Day 96

"Hey, Xurik. You ready for another day?"

The boy nodded, grinning at Xion. The two made an excellent pair - even with Xion's handicap when it came to the Keyblade. So far their plan was working splendidly, and-

"Xion, Xurik. I need you on separate missions today."

Xurik's chest tightened in panic as he stared up at Saix. "What? Why?"

"Two major Heartless targets have surfaced in two separate worlds. Xurik, you take Beast's Castle. Xion, you go to Agrabah."

Xion turned pale. "But how can... never mind." She and Xurik exchanged glances. What did they do? Xion wouldn't be able to destroy the Heartless without the Keyblade. Was this game over?

"Whoah, you're gonna send Xurik to Beast's Castle?" Axel said suddenly, coming up from behind. He shook his head. "I dunno... I was just there yesterday for recon, remember? I saw the Heartless you're talking about. You don't want to pit Xurik against that. Not by himself."

Saix frowned at Axel. "If I send them both, who's going to handle the Heartless in Agrabah?"

"I will."

The blue-haired man's eyes narrowed. "You?"

"Sure, I'm a big boy."

"Except you can't collect hearts."

Axel smirked. "So what? I'll keep the Heartless out of trouble, then they can hit it another day."

Saix frowned, then spotted Roxas standing nearby, eavesdropping.

"How about I send Roxas with Xurik, and you with Xion? That should work fine."

Axel's expression froze, but Roxas quickly chimed in. "Saix, you know me and Axel make a better team. We can handle some Heartless for a day."

Saix rolled his eyes, but turned away nonetheless.

"Fine. But this is the last day. Starting tomorrow, all of you work solo."

Xurik nodded, feeling immensely grateful for both Axel and Roxas. "All right."

As Saix walked away, Axel smirked down at them.

"Looks like you bought yourself another day."

Xion looked worried. "Axel, Roxas, thank you. I just hope this works..."

Eager to get away from Saix's prying eyes, Xurik opened a portal to the Beast's Castle, following Xion through it as quickly as possible. As soon as they did, Saix suddenly walked back to Axel and Roxas.

"Don't think for a minute I believed that," he said quietly.

Roxas looked shocked, but Axel simply smirked. "Believed what?"

"That reprehensible performance."

Axel shrugged. "Uh-huh, well... we'd better get over to Agrabah, Roxas."

Roxas nodded quietly, glancing at Saix. Were they really that transparent? Xurik and Xion only had one day... he hoped for their sake that they'd be able to figure out a solution. Otherwise... what would happen to their group? It wouldn't be the same without Xion...

Xion and Xurik appeared in the middle of the Beast's Castle. So far, no one was in sight.

Xurik glanced at Xion; her face was still pale. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey... are you okay?"

Xion shook her head. "I don't know what I'm gonna do starting tomorrow." Cautiously, she held out her hand, but nothing happened.

Xurik thought for a moment, then summoned his own Keyblade. "What about mine? Do you think you could control it if I gave it to you?"

She took it, then slashed it tentatively through the air. It remained in her hand.

"I guess... I can."

"Great. You can use it for today. It might help you remember how to summon yours."

Xion didn't look convinced. "What are you gonna use?"

"I have the darkness. That's what you've been using, right? I'll be fine." He smirked. "If you can get by without a Keyblade, I should be able to too."

"Okay, if you're sure." Xion's expression relaxed. "Thanks, Xurik."

Axel and Roxas walked down the streets of Agrabah.

"Do you think Xion is going to be okay?"

Axel sighed. "I couldn't tell you, kiddo. Hopefully they'll figure something out today. Whatever happens though... there's no use in worrying over it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"In the meantime, I guess let's try to find that Heartless." Axel frowned. "From the sound of it, it's pretty nasty. I wonder... did Maleficent have anything to do with summoning it?"

"Oh yeah... the sorceress, right? Who is she, anyway?"

Axel shook his head. "She caused a bunch of trouble in the worlds a few months back. No... actually, I think she's been doing it for years. She even led the Heartless to take over my home world. I had assumed he took care of her there, but I guess he never got around to it."

Roxas frowned. "He?"

Axel looked surprised, then shook his head. "Heh. Don't worry about it. Anyway, we should keep an eye out. She led the Heartless for a while; I wouldn't be surprised if she's been creating a lot of the ones we've been fighting."

For some reason, despite having seen the talking candelabra from the other day, Xurik still found himself surprised to come across a talking clock. He shook his head - hadn't the teapot, wardrobe, featherduster, footstool, stove, and teacups been enough?

"Those horrid creatures plaguing the castle have kept the master from seeing Belle for days," the clock was saying anxiously. "There has to be some way to bring the two of them together!"

"All of the castle's servants keep talking about this 'Belle' person," Xion said quietly. "And they seem awfully interested in making sure Belle and their master get along."

Xurik nodded. "It's strange. What's their story?"

"I don't know. They seem to be in such a rush about it, too."

"Yeah. Well, anyway, let's just focus on trying to find that Heartless. Has using the Keyblade helped you at all?"

Xion shook her head slowly. "Nothing yet... sorry."

Xurik gave a small smile. "Well, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon."

"Shit," Axel muttered, pulling Roxas into a corner. Maleficent and Pete were walking through the square nearby.

"I just don't get it! It wasn't anywhere in the Cave of Wonders..."

"I need to find that blasted lamp," Maleficent scowled. "Jafar may be useless as an ally, but he's certainly better than what I have so far." She glanced at Pete, who was ambling along cheerfully behind her; the insult went over his head completely. She sighed, then continued. "At the very least, I could turn him into a Heartless - perhaps he would follow orders better that way."

"But ya can't do that without the lamp," Pete said thoughtfully, scratching his head. "What are we gonna do now?"

"I suppose we could go back to our original plan. Jafar or not, no mere street urchin is about to stop me from recapturing the Princesses." She scowled. "If only I could remember why I lost the Princesses in the first place. How did Hollow Bastion get destroyed...? Why can't I remember?"

"Axel, do you have any idea what she's talking about?" Roxas muttered quietly. The red-head merely smirked.

"Quiet. Xurik and Xion already got caught." He turned to him. "Anyway, we need to find that Heartless Saix was talking about. Don't want it to get into too much trouble before Xurik can take care of it."

"Look out!"

Xurik quickly jumped to the side, dodging the dog-like Heartless's attack. He fired a blast of darkness at it; it yelped, stumbling backwards.

Xion darted forward, slashing through it fiercely. They had been fighting it for several minutes, but the creature finally gave way; it collapsed to the ground, its heart drifting off into the dark rafters of the castle.

"Thanks, Xurik," the girl said with a smile. She held out the Keyblade. "You can have this back."

Xurik called it to his hand in a flash of light. "Did it work? Has it jogged your memory any?"

Xion looked worried. "I don't know... let me give it another try."

She held out her arm, concentrating fiercely. For a moment, nothing happed. Her face began to turn red from the effort, but suddenly-

"You did it!" Xurik yelped in surprise. Xion looked down at the Keyblade that was now grasped firmly in her hand; it was identical to Xurik's, but there were definitely now two Keyblades between the two of them.

"I don't believe it!" Xion squealed, tackling Xurik in a hug. "Xurik, it worked! Thank you so much!"

"We've gotta tell Roxas and Axel," Xurik said, unable to stop himself from grinning. "That was so close... but it's okay now! You're not going to get kicked out of the Organization!"

He quickly summoned a portal to the corridors of darkness; the two disappeared through it.

"Axel!" Xurik shouted as they rounded the corner. Roxas and Axel peered up at them, surprised.

"Hey hey!" Axel said. "What are you grinning about?"

"How'd your mission go? Thanks for saving us earlier."

"No problem. It was loads of fun," Axel said with a smirk. "Would it kill the Heartless to hold still? I fell right on my butt chasing the stupid thing."

"Be careful tomorrow," Roxas said, nodding. "The thing looked tough. And Maleficent seemed up to no good."

"Eh, Xurik's a big boy. How'd your caper go?"

With a bright smile, Xion held out her hand. The Keyblade appeared in a flash of light, and she beamed at them. "I'd like to dedicate this Keyblade summoning to my good friends Xurik, Roxas, and Axel."

Roxas applauded, but Axel waved his hand dismissively. "Pfft, me? I didn't do anything."

"Sure you did. If you hadn't spoken up for us this morning, me and Xurik would've had to split up."

"You should thank Roxas, then," Axel said, smirking. "He's the one who spoke up and saved my ass."

The four of them laughed. Xion quickly ran off to buy them all ice creams in celebration; when she returned, they all sat and ate in silence. Roxas was the first to speak.

"I hope we always have each other," he said quietly.

Xion nodded. "Yeah..."

Axel chuckled. "What's gotten into you?"

"I just... want these days to last forever. Hanging out, the ice cream, the sunsets..."

"Me too," Xurik said, smiling. He had felt so alone when he joined the Organization... but having friends had helped him feel like he actually had a place here. Roxas, Xion, and Axel were almost like a family to him... not that he knew what a family felt like. He imagined it had to be something like this.

Axel shook his head. "Nothing lasts forever, man. Least of all for a bunch of Nobodies." He smiled despite himself. "But you know, we'll still have each other... even if things change and we can't do this anymore."

"You think?" Xurik said quietly.

The man nodded. "As long as we remember each other, we'll never be apart. Got it memorized?"

There was a slight paused, then Roxas grinned.

"Wow, Axel. That sounded ridiculous."

Axel scratched the back of his head as Xurik and Xion burst out laughing. "What? I thought it was pretty deep..."

Day 97

Xurik sighed, arriving in Agrabah. It was strange working alone after nearly two weeks of working with Xion every day... but he supposed it was for the best. He didn't want to get soft, did he? Doing a little solo work would help him get stronger, at the very least.

He began to enter the town square in front of the palace, but stopped when he realized that two people were standing in the middle of it. For a brief, panicked moment he thought it might be Pete and Maleficent again, but recognized them as the two Agrabah natives known as Aladdin and Jasmine.

"...What do you mean, 'it disappeared'?" Jasmine was saying incredulously.

"It's just like I said," Aladdin said excitedly. "The sandstorm moving across the desert up and vanished. Now we can finally go outside the city again."

"Well, that's just wonderful! What a relief."

"Hold on," the man said cautiously. "We still need to watch out for the Heartless. They've been sighted around Agrabah even after the storm cleared up. You'll have to be careful, Jasmine. I'm gonna go make sure everything's okay."

"All right. I want you to be safe too, Aladdin."

Xurik frowned as the two walked away. The sandstorm was gone? That was odd... hadn't Xigbar said that the sandstorm and the Heartless were probably connected? But the Heartless was still around. Instead of feeling relief, he just felt worried.

Still, this meant he could now go out into the desert with no sandstorm to stop him. Axel had said the Heartless was a big one - maybe the vast, sandy wasteland was where he'd find it?

"I don't get it... why'd you make the sandstorm go away?" Pete said, scratching his head in confusion.

"The Heartless causing it lurks even now in the middle of the desert." The witch gave a cruel laugh. "By luring the boy Aladdin out there, we can eliminate two problems at once. Aladdin will be destroyed by the Heartless, and Princess Jasmine will be defenseless when we come to steal her away."

Pete chuckled darkly. "Sounds good! That's why you're the brains!"

"Well, it certainly isn't you," Maleficent said curtly. "Considering you haven't got any to begin with."

"Here she comes now!" Pete hissed suddenly, looking to their left.

Maleficent smiled. "Excellent. You know what to do." She vanished in a plume of green flames, and Pete scurried away into the shadows.

Jasmine walked into the alleyway cautiously. Heartless seemed to be lurking around every corner; if she could just make it to the Palace, the guards would be able to protect her well enough. Now, though, it seemed that she'd run into a dead end. Having grown up in the palace, she didn't know the sprawling city nearly as well as Aladdin did.

"Oh, Aladdin," she whispered, feeling nervous. "Where did you go...?"

"Good evening, Princess," a cackling voice called out, the sound seeming to echo from everywhere. Jasmine whirled around, terrified.

"Y...you...!"

"That's right," Maleficent said, appearing before the frightened girl in an explosion of flames. "You're coming with me."

"No!" Jasmine said fiercely, backing into a wall. "You already kidnapped me once... I'm not going again! Aladdin!" She cried out as loudly as she could. "Aladdin, where are you?"

"There's no one here to save you now, my dear," Maleficent said, grinning wickedly as Pete approached from the side, smirking. Heartless appeared, encircling Jasmine. "You don't have a choice at all. I will have my way!"

The clearing suddenly exploded with light. The Heartless around Jasmine vanished; Pete fell to his knees in pain.

"Wh...what in the world...?"

"Oh... oh my," Jasmine said, breathless. A figure wearing a hooded black cloak stood between her and Maleficent, weilding a gleaming sword.

"Who dares interfere with my work?" Maleficent said, turning pale with fury.

"You won't lay a hand on her!" the figure said, slashing through the air; the silver blade left a trail of light. Maleficent scowled, flames flickering around her form in anger.

"That cloak... you're one of those brats from the Cave of Wonders!"

Sora shook his head. As much as he wanted to reveal himself to Maleficent - what wouldn't he give to rub his new power in her face? - he was supposed to be keeping a low profile. Jasmine and Aladdin didn't need to know he was here. Besides, all of them would have forgotten Riku entirely. Seeing Sora, his best friend and ally, was sure to jog a few memories of the Keyblade Master... and Naminé warned him about interfering with the memory restoration process.

"Those Nobodies? Nope." He held out his hand; it began to shine brightly. "I'm just somebody on the side of light, trying to stop you from ruining more people's lives."

Maleficent gave a harsh laugh. "The Light? You must be joking. You think you can defeat me with a triflesome power like that?"

Sora smirked. He wasn't about to fight Maleficent, not alone - no matter how strong his powers were, hers were bound to be stronger, especially with the Heartless helping her. Still, he wasn't going to just sit back while she tried to summon Kingdom Hearts again. She wasn't about to recapture the Princesses of Heart on his watch.

Without warning, he summoned a dark portal; he held out his hand to Jasmine.

"Come on - quick!"

Jasmine was hesitant; but the mysterious boy was obviously trying to protect her from Maleficent, who she knew was evil. She took his hand and rushed with him through the dark portal.

"Damn it!" Maleficent screeched as the portal snapped shut. Her green skin was turning dark with fury. "Who... who dares interfere with my plans?"

"I... I dunno," Pete said, wincing as he struggled to his feet. "Whoever it was, he's awful strong, we should watch out for-"

"Silence!" Maleficent hissed, her clawed hand sweeping through the air - there was an audible smack as it made contact with Pete's face, silencing him. He stared at her in shock, touching the stinging red mark on his face. "You are utterly useless! Why didn't you stop them?"

"I... I'm sorry, Maleficent," Pete mumbled. He wanted to ask why she hadn't stopped them, but bit his tongue; he knew better than to speak out against the witch.

"What are we to do now? Our plans are ruined! We have no lamp, no Princess - weeks of planning are now useless!"

"There are other princesses," Pete said helpfully. "We could go to some other worlds, and maybe-"

"Silence." Maleficent glared at him, her eyes flickering with fury. "Just... cease your blabbering. We are done here." She summoned a dark portal. "Follow me, imbecile... if you can even manage that much."

Sora and Jasmine appeared within the palace gates; they could see guards nearby, but in the shadows Sora remained unseen.

"Th... thank you," Jasmine said, looking around her. "Who are you...?"

"Just a friend," Sora said with a smile, staying careful not to let her see within his hood. "You should be safe in the palace - just be sure to stay close to guards at all times."

"But Aladdin -"

"Aladdin can take care of himself," he said, chuckling. He had been the one to help lead the Traverse Town Resistance Force, after all. "Just be safe, okay? There isn't always going to be someone here to save you."

Jasmine opened her mouth to reply, but the shadows suddenly swirled around Sora - within seconds he was gone.

"Shit," Xurik hissed, dodging a lazer beam; the attack pummelled into the ground, sending sand spraying everywhere. Roxas and Axel hadn't been kidding - this Heartless was enormous. He had been fighting it for at least an hour and had made minimal progress.

The Antlion screeched, then dove into the ground, burrowing deep into the sand. Xurik stared around him uncertainly - then cried out in pain as the Heartless suddenly erupted from beneath him, sending him sprawling across the ground, the Keyblade landing with a thud beside him. He winced, picking up his weapon. Why hadn't he been able to team up with Xion to defeat this Heartless? The one from the Beast's Castle was practically a Shadow in comparison...

Another roar erupted from above; Xurik's eyes narrowed as the Antlion suddenly launched a series of bombs at him. He readied his Keyblade, and-

With a mighty swing, he managed to knock the bombs back at the Heartless. He had tried this strategy a few times, but this seemed the final straw - the Antlion shuddered, then collided with a sand dune, wounded.

Now was his only chance. Xurik raced forward, concentrating fiercely; his Keyblade became consumed in a purple glow as darkness empowered it. He gave a mighty shout, then slashed fiercely through the Heartless's head.

It gave a horrific screech, then slowly began to dissolve into darkness; an enormous heart drifted into the bright desert sky.

Xurik panted from exertion and exhaustion, yet grinned. He had done it - alone, with no one helping him. Would the Heartless stop plaguing this world so frequently now? He couldn't wait to tell everyone... his friends were bound to be impressed.

"Did you see Maleficent again?"

"Nope," Xurik said, his voice muffled from a mouthfull of ice cream. "There was no trouble with her, I just took out the Heartless. It was huge!"

"Told you," Roxas said. He smiled brightly. "Maybe now there will be fewer Heartless in Agrabah. I'm sure that'll be a relief for the natives."

"Well, we need there to be some Heartless so Xurik and Xion can keep collecting hearts," Axel said, smirking. "Then again, I guess other worlds are still filled to the brim with them."

Xurik nodded. He glanced at Xion. "So, how did your mission go? Is the Keyblade still working okay?"

Xion gave an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah, everything's fine now. I owe it all to you, Roxas, and Axel."

Axel smiled. "Eat your ice cream before it melts."

"Ha, look at Axel!" Roxas said, laughing. "He's bright red!"

The man turned away awkwardly; Xurik could see that Roxas was telling the truth.

"Shut up," Axel mumbled, as the laughter of the other three echoed out over the city.

Day 117

Axel sat quietly in his room on his bed, twirling one of his chakrams on his finger idly as he mentally prepared for the day. What might his mission be today? More recon? Or keeping a closer eye on Maleficent... she had been spotted in the Beast's Castle in the past couple of weeks. Obviously Belle was probably the target, but-

He glanced up at he realized Saix was standing in the door frame. He smirked.

"Ever hear of knocking?"

Saix ignored the question, cutting right to the chase. "Tell me what Xion has been doing."

Axel shrugged. "How should I know? I'm not spying on her."

"But the two of you are close."

"So what, now I've gotta rat on my friends to you?" The irritation was clear on his face; he sat up. "Get out of my room, man."

"You and Xion will be executing your next mission together."

Axel rolled his yes. "Yes, sir, thank you, sir. You paid me a personal visit just to tell me that?"

"...We also need you to go back to Castle Oblivion."

"We, or you?"

Saix said nothing for a moment; Axel stared at him expectantly. Finally Saix shook his head.

"The castle hasn't given up all its secrets. And there's one in particular Lord Xemnas is especially interested in."

Axel rolled his eyes. Now it made sense. "You mean the chamber." He waved his hand dismissively. "We turned that place inside out. If it's there, we're not gonna find it just by looking."

Saix frowned. "Hmm. Then let me give you another incentive. Naminé isn't the only one who can trace her beginnings to Castle Oblivion. Xion comes from there, too."

The ploy worked - Axel's eyes narrowed, his interest piqued. "Huh?"

"Two of your favorite people. Still think another visit is a waste of time?"

Axel shrugged. "Hmph... whatever. You're the point who wants me to go. Don't try and dress it up as a favor." He smirked. "Let me guess... that chamber will tell you everything you don't know about Xemnas's true agenda. Is that the idea?"

Saix said nothing, telling Axel that his guess was accurate. Saix stared out at Kingdom Hearts, large and bright outside of Axel's window. "The Chamber of Repose, and its antipode, the Chamber of Waking... Xemnas isn't telling us something. And the missing chamber, the Chamber of Waking - it holds all the answers." He gave Axel a meaningful look. "We need those answers to gain the upper hand - for our own reasons."

Axel frowned. He knew that they had formulated a plan when joining the Organization nine years ago, but now... so much felt different. Isa wasn't the same boy he had been in Radiant Garden. Was their plan really the same so many years later?

"Look," Axel finally said, sighing. "I knew Vexen and Zexion would be obstacles. That's why they're not here anymore. When have I ever complained about the dirty work?" He gave Saix a bitter smirk. "I cleared the way to the top for you. Just do me a favor and don't trip on the way up."

Saix's eyes narrowed, but he turned away nonetheless.

"A solo mission in Castle Oblivion... expect the orders soon."

After Saix left the room, Axel frowned. It was about time to start the day, but Saix's words had shaken him.

"Naminé... and Xion?"

"Xurik must be working late," Xion said, looking back at the entrance to the clock tower.

Axel nodded. "Hope Xigbar isn't giving him too hard a time."

Roxas took a bite from his ice cream bar. "Where did he go again? Some new world?"

"Yeah. Olympus Colliseum, I think? It's pretty well-known. People come from all over to compete. They're looking for new recruits for the Organization, I think, since so many champions wind up there."

The three fell silent. Finally Xion glanced up at the red-head.

"Hey, Axel... you know how you were talking the other day about how we all have pasts?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, when I sit here with you guys, it's weird... I get the strangest feeling I used to watch the sun set with somebody else. Or when I'm by the sea..." She pulled a seashell from her pocket; Roxas glanced down at it. "When I look at the water, and I hear the waves lapping against the shore... its almost like I can hear another voice."

"That's weird," Roxas said quietly. He gently took the seashell from Xion and held it to his ear; he closed his eyes. "I sort of know what you mean. I don't really remember anything, but... the sound of the waves just sounds familiar. But it's not an actual memory or anything..."

"So, you mean you remembered something, Xion?"

She shook her head. "No... it's not quite like that." She hesitated, then gave an embarrassed laugh. "Well, I dunno. Maybe these are memories... it just seems weird that they're mine."

Axel shrugged. "Hey, don't ask me."

Xion glanced at him. "But you have memories, don't you?"

"Yeah. Not that they've ever done me any good."

"I guess I'm more like you and Xurik, Roxas," Xion said, giving a sad smile. "None of us remember much."

"Yeah," Roxas said, smiling. "But... maybe that's okay. We're making new memories."

Xion nodded, her face brightening. She took a bite from her ice cream.

"I wonder if the three of us had this much in common before we were Nobodies."

Sora stared out at the ocean, his hood obscuring his face. As far as he could tell, Kairi and the others had stopped coming to the island off the mainland where they used to play as children... so there was little risk of him being discovered. He knew he couldn't keep seeing Kairi, as much as he wanted to. That didn't mean he couldn't just come to the beach alone every once and a while... right?

He sighed, leaning against the bark. The paupu tree was a constant image from his childhood - as far back as he could remember, he and Riku had come here to play, and later Kairi when she had come to their world. Now, though, no one sat upon it, staring out at the sea and dreaming of the future... no one but Sora, all alone.

Riku... what's taking so long? Why aren't you back yet? I want it to be the three of us again...

The setting sun offered no answers. Wordlessly he held up his hand, then vanished into the shadows.