Thus far, my decision to keep the girl has worked in our favor.

From what I observe, she is quick to learn and is performing well by our standards. Her curiosity serves her well, as she is studious and brilliant. She has utilized the tools around her to become more effective in her knowledge of many subjects regarding our dealings. And Numbers Sixteen and Seventeen have been aiding her along the way.

Number Fifteen, however, seems to have a peculiar reaction to her. Though not unexpected of him, given his history. I will monitor the situation as it develops, but there are other things that require my attention. So many things…

Some time had passed since Xaik had first come along into the Organization. She had spent the past few days training and studying with Xeros and Scyrux, expanding her knowledge of the Organization, its missions and goals. Time not spent honing her skills in reconnaissance and combat was spent learning about the nature of the worlds. Xaik enjoyed the time she spent reading about the various subjects, such as more about the Heartless and Nobodies. She now understood their natures, as well as the differences between the two.

She had familiarized herself with the Castle, as well as the rest of the World That Never Was. Her navigational skills were not the only things to improve, as she had become a more capable spy and warrior. Though she still had somewhat of a distaste for the idea of combat, keeping her a more passive fighter and still not as confident as the rest. But this didn't stop Xeros from continuing her training in such things.

He was doing so just now, watching over Xaik as she was fighting against some Dusks on the giant balcony that hung off of their tower, known as the "Beckoning Abyss". This was the area in which Scyrux would help train Xaik, as he was partial to the open air of it. He hated the closed spaces and disruptive architecture of the rest of the castle.

Scyrux, procrastinating on his assignment for the day, was also observing Xaik's training. He had made a makeshift hammock with his whip, which Xaik had learned he called Fate's Thread. He hung from a smaller balcony above, swinging back and forth as Xeros paid close attention to Xaik's technique.

Xaik found a rhythm to her fighting, now managing against a few Dusks at once. Each one would jump at her, but she was able to dodge and block the attacks. She would occasionally strike back, hitting a few of the Dusks as they ended up being smashed into the ground or slammed against the wall or over the side of the balcony. Scyrux was impressed by her strength. For such a small girl, she managed to wield her hammer well. Xeros was astonished that Xaik could use such a powerful and heavy hammer at the speed that she did.

After vanquishing the last of the Dusks, Xaik dropped her hammer down with a loud CLANG. She wiped the sweat off her brow as Scyrux clapped enthusiastically.

"Way to go, Xaik!" He cheered.

"These past few days have proven quite significant," Xeros added. "You've improved a lot."

Xaik twirled her curl in her fingers, giving a slight smile.

"I'm grateful that… you've been helping me so much."

Scyrux then jumped down from his whip-hammock and pulled it down. As he wrapped it around his arm, he walked up to Xaik.

"I think you're just about ready for your number!"

"My… number?" Xaik asked, curiously.

"Yeah, you know." Scyrux pointed his thumb at himself. "Like I'm Number Seventeen and Xeros is Sixteen."

Xeros walked up behind Scyrux and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at his junior with somewhat of a hard-nosed expression.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," He said as he turned to her, looking at her with those analytical eyes. "Before she can earn that, we need to see what her magical capabilities are."

Xaik was left stunned, realizing that this entire time, she had no clue if she had any magic. She was aware that the others seemed to have some sort of magical abilities, but she never once considered that she would have to manifest her own. Scyrux looked back to Xeros with a playful eye roll.

"I'm surprised that you waited for that," He said as he then pointed a finger at his senior. "If I remember correctly, you had me practice magic almost out the gate!"

"Your memory is almost accurate. It was a challenge to get you to train at all. And speaking of getting you to work," Xeros raised an eyebrow at Scyrux. "Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?"

Scyrux chuckled as he snapped his fingers, feigning being caught.

"Dang, I was hoping you wouldn't remind me!" He then backed away to leave, as he waved to the two. "Well, you two have fun with magic lessons!"

With a skip in his step, Scyrux had gone, leaving Xeros and Xaik alone. Xeros turned back to Xaik. Xaik looked up to Xeros, unsure of what was to come next.

"S-so…" Xaik let out after a bit, noticing that speaking got harder as soon as Scyrux left. "You're… going to train me in… magic?"

"Yes. Are you familiar with the concept of magic?"

Unfortunately for Xaik, most of what she had been studying had not covered that topic. She wasn't sure why it wasn't really present in the information of the Organization, perhaps because most of the Organization members were already familiar with it. And with her faulty memory, she didn't really have any idea of magic or how to use it, even if she could.

Xeros uses magic… She came to the realization. Though Xaik didn't remember using magic, she knew that Xeros also couldn't have remembered.

"Xeros?" Xaik uttered, now voicing her thoughts. Xeros looked at her with attentive eyes. "I don't remember… if I've used magic…"

"This makes sense."

"So…" She continued. "...how did you figure it out?"

Xeros gave a puzzled look, as he placed a hand to his chin and began to recollect.

"Truth be told, it just happened."

It just… happened? Xaik found the answer unhelpful. But Xeros looked to Xaik's confused face, understanding that much.

"It came to me when I was under pressure. I was in danger, and it manifested so I could defend myself."

The thought terrified Xaik, the idea of being in danger in order to gain access to magic. But then something came to her, something that stood out from before. When she was in the Deep Jungle with Scyrux, there was a danger that she caught before it came. She managed to hear the snake before it attacked them. And then, when she was looking for Xeros back in Twilight Town, she heard him from far away. She wasn't sure if that had anything to do with magic, but it definitely wasn't natural.

Xeros could see the puzzling expression on Xaik's face. He sensed that she was onto something.

"I'm n-not sure if… it's helpful, but…" Xaik muttered.

"Go on." Xeros gave an attentive look.

"When I was on the reconnaissance mission with Scyrux… I heard something before it attacked us."

Xeros gave a nod as well as a "hm" of acknowledgement as he looked at Xaik.

"Yes, I recall reading that in the report. Do you know why that is?"

Xaik shook her head, as Xeros went back to puzzling.

"I see," He continued. "And has it happened since then?"

"When you took me to Twilight Town a while back… I found you by the sound of you fighting the Heartless."

Xeros thought hard about the implications of this. This was beyond his knowledge, but it was the only lead they had towards some sort of unnatural ability that Xaik might have possessed. He decided to pursue this idea further, as he looked back at Xaik.

"Well, we might be onto something with this." Xeros planned their next move. "Let's see what we can do with it."

He gestured for Xaik to walk into the middle of the platform as she did just so. He followed behind her, as they stood dead center of the balcony, and Xeros sat down on his knees. Xaik was unsure whether to do the same, but after a moment, he held out his hand as an invitation to sit as well. Xaik sat down, crossing her legs as she looked to Xeros.

"Do you recall how you managed to hear those things?"

"Um…" Xaik pondered the question, thinking about the instances in which her hearing seemed to increase. "...the first time was kind of an accident. I tried to focus it, but it didn't work."

Xeros gave another pensive "hm" as he pursued further.

"And the second time?"

The second time, I was… Xaik's face grew a bit warm as she remembered she was thinking of Xeros at the time. The strange sensation that he gave her was rearing its head, threatening to overwhelm her in that moment. Not now! She tried to calm her brain, but it was proving difficult.

Xeros noted this, as he looked to Xaik with a tilted, curious face.

"Is something the matter?"

Xaik was broken from her thought process by Xeros's words. She looked at him, his face was intently looking at her, trying to read her again. Xaik shook her head, trying to compose herself.

"N-no… I just…" She stuttered. "I'm having a hard time… thinking about it, that's all."

Xeros nodded his head, thinking he understood.

"Thinking might not be useful. Perhaps it's best if we just try using instinct."

Instinct…? Xaik thought to herself as Xeros sat up straighter than he was before, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He began to glow that reddish-black aura, and his body began to float up a bit. It was as if where he sat had lost gravity. Xaik watched in awe as he was suspended in the air for a moment, noting the circle on the ground where the aura was touching it. After a moment, he exhaled sharply, as his body returned to the ground, softly.

He then opened his eyes and looked at Xaik.

"Close your eyes and focus."

Xaik looked at him for a moment, as his expression pressed for her to close her eyes. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes so she could no longer see.

"After I'm done speaking, I want you to listen carefully to the sounds around you. Tell me what you can hear."

Listen… Xaik tried to quiet her mind and hear the sounds around her. At first, she didn't hear much of anything. The slight shuffling of the leather of their coats as they sat, a bit of an echo from inside and her as well as Xeros's breaths. But nothing really of note, no sounds that seemed to come from anywhere that didn't seem plausible.

"-to be kidding, of ALL of the people to FORCE me to drag along-"

Just then, the distant voice pierced through her ears. She opened her eyes, as she recognized the voice that she had heard a bit of.

Xeros looked, seeing that Xaik had some sort of reaction.

"What is it?" Xeros inquired.

"I hear-"

"-f it isn't BAD enough that I have to SEE her face around here, NOW I have t-" Xaik heard the voice approaching fast, along with the sounds of stomping.

She turned to look towards the doorway to her left. Confused, Xeros looked as well, unsure of what Xaik was looking at. Xaik continued to hear the distant grumbling, one she knew and hoped wasn't coming their way.

It wasn't long before the footsteps finally came to a halt as Varijex came through the portal onto the balcony. He looked at the two sitting in the middle of the platform as he pointed down towards Xaik, aggressively.

"YOU," He yelled. "Get over here, NOW!"

Xaik was unsure of what was happening, why Varijex had come and why he wanted to speak with her, of all people. Xeros also seemed surprised that Varijex was demanding her presence, as he had made it very clear when she had arrived that he did not want to be involved in her training until she was, in his words, "mission-ready". Xeros stood up, walking closer to Varijex, standing somewhat between him and Xaik. Varijex looked at him, unamused.

"I must be mistaken to have heard you demanding Xaik's presence, Jexy," Xeros spoke coyly. "I recall you saying that you were done playing in the kiddie pool."

"Did I ASK your opinion, Xeros?" Varijex barked. "And stop CALLING me that!"

"If you want attention, I could oblige, you know." Xeros gave Varijex a cheeky grin.

Varijex let out a loud "ngah" as he walked up to Xeros, staring him directly in the face. Varijex groaned in his throat, as he wished he could throttle Xeros right then and there, but that wasn't why he was there.

"You're LUCKY that I don't have TIME to waste on YOU! I have a mission and that SQUIRT is coming along!"

Xeros was shocked to hear those words come from Varijex. Xaik was less than enthused, even for a Nobody. She stood up, walking over to Xeros. Xeros looked down at her, then back to Varijex.

"I must be mistaken, again. It's unlike you to decide something like this, Jexy."

"Because if it were up to ME, I wouldn't HAVE. Saïx is FORCING me!" Varijex yelled out.

Xeros sighed through his nose, knowing that Saïx going directly to Varijex was always disastrous. Unfortunately for Xaik, this spelled trouble if he couldn't act as a buffer between the two. But if Saïx wanted Xaik on a mission with Varijex, there was nothing he could do. He turned to Xaik, who gave him the look of a scared puppy.

"If that's what Saïx wants, I guess that's what has to be done."

B-but… Xaik pleaded in her mind. Going on a mission…? With… Varijex? Xaik desperately wanted to argue, to ask for any sort of change so she wouldn't have to go on a mission before she was prepared. And with Varijex, no less. This could only mean bad things, even without her feelings. She could tell.

"I d-don't know… if this is a good idea-"

"We don't have a choice in the matter." Xeros interrupted.

"It's not like I'm HAPPY about this, either!" Varijex complained as he turned around, waving his arms angrily. "I can't even BE upset about this and I'm UPSET!"

Xeros looked at Xaik, as she gave him another desperate look. But orders are orders, and Xeros couldn't do anything about it. He wasn't sure what to do for her, as he understood that Varijex was not always the most pleasant company, but she had to do this.

"You've learned a lot since you first came. I have faith in your abilities thus far, and with Varijex there, there's no concern."

A groan came from behind as Xeros looked over to see Varijex putting a finger to his mouth, as if to make himself gag.

"Are you done BABYing the runt? Can we GET a move on?!" Varijex turned and walked away, his distant grumbling heard as he made his way toward the wall to lean against.

Xeros sighed as he often did when dealing with Varijex. Though it was a sigh, there was a hint of contentment in the sound. As if that was how everything was supposed to be. To Xaik this was alien. Though not unusual for Varijex, his behavior was not something that she thought was necessary or productive.

Varijex had begun resting against the wall, keeping his distance. It was unusual to see, but even when seemingly trying to relax, Varijex managed to make it look so tense. Xaik looked at Xeros as he gave one last look of affirmation. She took a deep breath before sighing, then slowly approached Varijex. He pushed himself off the wall and held out an arm, summoning a portal. Xaik looked at Xeros one last time, as Varijex rolled his entire head at her hesitancy. He let out another groan as Xaik watched him turn to the portal.

"Whenever you're done WHIMPERING." He said as he then walked ahead, through the portal.

Xaik waited a moment, hesitating. Xaik turned back to see Xeros had come over, as he gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"You'll be fine."

I doubt it, but…"...Okay." Xaik let out before she turned to walk to the portal.

"Oh, and Xaik," Xeros added as Xaik turned back quickly. "A word of advice. Keep up. Varijex tends to move fast."

Xaik nodded as she then went to walk through the portal. She entered the familiar darkness once more, but this time there wasn't as much light on the other side. As she exited the portal, she noticed a peculiar scent touching her nose. For some reason, the smell was familiar to her in a way she couldn't explain. The sensation it gave her was unusual, but she didn't think too much of it after she realized what the scent was.

In front of her she could see the ocean. Vast and expansive, the sky above was clouded and gloomy. She stood over a dock, where many boats were resting on the waves. She turned behind her to see a small, quaint little town. Unlike Twilight Town, however, this place was very primitive in nature. The buildings were simplistic in design and in use of materials. But the people seemed to be fine as they wandered about the portside town.

Xaik then turned, seeing that Varijex had been standing there, waiting impatiently. He had his arms crossed, with a wide-eyed frown. Xaik shuddered in her coat, as often happened to her body when Varijex gave her that look.

"TOOK you long enough." He said as he then turned and began to walk away from Xaik.

Heeding Xeros's advice, she quickly ran after him, trying to keep up. He definitely was fast, as he stormed through the town and its people. Xaik tried to wade through the townsfolk as best she could to maintain pace with him. It wasn't very hard, given his presence seemed to throw people off and make them uncomfortable. That ability of his probably rivaled his actual powers. It admittedly was somewhat impressive, even to Xaik.

Not long had passed before they had wandered about the town, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Xaik wasn't even sure what they were there for, so it's not like she was able to help in any way. What are we even doing here…? She thought to ask him, but speaking with Varijex was not something Xaik wanted to deal with. But the longer they were there, the more Xaik could tell that Varijex seemed to get frustrated. A strange way to behave, given his lack of feelings.

"U-um…" Xaik murmured. "...what are-?"

Her attempt to ask Varijex was interrupted by another loud "ngah" sound coming from him. He then stopped, crossing his arms again as he looked around him. The few people around noticed the commotion as he began to go off on a tirade of sorts.

"This is STUPID," He yelled. "Saïx has me go on this WORTHLESS mission, tells me," He then did what seemed to be an impression of Saïx as he continued his rant. "'Go and search Port Royal for anything useful. Clues about Heartless or blah-blah-blah-blahBLAH'." He then reverted to his normal speech pattern as his complaining continued.

"And not ONLY did I have this dumb vague mission to go on, I get STUCK," He said as he turned to Xaik. "With YOU!"

Xaik shrunk into herself a bit as Varijex glared at her once more. He waved his hands in an exaggerated manner at Xaik, who wasn't sure why he was attacking her.

"I MEAN, look AT you. You're not even of ANY help!"

"I-I… I didn't kn-know what-"

"EXACTLY," He blurted out. "How am I supposed to do ANYTHING if you don't KNOW anything!"

Xaik stood there, taking the abuse as the people around were unsure of what to make of this. Someone was disturbed enough by the commotion as they called on some guards to go handle the situation. The two men, dressed in more fancy attire and carrying flintlock rifles with bayonets, walked up behind Varijex as Xaik noticed them approaching. Varijex was too caught up in his frustration to hear them coming or notice them as they stood beside them.

"And don't EVEN get me STARTED on-"

"Excus' me, sir," One of the guards spoke in a foreign accent as Varijex stopped mid-sentence.

He turned to see the two guards standing in front of him now, eyeing them up and down. The one on the left was tall and lankier than the other, who was shorter and stouter. Both were rather unattractive, looking at Varijex and Xaik with confused eyes. They'd never seen such attire on a person, and these two definitely did not look like they belonged here.

The look on Varijex's face, on the other hand, was unimpressed and screamed of disappointment at the fact that now he would have to deal with what seemed to be the local authorities. Something that Varijex understood, no matter what world they were in.

"You're causin' a disturbance and we would ask that you move alon'." The tall guard insisted, gesturing forward with his rifle in his hands.

"YOU'RE the one doing the disturbing here." Varijex criticized the guard, who looked somewhat dumbfounded.

"Oi, that isn't 'ow you should address us." The shorter guard replied.

Varijex, standing a fair amount taller than the short guard, held up his hand above the guard's head.

"Sorry, but you must be this TALL to speak to me."

At this point, the guards seemed mad at Varijex and gripped their rifles tight. They seemed to take a sort of defensive stance, which Varijex noticed and did not take a liking to. Xaik was baffled at this conflict that had arisen, but she seemed powerless to stop it.

"That's it!" The tall guard hollered. "You'll be comin' wit' us!"

The guards stepped forward, rifles out as if to shepherd Varijex and Xaik away. Once they got close enough, Varijex grabbed the rifles much to the surprise of the guards. He then pushed the guards, smacking them in the chest with their own rifles. The guards were stunned, pushed back and completely at a loss for what was happening. Varijex cracked his knuckles and stepped forward, approaching the guards.

The guards readied their rifles, about to take aim at him. Varijex merely chuckled as he sported a grin that terrified the guards. He raised his hand, summoning two floating silver and blue orbs and pulling the barrels of the rifles up against the will of the guards. They tried to pull them down, but no matter how hard they yanked, they couldn't manage it. Varijex then grabbed a hold of the guards coats, pulling them in close.

"I'm not going ANYWHERE."

With those words, Varijex spun and threw the two guards off the side of the docks nearby as a splash could be heard. After a moment, the orbs disappeared and the rifles fell to the ground with a wooden and metal clacking. Xaik was absolutely in awe as Varijex had managed to deal with those guards without effort. He brushed off his sleeves as he then turned back to Xaik, as he noticed her expression.

"What?" He growled.

"I-I… um… n-nothing." Xaik then looked ahead to see more guards heading their way. She pointed as what seemed like at least a dozen guards approached quickly. "Varijex, look!"

Varijex turned to see the guards coming and groaned as he realized that he would have to deal with even more nuisances. The guards all took position, some kneeling and aiming down while the rest stood to aim above their comrades.

"Give me a BREAK." Varijex groaned as the guards seemed to prepare to fire and Varijex readied to fight.

And then, as if to answer his prayers - BOOM! A distant explosion echoed in the air, followed by a crash. The guards turned as Varijex and Xaik looked to see what the sound was. Then, from behind them, they heard the ringing of a rather loud bell coming from the other side of the port. They looked up to see what appeared to be a large stone fort, lined with cannons that began to fire.

Xaik looked to see what they were firing at and saw that not too far away, sailing ever closer, were two ships. The guards all stood up as one of them called out.

"Pirates!" The group leader then turned to the rest of the men.

"Come on, men!" He gestured forward as they grabbed hold of their rifles and moved toward where the ships were.

Pirates?! Xaik was shocked that she was encountering pirates. She turned to Varijex for guidance, but he seemed rather uninterested. He turned and walked away, as Xaik followed behind him quickly.

"V-Varijex? What are you doing?" Xaik pleaded.

"We've got things to do. And I'm not SCARED of some dirty pirates."

"B-but…" Xaik stopped as she gestured behind them. "Shouldn't we help them?"

Varijex stopped and turned his head back to Xaik, who began to regret her words. Varijex turned back to her with the most intense, non-empathetic gaze Xaik thought she would ever see, even for a Nobody.

"We're not here to help THESE people. We're here to HELP ourselves."

He turned away before Xaik could think to say anything, as she was completely awestruck at him. I know he's a Nobody, but still…! She turned back, looking at the chaos that was ensuing. The pirate ships were firing cannons into the town and fort. The fort desperately tried to fire back as what looked like some smaller boats were leaving the ship and heading for the docks. Xaik watched as the boats, loaded with pirates, made it to the piers and began to climb up and attack people.

Xaik was conflicted, as Varijex had said that this was not why they were here. The Organization had a mission for them and they needed to complete it. But something inside Xaik was screaming for her to do something. She wasn't sure what this sensation was, but it was much too loud to ignore. I can't just leave… I have to help!

Xaik then ran towards the fighting, against her better judgment. Varijex turned and noticed Xaik running away from him, heading back towards the battle.

"HEY, Squirt!" He called out distantly as Xaik grew further away. "Where do you THINK you're GOING?!"

He groaned once more as he then chased after her. Xaik ran past the panicking crowds of people trying to escape the cannon fire and encroaching pirates. Why did I do this?! This is stupid! Xaik cursed herself as she then summoned her hammer to her, and readied herself for the fight at hand. She saw a group of pirates engaged with a group of guards in sword combat. She looked around, trying to get a hold of her surroundings.

She noticed that a group of civilians were being chased by a small group of pirates further into the town and she took action. She chased after the pirates, who continued to give chase to the people. Eventually the people ran into a dead end, cornered by the pirates. The people backed into the wall, as the pirates laughed and pointed their swords at the defenseless townsfolk.

"We'll be takin' all yer goods, or we'll be takin' yer lives!"

Xaik rounded the corner that led to the dead end and stood behind the pirates, with her hammer at the ready.

"H-hey!" She called out, hesitantly.

Some of the pirates turned toward her, looking at her with horrid eyes. Xaik swallowed loudly as she looked to all of the pirates, wielding all manner of sharp weaponry. They were all filthy- wearing torn, ragged clothing, and all of them clearly not well practiced in hygiene. As they looked at Xaik, she shook where she stood.

"Lookit wot we 'ave 'ere," One of the pirates jeered. "Littl' missy got 'erself a weapon."

"Lookit 'ow she's shakin'," Another one added. "She's roight scared!"

All of the pirates turned their attention to Xaik as the people they had cornered looked to her with fear. They had no idea who she was, but they knew she was in trouble. Some of the pirates stepped forward, getting closer to Xaik. Xaik stepped back, now wishing she had not angered the pirates.

"Wot's say we take 'er instead?"

Xaik's eyes grew wide as the pirates started coming at her.

"You're NOT taking her!"

Xaik heard the familiar growl behind her as she turned to see Varijex was there. His face was filled with fury, but upon seeing Xaik turn, his face changed to intense indifference. He held his hand up, making a gripping motion with his fingers as a large silver and blue orb appeared above their heads and everything that was metal began to go up into it. Their swords suddenly were pulled into the air, getting caught in the orb as they looked at them, startled and confused.

"As much as I'd like you to take the squirt off my hands," Varijex said, as he brushed his hand through his messy hair. "You are NOT getting ME in trouble for whatever happens to her."

"Wot's the meanin' of this?!" One of the pirates cried out.

"This is black magic, is what it is!" Another continued as Varijex pushed past Xaik, stepping up to the pirates.

"Oh, sorry," Varijex mocked as he pointed up to the swords and knives trapped in the magnet orb above. "Did you need those PUNY little swords?"

Varijex closed his fist, causing the orb to disappear and the swords to disperse straight down around the pirates. They all narrowly avoided being stabbed by their own swords as they then took hold of their weapons, growling in anger as they pulled them out and pointed them at Varijex. Varijex let out a chuckle as he slammed his fist into his palm, then held out his hand to summon his own sword, leaving the pirates stunned at the size of it compared to their own.

"Let me SHOW you what a REAL sword looks like!"

The pirates rushed at Varijex as he took his fighting stance. Xaik watched as the crowd rushed at Varijex, who stood perfectly still. Look out! Xaik cried in her mind.

The closest pirate took a swing, slashing his sword at Varijex. As the blade came at him, Xaik saw Varijex's hand open as he flicked his wrist up. He switched his sword from back-grip to forward grip and slashed up against the sword of the pirate. His sword cut through it with ease as the pirate was shocked to watch as his blade split in two. With his other hand, Varijex grabbed the pirate and threw him back into the crowd as they continued running.

They fell, with the exception of the few that were in the back and could react to the domino effect Varijex had caused. As the pirates gathered their bearings, Varijex pointed his sword at them.

"TOLD you," Varijex chuckled. "Your little swords are NOTHING compared to my Solderdraw. Like you are nothing compared to ME."

The pirates then got up, now surrounding Varijex as three of them went after Xaik. Xaik prepared herself to fight, holding her hammer on her shoulder. And so, the two became locked in combat with the pirates. The battle was intense; Varijex was fending off several pirates as Xaik was dealing with the other few. If Xaik had a heart, it would have been racing. Her very first battle, a real battle. Not like the training on Dusks she was used to. How it came to this, she didn't know.

The first pirate to attack her slashed at her with his sword, as she blocked the blow with her hammer. She deflected it, taking a swing at him as she knocked the pirate down. The second tried to run her through, so she rolled to the side, as the pirate ran at her with his sword in the air. Xaik thrust her hammer out, hitting him in the stomach and knocking the wind right out of him. As he bent forward, she raised her hammer up, striking him in the chin as he fell backwards. That must have hurt. She thought to herself as the last pirate came after her with a knife.

As he slashed at her, she swung her hammer at the hand holding the knife, causing him to drop it from the pain. As he gripped his hand, Xaik took another swing and beat the last one down to the ground. Seemingly victorious, Xaik turned her attention to see the ferocious onslaught that Varijex was delivering to his opponents.

Unlike Xaik, this was not Varijex's first brush with danger. As the pirates would attack, he would block and deflect the blows, cutting through their weapons as if they were butter, then following up with a punch or a throw. Occasionally he would use his magic to hold the pirates in place by their metal belongings, giving him an opening to pummel them with his fists. Xaik was amazed at Varijex's display, realizing that this was the power of one of her more senior members. Xeros was good, but Varijex was definitely not one to mess with.

But in watching Varijex, she was distracted and left herself open to another pirate who managed to get behind her. Before she could react, the pirate grabbed her, lifting her up as he held her tight. She let out a scream as Varijex noticed, but couldn't do anything as he was still dealing with his own pirates.

"SERIOUSLY?!" He yelled out.

Xaik was struggling in the grasp of the pirate, trying to break free but it was no use. He was much too big, much too strong for her. She wriggled as he tried to drag her away, as she yelped and shouted. She watched helplessly as she was being taken away, and Varijex was unable to stop it.

I can't… break free! Xaik whimpered in her mind. I'm not strong enough…! She continued to struggle as soon a sensation began to well up inside her. The thought of being taken, the harm that would befall her if she couldn't escape, it gave her a pit in her stomach that was awful. She didn't know what to do. And she couldn't even think of what to do.

"Thinking might not be useful."

The words came to Xaik as she remembered what Xeros had told her before. If she couldn't think of a way to escape, the only thing to do was rely on instinct. And her instinct was telling her to get free, no matter what.

She began to wriggle in the grasp of the pirate more violently as she continued to yell out. The pure sensation of her body moving as she continued to scream began to build up inside of her. Soon, her body began to shake not of her own volition. The shaking increased in speed as her entire body started to tremble in an unnatural manner. The pirate began to struggle to maintain his grip as Xaik's entire body was vibrating and Xaik's yells became distorted. The sensation had built up to a critical mass within her as she then took a deep breath and released it.

From her throat, Xaik let out a powerful scream that pierced the ears of everyone in the entire town. All those around stopped hearing the sounds of swords clashing, the panicking citizens, and even the gun and cannon fire was drowned out. Everyone covered their ears in an attempt to block the noise, even Varijex was startled as he looked to see what had happened. The scream created an energy shockwave that blasted the pirate off of Xaik and into a nearby building, leaving him unconscious. Xaik landed on the ground, her body still vibrating from the power surging through her.

I… I did it! Xaik cheered in her mind as she looked to her hands. She watched as the vibrations slowly died down. Then she started running back as Varijex had begun to wrap up his own battle. With the last of his opponents defeated, he turned to Xaik, rubbing the inside of his ears with his fingers.

"I don't know what that was," Varijex spoke a little louder than normal, his ears still ringing a bit. "But next time, WARN me!"

"I'm sorry…!" Xaik exclaimed, looking back at her hands, perplexed. "I don't know… how I did that."

"It's called magic, peawit. Now come ON, we've got some pirates to put in the GROUND!"

Well, at least he's helping now. Xaik thought as she looked to Varijex, who clearly was riled up from the fight. They headed away from the alley, back to the rest of the town. As they ran by all the commotion, they both kept taking out the pirates along the way. Varijex would rid them of their weapons with magic or his sword and then beat them with his fists. Xaik would swing her hammer, bashing and knocking down the pirates.

They watched as the ships in the distance had closed in a bit, and a third one had appeared since they had engaged the pirates. The ships continued to fire their cannons into the town. The fort returned fire, but they weren't doing enough damage to the ship to deter them. The guards were trying to load up some of their own ships, but with the barrage of cannon fire, they weren't able to prep the ships to leave the docks.

Xaik realized that in order for this fight to end, they needed to take out those pirate ships. Xaik looked at Varijex, who grabbed a pirate by his face and tossed him aside.

"Varijex, the ships!" Xaik cried out as Varijex looked back for a moment, before turning forward.

Varijex made his weapon disappear, before taking a wide stance and holding his arms out. A flash of a glow appeared around Varijex as a massive blue and silver orb appeared out in front of him. It grew in size, and slowly raised up into the air. Xaik watched as Varijex began to vocalize, his growls seemingly charging up the spell he was casting. Xaik watched as Varijex had created a magnet orb of great proportions.

As the ships kept firing, they did not realize what was happening. The cannonballs that they shot were drawn to the orb, getting caught in it. The orbs spiraled around the center of the orb, caught in the magnetic field. Varijex was catching all of the cannonballs fired by the ships. The pirates, confused by this apparent sorcery, just kept shooting the cannons in an attempt to stop the strange orb that appeared. They fired and fired, feeding countless cannonballs into it.

The men on the fort watched this big ball of cannonballs begin to grow, as they stopped firing themselves. Before they ceased fire, a few of their own cannonballs were collected in the mass. The guards were stunned, unsure of what to make of this. It distracted all of the people around, even the pirates and guards that had been fighting on the shore. Xaik was in awe at this sight, the sheer power that Varijex was displaying.

After the ships realized their efforts were in vain, they stopped firing, the explosions no longer filling the air. Varijex raised his shoulders up, as he smirked to himself for a second. With a push of his hands and a loud yell, the orb dispersed and sent the cannonballs flying back to the ships. He, Xaik, and everyone else watched as the closest ships were struck with a buckshot of cannonballs, tearing the ships apart. Varijex laughed at the sight of the swiss cheese ships as the yells of the pirates could be heard all the way on the port.

The ships began to sink as the last ship began to turn and sail away. Varijex saw this, his brow furrowing at the cowards that turned tail to run. He turned to Xaik, as Xaik noticed him staring at her.

"Well, don't just STAND there! Do something, they're getting AWAY!"

"What-" Xaik stuttered. "What should I do?"

"I don't KNOW, hammer-for-brains!" He yelled at her. "Use your magic, be USEFUL!"

Okay… Xaik tried to concentrate on her body. Use my magic, just like before. Xaik focused, closing her eyes and noticing this time the sensation inside her. The trembling, the vibrations were flowing all around her. These vibrations were carrying sounds, all around. She could hear far off in the distance as the pirates were calling their retreat. She continued her focus as soon the vibrations were welling up again. The ground around her shook; Varijex noticed it as he could feel it under his feet.

Xaik charged up the vibrations within herself, as she noticed something strange. In her hands, her hammer seemed to resonate with her. Unlike the violent shaking it caused in the ground underneath her feet, or in the chains on her coat, the hammer vibrated with Xaik. They traveled from Xaik's body, through her arms, into her hands, up the hammer's handle, into the head. Oh, I think I get it! Xaik got the idea as she took a stance.

She lugged the hammer onto her shoulder, placing one foot behind her and the other foot firmly in front. She wound up her hammer, sending every last vibration into her hammer. She looked at the pirate ship in the distance, taking aim.

With all her might, Xaik swung her hammer in the direction of the absconding ship. From her hammer, a light purple flash of energy erupted and a loud BWOOM blasted in the air as a shockwave of sound was launched from her hammer. The shockwave traveled fast, as the pirates heard the noise and the ship was struck by it. It blasted the masts off and it rocked the entire ship. The pirate crew were deafened for a brief moment, now hearing only a ringing.

Having disabled the ship by taking out the sails, Xaik looked with pride as she realized that she did it. She stopped the pirates from escaping. She turned as she saw the people around her beginning to cheer. The guards began to overwhelm the pirates; taking the ones that they, Xaik, and Varijex had defeated into custody. The rest of the guards prepared their ships to leave the port to go and presumably save and arrest the pirates on their ships. Everyone around them seemed happy, excited that their town successfully fended off the pirates.

Xaik didn't know what it was, but a strange sensation came over HER. She wasn't able to think about it for long, as Varijex walked up to her. He stared down at her, an eyebrow cocked. Xaik went from standing a bit more confidently back to an uncomfortable position.

"I guess you're not ENTIRELY useless, after all." He scoffed.

He then turned behind him, holding his hand out to summon a portal. Xaik was confused, as they had not yet accomplished their mission.

"Um…" Xaik spoke up. "What… what about the mission?"

Varijex turned back to her, giving her that Varijex glare. Xaik immediately regretted her decision to ask.

"I didn't want to go on this STUPID mission, anyway. I'm RTCing, you can either come ALONG, or play pirate some more!"

Without saying anything else, Xaik jumped a little and rushed through the portal. Varijex rolled his eyes as he followed shortly behind. The two left to return to the castle, leaving Port Royal behind. As Xaik traveled through the corridor, she thought back on what had just happened.

So much in so little time. Going to a new world, fighting her very first battle, discovering her own magical abilities, defeating the pirates, and saving the town. Xaik had noticed that the sensation that was plaguing her before had left. The only thing she could think that it equated to was satisfaction. This was where she would be glad that she did good. But she wasn't sure why that was.

From one dreary world back to the one she knew, she appeared back in the Castle That Never Was, this time appearing in the Hall of Empty Melodies, as opposed to where she left from. She turned back to see Varijex exiting the portal before it disappeared. Xaik looked at him, which he sneered at.

"What?" He growled.

"S-so… are we… supposed to report back?"

Varijex inhaled sharply before letting out an exhausted breath.

"If YOU want to be the one that deals with Saïx, be my GUEST." He groaned as he went to move past her.

Xaik shuffled uncomfortably, not really liking the idea of going to Saïx herself. I suppose it would be the right thing to do… she pondered.

"If you'd like me to do that for you, th-then…"

Before Xaik could finish her sentence, Varijex stopped in his tracks. His neck craned as his shoulders squared. Xaik became nervous at Varijex's body language, as he then turned quickly to stare at her with wide, furious eyes. She reeled as he gritted his teeth before speaking.

"DON'T you go thinking I'm some CHARITY case."

"I-I… I didn't mean…" Xaik stuttered. "I just thought it… would be n-nice to-"

"I don't NEED YOU… to be NICE to ME!" Varijex snapped at Xaik. He turned away from her, raising his arms up into the air wildly. "I'm going to go report this. You WANT to do ME a favor? LEAVE me ALONE."

He began to walk away, before turning back to her, as Xaik saw something strange on Varijex's face for a moment before his expression returned to his usual contempt.

"I'm DONE seeing your face for one day!"

With those words, Varijex left Xaik alone in the hall, unsure of what just happened. It was to be expected, to be sure, but it still did not quite make sense to Xaik what to think of Varijex. But as she was tired from all the fighting and excitement, she thought it best to go and rest for the day.

I guess there's no use in letting him get to me right now… she thought to herself as she walked out of the hall and headed towards her room.

Xaik made her way through the castle to reach her room, passing by the Grey Area on the way there. Scyrux was coming out of the Grey Area, as he turned and looked to see Xaik approaching. He waved to her as she waved back, Scyrux smiled as he gave a slight skip towards her and then walked alongside her.

"Hey, Xaik!" Scyrux cheered.

"Hello, Scyrux…"

Scyrux noticed Xaik's exhausted demeanor, giving a quick glance at her. His eyes flashed for a moment, unbeknownst to Xaik, as he then continued to make small talk.

"How are you doing? Did your training go well?"

"Well," Xaik replied. "My training got interrupted… I had to go on a mission."

"A mission? What kind of mission?" Scyrux inquired.

"I went to… I believe it was called Port Royal? And I fought pirates."

Scyrux's face lit up as Xaik looked at it, after hearing the gasping sounds of excitement.

"No way! You fought pirates?" He blurted out. "That's pretty cool, actually. So, what, Xeros get called on another assignment while training you again?"

If only. "No," Xaik responded. "I had to go with Varijex."

Scyrux's amusement took a very sharp turn as he breathed through his teeth, as if he were in pain. His face turned sour at the thought.

"Geez, that's rough business. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Xaik tried to assure Scyrux.

Scyrux put his hand behind his head, leaning his elbow on the wall as Xaik stood at his side.

"I know, but still. Believe me, going on missions with that guy is definitely stressful, even for a Nobody."

Xaik thought to herself as she then turned to Scyrux. Scyrux, sensing Xaik was going to ask him more about the subject, prepared himself to be as helpful as possible.

"He's… crazy." Xaik confided.

"Yeaaah," Scyrux said as he rubbed the back of his head. He placed his other arm on his hip, as he continued. "I don't go on missions with him that much, but the few times I have…"

Scyrux blew air out his mouth, puffing his cheeks. Xaik thought a bit about her interactions with Varijex, thinking Scyrux probably had to deal with the same type of behavior.

"He's unpleasant, but I don't understand why. Xeros says he doesn't have memories from before, so why does he act that way?" Xaik asked.

"That's what he says, yeah." Scyrux said, his expression going a bit distant.

His eyes wandered off, as if he was lost in thought for a moment. Xaik watched Scyrux's eyes, searching for that particular glow that would come, but it didn't this time. He then turned back to her.

"But what are you going to do?" He chuckled to himself. "At least you guys made it out alright."

"Yeah… I guess so."

Xaik then turned to leave, beginning to walk away. She stopped after a few steps and turned back to Scyrux, who looked at her curiously. Her expression was odd, but it eventually made sense as it formed a bit of a smile.

"I know this probably doesn't mean much given what we are, but…" Xaik sighed. "Thank you for being nice to me."

Scyrux chuckled through his nose, getting off of the wall and waving his hands in an exaggerated manner.

"Oh, stop, that's what friends are for!"

Friends…? As Xaik pondered what Scyrux just said, she turned away for a moment. Scyrux noticed her thinking, as he gave an inquisitive look.

"We're… friends?" Xaik questioned.

"Well, I mean," Scyrux scratched the back of his head, looking rather strange for a moment before putting his smile back on. "Don't you think it makes things less weird to call each other that?"

Xaik turned away once more to continue puzzling over the idea, as Scyrux sighed quietly. His eyes gave a quick flash before Xaik could notice. He gave a big smile, no longer looking concerned and Xaik started thinking a bit less about it.

"Anyway, it's no big deal!" Scyrux shrugged off with a laugh.

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Xaik let out as she turned back to Scyrux, now seeing the usual "happy" expression on his face.

"Well, let's get to our rooms!" Scyrux exclaimed.

"Yeah…"

Scyrux turned away to head toward their tower as well, as Xaik followed behind. They walked all the way, exchanging good night's after reaching their rooms. She closed her door behind her, leaning her back on it for a moment.

We're… friends? Xaik had resumed thinking about what Scyrux claimed. Now that he wasn't around, the thought came back and she began thinking about it hard. And it just baffled her. How could a Nobody have friends? She pushed off the door and removed her gloves, sticking them in her coat pockets. We… can't feel. She then removed her coat, folding it and placing it on the foot of her bed. Can we really be friends…?

She removed her boots and placed them near her bed, as she sat down on the bed. She then laid back, resting her head on her pillow as her mind kept thinking about what it meant to be friends as a Nobody. Were they really friends? Could it truly be possible for that kind of relationship to exist between two people without hearts? Xaik was led to believe that such things were probably not probable, or even possible. But she did remember that there was something strange about her thoughts and body when around Scyrux.

But not only him. Xeros, too, gave Xaik strange sensations. She wasn't really sure what they were, but they nagged at her in a way that was familiar. Everyone else that Xaik had met didn't cause this reaction within her. The other members she'd met before didn't really seem to leave much of an impression; neutral on Xemnas and Xigbar, Saïx and Varijex were firmly in the "avoid-as-much-as-possible" category. But Xeros and Scyrux each had a different effect that Xaik couldn't quite place until now.

Was it… friendship that she had with Scyrux? And was it something else entirely with Xeros? She wasn't sure. But for a Nobody to have friends, to have those connections, to care… it had to be impossible. Didn't it?

"How about you and I go a round?"

He challenges the younger kid to a match. I watch as he steps up to the wooden stage.

He looks back at me with that face…

…it's still not right.

...you don't smile…

The fight begins as I hear my name being called out.

"Hey, *****!"

I turn to see my friends.

…friends…?

…no, I don't see them, either.

Their faces aren't… there…

One boy and one girl are coming to greet me. The girl sits next to me and the boy stands beside her. The girl smiles at me.

…she's smiling, right…?

She points to him as he's on the stage, fighting rather intensely.

…that makes sense.

"Is that *****?"

…please…

"Yeah, that's him."

…let me just…

"He's pretty good."

...hear his name…