I sat there for what felt like hours, curled up on the small bed I had been given. It was so black outside-the city was mixed with swirling lights of purple and blue and grey, dark clouds covering the violet sky, and aside from the yellow streetlights you could barely make out from how far below the city was. The only light was from the giant heart floating up in the air.

I thought over my predicament, pondering over whether it was all actually a dream or not, and wondered if all the pain I had felt earlier was actually real. I always had realistic dreams-so realistic I could feel what was happening, so that made it rather difficult in me figuring out whether or not I was living a nightmare. Rolling onto my side for the fiftieth time I sighed, staring boredly into nothing.

How long was I going to be forced to stay here? Weeks, months, years? Oh god, what about everyone at home? Mom, Dad, Malaya- what about Darian and Clair? How were they going to take all of this? They all lost Maria, and now…

I needed to get back. But how? If I tried to go through one of those portal-things, I'd die before I even managed to escape. Not to mention that I don't even know where they actually lead…

I pushed myself up with an exasperated huff, annoyed at all of this. I just needed to occupy myself for a while. I could practice Oboe? Draw some more? Man, I wish I had some art supplies… if this was supposed to be my "room" while I was staying here, I'd rather give it some color.

Maybe make the walls a deep forest green, or even an ocean blue. That, or I could just paint a bunch of anime characters on it. That seemed like a pretty good idea. I started to entertain myself by the idea of the room having color-the walls being a dark green and the carpet a gray-ish color. The white empty bookshelf being an oak brown or even a mahogany, and my bed sheets being a lighter shade of green with my purple silk blanket Clair had left behind for me to use. I really needed to stitch the holes up in that thing.

After I got bored with that, I ended up taking out my notebook and mechanical pencil from my binder and sketching out the characters I was thinking of drawing on the wall-if I got permission, of course. I spent a good twenty minutes doing that, having drawn Takuma Ichijou and Senri Shiki from Vampire Knight and Shin-Ah from Akatsuki no Yona, when there was finally a knock at my door.

"Uh, hello~?" An unfamiliar voice called. The door opened, a blond man with a very fashionable mullet walking in. His sea-green eyes looked around the room for a moment, taking note of the mess that was on the floor, before finally resting his gaze on me. He jumped a little. "Ah! There you are. Saix yelled at me to bring you food, so… here you go!" He held out the food tray he was carrying, appearing rather nervous.

"O-Oh… uh…" On the tray was a small water bottle-nothing like having extras, I suppose-an apple, and what appeared to be a ham sandwich. "Th-Thank you. Um." Do I tell him to put it down somewhere or do I get up and grab it? Fumbling to put my things down I quickly put the scattered drawings in their separate piles and got off the bed, nearly tripping over myself as I attempted to make my way over to the newcomer.

He was tall-shorter than Axel, but definitely taller than Zexion. Five ten, maybe? About Darian's height at least. This guy looked friendly… mostly. His eyes didn't really hold much life in them. "So, you're… You're the new resident, huh?" He started awkwardly. I took the tray with a nod, wondering if I should set it down or bid goodbye and then sit down.

"Y-Yeah. My… My name's Irene."

Seeing that I wasn't going to yell at him to go away he seemed to relax, brightening a little bit, and he quickly brought a hand up to scratch his head. "You're friendly! Phew, I was worried for a sec. Haha!" He reached out a hand in greeting, flashing a bright smile. I hesitantly reached forward to grab his hand and shake it. He acted excited, but his voice was just as lacking as the rest I've met. "Name's Demyx. I'm Number Nine in the Organization. I'm… guessing they didn't assign you anything? S-Seeing as you're not a Nobody and all that."

"...Hah? Nobody?" Should I be offended? It's not nice to call someone "Nobody" even if I did manage to convince all the little kids on my bus that my parents named me that… It was hilarious, because they always told the bus driver who was last on the bus and when they got me they would always say "Nobody is on!" and cause some confusion. I thought it was pretty funny.

The man's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't know? We're all Nobodies; wait, don't tell me you don't know what a Nobody is?" I shook my head. "What about Heartless?" Again another negative.

Demyx's shoulders slumped and he ruffled his mullet. How did he get it to stay like that? It looks so cool! Resisting the urge to freak out like a small child I tried to remain calm. Thankfully, my fear of the unknown kept me quiet.

"I can't believe they didn't explain it to you… Okay, since I don't have a mission and everyone else here are mean, I'll stay here and explain it to you while you eat! How's that?" He held a finger up, leaning down just slightly as he gave what was supposed to be a hopeful grin.

"I… I guess?"

"Awesome!" He cheered, fist pumping the air. I blinked at him, resisting the urge to grin along with him, and anxiously shuffled back to the edge of my bed and sat down on the floor, resting the tray on the ground. Demyx plopped down in front of me, crossing his legs with his hands in his lap-not that it lasted long though, as he moved his hands around frequently when he talked.

I decided Demyx was okay. He seemed like the friendliest person here and, currently, the most relatable. I talked with my hands a lot too, and we both seemed to have a similar opinion of everyone else in this place. Jerks.

"Okay, so there are people like you-right? Well, not like you you, as you're special with being the Keeper of Light and all that, but I'm talking about those with hearts! Sometimes the darkness in a person's heart can be so great it causes them to turn into a creature called a "Heartless", who goes out in searching for other people's hearts. They steal those hearts. The person's body dissipates, and once the Heartless is created a "Nobody" is born."

I munched on my sandwich quietly as he spoke, a bit bothered by the robotic way his voice sounded but overall relieved to have someone at least semi-normal to talk to. I tried not to wince at the description, nearly losing my appetite at the thought of having my heart ripped out.

"Depending on how strong that person's will is when turned into a Heartless, the Nobody may or may not take on a humanoid form. Like me!" He grinned, placing a hand over his chest where his heart should reside. "We, the Nobodies, lack hearts and emotions. I mean, it sucks not being able to feel and all, but it's not all bad. We got cool powers to make up for it! See?"

I almost choked on my sandwich when he held his gloved hand out, a swirling bubble of water appearing out of thin air. Well, I wouldn't say thin air-maybe from the moisture? Oh dear god, he was a Waterbender. "H-How!?"

"No idea. I just can. Axel-Number Eight-he can control fire. Xigbar is space and Marluxia can use plants. Zexion is illusions. We all vary, and even have our own weapons that correspond with our element. Our leader, Xemnas, took us all in after finding us and giving us new names. We're ranked in the order we joined, and our goal is to regain our lost hearts. Pretty deep, huh?"

"...Y-Yeah…" I blinked a few times, setting the sandwich down and wincing a little as I brought a hand up to my chest. Not having a heart… losing it and before forced to live without emotions even if you had a strong will… I shivered a little. "That… doesn't sound very pleasant. Not having feelings."

"It's not," He agreed. "Oh, hey, I have a question."

"O-Oh, uh, what's up?"

He pointed at my music stuff I had placed near the white bookcase. "Do you play? I noticed them when I came in, but I wanted to make sure. Nobody else here in the Organization knows how to work an instrument, so I'm all by myself in that department."

He plays!? "Uh, y-yeah; I do Oboe and Flute. What's yours?"

Demyx grinned. "Sitar. Oh, I know! How about we play together sometime? It's nice getting to meet a fellow musician!"

"S-Sure." I was a bit hesitant, not too proud of musical skills, but found myself agreeing regardless. It seemed to put Demyx in a better mood. "Wh-What songs do you know? I have a lot of Marching music…"

"Marching Music?" He echoed, pulling a face. "That sounds like a lot of hard work…"

"W-We won't be marching to it; we just call it that because we played them in marching band. Um, hold on." Abandoning my tray of food I pushed myself and dashed over to the pile, pulling out my music folders and awkwardly making my way back over to Demyx and sitting down. "There's Crazy Train, You Give Love a Bad Name, Shut up and Dance, Want you Back, Hooked on a Feeling-"

I listed the song titles off as I went through them, setting them down so Demyx could look at them, and eventually started to go to jazz. I had to rummage through my other folder for that, along with all my orchestra.

"Light Eternal is fun; I mean, it hurts and I can barely make it through the whole song before my Oboe starts to kill my face and my lips don't want to work anymore, but I enjoy it. Second Storm and Engines of Resistance is really fun, too!"

I was still looking through some sheet music, coming across the Safe and Sound paper Skylar had given to me to borrow, only to pause and look up when I heard something with strings start strumming. I almost dropped my folder in surprise, seeing Demyx chilling there with a sitar in his lap and tuning it. He played a few notes, taking the You Give Love a Bad Name sheet and staring at it intently.

Where did the sitar come from!? I didn't get an answer seeing as I didn't ask. I just chose to listen.

He wasn't far off from how the song went, so I was left rather impressed. I never knew what a sitar sounded like-I always imagined it to be a bit like an acoustic, but this reminded me more of Bollywood and all the music you hear in Aladdin. It was really pretty. "I've never heard of these songs before," He informed me, before looking at the sheets and beginning to strum some notes of Welcome to the Black Parade. "Oh! I like this one."

"Same~." I grinned, watching him play. "My favorite is Shut Up and Dance."

He looked at me curiously for a moment before shuffling through the music sheets and pulling out the one I had mentioned. He smirked. Tuning his sitar a bit more, he began to play again. First by strumming a few notes, figuring out what octave he should play, before actually doing the whole song.

My jaw dropped. "Dude! I thought you said you never heard of it before!?"

"I haven't," He beamed proudly. I clapped, awestruck, before grinning. Demyx was still playing. "These are rather simple."

I was about to suggest he try playing Scream and Shout when the door suddenly opened. Standing there was someone I've never seen before. His black dreadlocks were pulled back into a high pony, occasional strands falling into his face as his violet eyes glared at us from afar. "Why aren't you working, Demyx?" He demanded. "There are still plenty of missions for you to do. This is no time to be goofing off."

Demyx looked like he was about ready to give a complaint, but thought better of it and closed his mouth. After a few seconds, staring at the tray I had been eating off of and seeing that it was empty, looked at the six foot eight tall man and said, "I am working though; I was told to bring her food and so I did! Saix was the one who ordered it."

"Is that so?" His cold, empty gaze turned towards me. "I heard Demyx playing that instrument of his and assumed he was slacking off again. To think the rumors of you having been found were true… it's good to see Number Nine taking his duties seriously."

"I always take my work seriously!" He replied indignantly. Demyx faltered when the man's glare hardened. "W-Well, most of the time as least…"

"Just get back to work." With that said, the man closed the door and left us.

Demyx stared for a minute before relaxing, letting out a breath of air. "Xaldin scares me…"

"I can see why," I responded, eyebrows raised. That guy seemed like a jerk. "Remind me not to make him angry."

"Ha! Wait until you see Saix go berserk," He laughed, before shuddering and hugging his sitar to his chest. "It's not pretty. Most of the people here are hotheaded; Axel, Larxene, Vexen, Xigbar, Saix… even Xaldin can lose his calm if you push him far enough. I wouldn't necessarily call Zexion hotheaded, but he can get annoyed really easily."

"The blue-eyed guy? With the long bangs?" That Zexion? Thinking back to our first meeting, he did seem pretty annoyed with Mr. Eyepatch and Axel. He was nice towards me though-or at the very least polite. "He seemed friendly." Well, friendlier than the others I first encountered.

"Friendly?" Demyx blinked. "I-I wouldn't call him "friendly", but he's not the worst guy to hang around. He uses big words I don't understand half the time and yells at me when I'm taking a break from all those tough missions. He hangs out with Lexaeus a lot."

"...Who?"

"Giant, spiky orange hair, really buff and scary looking? He doesn't talk much, but he's always looking after Zexion. He's the calmest person you'll ever meet. Intimidating, but… nice, I guess."

As Demyx spoke he continued to pluck a few strings on his Sitar, looking a bit uncomfortable talking about the other members. Bad memories, maybe? He started to play a bit of Star Spangled Banner. A little concerned, I frowned and let him continue speaking.

"Vexen tried to experiment on me once; claimed he wanted to make me less… annoying. I don't like him. I think I bug Zexion, but he still listens when I talk to him. He's probably the only one who respects me. But now there's you!" He brightened again, the dark look fading away from his face, and beamed at me. "You listen, too! And you're not scary like the others. Talking to you is easy. I might just come here and talk to you during my breaks."

I'm… not totally against that. At least I won't be alone and fearing for my life. If I was going to be stuck here for all eternity, I might as well try to get along with people. Besides, I liked Demyx-he seemed like he'd make a good friend. God knows I'd need one if I was going to stay here. "I'm okay with that. It'd be nice having someone to talk to."

"Right!?" He grinned, holding his hands up in the air as if to show just how happy that made him. Wait… he said he didn't have a heart. Could he really be happy? Oh, now I'm confused. I felt it would be rude to ask, so I decided to keep my befuddled thoughts to myself. "Hey, I gotta got bring your tray back to the kitchen and give my report so they don't freak out, and they're probably going to make me go on a boring mission again, but I'll come back later, okay?"

"O-Okay." I stammered, surprised at the sudden goodbye. Still feeling a bit awkward, I raised a hand up and waved. "Uh, Bye-Bye!"

He grinned, standing, and I had to do a doubletake when the sitar he was holding vanished into multiple lights. "See ya! Oh, wait, I need the tray." He grabbed it, bid another goodbye, and vanished out the door. I was just about to start packing all my music together when the door opened again, startling me. "I almost forgot to tell you; Xemnas said that he doesn't want you to leave your room until tomorrow, so rest up! He'll be sending someone to collect you in the morning."

"O-Okay." The conversation left me a bit breathless, mainly due to the fact that I needed to use my nebulizer after it being so late and for talking and yelling so much.

"Bye!"

And this time, the door closed for good.

…

The young woman laughed loudly, swinging her twin blades through the air and striking down multiple beasts. She sent them flying, her enemies letting out garbled cries as the fire started to spread along their skin, searing their flesh with the crimson flames. Her blades steamed red, flames dancing around the bronzed metal as she twirled them expertly in her hands; slashing up diagonally and splattering the Heartless with heat.

With each cut, the wound cauterized due to the red hot steel, but it put her victims in a strong state of intense pain and caused them to lag; giving her the advantage and a chance to vent out her anger in the one way she knew how. She absolutely despised the world and the people within it, and after being bossed around so long to do "this" and to do "that" and not to behave like "that"... Damn!

Who did they even think they were? They take her from her home when she's just a child and try to "raise her right"? Stupid mouse, stupid old man! They're all fools!

She ground her teeth together in her frustration before setting out to attack a Large Body Heartless from behind- slashing it a couple of times before it went sailing high into the air.

Smashing a Pureblood Heartless into the ground with her foot, she waited for the right moment as she watched the Large Body fall back down and-SMACK!

She hit the Large Body roughly with the flat of her blade, watching as it sailed through the air and slam into the sail post, the heartless dissipating into darkness upon impact. The woman wavered suddenly, the adrenaline fading as her vision blackened, and the world around her started to spin. If it weren't for a man wearing a red bandanna, slicing the Heartless that tried to sneak up on her in half, she would have been seriously injured.

"You okay, lass?" He asked, grinning and showing off a pair of crooked teeth as he caught her arm. "I appreciate you doing all the fighting for me and whatnot… but you can hardly stand on your own feet. You go bugger off."

"You just don't want to lose your personal bodyguard," She grunted, pushing herself away from him and stumbling slightly to catch her bearings.

"Ah, 'tis true. No argument there, lassy."

The woman scrunched up her nose and glared, making a face that he paid little attention to as he sashayed up to another Heartless and attacked; brandishing his rapier with one hand with the other held up in the air behind him, fingers curled and spread out. After a moment she sighed, focusing her anger and attention on the Heartless around her.

Despite the dizziness and lightheaded feeling she wasn't going to stop fighting now. This was the way she handled her anger - she released it on the Heartless, destroying them and allowing herself to relax bit by bit. Tightening her grip on her sword handles, she pushed some of her energy into the blades, allowing the metals to ignite once more as flames burst through the air, dancing about.

The pirate she was with just taunted the Heartless, slashing through and fervently blocking their attacks. The way he was fighting was completely unorganized; dodging only by tripping and stumbling sideways, and he was swaying whenever he walked. He laughed in triumph after impaling a Blue Rhapsody, slamming it into a Red Nocturne with the swing of his blade. He yelped when he was suddenly slammed into from behind, flying forwards onto the deck. He was unable to push himself up in time, however, to avoid getting stomped on by two Hammer Frame Heartless.

They managed to hit him repeatedly, stomping on him multiple times without mercy. He could barely move, but the adrenaline rushing through his veins pushed him to stand, the male running in a desperate attempt for survival. "Miranda! A little help!?"

"It's Maria!" She shouted, lunging at the Hammer Frames who were attacking him. She ended them easily in seven hits; once they dissipated she tossed a potion in the man's direction and started to pick up the money the Heartless had dropped. The only Heartless left now were a few more Red Nocturnes and a couple of Purebloods. Not that difficult. "You think you can handle them?" She asked, a mocking smirk spreading easily across her face.

"I think the real question to ask here, Mary, is can you handle them?" He countered as he swaggered up beside her, moving his hands as he spoke and grinning wide when he saw her eyebrow twitch.

"It's Maria. For the hundredth time, Jack, at least say it right!"

"That's Captain Jack, lass."

"Oh, shove it!" She growled, before charging forward with a yell and attacking the leftover Heartless. She aimed for the Red Nocturne, whereas Jack decided that he would aim for the single Pureblood Heartless that had sunk into the ground. "You're mine! Ha!" Jumping into the air and swinging, she managed to lop its little hat off before slicing it in half with her other blade. She landed, twirling her swords before allowing them to fade into nothing.

Exhausted, her shoulders slumped and she stumbled over near the ship's hold. Maria had busted Jack out of jail a while back, and they were on their way to re-recruit the people that had originally been part of his ship crew. Unfortunately, a lot of Heartless had started to show up along the way and delayed their journey.

And with Maria still being as sick as she was… well, it was a wonder why she was even able to still keep standing. She leaned against the doorframe and sighed. Jack was still picking up all the money the Heartless had dropped, shoving his pockets full with the coins, and turned to look at Maria only to pause.

"Uh, lassy…"

"What?" She breathed, too tired to bother opening her eyes. "What is it, Jack?"

"Do you mind tellin' me what that shooting flashy thing heading our way is?"

Her eyes snapped open in alarm and she looked up, a very familiar yell reaching her ears. Most would have thought the thing flying at them was a shooting star gone haywire, but unfortunately for her she knew what it was. With a blinding flash of light the object-or rather person- fell and crashed onto the deck of the Black Pearl.

Jack blinked. "It's a Mouse… with clothes. Is that another version of those Heartless folk?"

"Unfortunately, no." She grumbled. Maria could remember watching cartoons of Mickey Mouse when she was a child, so when she saw him appear in her bedroom one day asking her to go with him for safekeeping she was more than ecstatic. As the years passed and she grew older, she began to understand more of what had happened and realized hey-the humanoid mouse wasn't exactly who she thought he was.

With a groan Mickey pushed himself up, wobbling slightly as he held the star shard in his hand. He blinked a few times, looking around, before staring at Maria in surprise. Relief flooded his gaze and he smiled widely. "Maria! You're okay!" Pocketing the object that had transported him there he ran at her, intent on hugging her.

The woman quickly dodged, glaring down at him. "What do you want?" Mickey came to a stop, turning his head and staring at her with hurt eyes. She tried to ignore the guilt building up inside of her. He may have kidnapped her, but he and Yen Sid did treat her kindly. Mickey was the one who had taught her how to use her swords.

"I… I came to bring you back home." He explained, still doing his best to keep his smile up. "Master Yen Sid is really worried about you, Maria. We fear that you being so active like this is going to cause your body even more stress than what it's already going through."

"So what? I left there for a reason!" She didn't want to call the Mysterious Tower "Home". It felt wrong, even if she had grown up there. Summoning her swords she got into a stance, watching as Mickey took a defensive step back in alarm. "If you want to take me back, you're going to have to beat me. And then you'll really be a kidnapper."

"M-Maria…" He raised a hand up, frowning with knit eyebrows, before lowering his head sadly. "I did it for your own protection… We still don't know where the Keeper of Light is; if someone with evil intentions took you before you were ready-before we found the Keeper of Light and before you learned of your responsibility, things would fall into chaos. We didn't want them to use you like that." He shook his head, looking up and staring at her pleadingly. "Please don't make me fight you, Maria. It would break my heart…"

Her eyes just hardened, the young woman refusing to give in. Clearly upset about what he was forced to do, Mickey held out his hand and a silver blade in the shape of a key appeared in his hand, the mouse wrapping his gloved fingers around the gold handle.

"Forgive me for this…" Inhaling deeply, the Mouse narrowed his eyes in determination and lunged. Jack stayed away from the fight, quietly sneaking his way to the holding deck to watch from a safe distance. It wasn't his fight, and like hell he was going to get hurt for no reason. His life came first.

Mickey and Maria's blades slammed together, slashing and swinging and cutting air, and the mouse flipped backwards after jumping off of one of her blades. She hadn't activated the flames-Maria lacked the necessary mana to do so-and aside from Mickey occasionally casting blizzard and thunder spells, they were on the verge of being evenly matched.

Even in her worn state Maria was a force to be reckoned with. She slid forward, leaning back as Mickey sailed over her, and brought both her blades forward in an "X" motion, blocking his attack and nearly slicing the mouse in half. He managed to glide out of the way in time to avoid any serious damage, but some blood trickled down the side of his arm. He didn't bother to heal, deciding to wait in case he got more injuries so as not to waste his strength.

Letting out cry, he swung his Keyblade and nicked the girl in the back, sending her stumbling forward, and casted a quick blizzard. She froze in place, ice holding her down, and Mickey took that free time to deliver a series of combos. The ice finally broke and she collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily with dazed eyes. Seeing her defeated Mickey de-materialized his Keyblade, kneeling down beside her and pulling out the star shard he had used to travel here.

"I'm so sorry about this, Maria… but this is for your own good. Please forgive me."

Tightening her hold on the handles of her blades, Maria grit her teeth together. And with her eyes squeezed shut, she slashed at him with the blunt of her blade, sending the mouse flying back. The shard fell out of his hand and rolled against the ground, the mouse quickly pushing himself up to stare at her in alarm as he watched her swords vanish.

Placing her hands against the ground she willed a passage to appear beneath her and, to Mickey's complete and utter horror, she vanished into the Dark Corridor. "Maria!"

…

I had another weird dream about a little boy with blond hair that had been grieving, and a girl with a massive burn on the right side of her face dying. It was always the same dream, continuing almost like a story, and only happened occasionally. I normally had to be super stressed in order to have those dreams.

Tossing and turning in the bed I was sleeping in, I tried to fall back asleep. It failed, and in the end I only succeeded in kicking the blankets off the bed and nearly tearing off the sheets. I groaned, complaining loudly about how much I hated the world, and when I actually bothered to open my eyes and sit up I stared.

White. A whole lot of white filled my vision. That… no. "No! No, no, no-" I looked around frantically, praying that I was just hallucinating, and rubbed at my eyes. When I opened them again, I was still greeted with the same white. "That… oh god…"

It wasn't a dream. That all really happened. This-This was reality. Holy christ on a monkey wheel; oh jesus, oh god…

I shot up, not caring that I was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, and made to rush over to the door. My foot ended up getting caught in the blanket that I had accidentally knocked onto the floor and I screamed, toppling and falling forward onto the ground. I flinched, pulling my face off the thin carpet, and kicked my foot in an attempt to get the fabric off of me.

That took maybe a decent three minutes, sadly not having the intelligence to beat an inanimate object, and when I was finally freed I clumsily wandered towards the door and opened it. I was breathing heavily, my skull throbbing due to lightheadedness, and I was depressed to find only more white and a very long hallway.

"Irene."

I was standing in the middle of the hallway, staring blankly with wide eyes to the left, when a voice coming from the right suddenly startled me. Low, emotionless, and collected, yet soft like velvet… Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I was met with the sight of Zexion staring at me, a book tucked against his side. "Uh… M-Mornin'." I awkwardly told him, still trying to catch my breath. My lungs hurt a little.

No smile, no grimace-nothing. Just a blank, disinterested stare. "Good morning," He responded cooly. "I suppose I should thank you for saving me the trouble of awakening you."

Uh… sure? Wait, what does he mean? My face twisted into that of confusion. "Why did you need to wake me up?" As I spoke I was able to briefly remember Demyx mentioning something about this.

"To show you towards the kitchen," Zexion responded bluntly. "The Superior asked me to do this so you know where to go when you are hungry. Now come; it's eight in the morning-I doubt most of the members are awake." It's only eight? Jesus Christ, I want to sleep in.

Seeing him turn around and start to walk away, I decided to follow him. I hardly believed that I had much choice in the matter, and seeing how he was one of the only few members I've met that didn't scare me so far I wanted to remain on his good side.

Questions forming in my head, I figured that would be the best way to break the silence. I went with the most obvious one first. "Um… how many members are there in the Organization?" It was an honest one, probably the most deserving of an answer, but it also made it sound a bit like they were an occult... How lovely.

It wasn't that hard to keep up with him and he politely slowed down to match my pace. I was grateful, as trying to keep up with people who had long legs or just plain walked fast put a lot of effort and stress on my lungs, and I was still trying to get them to stop hurting.

"There are twelve of us as of the moment," Zexion answered, looking at me out of the corner of his only visible eye. Depending on the way his hair swished when he walked or moved gave me the occasional glance of his other eye. As I had suspected it was unharmed, the same brilliant azure blue that his visible eye was. Seeing that I was listening, my full attention on him, he continued, "but we are still searching for other Nobodies to recruit. I trust Number Nine explained what a "Nobody" is to you?"

Number Nine- "Oh, Demyx!?" My eyes widened in realization as I exclaimed that loudly, clapping my hands together.

He looked a bit annoyed at the loudness of which I said that, but I tried to ignore it. People either got used to it or just hated me because of it-I wasn't affected by it anymore. I grew up in a loud environment and absolutely loved to talk, so I wasn't really that good at controlling the volume of which I spoke unless I was in a library. It was weird-sort of like an automatic "switch" that occurs when I'm in one. It's been like that for years and I still don't understand it.

"Y-Yeah, he did. And Heartless. You… You don't have a heart either, right?"

He nodded. "That is correct. Everyone in the Organization is lacking a heart, and therefore do not have emotions. We merely remember what it is like to "feel". Happiness, sorrow, anger… we do not truly "have" these emotions. The memories we have from our original selves is simply what allows us to act like we do."

"Ohh… okay. That makes sense, I think."

As we walked down a staircase, he said, "Do not hesitate to ask if you have more questions. I will answer them all to the best of my ability."

"O-Okay; th-thank you. Um…" Hm, what do I want to know? There was a lot I wanted to ask, but at the same time I didn't know how to phrase them. Xemnas already explained what I was supposedly here for, and Demyx told me all about the Nobodies and Heartless. Axel explained where I was… Oh, I know! "How long am I going to be here?"

Zexion smirked, almost as if he were amused. "You will be residing here for however long it is necessary. It is our job to keep you out of harm's way, after all."

"R-Right…" I don't really agree with that but-

I stopped walking abruptly, something catching in my throat. My eyes widened and I brought a hand up to my throat, using my other to hit my chest as my struggling lungs stopped working completely. Zexion stopped, turning to look at me in confusion when I quit following him, only to have his eye widen. Black spots danced in my vision, my heart racing furiously, and my chest hurt so bad it felt like there was a fire spreading inside of it.

I stumbled back, hitting the railing, and would have fallen over it and into the abyss if Zexion didn't reach out and grab my arm, pulling me away from the brink of death. I was still slamming my fist against my chest, gasping for air yet no oxygen being received. Sirens rang in my ears and-for a brief moment-I thought my heart was going to stop. I could feel it slowing down, the lax pace frightening, and Zexion (having released my arm once I was no longer on the verge of falling to my doom) watched as I collapsed onto my knees.

I-I can't-Oh god, I can't-

With one last powerful, painful punch to my chest my lungs quit constricting and I gasped loudly, greedily inhaling all the oxygen I possibly could. I felt lightheaded; my whole body like jelly. I-It hurts… My eyes stung with tears. Swallowing thickly I tried to stand, wobbling, but Zexion placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me. "Don't move so fast." He ordered.

"S-Sor-Sor-" I couldn't get the words out. I was too breathless. He silenced me with a hard stare and we stood there for a few minutes, just waiting for me to breathe normally again and calm down. "Sorry…"

He just tilted his head, his single eye gazing inquiringly at me-almost as if I was a subject that needed to be studied. "The effect of the darkness inside of you is exceedingly similar to that of when you were inside the Corridor of Darkness… just not as immediate. We best travel slowly so not to aggravate it any further."

Wh-Whatever you say, pretty man…

His kept his free hand on my arm to keep me steady. While we walked he muttered to himself, talking about how he might speak to the Superior about "studying" the effects the darkness had on me and to see if there was a way of slowing them down or if there was a possibility they'd be able to remove it from me through other means.

After a good fifteen minutes of tiresome walking and stairs, we finally arrived at the kitchen. A person I recognized sat at the table, his feet kicked up onto it while he leaned back, balancing on two of the chair legs, his hair as red and spiky as ever. Axel was munching on what looked to be strawberry poptarts. Then, rummaging through the cabinets, was…

Holy mongrel in a tutu...

This guy was GIANT. Seven foot maybe? Either way, Zexion didn't even reach his shoulders and he was taller than me! I was maybe only a couple inches above the giant guy's elbows. I went through all the descriptions Demyx gave and decided this must be Lexa… L… Lexi… Whatever his name was! The super quiet, but intimidating nice guy.

Upon hearing footsteps Axel looked up, giving a small wave in greeting, before swallowing the food he had been chewing. "Hey, kid! I see Zexion was your wake-up call this morning; how'd that go for you?"

"O-Oh, uh," I stammered, trying to think of a decent answer, before settling with, "I-I was actually awake when I saw him, so… yeah. He-He didn't have to wake me up or anything."

Zexion nodded, walking past me and taking a seat at the table. Setting the book he was carrying down on the white wood, he opened it and started reading, but only after saying "Indeed" to confirm what I had said as true.

The Ginger Giant who had been rummaging through the cabinets stopped and turned his head slightly to look in our direction, gaze resting on Zexion before turning to stare at me. Demyx wasn't wrong-the guy did look very intimidating. Strong jaw, sharp cheekbones, and a very rough pair of angry eyebrows; I knew right away that I didn't want to be on his bad side. He would probably break me into a thousand pieces with a single punch.

Then, without saying anything to me or Zexion, he went back to rummaging for food.

I just stood there uncomfortably, wondering what I was supposed to do. Am… Am I allowed to just go up and look for food or do I wait for someone to offer? Do I sit at the table or keep standing here? What am I even allowed to eat? I know some people have their own "stash" that they don't like other people touching.

Too lost in my thoughts to hear the door opening, I jumped a good three feet in the air when I felt a chest press into my back. I shrieked loudly, causing Axel to jump and fall backwards in his chair, landing roughly on the floor. Zexion and the Ginger Giant looked this way as I stumbled forward and tripped over my feet, face-planting onto the floor with a very undignified "Oof!"

A man standing with a height of about six foot five looked down at me in shock, his pale pink hair cascading around him in waves. He blinked, regaining his composure, and watched as I picked myself up off the floor. "Well then… isn't this a surprise? I wasn't expecting our first meeting to go like this…"

I held back a groan, rubbing my head, and sat on my knees as I turned my head to look at who bumped into me. Another pretty man? I'm a girl and they're all prettier than me! So unfair! Well, except Ginger Giant. He's not that pretty. "S-Sorry…"

"Damn straight you're sorry! That hurt!" I jolted and whirled around to see Axel scowling, standing and fixing his chair while he rubbed his rear. "Give a warning next time you scream like that! You about gave me a heart attack!"

"You don't have a heart," Zexion pointed out, unimpressed. Axel just glared at him. Ginger Giant finally seemed to have found something he wanted, pulling out what looked to be a can of fruit, and opened one of the drawers to take out a fork. He seemed to not care about what was going on around him.

"Whatever; you get my point. Anyway, what do you want, Marluxia?"

The pink-haired man removed his gaze from me and looked at Axel, frowning. "I came for what every person in need for food comes into the kitchen for so early in the morning; breakfast. Has Xaldin made anything at all recently? I've been busy at Beast's Castle, so I've missed a couple of days…"

"Pancakes are in the fridge." Zexion answered, flipping the page in the book he was reading. Marluxia gracefully stepped around me and maneuvered his way to the fridge. He opened it, pulling out the plate covered with plastic wrap. Zexion's nose suddenly twitched. "You don't like raspberries, do you?"

"I'm not particularly fond of them," Marluxia responded, setting the plate on the counter near the Ginger Giant and pulling the wrapper off. "Why? Did he mix them in there?" He looked at Zexion curiously. I was still sitting on the floor. Axel was giving me an odd look.

"...Perhaps."

Marluxia just shrugged. "Oh well. Thanks for the heads up, Number Six, but I think I'll survive. Oh! I almost forgot." Turning around he searched for me, only to blink when he saw me. "Why are you still on the ground?"

I hesitated. "It's… comfy?" The biggest lie I've told. This floor was as uncomfortable as non-carpet floors could get. I pushed myself up, standing, and started to twist the sleeves on my jacket as I tried to sink further in the baggy article of clothing. Ginger Giant took a seat beside Zexion at the table.

"To each their own, I suppose. But I forgot to introduce myself; my name is Marluxia." He smiled, placing a hand against his chest. As he moved, rose petals literally appeared out of thin air and floated around him. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"O-Oh, um, you too. I-I'm Irene…"

His smile broadened. Marluxia gestured to the men sitting at the table, asking, "I trust you've already been introduced to these three?"

I looked at them, almost as if to silently ask if it was alright to talk about them, but Axel was ignoring me as he finished his poptart and Zexion seemed to care less about the conversation. "I-I know Zexion and Axel, yeah… I-I don't know him though." Keeping my hands close to my chest, I nervously pointed at Ginger Giant.

Knowing he was being talked about he lifted his head up, sky blue eyes staring at me and then at Marluxia before back to me again. Marluxia was the one who spoke.

"This is Lexaeus. He's Number Five. I happen to be Number Eleven. We also have other members; there's Larxene, Xaldin, Vexen, Luxord, Saix, our Superior Xemnas, and… Xigbar. Am I forgetting anybody?" He looked at Axel for help.

"Demyx."

I raised my hand up in the air excitedly, exclaiming, "I know Demyx!" Everyone looked at me, either surprised, confused, or just a bit indifferent. I pulled my hand back down with a grin, explaining, "I met him yesterday!" Granted, I met everyone I know right now yesterday, but still… "He brought me food."

Axel was the one who broke the silence, an eyebrow raised high up on his forehead. "Right… well, he's Number Nine." This I remember. "The Organization in order is Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saix, me, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, and finally Larxene. Marluxia's the only one who likes her though."

"She's a nice girl once you get to know her," The pink-haired man responded in defense, though not sounding very upset at all. "She just has a temper."

Zexion lowered his book, eyeing Marluxia coldly. "She tore one of my books in half because I corrected her in her logic."

"I said when you get to know her."

Alrighty then. I really wanted to avoid that lady now. I shifted from foot to foot nervously, pondering what I should say. Larxene was starting to sound like my psychopathic little cousin. I suddenly remembered what happened when I was talking to Demyx the other day. Tentatively raising a hand, I asked, "Uh, w-who's the guy with the dreadlocks?" Demyx had said his name, but I don't really remember it.

Zexion and Marluxia stopped arguing, turning to look at me, and I tried not to shrink away. I was fine with talking loudly in a room full of people, just not when everyone's attention was focused on me. Marluxia raised an eyebrow. "If by dreadlocks you mean the man with the horrendous sideburns…" I nodded. "That would be Xaldin-Number Three of the Organization."

"Okay… So, Axel is Eight," I looked at him for confirmation, the redhead nodding, and I continued, "Zexion is Six, you're Eleven, Demyx is Nine, Xaldin is Three, a-and L-Lexaeus…?" The Ginger Giant paused and nodded at me to confirm that I had his name right. "And Lexaeus is Five."

"Bingo." Axel smirked, snapping his fingers and pointing at me. "You've got the titles memorized now, huh? We also go by other names, but I'll wait on confusing you even more. I don't want to spoil all my fun."

I knit my eyebrows together, giving him an odd look, before shaking my head. I paused, noticing something as I stared at them. I squinted. Normal… blurry… Normal… blurry. Axel was giving me another strange look. Slowly, I brought a hand up to my face and pressed it against it. Nothing. I felt a bit panicky and looked around, staring over my shoulder at the door and back at the men. "Wh-Where are my glasses!?"

"How should I know?" Axel asked. Marluxia and Lexaeus weren't paying much attention anymore, too busy eating, and Zexion sighed as he flipped another page in his book.

"They're most likely in your room." The slate-blue haired man explained. "You probably put them somewhere before you went to sleep."

"O-Oh… right…" I relaxed, letting out a breath of air, and ruffled my hair. "Thank you." He gave me another inquiring stare, before responding with a polite,

"You're welcome."

Then we were left in silence. I just remained standing there in the middle of the kitchen, uncomfortable and not knowing what to do. It was only when Lexaeus stood and threw the can he had been eating out of away, putting his fork in the sink, that I did anything at all. There were multiple chairs at the table, but Lexaeus must have sensed my distress for he looked at me as he started to head to the door and paused.

His voice was deep with a slight edge to it, rough as stone but strong as iron. It had the kind of tone that left no room for argument, and when he spoke I froze-my heart all but stopping from surprise. Whether it was from what it sounded like or what he said, I wasn't sure. I just know I didn't argue when he said, "You can sit in my chair."

Stammering out another "thank you" I awkwardly made my way over to the chair and took the seat next to Zexion, sitting there with my hands laced together in my lap. I was afraid to speak or even move, shoulders completely stiff as I remained there at the table. Axel, who was licking the bits of strawberry that had gotten onto his fingers from when he had devoured his poptart, looked at me curiously.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

I want to, but… "Wh-What am I allowed to eat?"

The redhead choked on his own saliva. Marluxia blinked and Zexion shifted the angle he was sitting at to stare at me questioningly.

"Whatever you find," Zexion said, almost as if I had said something completely ridiculous. "The only one who holds any conflict with that is Xigbar and he hides his cereal in his room so no one can get to it. It's a rather superfluous action, but an understandable one nonetheless. Number Twelve has a habit of stealing members' things to irritate them."

I blinked, mouth opening in an "o" shape, before looking at my lap and biting my bottom lip. I felt rather stupid now. "O-Oh… S-So, it… it doesn't matter what I eat?"

"Essentially, yes."

Marluxia interrupted, looking rather amused. "What on earth made you think that? Did you believe we would starve you? The Superior would skin us if we tried."

"Yeah. And I don't feel like becoming a Dusk."

I stared at the redhead, watching as he leaned back in his chair and stretched, pulling his arms behind his head. I was beginning to get the impression that Axel was actually a very laid-back person. "That's like the third time you said that… How can you be turned into a dusk? I-I wasn't aware you could be turned into a time of day."

I wasn't aware about a lot of things apparently. Magic, Nobodies, Heartless… Was this really not a dream? It was hard to believe, but the pain I felt was very there and when I fell asleep and woke up… I was still here. This had to be reality. It was just… difficult to accept.

Axel started to laugh, Marluxia chuckled, and Zexion just ignored the world. "Dusks are the lowest type of Nobody," Axel explained through his laughter. He was grinning. "It's what we call 'em. There are Samurai, Berserkers, Dancers-it varies. It depends on how strong your will is when you lose your heart of what form your Nobody takes. The lowest is a Dusk."

Ohhh… that makes sense. I think. Well, enough of waiting around! I'm hungry. Standing and pushing my chair in, I hesitated before making my way over to the cabinets. There was canned fruit, vegetables, chips, cookies… Hey! Poptarts! There was a box of strawberry and two boxes of the cinnamon sugar poptarts. A picky eater, I promptly reached forward for the cinnamon sugar.

I pulled out a packet and hastily made my way back next to Zexion, sitting down in the chair Lexaeus said I could use, and tore the wrapping open.

"Did you leave some for the Superior?" A new yet familiar voice suddenly spoke up, coming from where the door was. I didn't react, not realizing the person was talking to me, and carefully broke off a piece and put it in my mouth, chewing. I began to wonder if the Organization had any extra toothbrushes I could use, as they had grabbed me when I was at school and not at home.

Wow, I was taking this a lot more casually than I probably should be. Oops. Well, I did say I adapted quickly to things. It's best to just go with the flow most of the time.

The voice was behind me this time. "Are you listening at all?" Gruff and deep, with just the barest hint of an accent, I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Skittish one, aren't you?" When I looked over my shoulder, it was the man who had burst into mine and Demyx's conversation the other day. Xaldin, I think Marluxia said his name was. His sideburns really were horrendous.

Was he trying to be Wolverine or something? Maybe he's part werewolf. I wouldn't be surprised considering how weird all this stuff is. Thinking about it made me remember Darian, who once dressed as a woman werewolf when he was in the sixth grade for Wacky Wednesday. His chest was so hairy he could be a werewolf.

I felt a pang in my chest at the memory, missing my brother and the rest of my family even more now. I wanted to cry, but I tried to be strong as I didn't want to have an emotional break down in front of all these people.

"S-Sorry," I choked out, looking up at him. "Wh-What did you say?" My eyes burned slightly.

His violet eyes were piercing, but not as much as the blue-haired man with the scars. "I asked if you had saved some of the cinnamon sugar poptarts for the Superior. Those are his favorite."

"O-Oh, uh, there's another box in there." I started to stand, ready to rush over to the cabinet and open it to show him. Unfortunately, I ended up losing balance and stumbled sideways, barely catching myself on one foot and hopping up-and-down repeatedly with my arms out before grabbing on the edges of the counter where the cabinets were.

"Are you a rabbit?" Marluxia teased, taking a bite of his raspberry pancakes. He had only poured a little bit of syrup on it-something that could be considered disgraceful in my opinion as the pancakes had to always be drowned in it. But to each their own, so I wasn't going to judge him for it. "Oh~ That would be a wonderful nickname for you. Skittish and hops like a rabbit. Bunny Girl."

I made a face despite the fact that he couldn't see it, and resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment. I pulled out the two boxes that were still in there and showed them to Xaldin, who looked disinterested. "See? Extras~!"

And, just as I was about to put them away and take my seat back at the table, Xaldin went and stole my chair. I slumped my shoulders, disheartened, and stuck my bottom lip out slightly in a pout.

"I say and I'm completely ignored… Rude." Just wonderful. I sighed, putting everything away and closing the cabinet, and walked over to the table and grabbed my poptarts. I looked around for a corner to hide in, and finding a perfect one next to the fridge I hid there, quietly munching on my breakfast and attempting to make as little of a mess as possible.

I went through my predicament, debating who I wanted to befriend. Demyx was a must, Zexion seemed pretty cool, Axel wasn't as scary after speaking to him for a bit, and Marluxia… he seemed friendly enough. I feel like my mentality should be looked at; I'm actually thinking about being friends with my kidnappers. Wow. Okay. I guess this is what one calls making the best of a situation.

After being lost in my thoughts for so long I decided to tune back into the world, blinking and looking at the people sitting at the table when they started to speak. Axel asked Xaldin curiously, "Have you seen Luxord anywhere? I was looking for him this morning as I wanted to win my money back."

"Challenging the Gambler of Fate to a game of luck?" Zexion spoke, raising an eyebrow at the redhead. "You do realize he has an unfair advantage, don't you? That's a poor decision on your part."

"Aw, shut up! He made me mad, okay? I got all riled up and accepted his challenge, and he won't give me back my money unless I beat him in another game! So, Xaldin? Have you seen him?" Axel leaned over the table, collapsing the chair back on all fours.

"No." Was Xaldin's blunt response. "But I have heard from Saix that he was sent to Wonderland on a rather difficult Heartless mission."

Zexion finally looked up from his book, a flash of recognition flowing across his face. "I recall Vexen saying something about that. Number Seven wanted him to go with him in order to assure that the task is done with succession."

Axel snorted upon hearing that. "Because that's going to end well."

"We shall see," Xaldin responded, though his own amused smirk spread on his lips. "A mission to test the compatibility between our Organization's members and how well we work together... I think it's a clever idea."

"It's an intriguing notion," Zexion agreed, "I'll give it that. But Vexen and Luxord are not the best pair to experiment this on. Vexen believes in numbers and science, whereas Luxord prefers to take risks and gamble regardless the situation. They have conflicting views on almost every subject."

"I'm gonna be honest," Axel said, staring at younger man, "but I only understand half of that."

Tilting his head so his bangs fell even more into face, Zexion sighed. "Vexen and Luxord don't agree."

"Okay, got it. Now, was that so hard? Not all of us are brainiacs like you and the rest of the science nerds."

I'm not a brainiac and I still understood what it was he said. Was it really that complicated sounding? I watched silently, finishing the last bit of my poptarts. Zexion gave Axel an annoyed look, his single visible eye narrowing in a glare.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out what "intriguing" means. Perhaps you should read a bit more, Axel? Might I suggest a dictionary? I could lend you one if you'd like. I have plenty."

Axel waved his hand in the air dismissively, smirking. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"Must you all argue like a bunch of children?" Xaldin intervened. He stood, Zexion turning his head away grumpily and Axel frowning at the older man. "I'm going to fetch some breakfast, so if you'll excuse me.

He then paused, looking down at Marluxia who was snacking on the pancakes. "Aren't those…"

Marluxia blinked, looking up at him, before offering a smug grin. "Finders keepers, Number Three." Xaldin's eyebrow twitched. Deciding not to say anything the X-Men imposter walked up to the fridge, looking through it for a moment before pulling out some cranberry jam.

"Seeing as you'll eat whatever I'll cook, I think I'll make me a sandwich instead. That way you can't have anything next time."

"So cruel," Marluxia joked, feigning hurt as he waved a hand in the air and leaned his head back. "There goes our cook, I suppose."

It took all I had not to laugh at the situation, pulling my knees up to my chest and biting down on the sleeve that covered my left arm to muffle the giggles. For a bunch of kidnappers they certainly acted the complete opposite. Xaldin was the father, Zexion was the teen son, and Axel was the older brother who had moved only to come right back and slid on into his parents' basement. I couldn't decide if Marluxia would be the eldest or if he would be the mother.

Xaldin, hearing me trying to prevent the giggles, turned his head and looked down at while he got out some bread. "What pray tell is so funny, child?"

"N-Nothing!" I waved it off quickly, alarmed that I had been found out. "J-Just a weird thought."

His extremely intricate eyebrow raised, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling. It was really hard trying to keep myself in check when all I wanted was to laugh and act as I usually would. Don't laugh. You might get killed if you act as yourself. Knowing I might die was enough to quell my laughter.

I could feel everyone's gazes on me. Zexion, Axel, Marluxia's…

"Leave her be." Axel finally spoke, Zexion returning his gaze to his book. "It doesn't matter what she was thinking." Xaldin stared at him for a long moment, frowning, before nodding and getting to work on spreading the jam on his sandwich. Reaching into the cabinets he pulled out some of that Marshmallow Fluff topping and got to spreading it on a bread slice.

"Do you want anything, Zexion?" Xaldin asked a few minutes of silence.

"Same as you will be fine, thank you." His face indifferent, but his tone was polite as ever. It was similar to the way he spoke to me. "The Superior asked me to go back to the Realm of Beginnings and collect some things later. Number Two still has of yet to return as well…" He didn't seem that worried about it, more as it was just as passing thought.

"So it's a retrieval mission?" Axel asked, crossing his arms. He had long since finished breakfast, so why he was still here I wasn't sure. Marluxia, taking another bite of his pancakes, looked at Zexion curiously.

"Yes. Number Twelve is, unfortunately, supposed to accompany me."

"Good luck with that." Marluxia said civilly, deciding to be neither genuine or sarcastic. Axel winced at Zexion's words. I removed my face from my arms, merely staring at them with interest now. Taking the gamble, I chose to speak up.

"What's the Realm of Beginnings?"

Xaldin, placing a plate in front of Zexion, stated, "The world you came from."

I stared at him, my eyes widening in shock. Zexion closed his book and set it down on the table, carefully picking up his sandwich and taking a bite out of it. Xaldin sat down next to him, having put everything he got out away. "You… You're going back?"

Zexion finished chewing and swallowed, focusing his gaze on me. "That is correct." I felt a slight chill at his words and brought my hands up to my head, tangling my fingers into my hair as I tried to think of a response, pulling my bangs out of my face. His eye locked me into place.

"W… Why?" I wanted to ask if I could go with-maybe I'd be able to run away, but thinking on it I knew they wouldn't let me. And if I had another attack like I did with the first portal, I… I don't think I'd survive it. That had been terrifying. "What are you doing? What do you need to collect?"

"Items." He responded bluntly, not giving much detail. "We didn't time your retrieval quite right, and due to your reaction to the Corridors of Darkness it would prove a liability to take you along. As I'm one of the more thorough planners out of our members, the Superior and Number Seven thought it would be best if I were to be the one to go collect what would be necessary for you to remain here. I expect you to make a list of the things you will need from your home."

That's… That's rather nice for a bunch of kidnappers. Huh. Am I… Am I really just going to be "living" here? Xemnas wasn't actually being serious about me being some kind of "Keeper of Light" was he? Oh dear god… he was, wasn't he? So I really am here for protection.

That's… I'm not sure how to feel about that.

"O-Okay… but I-I need a pencil and paper…" Unless he had a pen and would rather I just take one of his gloves off and write it on his hand?

Zexion nodded at my words, turning his head to look at Axel. Marluxia was making his way out of the kitchen, having tossed his dishes in the sink, and bid everyone a small goodbye. Axel narrowed his eyes, staring suspiciously at Zexion.

"You aren't seriously… Why do I have to get it?"

"Think of it as payment for me doing your job for you," He suggested, smirking lightly. "A small favor."

Axel huffed, giving Zexion a dirty look, before he got up and waved his hand. A Dark Corridor opened up in front of him, the redhead scowling. "This is so lame," He grumbled, walking into it. It closed behind him, vanishing from view. The only ones left in the kitchen now were me, Zexion, and Xaldin…

And the latter looked at me, his violet eyes confused. "What are you even doing on the floor? There are plenty of chairs at the table for you to sit down in."

I chose not to answer that, just tilting my head and giving a slight shrug.

Welp, read and reviews my lovelies! :3 What'd you all think of the kitchen conversation? I'm trying to incorporate some bits from the manga (such as Xaldin being "master of the kitchen" and Zexion being rather domesticated, and there WILL be clones of Vexen ('cause why not? XD) and Lexaeus and his little chain link puzzles. Trying to show the more "human" side of the Nobodies to show.