Banshee: Hello everyone, and here is chapter two! Remember to keep an eye out for any updates, and I will get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Two: Imprisoned

Recap:

"So... what do you think?"

"About the human?" Said Zexion. "She is not a threat. The amount of darkness I sensed within her is the same as any other human; nothing even remotely extraordinary."

Xigbar scoffed. "Duh. Anyone with half a brain can see that she's not a threat to us. The big question is, what is Xemnas going to do with her?"

"Whatever he sees fit."

"Maybe he'll let us keep her. We could use a cute little errand girl."

...

A sound suddenly jerked Axel out of his thoughts; a loud, yet melodic sound, that seemed to be coming from the girl. More specifically, it was coming from her pocket. He reached into her pocket and took out a little blue phone, which was ringing; which would explain the noise, and examined it. It was a flip phone, and he could see a little screen on the front. On the little illuminated window was the word "Mom." So, her mom was calling...

"Sorry sweetheart, but I'm gonna have to take this. Can't have you calling for help now, can we?"

When Nikki woke up, she had no way of knowing how long she had been out; the sky was exactly the same as it was when she first arrived. She would have checked her phone for the time, but when she reached into her pocket it was gone. Either it had fallen out, or the guy in the coat took it.

"Great.." She muttered upon realizing her phone was gone. "I'm trapped in some God-forsaken castle in God knows where, God knows how many miles from home, with no phone.."

Taking in her surroundings, it didn't take much for her to realize that she was in a cell. Small triangular lights in the floor lit up the room, and the walls were a shade of purple which was completely different from the white walls outside. Thick black vertical bars kept her inside. At first, it seemed that she could slip through the bars because they were so far apart, but when she got up and tried to sneak through, she was suddenly launched backward by an unseen force. She was thrown back a few feet, landing on her back.

"A force field?" She groaned. "Are you kidding me? Who are these people?"

A mess of black swirls suddenly appeared inside the cell, and Nikki, out of reflex, got up on her feet and went into defense-mode, ready to face what, or who, was about to come out. She was expecting some big guy or a monster to come out of the portal, but was surprised when she saw a small figure emerge; a young boy who looked very familiar; the blonde, windswept hair, the blue eyes... Hey, wait a minute...

"Hey, you're awake." Said the boy with a smile. He held up a tray, which had a piece of pizza and a soda on it. "I brought you some dinner."

"Hey, I know you!" Nikki exclaimed suddenly, pointing a finger at him. "You're the kid I saw on Destiny Island! Why did you run away?"

"I was just minding my own business, and suddenly some stranger sees me and the first thing they do is yell at me? What did you expect me to do?"

"Fair enough," Nikki said. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just wanted to talk to you."

The boy seemed positively bewildered by her statement. "You... just wanted to talk to me?"

Nikki nodded. "Yeah. I saw you on the island a lot, and I wanted to know who you were. But Sora, Riku and Kairi told me-"

"Sora?" The blonde suddenly asked, his blue eyes widening.

"Yeah. They told me you were dangerous and to stay away from you, but I didn't think-"

"You know Sora?"

"Of course I know Sora." Nikki said. "He's my friend. Why? Do you know him?"

"Um..." The boy looked away. "It's complicated." He said.

"Okay.. Anyway, I didn't think you were dangerous at all. So I decided I was going to try to talk to you. But you ran away, into this portal thing. In retrospect, following you was a stupid idea, and now I'm here, in this... Where am I, anyway?"

"You're in The World That Never Was, in The Castle That Never Was." He explained, and Nikki gave him a look. "I know, it sounds weird. But we're all used to it here."

"People actually live here?" Nikki asked with disbelief. With how empty the place was, and no sign of human life whatsoever, in what little she saw of it, it was surprising that there were people living in the castle at all.

"Yeah.. It's big, and boring, but it's home. Here," He said, holding out the tray in his hands. "You should eat this before it gets cold."

"Oh. Thanks." Nikki said, taking the plate and the soda gratefully. "I didn't realize how hungry I was."

She took a bite of the pizza slice, relishing its taste as if it was her first piece of pizza ever. After the ordeal she had earlier, running from shadow creatures and all, what the boy brought for her was like a breath of fresh air. As she ate, the boy sat down on the floor beside her, crossing his legs.

"I'm Nikki." She said, after her slice of pizza was finished; which didn't take long, since she scarfed it down so fast she might as well have just swallowed it whole. "What's your name?"

"I'm Roxas." Said the boy.

"So, Roxas," Nikki began. "How many people live in this castle besides you?"

"There are thirteen of us; fourteen, if you count Naminé."

"Oh. Okay. Do they all wear those weird coats?" When Roxas gave her a confused look, she elaborated. "Before I got knocked out, I ran into this guy that was wearing the same kind of coat you're wearing. Is it some kind of uniform, or something?"

"Oh. Yeah." Roxas said as he fiddled with the drawstings of his coat. "All members of Organization XIII have to wear them."

Nikki raised an eyebrow. "What's Organization XIII?"

Roxas immediately froze, the drawstrings slipping from his hands. The look on his face suggested to Nikki that he said something he wasn't supposed to say.

"Roxas? Are you okay?"

"I shouldn't have said that..." He muttered to himself. "We're not supposed to get involved with people; keep in the shadows, you know? Not many people even know we exist..."

"It's okay," Nikki said reassuringly. "You can tell me about it."

"I don't know if I should... People aren't supposed to know about us."

"I'm in a cell, and my phone is gone. I don't think I'll be telling anyone anything. Besides, if I'm going to be locked up in here, I'd like to know at least a little bit about the people holding me captive."

At first, Roxas was reluctant to say anything, as if he were going to get in trouble. On the other hand, Nikki had a point. Her phone had been taken, so she had no way of contacting anyone outside the castle, and she was a prisoner, so there couldn't be any harm in telling her about the Organization.

"Well... Okay." He said finally, after about a minute of silence. "I'll tell you."

For the next half hour or so, Roxas told Nikki everything he knew about the Organization; the members and their powers, and their goals; to complete Kingdom Hearts and reclaim their lost hearts. He continued by explaining that the Organization was composed of beings called Nobodies, and the difference between them and the Heartless (at least now Nikki knew what those creatures in the city were), and how each were created; Heartless were people who lost their hearts to darkness, and a Nobody being the result of a strong-willed person losing their heart, leaving their will and body behind to act on their own. Roxas went on to tell her that Nobodies, who lacked hearts, also lacked true emotion, using the memories of their old lives - before they lost their hearts - to fabricate their emotions.

When Nikki interrogated Sora, Riku and Kairi after they returned after being missing for a year, they mentioned Heartless, Nobodies and Organization XIII, but never gave her any details. Now she was getting all the information she'd been looking for, and it was from a member of the very organization that the trio had once fought against. It was strange to have an enemy openly spill the beans to her, but she was still angry at Sora and the others for keeping all this from her in the first place, and she couldn't help but think about giving them the verbal beating of a lifetime if she ever got out of there.

"So," Nikki said after Roxas was finished. "Those creatures in the city are called 'Heartless,' and they were people who lost their hearts to darkness, right?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah."

"And if heard you right, Nobodies are also people who lost their hearts, but if their will is strong enough, they remain as shells that linger between light and darkness?"

Roxas nodded again. "That's right."

"Do any of them remember who they used to be?" Nikki asked.

"The Heartless? No." Roxas said. "There are a couple special cases, but mostly they're just shadows that run on instinct. For Nobodies, it depends. Most Nobodies are dimwits; they can't even tell the difference between a photo and the real thing. But all the members of Organization XIII remember who they used to be."

Nikki nodded, satisfied with this answer.

"Do you remember who you were?" She asked.

"Um..." Roxas looked away again. "It's complicated."

"How so?" Nikki pressed him.

"I don't have a lot of memories from before I was 'born,' so I can't fake my emotions like the others can." Roxas began playing with the drawstrings of his coat again, and he was hesitant before he continued. "That's because the person I used to be... still exists."

The brunette gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Earlier, you asked me if I knew Sora. Well, here's how I know him." Roxas took a deep breath before confessing, "I am his Nobody."

It took Nikki a few seconds to register this information, and as soon as she did her jaw dropped. "No way." She said, shocked. "You're Sora's Nobody? But how? Sora would've had to've-"

"Lost his heart." Roxas finished her sentence for her. "He did. Kairi's heart was inside of him, so he had to sacrifice his own heart to save hers. That's how I was born. Sora became a Heartless, but turned back into a human not long after, and re-absorbed all his memories. That's why I don't remember my life before the Organization."

"B-But," Nikki stammered. "How can the two of you exist at the same time?"

"I'm not really sure." Roxas said thoughtfully. "But you're his friend, right? Shouldn't you know all of this already?"

"I should, but when I asked them they only told me the gist of it, and wouldn't go into any details." The brunette said with a bitter tone.

"They probably just didn't want you to get dragged into it."

"I understand that. But still, they disappear for a year, and when they finally come back they don't give me the full story? To be honest, it hurt. I was really worried about them.."

Nikki sighed, hanging her head.

It was silent for a few moments. Roxas shifted his position as he sat next to Nikki, who had her knees drawn to her chest, her head resting on her folded arms.

"I'm sure they're worried about you right now." Roxas said, breaking the silence.

Nikki had no idea how long she had been in the castle at this point, but knew she had been gone long enough for people to notice.

"Yeah..." She sighed. "I was mad at them before, but... now I miss them."

Roxas was about to speak when a portal appeared outside the cell. Out of the swirling blackness a strange creature appeared; a creature with a thin, sinuous body and a cylindrical head that looked like it had a zipper for a mouth. A strange symbol was on its head, and it looked like it was wearing a strange silver jumpsuit. Not long after it appeared, its zipper mouth opened and began to move, as if it were speaking, but Nikki couldn't hear anything. It seemed to be delivering a message, and as soon as it did, it vanished into another portal.

"Um... What was that?" Nikki asked, pointing to where the creature had been.

"That was a Dusk; the weakest and most common Nobody. The Organization likes to use them for recon, relaying messages, and, in some cases, recovery." Roxas said, and Nikki nodded, showing she understood. He got to his feet and smoothed out his coat.

"What did it say to you?"

"It said I'm needed in The Gray Area; it means Saïx has some missions for me."

"And who's Saïx?"

"One of the other members. I'll explain tomorrow."

"Oh.." Nikki said. "Okay then. See you tomorrow."

Roxas smiled and gave her a short nod, then he disappeared into a portal and Nikki was left alone... again.

Several days had passed since Nikki was first placed in the Soundless Prison. She had kept track of the days by writing on the walls using a dry-erase marker that Roxas had given her, upon her request. So far she had counted six days. For six days, Roxas would come in and give her three meals a day, even sneaking her snacks from time to time. In those days, Nikki was told about the Organization's members; particularly, which ones were friendly and which ones to avoid. It was also mentioned that all the members had ranks, but it had nothing to do with power or authority; it was in the order in which they joined.

The first person he mentioned was their leader, Xemnas, who founded Organization XIII and commanded the power of nothingness. He was remarked to have no emotion whatsoever. According to Roxas, he had a tendency to be melodramatic and make long-winded speeches, which only emphasized how out-of-touch with genuine emotion he really was.

Next was Xigbar, the second member. With the power over space, he could pop up anywhere and send shots from his twin rifles anywhere he pleased. Roxas described him as "someone's 40-year-old uncle trying to be cool," with his surfer accent and tendency to say "As if" all the time, as well as giving the younger Nobody nicknames like "kiddo" or "tiger."

Xaldin was the third member. He weilded six lances and controlled wind. Apparently he was the Organization's cook. He was also pretty impatient, and wouldn't allow Roxas to take breaks when they were on missions together; which, thankfully, wasn't very often. When he wasn't around, Roxas, Axel and Demyx liked calling him "Captain Dreadlocks" and "Muttonchops."

Fourth was Vexen, the intellectual who saw all of life as one big experiment. He liked to pull ranks, even though a member's numeral rank only applies to the order in which they joined Organization XIII and had no impact on their level of authority, but no one really listened to him. Despite his sense of superiority, Vexen was patient with Roxas whn they went on missions together, guiding him and giving him advice.

Number five was Lexaeus. He didn't talk much, saving his words for when he found it necessary to speak. He was also known to listen to Zexion and take his side in an argument, and will often stop others from arguing.

Speaking of Zexion, he was number six. He had a fondness for literature, and would spend hours in the castle's library. Whenever he spoke, he showed his intelligence and politeness, explaining every detail thoroughly. But he also disliked laziness, and always insisted that there was more to be done, even when a job was completed. He could also identify "scents," and was said to be the one who detected Nikki when she first arrived at the castle.

Saïx was number seven of the Organization. As the second-in-command, he passed on orders and gave each member their assigned missions. His most notable feature was the 'X'-shaped scar on the middle of his face. Like Xemnas, he is calm, cold and emotionless, but he could also enter a "berserk state" that gave some members bad memories that they'd rather not talk about..

And then there was Axel, number eight. The Organization's assassin, he tends to get stuck with the "icky jobs," as he puts it. He had power over fire. Roxas described him as laid-back, sarcastic, and smart, and admitted that he always went to Axel for advice, claiming that he thought he knew everything. He was also Roxas' best friend, who took him under his wing when he first joined Organization XIII, being like a big brother to him.

At number nine, we have Demyx. His only strength was reconnaissance. In every other field, he preferred others did the work, and ran at the first sign of trouble. He spent most of his time lazing around playing his sitar.

Luxord was number ten. He could always be seen gambling with some of the other members. His vocabulary was rather advanced, and he liked to talk Roxas' ear off on missions. Nikki was advised to never gamble, or even bet against, Luxord, ever.

Next was Marluxia. Like Xemnas, he was dramatic and gave rather long-winded speeches. He was also pretty arrogant, having an air of superiority around some of the other members. In addition, he was known to be deceptive, so he was never to be trusted.

The twelfth member was Larxene. They didn't call her the "Savage Nymph" for nothing. She had a sharp tongue, and had a habit of telling someone what to do rather than asking them. She could also be rather sadistic, and loved bringing people down, so she was best avoided.

And finally, Roxas himself. Having already explained that he was Sora's Nobody, Roxas also possessed his ability to wield the Keyblade.

According to Roxas, he had been ordered to keep an eye on her when he wasn't on missions, and though Nikki didn't like the idea of being under guard, she grew to like Roxas very much and enjoyed the time she spent with him. They could hold a conversation for hours, laughing and joking around as if they had known each other for years. Suddenly, the idea of Roxas being Sora's Nobody made sense; Roxas affected her the same way Sora did, and she developed the same sisterly affection towards the blonde as she had for the spiky-haired brunette.

But whenever she was alone, all she could think about was her family and friends back on the islands. They had to have realized she was missing by now, and were likely worried sick about her. She wouldn't be surprised if her father had organized a full-on manhunt, and was tearing the island apart to find her. Wherever her phone was, she was sure it was ringing like crazy; but after six days, the battery had to have died by now.

Oh, and another thing...

"I hate this cell!" Nikki yelled out as she laid on the floor. Her outburst startled the two Dusks standing guard at the door. "I've been here for nearly a week, and those bastards" - meaning Organization XIII - "don't even have the goddamn common courtesy to give me a bed? They aren't getting any points from me for hospitality, that's for damn sure. I can't take this anymore.. I'll have to ask Roxas if he can get me a sleeping bag. Anything is better than the floor..."

She looked and saw the two Dusks staring at her.

"And what the bloody hell are you two gawking at? Piss off!" She snapped at them.

The Dusks seemed taken aback, almost as if they were wondering what they did wrong, before shooting her looks of indignation and turning their backs on her again. After her initial burst of anger had subsided, Nikki realized she was taking her anger out on mere grunts following orders.

Nikki sighed. "Look, I'm... I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's not your fault. You're just trying to do your job."

At her apology the Dusks turned back to face her, and though they didnt have actual faces, their body language indicated surprise. They must have been so used to being barked at that they didn't even remember what an apology was. Since they were the lowest ranking Nobodies, it was fair to assume they were treated like servants, so they weren't used to being shown kindness either.

"So... are we cool?"

The two Dusks looked at each other for a moment, before looking back at Nikki and nodding.

"Good."

And with that, the Dusks nodded in acknowledgement and went back to their posts at the door. As they stood there, Nikki started to wonder... Roxas probably wouldn't be there for a while, and she was very uncomfortable there on the cell floor. She couldn't leave because of the force field, and she was sure the Dusks would try to stop her if she somehow managed to get out. Perhaps they would be willing to do her a favor...

"Hey guys?" She called out to the Dusks, who glanced over at her. "Do you think you can do me a favor?"

They nodded.

"Can you find me something to sleep on; like a sleeping bag, or something?"

At first, the Dusks just stood there. But suddenly they disappeared, and a moment later they came back with some items; where they got them, she had no idea. One was holding four pillows in its arms, while the other had a large bag. They went over to her cell and put the items down on her side of the bars, looking pleased with themselves.

"Um... Thanks." Nikki thanked them, and they did a little happy dance before returning to their posts.

Not wanting to hurt their feelings, Nikki stuffed the pillows into the bag and laid herself down on it. It wasn't a mattress or a sleeping bag, but at least it was more comfortable than the floor. While the Dusks remained on guard at the door, Nikki stared at the ceiling, finding it just as dismal as the rest of the room. As she laid there, she knew she didn't need a watch to know that the time was moving by agonizingly slow. Because the sky was in a state of perpetual night, she didn't know if it was daytime or not. Luckily, her surroundings were so boring that it was practically lulling her to sleep. But just as she was about to close her eyes...

"Wakey, wakey!" A new voice called out from beyond the bars. "Time for lunch. I hope you like meatball subs~! I got you a nice one. It's loaded!"

Nikki immediately sat upright. That isn't Roxas, she thought. Looking towards the cell door, she saw an unfamiliar face on the other side of the bars. While Roxas looked to be about fifteen, this guy could easily be in his early twenties. He was also considerably taller. His dirty-blonde hair was styled in a mohawk/mullet style, with a few strands hanging in his face, and his cyan eyes were twinkling as he gave her a friendly smile. In his hands was a tray, just like the one Roxas carried, with a drink and a fully stuffed meatball sub sitting on it.

"I hope you're hungry, 'cuz Xaldin really outdid himself this time!" The man beamed as he stepped inside the cell.

Nikki didn't move or speak, sitting there on her makeshift bed as she stared at the man intently; which made him slightly nervous. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The longer she stared at him, the more nervous she seemed to be making him. Now that she thought about it, the shoulders of his coat, which were more pointed, and the slightly form-fitting sleeves did look familiar... Then her eyes landed on a familiar pair of earphones dangling from his pocket, and something clicked inside her brain as her eyes widened.

"You!" She shrieked, jabbing a finger in his direction.

Something seemed to click in the man's brain as well, for he instinctively flinched even before she threw one of the pillows at him as hard as she could.

"Ah!" The man yelped, dodging it. "Hey! You're gonna make me drop your food!"

Nikki ignored him, throwing another pillow at him. "Wait 'til I get my hands on you, you little git! You're gonna get it for what you did!"

He yelped as he dodged another pillow. "Look, if this is about knocking you out-"

"You hit me in the back of the head, you ass!"

"Eee!" Came a squeal as she chucked a third pillow. "I'm sorry, okay? I panicked!"

"As if that's a good excuse!" Nikki shot back, chucking a fourth pillow, which he narrowly avoided. Now that she was out of pillows, she settled for chasing him around the cell. There wasn't a lot of space to run around, so he had a few close calls where she nearly grabbed him by the hood of his coat, but thanks to his natural talent for running away he was able to narrowly avoid her hands, which were poised to grab him by the neck and choke him, likely to death. All the while, he was careful not to drop the food, which was sliding around on the tray. The drink, meanwhile, had already fallen off.

Eventually, the two of them got tired of running, and had stopped to catch their breath. Both were hunched over, sucking in as much air as they could as their lungs burned. The drink, a bottle of water, had rolled over next to Nikki's feet. She bent down to pick it up, unscrewing the cap and downing half of the water. She looked between the half-filled bottle and the man, before sighing; she no longer had the energy to be angry with him. Walking over to him, she held the bottle out to him and said, "Here."

For a moment, he just stood there, his gaze shifting between her and the bottle. When he didn't take it, she said forcefully, "Drink this, or I'll hit you over the head with it."

At her threat, he quickly took the bottle and drank the rest of the water as fast as he could. He said a quick "Thanks" after he finished, and straightened up.

"Okay," He breathed. "I admit it. Hitting you over the head was a bit much."

"A bit?"

"Okay, it was a lot much, and I'm sorry. Please don't hit me..."

The two Dusks standing guard had their hands over their mouths, and they seemed to be amused, almost as if they were snickering; after all, what they just witnessed looked like something out of a cartoon.

"Okay, I won't hit you," Nikki said, and the man looked relieved. "but it's not out of mercy. I just don't want to hear you crying afterwards."

The young man scoffed, looking affronted. "What makes you think I'd cry?" He said indignantly.

"With how pathetic you look right now, it isn't much of a stretch to assume you'd cry if I decided to hit you. And I'd rather not hear it." Nikki said coolly, making the male pout. "Jeez, chasing you around made me hungry. Hand me that meatball sub, would you?"

"Tell me your name first." He ordered, but flinched when she glared at him. "I-It's just common courtesy, you know; to introduce yourself?"

"Shouldn't the guy introduce himself first; especially to a woman? It's basic etiquette."

"Yeah, but..." It took a few seconds for him to think of a reply, and when he did, he said triumphantly, "But you're a guest in our castle" - Nikki snorted at the word 'guest' - "and a guest must introduce themselves first. It's basic etiquette."

He was right; he may be a dimwit, but he was right. Nikki gritted her teeth and growled, "I'm Nikki."

"I'm Demyx. See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Don't push your luck." Nikki growled, making Demyx flinch again. "I did what you asked, now please give me my food or I might just eat you instead."

"Okay, okay." He said, handing her the tray quickly.

Nikki took a bite of the meatball sub, and her eyes widened; it was delicious!

"This is good," She said, continuing to munch.

"Yeah, Xaldin's a good cook. But it's never a good idea to be in the kitchen while he's cooking. Knives start flying everywhere... I remember this one time when he was making dinner, and Xigbar thought it was a good idea to go in there and mess with him. He used his power over space to send the knives in different directions, and let's just say ol' Xaldin wasn't too happy about it. Xigbar's already got plenty of scars, but he got some new ones after that stunt. And that's why we're not allowed in the kitchen before dinner time... Wow, you were hungry."

During Demyx's little story, Nikki just kept eating her dinner, not saying a word the entire time. By the time he finished talking, she had finished the meatball sub, leaving the plate, tray and empty water bottle on the floor.

"When you're restricted to just three meals a day, with no snacks inbetween, you tend to get a little hungry." Nikki remarked sourly. "At least Roxas would sneak me something between meals... Hey, where is Roxas anyway? Isn't he supposed to be guarding me?"

"Roxas?" Demyx said. "X-face has him on missions today."

Nikki knew who Demyx was talking about when he said 'X-face' because when Roxas told her about the other members, he mentioned Saïx being the Superior's second-in-command who gave orders and missions to the other members. He also mentioned the 'X'-shaped scar on Saïx's face. This did not stop her from raising an eyebrow at Demyx's little nickname for him. She also took note of the slight disdain in his voice at the mention of the berserker.

"And since Roxas is out," Demyx contined, "I was ordered to keep an eye on you."

"Compared to my other options, this guy doesn't seem so bad." Nikki thought. "Maybe he can do me a favor, like those Dusks..."

"This castle is boring." Nikki drawled, suppressing a yawn. "There's nothing to do in here. Do you guys have anything to pass the time; like games, or books, or something?"

"Well, we do have a library," Demyx said thoughtfully. "But I'm not allowed in there anymore... I was in there playing my sitar, and then Xigbar came up behind me and yelled 'Boo!' really loud. I freaked out and some water clones appeared out of nowhere and soaked everything. Zexion kicked us both out, and hasn't allowed us back in since. I tried telling him it wasn't my fault, but he still won't let me in there...

"We do have some games, though," He added after seeing how disappointed she looked about the books. "I can bring some in for you. Would that be okay?"

Nikki couldn't help herself but smile. "That'd be great." She said, her initial anger and annoyance at Demyx replaced with appreciation.

After about twenty minutes, Demyx returned with some classic board games and he and Nikki spent the whole afternoon (according to Demyx it was one in the afternoon) playing them - until the sitar-playing nocturne got called away for a recon mission around four o'clock, and he regretfully left. He didn't take the games with him, instead leaving them with Nikki so she wouldn't be bored.

Though Demyx had gone, she still wasn't alone; the two Dusks, who were watching them with interest the whole time, were still at their guard posts by the door. She invited them to play a game, and, though they were apprehensive at first, she soon found herself teaching them how to play Checkers. They may not have been very intelligent, but they learned quickly enough. Nikki watched their body language carefully, taking note of how they slumped their shoulders in a manner depicting sadness and disappointment when they messed up, and the little happy dances they did when they did something right. Nikki almost forgot what Roxas told her; that Nobodies didn't have hearts, and used their memories of being human to fake emotions. Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn't. But she knew she had to play along if she was going to be held prisoner in this castle - if it meant keeping her sanity...

Roxas returned from his missions well after dinner time; the kitchen was empty by the time he went in for something to eat, and had already been cleaned and the leftover food put away in the fridge. Axel was still away on a mission, so no one was there to eat with him. Not wanting to eat alone, he warmed up some extra pizza so he could share it with Nikki and tell her about his mission, which was eliminating Heartless in Agrabah and Halloween Town. He had to admit, he did spent a lot of time simply exploring these worlds before he finally got around to fulfilling his objectives.

"That's an awful lot of pizza for one person." A familiar voice rang out, startling Roxas. He froze in the middle of removing the pizza from the microwave. He turned around to find none other than his best friend Axel standing behind him.

"Axel! I thought you were away on a mission."

"I was. I got back early." The redhead said simply. "You didn't answer my question."

The blonde held up the plate. "I just thought I'd go eat with Nikki today, since you were going to be out." He said.

"Nikki?"

"That's her name."

"Ah."

"Do you want to come with me? I'll introduce you." Roxas offered.

Axel waved it off. "That's okay. Xemnas has me on mop duty today, and you know how long that takes. Maybe next time."

"Oh.." Roxas said, crestfallen. He asked hopefully, "Do you need any help?"

Axel smiled and shrugged. "Nah. I'm a big boy, I can handle it." He said, waving it off dismissively.

The younger Nobody shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. Wanna get some ice cream when you're done?"

"Sure thing, buddy. See you later." The redhead added jokingly with a smirk, "Now go and hang out with your girlfriend."

At this, Roxas blushed. "S-She's not my girlfriend!" He stammered, making Axel laugh."It's not funny! Jerk!"

Axel kept laughing, making Roxas' blush darken a few shades, half out of embarrassment and the other half out of irritation before he warped away in a huff. After the blonde left, Axel's laughter died out rather quickly. Now that his best friend was gone, all he had to focus on was the arduous task of mopping the castle floors. He began walking, wondering if he could get the Dusks to do some - and by "some," I mean "a lot" - of the work for him.

As he walked down the hall, he became aware of another presence in the area; one that was watching him.

"Eavesdropping as a nasty habit, you know." Axel said, his voice and expression serious as Xigbar appeared from behind a corner.

"There are worse habits than eavesdropping, Flamesilocks." The sharpshooter pointed out.

"What do you want?"

"I couldn't help but notice that Roxas has been spending a lot of time with our prisoner lately. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were being replaced." Xigbar said nonchalantly, as if he were talking about the weather.

"Roxas would never replace me." Axel said adamantly.

"You sure about that?" Said Xigbar with a sly smile. "He really seems to like her; maybe even more than you."

Axel said nothing, but the fellow Nobody's words struck a chord. He clenched his fists and glared at Xigbar, who seemed unaffected by his fiery glare and uncharacteristic scowl. But he did feel the air around him get hotter as a result of the redhead's anger.

"Whoa, hey now." He surrendered, jumping back and putting his hands up. "No need to get mad. I'm just kidding."

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Axel said.

"Not particularly, no." Xigbar chuckled. "But I do need to have a word with our Superior. I'll catch ya later, Flamesilocks!"

With that, Xigbar left, leaving Axel standing alone in the hallway.

Of course he knew that the jerk was kidding. Roxas idolized him, always coming to him for advice and was under the impression that the redhead knew everything. They were best friends, close to brothers even, so there was no way that Roxas would ever replace him with anyone. Still, whenever he met with the boy, he would tell him about Nikki, saying how nice she was and always saying how the two of them should meet up. He was sure that Roxas told her about him as well.

He soon realized that he was thinking about this for way too long, and shook those thoughts out of his head before moving on down the hall.

To be continued...