Chapter 28: Of Mice, Magicians and Mad Doctors

A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix. I do not own Mickey Mouse or related characters. Nor do I own Donald Duck or his related characters either. They are the property of the Walt Disney Company.

Lea chewed his lip as he stroked Xion's hair. The little girl—and being physically a teenager be darned, she was a little girl—was breathing deeply into his chest. She wasn't crying. Not yet. But it was a close thing. Lea exhaled sharply and hoped that Xion wasn't picking up the tension in his own heart.

This was not fair. It was not fair for Yen Sid and King Mickey to be so harsh towards Xion. No matter how nicely they had said it, they had implied that she had a piece of Xehanort's heart in her own. How many times had he heard Xion wake up from nightmares, crying or screaming? Or finding her curled up on the couch, instead of in her bed? Xion had had a piece of Xehanort's heart wedged up in her own already. But that was history, ancient history now.

"You doing alright, kiddo?"

"Fine," Xion said weakly. It was a lie. A blatantly obvious lie. But it was something that she clearly wanted desperately to be true. Lea could feel her inhaling and exhaling. Oh man, oh man, oh man.

Roxas, for his part, was silent. He put a hand on Xion's shoulder and squeezed it gently. Xion seemed to like that—Lea could feel the tension in her shoulders slacken. Okay, things couldn't be too bad if Roxas was still able to connect to her like that. Ven was standing a little ways back, and man, was it weird not seeing a smile on his face. Oh, and that dog Pluto kept nuzzling at Xion. Xion did seem to like that and come to think of it, animals did seem to like her quite a bit.

Lea wasn't sure how long he held Xion to his chest, but he didn't particularly care. He was here now. He had screwed things up epically back in the Organization, but that was ancient history. He was here now, and he was never going to let her go.

The thought occurred to Lea that he had felt this sentiment with such frequency over the last few weeks that it might be cause for concern. Or…an excuse not to let Xion go, which frankly was a principal Lea could live with.

"Roxas? Xion? Do ya have a minute? There's something I think I should talk to ya about…"

Lea gave a curt nod to King Mickey. The little mouse walked up carefully, and stared at them with those huge eyes of his.

"Your Majesty," Xion said, sliding out of Lea's grip and bowing to him. "I'm sorry if…you didn't want Axel—er, Lea—to talk about what you discussed in the library, but…well…"

"No, no," King Mickey shook his head. "It's better you know now. And I'm the one who should be saying 'sorry.' It wasn't fair of me to try and keep it from you."

"It's not true!" Roxas said firmly. "It's not true, your Majesty. There isn't any bit of Xehanort in Xion's heart."

Okay, if Lea was being honest with himself, theoretically, it could technically be possible, since Xion had gotten stuck in Roxas's heart and Roxas wound up stuck inside Sora. And occasionally, flashes of their personalities had poked out from Sora. That said, that had usually happened in Twilight Town, where Roxas and Xion had felt the most at home. It would make sense for bits of them to shine through there.

But not a single time in the last two months had Lea seen even the teeniest, tiniest bit of anything that wasn't Xion. Her timid nature when talking to superiors, her quiet resignation to people treating her badly, her determination to help as many people as possible, her addiction to ice cream. The near-constant bowing to authority figures was new, but Lea was damned sure that didn't come from Xehanort. And what about that big fight in the Keyblade War, them against all those damn Armored Replicas? Wouldn't they have sensed another who had Xehanort's heart inside of them?

"I didn't really think it myself," King Mickey said. "Master Yen Sid was saying that it was possible. Part of it is that there's still so much we don't really understand about Replicas…and well, your powers are kind of scary, Xion."

That was probably the whole mordite sword thing again. Considering King Mickey was capable of far more powerful magic than Lea would dare to use in even the most dire situations—he had heard Mickey cry out "Ultima!" against Xehanort after the bastard had shattered Kairi—he was one to talk about "scary powers." Lea bit back his retort. It wouldn't be worth the confrontation.

"What's to understand?" Ven asked. "I know it's not really my business, but Roxas and Xion are still people. So what if their bodies were made in a lab? It's not anything new, really."

"What do ya mean?" King Mickey said. "Ven, this is very new."

"Is it?" Ven asked. "This reminds me of this alien I met once. This little blue creature…I guess he was a genetic experiment that had been built by another alien. Well, that's what Terra said anyway. Experiment 626 had been built in a lab, but he was alive and I'm certain he had his own heart. Doesn't sound that different from Replicas to me."

"Really?" King Mickey said. "Well, that's really interesting!"

"That sounds…familiar," Xion said quietly. "I think…I think Sora might have met him. In Radiant Garden."

"Now that you mention it," Lea said, "I did see some little blue…thing fighting that army of Heartless. But I figured he was one of yours, your Majesty."

"Hmmm…" King Mickey said. "I'll be sure to ask Donald and Goofy about it. They'd remember something like that."

"Is there anything else?" Roxas said. "It's getting kind of late. Should we be getting home?"

"Oh," King Mickey said. "Do stay the night. It's no bother at all, and I think a good night rest would do ya all some good."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't nearly that late from Lea's perspective. Sure, it was evening here, but different worlds had different times, and it could take a while to adjust. They had left Land of Dragons close to mid-day, but they hadn't spent nearly as much time in the Gummi Ship as they usually did, since Xion had found out the Winner sticks were effectively instantaneous teleportation machines. It was probably mid-afternoon at the latest.

"It's fine, your Majesty," Lea said. "We do have a home of our own to get to."

"Well…alright," King Mickey said. "But do be safe out there, and if you need anything, Donald and Goofy and I will be right there to help ya. Just say the word."

"Yeah, you got it," Lea said. Beside him, Roxas and Xion gave fervent nods. Ven nodded too, and then made a face as if he only just remembered he didn't actually live with the rest of them. Hehehe, classic Ven.

"And there is one other thing—Master Yen Sid wants ya to go to his Tower as soon as possible. Says he's gonna talk to the Good Fairies about fixin' Xion some new clothes."

Oh, right. Xion's robe was…well, still functional, but with it missing a sleeve, it would lose most of its effectiveness. And Lea knew from experience that once tears started in those robes, they tended to be really hard to fix.

Okay, so they'd head out to the Tower and then they'd head on home, and Lea could take a long overdue nap, and the kiddos could have a day off.

oooo

Mickey exhaled deeply as he saw Roxas and Axel and Xion fly away on their ship. Technically, they could have taken the train—Yen Sid's train served as a gateway to Disney Castle and to Twilight Town. But Axel said he wanted them to take a little extra time, and that Master Yen Sid wasn't going anywhere. Fair enough, Mickey guessed. Axel probably wanted the extra time to calm down a bit more too.

Mickey slowly walked back to his chambers. Ven had talked Aqua and Terra into exploring the rides of Disney Town—and they were certainly a treat at night—so now Mickey was back with the four who had been with him from the very beginning. Donald and Daisy. Goofy. And of course, Minnie.

"Do ya think they're going to be okay?" Goofy asked. "They've been through an awful lot."

"We all need to make sacrifices to keep others safe," Minnie said quietly. "And that includes them."

"Yeah…" Goofy said. "I guess."

Mickey stared at his old friend. Goofy had been by his side for decades. And he had sacrificed just about everything for him. They had run a farm together, with Donald, in Happy Valley. And then they had been musketeers together, which was where they had met Minnie, and Goofy had kept it up, serving in the Royal Guard. Good ol' Goofy had fought in every war that Disney Castle had had for many years, and eventually he had put down his sword and picked up a shield. Mickey had never figured out what precisely it was that had made Goofy dislike weapons so much. He decided it wasn't fair of him to ask.

What did Goofy think of this? This newest war with lines between life and death being crossed? He had a soft spot for the children, but then, Goofy had always been good at that. He'd done a great job raising Max.

"I must say I am concerned, though," Minnie said. She walked over to the window, where the others had left in their Gummi Ship. "I know they say they want to help…but I can't help but wonder…"

"Wonder what?" Daisy asked. "What's worrying you?"

"Maybe Master Yen Sid is right," Minnie said quietly. "Maybe those children…are susceptible to darkness."

"No," Donald said. "That's not true at all."

Mickey had always known Donald to have a quick temper—he could get mad like nobody else (though nobody else had his bad luck either)—but this was something he hadn't seen in a very long time. Donald was absolutely loyal to him and Minnie, and only twice ever had Donald disobeyed Mickey's orders—and both times had been to protect Sora. Beyond that, his temper aside, Donald had been with him even longer than Goofy had.

"I don't mean to say that they're looking for trouble," Minnie said. "Far from it, I don't remember the last time I saw anyone more committed to trying to do good in the world. But…they were part of that awful Organization, weren't they?"

"Yeah…but you can't judge 'em for that," Goofy said. "They didn't know any better."

"But because of the Organization, you two were captured," Daisy said. "We forgot all about you, for a whole year. Do you know what it was like? When we suddenly remembered you? Even if the children didn't know about that, they were working for the people who did do it. And that's only the start of what they did."

Donald and Goofy both looked at each other and looked embarrassed. Mickey closed his mouth. He had had to be in hiding for that whole year, trying to track down what the Organization was doing, with Sora's memories. He still wasn't entirely sure how Xion fit into everything. There were supposed to be thirteen members of the Organization and Mickey had had them all counted during that year Sora, Donald and Goofy were asleep, ad Axel and Isa were quick to change the subject whenever Mickey tried to ask about it.

Mickey sighed deeply. He wished Sora was here. It'd be a lot easier if Sora were here to take charge. Sora was so full of love and light, and Roxas and Xion were devoted to him, like he was their big brother.

Or if Riku were here, things might also be different. Riku was one of Mickey's very best friends. Calm and collected, and having completely mastered using the powers of darkness without succumbing to it. Riku's powerful, resilient heart might be just the thing. If Xion and Roxas struggled with darkness, then who better than the one who had fallen to darkness and redeemed himself to show them the way to tame darkness if they were to use it at all?

This, of course, was based on the idea that Roxas and Xion would have real struggles with darkness in the first place. Being able to wield weapons and cast spell that they probably shouldn't wasn't the same thing as actually using 'em in the first place. And come to think of it, that was really something that Mickey ought to remember. He had his own powers he used only in the most desperate situations—and Donald knew spells that were easily as dangerous as mordite, even if he never dared to use them.

He would wait then. Wait and see what happened. And try to figure out just what was going on around the worlds, before sending Roxas and Xion and Axel off again.

oooo

Master Yen Sid closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. For the moment, it was quiet in his study. He had returned to his tower, through the connections via Disney Castle. The young Keybearers would be arriving soon, for parameters to be set in regards to their training, as well as to be given appropriate garments. For the moment, though, it was quiet and that gave him time to think. He had many regrets.

Lea's hostility towards him was not unexpected, though Master Yen Sid was thankful his pupil had thus far maintained his temper. When Lea had first approached him, desperate to do whatever it would take in order to help his friends, Master Yen Sid had been somewhat doubtful as to whether when, or if, he would be able to summon a Keyblade. In his own archives, there were countless accounts who had been granted the ability to wield a Keyblade through the traditional ceremonies, though it had taken years for them to be able to do so.

And what of the friendship Lea shared with the children? It was quite curious—setting aside Roxas and Xion's creation being less than two years previous, Lea was approximately a decade their senior, developmentally. But the bond they shared was unlike any he had seen. Unlike, say, Sora who drew his strength from his bonds of friendship, the three of them appeared to draw their very existence from it. And given the nature of Nobodies, such a description was apt. It was not so long ago that Master Yen Sid had been under the belief that Nobodies, and Replicas, were incapable of genuine emotion. The friendship Lea shared with Roxas and Xion was as sharp a retort to that assumption as any he could think of. Such friendship was certainly not to be overlooked.

But then…Xehanort had once been his friend too. From adolescence, he had grown up with Yen Sid and Eraqus, studying the ways of the Keyblade, learning from a Master who had been like a father to all of them. So many nights watching Xehanort and Eraqus played their many, many games of chess—as well as games that Eraqus made up on the spot, always trying to best Xehanort and never succeeding. Experimenting with new ways to cast magic, and creating their own spells by combining the elements they had affinity for. Countless hours they spent pouring over the old legends of the countless worlds in the Master's tomes. Watching in growing alarm as Xehanort became more and attracted to darkness as the years went by…

And in his foolishness, Master Yen Sid had hesitated. If anything, that was far too kind a term. He had done nothing, knowing that Xehanort was experimenting with foul magic of the darkest kind. Powers that went into direct conflict with what their own Master had been so careful to instruct to them. He had said consequence when Xehanort had actually taken their Master's Keyblade without permission. He had done nothing when Xehanort began to forgo using his armor to travel the Lanes Between, thereby exposing his heart to darkness. Years and years went by, and he had done nothing, even when the child Xehanort had taken for a student had perished. More years went by, and Eraqus was scarred by Xehanort and his delusions of a Keyblade War. And then later still, when Eraqus's star flickered away, and Master Aqua and Terr and Ven were all lost. And when the stars began twinkling out…Yen Sid had stayed within his Tower. Perhaps, if he had taken more immediate action, there would have been fewer left to suffer.

It was not something Master Yen Sid liked to think about. Was that why, now, he was so prudent with regards to the young wielder Xion? Her replication powers, her ability to create a copy of any weapon she held, offered near limitless possibilities. Not in mere strength but in sheer versatility, it was not out of the question that she might tap into powers that had not been observed in many, many years. Powers that…might be best left forgotten.

It was not that he distrusted her. Far from it, though he had spent relatively little time with Xion, the impression he got was that she was earnestly trying to do the best job she could. Her sincerity was without question and such diligence was an admirable quality. But diligence without discipline could be dangerous. If she worked hard, she may find herself venturing into areas she shouldn't. Sloth was certainly something that Master Yen Sid would never encourage, but knowing when one should stop was equally important.

Of first priority, however, was ensuring that Xion and the others had proper equipment. Lea had taken to wearing the clothing prepared by the Good Fairies, and it would protect him not only from the corroding effects of darkness, but also endure far more damage than ordinary clothing would. Roxas and Xion had worn the robes they'd been given in the Organization—such garments were also effective in shielding one from darkness, but Xion's robes in particular were damaged beyond repair. Thus, the need for new clothing. And perhaps…Master Yen Sid felt a rush of shame…perhaps, it would allow him to see them as separate from the Organization.

"Master Yen Sid," Flora poked her head out of the chamber. "Are the children here yet? I was so hoping to see them."

"Patience, Flora," Master Yen Sid said quietly. "They will be here in due time."

Time, outside of its magical applications, had always had a rather amusing irony with Master Yen Sid. No sooner had he said this than the Keybearers, along with Isa, arrive at his door. Xion bowed to Master Yen Sid at the waist and then smiled hopefully. Such an innocent smile…though the eyes revealed they had seen more than their share of horrors.

"Good evening, Xion. Roxas, Lea, Isa."

"King Mickey sent us here," Lea said. "Said that you were having the fairies make a new jacket for Xion?"

Strictly speaking, while a jacket would be practical, in terms of durability and usefulness in combat, Master Yen Sid did not have guidelines for the Good Fairies when it came to actually making the clothing. Whatever they decided for Xion—and quite possibly Roxas as well, as he had heard the Fairies' whispered conversations regarding them both—was largely the Fairies' own business.

"Perhaps a jacket. Perhaps not, I must confess I certainly have no idea," Master Yen Sid said. "But they're waiting for you in the chamber."

He gestured towards it, and Xion gave another pronounced bow, before scurrying into the chamber. Roxas took a single step forward, as if to follow her, and then deciding not to. Lea walked up to one of his walls and leaned against it. Isa examined the books lining the shelves on the wall. Master Yen Sid said nothing. He would wait.

oooo

"Why, look who's here, dears! It's nice to meet you, Xion!"

Xion stared at the woman, who was a bit shorter than her, dressed all in red. Beside her were two other women, one dressed in blue and the other in green. They all had graying hair—though the one in blue had by far the fewest gray strands. Xion blinked. There was something about these women, who seemed very nice, that wasn't quite…human. It was a funny thing to think about. She realized that these must be the three Good Fairies.

"You know my name?" Xion asked, blushing. "Oh, wait…manners. It's nice to meet you as well."

"Such a sweet child," The fairy in red said. "Now, Master Yen Sid said that you'll be needing new clothes. He was most certainly right about that! Just look at the state of your coat!"

"Well…um…yeah…" Xion rubbed her bare arm. It wasn't painful to touch anymore, but it did feel kind of weird to basically have a one-sleeved robe. She couldn't fight in this. But what were these ladies going to do?

"Now then, hold still," The lady in green said, with a bit of a laugh in her voice. "This won't hurt, but it might tickle a bit."

She waved her wand and Xion saw a flash of green light shoot out the end. It struck her in the chest half a second later. It didn't hurt and it barely tickled.

She glanced at her clothes. It was…not exactly what she had it mind. It was an evening gown, dark green, with lace trim. It reached to the floor and…wait a second, had they changed her shoes too? Xion had been wearing heeled boots when she entered the chamber, and now…what were these, silken slippers?

"Um…" Xion said. "Thank you?"

Really, the clothes weren't bad. The slippers were actually more comfortable than the boots. They just weren't really fighting clothes—or any sort of clothes you could wear outdoors—but Xion didn't want to hurt the nice lady's feelings. Master Yen Sid would get angry…and that would be bad.

"Fauna, that's not right for her at all!" The shortest fairy, the one dressed in blue, said with a pout. "That's something for Briar Rose!"

"Who's Briar Rose?" Xion asked. "Is she a friend?"

"A very dear friend, but that's a story for another day," The woman in red said. "But I must agree, that gown simply won't do at all."

She waved her wand and a beam of pink light hit Xion. The gown and slippers poofed away and Xion gasped in shock. She was wearing clothes exactly like Kairi's. The same hooded jacket, the same odd half-skirt. Even the boots were the same.

"My goodness! Don't you look just like Kairi!"

Xion felt her stomach leap into her throat. Just like Kairi. Kairi, the girl whose face she had copied by her very existence. Kairi, the girl she had fought in the Graveyard. Kairi, the girl who she had helped Xehanort kill. Shatter. Kill. The lump in her throat had to be the size of a Grandstander ball. Xion could hardly breathe and tears formed in her eyes. But these clothes were a gift…

"That's not right either!" The shortest woman said. "You can't just copy Kairi, because she looks like her! At the very least, make it blue!"

Just as she said this, the door to the chamber opened up, and Isa stepped into the room, tall and serious-looking.

"Xion, are you alright?" Isa said. "We heard a—gah!"

The spell hit him in the chest, and his entire coat turned blue, matching the stripes on the sleeves of his coat. It actually didn't look bad at all. A moment later, one of the fairies cast a spell and restored his coat back to normal.

"Xion?" Roxas poked his head out from behind Isa's back. Xion blushed deeply as Roxas stepped into the chamber.

"Oh, Roxas too! What a treat!" Fauna said. "Flora, Merryweather, shall we help him as well?"

"Just a sec," Roxas said. "I don't want to get the same clothes Sora did!"

"What?" The woman in red said—Flora, was it? "Oh no, no, no. Merryweather is quite right. That won't do for you at all. And doubly for you, Xion. Kairi's clothes don't suit you, but they're still better than that black robe."

Xion didn't say anything as the women whispered to one another. She felt her ears begin to burn. This wasn't going how she thought it would…though come to think of it, she hadn't really thought about how this was gonna go. She'd been more worried about making a good impression for Master Yen Sid.

"Yes, that's what we'll do," Merryweather said. "Now hold still!"

All three of them pointed their wands at Xion and there were several flashes of color. Xion shut her eyes as the spells hit—okay, that one did tickle a bit—and could hear Roxas call out, though he didn't sound very alarmed.

"There now, that's much better, don't you think?"

Slowly, Xion opened her eyes. She wasn't wearing clothes that matched Kairi's any more. She had pants, silvery-grey with a white stripe on either leg, kind of like the stripes on Isa's coat. There was a little skirt there too, and a large pouch to hold things. A short-sleeved jacket, kind of like Axel's, only dark purple, over a shirt that was the exact shade of blue of the orb in her necklace. Xion placed her hand to her neck—her necklace was still there. The boots were more or less the same as Kairi's, but that was alright—they were big and thick-soled and good for running or walking in rough terrain.

"Lookin' good!" Axel said, poking his head in. "I see you're now a member of the Awesome Jacket Club."

"These clothes are enchanted, much like your friend Lea's," Flora said. "They will shield you from the corroding effects of darkness. And they will not tear or burn nearly so easily."

"Thank you," Xion said, finding her voice again. "This was very kind of you."

"You're very welcome," Flora said. "After everything you Keybearers have done for the worlds, helping you is the least we can do!

"Do stay in touch, won't you?" Fauna said. "We hear so little from our dear Briar Rose, and it would be lovely to have someone to talk to again.."

Guilt filled Xion's insides. Hadn't she promised she'd keep in touch with Granny? And now they were almost home, and she hadn't done so much as start a letter. But that was something she could fix. As soon as she had a chance, she would be sure to write the nice fairies a letter.

"Sure thing," Axel called from the door. "We'll be sure to do that."

Xion bowed to the three fairies—they looked quite surprised at being bowed to—and then followed Roxas and Isa and Axel out of the chamber. She bowed again to Master Yen Sid, who said he would send missives with instructions on combat techniques that were more traditional than they were accustomed to. Axel nodded to that, and led them back to their Gummi Ship.

As the ship flew away, Xion felt oddly home-sick. That was funny—they were on their way home now. She'd ask Axel about that in the morning…or maybe on the Clock Tower when they watched the sunset.

oooo

Ugh…this had to be the creepiest of all the creepy castles that Pete had ever been to. And that included the creepy castle in Hollow Bastion. Or was it Radiant Garden now? Stupid worlds always changin' their stupid names. And Maleficent had sent him to see the man who lived in the creepy castle—Doctor XXX.

Doctor XXX's castle was almost entirely a super scary evil laboratory, kind of like that Ansem guy over in Radiant Garden. Were all creepy castles laboratories? Nah, Maleficent's castle had been plenty creepy and it didn't have no laboratory. It didn't even have electricity.

As soon as Pete closed the door to Doctor XXX's castle it locked up a whole bunch of locks all by itself. Not that that mattered, since Pete didn't need a door, he could open up a Dark Corridor and go anywhere he wanted. But still, it was like them doors and locks had minds of their own.

There were lots of creepy shadows in the castle. Some of them were even the Heartless type. And there were lots of them weird skeletons all moving around. And the stairs creaked really loud as Pete walked up, and the bannister thingy went all bendy.

Eventually, Pete found his way to the biggest room in the castle, in the basement, where the scary doctor was standing over one of those wheelie-beds from hospitals. A skeleton was lying on it, all strapped in.

"You requested to meet with me?" Doctor XXX asked, not even looking up from his work. He wasn't as big as Pete, but he was still bigger than most of the folks in this world. "I am very busy, as you can see."

"Yeah," Pete said. "Maleficent sent me to talk to ya. Says you're the best when it comes to making dead things alive again."

"That's one word for what I do," Doctor XXX said. "There are many, many things for which science has allowed me to reach. I have examined flesh and skin and bone to see what'd feed a leech."

Oh yeah, Pete had forgotten that Doctor XXX had that stupid habit of talking in rhyme no matter what he did. A stupid habit from a psycho-y scientist with a stupid name. Pete didn't like it here at all.

"Look, are you gonna help Maleficent or not?"

"Help the one who opposes the King, why that is just the thing!" Doctor XXX said with a cackle. "For once, within my house, I was invaded by that mouse and he took back his doggy buddy, when I needed it for study."

"Yeah, yeah," Pets said, crossing his arms. "Good to have ya aboard, then. You'll be working with a bunch of people, but yer answering to Maleficent and me, Captain Pete."

Pete jabbed himself in the chest for emphasis and the mad doctor nodded real hard.

"Help you, I will, and harness my hate," Doctor XXX said. "And none too soon, as it is getting late!"

A/N: Another chapter is completed, my dear readers. This came out quite a bit quicker than I anticipated. What can I say? I love writing *Rise Above the X.*

With regards to Xion's new clothing, I'm sure there's some fan-art out there that has Xion wear something somewhat like this, but I want to emphasize that I did not deliberately copy anyone's designs.

The Sea Salt Trio (and Isa) back in Twilight Town for at least a little while, my friends.

Thank you for reading! Leave a comment if you're so inclined! I appreciate each and every one of you.