With how Adrian planned his days of training and being in his room, he quickly realized he had no other way of spending time other than waiting. Zexion never accompanied him anywhere, nor was he willing to do anything productive other than working in his place, which Adrian didn't even know where that was, nor what he was doing there.

Tossing his worn ball in his hands, he kept staring at the doors leading out of his room with a contemplating gaze. Sure, he could go to the shooting range again, but that always tired him out extremely quickly. He was sure he spent more time resting than actually getting better, but he had no other choice.

He caught his ball with practiced ease before stuffing it inside his cloak and breathing a sigh. "Whatever."

He opened the doors and decided to explore the castle since he had nothing better to do other than to map the place out. Theoretically, it could prove useful to him down the line, but it was dangerous. He knew that anything could be lurking inside these white halls.

Adrian readied three arrows of light before hanging them on his hip, floating ever-so-slightly next to his person while summoning his bow in the process. He had to be prepared, because if his last few encounters taught him anything, it was that the Nobodies were quick to prey on his heart they lacked.

Picking a random direction, he set off to find anything of interest, maybe a few sights he remembered from the games, if he was lucky enough to find any of them.

As his steps echoed in the corridors with resonating claps, the white hall was still the only thing he was able to find, spamming endlessly before forking into more pathways he could get easily lost in. He was too determined to stop however, and always picked the right path whenever he had to.

The halls didn't lead him anywhere, and seeing them over and over again made him frustrated, as if the place was mocking his attempt at exploration. It boiled down to him kicking a random wall, only for a set of doors shooting wide open under the force and revealing his room.

The dumbfounded look he had was palpable. "What the hell!? Was I walking in circles the whole time?!"

He let out a groan before closing the doors shut with a small bang before resuming his march, still determined enough to find something interesting. It made him put his hand on his chin in thought, hoping to find an answer to how to escape the never-ending halls.

An idea popped in his head before he leaned his hand on the wall and began pushing against it, weakly enough so he could glide his hand along the surface. He was soon rewarded with a noticeable creak, revealing a set of doors that lead him into a dark alleyway with no end in sight.

Adrian gulped before clutching his bow tightly and pressed forward into the darkness.

He wasn't able to make out his surroundings at all, only his loud steps keeping him mild company. His face kept darting around to find something he could focus on. He kept stopping when he heard a small whisper behind his ear, only to feel a small gust of wind pass by.

One could argue he was scared senseless.

He marched on however, until he spotted a single light at the end of the dark tunnel.

He picked up the pace while the light began to grow in size before stepping inside and shielding his eyes. He let out a small groan while his eyes readjusted before opening them, and let out a gasp at the sight in front of him.

Adrian found himself in an open metallic platform that had no railings to keep him from falling. He then spotted several other platforms that were floating in mid-air, seemingly unbothered by gravity.

He tilted his head from side to side, finding how futuristic and unnatural this place was. Pillars made out of metal and neon lights floated in the open-spaced globe while dark mist hung around the place like a bad omen.

Realization dawned on him on what this place was before his lips pressed into a line while he checked his bow if it was ready by pulling on the string. It let out a fine twang before Adrian took a step closer to the edge of the platform.

"Please tell me it's here," He pleaded to himself before closing his eyes and reaching out with his foot. It should have fallen through, but then a bridge made out of glass-like hexagons formed under it.

Adrian opened his eyes while testing if the bridge was able to support his leg before taking another step, and soon found himself breathing a sigh of relief. His eyebrows soon knitted together and picked up one of his arrows and nocked it, ready for any Nobodies to would come by.

He inched his way through the bridges that connected every single platform, but not a single enemy showed its head, making Adrian lower his bow. He was sure this place would crawl with the Organization's lackies everywhere, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It was oddly void of any activity, like a yearly carnival that outstayed its welcome.

He eventually found his way through the room, letting out another sigh while easing his stance, before moving forward to reach a different sight.

Once again, it didn't matter how careful he was because there was nothing to be wary of. Every single time Adrian found himself in a new place, thinking it would be overrun, it was anything but that, making the castle live up to its name with its emptiness.

It made Adrian feel a little lonely, but he was also glad that was the case, because fighting for his life every single time he came somewhere would tire him out very quickly. Not to mention how stressful it would be.

Eventually, he reached a giant gate that was a few times taller than Adrian himself, but that wasn't what stopped his march. Down an uneven path made out of the same material back in the globe room, it sprawled down to a light bridge leading down to a futuristic town.

The view was breathtaking in Adrian's eyes, seeing an area he knew only through a screen. Yellow and blue neon lights illuminated the city, but the dark blue cement of the tall buildings and roads absorbed all the glow, keeping the city ominously dark.

Then realization dawned on Adrian. If there was even a sliver of a chance a certain portal would be present, that could be his ticket out of this damned place he was stuck in for who knew how long.

Taking a deep and calming breath, he readied his bow once again just in case anything would suddenly pop up before swiftly walking down the road leading towards the bridge.

"Now where do you think you're going?" Adrian heard from behind him, quickly jerking his body to face the voice while nocking an arrow, only to be met by a Zexion, standing with his hands behind his back.

Adrian's eyebrows knitted together. "None of your business."

"On the contrary, I think I deserve to know where is my charge heading," He said nonchalantly before a tiny hint of a smirk plastered his features. "I didn't know what I would say to Xemnas if he found out I let you walk to your death."

Adrian let out a scoff. "Like you would make the effort to protect me. You locked yourself somewhere to do your 'research' instead."

To his surprise, Zexion shrugged. "Well, you would think that way, but do you really believe I wouldn't keep my eyes on you? A variable such as yourself is something I have to keep in check."

"Oh yeah? Then where the hell were you this entire time?" Adrian asked, never letting off his bow.

"That's something I will keep a secret, for now at least," Zexion answered before his smirk fell into a thin line. "Now, come back to the castle if you don't want me to use force."

Adrian clicked his tongue. He wanted to find out if there was a way to get out of this place and he certainly didn't want to waste such a good opportunity. He looked down at his hip with his two arrows floating right next to him, begging to be used.

He locked eyes with Zexion, who was still waiting for Adrian's answer before one of his eyebrows shot up. "Well?"

Adrian knew he couldn't beat Zexion head-on, even if he looked like someone who fights once in a blue moon, but if there was even a sliver of a chance of escape, Adrian was going to take it.

He eased his stance, putting the arrow away from the string while lowering his head, pleasing Zexion, who bobbed his head upwards. "Good, now come. It shouldn't be long before my colleagues return."

Adrian couldn't help but smirk. Even if his plan was haphazard, it was his best shot to make a quick escape. "Not yet."

His answer surprised Zexion for a fraction of a second before he saw Adrian pick up all three arrows at once, his eyes widening in the process.

With each arrow between his fingers, Adrian nocked all three before pulling on the string with all his might. It was exceedingly tough, both of his arms began jerking under the pressure of the pull, threatening to tear his limbs to pieces, and making his aim unsteady.

Zexion took action, dashing towards Adrian while pulling out a black grimoire, but he wasn't fast enough to stop Adrian from letting go of the string with a defining twang.

The force of the shot made Adrian let go of his bow while the arrows that were let loose in random directions, making Zexion smirk. He closed the distance between him and the prisoner to seal him away into his book.

Adrian already regretted wasting all of his shots for a supposed distraction. As the arrows sprawled into random directions, he begged for something to happen that would allow him to escape, even if it required a miracle to happen.

As if his arrows heard his prayer, they didn't fly off as they were expecting. They quickly homed in towards Zexion, making him gasp before bringing his guard up.

They landed on the ground with three loud thuds before causing an explosion that threw Adrian on top of the light bridge, making him stumble his way down to the dark city.

Zexion himself wasn't hurt, but the dust cloud the arrows created made it hard to see what became of Adrian, forcing him to swipe with his hand. A sudden wind current the motion created got rid of it, and he scanned to place to find his charge, but couldn't spot him anywhere.

He checked every corner of the road, but it proved to be fruitless before he looked down the bridge, spotting a small form of Adrian running towards the city in the distance.

Uncharistically, Zexion clicked his tongue.

"I'll make you pay for that," He said before summoning a dark portal and quickly disappearing inside.

Meanwhile, Adrian kept running while chugging down a potion to get rid of any injuries he sustained during his untimely fall while silently thanking Xigbar for stocking him up with these magical bottles. After throwing away the potion and resummoning his bow, he knew he was on a timer before Zexion would find him.

Wasting no time, not even taking in the scenery around him, he sprinted his way through the silent city to find the place where the portal was.

That was a task Adrian wasn't prepared for however, because the city was enormous.

Multiple streets lead either to more forked paths or deadends Adrian had to navigate through only with his memory of the linear map he was used to. He was expecting to find that one path, reach that portal, and get out of here as quickly as possible, but the reality of the situation was much more complicated.

After turning to another narrow street, he leaned his hand on the dark and cold metal material the houses were made out of to catch his breath. At least the comfort of knowing that Zexion probably didn't have the means to find him yet reassured him.

Spotting nobody around the narrow alley he was in allowed him to make one more arrow for self-defense, but even that taxing. His hands were shaking, and gaining focus was difficult, but he managed to conjure up one more arrow for him to use, but the strain it put on his body made him fully lean on a building.

He plopped on the ground with a dull thud while laboredly breathing in and out. Sweat poured down his forehead while feeling like he was on fire, but he was on a mission, and he refused to let all it be for nothing.

With strained steps, he hoisted himself before peeking over the edge of the building down a street, only to find a group of Heartless, minding their own business. His eyes widened at the underlings, each trapped in their small dark humanoid bodies. Small tentacles came out of their heads and only their piercing yellow orbs as eyes gave little to the imagination.

Adrian however, seeing them for the first time in the flesh, couldn't help but touch his chest to regulate his faster than normal heartbeat, as if a single echoing bang of his heart could alert them.

One of the Heartless lazily turned its head towards Adrian, meeting eye to eye and making Adrian's breath hitch. They stared at each other for far longer than Adrian found comfortable before it let out a screech and ran towards him, the rest of its fellow underlings soon following suit.

Adrian sucked in a breath before breaking into a run himself, bolting into a random direction to lose the chasing Heartless. One arrow wasn't going to cut it against such a group.

He saw a moving shadow run past under him before it emerged from the ground to block his path, revealing a Heartless spreading its large arms wide compared to its small frame, but Adrian wasn't going to stop any time soon.

He took hold of his bow by the limb and, while still running, smacked away the Heartless like a fly, sending it flying against the wall. He was astonished at the fact the weapon didn't faze through it and was berating himself on what would have happened if that didn't work, but he didn't have time for that.

Eventually, Adrian couldn't keep up his sprint for long and slowed down to a barely faster jog while sweating a river. He had to stop to catch his breath and lean on his thighs. He looked behind him if the small horde was still chasing him, but to his relief, he lost them, allowing him tp rest for at least a little while.

That was until he looked around a large empty plaza, void of any people, lit by few lamposts and a single skyscraper reaching incredible heights.

He stared at the tall building for a few moments before realization dawned on him.

This was the place where many events occurred in the games before jerking his body to face down a path that should lead towards his destination, a single lamp illuminating the path. He let out a small relieved laugh before running through the street.

But Zexion had other plans.

Blurring into existence right in front of Adrian with an outstretched hand and his other holding his tome, all could Adrian see was his smirk in place.

"Checkmate," Was all he said before summoning a swirling torrent of void, swallowing both him and Adrian in the process.

All Adrian could do was to shield his eyes and hope for the best. He thought that he was going to get hurt, but after a few moments, he didn't feel anything. He wasn't hurt, no limbs were bent nor registered any pain, only feeling an unpleasant cold through his cloak. Once he was brave enough to open his eyes, he gasped at the sight around him.

He was inside a black vortex with no way of seeing the end while standing on an invisible platform, blocking him from falling down to the dark abyss.

"Impressed?" Adrian heard Zexion's voice echo inside with no way of telling where it came from. "I do have to say it took some time to get this to work. It still needs a few touches, but this should do for now."

"What do you want!? Where are we?!" Adrian demanded, still darting around to spot Zexion.

"One question at a time," Zexion chided. "How about we make a deal? I'll answer one of your questions and you'll answer one of mine. An equivalent exchange, or what it is called."

"I don't have time to play your game!" Adrian yelled, swiping with his hand.

"Don't have time? Pray tell, why are you in a hurry?" He said. "Oh, I guess I forgot to give you an answer. I'll be generous and answer them both."

A single black grimoire entered through the maelstrom, floating its way down right in front of Adrian before it opened on its own, revealing a green glowing outline of Zexion.

"You are an anomaly, like I have mentioned before, and those are meant to be studied. You confirmed you are more knowledgable than you let on, which makes me all the more curious what secrets you hold," He said, the outline leaning ever so slightly. "As for your other question, well, I think I already answered that one already."

Adrian couldn't help but click his tongue. "What makes you so sure I will comply?"

The image waddled its finger. "No, that won't do. I gave you two answers and now I demand you do the same. Unless you want me to use a different approach, one that wouldn't be as pleasant as opening your mouth."

Adrian, instead of complying, summoned his bow to his hand with his single arrow already nocked. "How does this answer your question?"

Even though Adrian couldn't see Zexion's expression, his shoulders sagged slightly in disappointment. "I figured as much."

With a snap of his finger, an entire bookshelf of the same grimoires sailed pierced the maelstrom, filling up the empty place and surrounding Adrian while floating in mid-air.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Zexion said before his image disappeared once the book closed, accompanying the rest of the floating grimoires. "Now, let's see how long you're going to survive."

Adrian's breath hitched when the books started frantically flying around like a bunch of ravens. He pulled on the bow while jerking his body left and right, frantically trying to keep in check every single grimoire in his sight, but that was an impossible task.

Out of his line of sight, the first grimoire flew towards him at high speed, hitting Adrian in the back with a dull thud. He gasped for air while stumbling forward before turning around to snipe that one book, only to be hit in the head by another.

Spit came out of his mouth before another book sailed through the air and aimed straight for his gut. The impact of the book sent Adrian off the ground before landing on the invisible and cold platform.

He began coughing up a storm while trying to get up, only for hands to buckle under his own weight.

"My, the body of a Somebody sure is fragile," Zexion said, his words echoing in the room. "Are you willing to talk now?"

Adrian looked up at the swirling vortex of books surrounding him, his vision blurring with each passing second, but somehow still got up, his feet barely keeping him from falling. He nocked his arrow one more time before lifting up his bow.

"You are running on fumes," Zexion said, his voice carrying a small amount of gloat. "I'm willing to give you one more chance to answer my questions before I'll take you back to the castle, a little battered, but still alive."

Adrian let out a rasped scoff. He knew Zexion was just toying with him, and he wracked his brain on how to get out of this situation while keeping quiet to buy himself as much time as possible.

All of these books except one where the outline of Zexion had to be the key, but spotting only a single grimoire with him in particular would be the same as trying to find a needle in a haystack. Yet, as he scanned the spinning tomes, one of them was moving slower than the rest while keeping in the back most of the time, right at the edge of the circle the books made.

Adrian just needed a way to make sure his shot count.

He nocked the only arrow he had, aiming at the tomes, and giving Zexion the same answer as last time which made him breathe a sigh.

"So much for giving you a choi—" That was all Adrian needed. The voice came from the general direction of the slowest tome in the circle, and immediately pulled on the string and let the arrow loose.

"What!?" Zexion exclaimed while having no time to react before the bolt pierced through the tome in one fluid motion, like it wasn't even there. He grunted in pain while the rest of the grimoires fell to the ground quickly one by one, giving Adrian finally some much-needed maneuverability.

He wasted no time to start a mad dash before slamming his bow against the tome with a defining clank, his eyes immediately being filled by a harsh light. Adrian tried to block it with his hand but the light faded away as quickly as it blinded him, making him appear back at the dark main street of the city.

He looked around to make out his surroundings and spotted Zexion panting on the ground. Adrian couldn't help but smirk, but once he took a step the adrenaline fueling his body quickly faded away.

Trying to find his footing proved useless before he plopped on his back while letting go of his bow. His breaths were labored while sweat poured down his face before lifting his head to see how Zexion was doing.

Only for Adrian to see him towering over him like a specimen, ready to be experimented upon. Though there were signs of exhaustion on Zexion, he hid it very well.

"I commend you for breaking my spell so quickly," He said before resummoning his grimoire again. "But we will see how you'll handle one more—"

A hiss interrupted Zexion, making him jerk his head towards the sound, spotting a group of eager Heartless gathering around them to block any means of escape.

This was the second time Zexion clicked his tongue before turning back to Adrian.

"Do not think this is over between us," He said before outstretching his hand and opening a dark portal right under Adrian.

He didn't have time to respond to Zexion before the portal swallowed him up whole with his chances of escape.

AN: Well, sorry for the long wait. I know I've been a little silent for a while, because real life is not kind to me. Also, I was working on a project for another fandom that ate some of my time, but since it's the anniversary of my first fic today, I thought of treating every ongoing fic I have right now with an update.

Well, except for two because I'm not a writing machine.

With that said, a giant thanks to the Fanfiction Treehouse for the support. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing without them.

If you want to join our discord server, here is the link: gg/9XG3U7a

God's speed.