A/N: More machinations at Castle Oblivion! I do wonder who you are rooting for- the familiar characters of Organization XIII, or the traitors and their human co-conspirator? I like tough questions like these. Enjoy, my readers!

Scene 30: Abrupt Betrayal

Namine… I have to find Namine!

The same thought kept running through Sora's head. He'd come all this way to find (Kairi) Namine, and now he learned that she was in danger.

"Uh, Sora?" Goofy asked timidly. "Are ya sure about this?"

"We can't stop! Not when we're so close!" Sora yelled. "Stay here if you want. I'll be going to Namine with or without you!"

"Hey! That's way out of line!" Donald shouted.

Sora wasn't listening. He was already on his way to the next floor, clutching the paopu fruit charm in one hand. He would not let anyone stop him from saving Namine.

At the same time this was happening, the girl in question was watching with clear guilt on her face.

For as long as she could remember, Namine wanted to leave her tiny world, wanted to get to know people and make friends. But not like this, not by trading one cage for another, and watching Sora lash out against everyone, clearly not in his right mind.

Across from her, Namine could see Jason pacing around, and he wasn't himself either. He kept muttering to himself, "I must do this. I'm the villain."

Namine was helpless — at least, that was what she believed for the longest time. But Jason was always so kind to her, always encouraging her. So if Namine couldn't save herself, she would at least save him.

"This isn't you." Namine said quietly.

The words caused Jason to freeze in place, and he turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"You aren't a bad person. These past few months that we lived at the mansion, you have always looked out for me. You're perceptive of the people around you, you actually see them," Namine said.

"Namine, you don't know the real reason I'm working for the Organization. It's not something as noble as that," Jason said. "I am ruining everything they've planned so I can go home!"

"I know that you're in a desperate situation right now. So you're considering some desperate actions," Namine said. Then she smiled at Jason. "But I believe in you. When it matters the most, I know you'll make the right choice."

"That still doesn't change my…" Then Jason hesitated. Namine's words were taking effect, tugging at the heart inside. "I am so close. Once I see this plan through to the end, I won't have to worry about making choices like this again."

As Jason started pacing again, Namine opened her sketchbook. She had her role in this plan, so for the time being she would demurely follow along.

But only until this scheme finally showed a critical weak point that she could exploit.

The finishing touches were being put on Lexaeus's plan. From his observations, Marluxia was the ringleader behind this treasonous plan, for motives unknown. Larxene was a co-conspirator, and seemed to be the muscle of the group, given her role in Zexion's demise.

Finally, there was Jason. At first, Lexaeus couldn't figure out why he had been recruited into this group. After seeing the human converse with Sora, it clicked into place: this was how they were going to bring the Keyblade Wielder to their side.

Which meant it was clear which of the three needed to be removed first. Lexaeus summoned his ax, then opened a Dark Corridor. He would not allow this madness to continue for any longer than necessary.

"I'm getting exhausted just watching you. Could you stop that already?"

Jason turned at the sound of Larxene's voice. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, just putting in my two cents in pushing that brat towards our side," Larxene said, approaching her partner. "But I found myself missing you, so here I am. You're not going to say that there's something wrong with that, are you?"

"Of course not. After a while in a room this white, I've started to go crazy. A jolt of your electricity might be what I need to get back to my senses," Jason said, grinning.

"I think I could spare a few of my sparks for you," Larxene said, giving Jason a hug from behind. "You know, maybe I've been expecting too much out of you. You are still a human, so it's a miracle that you're still breathing."

"Maybe so, but at this point that's not good enough," Jason said. "If I can't help in the direct effort, I'll do it another way. Where is Sora right now?"

"Getting through the castle pretty fast for a pipsqueak. He's on the tenth floor," Larxene said. "But everything is going according to plan. Are you sure that you won't make things worse?"

"I know what I need to do. It's just a matter of using the information I have… creatively." In the time that Jason had been pacing, he had been thinking of a way to make Sora do what they needed. It was true, Jason had been caught off guard by a lot that had occurred so far.

But now, Jason was finding ways to adapt. If he said just the right words, the plan would be back on track.

"Oh, I like the sound of that. Buuut, Marluxia will be joining you shortly to babysit you. So don't get too much of a swelled head," Larxene said.

"I know, I know. If I get a swelled head, you'll probably puncture it first thing." With that, Jason ran down the stairs, to meet with Sora once again.

As soon as he left, Larxene said, "I know you're there. So get out, before I decide to drag you out the painful way!"

Vexen warped into the room. "That is no way to greet your superior, Number XII. I was going to enlighten you to a report I received, but if that's going to be your attitude, I won't bother."

"Go away, you nasty old man, and take your report with you," Larxene said, turning her nose up at Vexen.

"You are not allowed to so blatantly disrespect me!" Vexen shouted. "Especially since you're merely Number XII! Only Number XIII is lower than you!"

"Don't you dare compare me to that sniveling space case!" Larxene summoned her knives, and attacked Vexen.

In a split second, Vexen summoned his shield, and the knives bounced harmlessly off of them. Then, he smirked malevolently. "You did exactly what I wanted you to do. This will be your last, fatal mistake."

Vexen warped away right after. "Come back you, you old geezer!" Larxene shouted, but to no avail. Then, just as she was about to leave, she sensed a different presence in the room."

"Oh now, what?" Larxene asked, rolling her eyes.

"Now, now, don't bite my head off. It's just me," Axel said, in his usual smooth tone.

"Oh, it's just you," Larxene said, relaxing her guard. "What do you want now?"

"Just letting you know that there is a situation on another floor," Axel said. "I believe Marluxia was on his way to help out the kid. But he ran into some trouble from your mutual enemies."

"Are you serious? I guess nothing can go right, can it?" Larxene heaved a dramatic sigh. "I'll go fix this mess too."

Larxene warped away from the room. Right after she left, Axel said, "Forgive me, Larxene." Then he looked in Namine's direction. "We need to talk."

Jason only made it down one floor when it happened — a giant stone rose up to block the stairs going down, and he barely avoided running into it. In the next second, Lexaeus appeared, with a grim expression on his face.

"This is the end of the line for you, human," Lexaeus said. "You have cowered and schemed your way to this point. But you cannot run anywhere. You have no choice but to face me, right here and now!"

"Could I take a rain check on that? I'm in the middle of —" Jason was cut off by the Nobody summoning more boulders, with several of them scraping his body.

Healing the wounds, Jason followed it up with a blizzard spell. Lexaeus didn't even attempt to dodge, and the spell hit to no effect.

At this point, Jason would find somewhere to hide- but this was a small, square, and open room with both exits sealed. There was nowhere he could go that would not be in Lexaeus's view.

He's created a situation where I'm cornered no matter what I do. Axel was right, Lexaeus is truly cunning.

Another thing became clear: Winning the fight was impossible. Jason's magic reserves would deplete before he could inflict any serious harm on Lexaeus. And the Nobody could crush him in a second if he managed to catch Jason.

So while there was nowhere to run, Jason ran anyway. He ran in the most unpredictable ways he could imagine, while keeping his eye on Lexaeus. The Nobody showed no outward reaction, but kept summoning rocks to block Jason's way. Eventually, there was nowhere to go- Jason had his back against a stone slab while Lexaeus advanced on him.

"So this is all that you amount to in the end. You will be wiped from existence, just like a Nobody. Just like Zexion. "

Lexaeus raised his ax, and slashed it towards Jason. At the last second Jason rolled aside, and the ax collided with the stone wall.

Jason put some distance between them before facing Lexaeus again.

"It seems like you still have the smallest will to live. But where are you planning to run?" Lexaeus asked.

"Nowhere. Lightning!" Jason fired his spell at Lexaeus, and it flew around the Nobody. A cracking sound followed, and the wall of stone started to fall.

If this had happened a mere minute ago, it would have fallen on top of Jason. But since he'd switched places with Lexaeus…

"Hmph. How annoying." In the next second, the stone wall crashed onto Lexaeus.

In the midst of all this chaos, Marluxia arrived. "I see you wasted no time in picking a fight with the most powerful Nobody you could find."

"There's no time for us to talk! Get me out of here before he turns me in to paste!" Jason exclaimed urgently.

"Very well. We have more important matters to attend." Marluxia opened a Corridor, and Jason rushed into it. Marluxia followed, leaving Lexaeus to pick himself out of the rubble.

The Nobody got on his feet, no worse for wear. A Dusk Nobody appeared in front of him with a report.

"So the vessel for Ansem has almost reached the first floor. Then I will take it upon myself to give the darkness inside of him that final push. And the next time I encounter the human… he shall not be so lucky."

"It seems our enemies are making their move. I was held up by Vexen, and he talked with Larxene earlier. To think that you'd manage to survive as long as you did. You are lucky."

"Can everyone stop being surprised by my continued existence? It's starting to get demoralizing," Jason said.

"That you have kept any motivation is a minor miracle in itself." Marluxia said. "What will you do from here? I admit, I am observing you with great interest. Especially because your next performance is coming up."

Just as Marluxia said it, Sora appeared before them.

"Hello again, Sora. So, how has your visit to Castle Oblivion been treating you so far?" Jason asked.

"I've forgotten a lot. But I've also learned a lot. Like how important Namine is," Sora said, clutching his hand to his chest.

"There is also Riku, of course. Your dear friend," Marluxia said. "He is fighting his own private battle. But his strength is not limitless. Before long, he could fall…"

"Is that supposed to be a threat?!" A fierce glare came over Sora's face.

"No, it's a warning." Jason got a bolt of inspiration. "Our mutual enemy is looking to stop our plan by any means. I suspect that they will attack even Riku to accomplish that aim."

The glare worsened, and Sora's fists started trembling. "So Riku is here, and he could be in danger. But… why should I believe what you're saying?"

"Because I have your best intentions in heart. I only want for us to help each other," Jason said, putting on a friendly smile.

"That's not what Namine said," Sora said, to Jason's great surprise. "We talked not too long ago. She said that Marluxia and Larxene would not have my best interests at heart. In fact, they don't even have hearts!"

When did you do this, Namine? More importantly, why would you do this?

"I am the one talking to you, though. Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?" Jason asked, even as he started sweating.

"If you willingly work with those two, then that means you might be hiding something too. In that case, I won't rely on you to save Riku and Namine!" Sora declared. "I will save them myself!"

Before anyone could stop him, Sora ran up the stairs.

"So it looks our secret weapon has decided to bite the hand that fed her," Marluxia said. Beneath his calm exterior was simmering anger. "This will have to be… dealt with."

"Marluxia, wait!" Jason followed after him. Even after this unexpected backstabbing, Namine's words from earlier floated in his head.

Namine had a plan, and she believed in Jason. He wanted to reciprocate that belief.

A/N: I really enjoy Namine as a character because she has the capacity to make great changes with her words alone. I like showing her strong side. Regardless, next chapter is the end of the first half of this story. See you next time! Please review.