Hallom was very relieved when Nehemiah walked in and responded to his question, "Sora is another friend of ours. He's the reason Chiyo and I came to get you instead of Nori—because Nori is rescuing Sora." After a short pause, he continued, "How are you feeling? Because if possible, we need to leave now."

With a small yawn and a stretch, Hallom climbed out of bed as Nehemiah explained, "We have to get Tia to a safe place before one of the king's men finds us…whoa, you have a tail!"

"You didn't expect that when you saw his ears?" Aerith asked curiously. Turning to Hallom, she handed him a few things as she added, "Here's your jacket and your sword. I couldn't find your hat, though."

"How'd you know…" Hallom began, trailing off at the end in confusion. How could she have known about his hat if she never saw it?

She smiled again and explained, "You were asking for it in your sleep last night…It was nice to meet you. I hope we'll see each other again."

"Just hopefully not the same way," Hallom mentioned as he turned to follow Nehemiah who was leaving the room.

"Of course," Aerith agreed, waving after them. "Goodbye. Good luck!"

They were walking through an underground tunnel, hoping that Lionel wouldn't be able to find them there. It was easy to tell that they had entered Japan, since the signs on the walls of the tunnel had suddenly changed to the language. Chiyo was reading the signs and pointing them in the right direction now. They were actually most of the way to Vash's secret hide out when the two Mexican men showed up.

All four travelers instantly recognized them, and Hallom quickly drew his katana in defense. He stopped short, however, when he noticed the small female with bat wings held between the two Mexicans.

"T-Tally," Hallom stuttered in shock. Tally was a girl from the story he was in. She was kind of like his girlfriend.

"Hallom!" The little bat exclaimed in return.

One of the Mexicans laughed. "We knew you woul'n't fight us if we had her here."

"Come wit' us," the other ordered, "or we kill 'er."

Hallom was ready to give in when Nehemiah stopped him and asked, "Do you know her?"

"Yes," Hallom replied.

"Are you sure?"

"W-what is that supposed to mean?"

"Lionel has people working for him," Nehemiah whispered, "called morphs. They can change appearance to look like any person. Are you sure that's really Tally?"

After pondering for a while, Hallom decided to ask a question only the real Tally would know. "I…attacked you once and left a scar…though it wasn't your first. Where is it?"

Tally searched around for a while, eventually ending with a smile and, "You'd never hurt me Hallom."

A growl grew up in Hallom's throat, and, with just a few swipes of his katana, he took all three out. None of them were dead, just incapacitated enough that he and his friends could make it to the hideout safely.

"Let's go," Nehemiah insisted urgently, "before Lionel catches up with us for doing this." He took off running, followed by Chiyo. Hallom waited for Tia Dalma to hike up her skirt before he left, holding up the rear, and glancing back at the fake Tally one last time.

They did make it to Vash's hideout after not too long. He ushered the four of them into a cellar where Tiara was preparing for some major makeovers. She smiled mischievously as she turned to say hello with scissors in one hand and a bra in the other.

"No one will ever recognize you," she began.

Nehemiah ended up with a fro, an oversized t-shirt, and basketball shorts. It wasn't his style, but he played the part well. Chiyo got green highlights, long bangs that framed her face, pigtail braids, and a sweet summer dress. She gagged but didn't really have a choice. Tia Dalma didn't need anymore than a clean dress and a wash cloth to be a different person. Still, Tiara gave her a wig and some color contacts.

Hallom put his arms in front of him and refused to have anything done with one simple word: "No."

"Why not?" Tiara asked. "It will help a lot."

He just repeated, "No." Then, a couple seconds later he added, "I-I think I'll just leave…Thanks."

"No," Tia returned forcefully.

Vash agreed, "It's not any safer for you out there than it was for her. If you're associated with us, Lionel is looking for you."

Seeming uncomfortable about staying with so many people he didn't know, Hallom eventually gave in, just grabbing a grey beanie hat from the table of random stuff, pulled it over his head, and sat down in the corner. He had been okay with helping them out for a while, but he was by no means prepared to spend an extended time with these strangers. Not to mention they were all but locked underground. What about fresh air? It was going to take a while to wrap his mind around it, so until then, he'd keep sitting there.

There was no hint of light, so no one could see the figure moving through the shadows. Even though the night was silent, not even the most tuned ears could hear the skilled footsteps. Running through the underground tunnels, nothing could stop him…except a pigtailed blonde who suddenly appeared in front of him.

Holding her hands behind her back, she asked curiously, "Where are you going Wolfboy?"

He didn't answer, so she continued, "You're not running away, are you? Because that wouldn't be very good."

Hallom tried to step around her, but she stepped in front of him again.

"Please come back," Chiyo begged. "It's not safe for you out here. I promise, once it's safe, we'll take you back to your friends. For now, you just have to trust us."

"Why should I?" He asked.

"Because we rescued you—and Tia Dalma, who seems to be important to you," Chiyo explained.

"Is…is locking us in another…hole really rescuing us?"

Unable to come up with a good response, Chiyo just repeated, "Please."

A second later, another voice asked, "Chiyo! What are you doing out here?"

"Miah!" Chiyo recognized the voice immediately. "Help me make him stay."

Then, Nehemiah noticed Hallom in the shadows as well and inquired, "Why are you trying to leave?"

Hallom probably never would have answered that question. The explanation was far too long. Unfortunately, he was never even given the chance. Out of the darkness appeared two black blobs that would not have been noticeable if it wasn't for the slight tinge of blue that made them stand out. All three turned to run—though not in the direction of the hideout, so as to not give away Tia Dalma's location.

Hallom looked back after a minute, relieved to see that he had lost the two figures who had come from the dark blobs. However, he'd also lost Chiyo and Nehemiah. With only a second of thought, he turned to help them. Somehow—despite how far he'd come from the hideout—Tia Dalma grabbed his arm, stopping him from going.

"Der be no use killin' yerself now. They'll die whet'er ye go back er not," she described.

Not willing to accept that he did nothing to help, Hallom broke away from her only to be caught by the stronger Vash.

Vash pulled him to his knees, ordering, "Don't waste your time boy. They risked their lives to get you away from those people. Don't get yourself caught again."

It was very difficult for Hallom to force himself to stay there—which made it a good thing that Vash was stronger—but he managed to not leave. After waiting hopefully for them to run around the corner for some time, they eventually gave up and returned to the hideout.

Thankfully, not everything had gone as badly as Vash described. The two figures—Xaldin and Lexaeus—knew their orders well. Everyone associated with Nori or his plans were to be thrown in the cage with him and Warren. Of course, only Xaldin knew why they were doing that. Chiyo and Nehemiah were relieved to still be alive, but when they were first dumped in the cage on the balcony of a completely white building, they weren't very happy.

At first, they didn't even notice Warren or Nori until the latter exclaimed, "Chiyo!"

Both turned around in shock, Chiyo noting, "So this is what you meant by: 'something went a little wrong.' Nori, you're in prison!"

"You are too," Nori retorted embarrassedly. "I just didn't want Tiara to worry."

Interrupting the lovely discussion, Xaldin demanded, "Where are the rest?"

"What do you mean by: 'the rest'?" Nori inquired, knowing there were more people involved that Xaldin probably knew about.

"The three girls from Earth," he answered.

"Back on Earth," Nori replied, not feeling bad about answering that one.

"Kairi?"

"Not telling."

"Tia Dalma?"

Nori shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know."

"Even I can tell you're lying."

Honestly, Nori defended, "I have no idea if she is where I think she is."

"Where do you think she is?"

"There's a good possibility she's no longer where she was. She's probably not where you think she is. And she's certainly not someplace I thought she was."

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"I could keep going if you'd like. Surely something I tell you will help you find where she wasn't."

Xaldin just brushed the conversation aside and walked off. After all, he hadn't been asked to find Tia Dalma, just to not let onto the plan yet. He'd done enough questioning that no one would guess. As soon as he was out of sight, Warren looked curiously to Nori.

After a second, he wondered, "Where'd you come up with all that so quickly?"

"I didn't," Nori replied. "One time I had to find a girl who had been kidnapped using just that for my clues…so now that we're all back together, let's catch up on what's happened."

Demyx and Axel were getting close to the end of the game when Katex burst in again. "I'll do it," she announced. "If it's all for Roxas, I'm in."

"What is she talking about?" Demyx whispered.

"She caught us sleeping, so I had no choice but to ask her to join us," Axel explained.

"I almost turned you boys in, but it's for Roxas. I can't stand to see him like this for another minute. What do you need me to do?"

Nori, Chiyo, and Nehemiah were once again suddenly popped away to their story to talk with me.

"I've got some bad news," Nehemiah instantly announced, though everyone knew it was really me talking. "Dusty and I, we found Lionel's author, trying to see if we could get him to kill Lionel from our end, but there's a serious problem. The author said he's had major writers' block on the monster—get this—for over ten years. Somehow, Lionel's found ways around his own rules. There's no way the author can kill him."

"And we can't kill him without the author," Nori mumbled. "Well, I guess death is out of the question."

"Sorry boys…we tried…Dusty says hi—particularly to Warren. I'll be back every now and then to ask for updates, 'kay?"

Nori nodded, and then a second later, just when I was about to leave, he wondered, "Are you listening to Nickelback?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Why?"

"I just figured out where our theme songs come from. Whatever music is playing on your computer plays up here. I like this song."

"Lol…bye guys."

The next night, Axel and Demyx stood outside Xigbar's room, identities completely disguised by their full, black cloaks, trying to find a way in to get a gun. Demyx was actually eventually able to pick the lock, which surprised Axel greatly. Then, he took a step into the room, however, and stepped on something that made a quiet snapping noise. Axel grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the hallway.

"Maybe we should send a Heartless in after it," Axel suggested as Xigbar subconsciously rolled over in his sleep. "We don't want to wake him."

Demyx didn't really agree, but he didn't disagree either, simply shrugging slightly. Taking that as enough of a, "Yes," to use his own idea, Axel formed a couple Heartless and sent them into Xigbar's room after a particular missile launcher.

As the Heartless went about their job, Axel mentioned quietly, "I can't believe he just leaves all those guns out in the open, in his room."

Shrugging again, Demyx noted, "Makes things easier for us."

Suddenly, a girl's voice called in a hush from down the hall, "Boys, what are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet on the tower outside."

"We were," Axel whispered in agreement. "Keep going, we'll meet you there in a second."

"That doesn't answer my question," Katex grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. "What are you two doing here?"

Demyx answered bluntly, "Well, if we're gonna blow a hole in something, we've gotta have a gun, right?"

"No," Katex replied. After a moment of empty stares from the boys, she continued, "I thought we decided…" Still no ideas came to them. "I have bombs. You don't have to break into someone else's room for them."

"Oh," Axel said, almost like he slightly remembered that conversation. "Well, I guess it's late now," he finished, realizing that the Heartless had returned with the missile launcher. Demyx picked it up, and they were about to turn the same direction as Katex—because she was facing the right direction to get to the tower—when she suddenly threw her arm behind her, forming a portal down the hallway.

"Keep walking casually," she mumbled through her teeth. "Don't stop; don't turn around until you've gotten into the portal. I'll be there in a second."

Axel only made it halfway to the portal—twenty to thirty feet—before he heard Katex's muffled scream. He couldn't help but stop and look back. Demyx didn't stop until he reached the portal and realized Axel wasn't with him. He glanced around him until he found Axel staring at Katex, who was trying to fight Luxord off while they destroyed Kingdom Hearts. Luxord was the one assigned to make rounds that night, and they hadn't had a problem with him until then. Apparently, Katex noticed him first and wanted to give them a head start.

Knowing that, it was a hard decision for Axel to make. Save his girl dying at the hands of his inferior, or save his friend who would still have memory issues even after they returned his heart? He just stood there, watching Katex fight Luxord as he tried to make a decision. The decision was made when Luxord knocked Katex over, and she lay there weakly.

Axel turned to Demyx and ordered, "You keep going. I've gotta help Katex."

Demyx seemed awkward about it, but went on anyways. Axel quickly rushed back to fight by the side of his girl. Luxord was about to give the death blow, when Axel made it there, blocking off the attack with his chackram.

Luxord looked curiously to the newcomer, eventually questioning, "You too?"

"Stay away from my girl," Axel commanded angrily, bursting flames at the seems and throwing everything he had at Luxord in a matter of seconds. It wasn't too long before Luxord was incapable of fighting any longer, and he started slowly dissolving into a black cloud. Axel backed away from him, stuttering, "Oh my…I-I killed you."

The next step he took accidentally kicked Katex. He instantly fell to his knees next to her motionless body. After calling her names a few times and gently shaking her shoulders, she gradually opened her eyes slightly when he called her by her nickname: "Spitfire." Once they were finally open, Axel couldn't think to do anything but cover his mouth with his hand.

"I thought I told you to keep going," she noted weakly.

"I couldn't leave you here," Axel replied. After a second, he added, "Are you…dying?"

She tried to smile. "I feel like…half of me is…trying to fade like a normal Nobody, but the other half…is trying to send…the rest of my heart…to Kingdom Hearts."

"You having half a heart always did complicate things." She laughed slightly, so he felt comfortably adding, "Well, if you're going to Kingdom Hearts, hurry up and die so you can come back when Demyx releases you."

She laughed again, then coughed a couple times and stated, "Not funny Axel."

"Don't die," Axel begged as she too began breaking up into puffs of black.

"It's…too late…Thank you," she ended.

"No! Spitfire!" Axel called through the hallway, no longer afraid of being heard. She was dying.

Xigbar was the only one to wake up and enter the hallway. After all that, he should have woken up. He had no clue what had just gone on; he just got out there in time to watch Katex finish fading away. Axel pounded his fist on the ground once and then stood to his feet, starting to pace around in circles.

"I need to kill something," he muttered. Then, he repeated it louder, "I need to kill something!"

Not even a second later, Demyx appeared, Xemnas dragging him down the hallway by the elbow. Axel glanced oddly at them, and Xemnas glared back, blaming Axel since he'd agreed to be in charge of Demyx. When they had passed by, Demyx turned around, allowing himself to be drug backwards so he could talk to Axel. Pointing to himself, Axel silently asked, "Do they know about me?"

Demyx shook his head in return. Slightly relieved, Axel sighed, but then he felt guilty and wanted to take responsibility…sort of, at least for killing Luxord. He took a step toward them, raising his hand like he might try to say something. Demyx's eyes grew very large as he shook his head again. Putting his free hand to his lips, he zipped them shut. Then, Xemnas stopped suspiciously in the middle of the hallway.

"What happened here?" He demanded, as Axel realized it was right where Luxord had died.

The question had been directed to Xigbar, who responded, "I didn't see anything."

"Number VIII," Xemnas addressed. Axel looked to him, even though he wasn't looking back and couldn't see Axel do it. "You know what happened. Come with us."

Axel had no choice but to comply.

The two boys were led to a part of the castle they'd never been to before. It was like a backstage to the training facilities. They walked around in the empty halls, staring at the empty training rooms for a while before Xemnas finally spoke. It finally happened when they reached one room that was not empty.

"I'd like you to meet the newest member to Organization XIII," he stated, gesturing to a young man in his late teens with three toned hair, learning to fight with a mouse-headed, golden scepter. "The Master of Deception. He controls sound, and can disguise himself as any living creature. He hasn't entirely learned to direct all his powers yet, of course, but he can scramble voices around." In the middle of that sentence, Xemnas's voice suddenly changed to sound like Demyx's.

Demyx's sounded like Xemnas when he commented, "Whoa, he really can. Is that me? Awesome."

"But what does this have to do with anything?" Axel questioned, his voice coming out slightly British sounding.

"Patience, Number VIII," Xemnas ordered, pausing for a moment as the scepter let out a piercing screech that brought Axel, Demyx, and the cloaked trainer to their knees. As soon as it was over, Xemnas calmly explained in his own voice, "The big show is almost here."

Both boys climbed back to their feet to watch the show. The new Nobody raised his scepter in the air above his head and, in a whirlwind of yellow, transformed into Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Once the trainer was convinced that he actually looked like Belle, a door at the other end of the room opened, and through it was pushed the Beast himself. Angrily, he roared at the trainer, until he saw Belle.

"Beast," she called out softly when he noticed her.

"Belle?" He wondered, walking cautiously toward her. She reached her arms in the air for a hug, and he grabbed her around the waist, spinning her in the air a couple times. "Belle, it really is you."

Belle let out a girly giggle for a second before the Beast let her down, and then they held hands. "It's so good to see you," Belle commented, halfway through the sentence switching back to her normal Nobody self with a smirk. The scepter was instantly in his hand, pointed at the Beast, emitting another terrible sound wave. The Beast collapsed to the floor in shock, and before he could recover, the trainer led him away in chains. Since the heat of the battle had worn off, the Nobody sat against the wall with a very confused look on his face like: why did I just do that?

Xemnas continued, "We found him quite easily. He was born right here at the castle, actually. Logical, since his Somebody also died here at the castle."

Axel glared at Demyx while he questioned, "You mean, lost his heart? Here?" Xemnas didn't respond, but Axel didn't need confirmation to ask another question. "Recently?" Angrily, Axel turned to Demyx and shouted, "I can't believe you talked me into all this! I believed you that this was the only way to save Roxas, and it wasn't even his heart you saw! It was just some random kid! I should never have believed you." He stopped finally when he realized what Demyx was looking at. He had just said all that right in front of Xemnas.

As Axel looked down in embarrassment, Xemnas stated, "I thought you might have been a part of it. We will discuss your punishment for it later. First, let me show you what Number XIII's friends did to him."