Chapter 6

Sora lay on his bed, thinking. Who had that man in red been?

It couldn't have been Axel…there was no way he was still alive. And the man had sounded older than Axel, too…too old for the time that had elapsed since his death.

And yet he had perfectly imitated Axel's body language and the inflection of his words…

"Are these guys…trying to use Roxas's memories to get to me?" He said quietly. He got up, and walked outside.

To his surprise, Zidane was sitting on the roof.

"Can't sleep, Zidane?" He asked. Zidane kept looking at the moon.

"I haven't been able to sleep for a while now, kid…it's nothing new."

"Why?" Sora asked, sitting down next to the man. Zidane shrugged uncomfortably.

"Dreams I have…and this feeling I get when I'm alone at night…" Sora saw he was deeply bothered by this, and didn't inquire further. Zidane looked at the sky, the faintest beginning of a bitter laugh escaping him.

"I've been looking for anyone from my world for so long…it figures that the only one I've found is my brother…and he's my enemy again…" Zidane was turning a small leathery thing around in his hands. He noticed Sora looking at it.

"This? It's…the last thing I have to remember them…my friends." He opened it and handed it to Sora. The boy saw a group of eight in the picture, Zidane among them.

There was a tall knight in the background, looming over the others…a man with red hair somewhat separate from the group…a woman that resembled a mouse…a large, froglike creature…Zidane was embracing a beautiful young woman, both of them smiling. In the front of the group were two small children.

"Steiner…Amarant…Freya…Quina…Eiko and Vivi…and…" Zidane said a seventh name, too softly for Sora to hear.

"And…Garnet." Sora closed the picture gently, and handed it back to Zidane.

"You've been looking for them all this time?"

"Yes…" Zidane said, clearly trying not to seem sad. Sora suddenly remembered something.

"Wait…which of them was Vivi? I know a Vivi!" Zidane looked sharply at him.

"The boy in front…wearing the large hat." Sora sat up.

"That's him! He lives in Twilight Town!" Zidane's face lit up.

"He's alive? Is he well?"

"Yes…he's with a group of other kids."

"…I have to…go find him tomorrow. Where did you say he was?"

"Twilight Town."

"…Thank you, Sora." Zidane said, smiling genuinely for the first time that night.

"No problem, Zidane."

Sora went back into his room. He sat on his bed for a while, thinking about everything that had happened that day. He suddenly looked up. A Grey cloak, flanked by two people in Organization XIII jackets, was standing there.

"What? Who are you?" The head inside the hood cocked to the side.

"…So you are Sora." A voice came from the hood. It was…a woman? She crossed her arms. One of the people in black cloaks put a hand on her shoulder.

"…Beware, Sora. You have been warned twice…but it is too little, too late. Guard yourself…you are already entangled…they are coming for you."

"What? Who's coming?" but the trio was gone as suddenly as they'd come.

Sora sat a moment…and finally reclined on his bed, thinking.

The red-cloaked figure was walking through the dark halls. The man in navy blues walked by.

"That was a nice touch, how you ended your message. If I didn't know any better, I'd suspect you wanted him to think you were Axel…"

"Number Eight. The Flurry of Dancing Flames…our surest entry point into that boy's mind. We need him curious…but he's not onto our game…not yet."

"Be sure that the boy doesn't catch on." The man said, walking on.

"He won't…not unless he has…outside assistance."

"See he doesn't get any." The man said curtly, and vanished.