Disclaimer: Characters/Locations are property of Square and/or Disney. I own nothing.

Break The Chains That Bind Us

Chapter Three

The dreams had started the first night he had stayed at that town. Twilight Town, that's what he'd been told it was called. Curled in a corner of a small room that he'd been lead to, Kaze finally managed to drift into an uneasy sleep. The images from earlier were so much clearer in his dreams, and they didn't stop. Every night, every time he slept they were there. It didn't take long for him to put names to the faces he saw in them.

Sometimes, the dreams shifted to less peaceful ones. He could feel himself falling, but there was nothing there but darkness. All he knew was that he was afraid of something, of losing something. That particular dream always left him waking up, crying out for the girl named Kairi. A girl that he'd never met and never knew but was afraid of losing anyway.

It was hard to try and shake those memories off in the days, to try and act like he belonged. It hadn't taken long for his small group of friends to notice there was something different about him. There were only so many times that he could answer their questions with "I can't remember" or "I don't know." When they'd asked him who this 'Kairi' was, he'd turned his eyes towards them sadly and replied that he didn't know, that he'd never met her. They hadn't asked him anything else since then, instead trying to keep him occupied in the days to distract his mind from whatever it may be that bothered him during the nights. He appreciated their attempts, but even during the days he couldn't relax.

Though the Organization members hadn't directly done anything to threaten him yet, he couldn't ever shake the feeling of someone watching him whenever he was out around the town. And it wasn't just the feeling of eyes following him down the streets. Sometimes he'd see them, crouched on top of one of the buildings as he passed by. For now, their 'observing' was harmless enough, but what if they decided to change that and attack while he was with his friends? He'd held back the urge to scream at them to go away and leave him alone, but if they wanted a reaction from him, he wouldn't give them one.

He'd eventually taken to living inside the large Clock Tower; the place had quickly become his favourite. The roof was the one place where he found himself spending a lot of his time. From there, he was the one doing the watching. The Organization couldn't reach him there. It was the only area in the whole town, the only time, when he could feel free of them.

He had gained some small relief from seeing several of the members leaving the town shortly after his own arrival. From the information on them Kaze had managed to gather from his friends, the members appeared to stay somewhere on the edge of the town, and usually they would travel in groups of two or three. When he was out on his own, he'd been surprised to round a corner and nearly walk into four of them. They'd passed by without even paying him any attention.

Almost like they had somewhere else to be.

It had only taken a moment's consideration before he'd followed them. They'd lead him straight back to the Station. Two more members were waiting there, along with a girl. He hadn't dared get too close to so many of them, but from his hiding spot, Kaze could make out the blonde head as she had kept it bowed. Her white clothes had stood out against the black of the cloaked figures around her. One of them had kept a tight grip on her arm as the others gathered around.

Six of them. Whatever they were doing, it was something big.

When the train had pulled up and all of them had boarded it, dragging the girl with them, Kaze had been glad to see it head in the opposite direction than it normally did. Wherever they were taking that girl, it wasn't back to the place they usually returned to, and that meant that the town would be free of several of its members. That he'd be free of them.

Their activity had eased up as the months had passed. There was still that feeling of being watched, but not as often. Even the dreams had seemed to gradually ease up.

It had been almost a year since he had first come to arrive in Twilight Town, but now he felt like he could finally relax more. He still hadn't gotten any of the answers he may have wanted, but things seemed to be going better for him.

The peace hadn't lasted. His sleep had been shattered once more, only this time by a voice, a female voice that called out to him. This one was new, not one he recognized from the other images that had haunted him.

"… Please…"

It had sounded desperate somehow.

"… Please, come… He's here…"

It kept returning, every night. Repeating the same message to him.

"… He's here… You must come…"

Only after several days did it mention the one name that grabbed his attention.

"He's here… Sora is here."

He knew what he had to do. Wherever 'here' was, it wasn't in Twilight Town. Kaze didn't take long to decide that it was time to leave. It was harder to do than he had expected. The place had become his home. But, he could always come back, couldn't he?

Depending on what he found…

As he waited at the station in the middle of that same night the voice had called out with Sora's name, he regretted not telling his friends that he was leaving. He regretted not thanking them. They wouldn't understand though. They wouldn't understand why he had to leave. He hoped that he could return to them and explain.

With no idea where it would take him, Kaze took a seat and tried to ease his nerves. What if he didn't even find Sora? But even more importantly, what if he did find him? He had so much to ask him, where was he supposed to even start?

The train eventually came to a halt in a place that Kaze was sure wasn't a station. He hesitated, taking a look outside through the window before moving. It was hard to see through the dark, but there didn't seem to be anything out there apart from endless grassy fields. He wasn't sure just what he'd been expecting to arrive at, but it wasn't a field.

"What a place to finally meet him…"

The sound of his own voice calmed him. Standing, he moved to one of the doors in the carriage and stepped off the train. There was nothing but a single dirt path between two patches of grass ahead of him.

Wasn't this a little strange for a train stop? Then again, he was the one following the advice of a voice in his head that had told him to come 'here'. Not to mention, the one waking up in empty worlds and crossing over into others…

…Maybe it wasn't so strange.

Following the path for a short time lead him to a crossroads.

Wonderful…

What way was he supposed to go now? Taking a moment to pick one, he settled on heading straight. Seemingly not arriving anywhere, he debated on turning around and taking one of the other directions, but the sight of the large castle coming into view ahead assured him that he'd picked the correct one.

Seeing it, Kaze knew that he was in the right place. He raised a hand to his chest and pressed it against his heart, feeling an odd stir that made him uncomfortable. Despite the feeling, he wasn't about to turn around and just leave now.

Walking up to the front of the building, he stood outside the doors, pausing briefly before finally carefully opening one and slipping inside.

His eyes took in the solid white walls and tiled floors before finally falling on the blonde girl standing in the centre of the hallway.

The blonde girl in the white dress that was oddly familiar.

She appeared startled for a brief second upon seeing him, before bursting into a bright smile. "You're finally here. I've been waiting for you to come. Kaze, isn't it?"

He stared blankly in reply.

"Welcome to Castle Oblivion."

As the wave of Nobodies rained down around him, they began flowing around each of his sides. Sora lost sight of the others as the creatures encircled him. They were effective, managing to single him out, splitting him away from his friends. Alone, he wouldn't be able to last very long against so many attacks. The Keyblade met bladed arms and clawed hands as they lashed out at him from all angles. He twisted, trying to spin around to block each attack, whilst dodging those he couldn't.

He couldn't stay there, he needed to move, but with so many surrounding him, where could he go?

As he tried to focus on defending himself, Sora searched for an opening. Waiting until one of the larger Nobodies lunged at him he took his chance. Instead of blocking, he ran, ducking under it and slipping past. He didn't get far.

As one fluid movement, the creatures moved to position themselves in front of him before spreading out, forming a ring around him once more.

Tightening his hold on the Keyblade, Sora considered his options. They weren't going to stop coming for him, until they were all gone, or until they killed him if that was what they were there for. There were too many for him to get rid of, and they certainly weren't going to just give up and leave him alone.

His weapon met silver flesh as he knocked another of the leaping creatures away. Stepping aside to avoid a blow from a sharp limb that swung towards him, Sora felt something connect with him from behind. Stumbling, he tried to turn to dispose of it, but was stopped as more of the smaller Dusks swarmed towards him from either side.

"Sora!"

The creatures were cut down before they could reach him. Sora recognized the weapon that had struck them.

"Riku?"

His friend moved to stand alongside him, taking care of the Nobodies to the rear, giving Sora a moment to breathe and focus more on those in front. "Aren't Donald and Goofy with you?"

"Nope. Not seen them."

"Then can't you find them? You can pick up their, eh…"

"Auras." Riku supplied. "I can't do that. They're all just one big blur. There's too many of them here."

So, that's what he meant before when he said that.

"What happened to going through the middle of them?"

Sora couldn't miss the slight sound of amusement in Riku's voice. At least someone was having fun. "This isn't working. Can't you do something?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know!" The Keyblade brought down another of the Nobodies as it sprang forward. "Something."

"Ansem did pick up some nice tricks from his other half. I suppose if he was the one in control…"

"No." Sora whirled around to face him. "Not that kind of something."

Riku parried an attack with the Soul Eater before replying. "Relax, Sora. I wasn't suggesting it, just pointing it out."

Sora sidestepped as a Dusk charged him. The Keyblade connected with it before it could recover in time for a second attempt. Another bladed arm swiped at him, almost cleaving his shoulder. Plunging the weapon deep into it, he left himself vulnerable for the split second it took to retrieve it. Something caught his arm, causing him to yelp in pain. He pulled back, ignoring his injury for now. If it wasn't anything too serious he could worry about it later.

Why had they just come, after all this time? Why hadn't they attacked him before? He'd been at Hollow Bastion for the past few months, why were they only here now?

Because you found something…

"Riku!"

"…What?"

Sora shot his friend a quick glance. "That door we found. You said it was the wrong one." He paused. This really wasn't the time for it, was it? "In one of Ansem's reports, he said something about four worlds…"

"Light, Dark, In-between, and Present." He reeled them off like a mantra.

Sora suppressed a shudder. He had the feeling that wasn't entirely Riku's doing. "Kingdom Hearts was dark, right? And I'm supposed to be looking for the door to the light. So what about the other two?" He didn't receive a response. Taking a moment to dodge an attack and follow up with one of his own, he continued. "I think the one we found was present. In-between has got to be somewhere in Twilight Town, or that other place…"

This time Riku answered him. "Well, he's laughing. I take that to mean you're on the right track."

"That's why they're here, aren't they? Someone doesn't want me to find anymore of them."

There was a short pause. "How are you supposed to know which you're meant to open, and which you're meant to seal?"

Oh, great…

He hadn't even considered that. Not only did he have to find them all, he'd have to find out what he was supposed to do with each of them too. But right now, there was a slightly more important problem…

Sora jerked aside, narrowly avoiding been skewered as a clawed hand was thrust towards him.

"Hey, Sora! Over here."

He turned to see Riku had made a small opening. Relief flooded him as he spotted both Donald and Goofy had managed to push through and join him there. He started to move towards them, but stopped, as he noticed they weren't paying very much attention to the current situation anymore. He followed their gaze to the edge of the valley. His eyes picked up the long trail of a dusty cloud streaming down the side of it, starting at the top higher up, and running down to where they were. It took him a few seconds to pick out the figure sliding down it.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"… Kaze?"

The place that Axel found himself was much different to what he'd grown use to. An empty room, nothing but blank walls with a single window and door, but it was something. He wasn't watching, he was there, and even better, nothing seemed to be missing either. He still could remember both sets of memories, from before and from after becoming a NEO.

How didn't matter, not right now. Leaving was more important. The door appeared locked from the opposite side. Hardly a problem, there were plenty of ways to deal with that. The sight from the window however, made things much worse.

There was darkness everywhere outside. Tall buildings, covered in flickering signs, stood opposite. There was only one place that could be. As a test, Axel attempted to summon his weapons.

"That won't work… but you already know that."

It wasn't hard to mistake that voice now.

"This world was tainted by the darkness. When a NEO arrived here, the process wasn't entirely complete like it should have been. Not until they crossed over. That's why it won't work here. That's why I brought you here."

The one who was responsible for everything. The same one who'd tried to kill him.

"Don't you even want to know why you're here?"

"I'd rather you stopped hiding."

"I have a job for you."

A job? Whatever kind of 'job' he was about to offer, he wasn't interested. "You think I'd actually do something to help you?"

"I suppose if you don't want to, you can always go back to that lovely void. This time, knowing what to expect, I'm sure you won't last very long. The body is just a vessel for the soul, there's always a connection between the two. Breaking it again would be so very easy…"

Axel paused. This was the same person that had wanted him dead, the last thing he'd like to do was agree to do anything for him. But to go back there? No, he wasn't about to go to that place, not now he was free of it. "Fine."

"I thought you might agree."

Of course, agreeing wasn't all that bad, was it?

"You don't need Sora for anything now, so what I have in mind shouldn't be a problem."

All he needed to do was wait for the right opportunity to come along. 'Number Two' would regret asking him for any kind of 'help'.

As the last of the creatures slid away, pouring over the side of the valley, Kaze picked himself up from the ground. If Sora hadn't been here before, he was now. Moving along the edge, he gazed down into the writhing mass below him. He needed to get down there somehow.

A stinging sensation burned in his chest, distracting him. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for him to understand what it meant. It wasn't his own pain that he was feeling, it was Sora's. He didn't have time to pick a way down carefully.

He was going to need a little extra help with this.

Kaze closed his eyes, running through Sora's own memories of each Keyblade he'd used. With the Oblivion and Oathkeeper both gone to form the new weapon that he held, he'd need another one to go with it. Blinking, he watched the form of the Kingdom Key take shape in his other hand. Perhaps not the strongest, but he didn't need its strength, just to clear a path, and two would do that better than one.

Another biting stab of pain flared inside him, sharper than the last. "Hold on Sora, I'm coming."

Approaching the rocky edge, Kaze shifted his weight, keeping each Keyblade held to his side in an attempt to keep his balance as he began his descent.

This is going to be so embarrassing if I fall…

As he adjusted his position to keep himself from pitching over, he grinned. This was much easier than he'd thought. That was, until he hit the bottom. Stumbling, he hit level ground again. Before he could straighten himself, a group of the Nobodies lunged. Swinging both Keyblades in front of him to keep them away, he started running forward. Both weapons cut through those in his way with ease.

"Kaze!"

Knocking aside a Dusk, he stepped into the smaller clearing that the creatures had formed around his friends. Sora hurried over to him. Kaze smiled seeing that he wasn't too badly hurt. With the pain he'd felt earlier, he'd been expecting to find him in a worse state.

"What are you doing?"

He glanced over to Riku. "Staging a rescue. What does it look like?"

"Great," Riku replied without much enthusiasm. "What's the plan?"

He ducked out the way before a sharp blade could connect with him. "…I kinda didn't get that far."

"Some rescue."

"It's called improvising!" Backing away, Kaze joined Sora, covering him from behind. "We're not going to be able to get rid of them until we find who sent them."

"Someone outside the Organization using them?" Sora suggested.

"No, I don't think so." Using a Keyblade to block an attack, Kaze buried the other into one of the creatures. "Axel?"

"Not his style. Besides he's gone."

"Number Two? We can't say for sure what happened to him…"

"Does it matter?" Riku interrupted. "If they're not here, what can you possibly do?"

"I think…" Sora hesitated. "Kaze, I need you to come back with me to the world we were at."

"You found something?"

"Yep. And I need your help with it." Carefully avoiding any further attacks, Sora moved over to Donald and Goofy. "I need you two to keep an eye on Riku for me, ok?"

"I don't need anyone to keep an eye on me."

"What've you got in mind, Sora?" Kaze asked.

"If the train is still working, you and me are going back to that world. Everyone else, I need you to go back to the castle. If the Nobodies don't follow me and Kaze, you all need to be ready to hold them off."

"And if they do follow you two?"

"Then, we might have a problem."

Note's: I wasn't originally going to include an Axel section this chapter, but I thought I'd stick a little vague bit in there to provide some tiny answers and a bit of a set-up for some minor stuff. Might not be a specific section for him for a few chapters now though. ;)

Not much to comment on this chapter. Would everyone still like me to respond to reviews through the new system?

Oh, and if you don't mind hearing it outside the game, the full version of Passion has now been released – beautiful song. I love it!