Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 16

"Man, doesn't that tick you off?" Hayner growled as he paced the Usual Spot.

Xion watched from her spot on the couch, not able to get as worked up over it as he obviously was.

"Yeah, that's just wrong," Pence eagerly agreed. They had a point, no one liked being blamed for something they hadn't done.

"Seifer's gone too far this time," Olette shook her head, before they all glanced at Xion who just nodded in agreement.

"I mean, it's true that stuff's been stolen around town. And we've got a score to settle with Seifer and everything. So if he wants to think we did it, I can't really blame him. See...that's not what really bugs me. What really bugs me is that he's goin' around tellin' everybody we're the thieves! Now the whole town and their mothers are treating us like the Klepto Club! Have you ever been this ticked off before in your life? 'Cause I haven't. Nuh-uh, never. Now...what to do," Hayner was just getting more worked up and Olette shifted uncomfortably.

"Um, well... We could find the real thieves. That would set the record straight," Xion suggested.

"Hey that sounds fun!" Pence grinned at her, obviously exited by the idea.

"What about Seifer?" Hayner complained, crossing his arms as Xion stood.

"First, we have to clear our names. Once we find the real culprit, everyone will know the truth and stop blaming us," she told him.

"Oh no! They're gone!" Pence's cry had them all looking over to where he was holding his camera. "Our_are gone!" he put a hand to his throat, eyes wide when he couldn't say the word. "What?"

It wasn't just him, none of them could say the word.

"Stolen... And not just the_. The word _! They stole it too!" Xion was very confused, stealing an object she could understand, but an actual word?

"What kinda thief is that? Seifer could never have pulled that off."

"Yeah!" Pence agreed with Hayner.

"All right, time for some recon!" Hayner called and they rushed off.

Xion began to follow but was suddenly overcome by a wave of dizziness. "Huh?" she collapsed to the ground, blacking out.

'His heart is returning. Doubtless he'll awaken very soon.'

Xion startled awake, confused to find herself on the ground. She scrambled up, dusting off her dark blue pants skirt as she did. "Huh?" she shook her head and nearly jumped when Olette returned.

"Xion, come on," he friend called and Xion nodded, following her.

Who was that voice?

,,,,,,,,,,

Xion followed the strange white…thing through the hole in the Tram Common wall and ended up in the woods, hesitating to continue on alone. It continued through the forest, dancing around the trees as if it wanted Xion to follow it. She took a deep breath and did so, ending up outside the Old Mansion. There were a lot of rumours about the place and being there made her nervous.

'We have come for you, my liege.'

The words seemed to appear in her head and she jerked back a step, eyes wide. "What?" She watched in horror as the strange zipper on its head opened. She tightened her hold on the struggle bat and then lunged in, attacking, but she couldn't inflict any damage even when she did manage to connect. "It's no use..."

Xion gasped and looked down at the bat, watching as something swirled around it. "What?" in place of the bat was the worlds largest key. "What...what is this thing?"

Xion looked from the white creature to the Key, and decided to try again. This time, she succeeded and the creature vanished, dropping the pictures from the camera. The Key in Xion's hand disappeared once that happened, leaving her free to pick up the dropped photos.

With a last look around, she took off running for the Usual Spot, panting by the time she arrived, shoving the photos into Hayner's hand.

"What's this?" he asked as he looked at the top one.

"I was his first customer after he took over the shop. So we took a picture together," she explained as the others crowded around.

Olette smiled. "It's a really nice photo. Oh...!"

"Hey! You just said "photo"!" Pence grinned, all of them relieved.

"So, Xion, tell us about the picture thief," Hayner pushed, and she shrugged, not really sure what to say without sounding crazy.

"Not much to say. The pictures were just lying there," she lied in the end.

"Then how do we prove we weren't the ones who took 'em?" Hayner asked before spotting the next picture, chuckling. "It's a boy..." he teased.

"You look happy, Xion," Olette gushed, and Xion tried not to blush.

"Do not," she denied.

"So, like, anybody else notice that all the stolen pictures are of Xion?" Pence pointed out as they looked through them.

"Ohh. So that's why everyone thought it was us," Olette winced, it made sense.

"You mean Seifer didn't go around accusing us after all?" Hayner was almost pouting at losing a reason to fight his rival.

"Are they really all of me?" she asked in shock.

"Yep," Pence held out the one he was holding. "See? Every single one. Wouldn't it be weird if the thief wanted to steal the real Xion or something?" Pence suggested and Hayner rolled his eyes, elbowing him gently.

"C'mon, get serious. Why would anyone wanna steal a bonehead like Xion?"

"Oh, thanks!" she crossed her arms and glared at Hayner, best friend or not, that was not nice.

They then all burst out laughing even as a train passed overhead. They all looked up at the tracks, knowing that that train arriving meant it was time to head home. Hayner, Pence, and Olette left the Usual Spot, Olette waving and Xion waved in return.

Xion sat on the couch for a while, trying to make sense of the day, but left after a bit. She held up her hand to block the sun from her eyes and then heard a voice.

'Where...am I?'

"Who's there?" She demanded, looking around, but she was alone.

'Who are you?'

,,,,,,,,,,,,

Sora approached DiZ, wondering at the suddenly heightened activity in the room. "What happened?" he asked.

"Organization miscreants... They've found us," the man answered, and Sora grimaced. DiZ showed him what had happened and that just confused him.

"But...why would the Nobodies steal photographs?" What was the point to that? To get Xion alone?

"Both are nothing but data to them. The fools could never tell the difference," he scoffed. "We are running out of time, Naminé must make haste," DiZ glanced at Sora, and he nodded, leaving to tell her .

He found her sitting on the floor with her back to Riku's pod, drawing. He sat down beside her and she shifted to lean against him. "The Organisation breached the data town," he murmured, not wanting to disturb the peaceful quiet.

"I know," she admitted. "DiZ will need to send you in for a little while, wear your coat so no one sees your face," she warned, and Sora nodded.

"What's wrong?" he asked, lifting his hand to run through her hair.

"Something's….coming, something bad. Not the Organisation but… I can't see far enough," she admitted, obviously frustrated.

"Hey, you're not a Seer, Naminé. It's not your job to see the future."

"But"

"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it when it happens, okay?" he wouldn't let her know her words had worried him. "At least we have that much warning, most people don't get that much."

She nodded slowly, relaxing at his words, and he was glad. He knew the Organisation wasn't the only threat out there, not to their group anyway. So long as She existed, Sora would live with the threat of her finding and claiming him…and he feared for anyone with him when that happened. Then there would be anyone who learned the truth about him and saw him as a monster. Any other threats that Keyblade bearers had to deal with…the list could end up very long.

,,,,,,,,,,,

"All present and accounted for?" Hayner asked as Xion rushed up to them.

"What've we got?" Pence held out his own wages.

"Let's see," she pulled out her own funds, holding them out to Hayner. "Just this."

"Good job," he praised, and Xion smiled.

"Nice work, everyone," Olette short her a wink, and Xion looked away, Hayner was only her friend. "Added to what we started with, we now have..." Olette showed them the Munny pouch she made with the Munny inside it. "Tada! 5000 Munny!"

"Sweet!" Hayner cheered.

Olette handed the bag to Xion. "Let's get tickets!" She and Pence ran ahead into the station.

"We can't be together forever... so we'd better make the time we do have something to remember," Hayner murmured, and Xion looked over at him.

"Huh?" what had made him say that?

"Gotcha!" Hayner jokingly ruffled Xion's short hair before joining the other two.

Xion smoothed her hair down and went to follow tripped on something she didn't see. "Whoa!"

A small stick dropped to the ground. Hayner, Pence, and Olette stopped, Hayner

stepping back a bit down the stairs.

Xion gasped slightly, coming back up to her knees and touching her lip, relieved to find no blood. She looked up to see someone in a black cloak standing beside her. "What?"

The person carefully pulled her to her feet and leant in to whisper. "Do you remember Riku?"

"What?" She asked again in confusion.

"Xion! Three minutes!" Hayner yelled, distracting her.

"Okay!" Xion looked back to the figure, who was gone. She blinked in confusion but then ran to catch up with her friends in the station.

Hayner leant down the teller and holds out four fingers. "Four students!"

"Xion, the money!" Pence called.

"Wait…" Xion searched the pockets in her white jacket for where she'd put the pouch. Why had Olette given it to her anyway? "No!"

"Huh?" Hayner turned from the ticket counter to look at her.

Xion looked back out toward the plaza and remembered the cloaked person picking her up. "He took it!" She went to run back to the plaza, incensed that some guy had picked her pocket!

"Where are you going?" Olette called after her.

"Remember when I fell? I had the money before that. I bet that guy took it!" she answered.

"Guy?" Hayner frowned at her.

"He couldn't have gotten too far..." she offered, it was all her fault, they were going to miss the train.

"What are you talking about?" Hayner asked, and she frowned at him. "There was no guy."

"Huh? But he... There wasn't... Really?"

The train whistle blew and they realised they'd missed it. Xion felt horrible, if only she'd realised what was happening when he pulled her up. But then…why hadn't Hayner seen him?

"Oh boy..." Pence muttered, kicking the ground despondently.

"There wasn't anyone...there?" she whispered but followed them away from the station.

,,,,,,,,,

"Naminé, hurry," DiZ muttered as he worked, the progress bar had moved since Xion had been sent into the simulated town thankfully.

Sora leant against the wall behind him, juggling the Munny pouch he'd taken from Xion. "Is it really that hard to make a beach?" he asked, genuinely curious sounding. The boy did seem utterly clueless when it came to most technology…and yet he was an excellent pilot, rather odd.

"We'd be giving the enemy another entry point," he explained. Nobodies had already infiltrated the world once, they didn't need to give them more areas to sneak in through.

"And this?"

DiZ glanced around to see the Munny pouch. "We can always buy some sea-salt ice cream," he laughed, hearing Sora juggle the pouch again. "Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete that," he explained, hearing the juggling stop.

He honestly did not understand the boy, then again he was a teenager and they were rather temperamental and prone to irrationality. Still, his attachment to Naminé and Xion was highly confusing. Sora knew what they were and yet he treated them as if they were actually real people.

,,,,,,,,,

Naminé hesitated, she knew what she was considering would anger DiZ, but she glanced over at Sora who looked up, sensing her appraisal. He cocked his head to the side, curious, and then his eyes widened and he nodded, leaving the room to keep DiZ occupied. She wished…she shook her head, it was impossible, and yet she would also receive her wish once she re-joined Kairi.

For now, she wanted to speak with Xion while DiZ was occupied.

,,,,,,,

Xion felt bad that they'd missed out on the beach because of her, but she couldn't have left Seifer and the others to fight those white things alone. Then there was that girl…Naminé …there was something familiar about her. The odd man with her had been the voice she'd heard the other day…and then the pickpocket had shown up! He had remained quiet, had pushed her through some kind of portal...but once again he'd been gentle. What was going on?

,,,,,,,,,

Xion panted for air, the last of the white things vanishing, but everyone was still frozen.

"Xion. All right. Fight, fight, fight," an unfamiliar voice called, and she looked over to see a man walking towards her. He was dressed identically to the pickpocket but it wasn't him, this one was taller. "You really don't remember? It's me. You know, Axel," he removed his hood to reveal flaming red hair, green eyes, and odd marking just below his eyes.

"Axel?" she asked in confusion, why did he think she knew him?

"Talk about blank with a capital "B." Man oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one," he muttered, confusing her even more. She gasped as flaming weapons appeared and he caught them.

"Wait a sec, tell me what's going on!" She demanded, backing up a step.

"This town is his creation, right? Which means we don't have time for a Q & A. You're coming with me, conscious or not. Then you'll hear the story," he answered, getting ready to fight. A strange presence flew around Xion and Axel straightened up. "Uh-oh."

Xion sighed and looked at the Key before throwing it down in frustration. "What's going ON!?" she yelled even as it appeared in her hand again with a flash of light.

"Number 13. Xion. The Keyblades' chosen one," Axel said, which made no sense at all to her, readying to fight again.

"Okay, fine! You asked for it!" She snapped, gripping the…Keyblade?

"That's more like it!" he laughed as flames surrounded them.

How was any of this possible? She shook those thoughts off, dodging his attack, Keyblade clashing against his fiery weapons. She twisted and dodged as much as she could, taking a hit from him hurt! Finally, she saw an opening and slashed across his chest, forcing him back.

Axel panted, leaning over slightly. "Not bad, Xion."

Why did that praise make her heart warm? Who was he to her? How could he know her if she didn't know him. Or…had she forgotten?

The man appeared and she backed up, keeping them both in sight.

"So it was you," Axel commented, obviously recognising him and not liking him. Axel sent his weapons flying but they were stopped before hitting the man.

"Xion, this man speaks nonsense!"

"Xion, don't let him deceive you!" Axel called, his tone…pleading?

"Xion!"

"Xion!"

Their voices overlapped…too loud! She clutched her head, eyes closed, shaking. It felt like something trying to tear her apart! "Hayner...Pence...Olette..." she whispered desperately. Her friends were real, this wasn't. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" she yelled for them.

The Struggle competition suddenly returned, the crowd cheering once again at Xion's defeat of Vivi.

"What? What just happened?" The Announcer asked in shock.

"Huh? ...How did I get here?" Vivi looked at her, obviously confused, but then he wandered off the stage as Hayner, Olette, and Pence rushed up.

"Xion!" Olette. grabbed her in a hug.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Xion - our new top Struggler!"

,,,,,,,,

"Was that really necessary?" Sora glared at DiZ.

"If you had gone, Axel would have recognised you once you spoke," he pointed out. "The idea is for the coat to hide your identity. And we could not afford for him to tempt Xion into going with him."

Sora knew that, but it still seemed cruel to him. He wished Xion could be saved but she had agreed to let the memories return to Riku.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Kairi lay in her bed, muffling her tears in her pillow. Riku…oh Riku… She could see him clearly now in her memories even if she couldn't really hear him. That didn't stop her seeing how he changed and it broke her heart. If only they had known what was happening to him…but how could they have? Sora seemed positive that Riku was free now, back to himself. She just hoped that restoring his memories didn't have any bad effects.

She just had to keep telling herself that they'd be home and safe soon.

,,,,,,,,,,

Axel was frustrated, he knew Xion had been close to agreeing to go with him. If only that man hadn't interfered… he had his orders, if he couldn't bring her in …no, she was his best friend, he couldn't kill her…could he? If he failed, he would become a Dusk or be destroyed himself, neither fate something he wanted. So what else could he do?

Someone had moved him away from Twilight Town when he was unconscious… who? Had it been Sora? An enemy would have just ended him while he was vulnerable, but they'd fought side by side and that would mean something to someone like the kid. Maybe…he'd be willing to help him save Xion? How would he take learning she had been made form data collected form him? Axel didn't think he'd hate her for it, maybe it'd make him more willing to help. But how to find him?

Xion had said she needed to go back….back to Sora? But he seemed fine without what had been used to make her. She'd just been struggling with learning where she came from, that was all. He'd get her back and it would be fine.

TBC…