"Remember, Aanyx. Remember what we are. Remember who you are…" The dream changed again. This time, the other voices chanted, some repeating 'Organization' and others 'Nobodies'. Or maybe I just noticed it this time, because I already know what he looks like…

"Aanyx, I thought I told you to clean this room!"

It took all my willpower to not bolt up in bed. "I did." I mumbled in the sleepiest tone I could muster. "You call this clean? It looks like a tornado hit!"

"No, I call this 'I'm in a hurry and I need something to wear'."

"Honestly, why I ever bought you that dresser. Do you have anything in there?"

"Sure, that's where I keep all my movies."

"What about your entertainment stand?"

"That's full of CDs and games."

"And the CD tower?"

"Where else am I supposed to put my hats and belts?"

"On the hooks in your closet?"

"…There's hooks in my closet?" No, seriously, I never knew. My closet's chest-high with shit on a good day.

Mom gave a strained sigh—the kind of sigh that clearly says 'I would SO kill you right now if I could…'—and backed out of the room, "Listen, I'm going to be working late again tonight, but there's food in the kitchen. And don't forget today's Tuesday, which means gymnastics practice!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, mom. I just need to stop by the Library, and I'll go straight to practice." And why do I need to go to the Library? To look up that guy. I KNOW I've never seen him around town, but every time he spoke it was like riding the fucking Déjà Vu Express.

After changing into something comfortable—sweats and a ribbed tank top—I roller-bladed to the Library, snagging my favorite laptop and the only back corner with a table. The guy had to be fresh out of High School, going by age, so I found the online yearbooks and began my pursuit.

"This seat taken?" I looked up, admittedly surprised to find that he'd ditched the cloak, boots, and gloves for a pair of black skinny-jeans, sneakers, and a red t-shirt with a skull surrounded by flames on the front. I sat up in the seat, not failing to notice he'd trap me in the corner if he sat down. "Depends on if I should grab a fire extinguisher or not."

"Hey, I promised it'd be less hostile, didn't I?" He gave a mischievous grin as he sat languidly, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his knuckles. "You won't find me in there, by the way." He added with a feigned nonchalance, nodding towards the laptop. I closed it with an angry huff, "Then I'm either hallucinating, or you really are from somewhere else."

"Which do you think it is?" His grin took on an almost insane air, so I punched him flat in the nose, making him topple back in his chair with a dull thud. "OW! Jeez, what was that for?"

"Well, partly to test my theory, and partly to wipe that fucking grin off your face." I added a kick to his chin for good measure, "And that was for setting me on fire."

His mane of spiky red hair popped over the side of the table, emerald eyes narrowed in a glare that clearly said not amused. I gave my own insane grin in return, "Hey, I never said I wouldn't be hostile, now did I?"

I stood then, gathering the laptop and heading around him towards the front of the Library, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go humiliate myself once again in front of my neighbor…"

"Doing what, exactly?"

"Gymnastics." I had a feeling he'd tag along, and unfortunately that feeling usually tends to be right. Sure enough, he sprang to his feet and followed after, resetting his nose into place as he went, "Since when do you do gymnastics?"

"Since Mom forced me to sign up for classes ten years ago."

"You have a mom here?"

"Yes, Boy Blunder, I have a mom. What, did you think I came outta my dad's ass or something?"

"Okay, easy. Man, they really nailed it to ya thick, didn't they?"

"Nailed what exactly?"

"Nothing, nothing. So; gymnastics…"

"Is a pain-in-the-ass excuse to starve me of the freedom every teenager wants. The only thing semi-decent about it is the fact that it gives me every opportunity to beat the shit outta Valenteen."

"Who's Valenteen?"

"The resident walking whore house. You know, the one I threw down the hill yesterday? Which reminds me, how did I do that and why didn't it work on you?"

"So you don't remember that either, huh? Oh boy, how do I explain this…" He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, "Well…you used the power of Darkness. It's something that you were born with…"

"If you tell me I'm destined for greatness I swear I will turn you into a eunuch."

"No, definitely not destined for greatness." He assured hurriedly, crossing his hands over his hips in a feeble attempt at protection. "Then why do I have power over the dark?"

"Not dark—Darkness, with a capital 'D'. As in, the Dark Matter that we Nobodies are created from."

"So just because I'm an outcast, I get power? Do my friends have it?"

"Which friends? The ones that left you?"

"Hey, they didn't leave me, Heyner and Pence did. Olette and Roxas are still friends."

"Well, I honestly have no clue about the other three, but Roxas has the power too. But he doesn't remember either, so you might not want to mention it to him."

"Riiiiight. So lemme see if I've got this straight; I was born with power over this thing called Dark Matter that I was supposedly created from. My best friend has it too, but he doesn't know, and I can't tell him either way because he's in that stupid gang/group that half the members hate my guts now anyway. And you're, what? A clown from outer-space here to brainwash everyone with your cocoons of cotton candy?" At his raised eyebrow I shrugged, "It was in a movie I saw a few nights ago. Craziest shit I've ever seen."

"Well, you got part of it right. I'm a Nobody too, and one of your friends. We live in The World That Never Was—"

"Charming name."

"—and we're both part of Organization XIII. I'm number VIII—the name's Axel, got it memorized?"

"Um…sure…So this organization…what do we do?"

"Oh, travel the worlds, collect information, persuade the higher ups to be on our side…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a sec…Worlds? As in…more than one?"

"To be exact, there are 65 known worlds in the universe with life…and twenty-some-odd without life." Axel grinned. I pinched the bridge of my nose, stopping outside to lean against the side of the building, "You realize I'm taking a lot on faith here, right?" Then a thought struck me, "Wait a sec…why are you here, anyway?"

"Isn't it obvious? To make you remember—and bring you back home."

"Okay, now I KNOW you're crazy." I spun on my heel and opened the door to the gymnastics hall, pausing as an odd warmth spread through me at the word 'home'. "Tell me something, Axel…" I muttered, looking down at my feet, "This home of ours…am I…wanted?"

"Of course you're wanted. Okay, maybe not by everyone, but those of us who are left…we need you back, Aanyx. More than you could imagine." I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face at the thought. "Thank you…"

Several hours of practice later, I was rather surprised to find him climbing down onto the mat. "Who's this, Aanyx?" Mr. Brown asked, eying Axel warily. "Um…This is Axel. He's an old friend who…came back to this side of town for vacation." I lied lamely before turning sharply to the red-head in question, "What. Are. You. Doing?"

"Your form is all wrong. You've gotten lax since you left."

"I left? Why did I leave? I thought you wanted me back."

"We do. You left because of a misunderstanding. Right place at the wrong time kind of moment. Now; let's see what you've got." He slid into a combat stance as he spoke, and Mr. Brown fumbled with his clipboard, "There will be no brawling in my hall! Sir, either take this matter outside or return to the stands at once."

"Okay, we'll take it outside, then."

The moment he was out of stance I knocked his weight out from under him, pinning him to the not-so-squishy mat below. "Gotten lax, have I?"

"You remember?" He asked hopefully. I let him up then, "No…at least, I don't think so…I just had a really big urge to do that, so I did."

"Still following instincts. That's good—it means I don't have to start from the beginning."

After I'd changed back out of my leotard we headed for the Sandlot, where he once more took up his stance. "Well? Call your weapons."

"Call my…what?"

"Um…never mind…let's see what you've got."

"Listen, I don't wanna hurt you, pal…"

"Nothing you try you haven't already done in practice."

So I tried sweeping his feet out from under him again. Expecting the move, he jumped over me, and I quickly blocked his jab to the shoulder before elbowing him in the chest. Hand still clenched over his fist, I grabbed his elbow with my other hand and spun around, holding his arm up and back as he was forced to kneel.

"That was new…" Axel admitted, shock evident in his tone, before the battle continued. A strange thrill stole through me, driving me harder, faster, with every blow and block, twist and jump.

"Hey!" The sudden awareness of reality caused me to misjudge my footing, and I landed face-first in the dirt. I vaguely heard Axel give a mutter of "Crap…" before he took off running, and Olette helped me to my feet. "Who was that guy?"

"Dunno…I think he said his name was Axel or something." I shrugged, wiping the blood off my elbow. "What did he want?" Roxas asked, walking towards where Axel had run off.

"To piss me off, probably. Showed up at practice saying how my form was all wrong, got yelled at by Mr. Brown to take it outside, so we did. He's long gone by now, though."

"Probably one of those punks from the other side of town…He didn't hurt you, did he?" Roxas asked. I waved him off, "Nah, nothing I haven't done a million times before. Just a few scrapes and bruises."

"Maybe we should tell Seifer. I mean, he is on the Committee." Olette suggested. I waved that off too, "And what, make your group fall apart because you had a decent conversation? Knowing Heyner, you're pushing it as it is, aren't you? I'm just as bad as Seifer now…"

"Don't say that, Aanyx!"

"You're still our friend."

"Thanks, guys, but let's face it. Heyner's too stubborn to see the other side of the facts. I don't want the group to fall apart just cause of me…"

I grabbed each of their shoulders as I walked between the two, giving them a light squeeze, "Things are changing, now. We can't be together forever."

"Where are you going?" Olette demanded. "Home, I guess. Nothin much to do 'round town by yourself, is there?"

"Come to the beach with us, then."

"You know why I can't do that, Roxas…" I trailed off sadly, not stopping as I headed to Station Heights. "What are you doing here?" My head snapped up to see Heyner glowering at me from across the way. "What, can't I take the train home?"

"Not if we're taking the same train to the beach."

"But it isn't the same train, dumbass." Axel said, suddenly appearing from inside. "Who're you?"

"Axel, what are you doing here?" I growled. Axel ignored both questions as he walked to my side, keeping his eyes on Heyner the whole time. "Can I torch him?"

"There will be no torching here. He's not worth it, Axel." Another voice, this one feminine, declared. She appeared to be about thirteen, with unnaturally pale skin, silvery-blonde hair, and an abundance of glowing orange tattoos. She, too, wore one of those black cloaks. If the Déjà vu from Axel was bad, this was the strongest yet. "I know you…"

"That's right, Aanyx. I'm Xcaiyet." The girl smiled warmly at me before glaring at Heyner. "Who are these freaks?" Heyner demanded, stepping back slightly. "A better friend then you ever were, I'm sure." Xcaiyet snarled, pulling her upper lip back in a feral, animalistic growl. "Calm down, Xcaiy." Axel warned, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's not like I can kill 'im. Roxie would throw a fit." Xcaiyet insisted. "Roxie? You know Roxas too?"

"She really forgot, then? Damn, this makes it that much harder…"

Something long, green, and oddly shaped suddenly flew through the air, nearly colliding with Axel and Xcaiyet. "Time's up, Wolfie." Axel muttered, disappearing in a swirl of Dark Matter. Xcaiyet spared me a glance, "Come back to us, Aanyx," before she, too, disappeared.

Heyner stumbled, "What kind of freaks are you hanging with?"

"The only freak I see here is you." I growled, marching up the stairs and into the station. My head pounded a migraine, my knees hurt from the brawl, and once more the voices began to chant.

Organization…Organization…Organization…Organization...

Nobodies…Nobodies…Nobodies…Nobodies…Nobodies…