Update Feb 2014: If you haven't yet read the 19 chapters of ASAS (ch14-22 roughly), along with ch13 "Broken Trust", you may want to do so before reading this chapter. (I could've mentioned this sooner, but it seemed to make most sense to mention it now when it was relevant.)

Chapter 126: Brothers

19 slowly made his way over to where Vexen and 2 were sitting; a table in the corner of the main room. "Have either of you seen 23 recently?" he asked, a bit nervously.

2 shook his head.

"Not recently, no," Vexen said.

19 bit his lip. "I hoped he was just avoiding me…"

"Is he in his room?" 2 asked.

"No. I checked. I've checked everywhere."

19 seemed awfully frantic.

"19…" 2 said slowly. "Are you alright?"

"I- I…" 19 swallowed. "He's the only brother I have left… I don't want to lose him, too. And I'm afraid he might've…" He trailed off, and then whispered: "He hasn't been himself lately."

"He was rather… jumpy the last time I talked to him," Vexen said. "Granted, that was a while ago…"

"When?"

"Shortly after Toby arrived."

19 sighed. "That was the last time I saw him, too. I tried talking to him, but he was awfully angry at me, so I figured I'd leave him alone for a few days so he could calm down. It's been a week, though, and I haven't been avoiding him- I'd have to know where he was to do that."

"He could easily be avoiding everyone," 2 told 19 calmly. "Or hiding in his room-"

"I already checked his room," 19 snapped. "And I've asked nearly everyone. No one's seen him."

"And?" Vexen asked, apparently not getting the point.

2 (smartly) interrupted 19 before he could start ranting (which he had a nasty habit of doing, especially when it concerned one of his brothers, and especially if that brother was 23). "Isn't that the Assassin that Axel trained to warn us of a raid?" he asked, pointing said Assassin out.

Both 19 and Vexen turned to look at it.

"Well, it has been a while since there's been a raid," Vexen mused. He then frowned and turned back to 2. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Long enough," 2 said, rising to his feet. "I better go warn Alpha."

"I got it," Vexen said, stopping him. "Maybe he'll leave me alone with the computer…"

2 chuckled. "Good luck with that." He cleared his throat and raised his voice: "Be prepared for a raid!" he called. A few of the Marluxia Replicas in the room summoned their scythes and stood ready for an attack. Someone escorted 6 to where he wouldn't be a nuisance.

19 glanced around, still rather frantic. "If there's supposed to be a raid, where is it?" he asked. "We've usually gotten a Larxene or a couple of Marluxias by now. And I don't see 37…"

"They're finally trying a different tactic?" 2 suggested. "Or maybe the Assassin got to us early. That'd be a nice change…"

"I suppose it would be," 19 agreed.

The sound of a dark corridor opening shattered that hope.

However, it was only a single dark corridor. And out from it stepped not a Larxene Replica, not a Marluxia Replica, not 37, but-

"23!?" 19 asked, thoroughly baffled.

"I don't know why you're surprised," 23 replied. The Assassin went from trying to get someone's attention to attacking 23. 23 frowned at it for a moment before kicking it away. Either not thinking the matter worth its time, or satisfied that it had done its job, the Assassin left.

A pair of Berserkers appeared to flank 23.

"No…" 2 whispered. "They didn't get you, too…"

23 ignored him. "Didn't see this coming, 19?" There was a nasty sneer in his voice.

19 stared, swallowed a few times, and then finally managed to say: "Why- why would I?"

"You see everything else coming!"

"No I don't!" 19 replied. "And you- you can't still be mad about that!"

"19, let me handle this," 2 said, slowly. "23… you haven't—not that I really expect you to give me a proper answer, but—you haven't been Rewritten, have you?"

"Of course not!"

The Berserkers shifted slightly, not seeming to enjoy the fact that they hadn't been ordered to do anything yet.

"And this is how you planned to betray us? By showing up and gloating? Poor plan, I think." 2 shook his head in disappointment.

23 got a rather flustered look.

"Oh, I get it, you're the distraction!" 2 laughed. "Don't think that you being a distraction will get someone into the Computer Room, and if you're looking for Namine, you're wasting your time. She's not here."

"I never said I was a distraction," 23 said.

"Then just what are you doing?"

23 didn't reply.

2 rolled his eyes. "Can someone come take care of these Berserkers?" he called. "They look like they're getting bored, and that might not be a good thing."

The nearest Marluxia, Snapdragon, nodded and took out one of the Berserkers while it was caught off guard. The second Berserker put up more of a fight.

"So you've really betrayed us, 23?" Snapdragon asked once the second Berserker was gone. "This isn't just some stupid joke?"

"Berserkers would only listen to someone on Saix's side," 2 said sadly.

Snapdragon threw a glare at 23. "Good, because this would've been one cruel joke."

23 said nothing.

"Go tell Alpha what's happened, will you?" 2 asked.

Snapdragon nodded and headed off.

23 watched him go, looking a bit confused. "What's Alpha going to do?"

"Change the passwords to anything you had access to," 2 replied simply.

23 laughed. "Like I had access to anything…"

2 frowned. "I don't understand you, 23. Why betray us now? Why like this? Wouldn't you have been more useful as a double agent? We all trusted you."

"I couldn't stand staying around here," 23 said. Before 2 could even consider asking why, he continued: "Besides, I was a double agent for a while. How else do you think they knew to go after Tulip?"

19, who had been staring at 23 for the past few minutes trying to process what was happening, suddenly screamed.

"You!?" He sounded extremely shocked, extremely hurt, and looked very much like he wanted to punch 23 in the face. 2 figured the only thing that was keeping him from doing so was the fact it was 23 he would be punching.

"Again, 19, I'm surprised you didn't know," 23 said calmly.

19 stared. A long silence passed. 19 swallowed, and then finally said: "Well, was Namine there?"

23 made a face. "What does she have to do with-"

"Just answer the question, 23."

"No, I- I suppose she wasn't."

"Then there's your answer." 19's voice was so quiet that it was a surprise anyone could even hear him. "I didn't know about it."

"So, what, you only know something if Namine's around?"

"Well…" 19 shrugged. "Considering it's her pictures I'm learning everything from, it's not much of a surprise, is it?"

23 stared, truly baffled. "What are you going on about?" he asked, slowly.

"Pictures," 19 repeated. "That's all that's in the binder. Pictures that Namine drew in her early stages of programming that for some odd reason predict the future. It's really only bits and pieces, and I've only been able to gather a rough idea of things that happen to her."

"What?"

"I do not know everything, 23. I never have. I know random moments that Namine felt like drawing, no more. You're making a big deal out of nothing."

23 was silent for a long moment. His hands slowly clenched into fists. "You could've just shown me!" he screamed.

"Why?" 19 asked. "Why would you care?"

"That doesn't matter! You aren't supposed to keep things from your brothers!"

"You aren't supposed to betray your brothers, either!"

There was an amazing amount of hurt in 19's voice.

A murmur went up through the rest of the room. Apparently, no one else had been paying attention to this conversation until now. The murmur grew steadily louder until:

"23 did what!?" Joseph shouted from the other side of the room.

"Why are you telling me this, 19?" 23 asked, ignoring the clamor.

"Because if I tell you what I've been keeping from you, maybe you'll forgive me," 19 replied quietly.

23 laughed. "You think that's the reason I'm betraying you? It might have been a factor, but really, I'm just sick of this stupid rebellion! I'm sick of sitting here and watching you all treat Riku like he's some sort of god!"

"We don't-" 2 began, but 23 wouldn't hear it.

"He's not a god! He's just some kid with anger management issues and no respect! He'd kill us all in a heartbeat if we weren't so nice to him!"

"And you'd rather be with Saix?" 2 asked. "He'd do the same!"

23 glared. "Knowing what'll happen if I do something wrong is better than having my well-being lay in the hands of the emotional state of some bipolar teenager!"

"But it's not just when you do something wrong," a small voice said. 2 was surprised to see Toby standing there (and significantly less surprised to see Joseph). "It's whenever Saix just isn't happy."

"And Saix is never happy," Joseph added.

"Saix is a Nobody," 23 said, rolling his eyes at the boys. "He can't feel anything."

"And?" Toby asked.

23 didn't reply.

Joseph considered 23 with a sad expression. "So… you've really betrayed us, then?"

"I don't see why it matters to-"

A dark corridor opening interrupted him. 23 stared at the dark corridor, glaring slightly, but determined. It was only a Larxene Replica who stepped out. She took one look at 23, made a face and then muttered something very foul under her breath.

"Are you my backup?" 23 asked. Obviously, he had not heard what the Larxene Replica had just called him.

She stared for a moment. "Uhm… sure…" she said, slowly. She turned to 2, making eye contact with him for a moment. She nodded over at 23 and then rolled her eyes, a "can you believe him?" gesture.

2 shrugged slightly; just enough for her to notice.

'I am so not his backup,' she mouthed. 'I came here for a completely different reason, trust me.'

2 nodded, showing he understood. He wasn't quite sure why she was here, but not being with 23 was a plus. Besides, not all Larxene Replicas were bad. And, if he remembered correctly (and there was a likely chance he did), this Larxene Replica was one of the more reasonable ones.

Larxene Replica Q – easily recognizable because she was the only Larxene Replica whose eyes were a startling blue instead of one of the typical shades of green.

2 frowned, though.

Last he had checked, she and L were close friends. Just because she was reasonable and not with 23 did not mean she could be trusted. In fact, it was even less reason to trust her – 23 was probably just the distraction from whatever she had been sent here to do.