy."

"You made her happy by making her think that I was Saix or something?"

Roxas shrugged. "I was just trying to make sure she knew who not to trust."

Lea stepped back. "Roxas…what are you turning into?"

Roxas spread his hands out in frustration. "Do you think I'm proud of it or something? Because I hate it. But I have to do it to keep her safe. My job is to make her safe and warm and happy, just the way she wants to be." He gestured toward Xion, who was giggling in her sleep. "And I'm doing that job. She's been in a state of constant joy ever since I started this process."

Lea shook his head. "Roxas…I know exactly how you feel. I thought the exact same about you and her back in the Organization. But that's not joy she's feeling."

Roxas scowled. "What do you know?"

"More than you. Didn't you pay attention to her face? That smile looks like someone glued it on. She can't stand it."

"I didn't say she wasn't in a daze. She's really happy, but she doesn't remember how to smile for real."

Lea threw his hands in the air. "Now you're just giving me a bunch of lies! She smiled for real when she heard her name, Roxas. How often do you say her name?"

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "And here I thought you were trying to negotiate with me."

"No, Roxas. I'm giving you a reality check. You're hurting her, and you don't even know it. You need to let her go, right now."

Roxas stepped forward, clenching his fists. "I'm making her happy!"

"You're making her your slave."

"Shut up!"

Lea shook his head again. "That's your favorite line, isn't it? Too bad it usually doesn't have the intended effect."

Xion whimpered, even though her eyes were still closed. "Don't fight," she mumbled. "Please."

Roxas sighed and ran back to her. "I'm just keeping you safe."

"Please, I'm sick, don't fight…"

Roxas blinked. "…You can't get sick, you're data."

"I'm sick, don't fight."

Lea looked at them both. "The fight is making her sick, Roxas."

Roxas hugged her tight, seeming to ignore Lea but still getting it. "We won't fight anymore. Okay?"

Xion raised her voice. "Promise!"

"I promise."

She took a couple deep breaths. "Don't kick him out, either. He likes me."

"I like you, too. A lot."

That's when Xion burst into tears.

Roxas didn't look like he knew what to do. He held her cheeks, trying to wipe the tears away as they flowed. "Hey, hey, don't cry, it's okay, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry…"

The usually comforting words soon grew into begging. Lea closed his eyes. It took a lot to break someone as stubborn as Roxas…but when someone like that did break, they had a tendency to just totally crash like this. Standing too rigid only made falling more painful.

Eventually, Roxas thought to ask the obvious question, since Xion seemed to recovered just barely enough to answer. "You…don't like me?"

Xion shook her head. "I do…but I don't like being controlled…"

At learning that Xion was fully aware that she was under his control, Roxas just locked up completely. Apparently, comprehending that Xion might be upset because of him was his equivalent of one divided by zero.

"I want to go home…"

Roxas turned to Lea, drew his Keyblades like he was about to attack…then stuck them in the ground.

And screamed louder than any scream Lea had ever heard in his entire life.

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As I said, plenty of drama. I've been in the mood for angst ever since this crazy project started… :P

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Chapter 26!