Roxas let out a deep sigh of relief when he made it out of the castle, the base made for Organization XIII's secretive works. Not much of a fight was put up, save for the consistent threat of Dusks chasing after him. It didn't let up until he made it to the Dark City, where all was relatively calm. Surely, they lost his trail.

When it was safe, he dismissed the Kingdom Key and walked with long strides. He refused to stop for Axel, who stood by with his head down and eyes focused on the ground. But when the man spoke up, Roxas slowed to a stop and listened. It was the least he could do for an old friend.

"Your mind's made up?" Axel questioned the boy gently.

Roxas balled up his hands and looked up at the enlarged moon with many questions on his mind. "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."

"You can't turn on the Organization!" the redhead spat, determined to sway his pal back the other way. "You get on their bad side, and they'll destroy you!"

"No one would miss me," Roxas said coldly, peering over his shoulder, and he walked away without another word. His mind was made up.

Brought to silence, Axel dropped his shoulders and gritted his teeth. A strange sensation bubbled in the pit of his stomach. It was one that he could not explain clearly, not even to himself. But there was one thing he could say, though it would reach deaf ears. Roxas would still leave.

"That's not true..." he frowned. "I would."

An hour passed since his "talk" with Axel. It was clear to Roxas that he was walking a lonely road now. The rain was pelting down on his head and shoulders, though he was unfazed. Not wanting to get too soaked, he donned the hood of his cloak and wandered the streets with a purpose. He stopped only once to scout out how many Neoshadows there were following him. Turning back around, he saw more standing in his way.

Hundreds of them were everywhere, flooding the dimly lit streets below Memory's Skyscraper. Regardless of how many, Roxas readied himself for the worst and summoned the Keyblade to aid him. However, it was not just one that he wielded. Two Keyblades to fight off the threat of Heartless. All while another cloaked figure watched on from up above. It wasn't long before they ended up back to back, dispersing all of the Neoshadows with combined power.

"Who are you?" Roxas finally broke the silence between them, having just one of the Keyblades in his possession now. The other he faced was a silver-haired man wearing a blindfold- Riku. Of course, their initial meeting was not one for introductions.

"What does it matter?" Riku replied coldly. "I'm here for you..."

It was quiet around the mansion. With Riku being gone for so long, and the others being too busy to talk, I had a hard time killing off the boredom. As hard to believe as it was, things around town were settling down. The Nobodies were hardly showing their faces around at all, and the Heartless haven't been causing any frequent problems. Only twice within the last few days have I had to go out and deal with pest control.

Something was going on. What could explain this surprisingly strange phenomenon of the darkness going away so suddenly?

"I wonder what's going on," I said quietly. Outside the mansion, I strolled out to the path leading into the woods with DiZ. He closed the gates behind us and sealed the mansion with an impenetrable barrier. "Do you think it has something to do with the Organization?"

"There is hardly a doubt," he responded. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to pay our friend a visit."

"Huh?"

I tilted my head to the side in confusion and stared at DiZ for a moment. Apparently he had a lot of friends and in places that were unknown to me. He could have meant the king for all I knew, since they had some history together. I had yet to hear that story, but it was an idea.

"Open a way to the Nobodies' world." DiZ's words were a stunning surprise. If his gut instinct was right, and if my thoughts were right, then we were going to see Riku with Roxas. "It is a matter of utmost importance. Be quick about it."

Not hesitating to open the corridor, I brought forth the route we needed to get to the World That Never Was. I knew that it would take us right where we needed to be, because Riku's scent flowed out from it- the peculiar mix of darkness and light that he radiated. And there he was on the other side. Roxas was there with him, but not in the best of shape. My eyes were wide when I saw the boy lying on the ground with Riku standing over him, and his back was to us.

DiZ was silently examining the scene, but Riku didn't bother to turn around or let down his hood. That was when I found a black piece of fabric under my foot. It got drenched in a shallow puddle left by rainfall. Picking it up into my hands, I realized what must have happened. It became clear when Riku opened his mouth to speak.

"DiZ... he could feel Sora." Riku's voice faintly trembled. It didn't sound like him at all, save for the manner of speech. I heard that person's voice instead. Hearing him made me quiver. My fingers wrapped around the blindfold as I stood off to the side.

"Oh, he told you how he felt, did he?" DiZ scoffed. "Ridiculous. A Nobody cannot feel anything."

I shook my head and knelt down beside Roxas's unconscious form. "No... If he were able to meet Sora, face to face, all of this might have turned out differently."

"You feel compassion for the boy?" he grumbled. I narrowed my eyes and refrained from looking back at DiZ. Right now, all I wanted to focus on was Roxas. It might have been compassion. Whatever it was, I wanted to make sure my friend was taken care of.

Roxas... you've been through so much, I told him in my thoughts. I promise. Things will be a lot better after we wake Sora up.