Time Between Chapter 2: Infiltration, a kingdom hearts fanfic

I'm going to add in a bit of lore to the story. Um. For those of you familiar with RWBY, I'm going to incorporate aura. While Nobodies are more durable than people, I'm putting in that any beings capable of magic, or has the Keyblade, can produce this protective 'shield' around them. What it is and what it does will be explained in the chapter.

But, as of this title, the trio are going to meet several faces in a certain place. Old and new in a lot of ways.

Um. Castle Oblivion is a weird place, but I'm going for what could POSSIBLY make sense. I might have butchered it. I apologize for that.

I never played Final Fantasy but I've read the wiki and seen the Remake on Youtube - I'm going for the remake versions here in outfits and such but...yeah. But expect seeing a couple of them in here with a bit of a spin to them myself.

So with that, enjoy.

Two days had passed in a blur for the boys (in real time). The place Merlin had taken them is one, big forest. It's nice and peaceful, yet...perfect for the kind of training they got. Time moves barely moves at all in that world. While it looks to pass by normally, in reality, it moves so slowly outside of the world it would feel like you had been training for months instead of just a few days in real time. Merlin explained that it's a unique ability to manipulate time to create an ideal place for training in a short amount of time. Considering that they don't know how much time they got before they had to leave for Castle Oblivion to deal with the members to be sent there, it's logical to go for something like this as a means to train. So they took what time they had to get used to utilizing other forms of magic as well as their Keyblade Transformations.

During that time they found a lot of things, other than getting used to their magic.

For one...apparently Isa's Keyblade Transformation is a strange claymore.

It looked regular at first, resembling Isa's Keyblade and the 'ring' around the hilt...but, as they found, when he charges it with magic, the 'ring' changed, forming into the spikes that made up its teeth.

"That looks dangerous," Lea commented when they made that discovery.

"Yeah..." Isa muttered. He narrowed his eyes at it. 'It feels like it was meant to be...savage. To tear their opponents apart.'

This...could be useful for destroying monsters, but he wouldn't use it on a person.

...And of course, they also found that it could also produce shockwaves while in that form.

Isa opted to use it as a 'finish' for the form change.

They also learned of a strange ability as well – well, not exactly an 'ability' per say, but it's something that's unique to select people, Keyblade users and magic users alike. It's only called 'aura'. It's appropriately named that due to how there's an 'aura' that simply…coats your body. It was said that it's your soul's 'shield' around your body. However, it isn't an all-powerful defense. The more hits you take, the more it wanes until it depletes. When it happens, do they start taking damage for real. Not only that, some things could even cut through aura. Someone more powerful or certain things that could hinder one's concentration. An aura doesn't automatically 'turn on' in battle – it takes time for the person to get used to activating their aura to cover them. In time, and with experience, it would become second nature to the user. What's interesting is that they can take on a specific 'color' over the person. Lea is red, and Isa is periwinkle blue. Aqua's aura is blue.

Lea grumbled of how they could have been told that sooner, but the Demon Tide had basically torn through Mickey's shirt, so…Lea ceased his complaints afterwards.

They also improved a bit in their own hand to hand combat fighting as well. While it's important to learn how to utilize their Keyblades and magic, it's also important to improve their own capabilities in close quarter combat as well. Nice to rely on weapons but there would be times where you would lose them somehow.

But, two days had passed (while it had felt like months in that forest) when Aqua returned to the tower.

The boys were taking the time to relax a bit, after their training. Lea is lying on the bed, with Isa reading a book. The same book Lea took with him that has the complexities of spells to them.

"I'm surprised a book like this existed," Isa remarked, looking over at the entry.

"Yeah let's just say I was still trying to read through it," Lea said, annoyed.

Isa nodded. "Yeah, this is rather...complex," he said. "I'm surprised this was within the castle. How did Ansem get his hands on the book in the first place?"

"Dunno. I just...found it," Lea had his hands behind his head, lounging a bit. "I got it hidden in my old room for a while. Found it before we left and took it with me."

Isa looked at his friend. "You're really determined to master your fire abilities, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah. I'd rather not have it explode in my face, thank you."

"True. But still... Do you think something happened to our folks when we were young… or were we too young to remember?"

"Just tossing ideas around?" Lea asked.

"Well, yes," Isa said. "We first met when we were six."

Lea hummed, looking up.

Even though it's only been about a few years...Lea still remembered his mother.

She was beautiful. Long red hair, green eyes...she raised him on her own (though, she did have help). She told him stories of magic and mysticism. His favorite had been about the strong 'Fire Mage' who fell in love with a humble, yet unusual fellow magic user. They had a child and lived happily ever after.

He remembered...she seems a bit sad about it. He didn't know why though.

When he was eight...his mother disappeared. No one had seen her. The day after, he and Isa were put in the same orphanage, cared for by Elmyra Gainsborough and a few other members who help watch them.

"...Hey, do you remember the day we first met?" Lea asked him suddenly.

Isa blinked at him. "What brought this on?"

Lea sat up. "Sorry, it's just...that was the day that began my long, arduous task of becoming your friend," he said, smiling.

Isa hummed.

Isa remembered that day well. A red-haired kid came up to him, wanting to know what he was doing. At first, Isa ignored him...but, he was really stubborn. Lea often chatted about things that came to mind. It lasted for days. And despite Isa ignoring him at first and got a little annoyed…he just…couldn't understand why this kid would talk with him.

What really had their friendship start was the topic of 'fathers'. Isa...didn't have good feelings about his own. The man left him and his mother behind, going off on an adventure. Isa just...didn't like the way the man had just left them behind, just exited out of their lives like that. Isa made that apparent...but, then was surprised to hear that Lea never knew his father. That it had been him and his mom for a long time; sure they got the support, but there was no father.

After that, they started to hang around more...with Isa finding that it's just...more fun to play with another person. Though, he was anxious that Lea would leave him too. That he would do what his father did.

What really sealed their friendship was when Isa asked him why he would want to be his friend. Lea's response? "Because I wanted to." It was just…so simple. And yet, it was so 'Lea' too.

The two had been inseparable since. Lea's mother had been a good friend his own mother needed. It lasted for two years until...

...They were only eight when they both lost their mothers. He only heard about an 'incident' that happened, but they never go into detail. And there was no way he would leave Lea alone. So...he never questioned it.

"...sa? Isa?" Isa returned to the present, with Lea leaning in. "you okay? I kind of lost you there."

Isa's cheeks flushed before he closed his book. "Sorry. Just...got lost down memory lane." He gave a soft laugh. "You're the most stubborn child back then. But...it's that stubbornness of yours that got us to be friends."

"Still...at the same day, we ended up at the orphanage," Isa said as Lea sat down beside him. "...I barely remembered what happened. But I felt...devastated at my mom's death."

Lea grunted softly at that. "...Yeah. Same. With my mom disappearing and all." He huffed. "...What exactly happened to even cause that though?"

"You got me." Isa replied. "Still, all things considered we opted to help look after the kids too."

Lea nodded. "Yeah. That is true," he said. "Once we got older."

Lea hummed before he looked at Isa. "Hey, do you think the other people who got scattered are okay? Like Mr. Wallace and almost everyone else."

Isa hummed. "Who knows? But, here's hoping they're okay."

"Yeah..." Lea nodded.

Soon enough, the door to the small study knocked. "Yeah?" Lea responded.

Opening the door, there's Aqua. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said.

The two looked surprised at her. "You're back!" Lea said as he stood up quickly.

Isa slowly stood up, placing the book on the bed. "I take it that the path is made?"

"Yes," Aqua nodded. "I just got back honestly."

The two looked over at her. "...Wow, you look exhausted," Lea couldn't help but say.

"Yeah," Aqua said, sheepish. "Just...give me a day, and I'll be back on my feet."

"Try not to overwork yourself," Isa told her. "Just rest."

Aqua had a sheepish smile. "I'll try."

"You better," Lea huffed. He sobered, asking as Aqua entered the room, "So how did it go anyway?"

"The path was made but that was the hard part. the Easy part was creating an entrance for us to use to get into the castle." Aqua answered

"Have you gone into it?" Isa asked her, closing the door behind her. "The castle, I mean."

"Yes. The Castle is designed to make those who found their ways outside lost in oblivion without a way out. But while I was there... I sensed someone else in the castle."

They looked surprised. "Really?" Lea asked her.

Aqua nodded. "It didn't feel...threatening," she furrowed her brows. "But, the person who's in the castle...didn't feel as if they had been there long. About several days, maybe." Aqua gave a look. "But for now we'll probably need to recover for now."

"Yeah, you DID just get back," Lea said. "We kind of called it a day ourselves from Merlin's training."

"I see. I'm actually relieved that Merlin was alright. But now we need to navigate this carefully."

"If we're going to infiltrate the castle?" Isa asked her. She nodded. "When?"

"Once we advance enough in your transformation I'd say. Considering that you were able to manifest your vehicles.. that should only take a couple of days."

Two days, huh?

Lea nodded. "I think we can dig that," he said.

"May as well," Isa said, arms crossed.

~o~

Two days had passed since Aqua's return. The two got a better handle on the Vehicles now as well as their weapons performance. During those days, they asked Yen Sid more about weapon maintenance and such. For stronger threats, this was made to at least allow certain weapons to become sturdier – as was the case of the Heartless. Mickey had gotten his stronger for the trip to the Dark Realm at least, because not only was the realm uncharted territory, but it was also as a precaution as they're within Heartless territory.

The ones with the expertise of weapon forging, however, are the Moogles. The boys are surprised that such small, fluffy creatures can have that ability. Then again, they make a myriad of items, like potions and such.

It was a day after that explanation do they talk about it.

"Well, at least we got some ideas on how to use it, right?" Lea asked his friend who nodded.

"Yeah." Isa looked over at his Keyblade. "At least we know what we needed to do. On our next visit to the Gardens, we can talk with the Moogles for the upgrades, if they could."

"Well, those guys are always moving around," Lea muttered. "And unless we could find them in the castle…not likely."

Isa considered it, before huffing. "Right. We might have to look for them at another world if we could." Isa dismissed his weapon.

"Yeah," Lea nodded, dismissing his. He has his hands behind his head. "So, what do you think of the person in the castle? Why'd you think they'd be there?"

"Good question," Isa shrugged. "But…for them to be there, as the Nobodies use it as a research outpost…not a good sign."

"Yeah, but you know we need to know the name of that group," Lea mused, going off topic. "Can't just call them 'Nobodies' forever." Isa rolled his eyes. How quickly they shift topics. Lea looked at him. "I mean it though. I know they're using that place as an outpost; we seriously need a 'name'."

"I know." Isa hummed, tiling his head back with his arms crossed. "…What do you think they could be called?"

"What, you're asking me?" Lea asked, befuddled.

Isa gave him a pointed look. "You're the one who brought it up. What do you think?"

Lea pursed his lips, before they puckered a bit as he thought about it. "…Um…like…an organization…? Or something?" he suggested with a nervous smile.

"…An organization…" Isa muttered. "That sounds…right somehow. But, hm…" he tapped his chin. "Considering Xehanort's plan, he would need thirteen members to be with darkness…"

"So, what? Organization 13 or something?"

"Sounds about right. Though, the number can be roman numeral."

Lea gave him blank stare. "…You mean like… X-I-I-I?" Isa nodded. Lea didn't know if he should be creeped out about how fitting it is. "…Well, until we know for now, we could call them the 'organization' until otherwise," Lea had a nervous smile. "…But, seriously. Did we just coined that though? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that they did it and we just guessed it."

"Maybe," Isa admitted.

Lea groaned, leaning back. "Whatever."

"What are you two talking about?" Aqua asked them as she came into the room.

"Nothing," Lea answered as they looked at her. "So, what's up, Aqua?"

"Well…other than the ceiling," Aqua joked (with Lea making a bored look at her), before she got serious, "I'd say that your transformation training is doing well. Well, enough to do our investigation today."

The two looked surprised at her. "Wait, we're heading in today?" Aqua nodded at Lea. "When, like now?"

"Now," she confirmed. "If you two are up for it."

The two looked at each other. They had been training for a short while, yes, and while they had made decent progress…

"Are there anything else in the castle?" Isa asked her.

"No," Aqua shook her head. "It's just an infiltration. We'll be in and out before you know it."

'Well, I hope so,' Lea thought. "…Well, all right then."

"Okay. I asked the Fairies to simply enchant my own outfit with that protection, for now." Since Aqua's armor and Keyblade were last seen in Radiant Garden, it would have to be deep within the castle. Probably within the labs somewhere. Isa had a feeling on where it is but…not now.

"Right. Eventually, we'll have to find that lab and get your stuff back." Lea held out his hands. "Well, shall we?"

Aqua nodded. "Let's hurry."

After they informed Yen Sid of where they're heading, and a 'good luck' from him and the other magic users, the three of them soon head off to their destination.

Flying through space, Lea looked over at his outfit. It did pretty well to protect him from the darkness of the Lanes. Though, he wondered on what the armor would look on him. The boy smirked before focusing on their destination.

Soon enough, they see something at a short distance away. An entryway to a castle 'floating' in the darkness.

"Hey, is that it?" Lea had to raise his voice to ask Aqua.

"That's it all right," she confirmed.

"All right let's go.

When they landed…the castle wasn't what the two expected.

Ominous, yes, with the clouds and everything behind it…

But it was also quite massive.

It's…mostly a muted gold color? With teal colored steeples and such. It looked like a jumbled mess of castle parts. But, considering this was once the castle of the Land of Departure, it'd make sense the remains of it would take this shape.

After a moment, Lea put his hands on his hips. "So…other than infiltrating, what are we doing here?"

"We can use it to observe the Nobodies," Aqua answered, "while also figuring out the nature of the one I found and sensed." She looked up at the castle, rubbing her chin. "Though… We would need to wait for the right moment to check on Ven's body. It would be dangerous to check in on him, if there's any of them around, looking for the chamber."

Right, and they could have located it and snag Ven's body by force if they aren't careful. Lea nodded. "I guess that made sense."

"So, are we going to use the front door?" Isa asked rhetorically.

"No," Aqua simply answered.

The two looked at her. "So, a secret entrance?" Lea asked.

"Yes," she nodded before she walked down the path. The two followed her, as they walked away from the front gates of the castle…to the side. It looked like a flat surface…but when Aqua held up a hand, a handle appeared via magic. She grasps it and pushed it open. She looked at the two and gestured her head to the opening.

The two walked through the new entrance…

…And their eyes squinted at the sudden brightness- wait, it isn't bright. It's just…white. Pure white. A blinding kind of white.

Lea rubbed his eyes as Isa squinted his eyes, his face scrunched up.

"…That is just bright…" Isa muttered, rubbing his eyes now.

Aqua entered after them, closing the door. The handle disappeared into light. She waited patiently for the two to get adjusted to the sudden brightness, before she spoke up, "Ready?"

"Yeah. We are," Lea nodded.

The three walked down a hall. The inside has white marble as part of its architecture, with infrequent plinths, wall-carving and sculptures made with a flower motif. Lea briefly wondered if this was a thing from back then. He got back to attention as Aqua spoke up. "Intruders who usually step forth into the castle first would end up forgetting their powers as if to disarm them," she explained. "Not only that, they'll be forced to utilize a different means to fight, using 'cards', such as these." She turned to them, showing them a 'deck' of them – they look like average cards but with a crown at the top instead. There are those with a red border, mostly others with blue borders and a couple that has green borders. "Any and all people who enters in here must obey the law of the castle unless otherwise stated by the master – in which case me."

The two looked over at the cards. They each have numbers on them, but always from 0-9.

"Huh. Weird rules," Lea muttered. "But, what happens if they leave the castle? Do they just… 'remember' how to fight, like it never happened?"

"Yes," Aqua nodded. "It's designed to disorientate intruders after all.'

"Meaning, they either had to be crazy enough…or dumb enough to venture further in."

"The group that was here probably found out about that as well," Isa figured, arms crossed. "Not that it'll stop them from doing…what they'll do."

"Agreed," Aqua nodded. "Now, let's go and find the one I sensed. They should be nearby. Stick close."

The two nodded at her, giving thumbs up. "Copy that," they said.

~o~

As they enter another floor, spoke up. If to fill the silence.

"So, I got a question. Suppose we'll have to use the cards ourselves. How would that go?"

"The cards usually have a value from 0 to 9," Aqua answered. "9 would normally be the strongest, unless you use a 0 card which can deflect anything. Unless someone plays any number after it."

"So…time it right, the zero card can 'break' any higher card?" Lea asked, scratching his head.

"That's right," Aqua nodded.

"But it can be broken by any card," Isa figured.

"Right. But there's also when you can stack up to at least three cards," Aqua continued, "with those three cards you can perform 'Sleights'. Sleights are what can allow you to unleashed techniques, like powerful attacks, spells or unique abilities related to them. Though, after you use a Sleight and reload your 'deck', you would always lose the 'first' card used. But you don't lose them forever. You can regain that card through a Hi-Potion card, Mega-Ether card or an Elixir card or Megalixir card to regain them….or after the battle has won."

Lea hummed, taking it all in. "…That sounds easy enough to understand."

"So…you can use 'Sleights' for techniques, but you always 'lose' the 'first' card used…it can lower the 'deck' of any cards, and you could get them back by either of those strong item cards or finish the battle quick," Isa summarized, thinking.

"Yes. Performing advanced magic works too." Aqua held up a finger. "But there are some cases some can use stronger cards for more powerful attacks, depending on the user."

"So, the higher 'number' on the card…the stronger it is when used in Sleights? And for different people, they can have different abilities." Lea hummed in thought. He nodded. "Okay. That makes sense."

"Oh, and it follows the same principle items and magic too. That means if someone uses the 0 card, your Sleight would be canceled out."

"Oh, so timed right, a zero can trump a strong Sleight," Isa nodded. "But ONLY if timed right."

"That's correct," Aqua confirmed.

Lea scratched his head. "Glad we got that checked out. It sounds easy enough to do but it all depends on who we fight."

That is true. Who knows how long it would be until the group sends certain members to the castle; they won't know who to face, or what their capabilities are. Or what they would be like. Sure, they knew the other apprentices, but they aren't sure what they would be like after nine years without hearts…

Lea huffed as he has his hands behind his head. "Still, kind of sucks that we gotta use cards to battle. But…that's just the castle doing its job."

"Yes," Aqua nodded.

It would be later that they soon found the room Aqua had sensed the person. The doors are larger and ornate looking. Aqua grabs the handle and pushes it open. Lea was the first to enter- and he heard movement. "Hm?" He blinked, his head moving to the source.

"What?" Isa asked as the two noticed his staring and looked.

Trying to hide herself (and not well), is…a girl. A girl with blonde hair with some of it over her right shoulder. She was hiding behind the table, starting at them with wide indigo-blue eyes.

"A girl?" Aqua blinked. The three of them gave each other inquisitive looks. Is this girl the one Aqua sensed?

Aqua and Isa looked around a bit, to make sure there's no one or nothing else in the room with them, while Lea tilted his head at the girl. "…Uh…hi?" He greeted the girl.

The girl slowly pulled herself up a bit, showing her white sundress. "Who are you?" She asked warily.

Lea smiled. "Well…do you mean our names? Or just in general?"

Isa frowned at his friend with a bored look, crossing his arms. Lea made a sheepish smile at him, scratching his head. The redhead looked back at her. "I'm Lea. That's Isa and Aqua," he gestured to the two individually. He tilted his head at the girl. "How about you? What's your name?"

The girl perked at that…but had contemplative look.

Lea waited, as Aqua and Isa looked at each other, befuddled. What reason would the girl have to be like this. Does…the girl know her own name?

Finally, after a while of deliberation, she meekly answers, "…The people in the black coats call me… 'Naminé'."

"Naminé?" Aqua parroted (as Lea and Isa looked at each other when Naminé mentioned 'black coats'), with the girl nodding meekly. "I see…"

Lea hand his hands on his hips, contemplating it. Humming, he looked up at Naminé. She's…quite a nervous thing. Were those people in the black coats not at all… nice to her? Hm. He lowered his arms, casually approaching the girl. When she noticed him, she jumped with a gasp, backing away with him noticing. "Hey. It's okay," he said gently, holding up his hands. "I won't hurt you."

The wary look in her eyes had him thinking that…maybe she hadn't at all had gotten good experience with other people. "You won't?"

"No," Lea assured her, shaking his head. "But…uh…" he scratched his head. "Who are those people in the black coats? If you don't mind me asking."

She shook her head. "I don't know. But…they did research onto me."

Lea raised an eyebrow. "Why would they?" Aqua asked her.

"Well…" Naminé hesitated. "They said that…I had unique powers. Powers over memory. Yet, the memories they're associated with…is with a boy named Sora." Lea had leaned against the table as she talked, humming as Isa raised an eyebrow.

'Someone with powers over memory…?' Isa asked himself. But…over Sora's? How is that possible? And why only Sora's?

Aqua, though, tilted her head at Naminé. "…Hm…"

Isa noted it. "What is it?"

The woman tilted her head at the blonde-haired girl, who blinked at Aqua. "…I'm not sure why but…she seems…familiar to me," she answered, thinking.

Hm. That's…peculiar.

Lea pursed his lips a bit, before he looked at Naminé. "So, uh, Naminé. How long have you been in the castle?"

The girl notes it…but her brows furrowed as she thinks. "…Well…I think…for a long while. It felt like my whole life," Lea blinked. Huh? But, wasn't the castle-? Naminé shook her head, "Though, realistically…it's felt like days ago."

…Again, huh?

"Okay…" Lea muttered to himself. "Uh…anything…strange beforehand?"

The girl hummed. "…Not much, I'm afraid," she admitted. "But, I do know that the people in the black coats…investigated me. They took notes of my abilities. Yet, they mentioned one name in mind. 'Kairi'."

Aqua looked surprised. "Kairi…"

The little girl she rescued, that's now living at Destiny Islands now…why mention that? Is Naminé somehow connected to Kairi as well?

How?

Isa is mulling over this in his mind. A girl with powers over Sora's memories, and yet there's a mention of Kairi…

It was mentioned that Kairi is a princess of heart – Yen Sid had said as much when they first met him. It was a surprise that the little girl Aqua met is a princess of light. One doesn't have to be a princess to have a heart full of light, it seems. And- wait.

A thought came to Isa. Kairi was living at Destiny Islands with Sora and Riku, after what happened in Radiant Garden. When the Islands fell, Leon and the others told them that Sora had been looking for the two – Kairi had been without her heart, with her body prone. Yen Sid said that Sora had to unlock his heart to free his friend's…but, if Riku ended up in the dark realm, it isn't Riku's heart he had to free (since the boy had his body stolen himself). It was someone else's…

Could it be…?

Isa frowned. He'll have to lead his friends to that same train of thought. "Lea…didn't Kairi live at the islands, with Sora and Riku?" He asked, with the red head noticing.

"Yeah?"

"But, the islands were destroyed, but it eventually came back after the door is closed, thanks to us, and the efforts of Sora and the others."

Lea turned to him. "So…where are you going with this?" At least he's getting straight to the point.

"So, what would happen to Kairi though?" Isa asked him. "Kairi is the Princess of Heart – if they had her, they could have finished the Keyhole sooner and the worlds would have been toast. If Naminé has powers over Sora's memories and yet also had a connection to Kairi…how did that happen?"

Lea blinked. "…Uh…"

"Where are you going with this?" Aqua asked him.

Isa looked at Aqua. "Nobodies are formed from the bodies of people with a strong will. It would be safe to assume that Naminé is a Nobody…but, she's not made like normal ones. She could be a…special situation. Don't you think it's odd that Sora would need to separate his own heart and body? While it's for a friend…who's friend's heart was within his?"

Lea had to think about that, scratching his head. Yen Sid mentioned that he had to free a friend's heart, like Isa said. If it isn't Riku's then…

"…Because, Kairi's heart is in his?" Lea offered.

"Exactly," Isa nodded. "Kairi is the Princess of Heart…so she wouldn't have darkness in her heart. She can still feel negative emotions, sure, but no darkness. So, even if she loses it, she won't become a Heartless." He held up a hand. "But her body would be elsewhere without a heart until it's reunited. Since Riku's body had been taken over by the Heartless of Xehanort, Sora would have to face him off to get the Keyblade to 'open' hearts. Hence, the end result. Sora may had created two Nobodies from his body. Kairi's and his own."

Lea blinked at this. Mostly at what he just heard. If all of that is true…then one thing didn't add up. "If what you're saying is true, then…how did Kairi's heart even get in Sora's in the first place?"

Isa gave a bored stare at him.

It took Lea a moment for him to realize 'who'. "Ooooh…Xehanort."

"Yeah. It seems like Xehanort was at the islands to do that." Isa frowned; arms crossed. "…But that was TOO planned out. Was he expecting to have a Nobody of Sora's created…?"

Well, duh. They needed thirteen vessels, and the Nobody of a Keyblade user would be perfect for making those vessels. Though, where does Naminé fit into all of this?

And Sora is also a Keyblade user as well. So…what does that make him?

…

Isa's eyes went wide a little, in realization. "…Wait. Suppose that they had Sora's Nobody…but, if that Nobody didn't exactly plan out. What would be Plan B?"

…Aqua and Lea realized it as well. The three of them looked at Naminé, who looked startled at the stares.

Her power over memories, in particular Sora's…and the unique way she was 'made' to even have that power…

"…If she has powers over Sora's memories…" Aqua began.

"…They could use her to make Sora into a puppet?" Lea finished, as Naminé looked confused, along with being nervous.

"Then that would mean that their plan involves dismantling Sora's memories," Isa figured, thinking, "to make him be alone and eventually, become a back-up in case his Nobody fails."

"Okay, that's doubly sick and wrong," Lea muttered with a flat look.

"…Um…"

Lea noticed it. "Oh, right. Ugh. We talked like she wasn't even there, what's wrong with us…?" He cleared his throat. "Okay, so…basically, I think you know they were looking over you, because you 'know' Sora, right?"

Naminé seems to have noted the emphasis on 'know', but she nodded.

"You're pretty much a Nobody – a very unique one that's the Nobody of a Princess of Heart, but made from the body of someone else," Lea explained. "You were 'born' first, before the other kid – Sora's Nobody – did. Uh, got that memorized?"

Naminé hummed. "I think so…" she mumbled. She hummed. "…Actually, I think I remembered something. Like, I felt like I had to somehow do something. Something was…off, so…" She looked at Aqua. "I felt a connection to her. A…sort of a living 'will'. I felt you were in danger, so I motivated that 'will' to try and help you."

Aqua noted it, flashing back to Terra when he appeared in the Dark Realm to hold back Xehanort. "You're the one who helped reach out to Terra?"

Naminé nodded.

"I see…" Aqua smiled. "Well, thank you. If not for you, we wouldn't have been here."

Naminé looked surprised…before she shyly smiled back. "You're welcome," she replied, playing with her hair. "It was the least I can do. But, I was still confused on what I was until now." She looked at them. "You said that I was a Nobody created from both Sora and Kairi. I can at least understand that much…and I'm glad. It also explains why my power has an effect on Sora."

"…And possibly Ven too," Lea pointed out. "Ven's heart is within Sora's."

"So…by extension, we'd be connected to Sora as well," Isa figured. "Since we met Ven."

Lea sighed. "Talk about a web of connections…" He muttered. He looked at her. "So, Naminé… You'd know who we are since we only briefly met Sora…since you can see his memories or something?"

"Yes," she nodded. "But seeing them in memories and in person are two different things. It's like…recognizing a warm feeling but seeing them for the first time. It would be like…if Ven had never heard or met Sora, and yet could 'feel' him.

"Huh, that's interesting," Lea mused.

Isa nodded. "It's an interesting power…but, it can be terrifying too.

Naminé looked nervous, agreeing with him. "Yes…" Her eyes shifted. "But, I think I can see something. When Sora saw you two…something came into his mind. Memories of two people he never met before. But, another him, his Nobody, did."

That got their attention. "…Wait, really?" Lea asked.

The blonde girl nodded. "Yes. It's faint, but…one watched over him for a while."

The two boys looked surprised. "…That's…weird," Lea muttered. "This is the first time we've been here, though. How can there be people like us? I mean…we didn't lose our hearts."

That does sound strange. How could Sora's Nobody meet people who are like them? They couldn't be in two places at once, could the-?

A memory flashes into Isa's mind. The two were with Even and Ienzo as Even had the two strip and get into the pods to 'scan' them. When questioned on it later…Even merely said that it was a 'failsafe', just in case…

When the memory ended…it hits Isa, who looked surprised. "…maybe not our hearts…" He muttered, "But…Even did some research on us, and the hearts too. He said that he had a fallback plan to make sure that if something goes wrong…they wouldn't have lost the lives they're living. I didn't get it at the time, and he only mentioned it once…but…" Isa grimaced. "He said that it would be a 'just in case', considering…"

Lea had a shocked look. "Wait…so…with the data Even got from us…" He felt uneasy. '…Is this what Yen Sid meant…?'

Isa was unaware of Lea's thoughts, but he nodded to confirm it to Lea.

Silence fell in the room. Mulling over this new revelation presented to them. A pair similar to the two…but, not like them at the same time…

Naminé fidgeted a bit. She wrung her hands a little, the corners of her lips curling a bit…before an idea came to her. "Um…you wouldn't happen to have paper and anything to draw with, do you?"

"Huh?" Lea blinked. "Why?"

She hesitated…but, she wanted to help shed some light to this. Gathering what courage she didn't think she had, she explained, "…I could show you the 'memory' in question. Drawing makes it…easier to be 'seen'. If…that made sense."

The three looked at each other…before Lea sighed. He dug into one of his pouches…pulling out his sketch book and packets of coloring sticks. "Here," he said.

"Why'd you carry those around?" Isa asked him, staring at them as Naminé takes them.

"Well…mostly in case I got bored," Lea answered. "Don't know how long we'll be here to be honest. Plus, it keeps my hands busy."

Hmm…better to deal with that, than to do something idiotic because you were bored. This somewhat shows that Lea is finding ways to safely deal with it.

Naminé looked over at the book, before looking at Lea. "I'll give this back soon," she promised. "Also, thank you." Taking out some pencils, she opened it to a new page and got to work, drawing something.

The three of them waited for a few moments. Lea leaned against the table, tapping his finger against the table. Soon enough, Naminé moved away. "I'm done." She held up the picture. "Look."

It was a simple drawing, like a child had made it…but, the image was something Isa noted.

It's a drawing of a kid with blonde hair. His hair is styled like Ventus'…yet with him are two people. The three of them wore black coats…but the two seem to be older than the boy. They're of the same height, but one has wild red hair, and the other has long blue hair. There's an 'x' on the blue haired person's face. In the same location as Isa's own scar.

Lea took the sketchbook from her to look at it closely. "…Okay, they don't exactly look like us, but…" he muttered. "They could be on what Yen Sid had said earlier. If we're here, then…those two there…are probably…copies of us."

…Copies that took the place meant for…them?

Isa took the sketchbook from Lea, looking over at the drawing. The data Even had gotten from the two…

"…Replicas…" he muttered. He narrowed his eyes at this revelation. "…So if the people lost their bodies…then replicas can replace their bodies by taking in their hearts. THIS is Even's fall back plan…in case the experiment went awry." He lowers it. "He didn't get to use them, for themselves. But, since we were in the dark realm, Xehanort needed two people to fill in apparently. So replicas of us were created…"

Lea looked at the picture again. If that's true…would the data Even got from the two would be enough-?

The thought had barely left his mind before it flashed a memory. The odd sensation he felt when they were being squeezed by that 'figure'. It was so odd he had put it at the back of his mind for a little while to focus on other things… And yet that sensation…it was like…

Lea gasped a bit in realization. "So, when he saw us in the realm of darkness…he got the information from us. And that information would have helped solidify the data Even got from us, a-and made them stable. To help them think that they're our Nobodies."

Isa noted it, before grimacing at the thought. If that's true, Even didn't get a lot of data from them at first. But with new data…they would be complete. A lot more than they were if they had been around longer, over the last nine years. Though, would Lea's Replica even use his Keyblade? Would his?

…Probably not. But, it's a thought.

He should focus more on the present. So, Isa nodded. "That could explain that picture."

"Oh man…" Lea muttered, holding his head. "So…there's replicas of us around. I don't know how to feel about that."

Isa couldn't argue with that. To know that there's…a 'copy' of you going around. That's…a little unsettling. What would they be like…?

Naminé gave a hum. "Well…maybe you can confront them?"

"Who, our replicas?" Lea asked. "I dunno." He paced a bit. "I mean…we can't just waltz up to them and say 'Hi, uh, this may sound strange, but you aren't a Nobody but a replica of me. It's nice to meet you anyway'." He threw his hands up in the air. "yeah, that's not gonna go well."

"Maybe not them," Naminé shook her head, with Lea blinking at her. "Maybe Even's Nobody – Vexen. He was the one who helped research me. Though…their leader did 'Sample' some of Sora's memories."

"Xehanort's Nobody?" Isa asked her.

Naminé nodded. "Yes. Vexen calls him… Xemnas."

Upon hearing the name, Lea's lips went flat. "…Uh…I gotta feel sorry and a bit immature here, but that name is an unfortunate anagram for something inappropriate- OW!"

Isa and Aqua had realized the line of thinking Lea's going down; Isa slapped Lea upside the head to shut him up as Aqua covered her mouth in shock. "Lea!" Aqua scolded him as Isa shook his hand a bit.

Lea rubbed his head. He deserved that one. "Yeah, okay, I'll withdraw the comment," he said. "The real anagram is just Ansem with an 'X' added in."

After Isa shook off the pain a bit, he curled his mouth a little. There seems to be a 'theme' going on here. Vexen is 'Even' – just rearranged to have the 'x', included. Same with Xehanort, who stole Ansem's name and calls himself 'Xemnas' now.

"…So, would that mean our replicas would follow the same 'theme' as the Nobodies of Xehanort and Even's?" Isa asked.

"What? Of how they're giving themselves names with an 'x' added in?" Lea asked. Isa nodded. Lea hummed. "…Well, the best name I can think of with my name having the 'x'? Probably 'Axel'."

"Axel?"

"Yeah. Better than Exal, or Laxe…to be honest, 'Axel' sounds cooler." Isa rolled his eyes at that. Though, 'Axel' is more appropriate than some other names. Lea is tapping his chin now. "Though, for yours, uh…" He hummed. "Let's see, I-S-A with an 'x'…what would that be…? Uh…Aixs? Axis…Siax…"

Isa made a bored frown. "…I think mine would be 'Saïx'. It sounds like 'sigh' at first, and then 'ex'. Saïx."

"Saïx, huh?" Lea asked, testing the name. He hummed before nodding. "Yeah. It sounds better than the ones I listed off."

"Yeah, because, 'Axis'? Really?" Isa asked him boredly.

"Yeah. Too similar to the name I might have gotten if I got a Nobody. Plus, I'm pretty sure that's a term for an angle."

"Yes, and in a slight rearrangement of 'Axel', you get something that's a term for a rod that passes through the center of a wheel or a group of wheels," Isa pointed out.

Lea gave a flat look to Isa, not amused.

"Well, at least you figured out their names," Naminé spoke up.

"…Well, all things considered we at least figured it out," Isa said.

"Of the agenda of Xehanort and our replicas?" Lea asked, with Isa nodding in response. "So, that means we'll probably use this change to find out more about the replicas from Vexen if we can catch them…" The corners of his lips curled. "IF we catch them. We're still rookies at this point in time."

Isa nodded. "We are. And even though Aqua's a master, it'll be a whole new field for her."

"True," Aqua agreed. "I faced Unversed and Heartless, but not Nobodies."

"Still, if their objective IS to use your powers on Sora to dismantle his memories," Isa spoke up, "then that means we'll have to sneak into the castle to try to keep you safe." He furrowed his brows, crossing his arms. "Though…we'll need to figure out other routes, just in case. They'll eventually find the path we used to get in here. Even then, with the rules of the castle, we'll be forced to play by its rules."

"So, the only thing we can do is make sure we're adapt enough to the rules to beat them," Lea figured, scratching his head.

It sounds reasonable. The more they could adapt, the better they could be able survive at least. Not only that…just learning the rules won't be enough.

Hmm…

An idea formed in Aqua's head, with her humming. "…Then I got an idea to help with that. After all, nothing's a better teacher than experience, right?"

The three's heads looked to her. "What's on your mind, Master?" Lea asked her.

"Let's head to one of the floors with those doors I found," Aqua said. "We could use it for training."

The boys hummed, glancing at each other. Lea looked at Naminé. "Say, wanna come with?"

"Huh?" Naminé looked surprised at the offer. "But…"

"Wouldn't you like to go out of this room every once and a while?" Lea asked her. "Besides, what those guys don't know won't hurt them."

Naminé hesitated. She clasped her hands, biting her lower lip. Her eyes shifted about nervously.

And Lea is patient with her. It startles Aqua on how he could be patient with a few things but be impatient with others. He's getting better at the other things…but, it looks like he has time and practice with other people. (Now that she thought about it, he was patient with her as well, back in the dark realm.)

"…Well, what do you want to do, Naminé?" Isa asked her. "For yourself?"

The girl fidgeted…before she seems to have gathered some courage. She took a deep breath. "O-Okay. I'll need to get a few things though."

"Okay," Lea nodded simply.

After Naminé had found another sketchbook, somehow, and a few things like pastel crayons, she joined them. "Ready."

"All right," Lea responded with an easy smile. He looked at Aqua. "Lead the way."

Aqua nodded before she led them away.

They soon arrived to one of the floors, with a set of pale yellow-white doors sitting on top of a platform with stairs leading up to it. The doors easily tower over them, with the trim made of carved marble as well. "I found that these floors have unique 'rooms' that are mostly…nothing," Aqua said, thinking. "We might need to 'make' something in order to utilize it properly."

"Hmm…that makes sense," Lea said as Naminé stepped forward to look up at it. "Though…how do we do that…?"

Naminé hummed. "…I…might have an idea," she spoke up, getting their attention. "We could utilize it if we can…make a world. And in order to access that 'world', you'll need to synthesize a world from your memories."

"Oh, really?" Lea asked. "So…how do we do that?"

Naminé thought about it. "…I think I got an idea." Pulling out her sketchbook, she soon jotted down something…before her page glowed. An orb of light floated off of it- before it transformed into a card. Similar to the ones shown to them, but a little bigger. It also has the picture of the 'outside' view of Radiant Garden.

Naminé gently takes the card before handing it to them, with Lea taking it. Taking note of the logo, Lea looked to Aqua. "Is this…how Radiant Garden looked back then?"

Aqua nodded. "Out in the Lanes, yes." She takes the card from Lea, looking over at it. "Though…I'd imagine that once we go inside, it won't be the 'same', per say, as Radiant Garden."

"How so?" Isa asked.

"The 'rooms' I mentioned doesn't go in an exact order. It's sort of like…a labyrinth," Aqua explained. "It could apply to that as well."

"So…we're going through a labyrinth version of our homeworld?" Lea asked, with her nodding.

Aqua walked up the stairs with the three kids. "All right, let's see if this works." She held up the card, face forward. It flashed with light…and the door flashed as well, with the light seen from the cracks. The card disappeared from her hand- and the doors opened on their own. A white came from beyond the doors, nearly blinding them.

Despite that, they stepped into the light…

…And soon found themselves in a familiar area. With several flower gardens of the castle.

The four looked around in surprise. None more surprised than Lea and Isa, who grew up on the world.

"…This is…!" Isa breathed out eyes wide.

Lea looked around, exhaling. He shook his head. "I…I know this is a memory version of it, but…"

Isa nodded. "This feels a lot like home…"

Aqua looked intrigued by how it worked. She looked over at Naminé, who looked around in awe of what Radiant Garden once looked like. 'This is…nearly a good recreation,' the woman thought. Though, who's memory did she use?

She turned to Naminé fully. "Naminé." The girl looked at her as the boys looked around. "This is…incredible. But…is this really made from memory?"

Naminé hummed at that. She approached. "I…mostly used your joined memories of the location," she explained, getting the boys' attention. "Yours, including Lea's and Isa's. But, at the same time, it's also 'different' from the Radiant Garden you remembered."

"How so?" Isa asked her.

She looked out. "This world is created from memories. That would include the people here as well. You might even see a memory copy of Ventus as well."

Aqua took it all in. "So…this 'world' and its people are synthesized from our memories then," she summarized.

"Yes," Naminé nodded. "But it has a different 'scenario' depending on the thoughts of them."

"So…" Lea tilted his head. "What you're saying is that we could meet memory versions of certain people?"

Naminé nodded. "That's how it works at least. Though, it will be similar to your experience in the Realm of Darkness."

"I see…" Isa muttered.

Lea scratched his head. "So we'll 'see' them, but it'll be like communicating with their hearts through our memories then." He pursed his lips. "…That's going to be confusing."

"It is," Naminé said. "Though…unlike your memories, only the Heartless can materialize here."

"So, no Unversed. Got it," Lea nodded. He held up a finger. "But, uh…if you wanna know about us, please ask. I'd rather not you go poking around in our heads."

Naminé noted it before looking away. "S-Sorry."

"Hey, you were just curious," Lea said. "Don't worry about it. Besides, you should talk a bit more. Uh, if you want I mean."

"Um…right."

Isa sighed. "Well, let's get through this labyrinth," he said, jabbing his thumb at the direction.

~o~

The trek through the labyrinth was…interesting. The rules of the castle revolved around cards. Not just in battle, but of how one traverses the 'world'. With a card known only as 'Key of Beginnings' – a gold card with a sigil of a Keyblade on it – the small group went off.

The battles were…interesting, to say the least. Considering that Lea and Isa were with Aqua, while they still fought with cards, they don't necessarily have to 'reload' their deck. Defeating the Heartless yielded more cards to create 'rooms' – red, green and blue respectively, for different 'scenarios' that happen in them. The room could have a regular number of Heartless, or a lot of them, to even have them move very quickly, become stronger or weaker with certain red cards; strange effects could happen, like attack cards or magic cards becoming stronger, all cards could deal two times the damage or stun heartless longer with certain green cards; and treasures appearing, a 'safe point' or even anything could happen in a room with certain blue cards. It's only be having a certain number of them, or even a card with a specific number could they go through certain doors that requires the card like the Key of Beginnings; it's possible there may be other unique 'card keys' to progress further in the world.

They actually used the card onto a room – that has a crown over it – somehow ending up near the castle gates. Lea looked around. "Aside from how this place is, this is almost a perfect replica of the location we know."

Isa nodded. "Yeah." He looked towards the doors to the castle. "Dilan and Aeleus would be standing guard here." He gave a soft laugh. "How many times did we end up getting caught and then tossed out? Dilan's usually the one who does that, while Aeleus simply drops us on our feet and told us to leave."

"Yeah, I remember that," Lea nodded, feeling nostalgia wash over him. "The first time we had sea salt ice cream was when we tried to sneak in to see the 'mysterious' man Ansem took in." He had his hands on his hips. "We had that treat after we were tossed out, yet again."

"Right. From Scrooge's store," Isa nodded.

The two of them went silent, basking in nostalgia. Lea sobered a bit. "…Hey."

"Yeah?"

Lea looked at Isa. "We're going to rebuild Radiant Garden back to its former glory, one way or the other, right?"

Isa knew Lea didn't have to ask that…but, Isa is just as determined to restore their home. So he nodded. "Of course."

"Yeah." Lea clenched his hand in determination. "That's what we CAN do."

Aqua nodded. It may not be her homeworld…but, she wants to do what she can to repair the damages she had unwittedly caused.

A new card appeared to them, with a unique heart sigil on it. The Key of Guidance.

As they go through, Aqua noted a large building in another part of town. She didn't remember seeing it before. "What's that building?" Aqua asked.

"That's the orphanage, where we grew up," Isa answered.

Aqua looked at them, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah," Lea nodded. "I wonder if we could go over there, though. I'd like to show you the place at least…"

Up ahead is another door, also with the crown over it. Interacting with it, it uses the Key of Guidance card. Filling it the criteria, they used the card to enter the room…

…And appearing within a new room. It's large and spacious, having a lot of couches, cushions and such around.

"Oh. This feels lively," Naminé noted, looking around.

Aqua hummed at that, looking around curiously. Though, she noted of how the two boys looked surprised. "Is something wrong?" She asked them.

"Uh…well, no, but…" Lea scratched his head. "…Didn't expect our wish to be granted like that."

Aqua noticed it. "So this is the orphanage?" She asked.

"Yeah," Lea nodded. "This is the living room."

"Funny we ended up here," Isa mused.

"Is someone there?" A woman's voice is heard. They looked over to see someone entering. A woman with brown hair in a bun, wearing a green dress and a white apron. She has a pair of black pants and brown boots. The woman noted the two boys. "Hm? Oh, Lea, Isa, there you two are."

The two recognized her. "Oh, hey, Ms. Gainsborough," Lea greeted. 'Geez, I know she's a memory but…'

'So this is Elmyra,' Aqua thought.

"Where have you two been? You hadn't been causing trouble, have you?" Elmyra asked them.

Isa shook his head. "No. We're just showing these two around." He gestured to Aqua and Naminé.

The brown-haired woman looked at the two. "I see. I hope they didn't cause you any trouble."

"Oh, not at all," Aqua responded, shaking her head. "They're good guides."

"Ah, I see." Elmyra looked back at Lea and Isa. "That said, I heard you actually went to Lord Ansem's Castle. How did that go?"

Lea winced a bit. "…Well…about as well as you think," he answered.

The woman frowned before sighing. "You two out to learn about settling down and let them do their work. But the day you two actually went to be apprentices…I thought you two went and got your lives together."

The two winced, looking at each other guiltily. "…Well, we're still kids," Lea mumbled, scratching his cheek. "It'll take more for us to settle down, really."

"But…not everything went as well as you think," Isa added, slumping his shoulders. He laced his fingers together. "We…" He couldn't continue. How could he explain what had happened that day?

The woman regarded them…before sighing. "I should have figured something was odd about that man. Especially with that look in his eye. Some of the citizens disappeared in the name of 'experimentation'." The two gave confused grunts at that. "About what you two tried to look into…what you nearly got involved with… I can tell just feeling it about you two!" She had a hand over her chest. "That man, Xehanort, caused a ruckus that day. We were able to get out but most of us are hiding out in the town."

The two looked surprised. "Wait, so…are you…?!" Lea began.

"Yeah," Elmyra nodded. "I'm her, but I'm not her at the same time. All I'm doing is speaking from the heart- to you. I guess a bit literally." The woman looked around. "This place certainly 'feels' like the old orphanage, doesn't it? But how we're speaking to each other is pretty much how you remember me."

Lea had a sad expression. "…So it is like Naminé said. It's just like back then…"

Especially with what Terra had said to Aqua in the dark realm.

"…So…you're okay?" Lea asked the brown-haired woman. "How did you even survive for this long?"

"Well, it was by luck that Merlin helped defend us," Elmyra explained, "yet we ended up losing that book. I heard that a young man helped restore the book to what it was. Merlin called him 'Sora'."

Lea raised an eyebrow, shaking his head incredulously at it all. "Man that kid gets around…" He muttered. He then asked aloud, "I guess you only heard of it?"

"Afraid so."

"I guess we owe Merlin," Isa said to Lea.

"Yeah."

"That said," Elmyra spoke up, getting their attention back, "you two out to be careful. It might be how it feels like him, but you know what really happened, right?"

"Yeah. We know," Lea nodded. "Take it easy, Ms. Gainsborough. Hopefully, we'll run into you and the others for real."

"Then take care you two. Wherever you are…you'll always find a way home."

The two gave small smiles at her, nodding. "Let's go," Isa said softly before the two soon head off. Aqua and Naminé, who had been silently watching, followed them out. Though…Aqua noticed Elmyra looking relieved as she walked off.

After they left the room…Lea wiped his eyes, with Aqua noticing. Knowing why, she asked him, "You must have been so relieved to know they're okay, right?"

Lea sniffed, before nodding as tears ran down his cheeks. "Of course I am. Though, to be honest…I'm worried about Mr. Wallace's reaction."

"Yeah," Isa muttered. He took a deep breath before exhaling. "Don't know how that one will go, really."

"Who is Mr. Wallace?" Aqua asked.

"Barret Wallace," Lea explained. "Foul mouthed guy but he really cares about the people. He was up in arms about the rumors they heard after hearing something about the experiments."

"He's…an interesting fellow," Isa finished, scratching his cheek. "But, once you get to know him, he's not so bad."

"How did the two of you meet him?" Aqua asked the two.

"That one's a long story," Lea answered. He pulled out a new card that appeared. It has the sigil of the Heartless on it.

The Key of Truth.

~o~

After going through the area more, they soon come into part of the town that's in ruins. As they looked around in surprise, Naminé only looked around calmly. "This place…it's starting to resemble the town you saw from recent memory…as if surviving an attack."

"…You don't say…" Isa muttered. Then, they heard:

"Hey, kid! Pull yourself together!" They looked over to the source in surprise, seeing a heavy set, and muscled, black man. He wore a vest, cargo styled pants and boots as he was looking over some rubble. "Gyah…no good…"

"That voice…" Lea muttered…before he looked surprised. "Mr. Wallace?!"

"Hm?" The man grunted before he turned to the source. He has a black tank under the vest with visible chest hair. He wore a pair of shades over his eyes. Those eyes took note of the red and blue-haired boys. "Lea, Isa! Where the hell have you two been?!"

Either of them was about to answer, to explain themselves…but their eyes locked onto something, their eyes going wide. "Uh…" the two droned.

In the place of his right forearm…is a mechanical limb with a gun attached. The man, Barret, noticed the stares before he held it up. "…Oh, you must be looking at this. Long story short – I lost my arm during the attack. Damn witch swarmed in with the Heartless, but I had to do somethin' to make sure we don't lose people!"

"You lost you-? Holy crap man!" Lea exclaimed in horror.

"Yeah…I ain't exactly proud of it." Barret shook his head. "Never mind me though! What happened to you two?!"

The two's eyes glanced at each other. Lea looked back. "Well…long story short of our own, we were trying to do something for Ansem, but…things went awry. Only that wasn't the Ansem you knew."

Barret frowned. "you better start makin' sense, kid."

Isa sighed. "It's Xehanort," he answered, getting to the point. "He banished the real Ansem and took his name to cause this mess. If you think it's weird for the Ansem you knew to do this, there's your answer."

The man noted it. "…Well, I'll be damned…" He muttered. "So, that's what happened."

The two nodded to confirm.

Barret furrowed his brows with a grunt. "I always thought that Xehanort guy was weird," he admitted. "He was making weird checks around places that researchers don't usually be. But for that to happen, he must have gone shit off his rocker."

Aqua made a bored look. "Can you please ease off on the vulgar language?" She asked, with Barret noticing.

"Uh, sorry little lady. Force of habit."

"So, are you still kicking in this town?" Lea asked the man. "Or are you one of the people who managed to escape?"

"Well, I got saved by that wizard guy," Barret answered. "Afterwards, Cid built me my new gun arm. As for your question, I had to. I heard what happened and came back but…" He gestured to the debris behind him, "I noticed someone stuck under here. He's still breathing, just knocked out."

The three tilted their heads at that. "Well, let's get him out," Lea shrugged before he went to the rubble. Isa and Aqua looked at each other, before shrugging. As they went to do so, Naminé stood there quiet. Soon enough, they moved the rubble…but who they saw under it took them by surprise.

"Ven?!" The three exclaimed in shock. Indeed, it is him…or rather, an illusion of him that was still sleeping.

"Why is he…?" Lea began at a loss.

…Isa's eyes went wide a little, remembering something. "That's right… Aqua, you left him behind here after telling him to go home. This is…" Isa looked around the area. "This is where we met him."

"Oh. I guess…that part would remain the same, huh?" Lea mused as Aqua stared down at Ventus' prone body.

Hm. Funny of how things just kind of…fell into place. She only intended for Ven to go back home. In the grand scheme of things, maybe him not going home immediately allowed him to meet these two boys. They also unwittedly inspired him to continue his journey. Though, thinking on it, even if Ven had never met the two, anything else could have had Ven continue his journey. Whether to ensure she and Terra would get the chance to patch things up once more…or something else.

She preferred him not to be antagonized further to go on rather than continue the journey for his own reasons. Still…

Aqua kneeled on the ground, before reaching out to feather his head. Yet when her hand connected to his head-

She suddenly saw a vision of Sora, sleeping in a field.

She automatically curled back, mostly in surprise. But it ended the vision she had.

"Are you okay?" Lea asked her.

Aqua had to take a moment to process on what she just saw. Once she did…did she answer, slowly. "…I…I just saw Sora. But, he's asleep somewhere in a field…"

Lea raised an eyebrow. A field? Shouldn't he be back at his world? He didn't voice it out, just yet. "Huh. Go figure." He crossed his arms. "So, uh, do you think you can find a way to contact him like this? Or…something?"

Aqua hummed. "…Maybe not," she admitted. "Though…I could still try something." She reached out to gently take Ventus' hand in hers. She saw the vision of Sora once more, but she didn't let that deter her. "Ven…I know where you are now…but don't worry. We'll do what we can to help protect you and Sora. Just…just do me this favor. Something I know that you can do. Help protect Sora as well, when he needs someone to help him the most, all right?"

She isn't sure if there would be a response, but…she closed her eyes, sighing. "…I'm also sorry. For the things that happened the way they did. But, I'll do what I can to help make things right. The two you met? Lea and Isa. They've been of great help to me. We'll see this through, to the end."

She was about to let go-

"I forgive you."

Aqua's eyes went wide. She looked at Ven in surprise. "Ven…" she breathed out.

…She made a soft smile, feeling relieved. 'I know it's a late apology but…I'm truly relieved.' Now she's gotta fulfill her promise to him. She had her hands before her chest, sighing in relief.

After watching that, Barret looked at the two boys. "So…what's the story with those two?"

"They're friends," Lea answered. "Long story short, they got into a fight once, but they didn't exactly got the chance to make up." Lea rolled his hand a bit. "Mostly due to lousy circumstances that…well, had a jerk of an old man take advantage of their creaky friendship."

Barret raised an eyebrow. "Well, ain't that a kick in the teeth." He removed his sunglasses as Lea looked at Ventus' body and rubbed his chin a bit. "Still, what happened to you two?"

"Well…let's just say that the reason why we knew the truth is because…well, we were there when it happened," Isa explained. "We saw how Xehanort truly was."

"Huh…" Lea had knelt down to Ventus, his hand on his shoulder and muttering to him. Barret continued, oblivious to what Lea's doing, "So that guy turned out to be a nutcase, eh? Ain't that somethin'. Still, we gotta do whatever we can to fix up the place."

"Yeah," Isa nodded, agreeing.

"…Don't worry," Lea said aloud. "We'll help when we need to. You can at least trust us."

Barret stared, confused. "…Is that directed at me…or at him?"

Lea was about to let go of Ventus' arm, before he heard:

"Thanks Lea."

The red head noticed it…before he smiled. He stood up and looked to Barret. "I'm speaking to a friend too when I say this, but…to the both of you." Let lets go.

"Huh. That right?" Lea nodded to Barret's question.

"Yeah."

"Still, looks like you guys got your own problems. But you better not slack with your pals and for us. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" The two answered.

"Heh… Good," Barret nodded in approval. "Go do what you need to do first, got it? Then we'll clean up our home!" He clenched his fist in determination.

"You got it," Lea nodded.

"We'll come over to help out whenever we can though," Isa added.

Barret nodded. "Take care, you two." He soon leaves the square, him and Ventus vanishing into light.

Lea looked at Isa. "…Just so you know, I spoke for the both of us. For Ventus."

"Well, what if what I wanted to say was different?" Isa asked him.

Lea's lips curled a bit at that. "…Then you can correct me later."

Isa rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Right. But, I think we've done all we can here. Let's get out of here."

~o~

After going through more rooms, they soon found a new area. It's different from the other ones, leading outside to Radiant Garden. Lea looked around. "This entry way seems a bit…different."

"That's because it is," Isa replied. "It must lead outside of the world."

"Huh," Lea mused, looking up. "I guess that makes sense."

Aqua looked to them. "Shall we?" They nodded- Naminé jerked.

She turned- as something came running out. "Watch out!" She warned with them noticing.

For some reason, the blur ran right at Lea!

"What the-?!" Lea instinctively summoned his Keyblade to block an attack- and it had him skid back. Once he regained his footing, he looked at his attacker…but only to be bewildered.

Before him is…an unusual creature. The fur is red, the tip of its tail is one fire, golden cuffs around the paws…it looked like a lion…or a wolf? It has a headdress on it, tribal marks under its eyes, and a scar over its right eye. It has a mess of black…hair on it, with tattoos on its arms.

And from its stance, it's in attack mode.

"What the hell are you…?" Lea muttered.

"Lea-!" Isa called out- but before they could do anything, a barrier appeared around the two.

"A barrier…?!" Aqua looked over at it in surprise. How come she didn't sense this…thing, coming? And yet…Naminé did…?

Lea, meanwhile, looked around in surprise, before zeroing in on the…lion creature-thing as it growled (it growled like a lion, is it a lion?). 'Did that thing make the barrier…?' Lea asked himself. His lips curled downward a bit; his eyes narrowed. "Okay…gotta beat you to get out of this…" He held his Keyblade over his shoulder. "All right, you asked for it, buddy."

It crouched lower, growling. Lea braced himself- before it came at him.

The red-haired boy twirled his Keyblade, watching its movements. It swiped at him, him leaping back- but his eyes went wide a little before he was forced to block a few of its swipes. He jumped back again when it tried to bite at him. As he did, Lea launched a couple of fireballs at it. To his surprise, the creature merely weaved through them!

'It's fast!' He thought as the fire spells hits the barrier. It moves as if it's like…

He got back into the game, parrying a swipe at him. He used his lithe size to dodge some of the attacks. He swings his Keyblade to land a hit- but the creature used its tail to not just block the attack, but to also push him back. He has to have breathing room. Using the momentum of the knockback, he landed a couple of feet away. He erects a fire wall before him, to regain his breath a bit.

The beast looked over at the wall, eye narrowed. Something on its headdress glowed a soft blue color…and something materialized over it. And an ice chunk formed – with Lea surprised – before it shoots at the wall. It not only melts upon impact, but it also put out the fire. 'It also knows magic?!' Lea mentally exclaimed in shock.

Just…what the hell IS this thing-?!

His body reacted for him to block yet another swipe at him- but he was a little slow as he got hit on the arm as he dodged. Thankfully, it wasn't deep (with mentally cursing that he didn't put up his aura), and he could deal with it later. For now though.

Lea spun his Keyblade before it formed into his chakrams. He got in close to the creature, swiping at it. It dodged his attacks, but he's the one making it go on the defense right now. After he got it to a fair amount of distance, he threw the chakrams to the ground to make pillars of fire. The creature gave a look over at the pillars with a critical eye (literally) before Lea commanded the pillars to close in on it.

It made an explosion of fire upon impact. Lea's chakrams returned to him, returning into their Keyblade form…but he didn't celebrate just yet. His eyes narrowed, his guard up.

-And something soon shoots out of the fire made, landing on the ground. Parts of it is singed in some places but it was still able to move it seems. With a roar, fireballs appeared over it and shot them at Lea. With timing, Lea deflects the fireballs, quickly twirling his Keyblade to dispel the last one.

"Okay, magic won't work much," he muttered, Keyblade at his side. "Gotta go all in then."

Taking it in both hands, he soon charged in, dodging a swipe at him, before he used his Keyblade to block a bite from it. However, Lea's right hand was hit by its tail, making him instinctively curl it back to shake it- and it took that moment to leap back, snatching the weapon from him. "Hey!"

It flipped, throwing the Keyblade away to have it clatter somewhere else. It then came at him, forcing him to dance around its attacks. He stumbled over some, but quickly scrambled at others, whether to get away from the attacks or to get back onto his feet. 'Wait, what the hell am I doing?!' He questioned himself.

Timing it right, he dodged to the side, before rolling over its back. With his hands having rings of fire around the wrists, he carried the momentum to crouch on the ground. He stood back up, making a 'barrier' of fire over his arms to block against a swipe to protect his face. He lunged forward, striking it with a punch, his 'rings' adding a bit of a kick to knock it back. It tried to whip him with its tail, but he moved his body just so to dodge it. Grimacing, he dismissed the 'ring' around his right wrist to recall his Keyblade to him-

"Oof!" The breath was knocked out of him when it headbutted into his stomach. He staggered, with the fire around the other wrist disappearing as he had a hand to his abdomen.

But it allowed the beast a few seconds it needs. Growling, it soon lunged forward. Lea's eyes went wide and his hands, on reflex, reacted-

Flames unexpectedly materialized in his hand- and the monster bit into what they formed instead. Lea struggled with that for a moment before the two jumped back.

The boy then held up…a sword of solidified fire in his hands. "How the-? Did I just make a sword of fire?" He exclaimed in shock-

And then Lea was suddenly tackled to the ground. The two tumbled before the beast pinned him to the ground, paws on his shoulders, and the fire sword out of Lea's hand.

Lea heard his friends cry out his name in alarm, but he was focused at the lion/dog creature over him. It stared down at him with its single eye. Lea held his breath, sweating slightly…yet, all it did was stare at him. The boy found that he couldn't look away from its gaze.

Finally, it narrowed its eye. "You are your mother's child, all right," it said with a male voice.

Lea blinked in surprise as it got off of him. "Huh?" He sat up, watching it go as the barrier lowered. He was more surprised on what it said, rather than the fact that it could talk. He stood up. "Wait, you know-?" it soon disappeared into nothing. He stared out, baffled. '…What…was that about…?'

The three soon hurried to Lea, with Isa shaking him. "Lea!"

"Huh? Wha?" Lea blinked.

"Are you okay?" Isa asked him in worry.

"Uh…" Lea mumbled, uncertain of how to answer, "y-yeah. Just…surprised is all. Still…" He shook his head. "Did that… thing seriously talk?"

"I've never seen it before," Aqua admitted. "So…why would it be here?"

Naminé looked out in concern. '…That creature…it…connected to Lea?'

Why is that? Does it know him?

Isa shook his head. "Well, we shouldn't stay here long," he decided.

Lea frowned, before nodding. "Yeah. We better bail."

"Right, c'mon," Isa said, looking at the females.

As they left, Lea looked at his hand. He curled his fingers a bit. He frowned. How the hell…did he even do that?

…Hm. Well, it would be better to figure it out later than to worry about it now.

He sighed.

~o~

The lion-like creature opened its eye. It sat up, looking up at the sky.

"…So your son still lives, Mila," he murmurs to the sky. "He's fortunate to escape what fate had befallen this world."

His eye narrowed. "…But they are still out there…"

~o~

The two opened the doors to the exit room within Castle Oblivion. Once they walked through, the doors closed behind them.

Lea crossed his arms. "What the heck was that thing though…I don't remember that."

Naminé shook her head. "No…but it must be connected to you."

The three looked at her, blinking. "What makes you say that?" Isa asked her.

"I'm not sure, really," Naminé admitted. "But…it was a strange connection it created. Perhaps…it wanted to see on where you are, Lea."

Lea tilted his head. "Huh…it said something weird, too. Like…before he left, he said that I'm my mom's child all right."

"Did it know your mom?" Isa asked him.

"I dunno," Lea sighed, scratching his head. "This is…confusing. That thing was all sorts of weird."

Aqua shook her head. "I'm more surprised that it attacked us, right when we were in the exit room. There shouldn't even be anything like that in there."

The four grunted. A creature that connected to Lea…and the memory version of it basically 'broke' the 'rule' of the room in question to take on Lea. By why only him? Not only that…

Lea narrowed his eyes…before he blinked. "Hm?" He looked over at something.

…It looked to be a flicker of darkness appearing…before something began to form with the four noticing. "Hide!" Lea said to Naminé.

She looked surprised, before she went to hide behind one of the flowers decorated structures. The other three used them for cover as well, peering out. The dark 'corridor' fully materialized…before a strange man emerged from it. Once he was out fully, it closed behind him.

The man wore a cloak around him, his face covered by red bandages, excluding his mouth and his right eye. He has two belts intersecting over his face, as if keeping the bandages in place. The rest is mostly black with light colored sleeves, with a lot of pouches on the front. The man looked around…before he advanced. "So, this is where they are planning to continue their research," he murmured. However, he stopped. He looked over his shoulder a bit. "…You best show yourselves. I can sense you in this room."

They noted it before looking at each other. Lea held up his fist, with Isa giving him a 'Really?' look. Lea lowered his hand with his lips flat.

Isa peered out…before he sighed. He slowly emerged from the hiding place. The man noticed Isa, his single eye widening a little in surprise. Isa looked over at the man. "Who are you?" He asked.

"…Now, this is an interesting case. Are you perhaps either a heart that has returned to form…or perhaps…"

Isa narrowed his eyes…before a thought came to him. "…You're probably talking about 'him' then. No, I'm the real Isa. If anything…the 'him' you're thinking of is a replica that Even- well, Vexen made to replace me."

"Hm…is that so?" The man mused.

Isa nodded. "Yeah. But, it isn't just me that was replicated. Lea as well."

Lea peered out before he emerged. "Yeah…" He regarded the man. "So…you got a name, stranger?"

The man regarded the two of them. Isa raised an eyebrow at how he was scrutinizing them. "…I have no name," he answered. "Yet I refer to myself as 'DiZ'. But, tell me…if you are what you say is true…where have you been, that required them to create copies of you two?"

The two boys looked at each other. Should they tell this strange man where they had been for the past nine years? Or not tell him anything at all. Yet, for Isa, the way the man looked over at them…did this man know them? Isa hummed. "…We were in the realm of darkness, until recently," Isa answered. "We had been in there for nine years."

The man hummed. "Interesting. So it seems that I'm not the only outcast who escaped the darkness."

They blinked. 'Escape the darkness'?

"…Were you also in there, too?" Lea asked him, surprised.

"You could say that. But. It was not of my own volition," the man's expression hardened at the last word. "I was…sent there against my will."

Against his will…?

Isa's eyes went a little wide. Could this man be…?

"Who…sent you there?" Lea asked him, oblivious to Isa's thoughts.

The man frowned. "…People I thought I could trust. Rather…five were turned against me, to help a traitor send me there."

Isa let out a sound. "Then, you're-!?"

"Isa?" Lea blinked at him, as the man looked at him curious when Isa cut himself off.

Isa shook his head. "I mean…you must have been pretty resilient to last as long as you did, to escape all on your own," he said to the man. "Xehanort and the other adults told us 'kids' that Lord Ansem had gone mad, and abandoned us…yet, I felt that they had banished him away, when he caught on to what they were doing and tried to stop them. With what we had went through, and your case…you were banished to the same place Lea and I escaped into…or someplace connected to the dark realm."

Lea blinked at him in confusion, while DiZ simply watched on silently.

"Still…we figured that you might be still alive…though, it looked like you rescued yourself. But…even you changed a little," Isa's shoulders slacked. "Master Ansem."

DiZ's eye went wide, as Lea blinked. Then Lea's eyes went wide in surprise, looking between Isa and DiZ. DiZ hummed, his eye softening a little. "You certainly are a sharp one, Isa."

Lea looked back at Isa, pointing at DiZ. "That's…Ansem? For real?"

Isa nodded at him. "Yeah. Looks like we were right."

"Holy crap…" Lea muttered, surprised.

The two looked up as DiZ approached them. Moving his hands, the man began removing the bandages over his head. Wisps of darkness came off of him, showing his blonde hair and beard, fair skin and light brown eyes. "So, the two of you ended up in a situation of your own," he said.

Well, no kidding. From nearly getting killed by Xehanort to become Nobodies, dealing with certain dangers within the dark realm, from Heartless, their own Phantoms that time…it was honestly crazy of how they had survived all of that. But what of Ansem? Did he go through what they did? Or…did he go through worse? Were his memories affected? Did he nearly lose sight of who he was? So many questions Isa wanted to ask, and yet… Now isn't the time. There would be more to talk about later.

"Well…it's…an odd story to explain, really," Isa admitted, choosing his words carefully. How much could they tell Ansem? "I didn't know how to describe what happened on that fateful day all too well…" he sighed, "But, it didn't change the end result. We lost nine years' worth of our time in that place."

The man hummed. "So it seems," he said, regarding the two. The two could get that. They hadn't aged at all within the dark realm. Time had no meaning. What may be hours, or days, could be months or even years. And it seems that Ansem had hardly changed himself…excluding the slightly pointed ears. Had Ansem tapped into darkness himself…? But, it made sense; what other way to escape than to use the darkness itself? Isa didn't know what would have happened if he uses it…so, he hadn't tapped into it. "Still," Isa returned to attention when Ansem spoke again, "it is a miracle that you had managed to survive as long as you had."

"Well…it wasn't exactly…pleasant, per say," Lea spoke up, scratching his head. "I mean…we also changed as well in there. We only managed to get through that because we had help. From someone else who was also trapped in the dark realm." It was at that moment that Aqua and Naminé slowly emerged from their hiding spot.

"Hm…I could hardly imagine," the man mused, before regarding the two females. "And, you are?"

"Aqua, sir," the woman responded. "You're Ansem the Wise?"

The man noted it before shaking his head. "That was my name…but, I call myself DiZ now."

Lea noted it. "…I guess, since Xehanort stole your identity, you call yourself that, huh?"

"And you'd be right," the elder responded.

Lea's lips went flat. 'Geez…how many people are screwed over by that old coot?' He asked himself. He mentally shook his head. "Well…right. I guess we gotta call you 'DiZ' until later. Don't want to let those guys know."

The man hummed at that. "…I would appreciate it," he said. He had darkness cover his face once more, carefully wrapping the bandages around his head once more.

As he did so, Isa explained to him, "We were trying to decipher the truths for ourselves." He thought about what he should say next – should they tell him the true identity of the young man he had taken in? …Actually, he deserves to know. But Isa didn't know EVERYTHING in the grand scheme of things; other questions of why Braig would willingly work with Xehanort. He would have to omit certain things then, until he knows more. "…Such as the man you took in. Aqua is familiar with Xehanort as well. Turns out, it was her friend, who had been possessed by another through his heart. Literally."

DiZ raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

And so, the two explained the story to him, DiZ patiently waiting as their story unfolded. Of how they escaped the fate the other apprentices shared by pure chance, running into Aqua who had been tricked into taking the place of her possessed friend. They had wondered through the darkness, searching for a way out, while learning to fight under her. After they were sent to the depths, they had ran into Mickey by pure chance, and helped him find the Keyblade of the dark realm to seal the door to darkness. It was also through Mickey that they had learned of how time doesn't move in the dark realm. Ten years had gone by for Aqua, but nine had passed for Lea and Isa.

"…So, the two of us are under training to know how to use our Keyblades, uh, better, to at least defend ourselves from the group Xehanort's Nobody made," Lea finished up. "…So, we had to infiltrate here to know what they're gonna do. And here we are."

They waited as DiZ took it all in, humming.

Lea scratched his head. "…Yeah. Not…very fantastic. But, we can't just sit around. We're involved in this, since we met the girl they called Subject X."

DiZ noted it. "The girl?" He asked. "Is she the reason you two became apprentices in the first place?"

"Well…yes," Isa admitted, looking away. May as well admit to that, considering they were more concerned with her than the research they were doing. "We just wanted to know what happened to her. That's all."

"I see…" DiZ said softly. He sighed. "I apologized that you two wasted your time for naught. It was through her and Xehanort, that I demanded the experiments to be stopped. We were researching the heart, to see the dangers of darkness. To keep Radiant Garden safe. But when I saw such…terrible darkness from Xehanort, I had to stop it. I had thought it was the end of it…but, they had kept it going without my knowledge. After I had to order them to cease it, I also ordered their test subjects to be released. I did not know where the girl went. Yet…I could surmise that it was Braig, rather, 'Xigbar' as he calls himself now, would possibly know."

"That guy…" Lea muttered, thinking about the man with the eyepatch. He frowned…before sighing. "Well, whatever happened, happened. Can't change that."

Aqua looked at them before at DiZ. "So…why are you here? Is it because this is an outpost for that group?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "For what it's worth, they call themselves Organization XIII."

Lea and Isa's faces went flat at that…before Lea palmed his face, groaning. They gave inquisitive looks to the boys. "…Sorry," Lea said. "It's just…we figured that's what they called their group too." He looked at Isa. "Are we seers, Isa?"

"No, but that was a hell of a coincidence," Isa responded, his face flat.

Lea was about to say something- but thought better of it, before shaking his head. "No. I'm not gonna jinx it. Anyway, continue. Sorry about that."

DiZ hummed…before regarding Naminé. "…And the girl?"

Naminé hid behind Aqua, peering at him. "We think she's the Nobody of Kairi when Sora released her heart," Isa answered. "As for Aqua, she's the master of this castle. She was able to navigate and change the layout to hide out here."

DiZ hummed. "Interesting…" he muttered.

"So…you just found your way in?" Lea asked him.

DiZ looked around the white hall they're in. "This castle is connected to the darkness – the realm between. It seems that you have founded yourself in a part they can traverse to."

"…Well, we just used a different way," Lea admitted, shifting his eyes away with the corner of his lips quirking a little.

"Clearly." DiZ regarded the two, recalling of how they were when they first came to him to become apprentices. "But, it seems that you have undergone your own growth." The boys looked at him. "Your dispositions are different from when you became apprentices."

Lea shrugged. "Well, going through the realm of darkness, especially when they have your 'doubts' manifest can do that to you." He shook his head. "It was literal hell down there."

"That, I will not disagree," DiZ said. "But you seem to hold yourself well to them." He regarded Naminé. "Though, do not worry about the girl. I'll at least keep watch-"

"Uh, actually?" Lea cut in, but he held up his hand, "Not to be rude, but…why not have us protect her? You might be able to manifest the Dark Corridors, Master Ansem, but…" He summoned his Keyblade with Isa. "We can fight back. We've met Mickey, sir. He and Master Aqua taught us to fight."

"I know. But, though you may have that, it would attract trouble to you, wouldn't it?" DiZ asked them. "Organization XIII aren't like Heartless, after all."

Hm. He has a point. Heartless are creatures driven by instinct – they're easy to handle. But the named Organization XIII? They're made up of people. Smart, intelligent. Nothing like the Heartless at all.

Isa huffed at that. "I guess. But, we need all the allies we can get, to face them. There's Mickey, but he's still in the Dark Realm. Probably with Riku, as well. We don't know Sora's location yet, and…well, our choice of allies is limited at best, really." There is Leon's group, but they aren't sure on how strong its members are.

DiZ hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin a little. "Perhaps so."

"Yeah. And besides, those guys are probably going after Sora too," Lea said. "And they'll probably use Naminé's powers to do it."

DiZ noted that. "Hmm…if that is their objective, perhaps…" He hummed, thinking. "Then…perhaps we could form an alliance?" He held up a hand. "Our enemy is Xehanort, after all. Though you two are in training, you might need more than skill to investigate them more."

"An alliance, hm?" Lea muttered, thinking. What Ansem- er, DiZ said is true. Xehanort is their enemy. He had taken over Aqua's friend, he's after Sora and Ventus, and he's still after the Keyblade War itself. His Heartless had failed, but…his Nobody will be tricky. Especially if he had convinced them of the lie that Nobodies have no hearts. Without any hearts… Lea shook his head mentally. Don't think about that, Lea. "Right. Well, considering that Xehanort took over Terra, and is trying to go after Sora…" He looked at the others. "What do you think? Should we work with him?"

"Why are you asking us?" Isa asked him.

"Well, I want everyone's consent on this," Lea answered. "Sora doesn't even know about this group and is mostly in the dark. If we run into him, we'll tell him about it all. Though…sooner or later, he's going to come here, since he's basically stranded."

Isa hummed. "True…we can't have Sora fall into their clutches…" And neither could they let Ven's body fall into their hands as well. But they still have Sora's Nobody. Would it be enough to have Sora be safe…?

Aqua thought about it herself. "…I say we go for it," she said. "We honestly have no idea what we're up against. We can have information about them, yet neither of us had any prior experience in facing them. We still need to watch for their movements anyway."

Isa grunted. Well, she has a point. Simply getting better wouldn't be enough to face the Organization. Who knows on what they could do. After a few moments of deliberation…Isa sighed. "All right," he said. "We'll have an alliance."

"Well, I guess that's it then," Lea said, hands on his hips. "I'm all for it too."

"Then, it's unanimous," Aqua nodded. They turned to DiZ. "We accept your offer."

DiZ had been watching them for a while as they talked it out. They seem to know that their enemies aren't to be taken lightly; and that there is a lot at stake. "Very well then," DiZ nodded, extending his hand for them to shake. Aqua grasps his hand- and Lea and Isa did so as well.

"What? We all agreed, didn't we?" Lea asked.

DiZ's lips quirked a little, amused, before they awkwardly shook their hands. They soon drew away.

"All right, we got a deal," Isa said. "But…while we're on that subject," he looked at Naminé, "try not to be mean to her. We're probably the first bit of company that's been good to her. I doubt the other members of the Organization were…well, more on research and everything, than being 'nice'."

DiZ glanced at Naminé, the girl nervous. "…I see. Truth be told, I have my own reasons to be down here. Mostly to do with the nature of the boy whose body was taken over by Xehanort. Rather, his Heartless."

The two noticed it. "…Riku," the boys said.

"I hope he's okay," Lea said.

"He's with Mickey, so he isn't alone at least," Isa responded. "But…that's not the main problem is it?"

DiZ shook his head. "The main problem is a 'scar' on his heart. He still carries the Heartless' shadow within him. It would be a difficult endeavor for him, to not face that part of him. Though…I will do what I can to help guide the boy. The case of Sora, however, will be on you as well."

"I see. So you're going to help him confront the shadow of that Heartless?" Aqua asked him. DiZ nodded. "I see." Aqua hummed. "Hopefully we'll have time. For now though, we should leave. We made a passage, but we may need to make more 'paths' to get around."

"Yeah. We should probably get out of here," Lea nodded.

The three began to leave- until Naminé spoke up. "Um. Do you know where to go?" She asked them.

"Who, us?" Lea asked her. She nodded. "Well, back to a tower we've been training at for the past few days. But, don't worry. Between heading back home to help rebuild and such…hopefully we could take the time to visit." He paused before looking at Isa. "If that's okay with you."

Isa shook his head…but appreciated him asking for consent. Isa gave a smile at her. "Yeah. We'll visit when we got the time."

The girl looked surprised…before she smiled. "Of course."

DiZ nodded. "I will keep watch as well."

Lea hummed, scratching his head. "So, uh…we might need to come up with something to help you let us know if anything happens. Like a way to send a mess…" An idea came to him. "Hey…" He looked at Naminé. "You can use your powers on us since we're connected to Sora, right?"

She noted it. She hummed in thought. "I think I can. Why?"

"Well, if you think there's trouble, you can send us a message by using your power, right? Just in case, you know?" Lea responded. "We'll try to help you out." He tapped his temple with a smirk. "Got it memorized?"

Naminé nodded, smiling. "…Right!" She pressed the tips of her fingers together. "Actually, it does gives me an idea on how ot communicate with you."

"Nice."

"Well, then we best be off," Aqua announced. "Be safe, you two."

"Same to you," Naminé replied.

"All right. Later," Lea held up a hand to her before the three soon left.

DiZ watched them go, humming. "…Those two had come to a truth that not even I had realized…" He muttered.

Still…

This would be…very interesting.

Now, before you all come at me with pitchforks and torches, hear me out: as it's an AU, you'd think that DiZ would want to have an early investigation of Castle Oblivion even when he made his base at Twilight Town. If to not only know some bits of the castle, but to also notice a bit about Namine.

To be frankly honest, this was done before I went for the Kingdom Hearts Timeline made by a youtuber named Everglow. So. Yeah. Yeah. Anyways. Was the fight between Lea and Red XIII/Nanaki good? Bad? I do my best with fight scenes, really. Also, I consider Barret as my favorite character, even if I never played Final Fantasy VII. I somewhat played X-2 but I never finished it. Though if you're curious of Red's and Lea's connection here...there's a reason. There's going to be a bit more of a lore in here for what I have in mind for our boys.

Hopefully DiZ won't be...AS hateful? To Nobodies. Considering. He still hates Xehanort's guts (not that I'd blame him), but...we'll see.

The next chapter is going to be...interesting. How so? Stay tuned.

Be safe, ya'll.