AN: Well, glad to see we were able to get this one out quickly enough, but to be honest, I feel like not that much really happened here in this chapter, even if it was a bit more eventful.

Roxas: Maybe its because this is the one day in mine and Xion's summer vacation where we didn't have any weird dreams about Sora's life?

AN: Well, yeah, there's that, but in comparison to the last couple of days, there was not really too much going on in terms of action, if you know what I mean.

Xion: I'm not complaining too much. It feels good to get a break from all the fighting. Besides, we'll be getting right back into the battles next chapter.

Riku: Hey, isn't this the part where you do some kind of gag reel thingy on her for mentioning something that could be considered a spoiler?

AN: No, don't be ridiculous. Everyone knows that there's going to be some big battles on Day 6. Though in regards to things that we may or may not spoiling, that will be done in a few review answers.

Ventus: Not really too much we can answer without giving away spoilers this time though. But I do think we can at least answer one or two questions, starting with some that were posed by "Monkey D. Conan", if you'd like.

AN: Of course. Let's see...well, I suppose that I could start by saying that when Aqua gets her own Keyblade back, we will be seeing it in its evolved form: that being Stormfall, in case anyone is unaware of that, but until then, we're going to see her sticking with Master's Defender for a little while longer. Also, yes, our young Keybearers will be learning about Keyblade Gliders this time around, but the better question is, how many of them will actually be able to summon them? Well, I'm not saying in regards to that answer just yet, mind you, but I can confirm that Xion and Roxas will be getting their own armors, like Sora and Kairi, but their armors will be the gauntlets that the two received in the last story. As for Axel, well, he won't be really getting much of a more up-front role in the story, but his role will still be important regardless of the fact that he's still going to be operating in the shadows.

Axel: Wait, why do I still have to be working in the shadows? I mean, all you've got me doing is...

AN: DAH! SPOILER! Pull the lever, Xion!

Xion: Um...[glances at two levers next to her and pulls the one closest to her] You mean this one?

AN: [immediately dashes out of the way before putting Axel where he once stood] Yeah, that's the one.

Axel: [ends up dropped down a trap door into freezing, ice cold water below] N-n-not, c-c-c-cool!

AN: Neither was trying to give away such important info. [takes original seat back after trap door closes] Moving along to "Dragon Rider 66" and any questions that were posed by said reviewer, the gauntlet growing/shrinking in that scene was actually more of a way for her to easily get the gauntlet on in that moment, kinda like how Ben 10 put on the Ultimatrix when he first got it in the last episode of Ben 10 Alien Force. Though the gauntlet has changed its size in comparison to how big it originally was in the last story. Oh, and speaking of other matters regarding Kairi's attire, since I know a few people actually brought this up, I do think I might at least add in her wearing a pair of shorts or something later on, mainly so that its more practical for traveling and fighting across the worlds, but for now, the only change to Kairi's KH2 attire is the gauntlet and her bracelets from the game being on the other arm.

Kairi: I don't think you can really answer that many of "Ronin Warriors Fanatic"'s questions, aside from repeating what you just said about Aqua's old Keyblade.

AN: Yeah, that is the only question we could answer, and we pretty much confirmed on more than one occasion now that Aqua's going to be getting her old armor and Keyblade back. Everything else wanders a little too far into the spoiler territory. Though, you can get a better idea of other worlds that will be appearing in this story if you go back to chapter 3 and look through the memories that Roxas and Xion first dreamed of, namely the ones that belonged to Sora.

Finally, wrapping things up with "Anonymaton", dude, don't worry. I don't eject my reviewers for trying to get a spoiler out of me. Sure, I can't answer your question just yet, but I'm not gonna eject you in a comedic fashion. I only do that to the story's characters, and Deadpool.

Riku: What?! Now how's that fair?! I mean, I get not wanting to do that to reviewers because it might make you lose a few, but how come they get let off easy while the rest of us end up getting turned into puppets, lizard people, or some other ridiculous thing if we so much as mention that the reason why I turned into Ansem here is because...

AN: There we go. DAH! ANOTHER SPOILER! [hits the button]

Riku: Aw crap. [gets zapped by several jolts of lightning, after which he can be seen as looking a bit charred and promptly passes out while letting a puff of smoke out of his mouth]

AN: He really needs to work on dodging stuff. Hehe, anybody else get that reference just now?...Eh, it'll come to you, and if it doesn't, don't worry about it. Oh, and to the guest reviewer "Guest" from 10/11/2018, I wouldn't call it screwing around with you all with my little teasers. More like...getting your minds working in an attempt to guess what I've got up my sleeve for each new chapter. And yeah, I do love doin' it.

Well, now that all that's said and done, we've got another day of summer vacation to get to, so let's get on with the show everyone!

I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise mentioned in this story.

Chapter V

All she could register was a sense of falling. There was nothing else around her to take note of. No sounds, no sights, not even the feeling of the air blowing into her face. Only the impending end when she hit the ground was in her mind, and for some reason, a part of her actually seemed to welcome it. That was what finally drove Xion to awake with a start, springing up in her bed as she began reaching for anything that could help save her. Her rapid grappling came to a halt though when she realized that she was in her room, safe in bed, and not falling from the clock tower at the central station to her death. After looking around her for a few more minutes to reassure herself that she was okay, Xion took a few extra moments to calm her breathing and slowly sigh in relief. A relief that did not last though, as she remembered that she was not the only one who had been falling and that brought on a whole new wave of panic.

Immediately springing up from her bed, Xion dashed out the door, down the hall, and barreled into her brother's room, startling Roxas with her sudden entrance, as he had obviously just woken up as well. The only thing that was more surprising for the blonde was when Xion rushed over and latched onto him in a vice-grip hug as she began crying into his shoulder. When he felt his sister's tears starting to stain his shirt, Roxas could only gently wrap his arms around Xion, rubbing her back with one hand as he soothingly shushed her in an attempt to calm her down, listening to her attempt to explain what was wrong, despite how drowned out her voice was through her sobs. Thankfully, she did regain enough of her voice to finally speak understandably again, but Roxas did not stop in his efforts to reassure her that everything was okay, even after hearing what she said.

"I…I w-was so scared. W-we were on th-the clock tower, and y-you had fallen, and I-I try to s-save you, but th-then I f-fell, and…and…" Xion cried as she continued to weep.

"Shh, it's okay, Sis. It's okay," Roxas whispered. "It was all just a bad dream."

"No it wasn't! It all happened," Xion protested as she finally pulled back, her face still stained with tears despite the sureness in her eyes. "I-I know it did! And we talked to someone in our heads! To Kairi! She's r-real! Just like Naminé was, and like she said that Sora is!" When her brother did not say anything more, she came to a quick realization. "You already know that. You felt it happen, and you had the same dream!"

"…Yeah, I did," Roxas admitted. "But I'm not sure which parts were the actual dream, and what was real. I mean, if we did fall from the clock tower, then how'd we get back here? Or more importantly…how are we still here?"

Xion did not have an answer for him, and that honestly scared her, enough to draw fresh tears from her eyes as she pulled her brother close to her again so that she could cry into his shoulder some more. Roxas did his best to get her to calm down, at least enough so that they could both get up, get dressed, and have breakfast, but it was hard to do so when he was just as freaked out by all of this as she was. A nightmare like that one, even if it was a bit more pleasant at some points than others, was definitely not something you could easily shake off, assuming that it was all just a nightmare, and the fact that they were both asking that question scared him more than anything else.

It took a while for Xion to let go of Roxas, though it did help when he softly sang a song by someone named Utada Hikaru, known as "Sanctuary" to her, knowing that it always helped her feel a little better when she was really upset. It worked really well for him too, but even after Xion had stopped crying, it was not until after Roxas had cooked a batch of French Toast for breakfast that she finally began to really calm down, but even then, the twins were still feeling out of it as they headed to the Usual Spot to meet with the rest of their friends. They were pretty behind the agreed upon meeting time, much to Olette's ire, but they were not really in the mood to register how annoyed she was that well. Then again, Olette's mood was really more due to something that the other three were talking about before the twins had arrived, and the other boys were not doing a great job of improving it.

"Only three days left of summer vacation, so don't even mention that assignment," Hayner pleaded, referring to the homework that they had yet to start on.

"But we agreed we'd get it finished today," Olette reminded him. "And don't even think about trying to put it off again by making us go on another impromptu beach trip like you did the other day." She then looked at the only other girl in the room and asked, "Xion, can you back me up here?"

Xion did not answer, and that was probably the moment when the other three noticed the siblings' somber moods. They did not even need to ask what was wrong, because Roxas was the one who managed to bring it up. "Yesterday…Xion and I fell off the station tower, didn't we?"

It was clear to Olette that this was bothering her friends, but on the outside, she seemed to think that he was looking for any excuse to avoid doing their homework like the other boys were. That did not stop Hayner from answering the question though. "You guys wouldn't BE here if you did," he pointed out to his fellow blonde.

"But…I could've sworn that," Xion stuttered, and no one needed her to finish her sentence to know that she had thought the same as brother, and it was really bothering her. Olette had even dropped her harsh look when she realized this in favor of giving Xion a quick one-armed hug in an attempt to reassure the smaller girl.

"Maybe you guys just think that because you both fell asleep up there after we all had our ice cream," Pence offered, surprising Roxas and Xion a bit with this new information. "We figured you two were more exhausted from the tournament's excitement than you let on, because you were both out like a light after finishing just one stick of ice cream. We tried waking you guys up, but nothing worked, so we just carried you both home. Honestly, we're just glad that when you did pass out, you ended up leaning back instead of forward."

"Oh…thanks for that, then," Roxas said, with Xion nodding in silent thanks as well. They just wished that they were a little more sincere in their thanks, because they did not even remember so much as holding a stick of ice cream, let alone falling asleep on the tower, and they doubted that it had anything to do with any amount of fatigue.

"No worries, but hey, if you really want to thank us, how about you try losing some weight, Roxas. You have any idea how heavy you are," Hayner joked, finally pulling something close to a smile from the twins while Pence just laughed along with him.

Olette would have joined in on the laughter too, but she barely got any further than a smile before her frustrated look returned in full, and she immediately set it loose upon Hayner. "Hey, stop changing the subject!"

"Okay, already," Hayner sighed in defeat, knowing that there was going to be getting out of doing their assignment this time, especially with Olette like this. "You win. We'll do the homework. Stupid independent study."

"I don't see why you're not more excited about this," Xion admitted, trying to show off her usual attitude so that no one would continue to worry about her, or at least no one other than Roxas. "I mean, independent study does mean that we can basically do a report on whatever we want, and not just some textbook work, or even reading a specific choice of books."

"Well sure, but it's still homework, Xi. That means that we have to hate it, or at least those of us who aren't teacher's pets have to," Hayner retorted, getting in some playful ribbing at the girls as he did. When both girls just gave him an unamused look, he knew that he was going to be burying himself in a deep hole if he did not change the subject in the right way soon, and he quickly asked, "So, anybody got any bright ideas for a topic?"

That did the trick in saving Hayner's skin, because the whole gang went silent as soon as he asked, proving that none of them had really thought about it that much. That did not mean that they were silent for very long, because one idea did come to Roxas pretty quickly. "Maybe we could study the stuff that's happening to me and Xion," he offered up. "You know, the dreams, and the guys in white…"

It sounded like a good idea to Xion, even she was not too fond of getting their three best friends mixed up in whatever craziness that had been unfolding around them, but Hayner was of a different opinion, as he immediately dismissed it by simply saying, "Forget it."

"Why? It sounds like a great idea," Xion questioned in protest.

The other three exchanged a quick look between them before they all looked to the siblings and started to explain. "Well, you know, things have been weird with you two and the town since the photos were stolen, right?"

"Yeah," both siblings nodded in reply, though they kept it quiet on how things had apparently been weird for them even before that.

"Well, tomorrow, we're all gonna search the town and find out what's been goin' on," Pence revealed.

"Lots of people are helping out too," Olette added. "Practically the whole town, really."

"All that for us," Roxas whispered in disbelief, while Xion's eyes just widened a little bit.

"You guys don't really have to do that," Xion finally said after a minute of silence.

"Yeah we know, but we want to," Hayner shrugged. "I mean, you guys are our friends, and everyone in town really likes you guys, too. Besides, it was our choice to do it, and nothing you guys can say will convince us to forget about this."

That brought a smile to both of the twins' faces. They were truly touched by how willing their friends and everyone else in town were to help them solve this mystery. Sure, they already had a few clues of their own that they had not shared with the rest of the gang, but still, knowing that their friends had no intention of leaving them alone in their search for answers made them feel like they were closer to those answers than ever. After thinking about this for a few more minutes, all depressing thoughts about yesterday had finally left Roxas and Xion's minds, but the latter ended up beating her brother to the punch in showing their appreciation for this.

"I'm going to go get some ice cream for everyone. My treat," Xion declared as she turned to rush off to the Tasty Treat Parlor.

"Whoa, hey, you don't need to do that," Olette tried to insist.

"I know, but that's my choice, and I want to. I'll be right back," Xion replied with a smile, and like that, she was gone from the Usual Spot to get the tasty treat of sea-salt ice cream for everyone.

Just like she said though, Xion was right back with ice cream for everyone, and the five friends were all digging in with joy, all of them trying to come up with an idea for their topic. The only problem was that none of them could think of anything. It was not like there was anything that interesting in Twilight Town that they could research, and neither Hayner or Olette were willing to just settle for some basic thing that anyone could do for this assignment. They were just about ready to give up though when Pence suddenly mentioned, "You know, there's this strange rumor going around. Wanna hear it?" He barely waited for everyone to give some form of confirmation before he went into his explanation. "You know the stone steps at Sunset Station? We use 'em all the time, without even thinking about it, but—and this is the weird part—the steps count different going up and down!"

"Seriously," Hayner and Xion both exclaimed in disbelief.

"And there are six other weird stories like that," Pence finished with a nod. "It's like…the seven wonders of Twilight Town."

Normally Xion would have protested and said that such a thing was bogus, but given what had happened around her and Roxas lately, she did not really think that she could dismiss anything as just a story so quickly now. Not only that, but hearing that last bit actually made her grin excitedly as she declared, "Pence, you're a genius!"

"I am," Pence asked.

"Yeah! That's what we should do our school project on. Investigating the seven wonder of Twilight Town," Xion explained, and from the looks on everyone's faces, they all agreed with her on the idea.

"You're right, that is perfect," Pence agreed. "But you know, there might be some other rumors going around, too, so do you think we should investigate those as well?"

"Maybe just the ones that are just as unique or interesting as the seven wonders," Roxas suggested. "I mean, if it's any old thing, I don't think it would be really worth investigating that much."

"Good point," Pence nodded. "So I guess we should split up."

"Okay, Olette and I will go look for some new rumors," Hayner immediately volunteered, with said girl nodding in agreement to the idea.

"Which means you guys and I will go and look for the seven wonders," Pence said as he looked to the twins.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Roxas agreed. "How about we start at the train station first?"

"But won't we need money to ride the train over to Sunset Terrace," Xion asked.

"Not for a simple trip to another part of town," Roxas reminded her. "The train's free for that anyone wanting to get from Market Street to Sunset Terrace. Besides, we can't really use the tunnels to get there since they're in the middle of being worked on."

Xion nodded in conceit of that point, and with nothing else to be said, they all left the Usual Spot to go their separate ways. Hayner and Olette had quickly headed into the main part of town so that they could listen in for any new rumors, while Pence quickly headed up to the Station Plaza. Roxas and Xion would have followed behind him immediately had Roxas not insisted that he and Xion grab their skateboards first. Honestly, she liked getting the chance to use her board as much as her brother, but Xion did not really think it was all that necessary to bring them along this time. When she said as much, Roxas pointed out that bringing along their skateboards would mean that they could save some time walking, and Xion knew that he had a point, but she honestly still thought that it would've made more sense if they were using the tunnels to get to the terrace. There was just something about riding through the tunnels on her board that made Xion feel excited, and the fact that she barely had to stop and wait that much when doing so was a big bonus to that effect too.

Either way, when Roxas returned with their skateboards, his being white with black detailing and hers sea-green with sky-blue wave-like detailing, Xion still happily accepted the board and gladly raced her brother up to the Station Plaza so they could meet up with Pence. Along the way, they both put in some time to do a few quick, easy tricks, just to make sure that they had not lost their touch, since it had been a while since they last used the skateboards. They were doing all kinds of tricks from heelflips, to rail-grinding, and even three-sixty spins every now and then, and after successfully pulling everyone, they were both left with a satisfied feeling that made them forget about all of their troubles by the time they had arrived at the station and met up with Pence. Pence had already gotten them their tickets by the time they had arrived, so all they had to do now was await the train's arrival at the platform, which did not take long at all.

"The time has come," Pence decreed, sounding like someone about to set out on a grand quest in a fantasy novel as he spoke. "Our hunt for the seven wonders begins!"

Xion could not help but giggle at her friend's silliness, while Roxas just managed to keep it down to an amused smile when he noticed Hayner and Olette running to catch up with them. "Hey, that was fast," Roxas called out to them, pulling the other two's attention over to their friends.

"No kidding. Did you guys find some new rumors already," Xion asked.

"Nothing on Market Street," Olette sighed with a shake of her head.

"But don't think you twerps are gonna scoop us," Hayner promised, sounding a lot more excited about the assignment now than he had before. "We're going to the terrace with you."

"You do know this isn't a race, right Hayner," Xion asked, with Olette silently posing the exact same question via the look she had shot at him.

"Well, it definitely is now," Hayner declared with a grin, drawing eye-rolls from the girls and grins from the other guys.

"C'mon, we can all go," Roxas laughed, thinking it would be more fun if they all went together anyways, and he then turned to lead them onto the recently arrived train. A few minutes later, they were all seated and listening to the departure announcement as the train pulled out of the station, headed for Sunset Terrace, and the hunt for the mysteries behind the seven wonders of Twilight Town.

The train ride from Market Street to Sunset Terrace was a relatively short one, but it was still long enough for folks to just sit back and relax in the comfort of the people around them, just like the five friends had done as they awaited the moment when their search for the seven wonders would begin. While they were going though, Olette, Hayner, and Pence had all pulled out their crystals from the Struggle Trophy so that they could all look through them like they had yesterday, and the twins were eager to join in. The only problem was, Roxas could not seem to find his blue crystal anywhere, and he rapidly checked every pocket he had just to make sure that he had not misplaced it. He came up short though, much to his dismay, but what was really surprising was that Xion seemed unable to locate her crystal too. Normally Xion would be especially careful with anything that she considered to be an important treasure that was shared among friends, so neither one of the twins could figure out how she could have misplaced or even lost it. They were not sure if they had left the spheres in their rooms by accident or if they had dropped them on the way home last night, but either way, finding out that their crystals were missing quickly brought the good moods that they had been holding before down again.

All sad thoughts quickly vanished though, as they heard the train pulling to a stop, and they all looked to see that they had arrived at Sunset Station. The minute the doors had opened, Hayner and Olette raced out, ready to look for some new rumors, while Pence lead the twins to their first wonder at a much calmer pace. Roxas paused for a minute to stretch a little when he suddenly remembered what had inspired their decision to pursue this topic for their homework. "Hey, aren't these the steps that you talked about, Pence," Roxas asked, indicating the stairway that was just in front of them.

"Yeah, the ones that count different going up and down, right," Xion clarified. She looked them over for a minute, counting them from both directions with her eyes as she did, only to frown a little when she had finished. "They seem to count normally to me, or do we need to actually go up and down while we count?"

"Um…" Pence hesitantly said, pulling their attention to him as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, it's the stupidest thing ever, but…"

"What," Roxas prompted.

Pence sighed in defeat before he finally revealed, "Rai's the one who counted. He's like, 'Every time I count, it's different, Y'KNOW?'"

While Pence had ended up laughing at the end, Xion's reaction was to introduce her hand to her forehead in a simple slap, while Roxas had to ask, "So…he just counted wrong?"

Pence's nod in response drew a sad sounding sigh out of Roxas while Xion could only mutter, "Should've known. This kind of thing is exactly why that guy got held back a couple of grades in school."

"Hey, no worries. There are still six other wonders for us to investigate," Pence attempted to reassure the two.

"Well how about you tell us about a few of them first before we go looking and getting our hopes up this time," Xion suggested.

"Okay, sure," Pence agreed, pulling out a map of Sunset Terrace, on which he had marked the locations of the very wonders they were looking into. "First one is 'The Friend From Beyond the Wall,' which says that at the end of the bricked-off alley, a ball will come out of the wall, sometimes even more than one.…"

Pence's list continued on, with each one sounding more intriguing to the twins than the last, or at least more impressive than the one that resulted from Rai's poor math skills, but their friend insisted that they meet up with Hayner and Olette before they investigate the sixth wonder, so the only other ones they heard about where "The Moans From the Tunnel", "The Doppelganger", and "The Animated Bag", the former two of which sounded a lot more impressive than the last one. When Pence finished, the two took a minute to look over his map so that they could memorize each location, until Xion spotted something odd on his map. A little, silver question mark that was circled in red, with the image of a medieval knight's helmet beside it, and considering that Pence had told them that most of the wonders were all here at the terrace, save for the seventh, she had to wonder if that image had anything to do with the last wonder.

It did not take long for Xion's curiosity to wear her down, and she immediately pointed out the symbol as she asked, "Hey Pence, what's this symbol here mean?"

Pence glanced to the question mark next to the knight's helmet, and his eyes seemed to glimmer with excitement as he revealed, "Oh that's for the legendary eighth wonder: 'The Knight of Twilight Town.'"

"Eighth wonder," Roxas questioned, obviously wondering why they were only looking into the first seven.

"Yeah, the one wonder of Twilight Town that's hardest to really pin down. I thought everyone knew about it," Pence admitted. "Rumor has it that at various times of the day, people have seen a strange figure going around the city, jumping across rooftops, ducking through alleyways, and doing so with all kinds of crazy moves, and the only thing anyone has been able to tell about this person is that they're wearing a suit of armor like a knight. No one knows what the knight's doing, or why he's going around the town, but a lot of people think that he could be looking for something, or someone."

"So why aren't we investigating this one too," Xion asked, getting to the question that Roxas was attempting to have answered.

"That's easy, because unlike the other wonders, the knight's appearances are all so random that it's almost impossible to pin down an exact spot on where someone is most likely to find him. Most people would be lucky to so much as catch the smallest glimpse of the cape he wears as he passes by, let alone the actual knight," Pence revealed.

"You don't say," Roxas muttered, and from the sound of his voice, Xion knew that something important had just clicked in his mind. After a moment, Roxas told Pence to go on ahead to see if he could solve any of the wonders on his own, and once their heavy-weight friend was out of sight, and likely hearing range, he immediately added, "I wonder if it could be him."

"Him," Xion repeated in confusion.

Roxas quickly double-checked to make sure they were alone before he whispered, "You know how in some of our recent dreams we've seen ourselves in a group of people that wear black coats?"

"Yeah, those are the ones that I'm the least bit fond of," Xion confirmed, her expression becoming downcast at the thought of specific parts of those particular dreams.

It was obvious to Roxas which parts she was referring to and he quickly pressed on so she did not think on them for too long. "Well, if you've been seeing the same things that I've seen in my dreams, then you would remember that in some of them, I had a meeting with a man in a suit of armor, and the first time I saw him, I managed to figure out that he was…"

Xion quirked an eyebrow at her brother, confused as to why he cut himself off like that, but receiving no explanation from him at all. "Who," she finally asked. "Who do you think he was?"

"I'm not sure if I should still be keeping quiet about it or not, but when he first met, he told me that I shouldn't say his name out loud because he was trying to hide from that group or something. Even so, if this Twilight Knight and that guy in armor are the same person, then that means that the knight is…" Roxas cut himself off again, cupped his hands around his mouth so that only Xion could see his lips, and silently mouthed the last two words to her. "Master Ventus."

"What? Master…Do you really think so," Xion asked, just barely able to keep herself from saying the full name out loud.

"Don't know, but it does fit pretty well," Roxas insisted. "The only thing I can't figure out is why he would be going around town instead of talking with us directly."

Xion just shrugged, not entirely sure of the answer either, before she reminded him, "Maybe it's got something to do with me. I mean, so far, you're the only one we've seen meeting him in the dreams."

"But from the way he talked, he made it seem like you two had met at some point as well, at least in passing," Roxas reminded her.

There was no denying her brother's point on that, but for now, they did not have time to worry too much about this. "He probably has his reasons, but for right now, maybe we should just focus on getting the assignment done."

"…Yeah, okay," Roxas finally sighed, and the two then rushed off to catch up with Pence, skateboards firmly tucked under their arms and ready for action at any minute. Still, despite putting it aside, the mystery behind whether or not the Twilight Knight was Master Ventus or not had nestled itself well into their minds. So much so, that they did not even notice how that very master was looking down at them from the roof of the station right at that moment, his cape billowing in the wind, before he suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.

After catching up with Pence, the three figured they could save a bit of time if they split up as well, with each of the twins taking two wonders each while Pence coordinated their efforts for them, so after checking their friend's map one more time, Roxas headed off to look into the Friend From Beyond the Wall and the Moans From the Tunnel, and Xion went after the Doppelganger and the Animated Bag. It did not take either twin long to reach their targets on their skateboards, but the real excitement only came after they had reached said destinations. Roxas was the first of the two to discover this, and when he did, he found himself in an unexpected game of dodge ball.

When he arrived in the alley where his first wonder was supposed to be located, he immediately went up to the wall where the balls were supposed to come from, and after simply tapping against the brick wall once, a few large spheres came flying out of it. It was like the wall was not even there, but as far as Roxas could tell, it was completely solid. He did not have too much time to think on it though, as after a while, the slow balls stopped coming and were quickly replaced with a large multitude of balls that went flying at an amazing speed. Roxas was quickly forced to run, dodge, and jump in order to avoid the massive spheres, and ended up getting knocked a little closer to the other end of the alley every time he got hit, but he knew that he had to get back to the wall that the balls were coming through, because they did not start flying until he had approached it. It was a struggle in and of itself, but eventually, Roxas did manage to spot a few breaks that he could slip through, and immediately slapped his palm against the brick wall again. When he did, the whole world seemed to distort around him, in much the same way that it had before Axel had shown up yesterday, until all the remaining balls disappeared, save for one, which went flying out of the alley.

When Roxas turned to follow it, he found Pence waiting for him at the alley's entrance. How his friend had caught up to him so quickly, Roxas did not know. He was more interested in telling Pence about what he had discovered, but his friend did not seem to believe Roxas, and instead was insistent on the idea that the ball flying out of the alleyway was just something that the blonde had thrown, which meant that people had assumed a ball was flying out of the wall because of kids playing around in the alley. Despite his best efforts, Roxas just could not convince Pence otherwise, but then again, it was not like he had anyone to back him up, so he just moved on to his next wonder: the Moans From the Tunnel.

The tunnel in question was actually the one that led from the terrace to the underground tunnels that connected nearly all of Twilight Town about as well as the train, so Roxas had no trouble finding it. When he went in, he spotted Vivi, apparently practicing his skills in Struggle, so he went to go and say hi. Just when Roxas had gotten close to the smaller kid, he jumped back in shock as Vivi suddenly multiplied to the point where there was now three of him, and all three Vivis were obviously looking for a fight. Thankfully, Roxas had made it a point to carry his Struggle bat with him from now on, especially after what had happened during the tournament yesterday, so he had no problem fighting back. When he struck down one of the Vivis, the duplicate seemed to disperse into a kind of data-stream, and was then replaced by a few more, making Roxas's new job a little more difficult for him. Thankfully, this Vivi copies were not on the same level of ferocity in their fighting abilities as the actual Vivi had been yesterday during their Struggle match, so Roxas had little trouble taking each one down with a single hit. Even so, it did not mean that fighting against all these duplicates was any less tiring, but eventually, Roxas did manage to get the number down to just one, and made quick work of that final Vivi afterwards.

After the last Vivi was beaten, the world seemed to become distorted once again, but there did not seem to be any changes in Roxas's surroundings this time. That was when he heard the real Vivi calling out to him from behind, and he immediately turned around to see the kid in question walking over to him. It was at that point that Vivi explained that he came down to this particular part of the tunnels to practice for Struggle, and he incorrectly assumed that Roxas was here for the same reason. Roxas tried to explain, but he was not sure how to do so without sounding a little crazy, so he ended up just letting Vivi think what he wanted. Seconds after Vivi had left, Pence arrived and Roxas found himself repeating the same process all over again. At least this time it was a bit more understandable to assume that the moaning from the tunnels was just Vivi practicing, but Roxas still had to wonder how Pence caught up with him so quickly.

Xion was not having much better luck than her brother, as her first target, the Doppelganger, proved to be just as dangerous as the Vivi clones. When she approached the small courtyard where people were said to have spotted the wonder in question, she caught sight of her reflection in the waterfall, and she could not help but admire herself a little. She was not a vain person who was constantly checking her appearance or anything, but Xion did feel like she could not help but admire how nice she looked from time to time. It was actually right when she was in the middle of doing so when it happened. Her reflection suddenly seemed to gain a life of its own before stepping out of the waterfall and turning completely black, like some kind of large shadow! The minute that this Shadow-Xion stood before the girl, it produced a Struggle bat and then attacked her! Xion was quick to raise her skateboard in front of her as an impromptu shield, and after pushing this shadowy copy of herself back, she grabbed her own bat that she had decided to start carrying around for the same reasons as her brother, and launched a counterattack. Unlike the Vivis that Roxas fought, the Shadow-Xion did not go down too easily, but it was still an easy fight. Despite how much it looked like the real Xion, the shadow version did not move as quickly, and its attacks tended to be a little sluggish, which gave Xion several opportunities to attack it. Even when it did attack, it did not seem to have much strength behind its blows, so Xion was able to shrug off its strikes very easily. In the end, Xion managed to take down her shadowy twin, and then watched as it was dispersed into a faint data-stream.

Just like with Roxas's wonders though, Xion noticed the world around her appearing to distort in the same way that it had before Axel showed up yesterday, and when everything returned to normal, Pence arrived to find Xion lying face down on the ground. He was understandably concerned about the raven haired girl, but Xion insisted that she was fine before she tried to tell Pence what happened. She never got the chance, as Pence quickly noticed both of their reflections in the waterfall, and assumed that was the reason behind the seven wonder that Xion was investigating. He was not entirely wrong, as the whole fight did start after Xion had noticed her reflection in the waterfall, but he did still miss out on the fact that an actual doppelganger of Xion had actually stepped out of said reflection. Still, Xion was content to let Pence think what he wanted. She already had enough craziness to deal with as it was, and the last thing she needed was to give Pence a reason to think she had finally lost it. Even so, something about the thought of another one of her kind of left Xion a little freaked out, to the point where she was trembling a little. Not noticeably to just anybody, but just enough for her to take notice of it.

She managed to shake off the scary thoughts, seeing as the Doppelganger matter was done and dealt with, and Xion then moved on to the Animated Bag, which was up on Sunset Hill, one of the best places to catch a Twilight Town sunset, besides the station tower. She passed a couple of kids looking for their dog along the way, and when she arrived, she quickly spotted the large, brown bag that the rumor spoke of. She paused for a minute to take a quick look around her, making sure that there was nothing in the area that could jump out and attack her this time, and once she felt safe enough, she slowly approached the bag, only to jump back when the bag suddenly sprung to life and started running around the field. It was actually kind of funny to watch, and Xion figured that it might be fun to try and ride on the bag, so she quickly hopped on. Apparently, the living bag was not too fond of giving out free rides, because it quickly started trying everything it could to get her off. Xion managed to hang on though, and even guided the bag so that it would not run into anything in the field, until finally, the bag stopped moving altogether, bringing an end to the ride.

Just like with the Doppelganger though, the world became distorted around her, and when it returned to normal, she watched as the bag deflated, while a large dog came shuffling out of the bag, making Xion coo in response while she quickly stepped over to scratch the dog behind its ears. When Pence arrived, he found Xion still giving the dog a bit of loving attention by rubbing its head and back, and he quickly assumed that the Animated Bag was just the dog stuck inside of the sack. After a few more minutes, the dog's ears perked up, and the two watched as it raced away, likely heading home after hearing its owner calling for it, before they decided to go and meet up with Roxas. All the while though, Xion could not help but question how Pence had caught up with her so quickly. It was like he just knew where she would be and when the perfect time to show up was.

When she finally met up with Roxas, she could tell from the way he was staring at Pence that he had been through the same thing, and was even wondering about the same matter that had been on Xion's mind after they had found the dog in the sack. Roxas seemed to notice the same thing in regards to his sister, and they both silently promised to discuss that mystery later. Right now, they still had to help with their homework assignment, even if it was turning out to be a lot less fun than they had been expecting it to be. "You know…that last wonder I checked out wasn't exactly wonderful," Roxas stated, disappointment clear on his face.

"Speak for yourself," Xion informed him, her mind going to the dog that she had just been playing with. That did not keep her smile going for long as she thought about what they discovered in regards to the other wonders, and she could not help but add, "But he does have a point. After looking into them, most of these wonders are not exactly all that…great."

"I understand, say no more," Pence reassured them, just as excited as ever. Clearly he was enjoying this investigation into the seven wonders more than anyone else in their group. "But this next one's gonna be really great! Wonder number Six!"

Before the twins could ask for any details, they heard Hayner calling out, "Hey, we got another lead!"

"'The Ghost Train Mystery'," Olette finished for the blonde as the two of them came to a halt before the rest of their group.

Apparently, it was not big news to Pence, as he soon enlightened them. "Everyone knows about Wonder number Six."

"Yeah, well, I didn't," Hayner retorted.

"Me neither," Xion revealed, sticking up for Hayner when she did. "Can you tell us about it?"

Pence nodded in reply, and quickly began the tale behind the sixth wonder of Twilight Town. "Apparently, there's this one train that runs along the tracks from an unknown destination, traveling between the town and wherever it came from. It's nothing like any of the other trains, and not just in appearance either. For they say the train is empty. No driver, no conductor, no passengers…No return."

"Wow! Now that sounds cool," Xion breathed in awe, a grin splitting over her face.

"Y-yeah. Really cool," Roxas nervously agreed, reminding Xion that her brother was not too fond of spooky stuff. Really, it was a surprise that she and Pence had convinced him to go investigate the Moans From the Tunnel. Still, in an impressive show of will, Roxas shook off his nervousness and asked Hayner and Olette, "Did you guys find out where the train runs?"

"Yep. Word is that you can see it from Sunset Hill," Olette revealed.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's go," Xion cheered, and she immediately hopped on her skateboard afterwards to race off to that very spot.

"Hey! Wait for us, Sis," Roxas called after her, mounting his own skateboard as he did, with the other three following just behind him.

The gang had arrived at Sunset Hill in no time at all, and had all quickly gotten comfortable as they watched the train tracks from the top of the hill. Hayner and Olette had insisted that all the rumors implied that the train would be passing by at any minute when they arrived, but they had been sitting there for quite a while now, and there was absolutely no sign of any trains that were even the least bit different from the usual ones. Still, Pence insisted that the ghost train was supposed the one wonder that was guaranteed to be legitimate, and given how excited Xion seemed to be at the prospect of seeing the thing, none of them were too eager to leave until after they saw the train in question. After a while though, there was still no sign of the train, and they all had to agree that they would give up on the whole thing once it got really late. Of course, the urge to leave increased a little more when an unwelcomed guest suddenly showed up for their little party.

"Good afternoon, slackers," Seifer greeted, sounding as arrogant as ever even as he walked up to them. "What're you doing out here?"

"What do you care," Hayner questioned with a glare.

"I don't. Tell me anyway," Seifer demanded.

"We're just doing the summer homework Seifer," Xion informed him, hoping to avoid anyone making a scene or starting a fight. "We figured we'd investigate the seven wonders of Twilight Town for it."

"And how's that been going so far," Seifer questioned, his tone and expression clear signs of what he figured would be the obvious answer.

"…Not so good," Pence admitted. "But that'll change soon. Right now, we're waiting for the ghost train."

"Waiting for the ghost train," Seifer mocked with a laugh, and that was enough to get Roxas to spring up and practically get in Seifer's face. Xion did the same as her brother, but was a bit more hesitant to do so after her previous encounter with the local bully just yesterday, and it seemed like that was preventing Seifer from really getting into anything big as well, as he just glared down at the two. Though it was more Roxas than it was Xion, as proven when he posed a specific question to the blonde twin. "Why does looking at you always tick me off?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's destiny," Roxas offered, though it was clear that he did not really care too much about the actual reason himself.

That answer actually brought a smile to Seifer's face, and he soon replied, "Destiny? In that case, let's be friends."

"Wha…" Roxas gaped in response.

Xion was right there with her brother. First Seifer actually said something nice about her brother and talked to her in the same manner, and now he was actually offering to be friends? It all made her wonder one thing. "Who are you and what've you done with Seifer?"

Xion's question just made Seifer laugh a little more as he turned to face the horizon, before he finally replied, "I just don't feel like cooperating with destiny. My fate is something I decide for myself."

"When have you ever 'cooperated' with anything," Hayner questioned, but something about his words seemed to strike a chord with the twins. Despite never really thinking about it, they too were not all that fond of having something or someone else decide their fate, and they also felt like it was something that they should decide on their own. At least, they were pretty sure that they had never really thought about it before, but for some reason, they felt like Seifer's words held a bit more meaning for them than just a passing notion.

Seifer did not say anything in response to Hayner, and instead, just smiled at the group before bumping a fist against his chest as a show of good faith to his words before he walked off. Of course, that was not before he promised Olette that he would remember something about tomorrow, and Xion was about to question her friend on what he could have meant, when Roxas spotted something on the tracks below that he quickly directed everyone's attention to. There, chugging along down the tracks and into the tunnel that ran through Sunset Hill, was a train unlike any of the others that the gang had ever seen before, at least regarding the ones that ran through Twilight Town. A majority of the train was colored in dark blue, and had intricate designs running all along it for detailing. At the front, one could see a large, yellow star, while the front window seemed to be heavily tinted in a purple color, and on top of the smokestack, there appeared to be a blue cone with yellow stars and crescent moon shapes running around it.

As they watched it pass by, Roxas and Xion could only stare in silent awe, and neither of them said anything until after it had finally passed through the tunnel. "It's really true," Roxas whispered before he turned to their friends. "And there's really no one aboard!"

"Hold on. What's the catch? There's gotta be a catch, right," Xion questioned, but none of the other three said anything in response. They just exchanged uncertain looks between each other, which Xion took to mean only one thing. "You mean…It's real?! Like really real?!"

"Only one way to find out. Let's go to the station," Roxas insisted, and he was quickly riding his skateboard to the station soon after.

"For someone who doesn't like spooky stuff, he seems even more excited about that than any of the rest of us," Xion muttered to herself as she hopped onto her own board and followed after him, not really hearing any of the others' cries to wait up.

The twins did not stop though, but instead, just kept racing towards the station, until they had to climb the stairs up to the platform. The others only just managed to reach them seconds after the two had came to a stop before the ghost train, and that was only because the two had to stare in awe at the locomotive. Now that they could see it better, they saw that the gold and silver designs decorating it included numerous stars and moons, and a pair of gold, shooting stars was facing outwards on the sides of the roof on each side. Even the windows were shaped like five-pointed stars, save for the ones on the doors, all serving to give the train a feeling to it that could only be described as magical.

"It's really beautiful for a ghost train," Xion finally commented in barely more than a whisper.

"Yeah, no kidding," Roxas agreed with a nod. "But where did it even come from?"

Xion thought about it for a minute, slightly pondering why none of the others were offering any insight, until she finally suggested, "Maybe there's a clue on board? Like a log of what routes it's taken."

"Yeah, maybe," Roxas agreed. "Let's go in and find out."

The twins then started towards the train's door, but they were stopped short when Hayner and Olette suddenly grabbed them by their arms, much to their surprise. When the two turned back to see why their friends had stopped them, they saw worried looks on all three of their friends' faces. "What's wrong," Xion asked.

"Um…you'll get hurt," Hayner replied.

"What're you talk…?" Roxas started to ask as he turned back to face the train, only to gasp in surprise before he could finish when he was facing the train again. Or at least, where the train was supposed to be.

When she heard her brother stop talking, Xion turned back to where the train was as well, and gasped in surprise too when she saw that the train had vanished into thin air. She knew that they did not hear it start pulling out of the station, but she also knew for a fact that it was just right there in front of them. In point of fact, the only train that was in the station now, was the one that was just pulling in, and it was the same kind of train that they saw every day. After watching people come off of the recently arrived train, Roxas and Xion were finally broken out of their stunned stupor at the sound of Pence saying that they should head on home, feeling they could not keep quiet on this.

"But we both saw a train with no driver come from the beach, and it was nothing like the usual ones," Xion insisted. "I know Roxas and I couldn't have both imagined it!"

"She's right! I mean, you guys had to have seen it, too, right," Roxas added, looking to see if there was any indication that their friends were joking.

The other three just kept silent, until Olette finally shook her head and said, "There was no train, you guys. You both just suddenly looked out over the tracks and then took off like a bat out of hell."

Neither of the twins were sure what to say in response to that, and they ended up not doing anything to stop Hayner from pushing them both onto the train so they could head home. This was now the third time that they had seen something their friends had not, and despite the fact that they had both seen it, the others had all insisted that they were imagining things. They did not understand how the other three could think that. It was impossible for two people to imagine the exact same thing down to the last detail whether they were twins or not, so why were they so insistent on saying that it was all just something that Roxas and Xion had made up? Either way, nothing could change the fact that this little investigation of the seven wonders of Twilight Town had only led them into even more strangeness than they already had before.

Roxas and Xion could not help but think over what had happened when the four wonders that they had investigated and the ghost train the whole trip back to Market Street, because while some of the wonders did in fact have a logical explanation to them, somewhat, they both knew for a fact that something really strange was behind them. None of their friends seemed to agree with them, especially after that incident with the train, and eventually, Olette even suggested that they were just seeing things because they were both tired. Never had Xion felt more of a desire to tear her own friends apart for treating her and her brother like this, but Roxas managed to help her keep it in when he reminded her that they were just concerned for their wellbeing. Even so, Roxas was just as upset about his friends not believing either of them as his sister was. It did not matter either way though, because as far as their investigation went, the others all had the same thought, and they did still have one last part of their homework to deal with before it was done, a fact that Hayner had reminded everyone.

"Let's go home and work on the paper," Hayner decided for them, clearly not looking forward to it. "Not that we'll have too much to write."

"Yeah, it'll probably go like this: 'The rumors were bogus. The end,'" Pence outlined for everyone, his disappointment pretty obvious.

"Well we can still make it sound good if we write about all the work we did," Olette offered in an attempt to cheer everyone up, while reminding them that they needed to put in more effort than that.

Olette's efforts to cheer the others up did seem to work, but only because Xion thought of something that they others seemed to have missed. "Well, we can't really do a proper report yet. We still haven't done anything to investigate the seventh wonder."

"Yeah, and what about the legendary eighth wonder? Shouldn't we try to figure out something about it, too," Roxas questioned. Granted he was not sure they should bother, given what Pence said about there not being any place where they could really look for the Twilight Knight, but he did feel like they needed a good excuse to go and look for said knight. After all, if the knight really was Master Ventus, then he wanted to meet with the man, and he knew that Xion probably felt the same way.

"Who cares," Hayner snapped, clearly having had enough of the whole investigation.

"We do," Xion replied, indicating herself and her brother. "Besides, we can't really say all the rumors were bogus if we didn't investigate all of them."

"Whatever," Hayner scoffed before stalking off.

Olette gave Xion an apologetic look before going after their moody friend, and Xion knew that she was mainly apologizing for Hayner's behavior just now. Not that she could really blame him, after all the back-to-back disappointments they had today in their investigations. They were all expecting something more from the seven wonders, and aside from her and Roxas, Xion knew that none of them had seen anything out of the ordinary from any of those wonders. Still, she was not going to give up yet, and Roxas clearly was not either, as he was the one who convinced Pence to tell them a little about the last wonder.

"It's at that haunted mansion," Pence finally sighed in reply to his friend's prodding. "People say that there's a girl who appears in the second floor window, even though no one's lived there for years."

Hearing that automatically made Roxas think of one particular girl, and after nodding in thanks to Pence, he jumped onto his skateboard and headed straight for the Old Mansion. Xion was hot on his trail, likely thinking the same thing as him, even if it was for somewhat different reasons. As far as either twin knew, there was only one girl in all of Twilight Town that could have been appearing in any window of that mansion, and it was the same girl that they had encountered just two days ago: Naminé. If there was a chance that she was hiding out in the mansion, then they wanted to know for sure. Both so they could talk with her more, and maybe even figure out how she had even gotten in the building, considering that the gates were always locked shut.

When they got to the wall with an opening into the forest, the two quickly tucked their skateboards under their arms and walked the rest of the way, knowing that they would not be able to ride the boards through the woods. From there, it was just a short trip to the gates of the mansion where they had cornered the photo thief, or the Dusk as they had heard Axel call those creatures, and they quickly started surveying what they could of the building and its surrounding area. Sadly, there was absolutely no sign of anyone forcing their way into so much as the mansion's front yard, let alone the building itself, and it was hard to really see anything in any of the windows, but then again, they only needed to look into the windows that were on the second floor, since that was where Pence said the girl was supposed to appear.

Speaking of Pence, the heavy-weight boy suddenly came up behind them, having decided to follow the two after they took off from the station, and upon coming into hearing range of the twins, he startled them both a little when he spoke up, revealing a small piece of information that the two were not expecting. "You know something, we were gonna check the mansion out tomorrow. It is the most suspicious place."

"Right," Roxas nodded in agreement.

"Not to mention this is where a lot of the craziness that's been happening around us lately started," Xion noted aloud.

"Yeah, that was what I said when I brought up with the others," Pence cottoned on. "Even Seifer's gang was gonna help."

"Seifer/Seriously," Roxas and Xion simultaneously gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, Hayner asked him to," Pence revealed, and that earned the top spot on the list of weirdest things that the twins had ever heard. Hayner, of all people, asking Seifer to help out with something? Olette, they could understand, but Hayner? Roxas and Xion both wondered how Pence could not see just how much wrong was in that sentence, especially given the history between the two boys in question. Out of everyone in their group, Pence had known Hayner the longest, so in a way, it did make sense that he would not be too surprised by Hayner suddenly asking Seifer for help, but not to the point where he could just say it so casually.

Xion's eyes started to move towards the sky so she could try and comprehend just what was going on with everyone and everything around her today, but she stopped short when she caught a glimpse of something in the second floor window on the left side of the mansion. Something dressed in white and with blonde hair that was unmistakable, even from this distance. "Hey, Roxas," Xion whispered as she tapped her brother's shoulder, getting his attention so she could point it out to him. "Look up there."

Roxas immediately directed his gaze to where Xion was pointing, and like his sister, he automatically knew that it was Naminé standing in the window, looking down at them. However, somehow, he got the impression that she was more focused on him and Xion than anything else outside of said window, and part of him could not help but wish that he was the only thing she was focusing her beautiful eyes on. He was about to shake that thought from his head when he felt his face heating up, knowing that Xion would likely start teasing him if she noticed, when suddenly, he felt like something was moving him over the mansion's front yard, and up to the window that Naminé was looking through, all while his vision slowly went white, forcing him to close his eyes in reflexive response.

When he opened his eyes again, Roxas was surprised to see he was no longer outside with his sister and Pence, but inside what he could only assume was the very room that Naminé had appeared to be standing in. As he glanced around, Roxas could not help but notice how nearly everything in the room was completely white. Everything from the walls, to the floor, and even the furniture was that same, white color, almost like a blank picture in a coloring book, and the only reason he could take notice of the furniture at all was because of how it somehow managed to stand out from the rest of the room. The only color in the room came in the form of several drawings depicting several different people and places, and while there was a bit of a child-like quality to them, Roxas would not say that they were bad drawings. One thing that he did note was that he recognized a lot of the places and people depicted in the drawings, because they were all things he and Xion had seen in their dreams, at least in regards to the ones about Sora and his friends. His eyes soon found a drawing of Kairi, apparently holding out a star for someone, and he could not help but think back to one of his most recent dreams as he studied it, namely the one where Kairi had gifted Sora with her lucky charm. He probably would have just stood around looking at that particular drawing all day had a recently familiar voice not suddenly called out to him.

"Roxas…" Naminé's voice called, making Roxas turn and attempt to spot the girl. The only problem was that she was nowhere to be seen, and yet, he was sure that he heard her just now, like she had been standing next to him.

"Naminé? Was that you," Roxas questioned, continuing to look around the room until his eyes found a specific drawing of three figures standing before two more, indiscernible ones. The only reason why he was able to figure out who the other three were was because of the obvious hairstyles that they seemed to have, and Roxas could only place one name to each of those three. "This is…me and Xion? …And Axel's there too."

"The three of you are best friends," Naminé stated, sounding like it was completely obvious.

"Are you sure about that," Roxas questioned, thinking back to yesterday's events as well as the dream he had the previous night.

"Of course. You and Xion both told me so yourselves," Naminé revealed. Apparently, she could see the doubt on Roxas's face, because the next question she asked was, "Isn't that part of the reason why you're here? Because you want to know the truth about who you and your sister are?"

"No one knows me and my sister better than we do," Roxas countered. He had to pause for a minute before he finally admitted, "But…I do admit that there are quite a few questions coming to us lately."

"Of course," Naminé giggle in reply, apparently happy to hear that.

"And more than that…does it have anything to do with what's been happening to us lately? I just don't get it," Roxas added as he moved across the room, studying some of the other drawings until he saw one that made him pause.

"You know these four, don't you," Naminé asked.

"Yeah. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ventus," Roxas recited. "I figured that they were real for a while now, especially after what you told me and Xion a few days ago, but I still don't get why we've been seeing Sora's memories in our dreams when we weren't even there."

Roxas was hoping that he would get more of a straight answer from the girl, and this time, Naminé did not disappoint him. That did not keep him from noticing how she sounded a little ashamed as she revealed the information to him. "About a year ago, some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart. But now…I'm putting them all back exactly the way they were," Naminé recounted. "It's taken me a long time, but pretty soon Sora will be his old self again. There was just a few bumps in the road that slowed the progress, and it wasn't until a few months ago that we found out…you and Xion were the cause."

"How could we have made it hard for you to fix Sora's memories," Roxas questioned.

Naminé was silent for a little while, even as Roxas moved about the room to see a drawing of what was clearly him and Xion standing on either side of Sora, but eventually, she did answer his question. "You, Xion, and Sora are all connected, and…in order for Sora to become completely whole again, he needed you two to come here."

"Us? But why, and what for," Roxas asked, even more confused than ever.

"You and Xion held a part of what he is, and without meaning to, you were also both draining more of it out of Sora," Naminé revealed. "But we did find a way to reverse the effect thanks to Ventus and the two of you. Still, even after the process is complete, he'll need you and Xion, Roxas."

Roxas could hardly believe what he had just heard. Part of Sora was inside of him and his sister? But how could that have been possible? Did it have anything to do with why they were seeing Sora's memories in their dreams? Roxas was no longer sure if he wanted to know, because all this new information was starting to scare him a little. It was right to the point where he was ready to run out the door, but just as soon as he had turned around, he finally spotted the blonde girl he had been talking to, sitting calmly at the far end of the table in the center of the room, with a small smile being cast in his direction. Seeing her before him again made Roxas feel and think at least a million different things at once, and it was all to the point where he was not really sure what to do now that she was here before him. In the end, he decided that it would be better if he just sat down, and when he took a seat at the end of the table opposite from Naminé, the girl smiled a little more, indicating that he made a good choice. That did not stop him from asking the question that he had wondered about for a while now.

"Naminé…who are you," Roxas finally asked.

"I'm a witch with power over Sora's memories and those around him," Naminé revealed, clearly ashamed of having such powers, telling Roxas that someone had used that power for something she did not like at all.

"A witch?"

Naminé's smile fell at this point, and was quickly replaced with a scowl as she told him, "That's what DiZ called me."

Hearing the name DiZ automatically made Roxas think back to the masked man that had appeared yesterday, shortly after Axel had, and hearing that he had called someone who appeared to be as sweet and pretty as Naminé a witch actually made Roxas scowl a little too. Another look at her face told Roxas that being called that really seemed to hurt the girl's feelings, and he was not about to have any of that. Hence the reason why he quickly said, "Well, I don't think you're a witch. If anything, I think that would make you more of a sorceress or something, and a really pretty one too."

The last bit had slipped out before Roxas could stop it, and he quickly cringed back a bit while the room suddenly seemed to get a lot hotter, but the endearing smile that Naminé gave him in response seemed to indicate that his words had the effect he was going for. The small blush on her rosy cheeks also made him think that she just became a lot cuter, but he somehow managed to keep those thoughts at bay just enough to hear her say, "That's really sweet of you to say, Roxas. I mean, Ventus had told me something similar to that, but coming from you, it means a lot more. Still, it doesn't really tell me why I have this power…I just know that I do. I'm not even sure there's a right way for me to use it, beyond what I've been doing to help Sora, with yours and Xion's help.

"Hmm…I can't help you there," Roxas sadly admitted, earning him another sweet smile from Naminé that made him suddenly start wishing that he could always make her smile like that. He managed to distract himself from those thoughts, and the new heat that was coming to his face, by glancing away from the blonde and over to the picture of himself, Xion, and Axel though. "You know, it's funny. Despite what I said, I can't help but wonder if I really do know anything about myself or Xion. All the dreams we've been having…The things we heard from Axel and that other guy yesterday…I guess it actually has made me wonder, if there's something about us that we don't know about. Do you…maybe know what that is?"

Naminé slowly nodded, but her eyes indicated that she was hesitant to give the answer, mainly because it seemed to sadden her for some reason. Although, it could have been because she thought it would upset him, but either way, she still answered his question. "You…and Xion…Neither of you were ever supposed to exist, Roxas," Naminé finally confessed.

"What? How can you say that, even if it is true," Roxas asked, hardly believing his ears.

"I'm sorry," Naminé apologized, a small hint of tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. "I guess some things really are better left unsaid, but you know…Maybe you two were supposed to exist, because without either of you…things out in the worlds could be a lot worse than they are right now. Maybe you can still keep making a difference, just like you both wanted to when you first came to me, Ventus, and DiZ."

Hearing that he wanted to do something to help people did make Roxas feel a little better, despite how seeing Naminé tear up like this made him feel like he was breaking a little on the inside, but that still left one question unanswered for him. "Why did Xion and I come to you all, anyway? I don't think it was just so we could somehow help, given what we saw some of the more recent dreams."

Once again, Naminé hesitated, her face forming a bit of a scowl as she thought about it, until she said, "Because you wanted to escape from the people that did not want Sora to wake up. It was the only way you could help any of us, and they're not the type to let their members go easily." Roxas was about to ask something else when Naminé suddenly raised a hand and said, "I'm sorry, but it looks like our time's up. Don't worry though; Xion can tell you a little more after I meet with her, just like you should tell her about what I told you."

From the sound of that, Roxas just knew that this was probably going to be the end of their meeting, and he did not want it to end there just yet. Just to prove it, he quickly stood up and approached the blonde sitting at the other end of the table, surprising her a little, and he gently grasped her hand while looking directly into her eyes with an almost longing stare. "Could you tell me just one more thing," Roxas asked, and Naminé found herself unable to do anything other than silently nod. "When we met before…were we…close?"

Naminé seemed to consider his words for a few minutes before she finally gave him a gentle smile that made Roxas's stomach do a few summersaults, and said, "I'd certainly like to think so. I don't know why, but there was something about you that made me feel…like I've always been more than what I am, or what I was born as."

That comment made Roxas return her smile with a gentle, adoring one of his own, and before he realized what he was doing, he suddenly started to lean in closer to her, until his lips came into contact with one of her cheeks. When he pulled back, he only managed to get a glimpse of Naminé's blushing face and the cute smile on it before everything went white again. The next time he opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at the mansion from the outside like he had been before his sudden meeting with the blonde girl, and judging by how hot his face felt, he had not imagined any of that. More than anything though, he could not help but think about how soft Naminé's cheek felt when he kissed her, and that thought probably would have kept him on Cloud Nine had Pence not given him a quick shake on the shoulder.

"Hey, did you see her," Pence inquired when he finally got Roxas's attention.

"Uh…Oh! Yeah," Roxas replied when he finally realized what Pence was asking about. "Watch the window—closely."

Pence did as his friend instructed, but sadly, he did not see any sign of a person in the window. All he saw were moving curtains, drawing a disappointed sigh from him. "Oh, lame. It's just the curtains moving. There must be a draft somewhere," Pence despaired, sad to see that another wonder was just bogus, or so it appeared to him. "I'm surprised this old place even has curtains."

"…Yeah," Roxas had to nod, finally accepting that for some reason, his friends were just unable to see things that he and his sister could, because he could still see Naminé standing in the window, looking down at them. He did smile a little when he thought he saw her wave to him though, something that Xion did not miss, if her smirk was any indication.

Apparently, that was not the only thing that was hard to miss, because Pence quickly took notice of another thing regarding Roxas. "Hey, are you sure you're okay, Roxas? You're face is kinda red."

"W-what?! Oh, yeah. I-I'm just…probably a little tired from all the running around we did today," Roxas quickly stated, even as he turned away to hide his blushing face. Sadly, he forgot that turning away from Pence meant that he would be looking right at Xion, and there was no way he could hide his blush from his sister even if he did try.

"Nope, that's not it. He's obviously sick," Xion informed Pence, worrying their friend a little more until she finished her joke. "Lovesick that is, and I'm sure I know who he's thinking about."

"Xion, shut up," Roxas growled under his breath, but he was not sure if she heard him over Pence's laughter.

"W-well, hehe, either way, we should head on back to the Usual Spot. Hay-Hayner and Olette, hehehe, are probably waiting," Pence just barely managed to say through his chuckles.

"Yeah, sure," Roxas grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance as he turned to head for said spot. "Xion, are you coming," he then asked when he noticed that his sister was not following them.

Instead, Xion had turned back to face the window that Naminé was standing in, studying it closely for a few minutes before she finally said, "Nah, you guys go on ahead. I want to look around for a few more minutes to see if there's anything about this place we could learn that might make the report a little more exciting. Just because there's no girl in the window, doesn't mean there isn't some kind of mystery about this old mansion."

"Okay, but I'm not gonna hold my breath," Pence cautioned before he turned to lead the way back, but Roxas on the other hand gave her a knowing look and a nod. He had a feeling the real reason why Xion was staying behind, and he was not going to stop her. Of course, he did find himself hoping that Xion was not going to give Naminé the protective sister talk.

Once she was sure that the boys were both well away from the clearing, Xion looked straight up at the window, locking eyes with the blonde standing on the other side of it, and quietly murmured, "Okay then. You said it's my turn, so bring me in."

Barely seconds later, Xion had closed her eyes as a feeling of being lifted off the ground came over her, and when she opened them again, she found herself standing in Naminé's room, gazing at all the same drawings that her brother had just been looking over a moment ago. When she was done studying them, she looked over to where the blonde in question was sitting, smiling happily in her direction, and just in time for the artist to say, "It's good to see you again, Xion. I've really missed you."

Xion just studied Naminé for a few minutes before she finally said, "I wish I could say the feeling was mutual, but I don't really remember us being all that close or even meeting before that time a few days ago. Still, I do feel like we were friends at some point before. Weren't we?"

Naminé nodded happily, and replied, "We were. It's good that you're trusting what your heart tells you, Xion, and it's nice to see that there's still plenty of your old self inside, too."

"So, those memories Roxas and I have been seeing…they really are of a past life that we lived, or something," Xion asked, just for clarity's sake.

"Yes, and it was not something that either of you were too fond of for the most part, at least by the end of it," Naminé revealed.

"Well I understand not remembering something because it was bad, but why can't I really remember anything about it, aside from what I've seen in the dreams," Xion asked.

"…Because, I went inside yours and Roxas's memories, and…and changed them so that you wouldn't remember," Naminé finally admitted.

"What? Why…Why would you do that," Xion asked, her voice starting off as disbelieving before it steadily turned angry. "Who even gave you the right to do something like that to us? What could've possibly made you think that we would be okay with it?!"

"You did," Naminé informed her, surprising Xion even more. "You asked me to do it. You and Roxas both. You needed to hide from the group that you used to work for, and that Axel still works for, because you ran away from them, and they would've kept hunting you. They only way we could've hoped to throw them off your trail, was for me to change your memories, and slightly alter your personalities. That way, we could safely do what we needed to do in order to bring back Sora, with your help, and keep that group from interfering."

"I…I don't understand. Why would we need to do that, and why is it that Roxas and I are so important for bringing back Sora from…wherever he is," Xion questioned, her mind unable to comprehend what she was now hearing. No one could blame her though, because that was quite the bombshell that Naminé had just dropped on her, and in the process, it also raised even more questions.

Naminé's expression became saddened once again, as she repeated some of the same words that she had just said to Roxas. "Roxas and I…We're something that should never have existed, and the same holds true for you, Xion, but for a completely different reason."

Xion did not need Naminé to apologize for saying that, because she could already see the apology in the girl's eyes, and she slowly nodded in return to show that she forgave the blonde for saying that. It did still leave the big question unanswered though. "How am I different from you and Roxas, if none of us were supposed to exist like you say? And what does all of this have to do with Sora?"

"I can't answer all of that just yet. It's too soon, and I'm not sure you would be able to handle it right now," Naminé cautioned.

"Please, tell me something, anything really," Xion begged, and Naminé found that she could not deny her this knowledge.

Taking a deep breath, Naminé began to tell Xion what she could. "About a year ago, some things happened, and I was forced to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart. Thankfully, with my help, Sora was able to push through the damage and find at least a clue that led him to his true memories and that helped me start the process of putting them back the way they were before. Unfortunately, I soon encountered a problem. Some of Sora's memories were missing; his most precious memories at that. They were escaping through Roxas…and into you, until they started becoming a part of you. If it was allowed to go on for too long, it would have been impossible to extract just Sora's memories from you, and still leave you as you are, otherwise…"

Xion did not need Naminé to finish that last sentence to know that something bad would have happened to her as a result. It was definitely a scary thought, but she still did not understand why she was the one that Sora's memories went into, or even why they had to pass through Roxas to get into her. Apparently, Naminé saw that question coming, because she then said, "The reason why they were going into you is because that group you and Roxas used to be part of created you so that they could have a Keyblade wielder they could control, while keeping Sora from ever waking up again."

"Are you saying that…I'm not actually…?" Xion could hardly bare to think what was being implied, because to her, it sounded like Naminé was saying that she was not a real person. That she was just some sort of thing that was created in a lab, and for some reason, that horrified her even more than she probably should have expected.

"Maybe not at first, but that changed as time went on," Naminé reassured her. "You became your own person, partly because of Sora's memories, and because of something even more special that's unique to you and no one else. DiZ couldn't see it, or did not want to, but Ventus and I both knew from the moment when you started to truly gain your own identity. That's part of the reason why you left that group and came to find us, because you wanted to help Sora and still be with the people you cared about. At one time, even I thought that the only way to get Sora back in the time that DiZ wanted was for you and Roxas to go back to where you belonged with Sora, but Ventus refused to accept that. He was convinced that you could help us get Sora back without either of you having to come to harm, and that confidence was what convinced me of the same thing."

While Xion was a little more frightened now by this new knowledge, hearing that she had made an identity for herself and become a person through her own actions and doing did make her feel a little better. More than that, hearing that Ventus was so determined to keep her and her brother safe served to better bring a smile to her face, and she had no problem showing this fact to Naminé. "So then, what else can we do," Xion asked. "I mean, it there anything that we have to do to help Sora?"

"You're already doing it," Naminé insisted. "Now, the only thing that can really decide what you can do to help us, is for you and Roxas to keep making your own choices on what you want to do. As Ventus and I once told you before, you and your brother have the right to choose for yourselves, so never hesitate to do so."

Xion nodded in reply, before another thought came to her that she had to ask about, and from the smirk on her face, Naminé just knew that it was going to be something that she would feel a little embarrassed about. "So, about you and my brother…Just how close were you two, and do you have any idea why he was blushing so much a minute ago?"

In an instead, Naminé's face went completely red, and she was soon sputtering and stumbling over her words like a nervous school girl, until she glanced up at the ceiling like something had just signaled to her. "Oh wow, look at that. Our time to talk is up for now. Too bad, but can't exactly keep you here forever, so off you go. Bye-bye now, Xion. Hope to see you again sometime soon!" With that, Xion seemed to disappear from the room, and when she glanced out the window, Naminé saw the raven haired girl staring up at her for a few moments before she turned to try and catch up with Roxas and Pence. When her friend was well out of sight, Naminé finally sighed in relief as she muttered, "Dodged another bullet. Even now, after all the changes to her memory, that girl can't let up on teasing me and Roxas for one minute."

Despite how upsetting most of her talk with Naminé was, Xion actually did feel pretty good about the end result, and not just because of the slight teasing she got in at the expense of her brother's girlfriend. Well, soon-to-be-girlfriend, anyway, but that's beside the point. After all of the stuff she and her brother had been through, they finally had some answers, and while they did open up some new questions, it felt really good to have something much closer to a solid answer for once. She did not really count any of the answers that Axel had given them yesterday, considering that he was not too forthcoming on anything they did not already know, but what she learned from Naminé, and what she figured Roxas had found out, that was definitely being counted as a win in her book. She could hardly wait to tell Roxas about it all. She would probably leave out a few details to avoid upsetting her brother, but she was still going to tell him a lot the first chance she got.

Her chance to talk with Roxas about that information was going to have to wait, as she ended up arriving at the Usual Spot right when her brother, Pence, and Olette were leaving. "Hey, are you guys already finished writing the report," Xion asked as she came to a stop in front of them, her skateboard tucked under her arm after she had jumped off it.

"It was done even before Roxas and Pence got back," Olette admitted, much to Xion's surprise. "I figured that the girl in the window was going to be just like the rest of the wonders, so we went ahead and wrote down everything. Not that I completely doubted you guys would find anything there, but after everything else today…"

"Don't worry. I get it," Xion reassured. "So where you guys heading?"

"The station. Hayner's already there, and probably with ice cream for all of us," Roxas revealed, silently telling Xion with his eyes that they would talk about their respective conversations with Naminé later when the others were not around.

Xion nodded in response to both her brother's spoken and silent words, and dropped her skateboard to the ground again when Olette suddenly said something that made her pause a little. "You know…we only have two more days together."

"What," Roxas asked, with Xion turning a worried look to her friend at the same time.

"Summer vacation, remember," Olette reminded them.

"Oh…right," Roxas sighed in relief.

"Geez, don't go and say it like that. For a minute you had me thinking that some of us were going away and never coming back after vacation or something," Xion cautioned with a sigh of her own. Her face fell a little as she added, "I'd hate to end up being separated from all of you and never seeing you again."

"Hey come on. You'll still be able to see us all at any time, Xion," Pence promised.

"As long as we keep each other in our thoughts, we'll never be apart, right," Roxas finished for him.

"We've got it memorized, Axel," Xion added on with a smile, only noticing her small slip after she had said it.

"What? Who's Axel," Pence asked, clearly just as confused as Olette seemed to be.

"Uh…Nobody. I don't know where that came from. Sorry," Xion informed them, glancing away in hopes of better covering her mistake, even though she knew that probably made it more obvious she was lying.

Whether they believed her or not, neither sibling could say, but in the end, Pence and Olette seemed to accept the answer and just headed off for the station where Hayner was waiting for them. Roxas would have followed along, but like Xion, he paused for a second to exchange a quick look with her that said he had a good guess as to why she said that. Seeing that look, Xion could do nothing more than nod in return, silently saying that she did indeed think it was something from their previous lives that had slipped through just then, and with that, they both knew that they were going to be talking a lot more later on after saying goodbye to the other three for the day. They probably would have gone off to have that conversation right away, but they wanted to meet up with Hayner before anything else, so they took off after the others.

Even after meeting up with Hayner and exchanging a laugh or two with the rest of the gang though, Roxas and Xion found their thoughts preoccupied by their encounters with Naminé and the conversation that they were going to have with each other regarding said encounters. As a result, they missed a lot of what was being said, almost to the point where they were surprised that they were able to pay attention enough to know when to laugh or nod along at the right times. That quickly came to an end though, when Roxas spotted something fluttering in the wind on one of the rooftops below, and when he turned to get a better look, his eyes immediately widened at the sight of a man wearing strange armor. If he had not seen what he had in his dreams, he likely would have left it at assuming that it was the Twilight Knight that Pence mentioned earlier, but even from this distance, he could somehow tell that the armored man was the same one from his and Xion's dreams, meaning that it had to be Ventus.

Turning to Xion, Roxas saw that she was looking in the same direction, and when she felt his eyes on her, Xion turned to nod to Roxas, confirming she was already thinking the same thing that he was. There was nothing more for either twin to say at that point, as Roxas immediately jumped to his feet, making sure to be careful about it when he did, and said, "Hey guys, I think I left my skateboard at the Usual Spot, so I'm gonna go grab it and head home for the day."

"What? Are you sure," Olette asked, not wanting their group to split up for the day just yet, and it looked like Pence and Hayner felt the same way.

"Yeah. It's getting pretty late anyways," Roxas shrugged in apology.

"I'm gonna go with him, too. Don't want him to get into any trouble along the way, considering what a bonehead he can be," Xion added, throwing a little teasing in both for the fun of it, and stave off any suspicion that their friends may have.

"Okay, if you're sure," Hayner nodded. "Just remember, tomorrow, we're all gonna search the town, and then it's the fair the day after."

"Like we're gonna forget about that," Roxas chuckled in reply, and with that, the twins took off. Unfortunately for Roxas, he actually had left his skateboard at the Usual Spot, so he was not able to start chasing after Ventus right away, which ended up being necessary since they Ventus move from the rooftop they spotted him on the moment they came out the station entrance.

Since she still had her board, Xion quickly jumped on and began to chase after him, telling Roxas to call her once he had his board so that she could give him an idea of where she thought Ventus would be going. As it turned out though, they did not need to make any calls, as the armored man's route of travel actually took him right by the Usual Spot just as Roxas had stepped out of it with his skateboard, and like that, the twins were able to join together in their chase without any trouble at all. Still, it was hard to really say where the guy was going, because he seemed to be going all over Twilight Town via the rooftops, but despite that, the twins could not help but think that he wanted them to follow him. Considering what they knew about him from the dreams, they had to assume that Ventus was capable of hiding himself from someone really well if he wanted to avoid being seen, and since they were having such an easy time following him, and even finding him again when they did lose sight of him, it only made sense to assume that he was trying to lead them somewhere for some reason.

Eventually, the tour of Twilight Town ended when Ventus led them back into the woods again, forcing the twins to forego the use of their skateboards and just chase him on foot. They did not have to run too far though, because the next time they saw him, Ventus was just standing in a small clearing amidst the trees, looking like he was waiting for them to arrive. That made the two smile a little as they rushed to approach him, but their smiles were replaced with shock when he suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, much like so many other things had today. Just before he vanished altogether though, they could have sworn they heard him say, "It's nearly time for him to wake up. I look forward to seeing you both when it happens, and I'm sure he'll love to meet you guys, too."

Neither sibling was sure what to make of that, but right now, they did not waste too much thought on it. They just spent their time looking this way and that in the hopes of finding any other sign of the man or even where he could have gone. Their efforts did not turn up anything at all, until Xion noticed something on the ground where the armored man had just been standing. Bending down, she immediately scooped up a folded piece of paper, which she gently started to flatten out as best as she could, only to find that it was two papers folded together. One of which appeared to be a note from someone whose handwriting she did not recognize, but the other one definitely looked like something she had just seen earlier that day.

"Hey Roxas, doesn't this look like one of Naminé's drawings," Xion asked as she held out the picture in question for Roxas to see.

Hearing that question immediately brought Roxas to Xion's side so he could better look at the image, and he immediately nodded in confirmation when he saw that the style definitely matched that of the drawings that were scattered throughout Naminé's room. Of course, the most surprising thing was what, or rather who the drawing was of, and that was what kept him from speaking for a minute. Unlike a lot of the other drawings he saw in Naminé's room, this one was not childlike, but seemed very detailed, almost like something that a professional had created, and it displayed six figures, all wielding different Keyblades. The first two that he noticed were obviously Sora and the armored man from a moment ago, with the third being a girl with red hair that he assumed was Kairi. He was not entirely sure who the fourth person was, as they were mostly hidden by a black coat similar to Axel's, save for some blue hair that hung out from the hood, but it was the last two that caught his attention the most.

"Is this…us? With Sora and his friends," Roxas finally asked aloud.

"I think so," Xion nodded, even though she sounded just as unsure as her brother. "But…I don't recognize the Keyblades that we're holding from any of the dreams. Do you think that might be related to what Axel said about how we have been using copies of another Keyblade?"

"Maybe…" Roxas mused. "Still…who's this sixth person here? The one in the black coat with blue hair?"

"I'm not sure, but…wait, remember the dreams? When Kairi was apparently showing Sora a memory of her past," Xion questioned. At Roxas's nod in response, Xion immediately pressed on saying, "There was a woman in the memory with blue hair that said her name was Aqua. I think that might be her."

"But that's impossible," Roxas said. "All the dreams we've had so far said that she's trapped somewhere, right? And from what I could tell, Naminé's drawings all depict something from either Sora's past or ours, or even something that she wishes for, so how could…" He stopped short as he thought over one of the things he just said, and suggested, "What if…what if this is something that Naminé wishes to see? Us working with Sora and the rest of his friends, fighting to save the worlds? Or maybe even a vision of the future that she might have had?"

"Roxas, I think Naminé would have told one of us if she had the power to see the future," Xion dismissed. She then glanced back to the drawing and said, "Still, this does seem a lot more detailed than any of her other drawings that we saw, so maybe…"

"Yeah…" Roxas nodded in agreement, glad to see that she was at least considering his ideas. At that point though, he remembered why he wanted to talk with his sister away from the others, and immediately asked, "So what did Naminé talk to you about?"

From that point on, the two gave each other a quick recap of their respective meetings with Naminé, each making sure to not leave out any detail that they felt was important or needed to be shared with each other. Of course, Xion was able to share a bit more than Roxas, regarding what she had learned in regards to themselves, and their connection to Sora, but that did not mean that the blonde did not have anything to tell his sister at all. Sure, he was a little upset to hear that Naminé had messed with their memories, but considering what they had seen in the dreams of those memories, and that they had apparently asked Naminé to do it, he figured that they had some pretty good reasons. Any upset feelings he had paled in comparison to how mad Xion got when she learned how this DiZ person had called Naminé a witch, because Roxas could have sworn to the ends of the world that Xion looked like she was ready to tear the guy apart for that. She definitely seemed to share his opinion about what would be a better thing to call Naminé, but he could not really enjoy it that much considering one other thing that he told her.

"You mean to tell me, that even after you guys seemed to connect so much like that, you didn't kiss her?! Seriously, what the hell, Bro," Xion practically ranted.

"Hey! One, don't talk like that," Roxas scolded, earning him an angry pout from his sister in return. "And two, I'm not just going to walk up and make out with her out of nowhere. Just be glad that I at least kissed her on the cheek. Oops!"

"You did what?! Now that's a bit more like it," Xion grinned brightly, her rant instantly turning into a cheer.

Roxas on the other hand just covered his mouth while trying to hide his blushing face from his sister, but he somehow felt like Xion would have to be blind or in orbit of another world several miles away to be unable to see said blush. He had not intended to share that detail with his sister, mainly because he could still hardly believe that he did that himself. Really, what had he been thinking just going up and kissing her like that?! Sure, it was just on the cheek, and the way she was blushing afterwards made her look really cute, especially with that pretty smile…but that did not mean he could just go and do something like that without rhyme or reason! He barely knew Naminé, or at least, he assumed he did, and even if he did feel some kind of deep connection with her that he could not explain, that did not mean it was okay for him to just go and kiss her, even if it was just on the cheek. Still, no matter how he tried to rationalize it, even with Xion teasing him so much and so loudly right now, he could not help but admit that it felt really nice to do that, and he now had to wonder what it would feel like to really kiss Naminé.

That was a thought that Roxas quickly banished, mainly because of how much hotter it made his face and the rest of him, which he knew would only get Xion's teasing fired up to a whole new level, and decided to switch topics again. Thankfully, he managed to find something that would help with that perfectly. "What's the note say," Roxas asked, immediately putting Xion's teasing on pause as she looked at him in confusion. "The one that was with the picture? I thought I saw you holding one when I came over."

"Oh," Xion remembered, having forgotten about said parchment after she saw the drawing. She quickly pulled it out and read it aloud for them both. "Don't worry about whatever may come when its time. Just remember, despite what certain people may say, you both do have the right to exist, because you are able to choose for yourselves, and so much more than that. No matter what happens, only you can decide what you want to do going forward and you can make that choice for yourselves, not anyone else. Just like I told you before."

The two pondered those words for a minute, both of them thinking that this was definitely something from Master Ventus, but ultimately coming up short with what it could mean. One thing they did know for sure after all that had happened today was that something big was about to happen soon, and it would likely change their lives forever. They just hoped this thing could wait until tomorrow, because right now, all either of them wanted was to go home and get some sleep, so that's what they both did with tired yawns.

DiZ no longer felt the need to hear the computer's reports on Sora's progress, because he knew that by tomorrow, the young boy would be as he was before without question. With that in mind, he felt that it was time to cut off some loose ends, including Naminé, Roxas, and Xion. Apparently, his thoughts had been a little more transparent than he would have liked them to be, because Ventus quickly saw through him, and an argument had ensued in the old mansion's living room as a result, which quickly devolved into a full-blown fight between the two. Neither of them was hurt, but the rather sturdy table in the middle of the room had been completely blown to pieces as a result, and afterwards, Ventus had stormed out, promising that he would do what he had to if it meant keeping those Nobodies and the puppet safe. In return DiZ guaranteed that he would do what he felt was best for both his own goals and all the rest of the worlds, despite knowing that it would ruin any chances he would have of being in Ventus's good graces again, but even so, he was so close now that he just could not bring himself to stop at this point.

That did not mean he did not spend quite a long time sulking in the ravaged living room afterwards as a result, stewing over Ventus's last words before he had left the masked man to wallow in his dark desires and misery. "If you really believe that the only way for the worlds to be safe is for those three to disappear, or that your revenge will really bring anyone true peace, then you're a fool…Ansem the Wise."

DiZ could not even bring himself to let out a hollow chuckle in order to hide his pain, as he was busy trying to piece together when Ventus could have possibly figured out his secret identity. Had he not been as careful as he thought when in the Keyblade master's presence, or was there something inside of him that Ventus had sensed long before now? Either way, it did not matter now. His plans were going to move forward, and he was not about to let anyone stop them. Not even an old friend.

When the man in black who had introduced himself as Ansem just yesterday returned to the mansion, he found ended up finding DiZ still stewing in his misery amidst the wreckage, and while he was curious as to what had happened; he did not bother asking. He already had a very good idea as to what had caused all of this. "I can't leave you two alone for five minutes, can I?" DiZ said nothing in reply to this, so Ansem just pressed on to a different topic. Namely, one that he had been wondering about since before he left for a short time. "Why did you show them the train?"

"Because they missed the train to the beach," DiZ replied, shortly.

"Hmph…that's almost kind of you," Ansem remarked, almost sounding as though he were teasing the masked man.

"Please, spare me. I've heard quite enough jabs at my character from Master Ventus, thank you," DiZ cautioned, and it seemed that Ansem got the message, as he merely sat down in the armchair across from DiZ. "Now…what about you? Are the remaining holes in your memory starting to fill in?"

"Yes…the last of the haze is clearing," Ansem nodded, confirming what DiZ already suspected.

"The same thing is happening to everyone who had ties to Sora. Very soon, to them, he'll be like a good friend who's gone away for a year," DiZ explained.

Ansem nodded in understanding, and felt that it was high time that he asked something else of the mystery man he had been working with for so long. "I've waited a long time, and now I want to know, once and for all. What is it that you want?"

DiZ closed his eyes, stewing over the thing that had been driving him for all the past years, including this past one, and then locked eyes with the man before him as he said only one, single word in response. "Revenge."

"Revenge…" Ansem repeated, one of his hands tightening into a fist when he did. "I can see why Master Ventus would be so against that then, aside from the obvious."

"Either way, I'm sure you can agree that there are still some finishing touches to attend to," DiZ pointed out. "Despite what you or Ventus think, I'm sure you've realized by now that Roxas and Xion can no longer exist if Sora is to truly be what he once was, and that Naminé must be disposed of. Their efforts to aid in our work with Sora were splendid to be certain, but it's high time they all disappeared. Not a single one of those three were ever meant to exist, and to allow them to continue existing would only prove to be a greater danger to the worlds."

"Are you really so sure of that," Ansem questioned. "After all, it was their choice to help us, despite knowing what danger they would be in."

"Yes, I am," DiZ insisted, but there was just a small, bare hint of uncertainty in his voice that made Ansem question just how much of it he really believed. Maybe Ventus had gotten through to the man after all, but that hope was quickly dashed when DiZ asked, "What I have to know is…Can you take care of it, Ansem?"

Ansem was silent for several moments, and considering how they seemed to drag on for so long in his mind, DiZ had to wonder if he was about to betrayed by Ansem as well. Eventually though, Ansem did reply, saying, "I'll do what I believe is best for everyone."

That was enough to satisfy DiZ, and he immediately nodded in reply before settling back in his chair again. What neither of them knew was that Vents himself was standing right outside the door, listening in on the conversation ever since he had came back upstairs from sending one last message through to Roxas and Xion using his own virtual avatar. Needless to say, he did not like what he had just heard at all, and Ventus was not about to let this happen. Thankfully, he had prepared for this situation, and almost everything was in place for when he made his final move in this particular chess game. There was just one more thing he needed to take care of, and he immediately turned from the door to the living room so that he could do so, making sure to proceed as quietly as he could, a rather difficult feat while in his armor.

Thankfully, the other two seemed to be too distracted to ever notice him, and Ventus made it up to Naminé's room without any trouble. After gently knocking, the Keyblade master immediately heard the young girl tell him it was okay to come in, and upon entering, he easily spotted her hard at work on another drawing. He was not sure if it was part of her work in restoring Sora's memories, or just another show of how much she enjoyed making art, but at the moment, that was unimportant. Right now, he needed to make sure that everything he had planned was perfectly in place for when tomorrow came.

As for Naminé, she had known that it was Ventus coming in from the moment he knocked, as DiZ never really extended the courtesy unless it was early in the morning or late at night when she was most likely to be changing, and could not help but smile happily when he came in. That smile disappeared though when she took note of how quiet he was, and she knew that something was wrong or it was about to be. She was about to ask when Ventus raised a finger to silently signal for quiet, and whispered, "I'm not sure how much time I have before DiZ comes out of the hole he's wallowing in right now, so I need you to listen carefully…"

"DiZ plans to get rid of me once I'm finished helping Sora, and he intends to do the same to Roxas and Xion too, right," Naminé filled in, surprising the master a little. Naminé smiled sadly as she explained, "It was always obvious, even with his supposed promise to not harm us."

"Well you don't need to worry about that too much. I've got a plan to keep you safe," Ventus reassured her.

"You really shouldn't if it will get you into trouble with your friend," Naminé tried to tell him, but Ventus was not going to hear of it.

"DiZ is not my friend. The good man that was once my friend is buried too deeply beneath that mask to break through and see what he's doing is wrong, and not just because of his reasons for doing it. Besides, I made a promise of my own that I need to keep, and part of it involves keeping you, Roxas, and Xion safe," Ventus informed her. When Naminé nodded in thanks to him for his words and the passion behind them, Ventus knew that she was not going to argue any further, so he took that as his cue to kneel down beside her, and start explaining his plan to her, hoping that this would be the final plan he would have to enact against DiZ in order to keep such good people safe.

AN: Ya see what I mean? Not too much action happening here, even if there was a fight or two, but since they were not too important, we obviously did not go too far into detail about them.

Xion: At least you changed a few things up from the canon story line.

AN: That, while a bit of a given, is true. One of the most notable changes I think everyone noticed was the addition of Wonder Number 8, which I can confirm to be Ventus in his Keyblade armor, going around and keeping an eye on things, both regarding Roxas and Xion, and in making sure the Nobodies can't easily get in. And I do mean the real Ventus, and not some digital duplicate, at least for the most part. The other notable change was Roxas's encounter with Naminé, which again, was a bit obvious. It was pretty clear that Xion was going to be included at certain points of the two's conversation when they met again, but did you really think I wasn't going to have them get a bit closer, or have a bit more development on their romantic connection? That was kind of the whole point of me getting Roxas to at least kiss the girl on the cheek, ya know?

Roxas&Naminé: [blushes brightly while mostly attempting to avoid eye-contact]

AN: And then of course, there was that last little bit for our favorite twins at the end there. Namely the part where we saw them chasing after Ventus only to end up in the woods where Ven disappeared and left behind a note with one of Naminé's drawings. Before anyone asks, yes, the people are as I said during the story: Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Aqua, Roxas, and Xion. You can take that as a final sign of confirmation as to who's going to be making up the main line-up for our Keyblade Legion.

Ventus: You know, one could probably note how everyone seemed to emphasize the concept of making your own choice about something in this chapter.

AN: Well they should, after all, that is something that I feel plays an important part in the two's story this time around, and maybe even in canon too, if one were to really think about it. More on that later though, namely in the next chapter. Let's get into the matter of Xion's talk with her brother's girlfriend. Oops, I mean future-girlfriend. No wait, I meant Naminé.

Roxas: Shut up. [still blushing scarlet]

AN: Dude, don't deny it. We all know it's true, especially in this story. Anyways, yeah, I had to have the girls meet and talk in this chapter, so there ya go in that regard. Did Xion end up learning a little bit more about hers and Roxas's mysterious past life? Maybe. Was her talk with Naminé a bit more...depressing, for lack of a better word? Well, I can't help but think so. Could I have made it a little more happy or something? Not in any way that I could find, but I do like to think that I managed to end it on a high note with that little bit of teasing that Xion got in on Naminé, and let's not forget about how said blonde confirmed that Xion had in fact been pretty similar to how she is now before her and Roxas's memories were remodified. It's almost like it was set in stone that Naminé would be Roxas's princess, eh?

Ventus: I feel like we should mention the inclusion of the skateboards in this chapter.

AN: What's there to really say about that? We all saw how the skateboards were such a thing in the game, so I decided to make it a thing for a reason this time around. Don't worry, the twins will be getting their own boards after getting out of the virtual town, and Sora won't be missing out on that fun either, but considering that they'll all be a little more preoccupied with the upcoming adventure that they'll be having, yeah, don't expect it to happen right away or anything.

Roxas: Aw phooey.

Xion: Roxas, please try not to talk like Donald.

Donald: Hey! What's that supposed to mean.

AN: Nah-ah-ah! Back in the pod with you! If Sora's gotta stay in there for now, so do you, Duck! [starts zapping Donald several times over while pushing him back to said pod]

Phew, at any rate, there's only one thing left for us to do before we can call this chapter a wrap. Everyone, Onto the Preview!...

Despite the words of their friends, Roxas and Xion find themselves having their last day of summer vacation after their latest round of strange dreams, and this last day is anything but an easy day of relaxation. People around them that they thought they knew for a while have either disappeared or just don't realize that they are there, passing through the twins like they are just ghosts, and when Axel appears before them again, things only get even more heated. Is the key to escaping this nightmare hidden in the old mansion with Naminé, or is there something else hidden away there that may determine or change their fates? No matter what happens from here on though, all the twins know is that this is likely the end of their vacation, and then, it will be time for something else to begin. Find out just what Roxas and Xion will uncover on their last day of summer vacation, who they will meet, and what sort of surprises they will come across, next time.

Oh yeah, the big closer for the 6 day summer vacation is upon us, and a few more big questions are going to be answered for sure, next time, too. For now though...

Please read and review, and see ya real soon!