Authors Note: This chapter took me a lot longer to get it up than I thought it would, but here it is. I hope you enjoy. :) Please read and review.

Chapter Fifteen: Prisoners

I sighed heavily as I stepped out from a portal that led into the middle of Radiant Garden. If you compared it with Maleficent's castle it would be almost like the difference between night and day. It was so much more bright and cheerful. It was kinda odd but I had begun to find myself more drawn to cheerful things, I'd never used to feel like that before. Something had changed within me though, ever since I had traveled with Xion…

Ugh, did I really want to fight Riku? It had seemed like a good idea back at Maleficent's place, but now I didn't feel so sure. I knew this was crazy but for some reason what I really wanted to do was walk right up to Sora and ask if I could join them in whatever it was they were trying to do. I think their objective was to stop Master Xehanort if I remembered correctly, but at the moment I honestly didn't care. The old man and I hadn't gotten along very well as of late. He refused to tell me all of his objectives, and yet he still expected me to follow him. Besides he didn't really need my help anymore; he had plenty already. Some people from some group known as Organization XIII were helping him out. Xehanort had told me that he even had some spies within Sora's group reporting everything that the Keyblade wielder said or did. So far I had only met two of the members from the Organization: a rather grumpy and quiet man named Lexaeus and an extremely annoying woman called Larxene. Now the man didn't bother me, he was just—there. But Larxene…she was another story entirely. I couldn't stand to be in the same room as that witch for two minutes. She always seemed to know just the right thing to say to irritate me to pieces.

I sighed and looked up into a nearly cloudless sky. It was a nice, clear day in Radiant Garden. Where would be the most likely place for me to find Riku?

As if in answer I saw one of the Organization people we were working with leave out of a portal followed closely by Sora. And then a whole bunch of other people, including two people that worked with Xehanort, and Kairi.

"This couldn't be more perfect." I thought to myself. "Everyone I need all in one place."

As Xion was about to step through the portal I leaped down in front of her, blocking her path. It seemed like I had been doing an awful lot of that lately.

Xion gasped and stared up at me with her indigo blue eyes. "Vanitas!"

I turned my back to her and closed the portal, temporally preventing them from joining back up with the rest of the group.

Riku ran over to stand beside Xion; he pulled out his Keyblade and pointed it at me, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I came to finish our fight, Riku," I told him. "Since we didn't get to last time. If you win you're welcome to go and join your little friends. Though if I were you I wouldn't be so quick to call them that."

I pulled out my Keyblade and frowned. I wasn't sure why I hadn't noticed it before, but Riku and I held our Keyblade's in almost the exact same way.

"Vanitas, please don't!" Xion told me, she placed her hand on my arm and looked pleadingly up at me. "You can still change your mind. Are you sure that you don't want to fight with us?"

I looked at her and sighed. Honestly? I really wanted to join Sora's group, but I couldn't. There was no way that I could. Sora wouldn't let me, and Xehanort would be furious. Not that I honestly cared what Master Xehanort thought.

"Of course I am," I muttered, forcing myself to not meet her gaze. Though I remembered telling her that I didn't exactly want to work with Xehanort and it sounded like she remembered that. Without another thought I pushed her hand off my arm and charged at Riku.

The silver haired teen immediately lifted his Keyblade to block mine and I had to admit that he was pretty fast. I went at him again, though for some reason or another he wasn't fighting back, he was only defending himself.

"Why aren't you trying to attack me?" I demanded through gritted teeth. "We're enemies!"

Riku glared at me. "I think Xion's right, you could be on our side. This is your last chance… Do you want to join us?"

Why wouldn't they stop asking me that?! It was seriously getting on my nerves.

"NO!" I yelled, charging at him once again.

As our Keyblade's clashed I heard Xion yell something. I glanced around back her way. But I couldn't see her anywhere. I frowned. Where was she?

I glanced back at Riku in time to see him get a really dazed look on his face and collapse to the ground. What in the blazes was going on?

I looked passed Riku; standing on the other side of him was someone in a black coat, a member of Organization XIII. Oh, I guess they had decided to come and help me.

The man slowly began to stride towards me, I couldn't make out his face because his hood was drawn high but he was rather tall with broad shoulders. He didn't quite resemble Lexaeus though.

"Hey, I could've handled him," I grumbled irritably.

The man continued to walk over to me, and over his shoulder I saw someone else walked up behind him this person had his hood down. I didn't recognize him but it was no surprise sense I had only met three of the Organization members.

The man that wasn't wearing his hood smirked at me.

"Oh I'm sure you could've Mr. Keyblade wielder," he said, sarcasm in his tone. "But you see here, we're not just after the other Keyblade wielder. As if! We need to bring you in as well."

I tilted my head to one side out of confusion. What did he mean he had to bring me in as well? Was Xehanort angry with me? Or perhaps he just wanted to speak with me.

The man strode up to me. "You gonna come quietly?"

"Huh?" I looked at him. "What do you mean 'come quietly'? If Xehanort wants to see me of course I'll come willingly."

The man raised a hand to chin and seemed to debate something.

"Hmm… Yeah I guess Xehanort wants to see you." He smirked. "In a—uh, matter of speaking."

"What do you—" I began though I didn't get to finish my sentence sense someone came up from behind and hit me upside the head with something extremely hard. "Ungh…" I mumbled as everything swam in front of my eyes. I fought hard to stay on my feet, but I still found the floor rushing up to meet me, and then everything went dark.

…

I struggled to get away as someone pinned me against them. I couldn't make out his face but I could still tell whom it was.

After several minutes I gave up trying to get away, and just stood still. I felt the person's grip slacken, but not enough for me to break away.

"Have I, eh, seen you before?"

I frowned trying to get a good look at the person's face, and they loosened their grip enough to allow me to do so, though they still kept a tight hold on my arm.

I looked up. It was the person I had thought it was. Axel, Organization XIII's eighth member and one of my best friends, but it didn't look like he remembered me.

It seemed sort of odd to be seeing Axel right after seeing Lea. They both acted the same on the one hand and completely different at the same time.

I smiled up at him. "Hello, Axel."

Axel frowned and with his free hand scratched the back of his head. He then looked at me again.

"Okay, so you know me…" he muttered under his breath. "But, well… You do seem familiar, I guess. But unfortunately I just don't remember from where."

I looked down, slightly saddened. "That's okay, I didn't expect you to."

"Axel, it's time to go."

I looked around to see who had spoken. It was Saix. It was weird seeing him after seeing his Somebody too. Isa was actually nice to me; I think there was even a possibility that we could be friends eventually. But when he was a Nobody he was so mean. But I guess that wasn't his fault, he just…didn't have his heart.

"'Kay," Axel replied tightening his grip on my arm and leading me towards a dark portal.

This time I didn't put up a fight, and instead just followed along willingly. Since he didn't have quite as tight of a grip on me there was a possibility that I could've gotten away, but I didn't see the point. And I also didn't want to leave my friends with the members of the Organization.

I halted briefly outside the portal and looked down at my clothes. I didn't really want to keep going through the portals without wearing my coat; I had been warned many times about doing so.

I felt Axel's grip tighten on my arm as he bent down so that his mouth was next to my ear.

"I wouldn't try to get away if I were you," he muttered under his breath. "You see that guy up there, the one with the blue hair and the X in the middle of his face? He's Saix, and he can get grumpy without a moments notice."

I scowled. "I wasn't going to."

"Oh sure you weren't," Axel whispered unconvincingly as he led me towards the portal. We walked passed Saix and into the depths of the dark corridors beyond.

As we stepped inside I noticed two other members of Organization XIII already a ways ahead of us in the portal. One of the members held Riku slung casually over a shoulder, and the other held Vanitas with just a little more care. With the way the one with Riku was being I wouldn't be very surprised if Riku woke up with a migraine and a sore back.

Saix took the lead and led us through the winding paths in the corridors of darkness. I'd never been to the World that Never Was from this direction before but as time wore on I became sure that was where we were headed.

Since Axel didn't remember me, I couldn't quite figure out why the Organization wanted us. Unless they were all working for Xehanort. That made the most sense.

After what seemed like ages we finally turned through an opening that led directly into the gray room within the Castle that Never Was. I looked around the room; it really hadn't changed much since I last saw it. All of the furniture was in the exact same locations. What made the room look exactly the same was perhaps the fact that Demyx sat strumming on his sitar atop one of the sofa's his booted feet on the glass table before it. I'm not sure why but the sight of him sitting there strumming on his sitar seemed funny to me. I grinned.

"Oh," Axel rubbed the back of his head, and then pointed at Demyx. "That's Organization XIII's number IX, his names Demyx. And no, he's not exactly supposed to have his feet up on the table." He glanced at Saix and than bent down close to my ear. "But I think Saix's about given up trying to get him to stop, heh."

Saix glanced at him as though he might have overheard, but I didn't think that he had, because his expression remained unchanged. He still had his usual frown frozen there.

"Xaldin, Xigbar," Saix said turning his gaze on the two members that held Riku and Vanitas. "Take those two to the dungeons. I suppose I'll take the conscious one to see The Superior."

I frowned. He was taking me to go see Xemnas? I didn't really want to see him, for some reason or another I just had the feeling that he might remember me.

I glanced up at Axel, he grinned and let go of me and for a moment I forgot that he didn't remember me anymore.

"I guess I'll see you later," Axel said, turning around to wave before he left the room.

Though he was my enemy at the moment I had felt safe while Axel had still been in the room. Saix and I just clashed, severely.

Saix turned to look at me. For a split second I thought I saw a look of recognition on his face and then it was gone, replaced by his usual frown.

"Follow me," Saix turned and walked out of the room, and I followed willingly.

As we strode down the gray corridors Saix glanced back over his shoulder at me, his golden eyes holding an unreadable expression within them.

"Have I seen you before?" he asked.

I hesitated, caught off guard, than shook my head no. "No. At least, I've never seen you before."

"Then do you know Axel?" Saix further asked. "He seemed to know you."

I shook my head no again, and kept walking. I heard Saix pause and I stopped as well.

"Look at me," Saix ordered. Once again I obeyed and looked up at him, hoping that he wouldn't remember me.

"You don't look familiar. I don't ever recall seeing a girl with black hair and blue eyes anywhere near this castle. But you remind me of someone…" he said quietly. "Have you ever been inside this castle before?"

"No I haven't," I replied.

"All right then," he turned and began walking on.

I felt a little surprised that he saw the way that I really looked and not as a puppet. I was glad though; he was treating me a bit nicer than he normally used to.

Saix stepped outside of a door and glanced back at me briefly before pulling it open.

We stepped into a dull gray room, much like the rest of the castle. With the only things in it being a brown desk with a chair and Xemnas, who was standing beside a large window with his arms raised to the sky, in the same stance that he almost always seemed to be in.

Saix paused just inside the room and held out his arm to halt me as well.

"Superior, we brought three of the people that you mentioned," Saix told him gesturing at me (though I don't know why he bothered, since Xemnas had his back to us).

"Is that so," Xemnas muttered slowly as he turned around to look at me. He met my eye and smiled pleasantly. "Why hello, Xion."

I glanced at Saix who scowled, but didn't say anything. Though I was sure that he was wondering how Xemnas knew my name.

I swallowed hard, but then forced myself to smile. "Hello, are you The Superior?"

The man nodded and gestured towards a chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

I sat down in the chair slowly, watching Xemnas as he made his way to the chair opposite me. Saix remained standing beside the door.

"It is very good to see you again, we had all been under the assumption that you were gone for good," Xemnas said, glancing at Saix as he spoke. "I hear that you and your friends are after something, and I would like to help you get it."

I looked at him, slightly confused. "I don't know what you mean."

Xemnas raised and eyebrow. "Really? I am referring to the book on Kingdom Hearts."

My eyes widened. "Y—you must be mistaken. We're not looking for any book."

"…I see." Xemnas scowled, his tone disbelieving. "But you must know of the book I am referring to."

I looked away. "No."

"It is a book that holds all of the secrets to Kingdom Hearts, it tells how to obtain it, as well as how to seal it from evil." Xemnas stood and made his way back over to a window. "I had assumed that Sora might be after it."

I fiddled with the edge of my sleeve. "He isn't."

"I hear that you met Xehanort… I think he may have deceived you, you see he is after Kingdom Hearts. He wants its power for himself. I'd like to stop him." Xemnas muttered, lifting his hands to the sky once more. "I believe your one friend, Vanitas was it? May have a good idea where to find it." Xemnas glanced over to where Saix still stood by the door. "Take Xion back to join her companions in the dungeon."

Saix nodded. "Of course."

The blue haired man gestured for me to follow him as he left the room and started back down the gray hallway.

He led me down through hallways I'd never seen before until he finally turned into a short hallway with two dungeon cells in it. Inside one I saw two shapes on the ground, Riku and Vanitas.

Saix strode over to the one containing my two friends and unlocked the door. He then swung it open and gestured for me to enter. Once I had he swung it shut once more and locked it.

"I suggest that you don't even try to escape. You see, Keyblade's don't work on these locks." Saix informed me, and the walked off before I could say anything else.

I sighed and turned around. Both Vanitas and Riku were still unconscious. I stood there looking back and forth between them for a moment, than I strode over to Vanitas and bent down beside him, placing his head in my lap.

I didn't understand him, he had told me that he didn't like Xehanort and that he didn't even have a reason for helping him anymore. And yet, he still insisted that he had to, and refused to join Sora. I had been really hopeful that he might help us. I had been surprised to find myself thinking this but he had become a really good friend of mine. My best friend before I joined Sora's group.

I began fiddling with Vanitas's hair absentmindedly as I thought about everything that had happened so far.

"Xion?"

I jumped and looked down, Vanitas had opened his eyes and he looked confusedly up at me.

"Oh, you're awake. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" I asked as he pulled himself up into a sitting position and was now looking around our dim cell.

He glanced back at me, his eyes clearing. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Where are we? Do you know?"

"We're in the Castle that Never Was." I glanced over at Riku as he sat up across the room. "After Sora and I fought Xemnas here I'd been hoping to never have to come here again."

Riku got to his feet and walked over to the door of the cell. He glanced back at Vanitas and I. "Any ideas on how to get out of here?"

Vanitas got to his feet and held out his hand to help me up. He glanced around once more.

"My Keyblade might be able to open the lock," Vanitas suggested. He glanced down at the ground an almost worried expression on his face. "Why would Xehanort want me locked up?"

"Xehanort's not in charge here," I told him. "Xemnas, his Nobody, is."

Vanitas looked at me scowled. "Xemnas? Than I guess we should try to find a way out of here."

The black haired teen walked over to Riku and placed his hand against the bars. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"This isn't going to be easy. They've taken precautions against Keyblades. The lock as well as the metal bars surrounding us have a magic barrier on them." Vanitas informed us. "It actually looks like we might not be able to brake out of here."

Riku sighed. "Then what are we gonna do? For some reason I don't think we should wait for the Organization to decide what to do with us."

Vanitas shrugged. "I don't think there's anything else that we can do."

I walked to the far side of the cell and sat down. I watched as Riku and Vanitas kept arguing about what to do, somewhat doubting if they could ever become friends. It seriously didn't look like it. I also doubted that they'd ever find a way to brake out of our prison cell. Xemnas was very smart; there probably was no way for us to escape. I switched my gaze to the ground and sighed inwardly.

After awhile I heard someone come over and sit down beside me. I glanced over and met Vanitas's eye. I looked away again.

"Hey," he muttered. He seemed to hesitate before placing a hand on my shoulder. I glanced up at him and he gave me a quick smile, a true smile not one of his fake ones. "I'm sure they won't kill us or anything. We're all smart." He glanced at Riku doubtfully and then looked back at me. "We'll find a way out of here."