A/N: Chapter 3 is now up!! (insert celebration party) There are some semi-major spoilers for those that don't know anything about Birth By Sleep. Special thanks to Yue Twili for reviewing!! I've tried to explain as much as possible (you'll understand once you read). Any questions, comments, or clear-ups, please PM or Review!! :) And now, on to chapter 3!!! :)

Whatever was pulling me suddenly stopped. However, I was still moving through the strange vacuum of space. It was nice, so I closed my eyes for just a split second.

"Well, this isn't so bad," I said, a little too soon. The next thing I knew, I was face first on a floor.

"Damn…that hurt…" I groaned. I looked up to see two figures before me: a girl and a guy. They were transparent. "You know, a little warning would have been nice."

"Sorry," came a female voice. It sounded so much like Alexia.

"When you closed your eyes, you also closed your mind to us," came a male voice that sounded like Zane. He sounded a little irritated.

"Give him a break Chaos," the girl said. "I'd offer you a hand, but…"

"Its fine, Cosmos," I said after standing up. I looked back and forth between the two transparent figures. It was amazing. To my right was a girl who looks so much like Alexia: she had dark color hair which was somewhere between brown and black and she was the same height also. The one major difference was that she had silver eyes, where as Alexia has green eyes. She wore white pants, white high-heel boots, a white long sleeve shirt with a black vest buttoned over it, and a black sun necklace outlined in gold. "So, where are we?"

"You don't know?" the guy, to my right, asked. I looked at him and, if I hadn't known better, would have thought it was Zane. Unlike the girl who looked like Alexia, there were two major differences: one was the guy's hair color which was so blond it was almost white, while Zane's is red; the other was his eyes which were gold, Zane's are blue. He wore black boots, black pants, a black short sleeve shirt with a short white jacket over it (similar to Leon's shirt and jacket combination), and a white moon necklace outlined in silver.

I looked around the room. It was a strange room indeed. The room had white walls with strange symbols, which looked like the upside down Nobody's symbol, all over. Chains connected the symbols to a throne, though I could only see the backside of it, in the middle of the room where it looked like some kind of energy was coming out of the throne and traveling through the chains, which is the only way the chains were visible, to the symbols. I had seen this before, but it was also different somehow.

"Chaos, Cosmos: who else is in this room?" I asked. I could sense a presence from within the room coming from the throne. They both looked down towards the ground. I could tell something was bothering them. I took a deep breath, sighed, and started walking towards the throne. Neither of them attempted to stop me. I walked around the throne and as I reached the front I said the first thing that came to mind: "Roxas?"

"Try Ventus," Cosmos spoke softly.

I turned to see both of them standing behind me. "So, this is Ven?"

Cosmos seemed shocked. Chaos's eyes got wide. "How did you know his nickname?!" they both asked, together.

I looked back and didn't say anything for a few minutes as I tried to focus my thoughts. "It was early this morning, when Zane and I were playing a videogame. There was this flash, and I had all kinds of weird images and names flash through my mind. Ven was one of them. He was wearing armor and fighting against someone. There were two others: a girl with blue hair and a guy with brown; Aqua and Terra, if I'm not mistaken."

Chaos spoke up, "What else did you see?!" I could tell he'd be the impatient type; a total opposite from Zane.

I told them the rest, about a girl named Xion as well as the line in Jiminy's Journal entry. They were both speechless. "So, can we help Ven?"

Cosmos sighed, "Not at the moment, no. There is still much for you to learn before Ven can be freed."

"And we need to meet up with them," Chaos said.

I looked at Chaos and raised an eyebrow. "Them?" He waved his hand, signaling for me not to worry about it. I still wanted to know, but I let it go. There were other questions I wanted to ask first. I took one last look at Ven. I wanted to know what happened. And I was determined to find out.

I walked around the throne and headed for the door. "No more questions?" Cosmos asked. She and Chaos were walking with me, side by side by side with me in the middle.

"Oh, I've got a ton of questions," I answered. "However, this room is kinda freaking me out. And, also, I'd like a change of clothes." I looked at my wardrobe. My jeans were dirty and ripped, I didn't have any shoes on, and I had a hole and a blood stain on my shirt where I had been cut.

"Second door on the left down the hallway," Chaos said as I opened the door.

Walking down the hallway gave me a strange sense of déjà vu. I knew I'd seen this place before, I just didn't know where. As I entered the door the lights came on, reveling some kind of armory. There were clothes and shoes everywhere. I looked around and saw posters of outfits that looked like they went well together. One particular caught my eye.

"Its Alex's outfit," I commented. No one said anything. I decided to let it slip. I started walking down the aisles of clothes. There were so many to choose from.

"I have a question for you two," I said, looking through different shirts. I had been debating on how to ask and this is what I got. "What is your official title?"

Chaos seemed confused, but Cosmos caught on. "We have no official title. To put it simply, we are the original wielders and owners of the two Keyblades you now have whose heart and soul were sealed within them."

"It was our wills that shaped the Keyblades you now hold," Chaos added, now catching on.

"You two shaped these Keyblades?" I questioned. I put down the shirt I was looking at and summoned the two Keyblades. "And there names are your names?"

"Our names, Chaos and Cosmos, are nicknames we were given," Cosmos explained. "When we became True Keyblade Masters, we were allowed to forge our own Keyblades. We decided to give them our nicknames."

"So, what are your true names?" I asked, dismissing the Keyblades.

There was a slight tension all of a sudden. I had hit a nerve. Chaos finally piped up, "We don't remember."

I wanted to ask, but decided to drop it. "So, what was with the dragon forms?"

"They are our original forms," Chaos stated. I dropped the pair of pants I was looking at and turned to look at them. "We are of the Draconian race, dragons that have the ability to turn into humans. Or vice versa. Take it as you will."

"So why take the forms of my girlfriend and best friend? What about your human forms?" I inquired.

"It goes back to not knowing our names," Cosmos sadly answered. I was going to change the subject, but she began speaking before I could. "You see, when we died, our souls were sealed within our Keyblades. And our hearts formed the keychains. It was during the process of heart/soul separation that we forgot our names. It is a side effect of merging with our Keyblades. If you search our memories, you will only find memories of us when we were called by our nicknames."

"A True Keyblade Master is usually given a nickname which then usually becomes the name of their Keyblade, or they can just flat out name it. If you were to search the memories of other True Keyblade Masters, the same could be said for those who gave their Keyblade their nickname," Chaos remarked. "Since we are psychically linked to you, we used the memories of the people you think and care most about, aka your girlfriend and best friend. Now hurry up and find a damn pair of pants." I nodded and then turned back to the pants, selected a pair I liked, and then went somewhere private to change.

"Take your time Xander. Chaos is just an ass," Cosmos proclaimed. I could hear Chaos muttering under his breath. "Also, just to answer a future question, True Keyblades Masters, or TKMs, forge their own Keyblades after becoming a True Master through a process that I'll let Chaos explain." She looked at Chaos who sighed.

"And, one more thing," she interrupted Chaos. "Most TKMs do not have keychains on their Keyblades."

"Why not?" I asked, coming out of the changing room and now looking around at other stuff: shoes, belts, and other accessories.

"It goes back to the process of forging one's own Keyblade. When a person is chosen to wield a Keyblade, they are given the original and most basic Keyblade: the Kingdom Key. If one can master the power of this Keyblade, then he or she is able to rise to the next level which is just a step above. At this level, one can attach other keychains to transform the Keyblade into different shapes and gain different abilities," Chaos explained. "At the Master level, one has found a version of the Keyblade, other than the Kingdom Key, in which they have become most comfortable with and have fully mastered all of its abilities and possibly accessed its memories, the memories of its forger and original wielder. One can also duel-wield Keyblades or use others Keyblades from wielders as a Keyblade Master.

"And then, there is a True Keyblade Master. If one becomes a TKM, then he or she removes the keychain from the Kingdom Key and shapes the Keyblade to his or her will. Once shaped, a TKM's Keyblade requires no keychain because it is linked to their heart. Towards the end of their life, a TKM will seal his or her heart and mend it to their Keyblade, thus creating a keychain. This leaves the memories of the original wielder, excluding their true name, and also sets a limitation on their Keyblade."

"Limitations?" I questioned. I was looking at belts, and had just found one.

"Keychains set limits on Keyblades," Cosmos answered, "so that wielders after the TKM do not become over powered once they start wielding the Keyblade. As they start to master its power, the keychain will begin to loosen its hold. However, no one can wield a Keyblade the same way as a TKM can, unless the Keyblade itself deems it fit. And, one last thing, the chain links that connect the keychain to the Keyblade holds the memories of the wielders who used the Keyblade after the TKM. A Master or a TKM can access those memories, if so desired."

I looked over at them, fascinated. "So, what makes you two different?" They both gave me a blank look. "What? Oh, sorry! I have a bad habit of bluntly asking questions."

Chaos snickered. "You figured it out, huh? We are a special case. We are twin brother and sister and wielders of darkness and light respectively. Also, because we are of the Draconian race, when we die our souls are sealed within special orbs and stored away for future use."

"However," Cosmos continued, "we are, as far as I'm aware, the only ones of the Draconian race to ever be able to use the Keyblade. When we died, we were not in our world, so the closest thing to seal our souls was our Keyblades. Our Keyblades and the orbs are so similar it made perfect sense. Plus, we are the first two to die outside our world. And so, our souls were sealed into the blade and our hearts forged into the keychains, which brings us back to forgetting our true names."

I finished getting together and began walking towards them. "So, what about the two keys that I held during my…"

"Awakening?" they both finished for me.

"Yeah, that," I answered.

"They were heart-based blades: rare Keyblades that are forged from the heart." Chaos stated. "We wanted to see if you'd listen to them, to us, and open up your heart. Once you did, we revealed their true form."

"I see…" I said, trailing off. I was trying to put all the information I had learned together, without getting a headache. I walked back to the center of the room. "Where to next?"

"We need to find… Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" Cosmos asked. I shook my head. She pointed towards one and motioned me to look at myself.

"Nice threads," Chaos said. The first real compliment I'd gotten from him all day.

"Thanks," I replied. I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't help but smile. I had black boots, similar to my zip-up Brake light Harley's; dark blue-grey jeans, a black belt with a silver and gold dragon belt buckle , a white long sleeve undershirt, with a grey short jacket over it, a silver band on my left ring finger, and a gold band on my right ring finger. On the back of the jacket were two dragon wings, one black outlined in gold and one white outlined in silver. I slid my hands through my brown hair, pulling it to the front. My grey eyes were gleaming. I combed down my soul patch and goatee. "Not too shabby, if I do say so myself."

Cosmos laughed, "You've got the look of a Balance Keeper, that's for sure."

I looked over at her and Chaos. "Is that my official title: Balance Keeper?"

"Call it as you will, but we do need to be leaving," Chaos interrupted. "There is a very important person, well actually two, which you need to meet."

"You are such a party pooper Chaos…" Cosmos sighed. Chaos brushed it off as he headed towards the door. "Ready Xander?" I nodded and back into the hallway we headed.

I took one last look at the door that lead to the room where Ven was sleeping, only to notice that it wasn't there anymore. "What happened to the door?"

"It's a failsafe," Chaos said. "The door became invisible and can only be opened using a Keyblade. Come on, we have somewhere we need to be."

"Okay…" I trailed off. Something was telling me that wasn't the case, but I just let it slide. There were other thinks I needed to worry about. Like, where in the world we were.

As we made our way through the hallway, we stopped at a large door. That's when I realized where we were. "Castle Oblivion…" I muttered. "We're in Castle Oblivion!" I pushed the door open and when I did we were in the main entrance.

"Castle Oblivion?" Cosmos asked. "So that the name of this place."

"You two didn't know?"

"We once knew this place, but by another name," Chaos stated. "I wonder if she was the one who changed it…"

I opened my mouth, about to ask, but decided not to. I figured I would eventually find out. Besides, there was some information that these two didn't seem to want to give out. They were hiding something for sure, I just didn't know what.

We walked to the entrance. I pulled the doors open and we stepped outside. It was a strange sight to behold. We were standing on a giant floating rock, with the castle behind us, and a rock pathway before us. I walked a little farther out, followed by Cosmos and Chaos. The sky was nothing but swirling dark clouds. It looked like there hadn't been sunlight here in a good long while. I turned around to face the castle. It was one hell of a sight. I hadn't expected it to be so huge, but sure enough it was.

As I examined the castle, something caught my eye.

I walked around to what I best could figure out was the west side of the castle. There, in the wall was a tiny black dot, no bigger than a quarter. I don't know how it caught it my eye, but somehow it did. I put my hand over it, wondering why I had been attracted to it when the dot grew larger.

"A dark corridor," I blankly stated.

"Yep," Chaos mocked. I looked over at him, annoyed. "What? You're the one pointing out the obvious."

"Cosmos?"

"I'm on it," she said. Before Chaos could ask, she elbowed him in the stomach. "You can be such an ass…" Chaos grumbled and then stood back up, rubbing his stomach.

"Even worlds apart, older sibs totally understand one another," I smiled. Cosmos nodded. "Now, where does this lead?"

Cosmos shook her head. "It's a corridor of darkness, out of my jurisdiction."

"And into mine," Chaos said. He held up his hand over the corridor. "This will take us to them."

Cosmos looked confused. "Who opened it?"

"Does it matter?" I asked. "If it will take us to our destination, let's go." I looked over my shoulder. They both seemed hesitant. "What?"

"Normally, I'd go along with this, but something seems off…" Chaos said. "Why is it that a portal just happens to appear before us that will take us to our destination?"

Cosmos sighed, "Well, I'd prefer we take the long way, but time is of the essence…"

I looked back towards the front of Castle Oblivion. "Short cut it is," I said, walking through the portal before Chaos or Cosmos could say anything.

It was a brief passage and it was also a strange feeling going through it. Kinda like that feeling from a roller coaster as you reach the climax of the ride, but then it ends all too soon. The next thing I knew, I found myself standing on a dark and gloomy beach. The sound of the ocean gave the place a more calm-like appeal than the looks of it.

Roughly 30 feet from me was a figure wearing an Organization coat, sitting on a rock. About five feet closer to me from said figure sat a girl with blue hair. She looked over at me, tears had been rolling down her cheek. She stood up as I took a few steps closer.

"Our honored guest has arrived," the figure said in a male voice.

The girl turned around to look at the guy, then back at me. Her face lit up. "You're him?!"

I stood there a little dumbfounded. "I guess…?" She walked closer and as she did I could see her face better. "Aqua?!"

She stopped dead in her tracks, like she had just been hit in the stomach. "H-How do you know my name?!"

"Well, you see…"

"You had a vision, didn't you?" the guy in the coat asked. He stood up and stood next to Aqua.

"Yeah, kinda," I replied. "I saw you with two guys named Terra and Ventus."

Her eyes got big. The man in the coat stood straighter. "As I thought," he said. He went back to his rock and sat down. "Please, join us."

I walked over towards them and stood face to face with Aqua. She was examining me, trying to see if I really was him, whoever him is. Once she seemed satisfied, she smiled, "You seem trustworthy. My name, as you guessed, is Aqua. I am a Keyblade master. And you are?"

"Xander," I answered. "It's an honor to meet you."

She smiled and nodded. "So, how did you end up here?"

I sighed. "It's a long story." She insisted and so I told her my tale. I told her about the video game, the strange creature in the cloud, my Awakening, being teleported to Castle Oblivion, seeing Ven (at which her eyes got big, but a huge relief crossed her face when she realized he was fine), and finally using the Corridor of Darkness to appear here.

"It seems you've had quite the trip, young Balance Keeper," the man said.

I nodded. "Yeah, it has been kinda crazy. What about you two?"

The man pushed back his hood. "You tell me."

"Y-y-you're Ansem the Wise!" I said, bewildered. He nodded. "But, I thought you were killed when that device of yours exploded."

"It seems fate had other plans for me," he said, monotone. "I was transported here, where I've been wondering ever since. But, it has had its advantages. I've had time to think and to read." He reached inside his coat and pulled out a very old looking book. "It has taken me quite some time, but I've been able to translate most of this book."

"What is it?" I looked over at Aqua, who smiled. "You know, don't you?"

"We were discussing it before you showed up," she replied. "Wise Ansem?"

"This book is the only known recordings of the Keyblade War," he began. "It depicts on how it was started, who all took part in it, the outcome, and, most interestingly of all, a Balance Keeper."

"Balance Keeper…" I repeated. That's what Cosmos called me! I started looking around.

"Something the matter?" Aqua asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing, never mind. Continue, please." Chaos, Cosmos, where are you two?

We're still here, Cosmos replied. They just can't see us.

I gave a telekinetic nod as Ansem continued, "The Balance Keeper is one who wields both light and darkness with ease. This book depicts the balance keeper as one who can wield two Keyblades, one of light and one of darkness, and has the ability to merge the two as one." I thought back to my Awakening, when I had merged Chaos and Cosmos together. But, for the life of me, I couldn't remember how I did it or what I said to merge them. "The Balance Keeper can also mend, or destroy, the heart of worlds and seal off a world for eternity, with the powers to save and/or destroy.

"The Balance Keeper can also restore hearts to those who are either missing one or a being who's heart is torn. However, there is more to Balance Keeper than just this. According to the book, it was the Balance Keeper who ended the Keyblade War using the powers of Kingdom Hearts. As to how the Balance Keeper did this, I have yet to translate that far."

"…You think I'm the balance keeper?" I asked.

"You catch on quick, my friend," Ansem responded. "I believe so. I can sense something about your being that tells me this."

I looked at Aqua. "What do you think?"

"Summon your Keyblade," she stated.

"Ummm…" I knew what she was expecting. "…Okay…" I summoned Chaos and Cosmos to my hands.

Both Aqua and Ansem's eyes widened. Their mouths almost dropped open as they look on at my Keyblades.

"This is undeniable proof!" Ansem exclaimed. "You wield two: one of light and one of darkness! You are the Balance Keeper!"

Aqua was smiling. "We can save Terra and Ven!"

I looked down at my blades, wondering if I really was this so-called Balance Keeper. Cosmos, Chaos, am I really…?

There was silence for a few seconds. Finally, after much anticipation, they responded. Only time will tell.

I looked up at Aqua, then over to Ansem. "I'll do what I—"

A sudden gust of wind, so powerful it almost knocked me backwards, rushed through. It wasn't long before a being wearing a dark suit, similar to the suit Riku wore in his Dark Mode. Whoever it was wore a helmet, so their face was hidden. In their right hand was a Keyblade, the likes to which I had never seen.

Aqua stepped in front of me, summoning her Keyblade. "You: I thought Ven destroyed you!"

The being laughed, "Please, that idiot couldn't even save himself. If I'm not mistaken, he is in a comatose."

Aqua gritted her teeth. "Damn you…"

I stepped forward, making sure I would be in a position to stop Aqua if needed. "Vanitas, right?" He lowered his head. "You're the embodiment of Ven's darkness, right?"

"You must be the Balance Keeper that old fart over there kept rambling on about," he snared. "Yes, I'm Vanitas. And, yes, I'm the embodiment of Ven's darkness. What's your point?"

"You shattered Ven's heart and stole pieces of it so he would never reawaken," I said. I had no idea where this knowledge was coming from. "And you plan on taking over Ven's being in order to recreate the X-Blade."

"Well, well, well… Aren't we all-knowing?" Vanitas mocked. "You are correct. That was my plan."

"Was?" Aqua and I asked.

He laughed. "It seems that blue-headed bitch sealed Ven's room so that only a keybearer of light can enter. So, I'll just have to find another way." I could tell something was off, but I didn't know what. He raised his left hand and a corridor appeared behind him. "They share a heart, so it shouldn't be hard to possess him."

"They share a heart?" I asked. I looked at Aqua, whose expression was that of fear and terror.

"No…" she whispered. "You can't!"

He walked backwards, towards the portal. "Watch me," were his final words as he walked through corridor.

I dismissed my Keyblades and turned to face Aqua. "What did he mean by 'they share a heart'?"

Ansem stood up. "Is he talking about…?"

Aqua gulped "Sora. He's talking about Sora!" she cried. "This is bad! We have to find Sora before Vanitas does!"

"Aqua, what does Sora and Ven have to do with one another?"

She looked at me, then out towards the ocean. "Everything," She began. "Sora is the key to all. His heart unites all of ours; which is why we have to find him!"

I sighed. That wasn't really the answer I was looking for. "So, we need to get to the Realm of Light, right?" She nodded. "Okay, I've got an idea. Just bare with me for a few minutes, okay?" She nodded again.

I summoned Cosmos to my hand and closed my eyes. Cosmos, do you have full access to your memories?

…No, only some of them. My deepest memories are sealed away in a place I cannot access, she replied.

Is it possible they are sealed within the keychain? She sent me a telekinetic shrug. Well, we'll just have to find out. I began focusing only on the Cosmos Keyblade.

I need to know if I… My mind and they keychain locked and I began to see memories of Cosmos's past. I focused on only one thought, hoping that would help me find what I needed. It felt like forever, but soon I found what I was looking for.

My eyes shot open. "I can!" I exclaimed. I ran to the shore and pointed Cosmos in the direction of the coast.

"What are you doing?" Aqua asked.

I smiled. "Watch," I insisted. "Key of the Holy Might, take us to the Realm of Light!" The Keyblade shot out a beam of light and a corridor was opened.

Both Aqua and Ansem were speechless. "Well?" I asked. "Shall we depart this gloomy place?"

"Yeah… Lets… Was that really the incantation to open a Corridor of Light?" Aqua asked.

I shook my head. "Nope, that was just for fun."

"You're crazy."

"I know," I remarked. "Now, shall we?" She nodded and made her way towards the corridor. I looked at Ansem. "Well?" Aqua turned around to look as well.

"There is still more to this book I must decode," he said. "Besides, for all the horrible things I've done, I don't deserve to return to the light; at least, not now."

Aqua was about to protest, but I intervened. "He's made his decision. We can't change his mind."

She nodded in acceptance. "Be careful, Wise Ansem. Who knows what else is in this world." He nodded.

"Now then, shall we?" I asked. Aqua nodded. We jumped through the portal; next stop, somewhere in the Realm of Light.

A/N: Hope everyone ejoyed!!! Don't expect an update for at least two weeks. (Sorry!!) I've got a pretty busy week this and next week. (Again, sorry!!) Please R&R!!!! :)