Disclaimer: Ah, yes. I don't own anything. Nothing, you hear me! So all you people who keep telling me I own things, you can eat it!

Ahem.

Author's Note: Ah, September, that glorious month where children all over the world shriek and curse and carry on in a very undignified manner. Why, you ask? I'll tell you why.

School. That's right. Public intuitions! The meat grinder! Fight the system, I tell you! Don't let them make you just another brick in the wall!

DarkNite holds no responsibility for any student uprisings that her words inspire

Yeah, well this whole rant has been a way for me to justify the horrible rate with which I have been updating.

And without further ado…

Another author's note: (apologies) Thanks to all the people who noticed and acknowledged the fact that I tried to portray Sora as kind of sexy. Come on, it's true, ain't it? You know it's true!

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Chapter 14

Are You Me or Am I You?

Sora was pissed. Seriously pissed. Pissed enough to kill.

Not that he needed that as an excuse.

The World that Never Was (who came up with that name, anyway?) was really beginning to grate his cheese. For a place that didn't technically exist, it sure was a pain. So far he and his comrades had been attacked by droves of heartless, set upon by endless nobodies, and jumped by the occasional Organization member. True, taking out his frustration on that dude with the guns and the annoying tendency to teleport around the arena had been fun, but Xemnas…that guy just irked him.

He had appeared again to deliver his cryptic messages, staring down at Sora, Donald, and Goofy with that condescending smirk the Organization could have trademarked.

"What do you want?" Sora demanded, hefting the keyblade.

"Just to congratulate you on getting this far. The hearts you have harvested have added their number to my little collection. Soon Kingdom Hearts will be complete."

Sora snored, closing his eyes and letting his head drift to the side. He snorted. "What? Were you saying something? Sorry, I fell asleep."

Xemnas' mouth became a thin line. "You may laugh, but tell me…can you handle this?" He waved a hand, and suddenly he was joined by his white, undulating little friends.

Sora hissed, his grip on the keyblade tightening. Sure, Xemnas was melodramatic, but he knew what he was doing. Nobodies, nobodies, and more nobodies, springing up from out of nowhere. They turned their faces toward him like they were staring, but he was pretty sure they didn't have eyes. They attacked and fought using some primal instinct, but they were centuries smarter than the heartless.

Much more dangerous.

Xemnas smirked, disappearing in another surge of darkness. Sora swore loudly, causing Donald and Goofy to look around at him in dismay. He just frowned. Now wasn't the time to be prim and proper. Now was the time to start killing things. He tensed his muscles for a flying leap, when a voice rang out over the cathedral-like room.

"Sora!"

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"Kairi, no!" Riku sprang toward her, dragging her back from the balcony. "You're gonna distract him."

Kairi tried to shove him off, but Ansem's body was bigger and stronger than Riku's usual one. "Dammit, get off of me! We've gotta help him."

"No," Riku said, holding her still and forcing her to meet his gaze. "I've got to help him. I have another job for you."

"What?" Kairi asked, the whining tone her voice had taken on disgusting her slightly.

"Are you familiar with a man named Sai'x?"

"Yes…"

"He needs to be dealt with. The good guys want him gotten rid of."

Kairi folded her arms stubbornly. "And who the heck are these good guys? I want some answers here, Riku!"

"It's a little confusing," Riku admitted, "But I'll explain it all later. Right now I have a plan."

"Does this plan involve me using this swanky new keyblade on Sai'x?"

"Yes."

"Does it involve tearing the bastard to shreds?"

"Yes."

"Do I get to do it on my own?"

"Yes."

Kairi grinned. "I'm there."

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"Shit!"

It was the first word Reno had spoken in quite awhile and it tore at his throat, forcing him into a fit of coughing. His whole body shook violently. It was responding to the suddenly intense wave of stimuli that was hitting him from every angle. Piercing light, the sound of the wind, a harsh burning smell. He opened his eyes slowly once the hacking coughs had subsided. There was blood on his pale fingers, and the coppery taste lingered in his mouth.

Fucking hell, he thought vehemently, Don't tell me I've managed to contract Tuberculosis on top of everything else!

But what exactly was everything else? The last thing he could remember was sitting on the balcony of that apartment work had provided him with, taking a long drag on a cigarette and looking out over the recently reconstructed Midgar City. It had been one of those rare moments when he'd been at piece with everything; the Planet, himself, the past.

And then everything had moved faster then a Sector 7 whore.

The lights and the city had all gone out. All at once, which was a thing that never happened. Sure, a couple reactors might blow every so often, but never all together. That was just unthinkable.

But as it turned out, it hadn't been a power surge. It had been something thick, tangible, and alive. A gluttonous darkness had descended, grabbing at Reno's very heart. He'd tried to fight it, he had, but he just wasn't strong enough.

And now he was here he was, standing in some grey, foggy limbo. There was nothing anywhere, the mist was never ending. Reno didn't know it now, but this was the first time he'd been conscious in over two years.

Thump thump thump.

He groped for his heart, as if checking to make sure it was still there. It was beating as steadily as always, but somehow it felt like it hadn't been just a few minutes ago.

"Dammit!" he yelled, stumbling around in a little circle and almost tripping over the trailing ends of his un-cuffed pants. He looked down at himself. He was still in the same thing he'd been wearing on the balcony. Slacks, un-tucked dress shirt, and a wrinkled blazer. Work clothes.

"Woah…what the--?"

Something had appeared that most definitely hadn't been there before. The constantly shifting grey fog had become a sparkling desert oasis, lush palm trees dipping toward crystal blue water. Reno inched forward hesitantly. Was it going to bite him? In this place, he wouldn't put it past anything not to attack him. The…what was the word for it? Aura? Yeah, that was it. The aura was all wrong.

Still, the sight of the fresh, cool water was enough to nudge him forward. He was thirsty (wouldn't you be after two years?) and his throat was killing him. The moment he stepped to the edge of the pool, the fog was completely gone, replaced by an endless desert. Reno felt the heat on the back of his neck.

That was it. He didn't care if the water was poisoned. He fell to his knees, splashing his face and drinking deeply. He might have sat there for about a minute before he became aware of the person on the other side of the oasis.

"Fuck!" he spluttered, getting up so quickly he tripped over his own feet and went sprawling. The man across the pool laughed.

"You doing okay, buddy?"

Reno squinted through the sun, trying to make out his features. The man seemed to be removing some heavy coat, unzipping it down the front and revealing a pale chest. Without another word, he dived head first into the oasis. Reno watched his form turn to nothing but a shadow as he swam for the bottom. He stayed down there for quite awhile.

Dammit, Reno thought in annoyance. Don't tell me I'm gonna have to dive down and save the bastard…

But a moment later the other man reappeared, body coming into focus as he shot toward the surface.

Like a fucking dolphin, Reno couldn't help thinking.

His head broke the surface, sending little waves rippling over the white sand. He shook the water from his crimson hair, striking out for the beach and Reno.

"Hot, ain't it?"

The two's eyes met, and identical looks of disbelief claimed their faces.

No fucking way…

They weren't twins, that was for sure, but Reno was fucked if he didn't see the most incredible resemblance. The same shade of hair, with the same texture (especially now that the other man's was wet), same pale, almost vampiric skin, even similarly colored tattoos in the exact same spots. Their bodies matched perfectly; thin shoulders and muscles that were only defined because they were so skinny. The other man had his pants on, but Reno would bet a whole sack of Materia that the bottom half was identical as well.

"Shit…" the other man breathed.

"I'm with you, man." Reno was practically numb. Slowly, he took a step forward, which his counterpart mirrored. The two men moved together until there was barely half a foot between them, with the same goal in mind.

They needed to see the other's eyes.

Reno swore internally. There was no mistaking it. The man's eyes were his. Every time he looked into a mirror, that was what he saw. Himself. It was like his soul had split in two and half of it had gone to inhabit another body.

"This is—,"

"Crazy," the other man finished.

"And it's not just physical," Reno went on shakily, "It's like we—,"

"Take up the same space," they said in unison.

The other man grinned a very familiar grin. "I'm Axel."

"Reno…why the hell are you so happy?" The look of pure joy on Axel's face was pissing him off. Why wasn't he freaked out?

Axel laughed. "Who, me? Don't worry about me. I'm nobody. But you, Reno…you're somebody. My somebody."

"Say what?" Reno asked, totally lost.

"Think," Axel commanded. "Doesn't it feel like something's missing?"

Reno was about to tell him no, and to go fuck himself, when it hit him. Axel was right. He was feeling…empty. Like, not right somehow, and it wasn't just the fact that he'd suddenly found himself in a bizarre new place.

He took a deep, calming breath. "Okay. What the hell?"