It was early morning in Twilight Town when the Gummi Bus finally landed outside the Old Mansion. Well, early morning according to the Gummi Bus computer. Kairi had offered to pilot half of the trip so Riku could get some sleep. Between that, the previous day's events, and landing on a world in perpetual twilight, Riku's internal clock had given up.

Riku watched as his five bleary-eyed, grumbling friends filed out of the Gummi Bus. At least he wasn't the only one still trying to wake up, although it did not bode well for a day of Heartless-hunting.

Roxas, eager to confirm that his old friends were okay, was the first inside the Old Mansion. Hayner greeted him with a convoluted series of hand and arm gestures, while Olette responded with a simple wave. Pence, busy in the kitchen with pancakes that had the most amazing smell ever, waved as well.

"We're the unofficial guardians of Twilight Town," Olette explained as she set the dining room table. "Ansem didn't like the idea, but Pence is the only one who knows how to run the computer link between here and Ansem's lab. And Seifer's 'Disciplinary Committee' is out on some kind of journey."

"When something unusual shows up, we get to send out the alarm," Pence said as he placed stacks of pancakes on the table. "This mansion's like our secret lair now. I stocked it with all the essentials -"

"He means ice cream. I brought everything else."

"- so if things get really bad, we can hold out in here."

"At least until we get our own keyblades," Hayner said as everybody made a mad dash for the food. "Sure would be nice if somebody told us how to summon 'em. Roxas, how much longer we gotta wait? Quit holdin' out on us!"

Roxas stopped chewing long enough to roll his eyes.

"And don't say we're not 'worthy', or we have to be 'connected', or whatever." Hayner smirked. "I figure, if you can get one, anyone can."

Namine dropped her fork.

"I want to know more about the Heartless in the Underground," Riku said as he changed the subject with the subtlety of a Minute Bomb. "Ansem said you found a swarm of them?"

"Yeah, mostly the little ones with the antennas," Pence said, holding his index fingers above his head in approximation of a Shadow. "And a few with the helmets, and one or two of the little flying coffee-pot guys."

Roxas turned to Riku. "The usual then. Nothing we can't handle. Er, you don't think it's a Demon Tide, do you?"

"I hope not. I like this shirt." Riku finished his coffee. "I'm more concerned about why they're showing up now."

"You think there's a Darkside summoning them?"

"I was thinking Maleficent."

Axel gestured dramatically. "Place your bets now, folks! Alright, we've got one for Maleficent, and one for a Darkside. Me, I'm gonna say Guardian Heartless." Axel pointed his fork. "Xion?"

"Mm...I'm thinking another Powered Armor. It doesn't fit in the Underground, so it's getting Shadows to help carry it out."

"Namine?"

"Maybe Shadow Globs?"

"Kairi?"

"Ah...another Xehanort? Like, he hid a spare in the Underground."

The room went quiet. Briefly.

"Oh please no," Namine said.

"Can I change my answer? I like that one." Xion said.

"Like, another time-traveling Xehanort?" Roxas said. "Or a replica Xehanort? Ooh, or a time-traveling replica Xehanort that split himself into a Heartless and a Nobody!"

"I'm not hungry anymore," Riku said.

"Does anybody here know Meteor? Or Zettaflare?" Axel said. "Here's the plan: we see anybody with a black coat and yellow eyes? We run back to the Gummi Bus and nuke the Underground from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." He turned to Hayner. "That means certain death for you three, and I'm sorry, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"This is the lamest Heartless infestation ever," Axel said.

After breakfast, Hayner and Olette had led everybody with a keyblade into the Underground. Namine and Pence were still at the Mansion, ready to signal Ansem for reinforcements if a squad of Behemoths suddenly burst from the ground. And also make lunch.

Riku had practically begged Namine to stay behind. He agreed with Kairi's desire to keep the group together in general, but this was a Heartless hot zone. Images had gone through Riku's mind: Namine trapped in a Parasite Cage, Namine engulfed in a Demon Tide, Namine meeting Maleficent. Those were not going to happen.

And indeed they weren't. Because the Underground was empty.

Well, that was unfair. There was a Heartless presence; Shadow Globs were stuck on a few of the walls, and every other corridor had a Shadow or two. They'd even come across a squad of very confused Air Soldiers repeatedly banging into the ceiling.

But the main swarm was missing. True, they'd only been searching for thirty minutes, and the Underground was very large, but Heartless weren't known for subtlety. Sound traveled very well in the silent corridors; they should've heard the swarm by now, even if they couldn't see it.

"Maybe the swarm dispersed?" Xion said.

"Nah, we'd be seeing more in each corridor then," Axel said. "I bet they're hiding. Cowards! Come out and fight like men! Darkness-spawned, bug-eyed, creepy little men!"

Axel had a point. Riku trusted Hayner and his friends; if they said they saw a Heartless swarm, then there was a Heartless swarm. Dispersion would mean -

"What are you hiding for? We just want to hit you with our keyblades until you die!"

- that the Heartless would spread throughout the Underground. Which had happened, but not in large numbers. So either -

" 'Ooh, look at me, I'm a big scary Heartless, but I just can't face that guy with the red hair! He's so much more powerful than me! And handsome!' "

- the Heartless had returned to the Realm of Darkness voluntarily, or the swarm was still -

"You know what your problem is? You lack heart! Because you're Heartless!"

"Axel!" Kairi said. "How much coffee did you drink this morning?"

"As much as humanly possible," Axel said. "Why? Just trying to get their attention."

"That's...not a bad idea, actually. Better than just walking around," Xion said. She then started shouting. "Oh no! We seem to be lost in the Underground!"

"Just a bunch of hearts, full of darkness! Sure would be a shame if something happened to us!" Roxas shouted.

"And a Princess of Heart! No darkness, but easy to kidnap!" Axel shouted.

"...excuse me?"

"Boy, we sure have been walking a long time!" Olette shouted. "I'm exhausted! I couldn't run if my life depended on it!"

"I definitely couldn't dropkick anything!" Hayner shouted.

Eh, why not. "And we certainly don't have keyblades!" Riku shouted.

"We've never even seen a Heartless before!" Namine shouted.

Wait, what? "Namine!? Where did you come from?"

Suddenly Pence ran up. "Guys! I can't find Namine! I think she - oh."

Riku put on his best disappointed Master face. "Namine. Why are you here?"

Namine smiled cheekily. "I was getting worried! You've been gone for so long -"

"It's been thirty minutes."

"And I'm sure you're very hungry! I brought cookies."

"Fmo fwhat fnow?" Axel said. "Fwould fwe -"

"Axel, don't talk with your mouth full," Kairi said.

Axel swallowed. "So what now? Should we split up?"

Riku didn't like the idea - assuming there was still a swarm, meeting it with fewer people was a bad idea. But the Underground was a lot bigger than Riku had realized - facing the swarm with a full team exhausted from walking wouldn't be much better. Splitting up gave a better chance of somebody finding the swarm before that happened.

"Yeah, alright. Two teams. Olette, you got me and Kairi. Hayner, you got Roxas, Xion, and Axel."

Roxas and Xion looked at each other but said nothing.

"If you find the swarm first, make some noise and we'll come running." Riku turned to Namine. "And you are going back to the Mansion with Pence."

"No."

"What?"

"Riku, you're not the only one who can sense darkness. If you can't find the Heartless, then we should all search."

"This isn't the Coliseum -"

"No, it isn't. We're not stuck fighting in a big empty stadium - if something goes wrong, I can run and hide." Namine pouted. "Riku, you need me."

"Ngh. Fine. You're on my team. Pence, you can go back to the Mansion, or you can join Hayner."

"Alright!" Pence and Hayner exchanged high-fives.

"Um, master?" Xion said. "The teams are a little unbalanced. Maybe I should join -"

"Oh no you don't." Axel grabbed Xion in a hug.

"Aah!"

"Riku's team already has three girls. We're keeping you."

"Everybody, stick to your teams," Riku said, ignoring whatever caffeine-based nonsense was coming out of Axel's mouth. "Remember, we're not sure what's out there, or what caused this infestation in the first place. Whatever happens, stay together."

"...and I don't think of you as just a replica. I never did, even back in the Organization. I never saw you as a puppet - that was Xigbar's thing, although he always said 'poppet', which I think he picked up from some pirates? It means 'doll', I know that much."

"Axel, I already said I forgive -"

"Xigbar was always trying to act cool. Is that why Xemnas sent him to the Coliseum, instead of me? I bet it was. The point is, those things I said yesterday? I didn't mean them. I'm not even sure where they came from. I feel like I've said them before? Doesn't matter. I didn't mean any of it, this time, assuming there was a time before. And I'm sure I didn't mean it before either. You have plenty of common sense, and you're strong, and you're cute as a button. And you look like Kairi, who is also my friend. I'm not saying you're adorable just because you look like Kairi. But you're identical to a princess, and that's pretty neat. You ever try trading places, just to mess with people?"

" 'Cute as a button?' What does that -"

"I would totally do that if I had a twin. I had a Nobody, but that doesn't count. I definitely wouldn't trade places with him. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's responsible for all the horrible things I said yesterday. I'm really sorry about that."

"I know -"

"I was just so high-strung yesterday, you know? I had this brilliant plant, we were gonna win the Tournament, and it was gonna be the greatest day ever. Even better than when we defeated Xehanort. Which isn't that hard, 'cause we all died that time. Didn't we? I can't remember. Anyways, I saw the Coliseum, and I was just so excited, and then we had that argument with Phil - speaking of, Roxas, I am so sorry he flipped out on you. That was totally my fault too."

"Axel, you are never allowed near coffee again."

"Maybe I can talk to Phil about letting you back in? 'Course, I'm sure he doesn't want to see me either. I ruined the entire Tournament. Wow, I didn't even think of that. We were the only participants, right? I should apologize to Phil, right after -"

"Axel, enough!" Roxas said. "We. Forgive. You."

"Did you apologize to Kairi this much?" Xion said.

"What, for kidnapping her? Yeah, actually. She begged me to stop after three days, and - Hayner, I see you smirking over there. Kairi totally forgave me. We're best friends now. Anyways, the bottom line is, I'm really glad the three of us are simpatico again."

Roxas and Xion looked at each other.

" 'Cause you two have been kinda twitchy the past few weeks, especially around each other, and I was starting to worry -"

"Look! A Heartless!" Roxas said, pointing at a Shadow down the end of a corridor. "I'm on it!" Roxas raced down the corridor, with Hayner right behind him.

"Roxas, wait!" Xion said. But it was too late - Roxas had already destroyed the Shadow and turned down another corridor. By the time they reached it, Roxas and Hayner were nowhere to be seen.

"What do we do now?" Xion said. "Master told us to stay together."

"Nnn...Roxas was chasing Heartless, so...Pence, which way leads deeper into the Underground? Bet there's more as we go further in."

Pence led the way through several twists and turns, none of which revealed Roxas or Hayner.

"Guys, I see someone!" Xion took off, leading them to a dead-end containing...

...somebody who was not Roxas.

The man was facing the wall, sitting cross-legged in some sort of meditative position. His silver hair went down the full length of his back, overlapping the large collar on his black coat. A single blue-and-black feathered wing hung over one shoulder.

The man suddenly stood up and turned around, unsheathing a sword nearly three meters long. After several seconds of regarding them with a look usually reserved for small annoying children, he finally spoke in a tone of pure boredom.

"Hmph. You three...who are you?"

"That path's a dead end," Kairi said. "Where next, stud?"

Riku nodded to Olette. "Which way further in?"

"This way, handsome," Olette said. Kairi and Namine giggled.

Riku did his best to keep up his masterly facade. He honestly hadn't intended to put himself on an all-girls team. He hadn't even realized it until Axel brought it up. Now he was enduring a lengthy search through the Underground with three people who thought calling him 'heartbreaker', 'lady-killer', and 'silver-haired fox' was the funniest thing ever. In the back of his mind, he swore he could hear Shiki laughing at him.

Looking at it objectively...it was all Axel's fault. Revenge for not letting Axel pilot his beloved Gummi ship often enough, no doubt.

Not that Riku was unhappy with his team. Keeping Namine in his sights meant she couldn't get into danger, which was reassuring, and Kairi was always dependable -

"Look! A Heartless!" Kairi said, pointing at a Shadow down the end of a corridor. "I'm on it!" Kairi raced down the corridor.

"Kairi, wait!" Riku said. But it was too late - Kairi had already destroyed the Shadow and turned down another corridor. By the time he reached it, Kairi was nowhere to be seen.

Riku immediately latched onto Namine as she and Olette caught up.

"Oh!"

"No running after Kairi!"

"I, um, wasn't going to."

"Really?"

"Riku, I know Kairi can take care of herself. And I promised I'd stay with you."

"Well...good!" Riku let go. "At least somebody understands."

"I don't know," Olette said. "I still think she might run off. Maybe you should hold her hand?"

More giggling. Riku shook his head. Yeah, this was all Axel's fault - and his team was no doubt still together, facing nothing more dangerous than badly-lit corridors.

"Hi, name's Axel. Remember that; it'll be important later. And you are?"

"Sephiroth."

"Hate to interrupt your wall-gazing. You know anything about the Heartless running around here?"

"No."

"Sorry to bother you then," Xion said. She turned to Axel. "Forget the Heartless - we need to find Roxas and Hayner. What if they're in trouble?"

"They can take care of themselves. And I seriously doubt the swarm is a swarm anymore."

"You don't know that! Why aren't you more worried about this? Roxas could be fighting right now, and he -"

Sephiroth suddenly cocked his head. "What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings too?"

"...excuse me?"

"You are just a puppet... You have no heart... and cannot feel any pain... How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being?"

Xion started to say something, then stopped. Her hands shook. For a moment, it looked like she was going to cry.

Then she spun on her heels and ran off.

Not even bothering with a response to Sephiroth's weirdly-perceptive disrespect, Axel and Pence dashed after Xion.

A few seconds later, Axel had to wait for an out-of-breath Pence to catch up. By the time they started running again, it was too late.

Xion was gone.

Riku shook his head. Did he just see Xion running alone down a corridor?

Nah. Had to be a trick of the light. Xion was far too self-disciplined to leave her team.

"Um, Riku? Do you feel that?" Namine pointed down the corridor.

"Yeah." Darkness, and lots of it. Too strong for a Darkside. Readying his keyblade, Riku led the way into a dead-end.

Inside was a tall man with long silver hair and a single wing, holding a three-meter-long sword.

"And who are you three?"

"Keyblade Master Riku." Riku didn't usually introduce himself as such, but first impressions counted when facing the darkness. And this man reeked of it.

The man looked at the sword in Riku's hand. Riku wished he had put it away - he really wasn't in the mood for a duel - but letting his guard down now was out of the question. How could he diffuse the situation without -

Namine waved. "Hi! My name's Namine. Have we met before? You look familiar."

The man said nothing.

"Have you seen another girl around here? She's a friend of ours."

The man opened his mouth, and then closed it again. After shifting his gaze between Riku and Namine for several seconds, he finally sighed. "...can you describe her?"

"She's really warm and always smiling, but I think she's kind of insecure? She gets separated from her friends a lot, and last month she -"

"What. Does. She. Look. Like?"

"Oh! Um, she looks just like me."

"Black hair?"

"Red."

"Then no. I have not seen her."

"Oh well, thanks anyway!"

"Sorry to bother you," Riku said, leading the others away.

"Wait."

Riku turned around.

The man cocked his head. "Can you do it? That darkness comes from your own dark memories. Do you think you can erase your past?"

Riku met his gaze. "If the world is made of light and darkness... We'll be the darkness."

"Indeed."

Riku walked away, with Namine and Olette on his heels. Once they were out of earshot, Olette turned to Riku. "What just happened? I thought you were going to fight that guy."

"Why?"

"Doesn't he seem suspicious?"

"He wasn't doing anything. And there weren't any Heartless around him."

"I thought he was dreamy," Namine said. "Isn't silver hair amazing?"

Kairi did her best not to scream in frustration as she wandered down yet another corridor. Why did all the walls look the same?

It was her own fault, running off like that. And right after Riku had said to stay together. What had she been thinking? She was setting a terrible example for the others. Especially Namine, who had already refused to stay put at the Mansion. Kairi didn't want to encourage that kind of behavior, at least if it led to Heartless.

Kairi was brought out of her self-recriminations by the sound of two familiar voices.

"...and we are stronger than Xion, but I didn't want to say that, but she figured it out anyway."

"So?"

"So now Xion's mad at me. I pushed her buttons. And I've literally never apologized to a girl before. What do you and Pence do when Olette gets mad?"

"Whatever she wants. Usually we carry her shopping bags."

Kairi ran around the corner. "Roxas! Hayner!"

"Kairi?" Roxas looked confused. "Why aren't you with your team?"

"Um...well, why aren't you with your team?"

"She makes a good argument," Hayner mock-whispered.

Roxas's sarcastic retort was halted as a figure came before them. A tall man with silver hair and a single wing, holding a three-meter-long sword.

"And who are you three?"

"Name's Hayner. You know anything about apologizing to girls?"

After several seconds, the man responded. "No. All the women I could have offended are dead."

"That's so sad!" Kairi said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Roxas and Hayner grabbed Kairi and ran off. "Sorry to bother you!"

Riku crept cautiously through the deepest part of the Underground. The area was dim, and there were plenty of shadows for Shadows to hide in. Even with his DARKNESS!-enhanced night vision, it was slow-going. Bringing Namine along as an extra set of eyes had worked out for the best. Or at least it would have, if Namine was actually keeping a lookout. But no...

Namine and Olette were looking at him. Whispering and giggling.

It was his hair, wasn't it? An encounter with an unruly Demon Tower had given him an impromptu trim, and it still hadn't grown back in yet.

Riku did his best to ignore the whispers as they continued walking. He couldn't make out what they were saying anyway, although he swore his ears picked up a 'How romantic!' from Olette, followed by another series of giggles. Maybe they were talking about Kairi then.

"Oh!"

Namine suddenly stopped, eyes widening, as they reached a four-way intersection. Riku followed her line of vision to the tunnel directly ahead.

Shadow Heartless. Scores of them. Not a full Demon Tide, but in the narrow corridors of the Underground, it certainly looked like one.

Riku gestured to the previous corridor. Namine nodded, taking Olette to hide near a stack of barrels as Riku stayed at the corner.

Riku considered his options. Running into the infested area, keyblade blazing, was out. He had taken on that many Heartless before, but always above ground - if the swarm decided to move, it would simply fill the corridor and trample him.

Maybe he could use the intersection to his advantage? Shadows were simple-minded - if he could get the swarm to hit an obstacle it couldn't destroy, it would split itself between the paths. Riku would have room to maneuver as he took on half of the swarm at a time.

But what to use for an obstacle? The wooden barrels Namine and Olette were hiding behind would shatter immediately. Metal was best. Riku started down the right-hand corridor. Several discarded pieces of rebar were available, but nothing substantial. Maybe he could melt them together with Fira?

Wait - barrels?

Riku raced back to the intersection, arriving just in time to see Namine pushing Olette away as two Barrel Spiders crawled towards them.

"Kairi, you're a girl, right?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, you have experience with girl stuff. How should Roxas apologize to Xion? Actually, hold that thought." Hayner suddenly drop-kicked into a shadowed area of the corridor. "Wha-pow!"

A small burst of pink light confirmed that Hayner had just taken out a Heartless. Kairi hadn't even noticed it.

Roxas grinned. "Nice!"

"It's all in the legs."

"Well, yeah."

"Can I get my keyblade now?"

"Are you sure you need one?" Kairi said. Hayner was hardly the first person to take down Heartless without a keyblade.

Kairi had been so excited when her keyblade had appeared. But had it really made a difference? It seemed like every warrior she met - with or without a keyblade - outclassed her. She wondered what Sora would say -

Kairi, I'm back! And there's somebody I want you to meet. This is Mira Nova. Not only is she a princess with red hair, but she's also a Space Ranger! And get this: she doesn't have a keyblade - yet - but she can walk through walls! Isn't that the coolest? We've been fighting Heartless side-by-side for weeks now. She's, like, the best partner ever!

Roxas waved a hand in front of Kairi's face.

"Huh?"

"I said, what should I do for Xion? Her being mad at me - it's driving me crazy, but I'm afraid of making things worse."

Kairi smiled softly. "You're sweet. And so different from Sora - he would've gone with the first idea that came into his head."

Roxas stopped and turned pale. Had that been the wrong thing to say? Why was Roxas -

A brief scream suddenly echoed down the corridors.

Hayner turned to Kairi. "Did you just throw your voice?"

"That wasn't me." But it had certainly sounded like her. Why would she be hearing her own voice in another place...

Roxas snapped out of his daze. "Xion!" He took off, with Kairi and Hayner right behind him.

The Barrel Spider certainly looks imposing, especially if you're watching just as its four knife-tipped legs burst out of its barrel 'shell'. And, depending on the barrel's original contents (nearly always gunpowder, fuel, or alcohol for some reason), the resulting Spider is likely to explode if you set it on fire or hit it too hard. But it's barrel-shaped body gives it a large target profile, its weight makes it less mobile than it appears, and it rarely appears in large groups. Even the weakest Blizzard spell can take it down. All in all, it's one of the easier Heartless to deal with, so long as you have a keyblade.

The first Spider leaped towards Olette, fell short, and promptly shattered itself as it landed (thankfully without exploding). The second Spider managed to tackle Namine. She screamed, briefly, before slamming face-first onto the ground.

"Blizzard!"

Two Spiders down. Riku cast Blizzard at the remaining barrels in the corridor, not trusting the lack of apparent movement - he'd made that mistake before - then dashed back to the intersection to face the oncoming swarm...

...that never arrived. Huh. The Shadows were still at the end of the opposite corridor, happily doing whatever Shadows do in their free time. Riku wasn't sure why they hadn't been drawn to the commotion, but he wasn't going to question it.

Riku ran back to the others. Namine was still on the ground, presumably with the wind knocked out of her. Was she unconscious? That was odd. It hadn't looked like she'd hit her head that hard. Maybe Namine was - she was -

Namine was bleeding. A lot.

"Curaga!"

There was a large gash, quickly healing, down the back of Namine's left thigh where the Spider's leg had struck. A quick Scan confirmed that Curaga was doing its job, and it revealed no other injuries apart from some expected bruising.

Riku carefully turned Namine over. No concussion, but Namine was indeed unconscious. That was strange - Riku would've expected the pain to keep Namine awake, but she'd barely had a chance to scream before passing out. Some kind of replica safety feature?

"She isn't waking up."

Right, Olette was still here. Riku performed another Scan - Curaga had finished, and Namine was resting. Riku struggled to remember an explanation 'DiZ' had provided, that one time Mickey had dragged him home with a similar injury. "Namine's going to be fine. The magic's taking care of the blood loss, but her body doesn't realize it yet, so she's still in shock. She'll wake up in a few minutes."

Olette kneeled down, ignoring the blood as it stained her clothes, and held Namine's hand. "The nearest path back to the surface is that way," she said, pointing down the left corridor.

Wow. No fear. Riku added Olette to his mental list of people he might bequeath his keyblade to someday.

"Alright. Once Namine wakes up, I'll clear the way."

"I hope everybody else is having a better time than us," Pence said.

Axel and Pence had been wandering for what felt like forever, and with nothing to show for it. No Heartless. No Roxas or Hayner. No Xion.

"We're not giving up," Axel said. "Roxas! Xion! Where are youuuuuuuu?"

Nothing. It hadn't worked the other fifty times he'd tried either.

After a moment, Pence cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted. "Hey Axel! Look at all the ice cream I brought!"

"Wow! That sure is a lot of ice cream!"

"Yes it is! I'm not sure we can eat it all!"

"It's a shame our friends aren't here to help!"

Pence shook his head. "Axel, I think something's really wrong. Hayner should've showed up immediately."

"Wait. Did you hear a scream just now?"

After several minutes of wandering, a second scream echoed down the corridor.

"This way. Come on!"

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Riku fought to remain calm as he waited for Namine to wake up. All that effort to keep his eyes open, and he'd missed the oldest Heartless trick in the book. Why hadn't he sensed the Barrel Spiders?

He'd gotten complacent. He'd travelled alongside Mickey for so long, he'd forgotten what it was like to work with people weaker than himself. He'd walked into the Underground casually, with his Master head held high, like the whole thing was just a training exercise.

Worst of all, he'd brought two unprepared people with him. Not even fighters without keyblades, like Donald and Goofy - Namine and Olette were civilians. Some master he'd turned out to be. He could imagine Yen Sid revoking his mark, or even his keyblade -

Beware the darkness in your heart.

What, his subconscious was talking like Maleficent now? That was the last think Riku needed. He almost wished for the Seeker of Darkness back.

Glancing down the corridor, Riku noticed a few Shadows looking in his direction.

The Heartless prey upon it.

Oh. That had been a literal warning. With considerable effort, Riku cleared his mind. After looking around a few more seconds (in confusion? Can Shadows get confused?), the Shadows returned to the swarm.

Don't steep yourself in darkness too long.

What, don't feel guilty? About this? How!?

The voice of Kevin Flynn echoed back:

It's the art of the selfless, man. Remove yourself from the equation.

Right. This wasn't about him. Namine and Olette - and technically everybody in Twilight Town - were still in danger. Once Namine woke up, he'd escort her and Olette back to the Old Mansion. Then he'd return to the Underground on his own, meet up with Roxas and the others, and clear out the remaining Heartless. They'd stay overnight at the Mansion and return to Destiny Islands in the morning.

Once everybody was safe and sound, then he could feel guilty. And come up with a way to apologize to Namine. Maybe buy her a new dress? No amount of water magic was going to get the blood out of her old one. Kairi could help pick it out.

Riku smiled to himself. His heart still hurt, but he had a plan. Everything was going to be okay. He would make everything okay, even if it was his last act as a master.

Namine screamed.

Riku looked down. Namine was...still lying unconscious on the ground?

Olette was still holding Namine's hand, but she was staring down the other end of the corridor. Following Olette's line of vision, Riku saw Kairi, Hayner, and Roxas. Kairi was frozen on the spot. Well, that explained the scream.

Roxas and Hayner were running towards Namine. When they reached her, Hayner stopped, but Roxas kept running - towards Riku, with his keyblade in his hand and rage in his eyes. In the back of Riku's head, Xenahort's Heartless spoke up with a helpful explanation:

The next time you lead your friend into DARKNESS!, you might not want to leave her lying motionless in a pool of her own blood. Others might just think you let her die.

Riku didn't respond. He was too busy dodging Oathkeeper as it tried to take his head off.

Turning a corridor, Axel finally reached...something.

Kairi, Hayner, and Olette were helping a dazed Namine sit upright. Was that blood?

A little further down, Roxas was yelling and swinging his keyblade wildly at Riku.

...had Riku tried to murder Namine!?

Axel dashed towards the fight, ready to support his little buddy against the...onslaught? Riku wasn't actually fighting back.

...had Roxas tried to murder Namine!?

Roxas was still yelling. It was mostly incoherent. "...she trusted you, and...Xion didn't deserve...how could you..."

Axel hesitated - after the Coliseum fiasco the day before, he wasn't feeling too confident about his own judgment. If he stopped the wrong person, and the other one attacked Namine and the others...Maybe he could knock them both out? If he could get Roxas to stop, for just a moment, then he could -

- watch the sky above your head suddenly illuminate with a thousand points of light. The points coalesce into an extravagant magic circle, which mutates several times before shooting a column of light to the ground.

From the light emerges a kneeling figure. Tall, silver hair, wearing a black coat. He has his back towards you, showing off a single black-and-blue feathered wing.

The man slowly stands, then extends both his wing and his right arm. He performs a half-turn, regarding you out of the corner of his eye, before he faces you fully. His face bears a small grin conveying several sentiments, all of them insulting.

The man suddenly draws a sword nearly three meters long. The battle is joined.

"Out of my way."

The man fights with cool disinterest - swinging his sword in wide arcs, summoning flames with the flick of a wrist, dashing across the field with effortless grace.

"I am the chosen one!"

The skies open again. Meteors bearing the fires of Hell rain down, stopping just before they strike the ground. They circle your opponent, briefly. Then they move towards you -

Axel collapsed. Riku collapsed. Roxas collapsed.

Axel shook his head. An illusion? Axel looked down the corridor. Namine was sitting upright, breathing hard. She promptly tipped over.

Hayner led the shaken group out of the Underground. Riku carried Namine on his back. Axel carried Roxas - unconscious, thankfully - on his back. Kairi and the others quietly trailed behind.

Roxas's sudden outburst, and the shock and confusion from Namine's vision, did not go unnoticed. The Heartless swarm was finally roused, confronting the group shortly after the vision had ended. It had then fallen before the combined fury of three very unhappy keyblade warriors. The 'battle' was over before Riku could even think about it.

Riku didn't want to think anymore. Not about what had happened to Namine, or what had happened with Roxas. And certainly not what he'd just seen of the one-winged man.

It wasn't until two hours later, as they were eating a late meal back in the Mansion while watching over the still-prone forms of Namine and Roxas, that Riku decided to count heads.

"Uh, guys? Aren't we missing somebody?"

After yelling at his friends to not leave the Mansion under any circumstances, Riku ran back into the Underground.

Xion was still down there. And so was a man who could summon meteors.

Riku dashed frantically through the corridors until he spied a mop of black hair. "Xion!"

"Master?" Xion looked unharmed but perfectly miserable. A few black feathers littered the ground.

"We have to go. There's a man down here, with one wing -"

"I know. He's gone now."

"He's gone? What happened?"

"I got separated from my team. I heard screaming, and I tried to follow, but I just got more lost. Ran into Sephiroth instead, and he wouldn't leave me alone." Xion sniffled. "He kept calling me a puppet, and he made fun of my name. Said the light didn't suit me. So I hit him with my keyblade until he went away."

"...you did what?"

"We fought. He already had his sword out, so I chose to interpret that as a challenge. His magic was weird. He kept throwing rocks."

"You defeated him!?"

"I guess so? We fought for, I don't know, five minutes? Then he stopped, said I had some skill, and that he was going to go watch clouds. Or something. I wasn't listening. Then he walked away."

Xion looked at Riku with pain in her face. "I was really tired after the fight, and I didn't want to walk around lost anymore. So I decided to sit here and wait for somebody to find me. But nobody did, until now. Did - did everybody forget about me?"

"What?"

"Roxas isn't looking for me. You're the only one who noticed I was gone. Isn't that right?"

"Xion, Roxas isn't looking for you because he had a nervous breakdown and tried to murder me, and Namine had to stop him with her mind powers, so he's asleep. That's all."

"Really?"

"Everybody's worried sick about you."

"If you say so."

"Come on. Pence's making dinner. Or lunch. Whatever. Stupid twilight." Riku offered his hand. After a moment, Xion accepted it wordlessly.

They were halfway back to the Mansion when Xion finally spoke again.

"Wait. Roxas did WHAT?"