Rosalie24: so this part of the story is right before Terra is supposed to fight Braig in the purification facility, but the events of the story are kind of thrown off balance because of Roxas and Xion

Revamped Persona: I had to keep in mind the fact that Roxas and Xion are nobodies and only a couple hundred days old basically. They don't entirely understand the concept of love or dating, and they don't know life outside of servitude. The most they know is just being best friends with someone.

68:13:07

"—Don't worry, I didn't shoot to kill. Couldn't figure out which one was which, so I went for the easy shot."

Terra spun his head around to locate the voice and found Braig positioned on a high platform. All it took was for Terra to set his eyes on him, before he became completely submerged in darkness. Sweeping his keyblade to his side, dark spheres surged from the tip of his blade, and targeted Braig who simply dropped off the platform to evade the attack.

The moment Braig was on ground level, Terra shot like a bolt of lightning towards him and snatched up by his red scarf. There was a subtle weakness within Terra that Braig picked up on, his grip wasn't as tight, his stance wasn't as firm. Even someone like Terra faltered under subjugation to the darkness, a weakness Braig had every intention to exploit if he wanted to escape his clutches without getting his head smashed in, "Ah- so this is what Xehanort meant by awakening your inner darkness, talk about killing two birds with one stone."

"I don't care about that, you're going to pay for what you did to Ventus!" He raised Braig high into the air with the intent to slam him on the ground, but Braig managed to escape from his grasp and gather some distance from his adversary.

With a confident smirk returning to him, Braig opened heavy fire on Terra, his arrogance leading him to act carelessly. However, it soon became clear Braig was no match against Terra's darkness, he moved with unwavering power when he swung his keyblade down on Braig. Unable to hold his position under Terra, he leapt backwards, and Terra took the chance to shoot another round of dark spheres. This time around, one of them struck Braig in his right eye.

For a split second, Braig stood still, dazed, while the darkness devoured his eye from the inside out. He was more shocked by the fact he was badly wounded from someone like him, someone he could crush any other day, than from his eyesight rapidly deteriorating. When Terra raised his keyblade again, he snapped into place, fear rising within him. Though, despite his circumstances, he could still find it in himself to humor the situation.

'Guess that's what I get it for bringing a knife to a gunfight, I did my job at least.'

Before Terra could finish him off, Braig jumped away and if not for the call of Aqua, he would have chased him down to the ends of the earth. Fortunately, the darkness that fed into his rage could only be matched by his desire to protect Ventus. So he returned to his side and looked on sadly as Aqua was in the middle of applying as many cure spells and potions as she could after removing the arrows.

"Do you need any help? Here maybe I can-"

Aqua pushed his hand away. "You've done enough, Terra." She scooped up Ventus in her arms. "I'm worried something else might have happened to him so I'm taking him to someone who will help."

The trip back to town felt longer as they struggled to keep their spirits high. Eventually, Aqua stopped at a plain looking house in the residential district, she knocked on the door and was greeted by an old man in blue garments named Merlin. He took them in without question and laid Ventus' limp body in his own bed. After 15 minutes that seemed to drag on for hours, Merlin finished his inspection.

"Yes, his body appears to be in a state of shock and it'll take a few days to recover. Whoever his attacker was, took a great deal not to strike young Ventus in any areas that would do him in." He reached for one of the books on his shelf, then dusted it off.

The book Merlin was holding turned itself to the right page and he read down one of the entries. "But your friend is very peculiar indeed. As you know, we all have light and darkness within us except for a select few, however his darkness seems to have been separated from him entirely."

"Why would anyone do that?" Aqua asked.

"Because the darkness in Ven's heart was threatening to consume him," Terra said.

"...How do you know?"

"Master Xehanort told me, he was the one who extracted the darkness from him in the first place. And his darkness became Vanitas who uses the unversed to destroy the world of light."

"So you just decided not to tell me? Is that what I mean to you, Terra..." Aqua couldn't stand to look Terra in the face any longer as she would only get a sense of immeasurable sadness that sunk into the cracks of her heart. So she drew her eyes to the ground, finding it more suitable company than who sat across from her.

"I'm sorry, I should've told you sooner. I thought I could handle it myself and I didn't want to put another burden on you like that."

She raised her head. "Who cares about me?! The master sent me here to protect Ven and keep you away from the darkness, but...I've failed both of you."

"Even if I did use the darkness, that doesn't change anything. I care about Ven just as much as you and I will always fight for the light!"

"I know...I know that's what you want to believe, but you would've never let yourself get consumed by the darkness if that were true. The master would be disappointed in you."

"You already are." Terra stood up from the kitchen table which caused the silverware and teacups to shake. "I'll hunt down Vanitas for Ven and I'll do it no matter where it'll lead me. The darkness doesn't scare me."

The door slammed shut behind Terra, while Aqua shook her head in dismay. 'I have a feeling Master Xehanort isn't who he say he is and is manipulating Terra. But if I go after him, Terra will only have more reason to push me away. Don't you understand, I care about you, you and Ven are everything, that's why...'

Silence soon took its place within the house and Roxas, Xion and Lea were left sitting uncomfortably at the kitchen table following Aqua and Terra's argument. "...Are you okay?" Xion finally asked in an attempt to alleviate the mood.

Aqua's response was delayed, and she was only able to produce a low mumble at first, before picking herself back up into her usual polite demeanor, "...I'm so sorry you three had to be wrapped up in this. You don't deserve to have your normal lives ruined because of us."

"Nah, it's fine, I'm kind of used to it by now. Besides, this beats being bored out of mind at school," Lea said.

"Yeah, I mean it is my fault Braig shot him in the first place..." He lowered his head. "He was looking for me, but he mixed us up, I should be the one in that bed."

"Don't say that, the one to blame for any of this is Braig." She made an effort to smile for Roxas' sake. "Even though I doubt he'll bother us again, if he or Vanitas, or anyone comes after you, send them over here and I'll deal with them, okay?"

"You give Roxas too much credit," Xion said. "Once he has a grudge on someone, he doesn't let it go."

"Well I guess that can't be helped. You're right, he really is the type to run off without thinking," Aqua said.

"Wait- were you guys talking about me?!" Roxas exclaimed.

Xion stuck her tongue out. "Maybe, but I won't tell~"

Roxas grabbed Lea's shoulders. "Wh-what did she say about me?!"

"Oh you know, the usual, that I was way stronger and hotter than you," He casually said.

"Really..."

Xion crossed her arms. "Uh, that's not what I said at all!"

"-That's right, I'm obviously way more strong than Lea, but you could've said that to my face!"

"I didn't say that either! You two are seriously a handful."

Merlin moved from his bed to the kitchen, deciding to prepare more tea for his guests. "-Excuse but Roxas, was it? You are related to young Ventus, no?"

"There's no relation," Roxas said. "We just happen to look exactly alike."

"Is that so? Then allow me to have a quick word with the two of you. It'll only take a moment."

"Uh sure."

They followed Merlin up a spiral staircase into his study; a surprisingly large, and spacious room that was cluttered with books of all kinds that stacked up to the ceiling. Merlin eased himself into a chair, then asked, "If you don't mind me asking, are you perhaps from a different world?"

"Yeah we're from Twilight Town, but we were separated from our world. Maybe..." He was hesitant to continue, but did so anyway, "Maybe you can help us find our way back home."

"Oh- well a simple teleport spell should be able to fix your problem, at least partially fix it."

"No, that wouldn't work. What if we also ... were from a different time. Not saying we are, but what if that was us, how could we go back home then?"

Merlin nearly burst out of his seat from excitement. "How intriguing! I knew this wasn't mere confidence! Please, you must tell me how such a predicament occurred to you!"

"Wait, wait, now this is all just conjunction, asking for a friend type deal you know?"

"You mean 'conjecture'?"

"Yeah, whatever. Will you help us or not?"

"-Roxas!" Xion elbowed him in the stomach. "We're not going to get any help like that!"

"Ho ho, it's quite fine. This problem of your 'friend' certainly alludes me. You must tell me how such a thing happened?"

"They were attacked by some monster and now they're here."

"Hm, that's not what I was expecting, but undoubtedly, that monster placed some type of spell on you, er 'them'. I'll go through my books to see if I can find anything on a spell that rewinds time if you may, if not, then it might simply be a matter of waiting until it's lifted. Some spells are so powerful, they can never be undone until it loses its effect." He rummaged through a pile of papers on his desk and found a stick.

"That's a stick," Xion pointed out.

"No, no my dear. It's a wand!" He tapped it on the air and an ancient scroll, barely held together by its own parchment, appeared in his hand. "This is an old spell called 'Libra' it has the ability to expose any weaknesses of whom it is cast on, I believe. It'll perhaps help you in discovering what spell has been cast on your company."

"Really? How do you use it?"

"Well you...see it's like no, actually that's quite a good question!" He handed the scroll to Xion. "I'm sure you'll figure it out long before I can."

They went back down the stairs, Lea perked his head up at their arrival. "I was wondering when you guys would come back. Listen, I know this isn't the best timing, but I just remembered I have work today, but you guys should totally come along! I can sneak you two some free food."

"That sounds like a good idea, wandering out in the open is just asking for trouble," Xion said.

The three of them left Merlin's house and went down to wherever Lea was taking them. Based on the overpopulation of students in the streets, school was out for the day and they received no shortage of strange looks, glares, and the occasional whisper from their fellow classmates.

"Guess we're pretty famous, huh," Roxas said to Xion.

"No I don't think that's it."

Eventually they stopped at a restaurant-bar called '7th Heaven'. Once inside they were greeted by a girl with long brown hair, though she dropped her overly-friendly facade when she saw Lea, "Oh it's only you..."

"Good to see you too, Tifa." Lea returned, visibly annoyed.

"I was hoping your other friend would come, Isa right?"

"Not today. And if you're getting any ideas, he's already into some other girl. Sorry."

"Don't have an attitude, you're the one who came in super late."

"'Super late'? When did my shift start?"

"An hour ago, but the boss said whenever you came in you were just gonna serve."

"What are you serious? It's gonna be a long night."

"You like talking so much, it shouldn't be..." She trailed off when she noticed Roxas. "Who's this?"

"That's Roxas and she's Xion, they're from a world called Twilight Town."

"Oh really?" Tifa approached Roxas, an insatiable look dominating her once reserved expression. Though she limited herself to a small smile, and modest advancements, "You're pretty cute," She began.

"Uh, thanks."

"You look like this guy I used to know...maybe it's the eyes, they're so blue." She clasped her hands over his. "My name is Tifa Lockhart, it's nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too..." Roxas proceeded awkwardly, he looked at Xion for help, but she was too irritated to make any eye contact.

Luckily, Tifa picked up on Xion's discomfort and decided to inch away from Roxas. She turned to Xion apologetically, offering a ceasefire between the two warring parties, "I'm sorry, you must be his girlfriend, right? That was rude of me."

She blinked, not understanding what Tifa was saying or why she was talking to her at all for that matter, but she quickly re-adjusted herself, "No-no, you didn't do anything wrong, my mind's on other things. I don't really know what a 'girlfriend' is, but I am his best friend!"

"I get it, so he's single?"

"Actually he's my partner."

"Okay now I'm getting confused. I just wanna know if he's off limits or not."

Lea pulled Tifa aside. "Listen, Roxas and Xion are kind of..." He took a moment to search for the right word, "...innocent. They don't know anything about love or relationships, they're like little kids, but once you get to know them, it becomes pretty obvious they like each other."

"That's...different. Maybe things are different in Twilight Town."

"Nah, that honor goes to them."

"Well, look like they have a lot of catching up to do, but it's nothing we can't fix!" Tifa spun around to Roxas and Xion, then grabbed two menus from the counter. "Table for two, follow me, please."

Tifa showed them to their best, 'most romantic' table (as she put it), which consisted of a dingy booth that hugged a wall with a cracked window. Although, admittedly, it was on the opposite end of the bar so they could hear other talk. Tifa happily took out a pad and paper once they were seated and started with the usual restaurant formalities, "Lea's gonna be wrapped up for a while, so I'll be taking his place for the time being. Can I get you started with anything to drink?"

"I'm not really thirsty," Roxas said.

"Yeah me neither," Xion said.

"Really? Don't tell me you're not hungry either..."

"I don't think we need to eat, it's not like we're people," Roxas said.

"But we never had anything that wasn't sea-salt ice cream. It wouldn't hurt to try something new," Xion said.

"You guys are kind of freaking me out here, why don't I just give you our most popular item and call it a day."

"Sure, sounds good!"

Tifa took their menus and disappeared into the kitchen. Now that they were left alone, Xion took out the Libra scroll and spread it across the table. Much to her surprise, it was completely blank. "What is this?!" She flipped it back and forth, nothing, not even faint traces of words or diagrams, as if there was never anything meant to be put onto the scroll.

"That's a problem," Roxas said. "Maybe Merlin gave us the wrong spell or something."

"I don't think so, it was probably left blank for a reason. Maybe it's a puzzle?"

"Sure you're not overthinking it? We don't know Merlin and he couldn't even tell us how the spell worked."

"Well this is literally our only chance of finding out how we can get home. We've caused enough problems for everyone here, the sooner we leave the better."

"You...really want to go home."

"Of course, don't you?"

"I guess, but it's nice not having to put up with the organization. And it's nice I get to see you more since you were avoiding me and Axel before."

"Was that before or after I fell asleep for 17 days?"

That got a smile out of him. "Before."

"Well I...I wasn't avoiding you two, I was trying to find a purpose, but you know, apart of me really wanted you and Axel to..." She stopped herself. "Never mind, you're right, we are together now and this might be the last chance we'll have where everything stays just like this."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing...I'm thinking ahead of myself. Still, this isn't something we should ignore and it's not like we have to go back immediately."

"You say that like you know how the spell works," He lifted the scroll from the table, then held it up to the light. "Ah- this scroll's kind of see through!"

"Great observation."

Ignoring her remark, he put the scroll back on the table and began folding it to make a paper airplane. "Ta-dah!"

"Take this seriously."

He unfolded the scroll, then held it out in front of him and suddenly a light circled around Xion.

"Wh-what's going on?!" She said.

One after another, words appeared on the scroll, and soon there was an entire profile on Xion, complete with a few helpful diagrams. "Huh, guess that's all it took."

"So what does it say?"

"It says...your name is Xion, you're 5' 1", 100 lbs, 210 days old...oh and your bust/waist/hip measurements are—"

"Roxas! Don't look at that!" She shrieked.

"Okay, okay!" He skimmed down several sections. "Here we go, your stats. It says you're lacking in physical defense, but you exceed in magic and speed. You tend to wait before striking and take a more defensive approach since you don't have a lot of confidence in your own abilities and are afraid of feeling inferior to other people so you hide your own—"

She snatched the scroll from his hand, her face burning bright red. "Ugh! You're so dense, Roxas. I'll just read in myself...let's see...it does say I'm inflicted with a negative status effect and there's a scar on my back?"

"You think it's from that heartless?"

"Probably, I'll check you next to make sure." She scanned him. "It says you have a negative status effect too, and there's a scar on your chest."

"Really? Let's see what it looks like." He took off his jacket, then unbuttoned his school uniform. Inscribed across his bare chest was the numbers '68:13:07' that counted down like a timer.

"Wow! Looks like this date is going a lot better than expected," Tifa said.

Lea stood next to her holding a tray of food and drinks. "Yeah, try to keep it a little decent you two."

While Roxas was drowning in embarrassment, Xion merely averted her eyes away and acted like she didn't know him.

Lea went ahead and passed out a plate of hamburger, fries and to finish it off; a milkshake for dessert. Tifa winked at them before turning to leave, while Lea stayed behind.

"Don't worry about the munny, it's on the house. And I got you guys covered if you need somewhere to sleep for the night."

"That's right, I almost forgot, hopefully this motel is better than the last," Roxas said.

"Actually, I'm closing for tonight, so there's no time for that. I thought you guys could maybe..." Lea rubbed the back of his head. "Stay at my place for the night? I cleaned up a bit and it's on the outskirts of town so no one should bother us."

"Sure we won't be too much of a bother?" Xion asked.

"...No it's fine, really. But, but- if you're gonna live with me don't do anything icky!"

"Icky?! Roxas is the one who doesn't pick up after himself."

"What? Do not! Some friend you are."

"Heh heh, well while you guys get that worked out, I'm gonna get back to work. You'll know where to find me." He went to attend to his other tables.

"Lea is so nice, we should really do something for him," Xion said.

"We can start by eating this food he gave us, but, I don't even know what this stuff is. Looks kind of weird."

"But it smells pretty good!" Xion decided to try one of the fries, not really expecting much, "Oh my gosh! This is sooooo good!" She started shoving handfuls of the crispy fries into her mouth. The taste was unlike anything she ever tried before, which wasn't much considering she only ate sea salt ice cream or the occasional bitter tasting potion and ethers.

"Is it that good?" Roxas tasted one of the fries, then fell in love.

It wasn't long before the plate of steamy hamburgers and greasy fries became something to reminisce on and Roxas and Xion were passed out on the booth seats, groaning in agony. When Lea returned to their table to check up on them, he couldn't help but crack a small smile. "So even monster slayers have weaknesses? I'll get you guys some Esuna medicine and then we'll go home."

A few Esunas and a long explanation later, Roxas, Xion and Lea were on their way to the apartment complex via cab. By the time they reached their destination, it was already the dead of night and the moon hung high in the sky, partially obscured by dark clouds. There was something about tonight, something that lingered after Roxas and Xion, tracing their every movement, breathing over their necks as they made their way up the flight of metal steps leading to the apartment door. It was fortunately a short trip, and the eerie feeling soon subsided when Lea closed the door behind them, but only for the fact a new feeling replaced it instead; emptiness.

They were the only ones enclosed within those four walls, though it shouldn't of came by surprise, Lea's apartment was designed for one person and lived in by one person.

Lea set his keys on the counter, then turned back to Roxas and Xion, "I'll get the blankets out, but you guys feel free make yourselves at home, I got a TV and video games over there." He made a vague gesture to a small corner of the room where the couch was.

Discarding their shoes at the door, they walked across the wooden floorboards and sat down on the couch. "This kind of reminds me of the castle," Xion said.

"What gave you that idea? This is nothing like the castle."

"I said 'kind of', I don't know, it just gives you the same oppressive feeling."

"Xion, I don't even know what that word means."

Lea dropped a bundle of pillows and blankets in between them, then dropped himself on the couch. "What're you guys talking about now?"

"Nothing really," Xion said. "But, uh, I forgot to say before, thanks for having us here. We'll have to repay you sometime!"

"No, it's you guys I should be thanking, 'cause...I finally found someone like me. All you two have is yourselves to count on, and no one else."

"That's not true, we also have you Lea to count on," Roxas said. "Friends like us stick together, we're inseparable."

"Hey, Lea are you okay?" Xion asked. "You're crying."

"I am? I did't even realize..."

"Good going, Roxas."

"Wh-what?! I was just listening to what you said about being nice."

"This wasn't what I had in mind for being nice!"

Lea rubbed his eyes, trying to calm himself down, "Sorry, I-I think something's in my eye." He ran into the bathroom, leaving Roxas and Xion to gawk at each other.

"What was that about, I've never seen him cry before," Roxas said.

"I don't know, but something tells me you made him happy!"

"So why'd you act like it was a bad thing?!"

"I was just giving you a hard time, friends do that too."

"Tell me about it. So we got any plans for tomorrow?"

"Those numbers on your chest, the first number was 68 as in 68 hours, which means..." She took a moment to count on her fingers. "That's a little less than 3 days until, I'm guessing, when the spell wears out."

"Aw really? Hoping it would've been longer, well we'll still have to watch out for Braig and Vanitas, but in the meantime, we should probably get our cloaks if the school hasn't trashed it already."

"Right, that's a problem. Not being able to use the darkness has been a pain."

"Yeah..."

They ran out of things to talk about and sat around in silence for a little while.

"Is it just me or is Lea taking a long time in the bathroom? We should go check up on him," Xion said.

When they walked up to the door, they saw a dark red substance seeping out. Alarmed, Roxas kicked open the door and found Lea lying on the tile floor surrounded by a swarm of unversed. He dragged him out of the bathroom, rolling him onto his back while Xion stomped the unversed out of existence.

"Lea...Lea?! He's not waking up, Xion!" Roxas cried.

Even all the cure spells and potions Xion used wouldn't stir his body

"Xion, what do we do?!"

She looked away from Roxas.

"Tell me we can save him Xion! Please, just tell me what to do and I'll do whatever it takes!"

More unversed appeared within the apartment.

"Xion..."

Xion raised her head and he could see the washed out, desolate expression that consumed her once vivid eyes. She moved her mouth, but nothing came out. Her entire body, along with the approaching unversed stopped moving. The entire apartment was frozen in time.

Then their world as they knew it faded to black...

—

68:13:07

"Wow! Looks like this date is going a lot better than expected," Tifa said.

Lea stood next to her holding a tray of food and drinks. "Yeah, try to keep it a little decent you two."

Xion got up from the booth and walked out of the restaurant. She sat down on the ground, held her knees close to her chest, then stared out into the distant night.

'At least in Twilight Town, the sun never set.'

Of course, Roxas was never far from and he sat down beside her with that sickening look of worry spread across his face. "...we've really ruined everyone's lives, huh?"

"...That's not what I was expecting from you."

"Hm?"

"I was expecting you to say some hokey speech about how we should just 'keep moving on' and 'try again harder next time'."

"I told you I would be honest with you from now on, besides, I knew that wouldn't make you feel any better."

"What did you think would?"

He shrugged. "I'm not so sure anymore, but at least now we can fix our mistake. A future without Axel isn't one we can ever return to."

"Then we're better off leaving Lea. Those heartless are only after us because we wield the keyblade. If we're not strong enough to protect him, then we have no right even being around him."

"Xion...how could you say something like that?"

"He's not even our Axel, it won't matter. We'll be gone in a few days anyways."

"But Lea is Axel and if we can't be there for each other as friends, then what good are we? You're the one who told me that Xion, we can't turn our backs on him no matter what."

She gave him a weak smile. "That's what I was expecting from you."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, sorry. I think I just need time to clear my head." She stood up. "I'm going for a walk."

"Alone?"

Xion nodded. "I won't be gone long." She disappeared into the night, swallowed by shadows cast from the tall buildings. 'I shouldn't of said all those stupid things to Roxas. I can't believe I was naive enough to actually think I was anything more than a nobody.'

The moonlight consumed the shadows as Xion reached the plaza and the streets were bathed in a pale blue light. In the distance, Xion could hear a faint sound of screams barely audible over the melodies of the night. She wished she hadn't been so naturally curious, otherwise she would've steered clear from such obvious danger, but there she was, sneaking down an obscure road just to satisfy her curiosity.

Not long after, Xion found Isa, battered and bloody, in the middle of a fight against the unversed. With the memories of her past encounter still fresh in her mind, Xion brutally cut the vile creatures, not holding herself back in her typical prudent manner.

She tapped off the excess residue from her keyblade, then turned to Isa, "I-I wasn't stalking you, if that's what you were thinking!"

"That...wasn't what was thinking about," Isa said. "But I'm glad you came when you did, I wasn't expecting to be attacked those monsters."

"Oh yeah, no problem. Here, I can fix up your wounds, you're kind of bleeding all over the place."

"-No, I'll be fine, I don't need your help."

"Uh, okay. Sorry." She grew quiet.

"Don't take it personally, I pretty much had things handled before you came."

Isa slung his backpack over his shoulders and thought about leaving right then and there. After all, it was late into the night and he was expected to be home at least an hour ago, but that thought soon passed, not when Xion looked like he just drowned her goldfish. He let out a deep sigh, then rubbed the back of his head, "Listen, I'm bad at this type of stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"Talking to people, Lea's the one who talks to everyone. I'm not so good at it if he's not around."

"I'm pretty shy too, but I'm not a jerk about it!"

"But I thought girls liked it when guys act tough."

"What, who told you..." Xion lost her train of thought when an eerie, but familiar presence snaked up her spine. After working up the nerve, she faced who was lurking in the darkness.

An old man emerged from the shadows, he had piercing yellow eyes and dark skin that contrasted with his thinning, white facial hair. Yet despite a stark difference, he was undeniably the man she had only heard whispers of, who commanded her and the rest of the nobodies from the sheer mention of his name: Xemnas.

"-How fascinating to find another keyblade wielder in this world."

A/N: This was a pretty heavy chapter, next chapter will be a lot different