I'm at the beach. The sand in my toes and the waves brushing back and forth against the shore.

I look over the horizon.

the last time I saw this was…

"*****!" I hear from behind. Zale and Maya are walking over to me.

"It really is a nice day, isn't it?" Maya says.

I tell her that it is.

it isn't…

not really…

"You thinking of getting in the water?" Zale asks.

"None of us brought swimsuits, though." Maya points out.

I smile at them.

please, just…

I tell them I was thinking of getting ice cream.

leave me be…

"Yeah, I could go for some." Zale agrees.

"Let's go get some." Maya suggests.

They start to leave.

go away…

They turn and see I'm not coming.

"Are you coming, *****?" Maya asks.

I tell her I'll come in a bit. I say I want to wash the sand off my feet.

I just want to be left alone…

go, leave…

like he did…

"Okay, we'll grab you some."

stop it…

I thank them.

go now…

They finally turn to leave. I turn back to face the horizon.

I can't…

I feel a tear fall down my cheek.

I can't hold back…

Another comes from my eye, falling into the ocean.

It drips, disappearing into the saltwater.

I can't keep doing this…

this was a mistake…

…how am I supposed to keep going…?

…he's gone.

He's not coming back.

He left me.

He left me…

…alone.

"*****!"

"Look out!"

I hear behind me Zale and Maya crying out. I turn to look at them.

They're…

…terrified?

I look behind me and see…

(…oh no…)

(…no, no, no…)

A dark figure fast approaching…

(…I don't want to remember this…)

It's coming right at me…

(…wake up…)

(…wake up, please…)

It lunges at me. Beady yellow eyes, staring directly at me.

(…wake up, now.)

Wake up…?

(Wake up!)

Wake up!

Xaik was shocked awake as she shot up in her bed. She was sweating, breathing heavily. As she tried to catch her breath, she was confused. She knew that her memories allowed her to remember what it was like to feel. But something about waking up just now left her in a state as if she had been… actually afraid. The dream faded quickly from her mind as she tried to remember. Something was quickly wiping it from her thoughts, much to her dismay. One image managed to persist, despite her brain's efforts. Yellow eyes, lunging out at her.

She pushed the covers off as she then got out of bed. I should stop thinking about it. Xaik thought to herself. I'll just get ready for the day. She got dressed, having difficulty pushing the thoughts out of her mind. She had been doing so well to remember things from before, as her memories trickled in from her dreams. But for some reason, this one was being denied. And it just continued to give her this nerve-wracking sensation.

She shook herself as she finished getting dressed, thinking about how she needed to focus on her tasks for the day. Her dreams and memories would have to wait. She exited her room, as she went to look for the others. Unfortunately her morning had been disrupted and made her a bit late. She passed by the Grey Area, but saw no one. Not just missing the people she was looking for - there was absolutely no one there. No other members, not Saïx. It was a bit unusual to see that place empty, but she figured it wouldn't matter. I guess I'll check the Hall of Empty Melodies.

As Xaik made her way to the hall, she continued to note how empty the castle seemed. She passed by none of the other members, not even a single Dusk. She wasn't sure if something was happening today or not, but she wasn't made aware of it if so. She continued, finding it strange, but she wouldn't stop there.

Arriving in the hall, Xaik saw that the others were waiting there. She made her way quickly, so as to not be later than she was. Her footsteps echoed on the walls as the others turned to her.

"LOOK who finally decided to show UP!" Varijex nagged.

"Good morning to you too, Varijex." Xaik murmured as she walked over to Xeros.

"I was just about to fetch you," Xeros voiced. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just-" Don't tell him, you'll think about it. "-um, slept wrong, I think."

Xaik found it odd that her thoughts seemed to escape her, trying hard to not think about her dream. It was annoying, but she had other things to worry about.

"Sorry, I know sleeping can be difficult." Xeros said, surprising Xaik with his gentle demeanor.

"Well, you're here now, so we can start!" Scyrux spoke up.

"Yes, let's begin." Xeros turned to face the others. "Our mission for today is to head to Twilight Town. Apparently, a massive swarm of Heartless has appeared."

"Can't say the location is FUN," Varijex chimed in. "But this swarm BETTER be challenging if they're sending all FOUR of us."

All of us are going? Xaik pondered to herself, before speaking it aloud.

"We're all going?" Xaik inquired.

"Apparently, it's quite the number," Xeros said with a hint of skepticism. "Saïx insisted that all of us go."

"DUH," Varijex blurted. "We did a NUMBER on those stupid Heartless yesterday, so NOW he knows what WE can do."

"Look at you, Jexy," Xeros chuckled. "Acknowledging your peers? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were-"

"You DO know better." Varijex cracked his knuckles. "So you'll know to SHUT your TRAP unless you want to have to stay behind due to ABSOLUTELY FORESEEN injuries."

Xeros gave a smirk and put his hands up, mocking surrender as he then opened a portal in front of them. He gestured for everyone else to go in. Varijex strutted in, shoulders broad. Scyrux followed behind, sauntering. Xaik looked at Xeros before walking through. She entered as Xeros walked right behind. The four entered the corridor, making their way to the other side. All seemed to be going as it always did.

Until Varijex noticed something strange ahead. A figure stood in front of them, blocking the other side of the portal. Varijex stopped, looking to see if he could tell who the figure was. They were silhouetted by the light of the portal and were wearing some sort of cloak, so he couldn't see who or what it was.

"HEY," Varijex called out. "Who are YOU?"

The others noticed as Varijex called out, seeing the figure. The figure remained still for a moment, before slowly raising their arm. They could see the shadow of the figure holding up their hand and snapping their fingers.

BOOM. The Nobodies were startled by the noise, as they then looked around for the source of the noise. BOOM. Again, the noise came, as if it was slamming into the side of the corridor. The four looked around, not hearing anything for a bit. They looked toward the figure, trying to figure out what was going on, when-

BWOOM, a loud noise followed by a crash erupted by the figure. A dark cloud eclipsed the figure and wriggled around. The sound of many little skitters was heard as the Nobodies all took a defensive stance, summoning their weapons to them. As they looked closer at the strange cloud that had burst into the corridor, it began to move around much like a snake. It was mostly black, but seemed to have little spots of yellow all over. It did not seem to have a head or even a face. Until they saw upon closer inspection, it didn't just have one face - it had multiple.

The creature that had burst in was a mass of Shadows, piled together to form a large tower. They wriggled about, spinning around them and surrounding the four. As they all stood back to back, watching from all angles, they waited for the Heartless to attack.

"What's going on?!" Xaik cried out in confusion.

"Stay together!" Xeros commanded.

The Heartless spiraled around as they eventually turned and attempted to barrel through the Nobodies. All of them jumped out of the way, making sure to dodge in the same direction. They were nearly hit by the wave as it crashed into itself, bursting and then falling apart. But soon the Shadows began to form together once again, as they prepared to attack once more.

"What are we supposed to do about that?" Scyrux questioned.

"Want to STICK AROUND to FIND out?!" Varijex griped as they saw the Heartless coming back.

They looked to go towards the portal's exit, but when they looked back they saw that the Heartless mass dissolved into individual Shadows, dozens skittering by their feet. Varijex slashed at the ones that tried to go past him as the others braced for attack. But the Shadows did not attack, they merely moved past them to get ahead and block their way.

"Head back!" Xeros called out as the four turned to leave.

They made a beeline to the portal that came through, as the Heartless came for another attack. But as they reached closer to the exit, the Heartless seemingly slowed down. The four thought it was because they were going back to where they came from, and the Heartless didn't want to go where there was nothing for them.

But as soon as they entered the portal that they thought was the one they came through, they figured out the real reason the Heartless did not follow. And that they had made a mistake, as the way they went was not from where they came. It was from where the Heartless came. The four stood on ground that was made of stone, with glowing blue cracks. It was seemingly endless, but contained various platforms that floated above an abyss. They looked up to the sky and saw nothing but darkness swirling around above.

It was then that the Nobodies realized that they had landed themselves in the Realm of Darkness. Xaik had read about it in her spare time from the Organization's library. It was strange and almost unreal, which was saying something as Xaik lived in a giant castle that floated above an empty city. Xaik turned to the others; Varijex was in his stance, ready for anything. Xeros was also prepared, but seemed to be thinking. Scyrux was trying to keep his composure, but he was clearly on edge.

"WHERE are we?" Varijex asked.

"This must be the Realm of Darkness," Xeros answered, keeping an eye out for any threats. "We must have gone through the wrong portal."

"You don't SAY?" Varijex groaned, sarcastically.

"Can we save the sass for when we aren't in the home of literally all Heartless, please?" Scyrux said, trying hard to keep his tone light.

"Agreed," Xeros replied. "We can figure out who and why later."

Xeros went to hold his hand out when suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a large group of Heartless appeared. They were mostly Shadows, but there were a few other kinds that were new to them. There were ones that were sphere-shaped that floated in the air and had two antennae and a tail on the bottom, with large jagged teeth. And a few that appeared almost like bats that also flew up in the air.

One of the sphere Heartless chomped at Xeros's arm, as he pulled back and grabbed ahold of his weapon. And so, the Nobodies began to fight. Varijex charged the Shadows and began to slice through them with fury. Xeros fell up to deal with the flying bat Heartless, and Scyrux started attacking the sphere Heartless, paralyzing them in place.

Xaik went to move in for the finish on the frozen ones when suddenly, a black pool appeared on the ground in front of her. She stopped as from the puddle of darkness, a Neoshadow appeared. Normally, Xaik would be able to handle this, as she had learned to hold her own against Heartless like this. But something was different this time. She wasn't sure what it was, but something in her was stuck. She dropped her hammer as it disappeared, and her hands and body shook.

What's… what's happening? The Neoshadow crept up towards her, but Xaik could not move her feet. They stayed planted, but quivered in her boots as she watched the Heartless coming at her. The image from her dream flashed before her eyes as the Heartless began to run at her. Why can't I move? Xaik could only wonder as her body seemed to refuse her commands. The Neoshadow jumped out as Xaik put up her guard, blocking the claws with her arms.

Xaik let out a pained yell as the Neoshadow dropped onto the ground, turning to go for another attack. The yell alerted the others as Xeros and Scyrux watched Xaik being attacked.

"Xaik!" Scyrux called out as he sent his whip to her.

He wrapped it around her, yanking her out of harm's way as the Neoshadow tried to claw at her again. Xeros fell and stabbed downward, destroying the Neoshadow. He looked at Xaik before going back into action and was shocked at the sight. Xaik was shaking, arm clawed and looking at her hands as if something was wrong. He couldn't focus on it for long, as he then turned to engage the bat Heartless once more.

They came down onto the ground as they shaped their wings like umbrellas and began to spin at the ones on the ground. Xeros quickly fell down as he began to glow and created an area of intense gravity. The bat Heartless were pressed into the ground, unable to move. He took a few quick slashes at them as he then turned to see Varijex clearing up the horde of Shadows. Things seemed calm for a moment, but the peace did not last.

Drawn by the commotion, more Heartless began to swarm the Nobodies in droves. They were fighting valiantly, but unfortunately were heavily outnumbered. Their sheer numbers kept them hindered, unable to make a corridor to escape through. And it didn't help that Xaik was apparently incapacitated.

"We're being overrun!" Xeros called out. "We need to move, now!"

"You THINK?!" Varijex called out as he slayed another Heartless.

"Stand clear!" Xeros called as he then landed on the ground behind them. "I'm clearing a path."

His red-black aura surrounded him as he placed a hand on the ground beneath him. Varijex turned to see Xeros about to do something he could only assume was crazy, so he moved out of the way. Xeros focused his magic, causing the ground underneath his hand to crack. Suddenly, a large chunk of the ground began to slowly float up. He then charged up, pushing the chunk of rock and causing it to fall forward at rapid speed toward the Heartless that were ahead of them. The large rock flew and splattered all the Heartless in the way before slamming into the ground with a loud THUD.

"Go!" Xeros ordered.

"Got it!" Scyrux exclaimed as he looked to Xaik. "Come on!"

Xaik nodded as they began to make a run for it. The Heartless behind gave chase, as Xeros and Varijex covered the front, eliminating any that came at them from their path. As Scyrux ran with Xaik in tow, Xaik would look back, seeing the Heartless running at them. Her memory kept flashing in and out, making it difficult to distinguish her past and present. She wanted to fight, but something in her was preventing her from doing so. Why is this happening to me?

They continued to run for some time, trying to make their getaway. They had no reprieve, however, as the Heartless continued to appear, no matter how many they had slain. As they finished dealing with another wave, they made their way to a passage where there were many stone pillars that could provide cover. They rushed into them as they waited out the remaining Heartless that had been chasing them to pass them by. As they watched the Heartless leave, they all caught their breaths.

"OKAY," Varijex blurted out. "Now that there aren't MILLIONS of Heartless on our tails, let's get OUT of here!"

"Yeah, I'm with Varijex for once." Scyrux agreed.

Xeros looked to Xaik, who was still trembling from the attack. She was trying to get a hold of herself, but her body wasn't letting her. She held her arm that had been scratched as Xeros looked at it. He walked over to her as Xaik looked up at him.

"That doesn't look good," Xeros commented. "Are you alright?"

"No…" Xaik replied, wincing in pain. "I don't know… what's happening to me."

"What do you mean?" Xeros questioned.

"Back there, I just… froze," Xaik began. "And every time I tried to move or fight… my mind just kept flickering between reality and my dreams."

Xeros gave a concerned look as he let out a breathy "hm". He wasn't sure what was happening to Xaik, but it was similar to the mission where she first learned of her memories returning. Whatever was happening, they needed to figure it out, lest she continue to be put in jeopardy.

"You can figure out YOUR dream crisis LATER," Varijex complained. "We need to LEAVE, NOW!"

Varijex went to open a corridor, holding out his hand.

KEROOOM. From behind the Nobodies, Xaik heard a loud sound. She ran forward, jumping to push Varijex out of the way. As she impacted with him, he let out a yell as they fell to the ground. Before he could realize and say anything, bursting through the stone pillars came a large figure, concealed by the dust of the decimated stone. Xeros and Scyrux prepared themselves as Xaik got up off of Varijex and looked up. Varijex sat up as well to see the silhouette of whatever had just tried to smash into them.

Suddenly, a giant red-clawed hand appeared and reached for Xaik. It was fast, quickly taking a hold of her as it lifted her in the air. She screamed in pain as the claws gripped her tight.

"Xaik!" Xeros called out as he fell toward her at breakneck speed.

He went to attack, but was then thrown back by a powerful gust of wind. He managed to catch himself in the air as the dust cleared. The Nobodies looked in horror at the sight as they saw what had grabbed Xaik. It was quite large; one large clawed hand held Xaik, the other was similar but formed a wing. It had clawed feet, a tail that ended in a strange blade-like shape, purple tendrils coming from the sides of its head and horns of the same color that took the shape of a heart. The Heartless that they faced was unlike any they had ever seen.

It floated in the air, holding Xaik hostage as it stared at the others with its horrid, beady eyes. It then looked to Xaik, who could only struggle in vain to escape its grasp. Looking into its eyes, the memories began to flood her mind once again, keeping her from being able to fight back or get free. The Heartless opened its mouth slightly, revealing frighteningly sharp fangs.

CRACK. Before the Heartless could do anything to her, it found that Xaik was being pulled away from it as it held her. The Heartless looked to see something had wrapped itself around her legs, yanking to free her from its claws. Scyrux, acting fast, pulled on Xaik with his whip to try to set her free.

"Let go of my friend!" Scyrux called out, as his eyes began to glimmer.

A yellow bolt of energy traveled up the whip, passing harmlessly through Xaik as it went into the hand of the Heartless. Its arm went numb for a second, and it relaxed and dropped her. Xaik began to fall as she felt herself being pulled away from the Heartless and toward Scyrux. Scyrux held out his arms as he caught Xaik, looking back to the Heartless. The Heartless shook its arm, flexing its claws as it seemed to regain its composure. It then flapped its wing-arm up and forward as it flew at the two.

Before it could get far, Xeros jumped in the way and slashed at the Heartless, as it managed to block his blow with its claws.

"Scyrux, get her out of here!" Xeros strained as he clashed with the Heartless.

"Okay!" Scyrux cried out as he carried Xaik away.

Xaik looked back as she saw Xeros holding off the Heartless, soon to be joined by Varijex. Varijex jumped up to slash at the Heartless as it smacked him with its wing. Varijex groaned as he fell back, managing to land on his feet and stabbing his sword into the ground to slow himself. Once he reached a halt, he moved back in as the Heartless moved its claws down onto the staff of Xeros's weapon. Xeros's eyes widened as the Heartless threw him into Varijex.

Varijex stopped to try to catch Xeros, but he was thrown too fast and they both ended up on the ground. As he got up, Varijex slammed his fist into the ground, looking up. Xeros sat up as the two of them watched the Heartless turn its attention from them to the direction Scyrux ran off with Xaik. It then flew away, making its way to the two trying to abscond.

"What is that THING'S deal?!" Varijex growled.

"It's after Xaik!" Xeros realized, rising up with Gravity.

He then rushed to catch up to the Heartless. Varijex let his sword fall and float as he began to ride it to get back into the action as well.

Scyrux had begun to run with Xaik, but he was starting to tire. Carrying her for this long while running and fighting was starting to take its toll. Xaik looked back to see the Heartless gaining on them.

"Scyrux, the Heartless!" Xaik yelled as Scyrux looked back.

"Oh man, I'd really like some backup right now!"

The Heartless was almost close enough to get the two as it reached out with its claws. It was then knocked forward and down as it landed ahead of Scyrux and Xaik. They saw Xeros fall into the Heartless's back, as he raised up his weapon and pointed his blade down. But the Heartless pushed up with its wing, causing Xeros to fly off of its back. He caught himself in the air once more as the Heartless turned to go after Xaik again. It lunged at the two as Scyrux rolled out of the way.

Not accounting for Xaik in his arms, his dodge didn't go as planned as he fell and dropped her, both rolling on the ground for a bit. Xaik looked up to see the Heartless was approaching her as she could only watch in terror. Come on! She pleaded with her body. Do something!

As the Heartless reached out to grab her once again, it saw her disappear as something flew by and snatched her away. It looked as it realized Xeros had flown in, grabbing Xaik. He stared down the Heartless with malice before jumping up and falling backwards, away from the Heartless. The Heartless went to follow, but found a whip wrapped up around its neck. It looked to see Scyrux was trying to keep it from continuing after them.

The Heartless grabbed the whip with its claws, yanking Scyrux toward it before flapping its wing at him to throw him back. The whip fell off of its neck as Scyrux hit the ground, then turned and continued chasing after Xeros and Xaik.

Xeros held Xaik in his arms as they continued to fall forward. It was a strange feeling. Xaik saw they were moving parallel to the ground, but it felt like they were falling straight down. Xaik looked to see the Heartless again, still relentlessly coming after her.

"Why is it after me?!" Xaik cried out.

"It doesn't matter," Xeros responded. "I won't let that abomination get you!"

Xeros increased the pull of gravity forward to keep up speed, but it was beginning to wear him down. He could only maintain those fields of gravity for so long, and the Heartless was seemingly without limit. Before long, the Heartless opened its mouth as a purple fireball began to form in front of its face. Xaik watched as it then blew a large fire blast at them.

"Xeros, look out!" Xaik warned.

Xeros looked back as he then shifted the gravity to the right, moving them from the path of the fire. The Heartless continued to blast fire at them, as Xeros continued to move side to side, weaving around it. Xeros noticed in the distance that they were heading towards a strange looking beach. He looked back, noticing the Heartless was no longer behind them.

"Where did it-?"

Before Xaik could finish, there was an explosion that blasted them from beneath as they saw the Heartless had managed to cut them off. It had shot a fire blast in front of them, leading the shot to knock them onto the ground. Xeros crashed into the sand, rolling violently until eventually stopping somewhere off to the right, Xaik landed forward towards the shoreline. She rolled as the sand kicked up, groaning in pain.

She coughed from the pain, trying to get up onto her hands and knees. She looked over to see Xeros, struggling to get up after the impact.

"Xeros…!" She muttered as a shadow loomed over her.

Xaik saw the Heartless was floating above her, staring down at her with its yellow eyes. It descended slowly, towering over her as she was defenseless on the ground. It raised its claw, ready to smash her into the ground. Xaik closed her eyes as she heard the massive force coming down.

But what she instead heard was a CLASH, followed by intense grunting. She opened her eyes and to her surprise, Varijex had appeared and was holding the claw back with his sword. He was under a lot of stress, holding up the claw as the Heartless tried hard to push down.

"Why do YOU… make ME… do THIS?" Varijex said in a low growl. "Do you know… how ANNOYING it is… to HAVE to PROTECT this RUNT?!"

Varijex began to vocalize as he pushed up against the Heartless, managing to lift the claw up more as he straightened his knees.

"I've worked TOO HARD… and for TOO LONG… to let some STUPID Heartless do me in like THIS!"

Varijex managed to push up and held the Heartless's claw up above his head. Xaik marveled at the sheer strength that Varijex was displaying. Xeros was getting up, still weak from his landing as Scyrux had started catching up. They both watched as Varijex continued to yell as he held back the Heartless and resumed his speech.

"Do you KNOW who I AM?!" Varijex bellowed. "I am the MAGNET OF MADNESS! I am NUMBER FIFTEEN! I am VARIJEX!"

With those words, Varijex gave one final shove up as he threw the Heartless's claw up. Xaik was amazed and Xeros and Scyrux both were in awe as Varijex jumped up to strike the Heartless. But as he leaped up to slash, the Heartless countered and slashed at him with its wing. Varijex watched the wing coming at him as he went to block it with his sword.

SHING. The Nobodies looked in horror as they saw that the blade of Varijex's sword spun in the air before impaling into the sand. Varijex was stunned as he saw that his sword had been sliced through. The Heartless followed up with a downward swatting of its claw, slamming Varijex down into the ground hard enough to bounce. Varijex yelled in pain as he landed on the ground.

"Varijex!" Xeros cried out desperately.

"No!" Scyrux screamed.

Xaik looked to Varijex on the ground, then to his broken sword still in his hand. The Heartless floated closer, creeping up to them as Xaik looked to Varijex. No… not Varijex… Xaik found herself shedding tears. …not like this… She didn't understand it, but she was overwhelmed by this terrible sensation. The Heartless looked down at Xaik, preparing to deal the final blow as it raised its claw once again.

But as it lifted its claw up, it found itself unable to move it. It looked up as a silver and blue orb appeared, holding it in place. Xaik saw the orb as Xeros and Scyrux were confused. Slamming both hands into the sand, Varijex lifted himself up as he began to glow a bright white aura. He began to scream with blood-curdling fury, rage unmatched by anything that any of them had ever seen.

The separated blade began to glow the same glow as it lifted itself out of the sand, shattering into smaller fragments that floated toward the guard of his broken weapon. The pieces floated in a shape like his sword, but jagged and splintered. Varijex swung the handle of his sword up, as all of the pieces of his sword followed the path, slashing up one after the other. Each one sliced into the immobilized arm of the Heartless until they cut through it. The Heartless, now missing an arm, looked to Varijex as he looked into its eyes with destructive intent.

"You think YOU'RE Heartless?!" Varijex roared. "Let me show you HOW HEARTLESS I REALLY AM!"

With those words, Varijex continued to swing his sword handle, making the various blade pieces slash through the Heartless in sequence. The Heartless tried to avoid the onslaught as best it could, but it was suffering more damage than it could mitigate. Before it could be destroyed, it began to fly up in an attempt to escape.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME?!"

Varijex held out both of his arms as he created a massive magnet field around himself that began to draw everything around to him. He started to float in the air, as Xaik found herself being drawn into the center of the field. Fearing getting caught in the attack, she grabbed onto Varijex, wrapping her arms around his waist. Xeros and Scyrux were fighting to not get pulled in, Xeros creating a gravity field to combat Varijex's magnetic field. He was astonished at the sheer power Varijex was displaying in this moment, as it was like none he had ever seen.

Varijex screamed as the pieces of his sword slowly left the shape they were creating and began to spin around him. They picked up speed until soon a tornado of sharp blade fragments formed around him. They began to expand outward as he drew the Heartless back to him. The Heartless tried to fight, but it was too much for it to handle. It was drawn in as the pieces of Varijex's sword began to cut up the Heartless. With one final yell, Varijex completely shredded the Heartless into nothing as it disappeared in a cloud of minced black smoke.

Varijex floated down as the magnet field around him slowly disappeared. Xaik kept holding on until they reached the ground. Xaik watched as all the pieces of Varijex's sword came back to the hilt, the remaining glow welding them back into place. Once the sword was restored, the glow left it as well as Varijex. Xaik looked up as Varijex was silent. After a moment, he stumbled and fell over. Xaik managed to catch him, though he was heavy due to falling like dead weight.

She lifted him up as best as she could, putting his arm around her shoulder and pushing up. It might have been easier for her if she wasn't so weak from the Heartless. She heard the sounds of sand crunching behind her as Scyrux, holding Xeros up, walked over to her and Varijex.

"Are… you okay?" Xaik asked, panting.

"Nothing some rest and a lotof potions won't fix." Scyrux let out, exasperated.

"How is Varijex?" Xeros uttered.

Varijex groaned weakly over Xaik's shoulder, Xaik giving him a once-over. He was hurt badly, and looked like he was on his last legs. As Xaik looked at the others, she noticed Scyrux was looking at Varijex with his glowing eyes, probably checking his condition. Scyrux shook his head, seemingly agreeing with Xaik's observations.

"He's in bad shape…" she said, hoisting him up. "We need to get back to the castle, now."

Xeros looked to Varijex, then to Xaik as he nodded and held out his hand. He summoned a portal as the four walked through, finally managing to escape the nightmare that was the Realm of Darkness.

Appearing in their bedroom hallway, the four made their ways to bring Varijex and Xeros to their rooms to recover. As they were the most injured, they were Xaik and Scyrux's priority. Xaik tried her best to bring Varijex into his room. It was strange, walking into Varijex's room like she was. If not for the fact that he was badly injured, hanging over her shoulder, she was sure he would throw a fit for her ever stepping near his space, let alone setting foot in his room. She dragged him over to his bed and set him down gently. He would seem unconscious if not for the occasional pained breath that escaped his mouth. With Varijex settled in, she figured she could help Scyrux with Xeros.

As she left, what little strength she had began to waver as she started to limp in the hallway. Her entire body ached from the fight and she was exhausted. She put her hand to the wall as she made her way to Xeros's room. She opened the door and saw Xeros already settled on the bed, Scyrux using his magic on Xeros. His hands were glowing green as he held them over Xeros's body. Xeros groaned in pain, but was beginning to notice the agony was being soothed. He looked to Scyrux, giving him a nod. Scyrux smiled the best smile he could muster, but he was also pretty drained from the whole ordeal.

Xeros saw Xaik lingering in the doorway, leaning on the frame as she looked at him with concerned eyes.

"How are you doing?" Xaik asked.

"Could be worse." Xeros replied. "You should go rest, Xaik."

"Yeah, I'll get some potions for us," Scyrux added. "I'll bring one to your room for you."

"But what about Varijex…?" Xaik brought up.

"Once I'm done with Xeros, I'm gonna go get an elixir for him," Scyrux assured, but his tone was definitely a bit serious. "That stunt he pulled definitely saved us, but he was drained entirely of magic and his body was messed up."

Xaik sighed in worry, which surprised her. This sensation in her, almost as if she was concerned for Varijex, was confusing to her. But there was nothing else that could be done. She looked to Xeros and Scyrux as she pushed off the doorframe.

"I'll go, then…"

Xaik turned as she was about to head toward her room.

"Xaik." Xeros called from his bed.

Xaik looked back as he gave her a look of solidarity.

"We'll be okay. I'll come check on you in the morning."

There was a flushing in Xaik's cheeks as she nodded her head. She gave Xeros a determined look, and then went to leave. Xeros and Scyrux watched her go as they turned to one another.

"You should go sleep, too." Xeros commented.

"Right," Scyrux gave a half-hearted chuckle. "And leave you alone so you can skip getting proper rest?"

"Who says I wasn't going to get rest?"

"I know you, Xeros," Scyrux sighed. "And I know that this whole thing has probably got your mind all wrapped up in questions."

"Questions?" Xeros raised an eyebrow.

Scyrux looked into Xeros's eyes, his eyes still shimmering because of the magic he was using. Xeros saw that behind that glimmer was some sort of defiant concern. It was confusing, but he expected nothing less of his former pupil.

"Yeah, like who attacked us? And why?" Scyrux said as he resumed focusing on healing Xeros. "We're probably all wondering, but knowing you, you're going to want to get straight to the bottom of this thing."

"We could have all been destroyed." Xeros retorted. "I need to make sure that doesn't happen, again."

"Do you really think it will happen again?"

Xeros looked up to the ceiling, thinking about the person who initially attacked them.

A figure in a cloak, able to travel in the Corridors of Darkness. They must be strong or close enough to darkness in order to use the corridors and summon Heartless. The figure attacked us while we were traveling through a corridor. A strategic move, precise, to enter in the corridor while we were traveling through it. Too smart for a Heartless, and we don't have hearts to claim, so a Heartless is definitely out of the question.

Xeros continued thinking, not answering Scyrux. Scyrux knew what was going on inside his head, but chose instead to focus on his recovery.

A human with the power of darkness, perhaps? It's been a long time since we've encountered one of those. If not for the fact that Varijex and I dealt with the previous one without any doubts, I would assume he had come back for revenge. Perhaps we've got the attention of another? Unlikely, most humans who use darkness do not have such feelings for one another to try and seek revenge. And we operate in secret, there is no way we would get the attention of someone like that.

"You want to tell me what you're thinking?" Scyrux tried to break Xeros out of his train of thought.

So with Heartless and humans out of the equation, that leaves only one other alternative-

Xeros then turned to look at Scyrux, giving him an uncomfortable stare.

"There is a chance that the person who attacked us was a Nobody."

Scyrux was shocked at Xeros's claim, but he knew Xeros was not one to make bold claims like that without reason.

"A Nobody? You think it was another member?" Scyrux inquired.

"We can't be sure. But I'll investigate this as soon-"

"As you're recovered and rested." Scyrux interrupted. "If there really is a chance you're right, do you really want to try to throw accusations around in your condition?"

Xeros gave a breathy "hm'' and sighed as he then turned to look Scyrux in the eyes. He saw Scyrux worry, so he reached out and placed a hand on Scyrux's head, ruffling his hair a bit. Xeros gave a bit of a smirk before speaking again.

"You're right," Xeros agreed. "You can go, I'll rest."

"Promise?" Scyrux asked, giving Xeros a slight pursed lip.

"I promise."

Scyrux sighed in relief as Xeros took his hand off of Scyrux. Scyrux stood up, walking to the door. He turned back, looking at Xeros.

"I'll be back in a bit, after I get the potions."

Xeros nodded, as Scyrux left the room. Xeros was left wondering if what he theorized was true. And if it were true, who could it be? And why them? He began to run the scenarios in his head once again, thinking about what happened. No detail was too small, and if there was one thing Xeros was good at, it was picking up small details.

While Xeros was pondering his hypothesis, Xaik was settling into her room. Too tired to bother changing, she had flopped onto her bed, trying to get comfortable. Her body still ached quite a bit, but that was not what she was concerned about with it. What happened to me back there? She questioned. I could've been destroyed, why couldn't I do anything? She thought about how her body seemed to react to the Heartless. Her dream was the key. She hadn't had this issue until she had that dream. She tried to push it out of her mind before, but now that she had to take the time to rest to get better, she could think about it more. Okay, let's try to remember… Xaik closed her eyes as she began to experience the memory in her dream once again.

"*****!" Maya cries out

"Look out!" Zale calls from behind. I look at them, their faces are scared. When I turn behind me, I see-

(No…)

Xaik could hear a thought deep down, trying to fight her. Seemingly trying to keep her from remembering. She tried to push past as her eyes clenched, determined to keep going.

A dark figure fast approaching. It runs right for me.

(Stop…!)

No, I won't stop.

It's shaped like a man, but it is as dark as night. It is hunched as it runs over to me, arms out to its sides, clawed hands extended.

(I don't want to remember…!)

It lunges at me, knocking me down.

(Please, stop!)

I stare directly into its haunting yellow eyes.

(No, no, no, no, no!)

Xaik began to writhe in her bed, clutching her bedsheets with her hands tight. Her head moved from side to side as she began to sweat. Her brain kept trying hard to not remember, but she had to.

Its claws go into my chest, searing pain. I feel like my chest is being ripped apart. But it's not tearing into me at all.

(Stop! STOP!)

It pulls out its claws, and in its hand…

(PLEASE, JUST FORGET!)

…is a heart. My heart.

(JUST FORGET!)

As Xaik let out a scream, she shot up in bed, her body now aching even more from her uncomfortable wriggling. But she now understood what was happening to her. She was beginning to remember how she lost her heart. And something within her was trying to keep that from her. She wasn't sure what, but something about this experience was sheltering her from that memory. Something about the fear or pain, maybe both, made her mind want to forget what had happened. And that came with an even more startling thought that crossed her mind.

What if that was why she couldn't remember things at first? Slowly but surely, her memories returned over time, but that one fought her to stay unremembered. She wondered if that was the reason she couldn't see or hear the name of the boy? Before being attacked, there was immense pain she could feel for him. He was the reason, it seemed. He left her and she felt great sorrow for it. But that was not certain, and so many things were still unclear. Like why did she not remember her name, still? And why was Varijex's face the one she saw the last time she dreamt of him?

Regardless, this lingering pain in her memories told her one thing, that as much as she wanted to remember, perhaps it was best that she not delve too deep into her memories. She didn't want to continue to be paralyzed by the experience of fear anymore, especially after the ordeal they had all just endured. And who knew what more was to come? All Xaik knew was she had to be ready for whatever the next day would bring. And hope that it would be better, as she eventually passed out from exhaustion.