Now, now, children. I said I wouldn't be explainingn any of that, didn't I? You'll find out. Patience, my friends. Patience.

The song belongs to Nine Inch Nails. Not me. Any other disclaimers/claimers are in the previous chapters.

I believe I can see the future

Because I repeat the same routine

I think I used to have a purpose

Then again, that might have been a dream

Every day is exactly the same

"How is she coming?"

"I dunno," Axel said with a shrug. "If she's remembered anything, she's kept it to herself."

"Nothing at all?" Xemnas pressed. A simple headshake in answer. He sighed. "Very well. Retrieve Roxas."

"Why?" The faint memory of surprise tugged at the back of Axel's mind.

"She'll have to be reminded of how to fight."

"With—"

"With," he interrupted calmly, "the only weapon she remembers wielding, until she remembers all."

x x x x

Yep. Just as he expected. A ridiculous sight, indeed.

She was jumping on the bed.

With Demyx.

Axel sighed in irritation. Roxas merely blinked.

"Demyx," the red-head barked, "out."

"But why?" the children whined.

"Out," he growled.

"Fine, I'm going!" Riley stared after him in disbelief.

"Why'd ya hafta go an' do that for?" she complained, stopping in her bouncing to sit with her legs tucked beneath her. "We were having fun!" He snorted.

"You're going to be training today."

"Training?"

"With Roxas."

"Why?"

"Ouch," the boy said, pretending to be hurt. Riley crossed her arms.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she pouted.

"It's an order. You're to train with Roxas." The girl sighed in defeat.

"I guess it's better than being bored. What kind of training are we doing?" The blond looked at Axel, not quite knowing the reason himself.

"Sparring," he said dully.

"Whaaaa…?" they asked simultaneously, gaping.

"Why do I hafta do that?" Riley demanded. The red-head shrugged.

"How should I know? Xemnas ordered it, so hop to it."

"Why with me, though?" Roxas asked. "What about you?" He shrugged once more.

"Supervise."

"That's no fair!" Rilyn complained, crossing her arms. The blond sighed, summoning his weapons.

"Let's do it, then," he said finally. She stared at him in amazement.

"How'd you do that?" He shrugged. She scowled at him before getting up and snatching the onyx and silver pendant from the chain around her neck, swirling it around playfully as it grew into an obsidian staff. She readied herself, an excited grin adorning her face. "So who gets to commence the attack?"

She received no answer; instead, Roxas charged, dragging the keyblades on the floor behind him. Rilyn was startled by the abruptness of it and sidestepped late, her weapon throwing her off balance when Oathkeeper grazed it. She stumbled a bit and swept at the boy's feet, a maneuver he easily evaded. He retaliated by swinging both his blades in a strong arc. Rilyn hardly had the time to pull the staff back to keep them inches away.

"You're out of practice," Roxas commented.

"Well, I haven't really had to use it much," she replied through gritted teeth.

"That'll have to change," he said with a smirk.

They separated quickly, both regaining their feet and original stances. They stood that way for a moment, each daring the other to take the next move. Rilyn finally conceded, running forward and trying a sweep at his waist. He grunted when it hit, falling back a little. She immediately pulled the staff back over her head and brought it down swiftly, aiming for his head. The blond parried just quick enough to avoid the blow.

"Looks like the tables have turned," she crowed.

"Not yet," Roxas growled. With a sudden burst of speed, he appeared behind her, initiating a relentless attack with both keyblades. Rilyn did her best to block with the obsidian weapon until one strike came a little too close to her hand, startling her so she released it involuntarily, stumbling and falling backward. Roxas stopped to point Oblivion at her throat, smirking victoriously.

"Dead," he announced. She sat up and stuck her tongue out at him, pouting.

x x x x

The days—or were they just hours?—passed in such a way; that is say, sparring with Roxas became the pinnacle of Rilyn's daily life.

She often lost, being the overconfident wench she could be, and, intentionally or not, Roxas was slowly teaching her just how out of practice she was. Not to mention the fact that there were, indeed, many who were stronger than her.

Rilyn, however, was a very persistent young woman.

"Take this!" she yelled, shoving the obsidian staff at his stomach. Roxas tumbled to the floor, losing his grip on Oathkeeper along the way.

She rushed forward, shoving its end to his neck. He stared at the weapon for a moment allowing his eyes to rise to meet hers. He smiled.

"You're getting better," he said simply.

Rilyn grinned in childish delight at the praise, gently taking the staff from his neck and offering him a hand to help him up. Roxas, however, had other plans.

He smirked arrogantly and slashed at her arm. She yelped in surprise and jerked away to fall back into what was a mockery of her typical stance. Sweat beaded on her forehead from both pain and exhaustion. Her blue flicked to her left arm—it seemed pretty damn useless now.

"You should know better than to let your guard down, Riley," Roxas taunted. She hissed at him agitation, evoking a laugh. "Alright, kitten," he sneered, "let's go."

The girl's temper flared and she tightened her grip on the staff. She turned it vertical, slamming it into the ground with unprecedented force. Her opponent hesitated as it shortened to the length of an average blade. He stared in astonishment.

Axel watched disinterestedly from his perch on the bed until this particular occurrence. She'd had a big stick, and now it was a small one. But how had she done that? According to Xemnas, Rilyn had absolutely no magical prowess to speak of, so that was out of the question; it seemed utterly ridiculous that such a slight girl could do something like that strength alone. So… how?

A shriek—no, a battle cry—pierced the air as she lunged at Roxas. He fell back gradually, parrying each powerful attack she tried. The mere force was snatching at every inch it could gain on its opponent, and doing so well.

The last thing Axel saw before the darkness enveloped him completely was Rilyn's back as she pushed his friend against the wall.

"Xemnas," he asked upon emerging, "what exactly are you trying to do?"

The Superior hardly moved.

"What do you want with that girl? How—"

"I've already answered that question."

"Oh, yeah, Kingdom Hearts," he said sarcastically. "But how can she help when she's not even—" Axel stopped abruptly.

"What has she done to make you question my judgment, Number VIII?" Xemnas asked, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. The red-head didn't answer for a while, still connecting the proverbial dots in his mind.

"But she can't…"

"She is."

"But how? Roxas is—"

"A different generation." A thick silence ensued. "Haven't we already discussed this, Axel?" A slight tone of annoyance pervaded his voice.

"Just how strong is she?" Axel finally asked. A smile crossed the Superior's lips, unseen by the other.

"Strong enough."

Ho! training has begun! But what could have Xemnas have meant? And just what did Axel realize about Riley?

...Don't you just hate it when us writers do this sort of thing to y'all readers? XD

Now, excuse me while I go stare at the new artwork .>