Oh, yeah, I forgot to do this last chapter.

Who is Bruixe, exactly?

Well, you really should read The Last Nobody. But… for you slackers…

Bruixe is the new #14 in the Organization. She'll have an interesting future with the Destiny Island trio… it's a pretty epic adventure, but if you're not going to read The Last Nobody, I'm not sure I'm going to spoil the end of this one for you… so just go read it, okay? Her past is a little dark… oh, just go read TLN, I don't feel like explaining this.

Bruixe sees Kingdom Hearts in this chapter, but it's not as big as in KH2. It's a little moon.

Oh, and I don't own any of these characters (except for Bruixe, of course.)

Enjoy.

The tower – 'Altar of Naught,' Axel had called it – was huge, the tallest part of the castle, and open to the sky. You could see the Dark City from here – all of it – and the vast expanse of cloudy nothingness that surrounded the world. Only a few stars were visible, but Bruixe could make out a heart-shaped moon through the wispy clouds.

A man stood near the railing, arms raised to this moon, dressed in a black cloak of the same variety that Axel wore. His silver hair was long, down to his shoulder blades.

"Xemnas," Axel said. "I've brought the new recruit."

Xemnas turned, and Bruixe stifled a gasp – his eyes were an orangey-yellow, exactly like her father's.

"Is this her?"

Axel nodded, then muttered under his breath, "No, she's some hobo I picked up on the road."

Xemnas didn't seem to hear this. "Show me your face," he told Bruixe.

Bruixe obediently lifted her head, meeting Xemnas' gaze.

He raised an eyebrow, and Bruixe could guess why. Her eyes had always been her most distinguishing feature – a pure, bright silver, framed by long black lashes. People had called her stare 'eerie'. They said silver eyes weren't 'normal' – but then, neither was Bruixe.

Xemnas looked at her for a long time, then murmured, "Defiant… proud… very good. I see strength in you. You're a cut above the usual riffraff, aren't you? What is your name?"

"Ru –" Bruixe began, then corrected herself. "Bruixe. My name is Bruixe."

"A good name," he agreed. "I am Xemnas. They call me 'the Superior'."

"Um… nice to meet you," Bruixe said awkwardly, pretty sure that she should be respectful, but never given to etiquette.

"Axel, get her settled in, and show her around," Xemnas ordered. "She can share Larxene's room for now."

"Yes, sir," Axel said casually, then waved for Bruixe to follow him.

"Let's see," Axel muttered, rummaging through a closet. "First things first, I guess. You'll look kinda out of place without a cloak. You're about Demyx's size, I bet… try this on."

Bruixe did, pulling the cloak on over her black halter top and jeans. It fastened with a silver zipper and clasps.

"Looks better than it ever did on Waterboy," Axel commented. "Hell of a lot better, actually… you clean up pretty nice, kiddo…"

Is he… hitting on me? Bruixe wondered suspiciously.

"You've got boots…" he went on. "Let's see… gloves…"

Once she was dressed, Axel asked, "Do you have your own weapons?"

"Yeah," Bruixe said.

"Great. And do you know magic?"

"Um…" The truth was, Bruixe did know magic… but only by using the darkness, and she didn't want to go there. "No."

"Oh, great," Axel groaned. "Well, then, let's go see Zexie, he can teach you…"

"Zexie?" Bruixe repeated dubiously.

"Zexion," Axel told her. "He's number 6."

"What does that mean?"

"Well… the Organization was founded by six people… Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion," he explained. "Those are numbers 1-6 in the Organization. After that, people took numbers by when they joined… Saix was the first after the original six, so he was number 7… I'm eight… Demyx is nine, Luxord's ten, Marluxia and Larxene are eleven and twelve, and Roxas is number 13. I guess that makes you number 14. Huh… you need a nickname…" He anticipated her next question. "We've all got titles – I'm the Flurry of Dancing Flames… I know, I know, it's lame." He whispered conspiratorially, "It sounded better in Japanese."

Bruixe raised an eyebrow. "Let's go meet this Zexion person," she suggested.

"Oh, yeah," Axel remembered. "Brace yourself…"