The moment I'd stepped out I felt it—the summons of a meeting. I glanced at my companions, "There is something I must take care of. I'll meet you at the Castle Gates—I'm your ticket in."

At their collective nod I portaled to my seat in Where Nothing Gathers, summoning my cloak on the way. "Welcome, XVI." Xemnas nodded to me, "How faires the mission?"

"The final phase is nearly upon us, Superior. As we speak, the Denizens of Light are fighting their way through Neon Town. I will lead them through the Castle and to the Altar of Naught, where we will begin Plan Judgment Day."

"Only five of us left, then? Seems we're getting a lot more free seats." Xigbar frowned from his throne beside Xemnas. Luxord hummed thoughtfully, "Perhaps Axel got something from putting his life on the line."

"Hey, we don't exist! What life is there to put on the line? That goes against the rules of gambling."

"Indeed. Axel put something that didn't exist on the line…and probably won. The bastard was always a cheater."

Despite the harsh words, I knew the two gamblers were always fond of Axel, especially on poker night.

Saïx continued to stare at my left boot expressionlessly, "It doesn't matter. All he got was nothingness. Axel couldn't stand living without his Heart, and was destroyed because of her. He was weak." I bit my tongue, knowing too that Saïx and Axel's Sombodies had been close. Saïx and Xcaiyet never got on too well, either, so the bitterness was understandable.

"But…" Xemnas interrupted, gaining our attention, "Some things awaken through weakness. You see, Axel's death triggered a reaction to Sora's heart. Perhaps he has awakened too."

All eyes fell to the empty throne engraved XIII. I decided to share my information, "Roxas is awake, I know that much. Throughout the mission, he began to merge with Sora. Roxas chose to help me, his Wisdom Form was with me instead through quite a lot of the journey. But when I gave the Keybearer the Nothingness Drive, Roxas completed—and is very much active within Sora's subconscious. I've only yet Fused once, but I'm confidant that future use will prompt XIII to fully awaken."

"It was a bold gamble. What would you have done had it not worked so spectacularly?" Saïx asked. I allowed myself a smirk, "Never underestimate the powers of a Heart, VII. A pre-existing connection—one forged through years' worth of friendship—is more than enough to trigger rememberance. It worked for the Keybearer himself, if you'd recall—the Princess of Heart triggered the memories within the Heartless, and in turn, so did my continual presence. Axel's fading will no doubt only speed up the process."

"Indeed," Xemnas nodded. He waved a gloved hand, "XVI, you are dismissed. Continue the mission under Radio Silence. Do not RTC until Judgment Day."

Nodding in understanding I portaled back into Neon Town, only to feel a sudden lurch mid-portal.

As though returning to the Chamber of Waking, I was suddenly weightless. I stared down at a stained glass platform of simple design—the third I'd seen in my last travels to the world. It only had two circles—a large Nobody symbol surrounded by eighteen roman numerals. Where only a few had been scuffed out last time, only six numerals remained unscratched. I, II, VII, X, XIII, XVI—all that was left of the grand Organization XIII.

As I drifted closer I quickly realized that there were two people fighting—Sora and Roxas. Roxas pounded relentlessly on Sora's Keyblade with what I thought to be Oblivion and Oathkeeper—but as I drifted closer still, I quickly realized my assumption was wrong. Their designs were perfect replicas to that of Oblivion and Oathkeeper—were it not the coloring.

Oblivion was a dark, forest green in color, the 'wings' of the hand guards lighter minty shades. The keychain wasn't the black crown I'd seen before, but—to my plesant surprise—the translucent green orb from the Five Souls trophy I'd given Roxas so long ago.

Oathkeeper was far darker, tinted in shades of black and blood red—I quickly realized that this, too, had a different keychain as well. Rather than the Wayfinder from Kairi, this keychain was the black-and-red good luck charm back from the Struggle match that seemed to have happened years ago.

Red for courage, black for stability….

Sora dropped to one knee, bringing my attention back to the fight itself, and lost his grip on his blade. He scrambled for it, but Roxas pinned the fallen blade with one of his own. I landed soundlessly on the platform at last, running up to the two of them, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Aanyx?"

"Stay out of this, Aan. It's not your fight."

But Sora took advantage of the distraction, summoning his blade to him and slicing Roxas once across the chest.

"NO!"

I shoved the Somebody aside as the Nobody fell to his knees, hood falling. Skidding to my knees beside him I looked the blonde in the eyes worriedly, "…Roxas…?"

The boy seemed a million miles off, a single tear falling from his eye. He closed them for a few moments before seeming to come back to reality, healing the wound on his chest wordlessly.

"So he really is gone…" I heard him mutter before looking at me. I did the only thing I could think to do—I hugged the boy.

Roxas chuckled and released me as we stood a moment later—he seemed to be back to normal again. Sora held out a hand, utterly unsure of what to do, but Roxas smiled at his Somebody and clapped the latter on the shoulder, light engulfing us.

"You make a good Other…"

And then it was just Sora and I, back in Neon Town. But I could feel Roxas' strength from Sora. I knew I would see him again, and so I wouldn't say goodbye.

Because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting.

And I would never, ever forget again.