Omg it's finally done. Fun fact - I actually had a good hunk of this story done right after Birth By Sleep came out and intended to begin uploading this before the Japanese release of 3D. However, I was so unhappy with this chapter, that I held off until now. I figured that if I split the chapter (which, lengthwise, had to be done) and posted the first part, it would motivate me to actually stop hating it and getting it done. And, after multiple complete rewrites, I'm finally okay with it.

I just want to give a big thank you to everyone who reviewed! All of your compliments and tips really helped and, as this is my first story, I am extremely grateful!

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Disney, and Final Fantasy are the properties of their respective owners.

Edit: Just noticed that a sentence was left trailing! Why do I never notice these things when I'm editing, but the second it gets posted it's the most obvious thing in the world?

2

The Chamber of Waking

"Get the hell out of my head!" demanded the replica, attempting to conceal the terror rippling through him at the boy's casual declaration.

"You don't have a head,' Sora's voice acknowledged in a bored drawl before tauntingly adding, 'I'm in your heart.'

"Then get the hell out of there!" Furious when the boy ignored him, the replica mentally screamed, "I'm not screwing around with you!"

The replica felt the air shift as if a sudden chill was passing through. 'I'll be out of here soon enough, but it's not like you'll notice. The tattered remains of your heart aren't going to last much longer. And that's all the better for me.'

"Tattered remains?" he said shakily, his thoughts returning to Naminé and Riku after the storm, moments before the memory began to unravel before his eyes. The harsh voices of Vexen, Axel, and the others remained so fresh in his mind that it felt like he was hearing them for the first time. With an inner shudder at the insinuations the boy was making, he steeled himself and snarled, "Who are you? What are you talking about?"

Within his own mind he heard a derisive laugh. 'Why don't you try and remember?'

Before the replica could react, their combined energy reached an abrupt halt in front of a blank wall that was, by all appearances, indistinguishable from the others decorating the castle floors. The replica could sense nothing behind it that would mark it as anything other than a dead end, yet felt his passenger shiver with anticipation. With no further explanation, he forced the pair through the wall like nothing more than a shadow.

As long as the replica had been awake, the castle had always appeared magnificent to the eye yet cold and foreboding to the touch. He recognized it for what it was - a prison. But the room that now lay before him was alive. The walls themselves shone silvery white with a brilliance that paled the drab backdrop he had known by comparison. Dazzling chains that seemed to be fabricated out of pure light pulsed along the floor and up the walls, until the beams reached emblems that resembled a heart atop a cross. An ornate, shining throne that nearly scraped the ceiling stood at the far end from the room with its back facing the replica and his passenger. For the first time, the he truly recognized why the fortress was known as Castle Oblivion.

Immediately the replica felt a strange flickering of energy in the air. Magic. A powerful enchantment rushed through the air as if it sensed the undesired visitors.

"Where am I? I've never seen this room before," the replica admitted to himself, suddenly realizing how little he actually knew about the castle that had been his only home.

The voice grunted and reproached, 'You wouldn't have. Very few members of the Organization know about this place, and even if more did, it's not possible to enter here except under certain circumstances. Circumstances that the old man has finally made in my favour.'

Disgusted with how open his thoughts were to this boy, he nonetheless had to ask, "So what is this place?"

The boy was mute for a moment before responding. 'If I had to guess, I'd say the reason for this castle's existence.'

As their spirit neared the throne, the replica felt his passenger's exhilaration build. So focused on his own questions, the replica had fallen completely blind as to what was happening to him. Of all the scenarios regarding the throne room's inhabitant that could have played out in his mind, this would never have been one of them.

'Like I said, I'm here for you. Well, you…' continued the voice in a tone that could scarcely conceal its feverish excitement, 'and him.'

Atop the throne, head bowed slightly in sleep, was seated a boy. He was so small, despite appearing to be about Sora's age, that his feet barely brushed the edge of the massive throne. His hair was straw-coloured, spiked in a slight wave atop his head. He wore the most bizarre assortment of clothing that the replica had ever encountered, sporting a short-sleeved jacket that was half white and half black with a pleated red collar. The pendant on his jacket appeared to the symbol that appeared on the walls, holding it together in a cross-shaped clasp. On his left shoulder perched an armoured plate.

Unlike Sora, whose face had shown the unmistakable signs of dreaming, this boy seemed frozen, like a statue. The replica surely would have thought him dead had there not been a small flickering of light around him.

Gazing down on him, the replica abruptly solved the mystery of one of the bright scents he had been tracking. Without his body, it had been impossible to sense him. But on the twelfth floor he had been able to detect it.

As they neared him, the magic in the air began to spark. The replica felt the tension rise, though his passenger scarcely paid it any heed.

'A heart imbued with artificial darkness,' the boy mused to himself, 'and here lies another of pure light. Two shattered hearts, two lifeless bodies… If they are to clash by my hand… will I be left holding the blade?'

With a sudden jerk, the pair began descending on the sleeping boy. Horrified, the replica realized what his passenger intended to do.

"Stop!" Summoning as much strength as he could muster, the replica began to fight against the rapid descent. For an agonizing second, his efforts did little to slow their decline towards the boy's chest, yet he could feel his passenger straining against him until they came to hover mere inches from where his heart would be. "You already have me! Isn't that enough?!"

'I'm afraid that offering up your life won't buy you as much as you think – I already own you. Besides, all of my work is useless without the both of you.'

"I won't let you hurt him!" the replica cried. His mind nearly buckled with the effort.

The voice gave an icy chuckle in reply. 'If you want to waste your last seconds fighting me, go ahead. It won't change anything.'

"What do you even want from me? I don't have anything to give you."

'Do you like being so weak? Does it fill you with rage to know that I'm strong enough to kill you with such little effort? Only the strong deserve to live. When I take your strength, mine grows, and it is by gaining strength that I can become more. If your life was worth anything, you would be able to fight back. But you can't because you do not deserve life. That has always been your destiny, replica, to bend to the will of others so that they can become stronger. You should be honoured that your final sacrifice will be to serve me.'

The replica knew there was no hope left for him; the little strength he had was fading away as he struggled. His body had vanished, his heart splintered, and his mind was overtaken. But the sleeping boy on the throne still had a chance.

His passenger gave a chilling chuckle. The replica shut him out and focused on pulling back. Despite his weakness, he could feel the other boy straining against him. He knew that it was a battle to see who would give in first. He could sense that the boy's strength far exceeded his, but the replica was certain that he could hold him off for just another second, another minute, anything to buy the boy more time.

"Please wake up," he pleaded despite knowing that his passenger was attending to his every word, "I can't hold him off forever."

The voice laughed hysterically, causing the replica's grasp to slip. 'He's never going to wake up. I've waited ten years for this moment and can wait a minute longer for your heart to decay.'

Struggling to regain control, the replica realized his chance. The boy had given his advantage away when he claimed that he somehow forced his existence to reside within the replica's heart; a heart that had been granted unprecedented mastery over darkness. Calling upon the darkest deepest within, the replica beckoned forth a torrent of darkness that eroded his heart from within. The excruciating agony he now associated with darkness scorched through him, but he was prepared for it and therefore able to control the tide enough that it would not consume him. His passenger, he trusted, would be unaware of the new repercussion he had recently discovered and be powerless to survive it. His assault lasted only a second as he could endure it no longer, and the replica, utterly spent, inwardly sighed in relief at his victory.

Sora's voice erupted in hysterical laughter. 'You honestly thought that could stop me? I hear every one of your thoughts, witnessed your every emotion, and it is only by my allowance that use can use such abilities. It's not because of Riku that you have become what you are. I am your darkness.'

"Who…" the replica began weakly, unable to muster enough strength to go on. His last flickers of strength dissipated, absorbed by the one who now owned his heart. "Who are you?"

'You knew it once, before they broke you. I want to hear you say it before I destroy you.'

"You're giving yourself far too much credit," slighted the replica in an effort to regain his voice. "Except for what happened ten minutes ago, I don't remember anything other than what the Organization put in my head."

There was a tense pause while the other boy seemed to mull over his options. The fact that something finally was going in his favour almost made the replica break into laughter. He tried to sense if there had been any change in the sleeping boy's condition, but to his disappointment, found him as silent as ever.

"Is it 'Evil Sora'?" he offered while realizing that this banter was winning some extra time. "If you want something else, you're going to have to take it up with Naminé. I would say Vexen, but he's dead. And Axel isn't great with straight answers."

The replica was shocked when he could actually feel the other boy seething. 'I know what you're doing.' The voice cut into his thoughts like a dagger. 'It's funny, I thought you'd actually be smarter than Ventus. But it seems I was wrong." Without warning the replica felt his thoughts being choked out of his mind, strangled by the sudden darkness rising within him. Cruelly, Sora's voice addressed him, 'I'll tell you my name, replica, because I want it to hear it from you. I want it to be the last thought you have before I sever your heart. I want to hear you scream it when I take everything from you.'

The replica struggled against the torture, refusing to comply as he felt the last remnants of his heart shatter.

The boy whispered, 'Vanitas.'

The replica felt a chill course through him. Vanitas. He was right – the replica did know that name. He could feel the memory lurking deep within him as if it was trying to resurface, but was being held back by a glass ceiling. He could see it lying just below the surface of the lies the Organization had manufactured, but he was unable to break through and touch it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to touch it.

'Do you remember me now, replica?' taunted Vanitas. Knowing that all of his thoughts were privy to Vanitas' whims, the replica refused to give him the satisfaction of a response. He could, however, feel a surge of sadistic enjoyment as Vanitas tightened his grip on the replica's heart. Overcome with Vanitas' loathing as it strangled his mind, the replica tried to focus his thoughts on Naminé, Sora, even Axel, so that his final thoughts would be anything other than Vanitas. In desperation, he happened to sense the enchantment he had picked up on earlier. Noticing a change, he glanced beyond the sleeping boy for the first time. Inwardly the replica smiled.

"Hey… 'Darkness'."

Distracted, Vanitas asked curtly, 'What?'

"I don't think they like you."

While they had been occupied, thousands of blazing orbs, created from pure light, had encircled them. Each orb flared radiantly, as if each one contained a heart of its own. They began to hum ominously like a great choir singing a requiem. He felt Vanitas roughly release him from suffocation as his own emotions flared; the replica could sense it was fear.

'She couldn't have…' he trailed off in disbelief. 'This sort of protective spell should have been beyond her. Very well, Master,' Vanitas sneered on his final word, stretching it out in a tone of pure revulsion and malice. 'I'd brace yourself – this is going to hurt.

At Vanitas' directive, the air itself seemed to ignite as brilliant rays of light engulfed them completely. Vanitas began to scream as if he was being scorched alive. Hearing Sora's voice in such agony almost gave him pause, but he quickly shut it out. Vanitas deserved to burn. The light seared him as well, but it caused nowhere near the pain that his own darkness had inflicted earlier. The replica felt certain he was becoming far too accustomed to excruciating agony.

The replica knew it was finally over. He was a creature brought into the darkness. He was never meant to know the purity of light. Vanitas had done what he wanted, though the replica was at least grateful that he would no longer be able to reap the reward. Feeling his heart ebbing away, the replica felt the light wash over him, stripping away the last of his strength.

"I'm… fading… Fading away… into the light."

"You won't fade," a kind voice reassured him

"Naminé?" it sounded like her, yet slightly different. Nonetheless, the replica knew it had to be her. Heart swelling with gratitude, he whispered, "You came back."

"You can't fade," she continued. "There's no power that can defeat you – not the light, not the dark. So don't run from the light – and don't fear the darkness. Because both will make you stronger," she added definitively.

The replica heard his own voice, aloud, reply tentatively, "Make me stronger? Darkness too?"

"I'm not talking… who else is here with me?" stiffening, the replica could see only one solution. "No. It can't be him. Not Riku. Not now. Not with her!"

"Yeah. Strength that's yours," Naminé told Riku with a gentle emphasis. "The darkness inside your heart – it's vast and it's deep… but if you can truly stare into it and never try to look away, you won't be afraid of anything again."

At those words, a calming glow surrounded him the way Sora had done. But the replica was too distraught to feel any sort of comfort; his worst fear had come true. He now had to witness, abandoned and helpless, as Riku took his place in Naminé's life.

Suddenly the replica felt his spirit rising, floating away from the light emanating from Naminé's voice. Frantic, he tried to reach her, screaming, "Naminé! Wait! Please, Naminé!"

She, of course, paid him no mind. Riku was there instead. He was all that mattered now.

The voices, Riku's and Naminé's, began to fade until they became mere whispers. Stricken, the replica could barely hear their final speech to each other.

"Can I face them?" asked Riku, sounding confident and strong.

Naminé replied. "You don't want to?"

"You know I do. Of course."

"Stay away from her!" the replica screamed, knowing they could never hear. "Naminé, please…" he begged. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

There was silence as the replica opened his eyes.

"Naminé…" he muttered through barely open lips. His throat felt dry and raw. Coughing, he saw his breath mist on the floor. A white floor. Castle Oblivion. He was back where he started. His breath meant that he had a mouth and the fact that he could see it indicated that he had eyes. The pain and exhaustion in his limbs was suddenly welcomed.

"I'm awake. No, I'm alive," the replica thought in astonishment. He took several deep shuddering breaths while trying to keep the coughs down. "How is that even possible?"

The answer was obvious. Naminé. When comforting Riku she must have unwittingly healed him enough with her light to allow his survival. He was glad for that, though overwhelmed with disgust for what he had witnessed. Unconciously he reached into his pocket and took out the charm Namine had given him in the memory. Though it was a fake undoubtaby manufactured by the Organization, its sheer presence brought him ease.

He was lying on his stomach with his head painfully twisted to the side. Everything ached, but he was so grateful to have his body back that he scarcely noticed. Twisting his head, he noticed Axel standing a little off to the side. Axel was staring at him with a wide gaze, like he thought the replica was going to burst into flames at any second.

"What the hell was that?"

"What happened?" demanded the replica, shakily using his arms to prop himself into a sitting position. With his free hand he wiped away a tear that had formed at the corner of his eye. "What's going on?"

"You tell me. One second you're arguing with me and the next you're going into a fit. Apparently you were talking to Naminé," he derided coldly. "You were just sitting there, creepily, with your eyes shut, screaming for help and coughing. Then you shut up for a few minutes before suddenly crying to her over some charm." Axel gestured to the object in his lap.

Stunned, the replica tightened his grip on the charm until his hands ached. "I said all that out loud? And Axel heard everything." He felt embarrassed, but more than that he was terrified of what it meant. "I think my memories are starting to break down. When Naminé shattered my heart, something must have gone wrong." He drew his knees up to his chest, only now realizing he was shaking. "But those memories are a part of me," the replica's eyebrows knitted. "And I disappeared… It's not just my memories. I think I'm breaking down too."

Axel was not finished with his story. "Finally you just seized up and fell over. I nudged you a few times, but you were pretty under, so I just waited for you to wake up." With a shrug of his lanky shoulders, he concluded, "and that's pretty much it."

"But didn't you see the darkness?" he demanded, hoping for an alternative to his theory. "It pulled me under and you didn't even think to do anything about it?"

Axel shook his head. "Don't know what you're talking about. There was no darkness, just you talking to yourself and then blacking out."

"And I didn't disappear? I didn't just vanish and my body stayed here the whole time?"

"What? No. Like I said, I kicked you a little and you just lay there."

"And there was no voice? No Sora? No Riku? No – nothing?" his frantic voice rose higher with each question before petering off to a crack on 'nothing'. He wanted – he needed – Axel to verify what had happened to him.

"Sounds like a nightmare. Just get over it."

The replica stared at him. There was something else sharp about Axel – his eyes. He was interested in the story. Axel was lying. The replica quickly got to his feet, taking care not to let Axel see how unsteady he was. "Tell me what's going on!"

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Do you have any idea what I just went through?!" he exploded, throwing his arms down forcefully by his sides and snarling. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead, sliding down the nape of his neck, as his glare steadied on Axel.

Axel ran a hand through his hair as a frown creased his forehead. After a moment, he tore his gaze away from the replica and told him awkwardly, "Like I said, you just passed out…"

"No. No, that's not what happened," snapped the replica. "You want to know what really happened? After I was dragged into the floor, I had to watch my most important memory dissolve right in front of my eyes while listening to you, Vexen, and the others forcing Naminé to stick it into my head."

"What are you talking ab-"

"'Do you really think Riku would just jump back into the water for the charm? Sounds kind of stupid to me'. Sound familiar? It should. That's what you said. That's what you told them when you were putting that memory into me." The replica watched as Axel's eyes widened slightly. Quickly he tried to cover it up, but it was too late. "But it didn't matter before because there was something pushing me back so that I couldn't think about it. This time I could, though. So why now?"

"How should I know? Maybe Naminé smashing your heart did more damage than I thought and you're starting to remember what happened before. I don't know!" Axel exclaimed.

There it was – the confirmation he had sought. Unsurprisingly he felt no better than he did a minute ago. "So my memories breaking down?"

"I honestly have no idea, but it sounds like it."

"So what does that mean for me?"

"Again, do I look like I'm the resident replica expert?"

"Well, you killed the only person I could ever ask, so you'd better figure it out."

Axel placed his long fingers against his temples and began to rub. "I don't owe you anything, replica. I haven't killed you yet, though I'm seriously regretting that right now, so if I were you, I'd take what I can get."

Even with the threat, the replica was certain Axel was not going to harm him. With the disturbing visions behind him and the threat of his memories disintegrating, Axel suddenly seemed much less intimidating. "What about the rest of it?"

"Oh good, there's more?"

The replica ignored him and continued. "After I heard all of you talking, the memory started to dissolve. The next thing I knew, my body was gone."

"Wait, was this when you collapsed?"

"Maybe. I was sort of unconscious, remember?"

"Fine. Then what?"

"I saw Sora."

Axel raised his eyebrows and folded his arms. The replica instantly regretted mentioning it after seeing how intently focused Axel was on this single line. "Then what?" Axel inquired evenly. "How could you see Sora if you didn't have a body? No eyes," he pointed out.

"I don't know. I sort of just…" the replica held up his hand in front of him and opened it, palm facing outwards like he was reaching for something, "passed right through him. And then I was floating down the hallway of the castle for a while until…"

"Until what?"

"Until I met Vanitas." The name alone was enough to make him shudder.

Axel stared at him blankly. "Who?"

The replica watched Axel's reaction carefully. Throughout their conversation, Vanitas had revealed several times that he and the replica had been prior acquaintances until his memory loss. Unable to verify it himself, the replica wanted to see if there would be anything in his response that would validate the accusation. When Axel gave nothing away, he explained further, "he's like… an Evil Sora." The incredulous grimace on Axel's face made him instantly regret the choice of words.

"I'm sorry, what?" Axel said flatly.

Stuttering as he tried to recover, the replica said, "I'm just trying to -"

"So he's like Sora… only 'evil'."

"They had the same voice…"

"So what does that make you? 'Evil Riku'? Is there another Axel running around that I should know about?"

"Could you just shut the f-"

"This story is getting worse," declared Axel. "It started with you getting stuck in the floor and hasn't really gone uphill from there. As much as I want to hear about your imaginary friend, we have to get moving."

Growling, the replica dove in front of him to block his path. Axel raised his eyebrows and the replica saw a small flame dancing in his palm, waiting to summon a chakram. "Just let me finish, alright?"

"Condense it." Axel crossed his arms tightly and nodded with tight lips.

Not waiting to give Axel another opportunity to interrupt him, the replica quickly replied, "We floated down the hallway until we came to a throne room in the middle of the castle." Axel's eyebrows darted upwards but he remained silent. "Vanitas said that it was the reason why Castle Oblivion existed. And there was this blond kid sitting on the throne."

"Wait, blond kid? What blond kid?" His arms unfolded and he shifted his weight. At first he looked uneasy until he laughed, though sounding a little shaken. "Okay, I get it now – you passed out and had a weird dream. I'll acknowledge that maybe you thought some darkness pulled you down and maybe your memories started disintegrating, but that's it. End of story."

"It wasn't a dream!"

"No? I know of every single person who has walked through these doors in the past week. There wasn't any blond kid." The replica wondered if he imagined it - not the boy in the chair, he was certain that was real – but the sudden tenderness in Axel's tone. "It was just a nightmare."

The replica choked back a scream of frustration. "I know what I saw! I know what I felt! He told me that the Organization didn't know about the room."

"Well, if Evil-Sora tells you something, it must be true." Axel rolled his eyes to the ceiling and said somewhat testily, "Like I said – nightmare. It's all part of being human."

"Don't talk to me about being human!"

Axel sighed. "If I explain all this to you, will you shut up so we can get moving?"

After a few agonizing moments of reflection, the replica nodded.

"Dreams are based on memories, alright? So what were the last few things on your mind before you went out of it? Let's recap." One by one, Axel began to tick off the recollections on his long, outstretched fingers. "First, you were in a lot of pain, second, you were thinking about the real Riku – don't give me that look – I know you were. What else would a replica think about? Third, I reminded you that Sora's memories of you have been wiped," Axel finished off, looking much too pleased with himself.

Less impressed, the replica gave him a glare that indicated he still was not convinced.

"Look, if I'm right and all this happened after you completely blacked out, then everything I said makes perfect sense. You dreamt that your body disappeared as a means to stop the pain and freed you from being bound in Riku's form. With me so far?" Without waiting for so much as a nod, he pressed on, "So then you start thinking about Sora so you can see him one last time. You just passed out and started dreaming. Simple."

Looking away, the replica pondered this carefully. "That still doesn't explain the blond kid. Or…"

"Or 'Evil-Sora'?"

The replica winced. "Vanitas," he corrected.

Axel rolled his shoulders. "We programed you to distrust Sora, so maybe some residual hatred began manifesting as a Sora who despised you back."

"If it were a dream that actually would kind of make sense. If I knew in my heart that he wasn't real; that could be why he claimed he wasn't Sora and only existed within me. But then how could my mind come up with that name?" He retraced his thoughts back to the memory that had floated just out of his grasp. "And that still doesn't explain…"

"What about the blond boy I saw?"he pressed.

"Maybe it was some weird memory of Riku's that Naminé overwrote that's now surfacing in splinters. Or you're just crazy. Take your pick."

The replica stiffened, drawing in a deep breath and allowing his eyes to slowly flutter shut. Calmly he said, "I'm not lying. I know what I saw; everything that happened to me was real and I can prove it."

"Oh really?" drawled Axel.

"Stand here with me."

Though his eyes were closed, he could picture Axel's dubious expression perfectly. "Uh, sorry, what?"

"Just stand here."

"I'm good where I am, thanks."

Scowling, the replica told him, "It doesn't matter where you stand. I just need you to concentrate." With his eyes closed and his breathing even, he was able to easily catch onto and discard the unnecessary elements. "After I woke up, I started noticing a series of scents that I hadn't been able to pick up on before. I didn't know most of them, so I started tracking their movement just in case they were threats. It wasn't until I was with Vanitas that I realized that one of them, a scent full of light, had to be the boy I saw. If you can sense him too, it will prove I'm right."

To his benefit, Axel closed his eyes obediently, though the replica heard him mutter "defective model getting stupider" as he did so. After a moment of silence Axel asked, "What exactly am I supposed to be looking for?"

The replica held back a sigh. "I told you – it's a very bright scent. There's no darkness in it at all. It's also the only one apart from Sora, Donald, and Goofy that will be completely stationary."

"I don't sense anything. Just – no wait, okay, maybe. What floor is it on?"

The replica could estimate how far each being was in relation to him based on how strong the scent was. Fortunately, the boy's scent, though faint, seemed to equally permeate every floor. "It's on all of them, like it's part of the castle."

"I only feel you and me."

"Try harder. Can you sense as far up as Sora?"

The replica could hear the metal clasps on Axel's coat jangle as he shook his head and said sarcastically, "No. Can you?"

"Yes," thought the replica, though he kept it to himself. He abruptly realized that Naminé was absent. With a sharp intake of breath, he squeezed his eyes shut to concentrate harder, only to have her reappear a second later.

"What was that about?"

Suddenly four more familiar scents resurfaced in the basement floors. The replica took a moment to identify them.

"Oh, Riku's back," he said testily, more to himself than Axel. Alongside Riku was the first incredibly bright scent, though it was mobile and completely different than the one he was trying to find, and the dark scent that seemed to be hanging over him. They were only a floor above them. A couple floors below, the replica sensed the shrouded scent return, though it was much fainter than he recalled, even though he was now closer to the source. "You have to at least be able to sense that."

"What?" Axel murmured. The replica opened his eyes to see that Axel was standing with his arms outstretched in a T-shape, like he thought it would help increase his range.

The replica rolled his eyes, only just remembering that Axel could not see him. "Four scents just returned."

Axel's eyes snapped open and he lashed out, seizing the replica by the upper arm and yanking him closer. "What? Who are they?"

Flinching as Axel's bony hand dug into his flesh, he replied. "I don't know. One of them is Riku and there are two with him that I don't -"

"And the fourth?"

"It's just below us. Maybe two floors."

Axel swore under his breath. "We have to go – now!"

The replica tried to jerk away from Axel's crushing grip. "Why?"

He gave the replica a rough shove, catching him off balance and sending him crashing to his hands and knees. "Because it means that Zexion has finally made his move. Now go!"

Notes: Vanitas will be back. He's pretty important.